Putney Place plans now out for consultation

The owners of Putney Place, the site opposite East Putney tube where they want to build two massive tower blocks, have at last submitted all the documentation to enable Council officers to begin deciding whether to recommend that councillors grant planning permission.

This includes a 52-page "planning statement" which is produced by contractors of the applicants rather than an independent and impartial agent, but which is supposed to represent an objective assessment of the impact the development will have on the area and a justification or mitigation for that impact.

The EIA is a detailed document and I haven't yet had the time to plough through it, but the basic application is as follows:

• Two blocks: one 26 storeys (84 metres high) and one of 21 storeys (67.5 metres high)
• 300 residential units, approximately a third of which will be what the developers call "affordable" housing
• 3,439 square metres of office space
• 114 square metres of retail space
• 443 square metres of restaurant, retail or office space
• 84 square metres of space for a cafe
• 2,862 square metres of what they call "public amenity space"
• and "New public art"

You can find all the relevant documents about this application - the reference number for which is 2008/3321 here

June's local crime figures

There's not much to write about in this month's crime figures - it's fallen very slightly in three Putney council wards and risen very slightly in three. Without further ado, here are the tables:



And May's comparison:

The high rise signal from Boris that should worry Putney

Today's Evening Standard reports that London Tory Mayor Boris Johnson just can't be bothered to submit an objection to a 43-storey tower block on the South Bank, the Doon Street Tower.

This is a complete reverse of his campaign pledge to block tower blocks across the capital and should be a major concern in our neck of the woods where, of course, we are under threat from several tower block plans - some of similar height to this one.

I am someone who isn't opposed to high buildings on principle: they can be appropriate in the City of London and central London. Putney isn't such a location. But that's not Boris's position. He ran for election and, I suspect, won quite a few votes, for his blanket opposition to tower blocks.

Yet today he couldn't even muster the interest to jot down a few words of opposition and submit them to the Secretary of State for Communities, Hazel Blears, who has to rule on this application following a Public Inquiry earlier this year.

If Boris can't be bothered to object to a tower block plan that was backed by a Labour Mayor, was reviewed before he was even elected and which no one will hold him accountable for, the prospects of him standing up to his Conservative allies in Wandsworth over their planning mistakes aren't high, to say the least.

We need Boris to honour his election pledges - not sell out at the first test of them.

Out and about in Carlton Drive

On Saturday my campaign team and I were out talking to residents in the Carlton Drive area between Putney Hill and East Putney station.

This area is one of the most at threat from the monstrous plans to build two 25 and 19 storey tower blocks on the Putney Place site opposite East Putney tube, and the "Carlton Towers" plan for the Capsticks building on the corner of Carlton Drive and Upper Richmond Road.

I've written a lot about my opposition to these plans both in this news section and the current edition of The Putney Paper, but too often planners get overly absorbed with the - important - minutaie of such proposals and forget the real people who will have to live in the shadow of such monstrosities for decades to come. That's why I chose to spend my time on Saturday talking to residents in this part of Putney.

We have to turn back these high-rise applications or else Putney will become a free-for-all for developers competing to build the biggest tower block since the last one.

Have your say on Putney Place

The long-awaited, much-dreaded plan to build two high-rise blocks across the road from East Putney tube station has finally been submitted to the council.

I am 100% opposed to this application which you can read up on here.

It is this planning development that I made the front page story of the latest edition of The Putney Paper - because while the existing Putney Place carbuncle is an absolute eyesore, my solution is to replace it with a better building of similar or smaller scale that complements the area and which our infrastructure can cope with. Instead the site's owners, Oracle, want to cram two ugly 25 and 19 towers onto this tiny triangle of land.

The planning application that has been submitted is incomplete and incredibly vague:

* It doesn't assess the impact on the environment or on local services

* It doesn't address the grotesque overdevelopment this plan amounts to, or the precedent it will set for the middle of Putney.

* It doesn't explain why surrounding residents should have to be overlooked and overshadowed, or why they think they have the right to transform Putney's skyline for decades to come.

* It doesn't talk about what proportion of the housing will be affordable

The Council must extract satisfactory, detailed and practical answers to each of these questions from the developer and tell us what it believes is a satisfactory development on this site. If it cannot or will not, this application must be refused.

