Blog

The Government’s changes to merge a number of different benefits into one ‘Universal Credit’ were rolled out for many existing claimants in Bromley on 25^th July.

In other parts of the country where universal credit has already been rolled out, there have been problems, causing hardship for people as a result of the change- in particular the deliberate five week delay (which in many cases takes longer) before getting the first payment can cause people to need to rely on food banks or go into debt.

While some aspects of the rollout have been improved, we still have serious concerns that the changes will cause problems for some of our most vulnerable residents.

If you have moved onto Universal Credit and have any questions or problems, please come along to our UC help surgery on Tuesday 4^th September, from 6:30pm at Melvin Hall, Melvin Road, Penge, SE20 8EU.

If you can’t make this session we will be looking to organise more in the future, if you have any problems or need help more urgently- please contact us (Kathy.Bance@bromley.gov.uk, Kevin.Books@bromley.gov.uk or Simon.Jeal@bromley.gov.uk) and we can arrange a 1-1 appointment to provide support.

Update on the controlled parking zone on roads around Penge East Station

In June, Angus Culverwell, Head of Traffic and Road Safety at Bromley Council was invited to meet with residents and ward councillors to discuss the progress of he
Controlled Parking Zone east of Penge High Street.

A number of points were raised by residents. These included;

PERMITS – The impression was that these were available to residents and not businesses. Since the meeting some businesses have purchased a permit. This was raised with Angus Culverwell at a conference call on July 6th and an update given soon.

HOURS OF USE – For the probationary period permits cost £40 for a 10 – 12 CPZ. Residents felt these hours were inadequate and wanted 8.30 – 18.30. The cost of the permit would increase to £80 but this was generally felt acceptable.

WHITE LINES – These were discussed in relation to dropped kerbs. They can be helpful in detering parking but are not enforceable.

PARKING BAYS – Mr Culverwell agreed that the number of bays may be excessive and this will be looked at. Permit holders do not have to pay extra to park in parking bays.

IMPLEMENTATION – This was due in April but in reality enforcement officers had not begun till May/June

Whilst Mr Culverwell clarified certain points the scheme is in a probationary period. A new consultation with letters sent to all residents will take place in the next couple of months dressing the above concerns. A finalised scheme will then be updated. We will keep you updated but feel free to contact us with any questions.

Bromley council are investigating after a 40ft trailer full of rubbish, including mattresses, construction waste, carpet and other household related items, was left abandoned on Oakfield Road.

At a special meeting of Bromley Council on Wednesday, Peter Fookes was made an honorary Alderman of the London Borough of Bromley.

First elected as a Labour Councillor for Penge in 1990, Peter represented our ward for 28 years until the local elections earlier this month. In that time he also served as Co-Leader of the Council and was leader of the Labour group during two separate terms.

In addition, Peter spent his time on the council working tirelessly to help local people, including attending Living Well at Holy Trinity Church on Friday lunchtimes to assist residents there for many years.

Peter with Bromley’s current Labour group

Peter continues to be a trustee of Melvin Hall, following the successful work by a group including our Councillors to keep it running for the community. He also continues to sit on the committee organising the Penge Festival, Penge in Bloom and Penge Older People’s Network.

Peter with Penge and Cator’s councillors, Kevin Brooks, Kathy Bance MBE and Simon Jeal

On behalf of the local Labour party, all of our members and local residents, we congratulate Peter and thank him for all his work supporting our community over the past three decades.

We were all thrilled to have some brilliant weather for the bank holiday weekend, but sadly, as you can see below, the surge in visitors to Crystal Palace Park left the council’s cleaning contractors (ID Verde) with a large mess on their hands!

Many residents visiting the park contacted us about the mounds of litter, with over-flowing bins around the park, rubbish including left over food and glass strewn across the greens and disposable barbecues damaging the grass.

While some residents noted the hard work of park staff, others have been told by IDVerde that the current contract and specific issues with staffing do not allow for extra or larger bins and staffing needed for busy periods such as last weekend.

Bromley Labour Group Leader and Crystal Palace councillor Angela Wilkins contacted the council executive member responsible for the Environment, noting that this is not the first time the park has seen such issues, asking for a copy of the contract to confirm what standards are required by IDVerde and noting that, with the contract coming up for renewal, she has heard that IDVerde may be reluctant to put in a bid that would solve these problems out of fear the Council will reject them for a cheaper offer. (See in full below)

We await his reply and will update with his response. We continue to raise litter issues reported to us and will be working to ensure any new contract will ensure sufficient resources to keep the park clean and open for families and all residents to enjoy.

