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By Adrian Zorzut
Local Democracy Reporter
Pedicab riders in London may have to wear high vis vests, take out insurance and make sure they have passed their driving test under new rules being proposed.
Transport for London (TfL) has launched a consultation into regulating pedicabs in the capital as it seeks Londoners’ views on the sorts of rules it could put in place.
The consultation, open to the public until March 7, asks Londoners whether rickshaws should face similar rules as those imposed on taxis and buses but ‘tailored to the unique nature of the pedicab and the market they operate in’, according to the consultation page.
The transport body is asking if fares should be based on time, distance and zones travelled and whether drivers should be allowed to set their own fares with passengers in advance. Other proposals include allowing pedicabs to use existing bus and cycle lanes and creating designated pedicab stopping areas.
TfL is considering controls to prevent pedicabs playing music at a certain levels and at certain times of the day, ensuring drivers are over 18 and that they have a full DVLA, Northern Ireland or other EEA state driving licence even though the mode of transport is usually pedal powered.
The transport body also wants drivers to undergo UK and overseas criminal checks, meet medical fitness standards and have English language skills.
They are also asking whether drivers should be required to wear safety equipment, such as high visibility clothing, and purchase insurance. They are proposing regular pedicab vehicle inspections and ensuring drivers have the right to work in the UK and have a fixed address in London.
Local MP Rachel Blake said the consultation was a “crucial step forward”. She said: “We urgently need clear and effective regulations, particularly around safety, fare transparency and antisocial behaviour. I believe that these regulations should require a tough licensing process for drivers and their vehicles.
“I look forward to participating in the consultation and continuing to work towards a safer and regulated pedicabs service for both residents and visitors in London”. The MP said she has also set up a Pedicabs Action Group and urged residents to get in touch.
Transport for London said: “We recognise the importance of ensuring regulations
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TfL
c rackdown set out to tackle ‘rip-off and anti-social’ pedicabs
are set at the correct level to enable pedicabs to be able to operate and offer a safe, professional and reliable service to passengers. It is also important that we consider the broader issues that have been raised with us such as addressing issues of fares charged to passengers and antisocial behaviour caused by loud music, parking and congestion.”
In December, TfL defended delays to regulations after being criticised by former Sun newspaper editor Kelvin MacKenzie.
Mr MacKenzie called on the Mayor of
London to speed up the process after claiming a relative was duped out of £380 outside Winter Wonderland.
At the time, he wrote on X: “Why the delay while innocent and vulnerable people are being defrauded of money they can ill afford to lose [?]…These rickshaws should be banned until regulation is brought in to protect the public.”
During a visit to London in July, former Happy Days star Henry Winkler posted on X saying he spent USD $170 (GBP £133) on one ride. In November 2023, the
Local Democracy Reporting Service went undercover and was charged between £20 and £50 for a 10-minute journey by different riders.
Our investigation came after, in August 2023, Westminster City Council claimed passengers were being charged close to £500 for 10-minute trips across the West End. The Pedicabs (London) Bill, which allowed TfL to regulate rickshaws in the capital, received Royal Assent in April. A loophole in legislation meant pedicabs were not already regulated in London.
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music legends stock aitken waterman get their own blue plaQue london’s newest
gay bar and comedy club is already a hit
EXCLUSIVE
By Isabel Ramirez
wiTh sTand-uP comedy five nights a week, a swish interior and the uK’s hottest drag queens, london’s newest gay bar is already proving a hit in elephant and castle.
Located at the heart of Elephant Park, Betty and Joan’s opened in December 2024 as the latest business to join SE1’s thriving gay scene. Known as ‘BJs’, the venue is also home to the Queer Comedy Club, the first of its kind in the UK.
Owners David Ian, Jeremy Topp and Kate Dale - first formed the comedy club in 2022 in north London, but they dreamed of something bigger.
Speaking at the glossy new venue, Jeremy said: “It’s a big space that welcomes everybody. You can simply come and have a drink with your mates - or if you want to see a comedy or drag show we have that too.”
There is a mixture of free and paid-for events for both the comedy club and cabaret stage. The bar is open daily until midnight (1 am on Fridays and Saturdays.)
By Isabel Ramirez
sTocK aiTKen Waterman, the legendary british songwriting and production trio, has been celebrated with a blue plaque at their former vine Yard music studio in borough after winning the votes with Southwark News readers.
Between 1984 and 1993, Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman sold over 200 million records worldwide, producing iconic hits for artists such as Bananarama, Donna Summer, Cliff Richard, Paul McCartney, Kylie Minogue, and Rick Astley.
On Wednesday, 22nd January, the trio were joined by a crowd of devoted fans for the unveiling outside the building affectionately known as The Hit Factory.
The plaque commemorates their extraordinary success, secured through a landslide win in the newspaper’s paper’s annual Southwark Blue Plaque scheme.
Pete Waterman, 78, told us: “I’ve been a resident of Southwark for longer than anywhere else which is staggering when you think I’m not from London.”
After a long day of recording, Matt said they would typically all pile into the Gladstone Arms, “or if we were especially entertaining people, we went to the Lord Clyde which is down the road.”
“It’s still standing in its original state - which is nice.”
Asked if they’d visited recently, Mike Stock said: “I was there ten minutes ago, right before this. I had a nice bacon wrap and half a lager.”
The trio launched global careers, famously crafting Kylie Minogue’s I Should Be So Lucky and Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up. With over 100 UK Top 40 hits, the team were
asked about their favourites.
“Depends on what day of the week it is really,” said Matt. “I think we’ve got to go with the public and say Never Gonna Give You Up.”
Pete chose Respectable by Mel & Kim, explaining: “They were local girls who just knocked on our door here and said, ‘We want to be pop stars.’ I mean, that’s fairy story stuff - that really is a Disney story.”
Standing outside the studio, Pete reminisced about fans waiting for their idols: “We used to let them in, give them an autograph, give them a record - they took us as part of the community.
“They were local, they respected the fact we let them come in, so we never had any trouble. The kids would wait for Kylie to come out, it wasn’t a problem. They just took it as normal.”
He added: “The wall’s got loads of graffiti on it from the kids who did turn up for their favourite artist.”
In a joint statement, Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman said: “We’re naturally very pleased to have been awarded a Heritage Blue plaque, and grateful to Southwark Heritage Association and Southwark Council for this honour. But we also feel this is as much for the fans who voted for us and for all those who have stuck with us over the years.”
The Southwark Blue Plaque scheme runs annually as a collaboration between Southwark News, Southwark Heritage Association, and Southwark Council. Since the News launched the scheme over 20 years ago there are now well over 50 blue plaques across the borough.
SAW were nominated by one of their former employees and Bermondsey man, Tony Moorcroft.
The plaque is now proudly displayed at 4-7 Vine Yard, SE1 1QL, just down from Borough Station.
as well as coming and having a drink. “
With The Rising pub having opened last year just down the road, owners say they’re excited that Elephant and Castle has become a ‘hub’ for the LGBTQ+ community.
Co-owner and comedian David even jokingly referred to Elephant Park as “a Disneyland for gay men”.
On a Friday night down at BJs, punters told us ‘the vibes were immaculate’ and they would ‘definitely’ be returning, with one man saying, “It’s nice to have options to see something that’s live entertainment
The Georgian needle makers of Bermondsey HISTORY
Page 22
Jeremy said: “We’ve been coming here personally for a while because it’s become an area we enjoy. There is a big LGBT+ neighbourhood here now and we noticed that a while ago.
“The guys have done an amazing job with The Rising. We love the fact we’ve got new venues opening.”
A documentary about the opening of
the Queer Comedy Club has also been filmed for OUTflix, an LGBTQ+ streaming service that owners say is ‘big in America’ - drumming up hype for the new space across the pond.
“It’s about time we had a venue that looks glossy and proud,” Jeremy continued. “There are no blacked-out windows - we’ve got big glass windows that face the public. We don’t want to be hidden away.”
“This isn’t just a bar, this is a queer space.”
Betty and Joan’s and The Queer Comedy Club are based at Hewson Way, Elephant Park, SE17 1JS.
The venue is fully accessible and all on one level.
Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman
Owners Kate Dale, Jeremy Topp and David Ian
f ormer b ermondsey café operator fined £18,000 after death of 12-year-old girl
By Isabel Ramirez
a for M er bermondsey café operator has been fined £18,000 and handed a 100-hour community order following the death of a 12-year-old.
Mia-Shay St Hilaire, from Sydenham, suffered a severe allergic reaction after drinking a milkshake at Pop Inn Café on Southwark Park Road, while visiting with her aunt and sister in August 2023.
Mia-Shay had a tree nut allergy, and it is believed that hazelnuts and almonds were present in the drink.
She suffered a severe allergic reaction and was taken to hospital where she sadly died on Wednesday 30 August 2023.
Following her death, Southwark’s food safety team led an investigation to identify food safety breaches.
Officers visited the Pop Inn Café and breaches in food law were found during the investigation, with the decision taken to prosecute the café’s former food business operator, Baris Yucel.
In a case brought forward by the council, Mr Yucel, 47, pleaded guilty to six charges. These included not making allergen advice available or visible to consumers, failing to manage allergen contamination during the food production process, and serving food that contained an allergenic ingredient that was not supposed to be present.
CCTV evidence showed that Mr Yucel had not cleaned the blender before preparing Mia’s milkshake and some substances left behind from the
preparation of a previous milkshake caused her to suffer a severe allergic reaction.
Mr Yucel was fined £18,000 and given a 100-hour community order on Friday 24 January 2025.
Southwark Council has told the News that Mr Yucel no longer owns or operates the cafe.
Since Mia’s death, enforcement officers from Southwark Council have been visiting the Pop Inn Café, to
ensure it is following new procedures aimed at preventing contamination.
Mia’s parents, Adrian and Chanel said: “We think of Mia every day and knowing her death could potentially have been prevented so simply, only adds to how heartbroken we are as a family.
“We hope this conviction and fine sends a loud message to businesses serving food and drinks across the country, of the devastating consequences of failing to take food safety seriously.”
Mia’s family are represented by Michelle Victor, partner and Angela Bruno, senior associate solicitor of Leigh Day’s personal injury team.
Michelle Victor said: “Mia and all other children with allergies should be able to feel safe knowing that businesses serving food and drink adhere to food safety legislation put in place to protect their lives. But unfortunately, far too often we see that this doesn’t happen, which can have tragic consequences such as in this case.
“We are continuing to support Mia’s family and, while no outcome will ever make up for the loss they have suffered, this criminal prosecution is an important part of their fight to achieve justice for all those suffering with food allergies.”
In a statement released by Mr Yucel solicitor, the lawyer said: “I represented Mr Baris Yucel at the Croydon Magistrates Court on 24th January 2025 with respect to his sentencing hearing for six breaches of the Health & Safety Regulations. He pleaded guilty to these offences
and was given a Community Order and fines and costs amounting to £18,000.00.