Please register your views - and hopefully your objections - to this scheme. A groundswell of local protest will make it far harder for the Conservatives to cave in to the developers and blight our environment further.

You can comment online here, or email planningapplications@wandsworth.gov.uk, referencing planning application No. 2008/3321.

Putney - safer than other parts of London?

Every month when I publish the ward-by-ward crime statistics I usually focus on the change over the previous month.

This month it's worth looking at how crime in Putney compares with London as a whole.

Every single ward in Putney has a lower record of drug offending, fraud or forgery, robbery and other notifiable offences than the Met Police average.

Every single ward in Putney bar one has a better record on burglary and theft & handling (Thamesfield being the exception); criminal damage and violence against the person (Roehampton); and robbery (Southfields) than the London-wide figures. Roehampton has a stastically insignificant higher rate of sexual offences, which are a very small percentage of the total anyway I'm pleased to say.

Putney also compares favourably to our borough as a whole - though the pattern is very slightly different. The overall Wandsworth figure for crimes per 1,000 of the population is 99.6; the overall Putney figure is 89.9.

So what these crime figures show, month-in, month-out is that Wandsworth is safer than other parts of London, and that Putney is safer than other parts of Wandsworth. Don't let the Tories tell you different.

Here are the year to May 2008 figures:



And the April 2008 figures for comparison:

Putney's grand designs No.2

Continuing my infrequent series of posts about the great buildings of our area, one of the issues I've touched upon in previous posts has been the damage done to Putney by planners. The most stark examples of this can be found in central Putney where fantastic gothic mansions were demolished in the 1950s and 1960s and replaced by architecturally similar, blander apartment blocks.

These proliferated up and off Putney Hill; in Carlton Drive, St John's Avenue and Merciers Road to mention a few. However, interspersed with these apartment blocks remain some of the original homes, that give us an idea of what central Putney used to look like.

One of the grandest examples of these is pictured here in St John's Avenue. But there are several other original mansion houses in Carlton Drive in particular.

Putney continue to crack up

Cromer Villas Road



...And another from Cromer Villas Road



Melrose Road



...And another from Melrose Road

I couldn't resist posting these four photos of the shocking state of the roads in this part of Southfields - among the worst I've come across - because they happen to be the neighbourhood in which Council Leader Edward Lister lives. He must drive over some of them on his way to the Town Hall!

Thank you for all the photos of your potholed streets you've been sending in - if I posted one a day I'd have enough to keep this blog running through to the Autumn. Though that's not a bad idea, I'm inclined to post a few photos a week from across the constituency. But do keep them coming - as the common adage goes: you can never have too many photographs of potholes - especially, it seems, from around Putney, Roehampton and Southfields.

In the meantime, I'm launching a new competition to come up with the collective term for potholes. "A neglect of potholes"? "A wreck of potholes"? "A council incompetence of potholes"? Let me have your ideas - email stuart.king@putneylabour.org.uk.

"Where do I vote?"

It's been a few weeks since the Council sent out pollcards telling us where our polling station is in the elections this coming Thursday.

We're sending out our own cards letting thousands of Labour supporters in Putney, Roehampton and Southfields, know where to vote on Thursday. But if you want to check where you vote, you can do so on my website by clicking here.

There's a list of polling stations down the side, or you can check using the map - by clicking on the links you'll get a list of streets that vote at each station and a satellite image of the location on it.

Most polling stations are where they've always been, but a couple have changed since the last elections in 2006:

• The Putney Vale estate now votes at Stag House in Stroud Crescent, following the Tory council's closure of Newlands Hall;


• Residents of the Alton East estate are back voting at Roehampton Parish Hall (now called Cornerstone), on the corner of Alton Road and Roehampton Lane.

Out and about in Putney

The main reason I've been posting a little less frequently in recent days is because of the London election campaigning my team and I are up to.

We've been out all over the constituency, and I've just today finished adding all the places we've been too in the past month to my constituency map page.

