The independent candidate standing in the Knights Hill ward by-election for Lambeth council on May 2nd is anti- Low Traffic Neighbourhoods.
Janet Gayle, a resident at Macintosh Court on Leigham Court Road which stands on the very edge of the ward, says her decision to seek election was a last-minute one.
“People were suggesting I did that.”
Why? “So many reasons.”
On LTNs: “The inconvenience to my 92-year-old mother who lives on Leigham Court Road. “I took her to the Gracefield Gardens surgery while the Streatham Wells LTN was in operation* and got a ticket for it.
“It was the most frustrating drive I’ve ever had from LCR to Gracefield Gardens and back in my life. ”
“Makinbg it worse my mother was an Advanced Driving Instructor. “Her vision’s brilliant – so’s her road knowledge. “We were reading the signs and they didn’t make sense at all. “They were very confusing.
“I appealed the ticket on the grounds I needed to get to the surgery urgently. “I was expected to go all the way down to Streatham High Road. “My mother would never have made the appointment. “That’s just one of the gripes.”
On wasted public funds: “Lambeth council should have a full public audit. “I know there are going to be numerous budget discrepancies. “I believe the spending to be out of control in Lambeth.”
On broken promises: “They are saying they have spent up to £4 million on this estate.” (Macintosh Court).
On unaffordable service charges: “I’ve now received a letter saying they are going to take me to court to get repossession of my property. “They haven’t given me a date yet but they have given anothe r resident a date: April 18th Clerkenwell and Shoreditch Court, 10 am.
“It’s the same as all of us. “He’s a vulnerable chap. “It took time for his housing benefit arrears to be resolved. “Once they had he was still in arrears. “He had an agreement to reduce the arrears which he would have got to the end of by now.
“But then the 2023 service charges increased and he’s in much more arrears now. “And it’s all service charges. “He’s in a terrible state.”
Parking permits: “The parking’s expensive and it’s diffiicult to access. “In West Norwood it’s costing the businesses money.”
Councillors: “I don’t care if they’re making money from their salaries but play the game, do the job properly and be accountable. “At the moment they are just doing nothing.”
There are five candidates standing for the casual vacancy in Knights Hill ward:
- Torla Evans (Green)
- Janet Gayle (Independent)
- Emma Nye (Labour)
- Nicholas Saunders (Lib Dem)
- Leila Yaasen (Conservative)
(from the lambeth.gov website)
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…and the Conservative candidate standing in the by-election for Streatham Common and Vale ward is an anti-LTN campaigner.
Promise Phillips, who stood as a Conservative candidate for the ward in the May 2022 elections, says: “We have had enough of Labour Lambeth doing what they want with no concern or thought to how it effects people who live and work in the area.
“We need to have a change of direction in our area and I have a proven track record of listening and engaging with residents over this important matter (Streatham Wells LTN)”.
A Conservative press release says: “Promise Phillips has been one of the key campaigners against the recently suspended, but not scrapped, Streatham Wells LTN, which caused bus journeys to end early, thereby stranding passengers, short journeys taking up to three hours to complete and Streatham High Road coming to a standstill.”
Promise also supports a judicial review into the Woodgate Drive 14-storey development: “When I was a candidate in the May 2022 local elections in this ward, I and my fellow Conservative candidates called for this development to be restricted to seven storeys.”
He also wants to hold Lambeth Council to account over Houses for Multiple Occupancy (HMO) approvals so that small HMO conversions of houses in SC&V by property developers become subject to planning controls by Lambeth council: “I don’t want to see proposed housing conversions such as “small HMOs” continuing to have a negative impact on residents.”
There are four candidates for the casual vacancy in Streatham Common and Vale ward:
- Sarah Cole (Labour)
- Nicholas Davidson (Lib Dems)
- Duncan Eastoe (Green)
- Promise Phillips (Local Conservatives)
(Duncan Eastoe also stood for the ward as a Green party candidate in May 2022 – Ed.)
Streatham Common and Vale Ward Map
(from the lambeth.gov website)
NEWS FROM CRYSTAL PALACE 