“Prior to sentencing Mr Yucel, District Judge Dean commented that the 47 year old defendant was of previous good character and that throughout the 22 years in the food business, there have been no previous incidents reported against him.
“Pop Inn Café had a good food safety record and the Judge accepted that Mr Yucel had shown genuine remorse. He took immediate steps to better educate himself in September and October 2023 and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.”
Adding: “Mr Yucel has had to live with the consequences what happened and a day does not go by when he does not think about the child and her family.”
An inquest into Mia’s death is still due to be heard.
Cllr Natasha Ennin, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Neighbourhoods said: “What happened to Mia-Shay is a tragedy and my heart goes out to her family and the people who loved her. This might have been avoided if the operator of the café had followed simple food safety rules, and our officers will continue to work with local businesses to help ensure these are followed by all food outlets in Southwark.”
Southwark’s food safety team monitors and enforces the laws on food safety and food standards by carrying out inspections without warning, running targeted projects, investigating complaints and buying and trying food to test it.
plans to transform derelict denmark hill stables into cafe and community hub after 15 years
By Isabel Ramirez
camberwell-born and Peckham-raised actress Marianne Jean-baptiste jetted in from Los angeles last week to attend a packed screening of her new film, hard Truths, at Peckhamplex.
The Hollywood star, who’s been busy with press tours, made time to return to her old stomping ground for the event. After the screening, she joined director Mike Leigh for an in-depth Q&A that ran well over its scheduled time.
John Reiss, chairman of Peckhamplex, said: “Marianne said she was very happy to be back where she started, especially with a film like Home Truths, that she was so proud of. Mike Leigh and filmmakers like him always say how much they love Peckhamplex audiences – they like to be close to the people they make their films for.”
In Hard Truths, Jean-Baptiste plays Pansy, a woman battling anger and depression in a post-pandemic world, with her only source of comfort being her bond with her upbeat sister Chantelle.
The film reunites Jean-Baptiste and Leigh nearly three decades after their work on Secrets & Lies in 1996, a role for
which she earned an Oscar nomination, becoming the first Black British actress to achieve this.
Despite being snubbed at the Golden Globes and the Oscars, the film has been nominated for various awards.
Jean-Baptiste, who attended St Saviour’s and St Olave’s school, hasn’t forgotten her roots.
She rose to prominence in the U.S. for her role in the CBS drama Without A Trace and was honoured with a blue plaque in 2013 at the former St Giles Hospital, where she was born.
By Isabel Ramirez
The long-neglecTed stables in ruskin Park could soon be transformed into a cafe and community hub, under plans submitted by Lambeth council.
The building, also known as the old coach house, has been unused for 15 years. The new plans, which have been in the works for a while, would see the removal of its first floor and staircase to create a double-height ceiling.
It would also include outdoor seating,
promising a welcoming space for locals to relax and connect.
Once used as staff accommodation, the Victorian building is a surviving feature of the original villa landscape that remained when the park was established in 1907.
For the Friends of Ruskin Park (FoRP), it’s a development they’ve been waiting for. “This is encouraging news,” a spokesperson told the News. “We’ve spent the last decade campaigning and developing proposals to bring the building back into use.”
However, FoRP has urged a cautious
approach, pointing to a previous refurbishment attempt in 2021 that fell through. “While Lambeth Council has allocated some funding, the final costs haven’t been confirmed yet,” the spokesperson said.
“We’re hopeful this will lead to a full restoration, making the building viable for an appropriate tenant – whether that’s a café or a broader community space.”
The application is available to view online at planning.lambeth.gov.uk and comments can be made until Tuesday, February 11, 2025.
Hollywood star Marianne Jean-Baptiste returns to Peckham for film screening
The old coach house
Mia-Shay St Hilaire
Marianne Jean-Baptiste standing next to her portrait at Peckhamplex
man found dead at home weeks after being ‘pushed’ down escalator
By Herbie Russell
PoLice are appealing for witnesses after the death of a man who was reportedly pushed down a Waterloo station escalator.
Ian Airlie, 48, travelled home after his fall but was found dead at his property in Greenwich on Thursday, October 10.
After his death, Ian’s family told police he had reportedly been pushed down Waterloo station’s Jubilee Line escalator on Sunday, September 15.
Following the fall, Ian is believed to have spoken to security at the station.
He said he had fallen into a woman described as of South Asian appearance who also fell on the escalator.
Later, Ian is said to have spoken to a woman on a bus travelling from North Greenwich underground station. She reportedly gave him a tissue as he was bleeding from above his left eye.
Police are calling on these people, and anyone else who saw the incident, to
come forward.
At the time of the incident, Ian was wearing a black t-shirt, light grey jogging bottoms and a turquoise-grey-coloured Mountain Warehouse rucksack.
Detective Inspector Chris Rogers, leading the investigation, said: “Mr Airlie’s death is tragic, and his family continue to mourn the loss of a loving son, partner, brother and uncle.
“We are determined to piece together the events, and give Mr Airlie’s family the answers they are searching for. You can assist us by coming forward with any information. However small it may seem to you, this could be the key we need to unlock the investigation.”
A post-mortem examination on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, was inconclusive and we await the result of further tests.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the police via 101, or anonymously through the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 1111 - quoting 01/942310/24.
south london boys as young as thirteen charged after apple stores ransacked
By Isabel Ramirez
boYs as young as thirteen have been charged after a gang of criminals committed a series of iPhone thefts at thirteen apple stores across London over two weeks.
The accused include fifteen boys and two men from Lambeth, Bromley, Cambridge, Croydon and Merton.
Shops at Battersea Power Station, Regent Street, Brent Cross, Watford, Bromley and Kingston were targeted.
Some Apple Stores, like the one on Regent Street, were hit multiple times.
Three fifteen-year-old boys from Lambeth, a seventeen-year-old-boy from Lambeth, a seventeen-year-old-boy from Bromley, a fourteen-year-old-boy from Croydon, a thirteen-year-old boy from Lambeth and a sixteen-year-old boy from Cambridge were charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to steal
from a shop. They appeared at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, January 22.
A thirteen-year-old boy from Lambeth and a fourteen-year-old-boy from Bromley were charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to steal from a shop and possession of a class B drug and appeared at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, January 22.
A seventeen-year-old-boy from Merton was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to steal from a shop and possession of a class A drug. He appeared at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, January 22.
Layth Al-Darraji, aged eighteen, (09.11.06) of no fixed address was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to steal from a shop. He appeared at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, January 22.
One man and four boys were previously charged with robbery on Tuesday, January
7, having been arrested on Sunday, January 5. Officers were called at around 2.35pm to reports of a group attempting to steal 50 iPhones from the Apple store in Brent Cross. They appeared at Willesden Magistrates’ Court.
THEY ARE: ∙ Mycah Omo-Idahosa, 18 (26.10.06), of Lothian Rd, Lambeth
∙ A 15-year-old boy from Lambeth
∙ A 15-year-old boy from Lambeth
∙ A 14-year-old-boy from Croydon
∙ A 16-year-old boy from Cambridge
The four boys also now face additional conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to steal charges as above.
THE CHARGES RELATED TO SERIES OF ROBBERIES ACROSS VARIOUS APPLE STORES INCLUDING:
∙ 19/12/2024 - Battersea Power Station.
∙ 20/12/2024 - Regent Street.
∙ 21/12/2024 - Regent Street.
∙ 26/12/2024 - Regent Street
∙ 26/12/2024 - Brent Cross
∙ 27/12/2024 - Bromley
∙ 30/12/2024 - Brent Cross. 01/01/2025 - Battersea Power Station.
∙ 02/01/2024 - Brent Cross.
∙ 03/01/2025 - Battersea Power Station
∙ 04/01/2025 - Bentalls Centre.
∙ 05/01/2025 - Brent Cross
∙ 06/01/2025 - Watford
Airlie
student suffered fatal seizure after a desperate visit to out-of-stock pharmacy
By Robert Firth
Local Democracy Reporter
a coroner has recommended that nhs england reviews how it deals with patients with socalled ‘cliff edge conditions’ like epilepsy and diabetes following the death of a camberwell student.
Charlie Marriage, 32, suffered a sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) at his flat in Camberwell in June 2021, during a seizure after he was unable to get his anti-epilepsy medication.
The Brunel University student had spent two days unsuccessfully trying to get his anti-epilepsy drugs from medical professionals before he died on Saturday, June 27, 2021.
Speaking at the outcome of an inquest into the student’s death on Tuesday January 21, Xavier Mooyaart, Assistant Coroner for Inner South London, said there were ‘clear cohorts of patients’ who might be ‘similarly vulnerable in the future’ if they were not ‘appropriately advised’.
Mr Mooyaart said these people included patients with epilepsy, as well as diabetes and heart failure patients, who might be at risk of death if they didn’t get their medication early enough or in sufficient quantities. He said that his recommendations would require consideration at a ‘national level across several systems’, adding that NHS England, which provides the majority of healthcare in the UK’s largest country, was best placed to carry out such work.
Mr Mooyaart added: “The fact of this is not a criticism of NHS England but to acknowledge they have the
privilege of being in the best position to consider this [and prevent future deaths].”
Before his death, Charlie had managed to get a dose of Fycompa — an anti-epilepsy drug — that he had found at his girlfriend’s house. But the medication was out of date and he took a lower dose than usual.
Mr Mooyart said that the lack of Fycompa and other anti-epilepsy medication likely contributed to Mr Marriage’s increased risk of having a seizure and the severity of any seizure.
Mr Mooyart added that he had identified ‘evidence of many failures’ in how a doctor’s surgery, a Superdrug pharmacy in Camberwell and NHS 111 dealt with Charlie in the days leading up to his death.
Henrietta Hastings, Charlie’s mother, previously told the inquest that her son became stressed and anxious while trying to get his medication from a Superdrug in Camberwell on the Saturday before his death.
Ms Hastings said that she and Charlie spent three hours wat the pharmacy
trying to get his anti-epilepsy drugs before giving up after realising it wasn’t in stock.
Charlie received a text message from NHS Test and Trace on the Thursday (June 24, 2021) before his death telling him to self-isolate due to possibly coming into contact with Covid-19. Realising he would not be able to collect a repeat prescription as usual from his university pharmacy in Uxbridge, West London, on the Friday (June 25, 2021) he tried unsuccessfully to get an emergency
supply of medication from a local pharmacy via his GP surgery.
On the Saturday (June 26, 2021), Mr Marriage tried calling NHS 111 multiple times and heading to the Superdrug in Camberwell to get his anti-epilepsy drugs, but again was unsuccessful. He died in the early hours of the following day from SUDEP while alone at his flat in Camberwell.
