My response to the Tories' Tileman letter

Putney Conservatives have made some quite extraordinary claims in a letter to residents encouraging them to support the Tileman House application. Highlighted below are the most contentious and self serving of them:



I agree that the building (there's only one) is in need of substantial refurbishment, but to suggest that redevelopment of a large, prime town centre site could not be "economic" is absurd. The developer is seeking permission at the depth of a global recession. The situation in six months, or a year, or two years, will be unrecognisable to that of today. It does not mean that we should agree to whatever gross overdevelopment anyone tells us Putney needs out of blind panic or hysteria.




"Somewhat higher"? "Somewhat higher" is, in fact, twice the height of the adjoining building: No.125. Four times as high as the beautiful curved Victorian terrace that leads round to Putney Hill. That's not my definition of "somewhat" - it's what I call "significantly higher". In any other planning authority we'd have elected representatives standing up for the wider public interest, not swallowing the developers' spin without question.




Of course there's a risk of it standing empty - indeed it has for stood empty for some time now. No one is suggesting the site is not in need to regeneration and development. But the Putney Conservatives evidently believe that standing empty is worse than a massive overdevelopment that we will be saddled with for years and years to come.




A reduction of 10 flats does not represent major change. And here's the context, which is missing from the Conservatives' letter: there are currently fifteen flats in Tileman House; the developers want to increase that number six-fold. The building remains 15 storeys at its Upper Richmond Road frontage. Twelve storeys at the rear will not consequentially alter the blight residents of St John's Avenue will suffer.





While I'm delighted at the recognition that Upper Richmond Road is in need of substantial improvement, we're again only being presented with a "my way or the highway" argument from the Conservatives. But we don't have to choose between the less disastrous of two dreadful options: we can have regeneration of our town centre; more commercial opportunities and some affordable housing without making Upper Richmond Road into an even darker canyon with massive tower blocks. But only with strong leadership, willing to stand up to developers, enshrined within a crystal clear plan for Putney. We're lacking both in spades from the Conservatives.




These are statements of fact. But the key word in this sentence is "any" - any redevelopment, not exclusively this disaster of an overdevelopment, would provide planning gain for Putney, and could diversify our local economy for long term benefit.




This is the most bizarre claim of the Conservatives' appalling letter. Putney is not in competition with Wandsworth: they are entirely distinct town centres catering to different communities. But hidden in this sentence is the real Conservative agenda for Putney: they want to emulate the same sort of 42-storey skyscrapers they're pushing for on the Ram Brewery site in our area. The Conservative effort to replicate massive out-of-town developments like Croydon as if there is some sort of prestige to subsuming our area beneath tower blocks is really alarming.




Where do I start with this sentence? Well, how about the fact that the building to which they refer is in Brewhouse Lane, not Brewer Street. There is no Brewer Street in Putney.

But more substantively, this building is - at most - five storeys high; it's also, incidentally, a block of entirely affordable housing - another problem with the Tileman House scheme. So if they want to use this site as an example of best practice, I'm with them on that: submit a five storey Tileman House plan, with exactly the same sort of "versatile trading space" and a similar proportion of affordable homes and it could well command my and residents' support. The current plan for Tileman is nothing like the Brewhouse Lane development and it is duplicitous to say otherwise.

I know some residents, at least initially, questioned whether there really was a link between the overdevelopment plans our borough has been bombarded with and the Conservative Party locally. With each passing piece of evidence I present - on this and all the other overdevelopment plans they're pushing, it is clear that the link is not only there - it is significant and inseparable.

Here we have the current Chairman of the Planning Applications Committee, Conservative Councillor Leslie McDonnell, and his immediate predecessor, Tory Councillor Ravi Govindia, presenting the developers' case to residents. It shows the utmost contempt for the hundreds of objections sent in by local people and The Putney Society. It demonstrates that their priorities are the developers' interests, not Putney's interest. And as usual, Putney's Conservative MP is nowhere to be seen.