We are delighted that Penge and Cator has elected three Labour Councillors. Here’s a reminder of our key pledges and what we plan to do next

Taking action together to tackle gangs and crime

With the election over, we’re trying to arrange a meeting for new Chief Superintendent of Police, local groups such as SayNo2Knives and residents ASAP, to receive assurances that the police are taking urgent action, build partnerships and then listen to local people and experts on the best strategies to prevent and reduce violence and other criminal activity in our community.

Affordable, good quality housing to buy and rent

We’ll be supporting the Mayor’s’ housing strategy and calling on Bromley council to increase the amount of affordable housing being built, including to use their investment funds to build more social housing. We’ll also be contacting housing associations about issues raised by their tenants and working to propose our plan to introduce a register of private landlords to ensure the condition, fitness and security of rental properties.

Cleaning up the Council’s mess on our streets

We’ll be pressing the council on the failings identified by their internal audit report and scrutinising their failure to properly monitor the contracts for cleaning and bin collection. We’ll act on reports of missed collections and keep raising questions until hopefully we see things improve. We’re also looking at innovative local schemes that could help- more to come!

Safer roads and fixing the Council’s parking mess

We’ll be calling for the council to change their policy and take a joined-up, thought out plan for road safety measures on the most dangerous roads in Penge. Acting on concerns from residents and supporting local action groups, we’ll focus first on campaigning for lower speed limits on some roads (such as those with schools) and measures such as better lighting, crossings and enforcement measures, before more accidents happen.

Protecting our NHS and Care services

We’ll continue to support Labour’s national policies and calls to action to protect and properly fund our NHS and social care services. We’ll oppose further cuts to vital council care services and push for the quality of the service to be given greater importance than the price when renewing care provider contracts.

The biggest complaint we get on the doorstep is the poor quality of street cleaning.

Following pressure from Labour Councillors, you can check when your street is scheduled to be cleaned on the Bromley Council website.

We know that one of the main reasons for the poor service is that the contract with the private company doing the work (Kier) simply isn’t being monitored properly by Bromley Council. The Tories are so set on cutting budgets that they are reluctant to replace staff when they leave – the current neighbourhood team responsible for managing street cleaning have only half the
staff they should.

If your street isn’t being cleaned properly, report it on fixmystreet.com. This is the
quickest way to get the problem fixed. It also feeds into the overall statistics and gives us
more ammunition in our campaign for getting you the street cleaning you pay for through your Council Tax.

Working with local residents, your Penge councillors took part in a neighbourhood street cleaning session last year so Bromley Council would give more money to cleaning up Penge. But should this be left down to volunteers? We call on Bromley Council to
take street cleaning in our area seriously.

Vote KATHY BANCE, KEVIN BROOKS & SIMON JEAL for a strong voice for Penge & Cator

Ellie Reeves MP knows the importance of having strong councillors to represent Penge & Cator. Ellie says “Kathy, Kevin and Simon work hard to support our community. They’ll keep fighting to protect vital local services from Bromley Council’s cuts”.

Since becoming Councillors – Kathy in 2010 and Kevin in 2014 – Cllrs Bance & Brooks have helped hundreds of people from all parts of Penge & Cator. They have:

• Campaigned for greater investment in Penge, securing funding for Penge’s high street, traffic junctions, parks and parades.
• Helped save community centre Melvin Hall from closure.
• Pressured the Council to monitor their contracts better to improve cleanliness and safety in Penge & Cator.
• Engaged with the Council’s Road Safety team and the police on speeding traffic.

Penge’s third sitting councillor Peter Fookes, who has decided not to stand again after over 30 years serving the people of Penge, suppoorts Kathy, Kevin and first-time candidate, Simon Jeal. ”I am certain that Simon will prove a worthy successor and that you have three local candidates who all live in Penge and care very much about the
community that they live in”.

Cllr Kathy Bance and Cllr Kevin Brooks and Simon Jeal, your local Labour team,
will continue to challenge the incompetence & complacency of Bromley’s Tory Council and fight for services in our area.