Mr Mooyart added: “It’s plain that attempts were made to take reasonable steps [to help Charlie] but these were ultimately ineffective.”
‘We want our permits back’: SE16 residents angered by random people parking outside their homes
EXCLUSIVE
By Isabel Ramirez
residenTs on a rotherhithe
cul-de-sac plagued by years of parking problems say they ‘just want their permits back’ to stop unwanted guests parking outside their homes and blocking a disabled exit.
For around ten years, people living on Burnside Close say it has been ‘non-stop trouble’ ever since their permits were taken away.
Rianna Bempong, whose mum has lived there for 20 years, said: “There used to be a system where only residents were allowed to park on our close. Every house got two free permits.”
“But when they removed the system it means anyone can park here.”
Rianna said the result is they have ‘random’ cars and vans parking outside their homes. “Not only do they park in what should be our spaces, but there have been several times when
my mum can’t get out of the house.” “Sometimes they’re parked there for weeks.”
Her mum, Tina Sarfoh, has arthritis
and struggles to get out of her gate when larger vehicles are parked in front of it.
She also has regular hospital
check-ups and said sometimes the ambulance cannot get her wheelchair past the gate. “I have had to cancel appointments,” she told us.
“If we knew who was parking there we could just ask.
“We are all neighbours and we know each other. But because they are not residents, we get blocked in.”
Their neighbour Marie, who has lived there for the last 30 years, claimed she had been ‘verbally abused’ when asking people to move their cars. She commented: “When I tell them to move their cars if they’re in the space outside our house or blocking us in I sometimes get shouted at.”
She said it shouldn’t be up to them to get involved. “All the other closes have permit parking - we want it back.”
When the News got in touch, Southern Housing said they had ‘listened to residents concerns’ and agreed to bring in a permit system. They said residents could expect permits to be introduced in March.
Responding to this, Rianna said
they were glad, but claimed they had agreed to this before and ‘nothing was done.’
“I’m glad they have listened because [the News] got in touch,” she said, “but we have been asking for this for a very long time.
“So let’s hope they actually do it this time.”
A spokesperson from Southern Housing said: “We’ve listened to the concerns of our residents and carefully considered all options to resolve the parking issues they’ve faced.
“We’ve reached an agreement with UKCPM to implement parking restrictions at Burnside Close and expect to introduce these in March.”
“This means only residents of Burnside Close will be able to park in the designated spaces. We’ll share the details of this with residents by 31 January.”
“If any residents have concerns and would like to speak to us in the meantime, we encourage them to contact us.”
Charlie Marriage died during an epilepsy seizure in June 2021
‘Random’ cars belonging to non-residents; the disabled exit often gets ‘blocked’
By Robert Firth
a TenanT facing eviction by a Labour council has launched a high court claim against the local authority accusing it of illegally renting homes in the private sector.
The resident was granted a shorthold tenancy on their flat by Homes for Lambeth (HfL)—an arm’s length management company wholly owned by Lambeth Council in 2019.
In October last year the tenant and around 160 other families found out they were being kicked out of their homes after the council decided to bring properties leased out to HfL back under direct control of the council. Lambeth said that the private tenants are being evicted to house homeless residents currently living in temporary accommodation.
The judicial review claim lodged by the tenant in December 2024 contends that as Lambeth Council is the HfL group’s sole shareholder, the council, not HfL Living— the landlord subsidiary of HfL—is their landlord. As a consequence of this, the tenant argues that the local authority has broken the law by renting homes in the private sector.
Alexandra Goldenberg, a solicitor from the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) representing the tenant, who has not been named, said: “Lambeth’s decision to rent these properties on the private market is unlawful and has created a devastating impact on hundreds of residents across the borough who have been evicted or are facing eviction.
“This is yet another chapter in a troubling history of estate ‘regeneration’ schemes that have disregarded the rights of residents and communities. It is time for Lambeth to take responsibility and do the right thing, starting with an immediate halt to all evictions.”
In their judicial review claim, the tenant argues that Lambeth Council has breached the 2011 Localism Act in using HfL to rent homes in the private rented sector and to purportedly grant assured shorthold tenancies.
The tenant also contends that the council has breached the 1985 Housing Act in treating them as an assured shorthold tenant and in refusing to recognise that they are a secure tenant.
Lambeth Council set-up the HfL group in 2017 to bring about its estate regeneration programme. The group contained four offshoots, including HfL
tenant facing eviction so homeless can live in property takes council to court
Living, which was intended to function as the landlord arm of the company.
Lambeth’s decision to bring around 160 homes let out by HfL Living back under direct control of the council with vacant possession last year followed a critical independent review into affordable housing in the borough published in 2022.
The report criticised HfL’s management of the planned rebuild of six estates in the borough, and recommended the council close down the firm.
The council has insisted the private tenants are being moved out in order to house homeless residents. But campaigners fighting the planned evictions believe the decision is in fact being driven by pressure to dissolve HfL.
In December 2024, Lambeth revealed that temporary accommodation for
homeless families was costing the council £90 million per year—£29 million more than forecast and up a third in 12 months. The number of homeless households supported by the council has surged by 50 per cent in the last two years to around 4,600.
Lambeth has until February 5 to respond to the judicial review claim submitted by the tenant. A judge will review the resident’s arguments and decide whether the case should proceed to a full hearing.
A Lambeth Council spokesperson said: “We are aware an application for a judicial review has been submitted. We reject the claims made in the application and have highlighted why in writing to the applicant. They were rented out by HfL Living, a private provider which is not the council, through a letting agent at market
rent and without any needs assessment, which would be the case for any social housing.
“Further its worth clarifying that Central Hill, where the property is situated, is one of the three estates the council is now carrying out an options appraisal. As such there are no current plans to regenerate the estate. We have approaching 5,000 homeless households from Lambeth in often poor quality temporary housing. Having now decided to take over HfL properties we intend to use these properties to house families in most desperate need.”
In December 2024, Cllr Danial Adilypour, (pictured) deputy leader of the council, said: “Bringing these privately rented homes back into use as council accommodation will deliver much-
needed homes as quickly as possible for our most vulnerable residents in Lambeth.
“Whilst the positive aspects of this decision are clear, the council recognises the upheaval this will cause for the current private sector tenants. These tenants have been informed of the council’s proposal and will be provided with assistance by the council to support them in moving to a new home, in line with our statutory duties.”
‘Nightmare’ flooding submerges school, park and streets
By Herbie Russell
nighTMare” fLooding caused by a burst water main drenched local streets and part of Peckham rye Park today.
Gardens were inundated with up to 30cm of water while a local school’s car park was submerged by half-a-metre.
Four fire engines and 25 firefighters were called to the incident, bringing it under control by 3.34pm.
A resident described a torrent of water “rolling like bricks” after a water main erupted on Coylton Road at 11am today (Tuesday, January 21).
A garden on Colyton Road was flooded to a depth of 30cm while another was flooded by 25cm.
The Harris Girls’ Academy East Dulwich car park was flooded to a depth of 50cm but the water has now receded.
No properties were affected internally, London Fire Brigade said.
Tess, a local resident, said: “It’s been an absolute nightmare. It’s flooded everywhere and into Peckham Rye Park.”
She added: “[It was] a bit unnerving and when we saw how much water was starting to collect, we wondered how many more hours we could cope with it.”
She said Homestall Road was also affected, sharing images of a large pool of water collecting on the dirt road. The road is untarmacked and photos show the surface has been washed away.
Flood water also spread as far as the duck pond in Peckham Rye Park, she said.
Thames Water warned residents it would have to turn the water off to stop the leak shortly before 4pm. Fire crews from Forest Hill, Peckham, New Cross and Lewisham fire stations attended.
Flooding on Homestall Road, Peckham
The road is untarmacked and photos show the surface has been washed way
The Central Hill estate in Gipsy Hill is one of theestates where private tenants are being evicted by Lambeth Council
Lambeth Council ‘s Deputy Leader
Nunhead station to receive £50k
accessibility cash
By Isabel Ramirez
n unhead s TaT ion will receive £50,000 in council funding to make it fully accessible.
Southwark Council’s investment will be drawn from its strategic community infrastructure levy (SCIL), which is money generated from developers building in the borough.
At the council’s cabinet meeting on January 7, Cllr Helen Dennis said Nunhead was one of the borough’s least accessible areas by public transport.
The cabinet member for new homes and sustainable development said: “There’s no Tube there, fewer buses. The station is highly-used but is not accessible at the moment.
“So, we’re kickstarting some initial feasibility work looking at different designs that would make that station fully accessible.”
The design work will allow the council to make an Access For All bid which would make the station a higher priority for Network Rail funding.
The station improvements are one of many projects being funded by SCIL, including an LGBTQ+ Cultural Centre at Bankside Yards.
50 per cent of SCIL money will go towards the Bakerloo Line extension and upgrade.
residents on council estate left freezing over christmas due to four month heating outage
EXCLUSIVE
By Issy Clarke
hundreds of residents in a rotherhithe estate have been left without heating and hot water for nearly four months as temperatures plummet below zero.
One elderly resident said he and his wife were going to bed fully dressed and shivering under blankets to protect themselves from the cold throughout the Christmas festivities.
Residents were expecting an appearance from a housing officer at a Tenant’s Association meeting last Wednesday to discuss the issue, but no
one from the council showed up.
Southwark Council has denied any knowledge of the meeting.
Nicky Roach, 69, an actor, said he and dozens of other residents had been in touch with the council repeatedly about the problem, which is affecting 250 flats across two blocks in the Silverlock Estate, to little avail.
He claims he has consistently been bounced between the council and OCO, the heating company, adding:
“Everyone’s passing it on.
“They know we have a problem with the communal boiler, and in the meantime, we’ve had no heating over Christmas and the New Year.
“It’s wrong. It seems like no one cares.”
Residents also said a maintenance check of the boiler was due to take place in the summer but was never carried out.
Mr Roach, who has lived on the estate for 25 years, has faced issues trying to get a response from the council in the past.
In 2023, he was awarded £5,000 in compensation from the council after it took six years to address a damp and mould problem in his flat - which he claims has left him with lasting lung problems.
Mr Roach was sent an apology and given the personal number of a housing repairs officer which he has tried calling repeatedly about the heating outage but only been sent to voicemail. In 2023 the council announced it would be conducting an overhaul of its complaints procedure after the Social Housing Regulator identified “serious failings” in its delivery of key tenant services.
Mr Roach said: “It’s just a continuation of incompetence.
“No one seems to have any coordination, no one talks to each other.”
A Southwark Council spokesperson said: “We want everyone in Southwark to have a safe, decent and affordable home.
“Our contractors are working to fix an isolated fault with the heating at Westlake Housing Estate, which does not affect the rest of the building – we apologise to the affected resident for the inconvenience.