No leadership, no accountability, no representation. That's what you're currently getting from the Conservatives. It's in your power to change things. Please object to this planning application and then decide how best to respond at the elections for your MP and Councillors due next year.

Tories push developers' case FOR Tileman House

Further proof that local Conservatives have completely lost the plot over Tileman House and how Putney should develop emerged over the weekend.

Some East Putney residents received a letter from two of their councillors (plus a third who represents the Balham area but who they want to move to East Putney at the next election) presenting what amounts to the developer's case FOR the application.

This is an extraordinary turn of events, not least because one of the East Putney councillors who has signed the letter is also the Chairman of the Planning Applications Committee. This has caused some conasiderable concern amongst local residents who are now openly speculating that the Tories have decided to support the "new" application. Iin fact there is very little new about it - it's close to identical to the previous application so overwhelmingly opposed by local residents; the same residents Councillor McDonnell and his colleagues were elected to serve.

I'm reproducing the Conservative letter in its entirety below, and will leave readers to judge what confidence they can have in the role that will be played by their Conservative councillors. Later today I will respond to the claims they make. The highlighted sections are ones I've marked, as these are the most extraordinary claims of an extraordinary letter.

The Putney Paper - new edition out now

I've just taken receipt of 35,000 copies of summer 2009 edition of The Putney Paper. The headline is a message I think needs saying because too many Labour MPs have let the public (and yes, my party too) down really badly.

As well as setting out my position on the expenses scandal, the Putney Paper also contains stories on our continuing battle against Tory overdevelopment plans for the area - check out the Overdevelopment Line to see just how much of our borough is - quite literally - under threat.

There's also an update on Southfields Station's lift, the really unfortunate sell-off of Arton Wilson House by the NHS; some of the work the Government's been up to nationally which has gone largely unnoticed because of the expenses scandal; and our usual news round-up and su doku on the back page.

And if you've got a local gripe about a problem or issue, you can use my "Get it sorted" slip to let me know. Or alternatively, click here to go to the Get In Touch page and report it right now!

35,000 copies is the largest circulation of any publicity Putney Labour Party has undertaken in years - every single copy is delivered by local volunteers. We don't use a delivery company and not a penny of public money funds The Putney Paper. We do this because you deserve to be able to make the most informed choice possible at the next election. Such a wide delivery demonstrates that there are no no-go areas for Labour in Putney, Roehampton and Southfields.

You can read the latest edition of The Putney Paper right here.

Southfields to get an Oxford Street style makeover

Earlier this year a bit of interest was generated over plans to introduce Japanese-style crossings - which allow pedestrians to cross diagonally as well as straight across. The benefit of such crossings is that they can create a direct route to a destination rather than, literally, having to go round the houses.

Now the council is proposing a similar plan for the road layout around Southfields Station. If these plans are approved next week, residents of the grid in particular will be able to cross to and from Southfields Station straight over to Replingham Road in one go.

Click here to read the report on the Southfields crossing plan.

A nicer Neville Gill?

Plans to improve Neville Gill Close - the road that runs between King George's Park and the Southside Shopping Centre - are being put forward by the council.

Hundreds of residents live in Neville Gill Close - in Albon, Knowles and Edwyn Houses: three tower blocks that are part of the Arndale estate. Although they live opposite a park, Neville Gill Close itself is a very poor quality environment: a run-down, neglected, potholed road with the shopping centre car park at the end.

In the past couple of years the building of Argento Tower and Palladio Court at the end of Neville Gill Close in Mapleton Road along with the regeneration of the shopping centre and the building of some hidden homes here, have further put strain on this environment.

So this work is long overdue. You can read all about it here.

Council to make Northfields and Point Pleasant a 20mph zone

The Council is planning on spending £97,000 turning Northfields and Point Pleasant, near Wandsworth Park, into 20 mph zones.

These two streets represent the edge of the Riverside Quarter; a development of - so far - around 600 homes and some retail and business space too. As a result of the extra traffic this development is generating, the Council is proposing the new speed controls in order to keep the area pleasant and safe for pedestrians.