We've been talking to you about your concerns and priorities for London in the next four years and the clear choice between the experience, tested leadership and delivered improvements to the capital over the last eight years with Ken Livingstone; and the bluster, blunder, lack of substance, lack of vision, and lack of any credibly-costed plans of his Tory opponent.

So far this campaign we've been to the Longstaff Estate, Galveston Road, Lebanon Road, Sutherland Grove, Skeena Hill, Combemartin Road, Girdwood Road, Whitefield Close, Arcadian Place, Wimbledon Park Road, Albert Drive, Hayward Gardens, Pullman Gardens, Beaumont Road, Whitlock Drive, Kersfield Road, Lytton Grove, Littlecombe Close, Arlesey Close, Chepstow Close, Whitnell Way, Gay Street, Crown Court, Waterman Street, Kingsmere Close, Felsham Road, Glenthorpe, Hanover House, William Gardens, Minstead Gardens, Aubyn Square, Toland Square and Vanneck Square - apologies if we've visited you but aren't listed above.

We've a lot more campaign stops all around Putney, Roehampton and Southfields before polling day on Thursday 01 May so look out for us!

Redevelopment in Putney

We're facing an increasing wave of plans to build huge tower blocks in our patch. Rising land prices and the general lack of space in London is prompting developers to build up rather than out.

A couple of years ago, the first of these applications, for the site at the top of East Hill above the Wandsworth Bridge roundabout, was rightly rejected by the Council; a slightly less tall block is now almost complete.

Today we have three "landmark" buildings proposed for the area:

• Putney Place, opposite East Putney tube in the triangle between the two railway viaducts plans for two tower blocks: one of 25 storeys and one of 19.
• On the corner of Carlton Drive and Upper Richmond Road a 20-storey building is being proposed to replace the Capsticks building - I wrote last year about loopholes in the council's planning rules that enable developers to leave office buildings derelict and then convert them into windfall residential blocks
• And in Wandsworth town on the Ram brewery site, another set of twin towers are being planned that, hard to believe, will actually dwarf the blocks on the Arndale Estate, which currently hold the record for the highest towers in the constituency

My views on these so-called "landmark" building are the subject of my latest Putney SW15 parliamentary report, which you can read here.

Out and about on the Portinscale Estate

This weekend my campaign team and I were talking to residents of the Portinscale estate: Askill Drive, Buttermere Drive, Portinscale Road and part of Keswick Road, just behind East Putney Station.

We got a really good response, although residents had lots of transport concerns - especially about accessibility to local stations. We'd already delivered The Putney Paper to this estate so residents were aware of the planned improvements to Putney Station, which will include a passenger lift; and similar renovations to Southfields tube station because it's one of the 2012 Olympics Stations.

Unfortunately East Putney Station, which had been scheduled for the same sort of accessibilty improvements, appears to have been a victim of the collapse of Metronet: the private company with the contract to overhaul much of the tube network that went bust last year. It's still too early to say when East Putney will now get the work, but obviously I'm pushing Transport for London hard.

Out and about in Upper Richmond Road

My campaign team and I spent some of yesterday campaigning in the area around Upper Richmond Road. I thought I'd share a couple of the photos we took of Putney: both are from the top of Ormonde Court, one of the apartment blocks on Upper Richmond Road.



In the foreground are the backs of houses in Norroy Road - in the very bottom right is the railway line. In the background, centre-right, is Putney Wharf Tower. You can't see it on the low resolution picture above, but if you click on it you'll get a higher resolution version in which the London Eye is visible almost in the centre.



...And this one is of Putney looking west - again, the back of Norroy Road in the foreground, the trees of Putney Common on the far left. And if you click on the photo above, you should be able to make out the arch of the new Wembley Stadium in the distance.

As you can see from the sky, and will know if you were out yesterday too, while it was a bit nippy it was an otherwise lovely day, and good to be busy in the constituency.

Oh, and if you're someone who we contacted yesterday - or even if you aren't - do please take five minutes to complete my online residents' survey.

English Heritage Blue Plaques

A couple of years ago I wrote an article for the Wandsworth Borough News about the local dignitaries who are remembered through English Heritage blue plaques in our borough.

I really enjoy investigating local history - in part it comes from living here for 37 years, but my degree was also in history. Anyway, here's the article, which I hope you find interesting.