“We’re taking action to tackle damp in council homes and will talk with Mr Roach about the issues at his home, so we can sort it out and inspect his property.”
Lambeth Bridge to close periodically throughout year for safety improvements due to high cyclist collisions
By Callum Smythe
Trans PorT for London
(TfL) will shut Lambeth bridge periodically to motor vehicles throughout this year to allow vitally needed safety improvements.
Cyclists were involved in 22 of the 31 collisions at the roundabouts in between September 1, 2021, and August 31, 2024, including one fatality in 2015. These works will include replacing the unsignalled roundabouts at either end of Lambeth Bridge with signalcontrolled junctions and the addition of a cycle lane on the bridge itself and new signalled pedestrian crossings.
The Grade II listed structure also needs urgent maintenance, including waterproofing, bridge deck repairs and
replacing temporary security measures with permanent ones.
Between February 10 and December 15 this year motor traffic will be diverted before Lambeth Bridge due to a southbound closure. Pedestrian and cyclist access will be maintained. Here is the full list of closures:
Between Thursday 30 January to Friday 7 February, Lambeth Bridge will be closed to all traffic each night between 21:30 and 05:00
Between Friday 7 and Monday 10 February 2025, a full closure of the bridge is required in both directions to install changes to traffic management. There will be pedestrian access only
From 10 February to 18 July, there will be there will be a directional closure in place, restricting all motorised vehicles coming out of Westminster towards
Lambeth. Segregated cycle lanes will be in place, and pedestrians will be able to access the bridge. Traffic crossing towards Westminster is unaffected
Between 18 July and 21 July, there will be another full closure of Lambeth Bridge, impacting all motorised vehicles and cyclists. Pedestrians will be able to access the bridge
From 21 July to 15 December, there will be a directional closure in place, restricting all motorised traffic coming out of Westminster towards Lambeth. Segregated cycle lanes will be in place, and pedestrians will be able to access the bridge. Traffic crossing towards Westminster is unaffected
This phase of construction work is part of the Mayor’s Vision Zero goal of eliminating death and serious injury on the transport network by 2041.
Lambeth Bridge will be closed periodically this year.
sadiQ khan defends his latest planned council tax increase
By Noah Vickers Local Democracy Reporter
sir sadiQ Khan has defended his latest planned council tax increase after facing questions from city hall conservatives about the sharp rise bill-payers have seen over the course of his mayoralty.
The Labour mayor blamed the last Tory Government’s austerity programme and said he had been forced to attempt to plug the financial gap, adding that “one budget is not going to undo 14 years of cuts”.
Sir Sadiq is preparing to increase his portion of council tax by four per cent, which will add £18.98 to a benchmark band D annual bill, taking the mayor’s share from £471.40 to £490.38.g Bill.
It is the mayor’s lowest increase for five years – but it still means his portion of council tax will be more than £200 higher than the annual band D precept of £276 that he inherited in 2016 from his Conservative predecessor, Boris Johnson.
The bulk of the increase – £14 – will go directly to the Metropolitan Police to help to keep 1,300 neighbourhood officers funded by City Hall on patrol and tackle violent crime and robbery. The remaining £4.98 will go to the London Fire Brigade.
At a London Assembly meeting on Thursday however, the mayor was asked by Tory assembly member Alessandro Georgiou: “What alternative funding sources did you explore before deciding to increase your precept, such as seeking additional central Government funding or re-allocating funds from other parts of the budget?”
Mr Georgiou added that the mayoral council tax precept had increased by more than 75 per cent since Sir Sadiq took office nine years ago, and he asked if the mayor will “speak to your mates in
this commie new Government and [ask] whether they’ll give you money, as you promised they would”.
Sir Sadiq said there were two reasons for his precept going up. The first, he said, was to support London’s police service, as it had “lost £1.1bn from their budget from central Government” over 14 years of Conservative rule, which amounted to a third of their “core funding” lost. He also blamed Mr Johnson for failing to increase council tax, which had led to the Met losing a further £350m from their budget.
“That’s one of the reasons why police office numbers went down to 29,000, one of the reasons why we’ve had fewer PCSOs, one of the reasons why we have police stations closed off,” the mayor said.
“So what I’ve done is take the decision that I want to support the police, and be pro-police, so I’ve increased the police precept by £14 and every penny of that money raised goes to the police and crime
prevention, which is about £58m. If I took his [Mr Georgiou’s] advice, and didn’t raise that, that means £58m further cuts that have got to be found.”
The second reason Sir Sadiq gave for increasing his council tax was to support the Fire Brigade. He said: “The previous mayor closed down fire stations, sold off fire engines, reduced fire staff, the leadership was hollowed out, big problems in the Fire Brigade, so what I’ve done-”
Mr Georgiou cut the mayor off, saying that he was failing to address his own record by blaming the last Government, and was ignoring the fact that Labour are now in Government.
“Your manifesto was filled with drivel that if we had a Labour Government and a Labour mayor, things would be better, [and] you wouldn’t need to do the things that you’re doing now,” the assembly member said. “So were you lying in your
manifesto, or are you misleading us now?”
Sir Sadiq replied that between 2010 and July 2024, the Met Police received additional funding, in cumulative terms, of only £44m – whereas in the seven months since Labour won the general election, the Met had received £208m.
Mr Georgiou’s party colleague, Susan Hall, later pointed out that almost £45m of that £208m increase would go directly back into the Government’s coffers, due to Labour’s increase in employers’ national insurance contributions.
The mayor nonetheless said that in the space of seven months, the Labour Government “have given the Met Police Service four and half times more in funding than his [Mr Georgiou’s] mates did in 14 years”.
Mr Georgiou then asked: “Why, if it’s so wonderful, are you putting your hands deeper into Londoners’ pockets? If you’ve received all of the money that you’ve
asked for, why are you still doing it?”
The mayor responded: “One budget is not going to undo 14 years of cuts. What we need is to make sure that we continue to invest in our police. Police officer numbers have been going down, police staff numbers have been going down, police stations have been closing, youth clubs have been closing, youth workers have lost their jobs.
“What we’re doing is investing in young people, youth clubs and youth workers and investing in the police and it’s quite clear that with the Conservatives on the Assembly, they want to cut the police budget by £58m next year.”
Mr Georgiou closed the exchange by saying, in a message to the capital’s electorate: “If you voted for this man, you voted to be poorer as a Londoner.”
The Assembly will formally vote on whether to approve Sir Sadiq’s budget at a meeting next month.
‘Hammersmith Bridge could stay closed to vehicles for a decade’
By Noah Vickers Local Democracy Reporter
haMMersMiTh bridge could stay closed to vehicles for another decade, a local Labour MP has warned.
Putney MP Fleur Anderson said that due to the last Tory Government’s failure to “get on with” repairing the bridge in the five years following its closure, Londoners may have to wait until 2035 for it to fully reopen.
The 138-year-old bridge, which links Hammersmith with Barnes, has been closed to motor vehicles since cracks appeared in its pedestals in 2019.
The cost of fully repairing and reopening it has risen sharply in the years since it closed, and was estimated last year at £250m.
Asked whether it was realistic to expect the bridge to be reopened by the end of the current parliamentary term in 2029, Ms Anderson said: “No, disappointingly. I think even if they started [now] it would be ten years of building. So we’re talking a long time away.
“[For] six years nearly, it’s been closed. If they [the last Government] had started, and they’d got on with it six years ago, we could have done it, but everything seems
to have slowed down.
“Steel is less available because of the war in Ukraine. There are variables we couldn’t even have imagined six years ago that have come in, so the longer it’s left the harder it seems to get.”
She added: “I think 2035 is probably a realistic estimation. I wouldn’t go beyond that – I wouldn’t say it’s ‘at least’ 2035. But it’s not going to happen within the next two or three years, for sure.”
During the 2019 general election campaign, the then-Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, visited the bridge and pledged: “The next Conservative Government will not allow this just to remain closed. We will get the parties together – that means the mayor, the
local authorities, and yes, do our bit as the Government as well – to make sure that this gets reopened.”
In 2020, Mr Shapps assembled a ‘Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce’, but that body held its last meeting in November 2021. The taskforce is now due to be reconvened on Thursday, January 30, chaired by Labour’s minister for local transport, Simon Lightwood.
A spokeswoman at the Department for Transport (DfT) said: “We continue to work closely with the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and Transport for London on the bridge and the Department has already provided £13 million of funding towards the project to date.
“The Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce will provide a valuable forum for stakeholders to discuss the progress of the repair works and potential next steps, as well as the impact on local traffic.”
The £13m of funding provided by the DfT so far includes £4m invested in “emergency exploratory works” following the full closure of the bridge; £2.93m for initial stabilisation works in May 2022; £2.5m for geo-technical works in March 2023; and £2.9m for the temporary resurfacing of the bridge’s carriageway in March 2024.
But progress in agreeing a funding solution to actually get the bridge reopened has been slow. Hammersmith and Fulham Council, which owns the bridge, said that a business case it submitted to the DfT in December 2022 never received approval from the Department, and it was dropped from the agenda at meetings held in 2023 and 2024.
Ms Anderson said her “main concern” was the impact that the bridge’s closure was having on bus services in her constituency, and that it had also made the area’s road network less resilient when other forms of disruption arise, such as utility repairs.
The MP is urging her constituents to write to the DfT ahead of the taskforce meeting, making clear that the impact of the closure is still being felt in the local area on a daily basis. She is also holding a meeting this Saturday to update residents and hear directly from them on the issue
Neighbouring MPs said that they welcomed the taskforce reconvening. Sarah Olney, Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park, said: “The failure to commit to repairing Hammersmith Bridge is a stain on the former Conservative Government’s legacy.
“The business case for the repairs sat on the minister’s desk for over a year without any action being taken. I am hopeful that the reconvening of the taskforce is an indication that the Labour Government is ready to step up and commit the Government’s share of the funding towards repairing Hammersmith Bridge.”
Andy Slaughter, Labour MP for Hammersmith, agreed that “restarting the dialogue” into getting the bridge back open “is a positive step”, after the last Government “refused to engage”. He added that the “only unresolved issue with the bridge is who is willing or able to pay how much for the repair”.
Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan was challenged by Tory assembly member Alessandro Georgiou on his increases to council tax. Credit: London Assembly webcast
s ingle mum raising money for ‘glimmer of home’ stage four breast cancer treatment
By Herbie Russell
a singLe mother battling stage four breast cancer is raising money for specialist treatment abroad.
Ewa Kazmierczak, 45, from Bankside, needs £34,000 to cover the cost of ground-breaking treatment available in Istanbul.
The mother-of-one, who has raised £16,600 so far, said: “I think it’s amazing after just four-and-a-half days. I’m really hoping I can go as soon as possible for treatment.”