The plans are going before the relevant council committee on Thursday - you can read the report on this scheme here.

Today is Armed Forces Day

Today is the first-ever Armed Forces Day in Britain - a day when we can pay tribute and give thanks to our servicemen and women in the Army, Navy and Air Force. Many of us think such a day is long overdue, and I am sure this event will become a fixture in our national calendar.

Wandsworth is home to territorial soldiers from the London Regiment based in Battersea, Balham and St John?s Hill and the 31st (City of London) Signal Regiment based in Southfields - many of whom have seen operational duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. There are also army, sea and air cadet squadrons located within the Borough.

There are loads of events, national and local planned for today - indeed, they've been happening all week. And you can play your part too.

You can display an Armed Forces Day flag - like the one at the top of this post and in the banner image of my site - by clicking here. Just download, print it off and stick it in your window.

If you want to get more involved then the official Armed Forces Day website has a host of ways to show your support, including children's competitions and signing up to the Facebook and Twitter Armed Forces Day events.

The forecasts are for perfect outdoor weather today, so why not take part in some of the local events? Here are details of the main Wandsworth event:

Battersea Park, 12 noon - 5pm
The - fun - day will commence midday at the bandstand in Battersea Park with the Pipes and Drums from the London Regiment heralding a military salute and opening ceremony.

After the military spectacle the day?s family festivities will get underway and visitors will have the opportunity to meet the soldiers and cadets to speak about their military role in the community and beyond. There will be activities and exhibitions for residents of all ages:

• Watch weapons demonstrations including mortars, machine guns, assault rifles and anti-tank missiles;
• Take part on the Army's Paintball Range;
• See the equipment carried by the soldiers whilst on operations, try to put up a poncho and feel the weight of a Bergan on their back;
• Watch a field kitchen in action;
• Talk to members of the Sea Cadets, Army Cadets and Air Cadets as well as veterans from the Royal British Legion and staff from the charity Help for Heroes;
• Experience a ride in a tethered hot air balloon with all donations to go to the London Regiment?s Welfare and Benevolent Fund;
• Listen to music from the Westminster Saxophone Quartet jazz band and the Bryden string quartet;
• Watch or take part in a game of rounders ? civilians versus military;
  enjoy a free Tai Chi session;
• Children above the age of 3 years are invited to take part in creative workshops at the Gallery Piazza. The workshops will be: flag making (create your own family flag) and create a City State (what would you do if you were in charge of your own city?);
• Face painting will also be available with all donations going to The Royal British Legion.

You can find out more about nearby events and the national celebration of our Armed Forces at http://www.armedforcesday.org.uk/.

Danebury Barrier victory

In a spectacular U-turn, the Conservative council has abandoned its plans to remove the traffic barrier at the end of Danebury Avenue by the Alton School.

Last year I exposed secret plans pushed by Putney's Conservative MP and councillors to turn Danebury Avenue into a rat-run by removing the barrier. Perhaps they hoped that their unpopular and damaging redevelopment plans for the area around Roehampton Library might be more popular with developers if the road was opened up.

In November last year I sent to the council the results of a ballot I'd held of residents in the Danebury Avenue area asking what they thought. 77% wanted the barrier left alone; just 4% agreed with the Conservatives that it should be taken out.

For the past six months the Conservatives have dithered between respecting residents' wishes or railroading their plans through. Common sense has, eventually, prevailed because next week at a council committee they'll be agreeing with us that the barrier should be left where it is. I'm delighted - it shows that residents can make their voice heard when they work with those of us who actually care what they think.

You can read the Conservative climb-down report here.

English Heritage says East Putney under threat

English Heritage, the body with responsibility for all aspects of protecting and promoting the historic environment in England, has named three areas of our borough - including the East Putney conservation area - as under threat in a nationwide survey.