What links the borough of Wandsworth to a former Prime Minister, a music hall artist, the dentist to Queen Victoria and an artic explorer? The answer is that all of them (David Lloyd George, Sir Harry Lauder, Sir Edwin Saunders and Edward Wilson) lived or worked in the borough, and have an English Heritage blue plaque outside the house in which they lived.

There are twenty-two English heritage blue plaques located within the borough of Wandsworth, out of a total of 456 throughout London.

2005 marked the centenary of the erection of the first blue plaque in Wandsworth, which was located at Holly Lodge, Wimbledon Park Road, in memory of author and novelist George Eliot, who lived in sin at the property with her lover, G H Lewes.

This selection of a figure of literary note seems apposite given that literary figures make up the largest group of recipients within the borough. These include the poet and novelist Thomas Hardy (who lived at Trinity Road), Victorian adventure story writer G A Henty (Lavender Gardens) and poet Gerald Manley Hopkins (Manresa House, Roehampton).

Three plaques are dedicated to famous figures from the British music hall era the comedian Gus Elen (Thurleigh Avenue), and Harry Tate and Sir Harry Lauder (both of Longley Road). During its heyday the music hall was the most popular form of entertainment for ordinary people, and its stars were the popstars of their day. Harry Tates funeral at the cemetery in Blackshaw Road, Tooting, was attended by over a thousand mourners.

Only two politicians have been commemorated former Prime Minister David Lloyd George (Routh Road) and Battersea MP, and the first working class man to enter the British Cabinet, John Burns (Clapham Common North Side). Burns was elected as an independent MP in 1892 and served Battersea in Parliament until 1918.

Others who have been commemorated include the former President of Czechoslovakia, Dr Edwards Benes (Gwendolen Avenue), John Walter, founder of The Times newsapaper (Clapham Common North Side) and anti-slavery campaigner, William Wilberforce (Broomwood Road). The most recent plaque to be erected in the borough was in 2000 in honour of the celebrated sculptor Charles Jagger, who lived and died in Albert Bridge Road.

The blue plaque scheme is a national programme run by English Heritage. To be eligible for a plaque, nominees must be worthy of national recognition, recognisable to the well-informed passer-by, and have been dead for twenty years or passed the centenary of their birth, whichever is the earlier.

As it has been five [now seven - ed.] years since the last plaque was erected in the borough, readers may wish to suggest other candidates suitable for nomination. There is surely a wealth of suitable nominees in this great borough of ours. Here is a full list of the 22 blue plaques in Wandsworth, with the Putney ones highlighted in colour:

• BATEMAN, H.M. (1887-1970),Cartoonist, lived here 1910-1914. 40 Nightingale Lane, Clapham South, SW12 Wandsworth 1997
• BENES, Dr Edward (1884-1948),President of Czechoslovakia, lived here. 26 Gwendolen Avenue, Putney, SW15 Wandsworth 1978
• BURNS, John (1858-1943),Statesman, lived here. 110 North Side, Clapham Common, SW4 Wandsworth 1950
• DOUGLAS, Norman (1868-1952),Writer, lived here. 63 Albany Mansions, Albert Bridge Road, SW11 Wandsworth 1980
• ELEN, Gus (1862-1940), Music Hall Comedian, lived here. 3 Thurleigh Avenue, Balham, SW12 Wandsworth 1979
• ELIOT, George Mary Ann Cross (1819-1880), Novelist, lived here. Holly Lodge, 31 Wimbledon Park Road, SW18 Wandsworth 1905
• HARDY, Thomas (1840-1928),Poet and Novelist, lived here 1878-1881. Plaque replaced by new one on same building in 1962. 172 Trinity Road, Tooting, SW17 Wandsworth 1940
• HENTY, G.A. (George Alfred) (1832-1902), Author, lived here. 33 Lavender Gardens, SW11 Wandsworth 1953
• HOPKINS, Gerard Manley (1844-1889),Poet, lived and studied in Manresa House. Gatepost at Manresa House, Holybourne Avenue, Roehampton, SW15 Wandsworth 1979
• JAGGER, Charles Sargeant (1885-1934),Sculptor, lived and died here. 67 Albert Bridge Road, Battersea, SW11 Wandsworth 2000
• KNEE, Fred (1868-1914),London Labour Party Pioneer and Housing Reformer, lived here. 24 Sugden Road, SW11 Wandsworth 1986
• LAUDER, Sir Harry (1870-1950),Music Hall Artist, lived here 1903-1911. 46 Longley Road, Tooting, SW17 Wandsworth 1969
• LLOYD GEORGE, David, Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (1863-1945),Prime Minister, lived here Replacement for GLC plaque erected in 1967 3 Routh Road, Wandsworth Common, SW18 Wandsworth 1992
• O'CASEY, Sean (1880-1964),Playwright, lived here at flat No. 49 49 Overstrand Mansions, Prince of Wales Drive, Battesea Park, SW11 Wandsworth 1993
• SAUNDERS, Sir Edwin (1814-1901),Dentist to Queen Victoria, lived and died here. Fairlawns, 89 Wimbledon Parkside, SW19 (Plaque on gate pier) Wandsworth 1997
• SPURGEON, Charles Haddon (1834-1892),Preacher, lived here. 99 Nightingale Lane, SW12 Wandsworth 1971
• SWINBURNE, Algernon Charles (1837-1909), Poet and his friend, Theodore WATTS-DUNTON (1832-1914), Poet, Novelist, Critic, lived and died here. 11 Putney Hill, SW15 Wandsworth 1926
• TATE, Harry (Ronald MacDonald Hutchison) (1872-1940),Musical Hall Comedian, lived here. 72 Longley Road, SW17 Wandsworth 1984
• THOMAS, Edward (1878-1917),Essayist and Poet, lived here. 61 Shelgate Road, SW11 Wandsworth 1949
• WALTER, John (1739-1812),Founder of 'The Times', lived here. 113 Clapham Common North Side, SW4 Wandsworth 1977
• WILBERFORCE, William (1759-1833).On the site behind this house stood until 1904 Broomwood House - formerly Broomfield - where William Wilberforce resided during the campaign against slavery which he successfully conducted in Parliament. 111 Broomwood Road, SW11 Wandsworth 1906
• WILSON, Edward Adrian (1872-1912),Antarctic Explorer and Naturalist, lived here. Battersea Vicarage, 42 Vicarage Crescent, SW11 Wandsworth 1935

Goodbye Putney...hello Battersea

At the next general election, boundary changes will come into effect that will see just over 1,000 Putney voters transfer to the Battersea parliamentary constituency in the area closest to Wandsworth town.The roads affected are:

• Chesterton Close
• Cromford Road
• Ericcson Close
• Mexfield Road
• Oakhill Place
• Oakhill Road from No.37 upwards on the odds side and No.42 upwards on the evens
• Putney Bridge Road between Wandsworth High Street and the railway line, including Bush Cottages
• Santos Road
• West Hill, between Mexfield Road and Putney Bridge Road

Labour supporters in these streets will get the chance to vote for Martin Linton, Battersea's excellent Labour MP for the past ten years rather than me.

Parliamentary boundary changes take place every decade or so mainly to even-out population growths and declines around the country. In our case, however, the change is because council ward boundaries have been redrawn since the last parliamentary review, as part of which these streets were moved from East Putney into Fairfield ward. Parliamentary and Council ward boundaries have to align and Fairfield is a Battersea constituency ward, hence the transfer.

Click here for a larger version of the map above.

Our Safer Neighbourhood Teams

Putney now has forty Police Safer Neighbourhood Officers - members of teams that didn't exist just four years ago, and which we wouldn't have if the Conservatives had their way - they opposed all funding of them.