Her son is just a few days away from his fifth birthday. “He needs his mother,” she said.
Ewa’s fight with breast cancer began in 2020 when received her first diagnosis, with her son just sixmonths-old at the time.
She discovered it was stage four and had spread to her liver but was declared cancer-free after receiving treatment, and surgery to remove the tumour.
The cycle of being re-diagnosed, increasing medication strength, getting the all-clear, only to be rediagnosed, has continued since.
In September 2024, the cancer returned, this time in her lymph nodes, with December scans showing its progression.
Ewa says her only “glimmer of hope” is a clinic in Turkey specialising in stage four cancers.
Each treatment cycle costs €5,000 and Ewa is expecting to need six, plus money for travel expenses.
Ewa, who used to work at the Natural History Museum, said the last four years had prevented her from working and gutted her bank account.
“As a single mum going through all of it on your own is financially unthinkable,” she said. “This country is very generous and I get all the benefits possible but what I cannot do is afford supplements and the best diets.”
“You cannot get a loan, you cannot get a credit card, you’re completely out of the system. I cannot travel to Poland to see my family because I cannot get travel insurance,” she continued.
Ewa dreams of regaining her health to care for her five-year-old son and pursue a future helping others through her studies in conscious parenting. www.gofundme.com/f/fundraising-formedical-treatment-for-stage-4-cancer
schoolchildren concocting ‘potions’ to inspire next generation of chemists
Fascinating film reveals life of locals in Elephant and Castle from 1920s onwards
By Herbie Russell
a fascinaTing film about life in elephant and castle from the 1920s onwards has been released by the London screen archives.
The Old Cow in the Kitchen and Other Stories features interviews with local residents Marian, 95, and John 72, who look back on their lives.
The thirty-minute film is the first part of a project funded by Southwark Council Neighbourhood Fund 23/24.
Pupils aged seven to ten from Ark Globe Academy concocted the bubbly broths at Middlesex University
By Herbie Russell
schooLchiLdren have been cooking up ‘potions’ in a programme designed to inspire the next generation of chemists.
Pupils aged seven to ten from Ark Globe Academy concocted the bubbly broths at Middlesex University.
‘Practical potions’, a programme part funded by the Royal Society of Chemistry, saw the children observe the chemical reactions involved in making ‘vampire blood’, ‘monster serum’ and other mystical liquids.
Programme lead, Dr Britta Stordal, associate professor in cancer research, said: “We hope that by bringing young children into the lab in a controlled and safe environment that they might be inspired to become scientists themselves one day. Above all we
wanted to ensure that these events are fun for the pupils.”
The groups included 60 children from the Ark Globe Academy in Elephant and Castle, another 60 from Hampden Gurney Church of England School in Paddington and 45 from St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Westminster.
In these sessions, children used molymod kits in which they each built a model of lactic acid and then connected them in a chain to form polylactic acid, which is a biodegradable plastic.
The young scientists also got to see how liquids can undergo a succession of colour changes in a ‘magic beakers’ workshop.
One Ark Academy pupil Adam Zerouali, aged seven, is one of the children who has an already expressed an interest in becoming a scientist. “We’ve been doing all kinds of interesting stuff and I really enjoyed the experiments,” he said.
The project’s aim was to capture memories of the long-term residents of the Elephant and Castle area of South London during a period of rapid redevelopment.
Writer and educator Lynda Waterhouse made the film, in
collaboration with camera operator and editor Ludmilla Andrews, composer Neil Brand, with sound
By Herbie Russell
officers are appealing for information after a woman was reportedly punched in the face at clapham Junction railway station.
The woman was allegedly attacked while waiting to talk to a staff member at around 4.30pm on Saturday, October 19.
Officers would like to speak to the woman in the image as they believe she may have information that could help their investigation.
A British Transport Police spokesperson said: “Officers investigating an incident of assault at
Clapham Junction are today releasing this image in connection.
“At around 4.30pm on Saturday 19 October, a woman was waiting to talk to a member of staff at Clapham Junction railway station when she was punched in the face.
“Officers would like to speak to the woman in the image as they believe she may have information which could help their investigation.”
Anyone who recognises the woman pictured is asked to contact BTP by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference 402 of 19 October. Alternatively, they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
produced by Gray Cunnington.
Anyone who recognises the woman pictured is asked to contact British Transport Police
A view of the Elephant and Castle roundabout in the early 20th century. Image: LFA
Ewa with her young son. Image: GoFundMe
the year of the snake at greenwich peninsula
New for 2025, enjoy a Lion Dance performance winding through the Peninsula, plus events in block printing, bamboo weaving and Chinese knots
By Eliza Frost
eMbrace The Year of the snake this Lunar new Year with a whole day of events at greenwich Peninsula on saturday 1 february, from 12pm to 4pm.
There will be a whole host of celebrations and free and paid-for activities to welcome health and prosperity; from dragon and lion dances to workshops and cultural performances, expect a blend of art, culture and community.
The day’s highlights include the dragon and – new for 2025 – lion dances weaving through Peninsula Square and the Design District.
With vibrant costumes, rhythmic drumming and blending acrobatics with cultural artistry, the performances chase away bad fortune and welcome good luck for the Year of the Snake.
London-based studio Yi Crafts will lead a full line-up of workshops suitable for all, offering opportunities to engage with heritage while enjoying a relaxing
and rewarding experience.
You can also try the timeless ancient craft of bamboo weaving, linking intricate patterns to create a decorative bamboo coaster; learn Chinese knotmaking, featuring classic knot designs representing unity, luck or prosperity; discover one of China’s most celebrated cultural traditions, woodblock printing, which played a role in the preservation and spread of the country’s literature and art; and create traditional decorations for your home with paper cutting. You can even learn – or master – Mahjong. Originating in China during the Qing dynasty, Mahjong has become a celebrated pastime for its rich history and intricate gameplay. Guided by experts from Dear Asia language school, this workshop allows all to explore the legacy, logic and joy of one of East Asia’s cultural treasures.
For food lovers, the Canteen Food Hall and Bar serves up a taste of East Asia with Juk Pou’s congee and youtiao alongside a variety of international cuisines.
Plus, Greenwich Peninsula residents and founders of Brut Tea, Joyce and Raphael, will also offer a tea-tasting session; a curated journey through the origins, stories and characteristics of four of their blends.
Laura Flanagan, director of Greenwich Peninsula, said: “We’re excited to see Greenwich Peninsula once again transform into a hub of celebration for Lunar New Year.
“Our riverside neighbourhood is the perfect destination to experience art and creativity, and this year’s programme has something for everyone. With themes of connection, prosperity and renewal, we’re delighted to collaborate with so many talented performers, artists and experts to bring these experiences to life.”
The programme is part-funded by the UK government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund, supported by the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the Mayor of London and in partnership with Visit Greenwich. www.greenwichpeninsula. co.uk/whats-on/lunar-new-year
Our event highlights
Brut Tea Tasting
Time: 12pm – 1pm
Location: Salon, Design District
Price: £5, book online
Join the founders of Brut Tea for a tea-tasting session, showcasing four blends from their brand. This curated experience takes you on a journey through the origins, stories and unique characteristics of each blend.
Discover the craft of Chinese knotmaking in this interactive workshop. Guided by Yi Craft instructors, you’ll delve into the techniques behind the art form, a centuries-old practice originating from China’s Tang and Song dynasties. Participants will create decorative ornaments featuring classic knot designs. Each knot carries its own symbolic meaning, representing unity, luck and prosperity.
Location: Canteen Food Hall & Bar, mezzanine level
Price: Free, bookable online
Immerse yourself in the festive art of paper cutting, a tradition for the Lunar New Year that dates back to the Han dynasty in China. Originally a decoration for windows, lanterns and
walls, designs often feature shapes like snakes, flowers and Chinese characters, and represent wishes for good fortune.
Guided by the Yi Craft instructors, you’ll use precision-cutting tools to create your own decorative pieces.
Lion Dance
Times: 1.30pm, 2.15pm, 3pm
Location: The performance begins in Peninsula Square, outside Greenwich Peninsula tube station. Arrive early to secure the best viewing spot
Tickets: Free, no need to book
New to the programme for 2025, the traditional Chinese Lion Dance brings a burst of energy to this year’s Lunar New Year celebrations. Blending acrobatics with cultural artistry, the performance will chase away bad fortune and welcome good luck for the Year of the Snake. Vibrant costumes and rhythmic drumbeats bring the lion to life as it moves through the Design District and Peninsula Square, spreading joy and a sense of wonder to everyone in its path.
Dragon Dance
Times: 1.45pm, 2.30pm, 3.15pm
Location: The performance begins in Peninsula Square, right outside North Greenwich station. Arrive early to secure the best viewing spot
Tickets: Free, no need to book
A Lunar New Year must-see, the Dragon Dance brings even more excitement to Peninsula Square as it winds through the crowds. Guided by skilled performers, this larger-than-life dragon moves with grace and power, celebrating luck, prosperity and renewal for the year ahead.
£15.6m public toilets, pedestrian crossings and ‘a drug consumption room’ reJected
By Noah Vickers Local Democracy Reporter
PLans To spend £15.6m on new public toilets, pedestrian crossings, ‘a drug consumption room’, and other projects have been voted down by the London assembly, after an overwhelming majority of members argued the ideas were not workable
The proposals were tabled on Thursday as an amendment to Sir Sadiq Khan’s budget by the Assembly’s three-strong group of Green Party members, who said their spending package “would make meaningful differences in the lives of so many Londoners”
Most of the package’s funding would have been raised by increasing the congestion charge by £1, which the Greens claimed would generate an extra £13m per year. The remaining £2.6m would be drawn from City Hall’s reserves.
The drug consumption room would have taken the form of a three-year pilot scheme, and would have followed in the footsteps of the clinic opened earlier this month in Glasgow, which is the UK’s first such facility.
At the clinic, Londoners would be able “to take their own drugs under the supervision of trained health professionals”. No drugs would be provided by those health professionals, and buying and selling drugs would still be illegal on the site.
The Greens said there was “extensive evidence” that such facilities “improve individual and community well-being and health, reduce death rates, bring users into contact with health and treatment services, and reduce drug-related crime”.
Another suggestion in the Greens’
amendment was to spend £100,000 on a London Renters’ Commission, which would “advise the mayor and design research on what model of rent control could work for London and how it could be implemented through current legislation”.
The amendment also proposed doubling annual investment in new toilets on the Tube network from £3m to £6m, spending £10m on installing pedestrian crossings at unsafe roads, and putting £1m towards a new City Hall unit which would map contaminated land across the capital.