East Putney is the part of our area that is under greatest threat from overdevelopment: there are at least three local sites: Putney Place, Capsticks/Carlton Place and Tileman House that developers want to pile-up huge towerblocks on. One of the other borough sites English Heritage have highlighted is Clapham Junction - again, under threat from massive overdevelopment.

I do find it remarkable that there is such a widespread coalition against overdevelopment - one that includes the Putney Society and English Heritage as well, of course, as myself and local residents. The only people who just don't get this are the Conservatives, who at best can be described as dithering over this issue - and at worst are complicit in creating the overdevelopment problems we're battling against.

You can download a whole range of information about the English Heritage campaign.

And here's how the Wandsworth Guardian is covering this story - focussing on Clapham Junction.

More from our Ed Miliband annual dinner

Cabinet Minister Ed Miliband visits Putney

Last night I was delighted to welcome Ed Miliband MP, the Secretary of State responsible for Energy and the UK's global leadership on Climate Change, to Putney. Ed was guest speaker and star turn at Putney Labour Party's annual dinner, which was held in the private dining room upstairs at The Telegraph pub on Putney Heath.

Ed was an engaging and impressive speaker and, following a wide ranging speech, fielded questions for over half an hour. It was a pleasure to introduce him to the Labour party members and others from the local community who came along to the dinner, which is the major fundraising event in our calendar. As I have explained elsewhere on my website, every penny I spend on my campaign is raised in events like this from local members and supporters.

Ed was kind enough to include in his speech some positive things about me and my campaign (it is great to know our work locally is reaching an audience wider than Putney!), and that was despite the fact that I bent his ear over Heathrow expansion!

I also want to thank all the staff at The Telegraph who provided us with a fantastic menu for the evening, and who looked after us so well. I thoroughly recommend their upstairs dining room to you if you are looking to hold a fundraising or social event of your own.

Tileman returns

As you may have heard, the Tileman House planning application has been resubmitted with very few changes to the original submission at the start of the year. You can download the planning newsletter on this new application here.

In my view, this is a cynical and shoddy attempt by the developers to wage a war of attrition with local residents - amending their application slightly in the hope that more and more will get disheartened and not bother to object to their plans.

I am of the view that this application is so similar to the previous one that all the submissions sent in for the original application remain valid for this one. However, let's not take the risk. Please register your objection again - even if it's just resubmitting verbatim your old submission with the date changed. And, if you didn't send in your views for the original application please do so this time - if only to show your opposition to the tactics of the developers.

Remember - this application cannot be viewed in isolation: if a 15-storey block is approved, it sets a precedent for the entire stretch of Upper Richmond Road and will shape the decisions on Carlton Place (the Capstick application) and Putney Place (as and when that one returns). Everyone concerned about the overdevelopment threat needs to stand together to turn back this threat so we can draw up a Plan for Putney as our area now is - not in the shadow of planning consents that will set precedents we cannot undo.

To submit your views, write to Helen Keegan, Planning Service, Town Hall, Wandsworth High Street, London SW18 2PU or email planningapplications@wandsworth.gov.uk citing reference 2009/1773.

As ever, if you could copy me in on your submission it would be helpful in making sure I can best represent local residents on this issue.

Southfields Police seek your help

Anyone who recognises these two individuals is encouraged to contact the police with details of their identity. They were involved in a bar brawl at The Grid Inn pub in Southfields, during which glasses were thrown and a female member of bar staff there injured.

None of us wants this type of yobbish behaviour in our neighbourhood so we have a duty to help the police if we can.

More information on this can be found on the putneysw15 website.

Wandsworth NHS continues to improve

Whenever I talk about some of the practical improvements Labour in Government is achieving, I always try to relate them to our area, because in many services the sums we are investing are so vast and some of the targets quite opaque that it's hard to relate to them.

But Wandsworth NHS has just sent me an email talking about just five of the local priorities they've been working on, and the results they've achieved. For example:

In the last year, 1,225 people quit smoking using the Wandsworth NHS Stop Smoking Service.

