Councillor Tony Belton’s Latchmere August Newsletter (# 63)
July highlights
- On 5th July I went, as every year, to the delightful Poyntz Road Triangle party. I have said it before but will repeat it again, “It is undoubtedly the best street party in the Borough”. Afterwards I dashed off to an Independence Day party. One of my Labour colleagues on the Council has an American wife and every year on the nearest Saturday to 4th July they have a party with spectacular fireworks. On the following Saturday I went to the WOW organised BBQ at Haven Lodge home in the Kambala Estate. Here is a slightly plump me (must do something about that) with WOW Chair Senia Dedic and fellow Councillor Wendy Speck.
- On 9th July councillors went on an organised coach trip around the Nine Elms development area. It certainly is impressive seeing all the buildings springing out of the ground at a rate of knots and perhaps most particularly the US Embassy. But as we were taken round and feted with wine and canapés (who paid for that? I don’t know), I was not the only councillor who thought that not much of this millionaires’ paradise is going to help us solve Wandsworth’s, or even London’s, housing crisis.
- It was, therefore, an ironic contrast on the 15th to go a seminar run in Battersea Rise’s St. Mark’s church on food banks. This phenomenon, pretty well unknown in London since the 1930s, has re-appeared since 2010. I have unfortunately forgotten the metrics but a very large number of food packages have been given to many, many poor people in the Borough with one of the worst affected areas being Latchmere. The three women who gave the presentation had analysed the main causes of the problems families were suffering and it will not surprise many of us to hear that they are largely a consequence of the benefit changes (I refuse to call them reforms) made by this Government – not least of course the Bedroom Tax, which only diehard Tories any longer defend.
- I said last month that the first meeting I had as Children’s Speaker was fascinating – the second was just as odd. It was a meeting of the so-called School Admissions Forum. It has 12 members, three of them councillors, two head teachers, a representative of the Church of England, a couple of parent governors and some non-parent governors. It doesn’t seem to take any decisions or have any votes. All it does, as far as I can see, is act as a consultative forum about primary school entry and the primary/secondary transfer. I find it very strange that this forum does not report to a public committee but what will be of more interest to most of you reading this is the information that 56.9% of children succeeded to get their first choice of secondary school and 94.1% one of their preferences.
- Rather more worrying for Latchmere is that, whilst Graveney School was the first choice for 701 children, Latchmere’s Battersea Park School(BPS) was the first choice for only 29. That does of course mean that everyone who chose Battersea Park succeeded in getting it whilst Graveney could only take 224 of the 701 who chose it. Obviously we hope that BPS does better but we will wait to see whether its new academy status will result in an improvement.
- At the primary school level Belleville and Honeywell were the most popular schools registering 185 and 178 first preferences respectively, whilst Latchmere’s primary schools had 71 first choices (Chesterton), 22 (Christchurch), 30 (Falconbrook) and 65 (Sacred Heart). The absurdity of Michael Gove’s Free Schools programme is well displayed, at least for me, by the Mosaic Jewish Free School, established in Roehampton, because there was allegedly a demand from the Jewish community. But only 5 parents in the Borough put it down as their first chance and so we, the people, have had to pay for a Jewish school that only 5 parents wanted! Indeed of the 30 children “going” to the Jewish school 14 had to be allocated to it, with many parents unhappy about that. Falconbrook also had nearly 40% of its pupils allocated to it rather than choosing it.
- But what is so strange to me is that the end results of this process are reported to the Office of the School Adjudicator, a branch of the civil service. What used to the responsibility of the local authority and of the local councillors, what you used to be able to complain to me about, has effectively been nationalised by Gove and his mates in Westminster.
- The first fully fledged Council Meeting of this newly elected Council was
on 16th July. It was a slightly emasculated affair, with everyone on best behaviour, because all the new councillors were making maiden speeches. It’s a funny debate as both sides allowed the new councillors to make their speeches in respectful silence. Now I know that most people do not like politicians having a go at each other but let me assure you that there can be little more boring than everyone agreeing with each other and nodding in approval. Having said that, I have to admit the standard of the maiden speeches was excellent – but a bit of heckling would have livened it up a bit! - On 22nd July I went to the launch of the Battersea Literary Festival. It was, let’s face it, a fun evening high above the Battersea Power Station site with plenty of wine and canapes – one of the few councillor perks I can think of. And on the Saturday, 25th July, I looked in at the Pennethorne Square “street party”. I was rather late but it seemed as though everyone there was having a good time, especially on the Bouncy Castle, well house.
My Programme for August
- I am going to spend most of the month in the Balkans. My partner is going to a Conference in Sofia, Bulgaria, and we will take the opportunity to tour some of the countries around – it should be interesting.
- The Planning Applications Committee will meet on 14th, but I will be away. I will, however, report on any significant plans, if there are any. The officers usually try to keep controversy well away from August.
Do you know about the National Anti-Vivisection Hospital?
Just outside Latchmere ward, on the corner of Albert Bridge Road and
opposite one of the Park’s entrances, are some small blocks of flats, one of them called Joan Bartlett House. But not that long ago it was the site of one of Battersea’s oldest landmarks, the Battersea General Hospital or more famously the Anti-Viv or National Anti-Vivisection Hospital. This hospital was founded at least in principle in 1896 by a Mrs Theodore Munroe, the Honorary Secretary of the Anti-Vivisection Society. The Society was against using animals in medical and scientific experiments, in experimental operations or in the testing of medicines.
In December, 1900, the site was bought for £7,000 and the hospital built and opened in 1902.It was a small charitable hospital, which was incorporated into the National Health Service and closed in 1972. The Anti-Viv, as older residents will have known it, was demolished in 1972. Here is a 1910s photograph, with Prince of Wales Drive to the left and Albert Bridge Road on the right.
Tony Belton
Tony Belton 