Labour member Krupesh Hirani said the package was “unworkable”, claiming in particular that the drug consumption room idea was not legally sound, and would require support from the Home Office and Department for Health. The
Greens had said it could work “if the mayor helped it to acquire a ‘Multi-Agency Agreement’ with the Metropolitan Police, local authorities, health providers, and prosecution services”.
Mr Hirani added that the mayor had already started investing millions every year on public toilets and the Assembly should “see how that goes” before committing more money towards the project.
Conservative group deputy leader Emma Best said her party was completely opposed to raising the congestion charge to an “eye-watering” £16, and she cast doubt on whether it would raise the money the Greens said it would.
She added that some of the proposals, like rent controls, were “absolutely crazy” – and, in that particular case, would have the opposite of their intended effect, as
they would encourage landlords to sell up and reduce the overall supply of rental properties.
The Liberal Democrats’ Gareth Roberts agreed that raising the congestion charge by £1 was a source of concern, as it could lead to further increases later down the line, and he suggested his group was also opposed to rent controls.
The amendment failed after it was voted down by 18 votes to three. If it had gained majority support, the mayor would have been required to issue a formal response to its suggestions, though he would not have been mandated to adopt it into his budget without two thirds having voted in favour of it.
Green group leader Caroline Russell said after the vote: “While it is disappointing to see our colleagues on the Assembly speak and vote against these commonsense proposals, I want to thank the many activists, campaigners and Londoners
who have worked tirelessly to get these initiatives this close to the finish line.
“I will continue to champion these critical interventions in the coming year, banging that drum until Londoners are protected from drug harm, can quickly find a toilet on the tube, and safely cross the road without fear.”
Reform UK’s sole assembly member, Alex Wilson, decried the fact that none of the other parties would agree to work with him on budgetary amendments of his own, which would have sought to create a “dedicated knife crime taskforce” of around a thousand officers within the Met Police, and to scrap the proposed tolling on the Silvertown and Blackwall Tunnels.
Tory member Susan Hall said her group could not support Mr Wilson’s proposals, as she claimed his costings were “wildly simplistic, not financially sound, and totally detached from reality”.
Council urges Met to keep Royal Parks Police
By Charlotte Lillywhite Local Democracy Reporter
The MeT Police has been urged to rule out cutting the police unit that protects the royal Parks, as it faces a £450million budget gap.
The Met’s chief revealed in December it could be forced to cut 2,300 police officers and 400 staff this year as it looks to plug the eye-watering gap.
Commissioner Mark Rowley said in a report specific teams, including the Royal Parks Police, could be slashed if the ‘worst-case scenario’ comes true to help balance the Met’s budget for the 2025/26 financial year.
He wrote: “We are committed to making ourselves as lean as possible as an organisation, so we are first seeking to realise £100m worth of efficiencies. But the financial constraints we face in 2025/26 mean we will be forced to take tough choices to reduce the service we offer Londoners.”
Lib Dem-run Richmond Council has now spoken out against the potential proposals concerning the Royal Parks
Police, over fears the officers’ skills could not be replaced. The borough is home to two Royal Parks – Richmond Park and Bushy Park.
A motion from Council Leader Gareth Roberts, that will be tabled at a
meeting on Tuesday (January 28), said:
“[The] council views with concern the comments made by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner in which he outlined his ‘worst-case scenario’ which included reductions to various
specialist units and the cutting of the
“[The] council believes the Royal Parks Police hold specialist knowledge, experience and expertise which would be impossible to replicate by other units within the Metropolitan Police.
[The] council calls on the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and Mayor of London to ensure sufficient funding is provided to ensure the survival of the Royal Parks Police and to mitigate [the] impact on other services identified in the ‘worst-case scenario’.”
The motion will be discussed at the meeting, before the council votes on whether to formally make the demands to the Met Police and Mayor. A Met Police spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS):
“We have been clear on the financial challenges we face and continue to have productive discussions with the Mayor and Home Office to ensure we have the resources to police London effectively. As expected we are carefully planning for any tough choices we may have to make to ensure we live within
the means of our future budget, but no final decisions have been made.”
A Mayor of London spokesperson added: “The Mayor recently announced more funding for the police from City Hall and has also welcomed the additional funding from the Government. This will help to keep more police officers on the streets in London and to fund the unique responsibilities the Met has policing the nation’s capital.
“The Met is still dealing with the terrible legacy left by the previous government, which massively cut funding for our police and public services over 14 years. The Commissioner is now looking at what the recent increase in funding from City Hall and the Government will mean for its budget.
“The Mayor will continue to work closely with the new government and the Met Commissioner – in the lead up to the spending review – on the additional national investment the Met needs to ensure we can continue building a safer London for everyone.”
York House, which serves as Richmond Council’s town hall Credit: Google Streetview)
Caroline Russell, Green Party London Assembly member. CREDIT- Greater London Authority
what’s on in Southwark
Jeffrey bernard is very well
We aLL love a pub raconteur holding court, glass in hand as they regale us with their anecdotes that may or may not be embellished, because we don’t mind mind a little exaggeration as long as we are amused. Jeffrey bernard was one of those and now he’s gone he has been brought back to life in Jeffrey bernard is unwell. Writes Michael Holland.
This is an old play by Keith Waterhouse, who spent many an afternoon in Soho’s Coach and Horses with Jeffrey, which has now been adapted by James Hillier for actor Robert Bathurst to be performed in the pub that was the scene of many of Jeffrey Bernard’s best and worst days.
The audience did not look like strangers to this world and had been warmed up with wine and ale for some time before the performance began.
As we jostled for seats in the packed pub where Mr Bernard spent many a
sozzled hour, Bathurst crashed in all blurry eyed to tell us it is 5am and that he got ‘left in the bog and locked in the pub’. He quickly headed for the optics to serve himself a neat vodka and gave us a rundown of a life lived doing as little as possible, with virtually no responsibility, no cares in the world, but with a lot of personal happiness in his life of carefree abandon.
Talking and walking along both sides of the long bar and engaging the audience with hilarious tales of debauched derring do, the actor gave lots of eye contact as he stalked so that every so often you would feel he was taking personally to you. Something you don’t get in a traditional theatre.
Yes, there were four failed marriages, jobs that never lasted, and even when he was offered a column in The Spectator he was often too indifferent to the task or too inebriated to submit the required number of words, so the magazine
would place the four iconic words ‘Jeffrey Bernard is unwell’ in its stead.
Bathurst is ideal for this role as he seems so at home in the Coach and Horses, glass in hand, spinning tales of drunkenness, ex-wives, famous friends, horse racing and cat racing, of which we had a comical example, and pulling off a trick involving water, a glass, a tray, a matchbox and an egg. Just as funny was watching the people sitting in close proximity to where the actor was reenacting the trick and almost reading their minds thinking of the many ways this could go wrong.
Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell is one of the best hours I have spent in a pub and even had me thinking about trying to make a Rake’s Progress myself.
Coach and Horses, Greek Street, Soho, W1D 5DH until February 10th.
Full details and booking: www.jeffreyplay.com
Lovers are scorned, friends betrayed, and duels end in fatality in the royal ballet’s onegin. much more than just a tragic love story, the ballet’s intricate choreography and mature, nuanced performances from the company provide a foundation of depth upon which the melodrama can unfold. Just make sure to read the programme notes, so you can keep up with what’s actually happening, writes Melina Block.
Reece Clarke is an excellent Eugene Onegin; the commanding, infuriatingly arrogant, titular role. He performs with slick, powerful control over his movements, the stage, and the other characters - who he treats more like playthings than people. His nonchalant charisma enthrals the delicate Tatiana, danced beautifully by Marianela Nuñez. Her transformation from the naive, lovestruck girl in Act 1 to the poised, confident woman by the end, is testament to her range and talent.
Onegin’s hold over the young woman in the first two acts is painfully obvious, as he practically chucks her around whilst she scuttles around him. Nuñez and Clarke communicate this power imbalance perfectly - so well that you want to get on stage and drag Tatiana away from Onegin, freeing her from his callous disrespect. Even knowing what the fate of their relationship is, their final pas de deux is filled with such tension and chemistry that the stakes still feel high, and the final rejection is all the more bittersweet for it.
Olga and Lensky, performed by Akane Takada and William Bracewell respectively, also provide moments of genuine tragedy and heartbreak. It is hard not to pity Lensky, as he runs after the fickle Olga, who has been - quite literally - swept up and around by Onegin. I would argue that it is this betrayal and its fatal outcome which most pulls at the heartstrings, especially when considering the earlier innocence and sweetness of Olga and Lensky’s relationship.
Bracewell’s sorrowful, angst-ridden performance in his final solo is realised to its full potential with the help of moody, midnight-blue lighting. His beloved Olga’s reaction to his death, as she seems to crumble apart on stage, is expertly executed by Takada, who embodies the pain of loss with unflinching commitment. Whilst a summary of the plot will be necessary to fully comprehend the story of Onegin, especially considering the tendency for Olga and Tatiana’s costuming to be strikingly similar, the ballet’s exploration of grief, friendship, betrayal, and passion is enchanting. Visually stunning and emotionally devastating, the Royal Ballet’s Onegin is a prime example of why people continue to gravitate towards dance as a medium for storytelling and performance.
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD until 12th June.
Tickets: £8 - £165.
Booking: https://www.rbo.org.uk/
Photo by Mark Senior
“canned goods” is the term the nazi officers use to refer to the three prisoners they’ve singled out to be expendable pawns in a staged false flag operation: a mock attack on a german radio station situated over the border, designed to be the catalyst for an offensive by germany into Poland. The prisoners don’t know their fate, but their sense of foreboding is strong, builds, and their paranoid musings are never too far off the mark, writes Eleanor Thorn.
The play premiered in New Jersey last year and is the debut work of New Yorker Erik Kahn. It appears there’s many a war history buff out there that does not know of the ‘obscure’ incendiary and pivotal ‘incident’ in Gleiwitz, part of the bigger Operation Himmler, and it is this that captured Kahn’s attention. Performed in the round, we are flies on the wall of the prison cell, privy to the interplay between the German officer, guard, and
their prisoners, who are suspicious of the upgrade in prison food they’re being served.
On one level, this is historical exploration of the psychology of war, up-close, with regular references to the climate of antiSemitism, convincing prisoner banter and derogatory addresses from the army officers. But as one of the opening lines indicates, “Is this real or just theatre?”, there is more to it.
2025 is the 80th year since the end of World War II and the liberation of concentration camps such as Dachau, where two of the three prisoners have been held, so a significant time to be investigating the circumstances that sparked such devastation, particularly to the Jewish people. Written over four years ago, Kahn could not have foreseen the current events we have been witnessing over the past months, into which new context this play tumbles.
“I am not political… It is complicated,” utters farmer Honiok (Tom Wells) who
is grappling with incomprehension at his arrest. Sound familiar? The play is awash with parallels to be drawn, if roles reversed, of course.