By the end of April Wandsworth NHS had screened 6,750 young people aged 15 to 24 for Chlamydia, which not only helped keep local people free of a sexually-transmitted disease that can lead to infertility, but also helped with other aspects of sex education and birth control.

Here's one that's really important, given the appalling damage the scaremongering and misinformation about the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) immunisation did a few years ago. 86% of 2 year olds in Wandsworth were immunised against MMR this year, compared to just 60% a year ago.

And just as important, Wandsworth has been immunising local women against the Human Pathloma Virus (HPV) which causes cervical cancer. Last year 747 12 year old girls received all three courses of the HPV vaccine. This year the team are extending the programme to girls in all other secondary school year groups.

An extra 9,000 people attended Accident & Emergency, Tooting Walk-in Centre or the Queen Mary?s Minor Injuries Unit this past year, yet the NHS still met Labour's four hour waiting time target.

44 out of 47 GP practices in Wandsworth open for longer hours to provide more convenient services for patients who struggle to take time off work to attend a surgery.

Wandsworth has had the biggest reduction in cancer mortality in south west London.

St George?s Hospital has massively improved its infection control and met both targets for keeping down cases of MRSA and C.Difficile.

All these things don't just happen by luck or even by judgement. They've been achieved because of the huge investment that Labour has made in the NHS - the same investment that's built 100 new hospitals this past decade; or is eliminating mixed sex wards.

There's so much more to do to improve services provided by our NHS and to improve life expectancy and fight debilitating and fatal diseases. I'm never going to seek your vote solely on the basis of what Labour has achieved. But I am going to ask you to accept that the extra NHS investment we've provided - and which the country voted for us to deliver - has made a difference; it's not been wasted. And on that basis I ask you to consider who will best protect that investment and go on improving our National Health Service.

Wandsworth Heritage Festival

Throughout June the Council is running a programme of events celebrating the borough's diverse and rich heritage. Here are some of the remaining events focussing on Putney, Roehampton and Southfields:

Archaeology of early Wandsworth
Wednesday 17 June, 7-8.30pm
Putney Library
A talk by local archaeologist Pamela Greenwood going back as far as the Ice Age
Admission: free, but please book in advance - 8871 7090

The making of modern Southfields - from George Eliot to Queen Mary
Sunday 21 June, meet at 2pm
Andrews Estate Agents, directly opposite Southfields tube station
A 2-hour walk around Southfields with author Neil Robson
Admission: £5 to be booked in advance - 8871 6388

Putney Vale Cemetery and Crematorium
Tuesday 23 June, 7pm
Meet at the manin cemetery entrance off Stag Lane, behind ASDA
A walk through this 47-acre site with Wandsworth Parks Officer Clive Andrews
Admission free, but please book in advance - 8788 2113

Development of the Alton Estate exhibition
throughout June
Roehampton Library, Danebury Avenue
An exhibition celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Alton Estate

You can download the full brochure of events right across the borough.

These events are all part of a programme celebrating The Story of London, about which you can find more information here. Or you can download a pdf guide about the month of events here.

Lib Dems crash to fourth in Southfields

It must be disheartening being a Liberal Democrat in Wandsworth. Last week's European election results were hardly good news for Labour; in fact the only party that can genuinely claim to have done well in our borough were the Greens who knocked the Lib Dems into fourth place.

Wandsworth Liberal Democrats, because they are so weak, tend to try to target one part of the borough for a few years - and when they get no joy there they move on somewhere else. In the 1980s it was Earlsfield, which is the only part of the borough they have ever managed to get a councillor elected, and that was back in the early 1980s. They then tried their hand in Graveney in Tooting; but after repeated and ever-more desperate attempts failed there too.

More recently, they've liked to pretend they have a chance of winning in Southfields; if you're a Southfields resident you might have had one of their leaflets claiming they're the challengers to the Tories.

Well, in last year's Mayoral elections the Lib Dems came a distant third in Southfields; and this year they went one worse: coming fourth behind the Green Party here*, just as they did across the whole borough.