Here are the details of our six local ward teams along with any details of forthcoming events they're holding:

East Putney Team

Acting Sgt Matt Snowden
PC Sandrine Tanghe
PC Russ Percy
PCSO Simoni Simoni
PCSO Alison Brownlow
PCSO Douglas Cameron
PCSO Kelly Collins
PCSO Claire Fairman
PCSO Paul Henry

Write to them at: Jubilee House, 230-232 Putney Bridge Road, London SW15 2PD
Phone:020 8721 2433
Mobile: 07920 233925
Email the East Putney team

Upcoming East Putney team meetings and events:

• 28/11/2007 - 19:30 - 21:30 - Community Event - Cadets, Lytton Grove
• 09/12/2007 - 11:30 - 13:30 - Street Briefing - West Hill Road
• 17/01/2008 - 19:00 - 20:30 - Public Meeting - Putney High School
• 28/01/2008 - 18:00 - 19:00 - Community Event - Brownies, Wandsworth Police Station
• 31/01/2008 - 19:00 - 20:30 - Public Meeting - London Mosque

Roehampton Team

Sgt Peter Salmon
PC Andrew Voong
PC Amanda Kennedy
PCSO Lisa Burke
PCSO Noel Perkins
PCSO Nicky Edwardes
PCSO Fuad Osman
PCSO Marco Serrano

Write to them at: Jubilee House, 230-232 Putney Bridge Road, LondonSW15 2PD
Phone: 020 8649 3551
Mobile: 07843 065885
Email the Roehampton team


Southfields Team

Sgt David Mepham
PC Darren Hunt
PCSO Liam McLaughlin
PCSO Jacek Zebracki
PCSO Alexandra Claridge
Write to them at: 146 Wandsworth High Street, LondonSW18 4JJ
Phone:020 8721 2429
Mobile: 07920 233931
Email the Southfields team


Thamesfield Team

Sgt Roger Chapple
PC Bosede Odelusi
PC Stuart Paton
PCSO Gerald Baffoe-Bonnie
PCSO Sophie Wood
PCSO Julie Kirk

Write to them at: Jubilee House, 230 - 232 Putney Bridge Road, LondonSW15 2PD
Phone:020 8721 2434
Mobile: 07920 233924
Email the Thamesfield team


West Hill Team

Sgt Nigel Mussett
PC Glen Cheal
PC Mark Toulson
PCSO Daniel Taylor
PCSO Lisa Tyler
PCSO Laura Smith
PCSO Kirsteen McPhee
PCSO Andrew Morgan

Write to them at: 146 Wandsworth High Street, LondonSW18 4JJ
Phone: 020 8721 243
Mobile: 007920 233930
Email the West Hill team

Upcoming West Hill team meetings and events:

• 01/12/2007 - 12:00 - 14:00 - Drop-in Surgery - 26 Montfort Place SW19
• 05/01/2008 - 12:00 - 14:00 - Drop-in Surgery - 26 Montfort Place SW19

West Putney Team

Sgt Eric Ostrowski
PC Stuart Baggaley
PCSO Sharon Ellis
PCSO Michael Yates

Write to them at: Jubilee House, 230-232 Putney Bridge Road, LondonSW15 2PD
Phone: 020 8721 2760
Mobile: 07747 757590
Email the West Putney team

Parking penalty

I was recently contacted by a resident of a new block of flats in the heart of Putney who had been caught in an absurd parking loophole.

When new developments are given planning permission nowadays the council rightly requires the developer to provide off-street car parking spaces and thereafter the residents of these new apartments become ineligible for residents' permits in the surrounding parking zone.

But for my constituent the problem is that she bought in the shared-ownership section rather than the main development and the owners did not allocate any parking spaces for this part of their scheme. So she's now caught between the council saying they won't give her a residential parking permit for her zone and the developers who won't give her an off-street parking space either.

This is clearly unfair, and I've got involved to make sure that either the Council or the developer backs down. Fairly applied the council's policy of preventing those with off-street parking spaces from having residential parking permits as well is not unreasonable - but banning residents who don't have that luxury is plain wrong.

If you've experienced similar problems and would like my help, do get in touch - email stuart.king@putneylabour.org.uk

The De Morgan Centre

Earlier tonight, I attended an evening staged by Putney Labour Party at the De Morgan Centre on West Hill.

We received a talk from a Centre trustee, Kate Catleugh who talked about William and Evelyn De Morgan and the Arts and Crafts movement, which had strong roots in the reformist movements in the 19th century - Evelyn, for example, was prominent in the campaign for women's suffrage.