Great strength comes from the characters of the prisoners and how well they are written and portrayed. These are not stereotypes: Honiok, a bachelor farmer is a sensitive, religious man who knows his scriptures and loves his animals.
It is he who spots every time Birnbaum (Charlie Archer), the Jew, quotes from the Bible, for his subject is Christian theology. Kruger (Rowan Polonski) is less learned and more prone to treachery and racist diatribe, claiming justification in stealing from his Jewish employer. Once the operation is completed, these are men who will be forgotten, reason the military orchestrators.
The “Operation Grandmother Died” at the radio station is a quiet and deadly deed but we are shaken out of our simple spectatorship when lights up, discomfort imposed, SS Major Naujocks
(non-fictional, Dan Parr) appears in a Mastermind-like chair, firing questions at us: “Have you enjoyed the theatre?!” and “Where are the Jews?!” in a rabbit in the headlights moment…. In this climate of fake news, gaslighting and propaganda, suddenly we are being asked what is real, and the menacing question of how we react to not only the show but the conflict going on outside, is blaring, spoken and unspoken, leaving us in almost a state of shock. There are multiple thought-provoking layers, reminding us that history unfortunately tends to repeat itself: this is more of a play for our times than ever it set out to be.
Southwark Playhouse Borough, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London, SE1 6BD until 8th February. Times: Mon - Sat 7.30pm; Tues & Sat matinees 3pm. Ticket Prices: £28 Standard / £22.50 Concessions
Heading south - our pick of upcoming winter events
Black Coffee on the Thames
Introducing new six-day series Labyrinth on the Thames, celebrating contemporary dance music, taking place during the fi rst two weekends in August. And Labyrinth has just announced Grammy award winning South African DJ and producer, Black Coffee, as its fi rst headliner. The performer will make history on 1 August 2025 as the fi rst-ever DJ to headline London’s Old Royal Naval College. This exclusive performance will also be Black Coffee’s only London show this summer. Pre-sale tickets go on sale on 30 January at 10am, exclusively to those who sign up. So be sure to head to the link below to secure your chance. Staged across the afternoon and evening until 11pm, the event combines the backdrop of the Thames riverside and London’s skyline with the artist’s vision.Black Coffee’s performance at the Old Royal Naval College will be elevated by production from High Scream, the creative force behind his acclaimed residency at Hi Ibiza.
Date: Friday 1 August 2025. Tickets: Pre-sale tickets go on sale on 30 January at 10am Old Royal Naval College, SE10 9NN. www.labyrinthevents.com/black-coffee
Doc Doc
Laughter really is the best medicine with DocDoc, showing at Churchill Theatre this February. Doctor Cooper, a renowned specialist in obsessive-compulsive disorders, is running late. Meanwhile, he has a waiting room filled with patients desperate to be treated. First up there’s Fred with a bad case of Tourette’s, and behind him a growing queue of more and more challenging compulsions. Practice Assistant, Anna, attempts to keep on top of the mounting chaos while we await the good doctor’s arrival but, with the extended absence of Doctor Cooper, the group has no other option than to try their own version of group therapy, with screamingly funny consequences.
Dates: Wednesday 5 to Saturday 15 February 2025, times vary Tickets: £12 to £47. Churchill Theatre, High Street, Bromley BR1 1HA trafalgartickets.com/churchill-theatre-bromley/en-GB/event/play/doc-doc-tickets
Let’s Make Some Noise
Willow Dene School have been thinking about what it means to be a “noise maker”, refl ecting on how we experience sound, as well as how we create it. They have been exploring this subject through the visual arts, responding to and taking inspiration from the sounds around us – and now they are bringing their work to a Woolwich Works exhibition: Let’s Make Some Noise. This display brings together the results of this whole school project, exhibiting artworks from 37 classes, and presents a range of artistic techniques used to creatively respond to the theme.
Dates: Friday 14 February to Monday 24 February 2025 during normal opening hours Tickets: Free. The Fireworks Factory, 11 No 1 Street, Royal Arsenal, SE18 6HD www.woolwich.works/exhibition-lets-make-some-noise
Make a Bread Board
Join The River Shop for a one-day beginner’s woodworking course to make a personalised bread board. In this beginner’s woodwork course, you will learn how to make a wooden bread board, including how to join together the wood, and the various machines and tools needed to get a high quality fi nish to your piece. You’ll learn how to safely and confi dently use various machinery and hand tools in the workshop, including the mitre saw, band saw, drill press and sanders – with the possibility of the table saw, jointer and planer. At the end of the day, expect to take home with you a board that’s useful and takes pride of place in your kitchen.
Bask in the glow of love (and Helios) with a Valentine’s Day fi ne dining experience in the Painted Hall. Enjoy a welcome glass of champagne on arrival before settling into the baroque setting to enjoy a three-course dinner, accompanied by live entertainment. As you dine, uncover the depictions of love in Thornhill’s masterpiece with your exclusive Valentine’s Guide to the Painted Hall. Delve into the intricate themes, symbols and romantic tales woven into the artwork and rich history of the Old Royal Naval College. To make your evening even more special, you’ll leave with a single red rose as the perfect keepsake to cherish the memories of this extraordinary celebration of love. The evening also includes a welcome glass of Lombard Champagne, a threecourse specially curated fi ne dining menu and live music.
Date: Friday 14 February 2025, 7pm to 10:30pm. Tickets: £125 Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College, London SE10 9NN ornc.org/whats-on/valentines-dinner-in-the-painted-hall
Making it Last: Creativity, Mending and Reuse
Celia Pym’s NOW Gallery exhibition “SOCKS: The Art of Care and Repair” focuses on mending holes in socks – extending their use and being creative with stitches. The event “Making it Last: Creativity, Mending and Reuse” will see Celia Pym in conversation with Patrick Grant, Ligaya Salazar and Helen Kirkham. The in-conversation event will focus on the importance of textiles and craft education; power of learning sewing and manual craft skills from a young age; and creative acts of mending your clothes to shift our relationships with clothing, consumption and waste.
Date: Thursday 27 February 2025, 6:30pm
Tickets: To be released NOW Gallery, The Gateway Pavilions, Peninsula Square, Greenwich, SE10 0SQ nowgallery.co.uk/events/making-it-last-creativitymending-and-reuse-celia-pym-in-conversationwith-patrick-grant-and-helen-kirkham
History
t he g eorgian needle makers of b ermondsey
By Debra Gosling
h ardW idge sTreeT is a tiny turning at the junction of snowsfields and bermondsey street. it is a small, insignificant road but holds history in its tiny space.
The street started out as Suffolk Place but was renamed Hardwidge Street around 1900, after a well-to-do parishioner of St Mary Magdalen.
Said parishioner was one James Hardwidge, a needle-maker who, in the 1770s had a workshop at number 172 Long Lane, next to his father Richard’s tannery. James was highly regarded in the district, being a churchwarden at St Mary Magdalen and a lifetime member of the Philanthropic Society. In short, he was a good and decent man!
James’ business partner, Gideon Boitoult, came from a whole family of needle-makers (quite possibly with
a Huguenot pedigree) and between the pair they made sewing needles of every description, both for trade and home use. Before the days of machines a sewing needle was a small but significant piece of kit, especially in an area that made clothes, shoes, hats and all the requisite trimmings that accompany them. The eighteenth century was a time of Dandies and fine clothes; of lace and silk, so good needles were in demand.
Making them was a skill, requiring good eyesight, strength and patience. Each one had to be cut from regulated lengths of thin, straightened steel which were then bent double and wiggled over heat until pliant enough to have an eye stamped through the top. They then had to be sharpened on a grinding stone to make a point and repeatedly rolled and smoothed down until they were shiny with no jagged edges. The needle had to be passed
through fine materials, so only the best craftsmanship would do. The very best ones were made from gold. Imagine the sore fingers, eye strain and headaches caused by such an occupation!
James met a local girl named Elizabeth Simpson and they married in 1783 – their daughter, Artemesia arriving three years after the union. They moved away from the tanyards of Bermondsey in later years, preferring an elegant house in the green spaces of Camberwell. Here the smart set settled to take the air, away from the annoyances of London.
In 1787 tragedy struck for the first time in James’ life when Gideon Boitoult died. Now James was alone, but he certainly made the best out of a bad situation. Along the way he had acquired the patronage of Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III, - with all her finery and frocks a good needle was a must.
Being in the leather district it was easy to find trade with all the cobblers and craftsmen - sharp bodkin needles were the only thing to get through tough leather. James’ finest needles were marketed in tiny red Morocco leather cases that were intricately tooled in gold. It would be a fine present for a young man to give his sweetheart – who, after the marriage would be forever darning his socks, but let’s not spoil the romance of it all...
In 1791 James was made a Freeman of the City of London in the Needlemaker’s Company. Despite having served an apprenticeship he still had to pay for the honour: forty-six shillings was a hefty sum, even for the Queen’s Needlemaker!
The second tragedy occurred for James in 1804, when his beloved daughter Artemesia fell ill and passed away. She was just eighteen. Elizabeth
followed seven years later aged 45 – they have a memorial at St Mary Magdalen which reads: ‘1811 Elizabeth Hardwidge wife of James, Needlemaker to Her Majesty Queen Charlotte. Daughter Artemisia ‘who moulded in nature’s fairest form, the delight of her parents and friends, gifted with sensibility and every virtuous attraction, was taken hence to a better world in the short space of fourteen days’ illness, which was spent in piety and resignation to her maker’s will, in the 18th year of her age’.
James himself died on 7th July 1819, aged 63. At the time he was in Brighton, perhaps seeking the fresh air of the seaside to cure his ills, or maybe he was visiting the Regency Pavilion. He is buried alongside Elizabeth and Artemesia in St Mary Magdalen. A family vault stone can be seen in the churchyard.
Hardwidge Street, image courtesy of Debra Gosling
Southwark Pensioners’ Centre
in
Contact us on 020 7708 4556 or info@southwarkpensioners.org.uk
Or pop into 305 -307 Camberwell rd, Camberwell Green, SE5 0HQ
Transport for London Public Notice
ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984
THE A3 GLA ROAD (WEST HILL, LONDON BOROUGH OF WANDSWORTH) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC) ORDER 2025
1. Transport for London hereby gives notice that it intends to make the above named Trafc Order under section 14(1) of the Road Trafc Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose specied in paragraph 2. The effect of the Order is summarised in paragraph 3.
2. The purpose of the Order is to allow water meter works to take place at A3 West Hill.
3. The effect of the Order will be to prohibit any vehicle from entering, exiting or proceeding on the West Hill off slip road connecting the westbound carriageway of the A3 West Hill with Tibbets Corner Roundabout.