Don't get me wrong: we in Labour didn't do spectacularly well here, but in election after election the Lib Dems are claiming they're the alternative to the Tories and the voters keep saying otherwise.

In the European elections 71% voted against the Conservatives. They "won" because the opposition was splintered against them. The same is true here in Wandsworth in council elections. If you want to beat the Tories, in Southfields or in any of the other parts of Putney, the only vote that stops them is a Labour vote.

* The Southfields result was calculated through a detailed sampling of over 20% of all the votes cast in the Putney constituency on Thursday 4 June 2009 and is accurate to within 1%.

Excavating Fulham Palace moat

This isn't strictly a Putney story, but Bishops Park and Fulham Palace are of interest to a lot of local people.

The photo above is of archaeologists and engineers uncovering a sluice gate in the grounds of Fulham Palace - former home to the Bishop of Fulham - which regulated the water levels of a moat that used to encircle the palace.

The moat ran parallel to Fulham Palace Road and Fulham High Street, between the grounds of the palace and All Saints Church by Putney Bridge; parallel to the cycle path through Bishops Park near the river, and up Bishops Avenue (where the tennis courts are).

The moat was fed by what is now one of London's underground rivers: Colehill Brook, which is why the moat needed a sluice gate to allow the stream out into the Thames.

The project is simply to gain a better understanding of the exact path of the moat; there are no plans, I believe, to reinstate it (Not least because part of it is now beneath some mansion blocks on Fulham High Street!). But it's an interesting little project - and in case you wondering what all the workers in hard hats and glow-in-the-dark vests were up to, now you know.

For more information about Fulham Palace, including its museum - both of which can be found at the end of Bishops Avenue, visit their website: http://www.fulhampalace.org/

Mr Ten Per Cent

Yesterday the Conservatives finally admitted just how much they want to cut from our public services. Senior Conservative MP Andrew Lansley - the only member of the Conservative shadow cabinet who has been guaranteed a job in a Tory Government - has let the cat out of the bag, and revealed that they plan to make spending cuts of 10 per cent across the majority of government departments.

He is now on record as saying:

"We are going to increase the resources for the NHS, we are going to increase resources for international development aid. We are going to increase resources for schools. But that does mean over three years after 2011 a 10 per cent reduction in the departmental expenditure limits for other departments."

Andrew Lansley, BBC Today Programme, 10 June 2009

Locally, this could mean:

• Even less affordable housing being built for those wishing to rent;
• Cuts to the transport budget which threaten plans for a lift at Putney station;
• Cuts to the police budget, which will reduce the number of police patrolling our streets;
• An end to funding for the expansion of popular local schools
• Less Government grant to the council resulting in more cuts to services and increases in local charges

Justine Greening, Putney's "Miss 10 Per Cent", now needs to come clean with the people of Putney and explain where her party?s cuts of 10 per cent will fall.

April crime stats

The table above shows the crime figures for April, and represents overall a pretty good set of results across Putney, Roehampton and Southfield: in particular, I welcome the reduction in burglary across all six wards of the constituency. The principle concern would seem to be the increase in robberies in all wards except Southfields.

Last month's crime stats report is here.

Today is polling day!

Today is election day for the European Parliament.

Polls are open from 7am to 10pm - it takes about five minutes to cast a vote once you've arrived at the polling station.

You don't need your official pollcard to vote - just give your name and address to the clerk in the polling station.

You'll be given a ballot paper like this one. It's over three feet long because there are 14 parties and five independent candidates contesting the elections in our region.

Although we elect eight Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) for London, the system used means you have ONE vote - for a party or any of the five independents - and that party chooses which of its candidates become MEPs depending on how many votes it gets across London.

The candidates are listed on the ballot paper in the order they will be elected underneath each party's name and description.

If you're not sure where you vote - and you can only vote in one polling station in the borough, you can find out here.

The list includes the new properties at Queen Mary's Place and Mapleton Road, to name just two.












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Fairness not fear

European elections this Thursday

European elections this Thursday