Councillor Tony Belton’s Latchmere May Newsletter (# 72)
PS. This blog went out as a newsletter to my constituents on 4th May. To state the obvious, this blog record is now a little dated – but so be it!
April highlights
- To state the obvious, the Council and councillors have
been a little pre-occupied with the May 7th General Election. And you obviously haven’t been paying much attention to my newsletters, if you don’t know who I am, and will be, supporting. So, of course, I would like you all to go and vote for Labour’s Will Martindale but, above all else, do make sure that you do go and vote. It does make a difference and don’t believe the hoary, cynical old message that politicians are all the same – that is lazy thinking. Here I am, unflatteringly, with Will and an old friend of mine Justine Miliband at the Battersea Labour Party office on Lavender Hill. - However, I did manage to tear myself away from the domestic
political drama and accompany my partner to Cluj-Napoca University, where my partner was giving a seminar. Haven’t heard of Cluj-Napoca? Well, it is a University town in north-western Romania – and here is a picture of the town centre cathedral. And we then spent a week touring and exploring the Carpathian mountains – below right. - On 18th April, I went to the “Phoenix Fundraiser” in the South Bank’s Festival Hall. It was in aid of the restoration of the fire-wrecked Battersea Arts Centre, or, as I prefer to think of it, Battersea Town Hall. It was a grand occasion and raised a substantial sum for the renovation fund. For me, however, the
humour from the stand-up comics didn’t quite come off – or perhaps I am just not very appreciative of so-called alternative comedy - Last month I wrote about plans for the all-weather astro-turf pitch in Falcon Park. As I said then, I have had lots of emails and phone calls on this issue, particularly since the Council started some excavations in the Park. I made enquiries and was told that the Council’s Design Service made “topological and other surveys” in Falcon Park and that this had involved drilling. These have been done so that the Council can know about any future construction
Banana Park
issues related to the ground conditions, access to utility services, drainage etc. required, should the Council “be successful with the current planning application”. So building work has not actually started, nor has permission been given, but clearly the parks people expect to get permission for the pitch. This argument is not, however, all over. If you want to object to this possible use of Falcon Park (pictured right) let me know and I will advise on when the application is likely to be heard by the Committee (probably 21st May – see below) and what best to do to make your voice heard.
- The Planning Applications Committee met on the 16th April. By far the most important application was for four large blocks on the corner site at Lombard and York Roads. These blocks are designed to be 14, 11 and 2 x 6 storeys but standing on a 3 storey podium, so appearing to be 17,14 and 2 x 9 storeys. The St. Mary Park Tory councillors asked the Committee to defer or reject the application – we rejected it unanimously – but, forgive my cynicism, I suspect that the reality is that Tory councillors did not want to agree such a contentious application two weeks before the General Election. I rather suspect that a slightly revised application will get approved when the Election is just a memory.
My Programme for May
- Of course, the month starts with the General Election. I will be running a Committee Room in far off Balham and so I won’t be in Latchmere for the first time for some years, but lots of my friends and colleagues will be. It will be a long and exhausting day, starting as it does for political “activists” at 4 or 5 in the morning and does not end until about 24 hours later on Friday morning.
- May is also the start of the “municipal year”, with the Mayor Making on 13th and the Council Annual Meeting, when new Cabinet members and opposition speakers are elected. That probably doesn’t mean much to people outside the details of Council processes, but it is quite important to councillors, who will be deciding who their leaders are and what committee responsibilities we will have in the coming year.
- The Planning Applications Committee (PAC) is on the 21st. There are likely to be very big applications all along York Road, applications which will completely change the outlook of North Battersea. It will be interesting to see how the Tory dominated PAC votes once the General Election is out of the way. They will not be as worried on 21st May about Jane Ellison’s majority as they clearly were on April 16th.
- On 19th May I will be going to a lecture by Tony Travers on how London Government has changed in the 50 years since the current London Boroughs were created in 1965. It was done at the same time as the Greater London Council was created, where I worked for many years. It will be interesting to hear an academic account of events that I have lived through.
- As part of Wandsworth Heritage Festival, I will be leading two “History Walks” around and about in Battersea, starting at 11 am on 24th and 31st May. I would welcome anyone, who reads this to join us but I should tell you that I charge £10 and that the money goes to the Battersea Labour Party. The main theme of the walk is housing but there is a lot more – the Duke of Wellington, the start of the Battersea aircraft industry – Yes Battersea aircraft industry!
Did you know
that before 1983, the Battersea constituency at General Elections was divided into two. Battersea North and Battersea South, with the boundary very roughly being the main railway line? And the longest serving MP in either constituency, during the whole of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries was Douglas Jay, MP from 1946-1983? The Battersea Borough Council, as was, built a tower block, which they named Jay Court. When the Council sold the block to private agents it was re-named. Do you know the one I mean – I’ll give you the answer and a photograph next month.
Tony Belton
Tony Belton 