The De Morgans were associated with the pre-Raphaelite movement that included artists like William Morris, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt

The De Morgan Centre is at 38 West Hill, next door to West Hill Library; the buses 37, 337 and 170 all stop nearby. It's open 12 noon to 6pm Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and 10am to 5pm Fridays and Saturdays, closed at other times. If you'd like more information, please visit the Centre's website: www.demorgan.org.uk, phone 020 8871 1144 or email info@demorgan.org.uk

This is one of our borough's less well-known gems; and given the council's ridiculous plans for reorganisation of Wandsworth Museum, which include West Hill Library, the fate of the Centre cannot be certain, so do show your support, visit the Centre, enjoy some of the exquisite paintings and ceramics on display and learn more about this remarkable couple and the movement they were involved in.

The Longstaffs

These past two weekends I've spent part of my time in Longstaff Crescent, Longstaff Road and the Longstaff Estate.

Longstaff Road and Crescent are two streets of pleasant inter-war council cottages in Southfields just alongside King George's Park; an area I know well because I lived just the other side of the park when I was growing up.

The Longstaff estate is a completely separate development: it's the small council estate just behind the fire station in West Hill, right opposite the junction with Upper Richmond Road.

The common feature which unites these two is that both look distinctly neglected by the Council; in the case of Longstaff Crescent the windows are badly eroded and long overdue for replacement; the Longstaff estate is shabby and grim, with stained brickwork.

Working with local Labour councillors I've now taken up several specific cases of council neglect; it's time the council gave a firm date in the near future for replacing the Longstaff windows given the approach of Winter.

On both occasions the reception was mostly warm and positive - indeed, many people commented positively about the visit given there isn't to be an election for some time. No one could recall a visit by Justine Greening since she became Putney's MP over two years ago.

Community lunch clubs

Last week I had the great pleasure of meeting with members of the St Paul's Community Centre luncheon club for the elderly in Inner Park Road, West Hill.

After lunch I was invited to address the 25 or so members present, setting out how I would lead the constituency and how I believe the issues we face can be tackled. I got grilled on a range of questions: the European treaty, tax, fair trade, race and education among them.

I also visited residents of Wickham House, the sheltered accommodation in Kersfield Drive off Putney Hill - the picture is of me and resident Theresa Thompson. And to commence the day I popped into the coffee club on the Lennox estate where again I enjoyed the opportunity to discuss local and topical issues of the day with long term Putney residents.

I very much enjoy getting out and about in the constituency, meeting genuine local people and at attending local events: the bread and butter of what a good MP should be up to. If you're involved in a local group: be it a residents' association, a school, a faith group, amenity society or something else, please get in touch - I'd love to hear from you. You can email me or give me a ring on 020 8788 8961.

Council office-block loophole causing problems

Like other councils, Wandsworth has rules to stop radical changes of use of buildings - so houses can't usually be converted into shops, shops into nightclubs and so on. Such policies are important to preserve the identity of our area, keep residential areas residential and shopping areas vibrant.

Last week I met with a local solicitor, whose firm leases quite a large amount of office space in Upper Richmond Road. He told me that the owners of his building had indicated that they will not be extending the lease when it expires so that they can exploit a loophole in council planning policy that, if not dealt with soon will have major impact on Putney's economy. The same has occurred elsewhere in Putney and we will soon lose local lawyers Capsticks from Upper Richmond Road.

This is because a loophole in Wandsworth's planning rules says that if a property is left derelict for long enough, planning regulations relating to a change of use can be waived. The consequence - and this is another side-effect of the local housing crisis - is that land for housing is at such a premium in Putney that it is now in the interests of landowners who hold purpose-built office blocks to keep them empty and then, once they qualify, change the use to housing, then sell up at a huge profit.

At first glance, no-one - least of all me - is going to weep at the demolition of the ugly post war blocks along Upper Richmond Road between East Putney tube and Putney Hill. But think about the number of people that work in those ugly blocks: the business they bring to local shops, cafes and restaurants - and the impact their loss will have on our economy. It's not just shops and bars that are the measure of a vibrant Putney town centre; it's the less visible office economy too.

I hope that the current council consultation on its new Local Development Framework (its planning Bible) will address this problem and offer better protection to the local office buioding stock.