The Order will be effective from 10:00 AM on 20th February 2025 until 6:00 PM on 23rd February 2025 or when those works have been completed, whichever is the sooner. The prohibition will apply only during such times and to such extent as shall from time to time be indicated by trafc signs.
4. The prohibitions will not apply in respect of:
(1) any vehicle being used for the purposes of those works or for re brigade, ambulance or police purposes;
(2) anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform or a person authorised by Transport for London.
5. At such times as the prohibition is in force alternative routes will be indicated by trafc signs via West Hill Southwest bound, Kingston Road, Roehampton Vale, Kingston Vale, Roehampton Vale, Kingston Road, Tibbets Corner to normal route of travel.
Dated this 31st day of January 2025 Claire Wright Co-ordination and Permitting Area Manager Transport for London
Transport for London Public Notice
ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984
THE A2 GLA ROAD (OLD KENT ROAD/NEW CROSS ROAD, LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC, STOPPING AND SUSPENSION OF BUS LANE) ORDER 2025
1. Transport for London hereby gives notice that it intends to make the above named Trafc Order under section 14(1) of the Road Trafc Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose specied in paragraph 2. The effect of the Order is summarised in paragraph 3.
2. The purpose of the Order is to enable carriageway works to take place at A2 Old Kent Road.
3. The effect of the Order will be to prohibit any vehicle from:
(1) entering, exiting or proceeding on Ilderton Road between its junctions with Old Kent Road/New Cross Road and Wagner Street;
(2) entering, exiting or proceeding in a south- easterly direction on Old Kent Road between its junctions with Rotherhithe New Road and White Post Street, local access to be maintained between Rotherhithe New Road and Hillbeck Close;
(3) proceeding in a north-easterly direction on Leo Street between No.814 Old Kent Road and its junction with Old Kent Road;
(4) stopping on Old Kent Road between its junctions with White Post Street and Sylvan Grove;
The Order will also permit:
(5) all vehicles to use the western Bus Lane on Old Kent Road/New Cross Road between its junctions with Chestereld Way and Sylvan Grove;
(6) two-way operations on Gervase Street between its junction with Leo Street and Old Kent Road.
The Order will be effective from 7.00 AM on 10th February 2025 until 11.59 PM on 9th September 2025 or when the works have been completed whichever is the sooner. The prohibition will apply only during such times and to such extent as shall from time to time be indicated by trafc signs.
4. The prohibitions will not apply in respect of:
(1) any vehicle being used for the purposes of those works or for re brigade, ambulance or police purposes;
(2) anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform or a person authorised by Transport for London.
5. At such times as the prohibitions are in force an alternative route will be indicated by trafc signs. For Ilderton Road from Old Kent Road northwestbound via Old Kent Road, St Jame’s Road and Rotherhithe New Road to normal route of travel.
Dated this 31st day of January 2025
Matt Standell Performance and Planning Manager, Transport for London Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ
Transport for London Public Notice
ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984
THE GLA ROADS AND GLA SIDE ROADS (SUTTON) RED ROUTE TRAFFIC ORDER 2007 A24 GLA ROAD (LONDON ROAD) (ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING POINTS) VARIATION ORDER 2025
1. Transport for London, hereby gives notice that it intends to make the above named Order under section 6 of the Road Trafc Regulation Act 1984.
2. The general nature and effect of the Order will be to:
(1) reduce the length of the existing parking and disabled persons vehicles bay outside Nos.816-822 London Road by 9 metres from its south-western end;
(2) introduce an electric vehicles charging bay with a length of 6.5 metres outside No.816 London Road;
(3) introduce 9 metres on No stopping at Any Time double red lines outside No.816 London Road.
3. The road which would be affected by the Order is A24 London Road.
4. A copy of the Order, a statement of Transport for London’s reasons for the proposals, a map indicating the location and effect of the Order and copies of any Order revoked, suspended or varied by the Order can be inspected by visiting our website at https://haveyoursay.t.gov.uk/tro and selecting the relevant borough and reference the Trafc Order relates to or by appointment during normal ofce hours at our ofce at the address below. To arrange an appointment please email trafcordersection@t.gov.uk. Copies of the documents may be requested via email at trafcordersection@t.gov.uk, or by post at the following address quoting reference NMR/REGULATION/STOT/RC/TRO, GLA/2025/0198
•Transport for London Streets Trafc Order Team (NMR/REGULATION/STOT) Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road London, SE1 8NJ
5. All objections and other representations to the proposed Order must be made in writing and must specify the grounds on which they are made. Objections and representations must be sent to Transport for London, Streets Trafc Order Team, Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ or by emailing trafcordersection@t.gov.uk quoting reference NMR/REGULATION/STOT/RC/TRO, GLA/2025/0198, to arrive before 21st February 2025. Please note due to hybrid working access to post is restricted and requests for documents and conrmation of your objections or representations may be delayed. Objections and other representations may be communicated to other persons who may be affected.
Dated this 31st day of January 2025 Matt Standell Planning & Performance Manager Transport for London, Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ
Transport for London Public Notice
ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984
THE A4 GLA ROAD (TALGARTH ROAD, LONDON BOROUGH OF HAMMERSMITH AND FULHAM) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC) ORDER 2025
1. Transport for London hereby gives notice that it has made the above named Trafc Order under section 14(1) of the Road Trafc Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose specied in paragraph 2. The effect of the Order is summarised in paragraph 3.
2. The purpose of the Order is to enable mobile crane works to take place on the A4 Talgarth Road.
3. The effect of the Order will be to prohibit any vehicle from entering, exiting or proceeding in a westerly direction on A4 Talgarth Road between its junctions with Hammersmith Flyover and the access road to Premier Inn London Hammersmith.
The Order will be effective from 11:45 PM on 31st January 2025 until 10:00 PM on 28th February 2025 or when the works have been completed whichever is the sooner. The prohibition will apply only during such times and to such extent as shall from time to time be indicated by trafc signs.
4. The prohibitions will not apply in respect of:
(1) any vehicle being used for the purposes of those works or for re brigade, ambulance or police purposes;
(2) anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform or a person authorised by Transport for London.
5. At such times as the prohibitions are in force alternative routes will be indicated by trafc signs via Hammersmith Flyover Westbound, Great West Road Westbound, Hogarth Roundabout, Great West Road Eastbound, Queen Caroline Street, Butterwick to normal route of travel.
Dated this 31st day of January 2025
Paul Matthews
Co-ordination Manager, Transport for London Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ
LONDON BOROUGH OF LAMBETH ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 - SECTION 14 TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE – ST JULIAN’S FARM ROAD
1. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that, to enable Thames Water to carry out repair works, the Council of the London Borough of Lambeth have made an Order the effect of which will be to temporarily ban vehicles from entering in that length of St Julian’s Farm Road, which lies between the north-western kerb-line of Knights Hill and a point 21 metres west of Knight’s
2.
2025 and will continue for a maximum duration of 1 month (to allow for contingencies) or until the works have been completed, whichever is the earlier. In practice, it is anticipated that the works will take place between 10th February 2025 and 14th February 2025, but if the works cannot be carried out or completed during that time then the Order may also have effect on subsequent dates within the maximum period of 1 month. Dated 31st January 2025 Ben Stevens Highways Network Manager
LONDON BOROUGH OF LAMBETH ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 - SECTION 14 TEMPORARY PARKING RESTRICTIONS –TANKERVILLE ROAD
1. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that, to enable sewer repair works to be carried out, the Council of the London Borough of Lambeth have made an Order the effect of which will be to temporarily ban vehicles from entering, waiting (including
2.
3.
4.
the Order may have effect on subsequent dates within the maximum period of 1 month.
Dated 31st January 2025 Ben Stevens Highway Network Manager LONDON BOROUGH OF LAMBETH ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 – SECTION 14 TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE, SUSPENSION OF THE ONEWAY SYSTEM AND INTRODUCTION OF A TWO-WAY TRAFFIC SYSTEM - UPPER MARSH
1. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that to enable Thames Water remedial works to be carried out, the Council of the London Borough of Lambeth have made an Order the effect of which will be to temporarily:(a) ban vehicles from entering that length of Upper Marsh which lies between the south-western kerb-line of Westminster Bridge Road and a point 70 metres southwest of that kerb-line; and (b) suspend the one-way traffic system on Upper Marsh and introduce a two-way traffic system so that vehicle access can be maintained for businesses using the Beckett House car park.
2. Cyclist and Pedestrian access will be maintained.
3. An alternative route for affected vehicles will be via Royal Street, Centaur Street, Hercules Road, Kennington Road and Westminster Bridge Road.
4. The road closure, suspension of the one-way traffic system and introduction of the two-way traffic system will only apply at such times and to such extent as shall be indicated by the placing or covering of the appropriate traffic signs.
5. The Order will come into effect on 10th February 2025 and it will continue for a maximum duration of 1 month (to allow for contingencies) or until the works have been completed whichever is the sooner. In practice it is anticipated that the Order will only have effect on 10th February 2025, between the hours of 8.am and 5.pm, but if the works cannot be carried out or completed during that time, then the Order may have effect at other times within the maximum period of 1 month.
Dated 31st January 2025 Ben Stevens Highways Network Manager LONDON BOROUGH OF LAMBETH ROAD
1.
2.
Transport for London Public Notice
ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984
THE A21 GLA ROADS (RUSHEY GREEN AND BROMLEY ROAD, LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM)
(TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC AND STOPPING) ORDER 2025
1. Transport for London having consulted with the London Borough of Lewisham hereby gives notice that it intends to make the above named Trafc Order under section 14(1) of the Road Trafc Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose specied in paragraph 2. The effect of the Order is summarised in paragraph 3.
2. The purpose of the Order is to enable carriageway resurfacing to take place on the A21 Bromley Road.
3. The effect of the Order will be to prohibit any vehicle from:
(1) entering or proceeding in a northerly direction on Bromley Road between its junctions with Daneby Road and Downham Lane;
(2) entering or proceeding in a southerly direction on Bromley Road between its junctions with Downham Way and Bellingham Road;
(3) entering or proceeding in a southerly direction on Rushey Green between its junction with Sangley Road and the northern boundary of Nos.1 to 14 Octavia House, Rushey Green;
(4) stopping on Bromley Road between its junctions with Daneby Road and Downham Lane;
(5) stopping on the south-eastern kerb-line of Rushey Green/Bromley Road between its junction with Sangley Road and outside No.163 Rushey Green;
(6) entering, exiting, proceeding on Randlesdown Road between its junction with Bromley Road and the access road to Randisbourne Gardens, Bromley Road;
(7) entering or exiting Orford Road and the access road to Delamare Court, No. 246 Bromley Road at their junctions with Bromley Road;
(8) entering, exiting, proceeding or stopping on Allerford Road between its junction with Bromley Road and the north-eastern building line of Nos. 7 to 12 Allerford Court, Bromley Road;
(9) entering, exiting, stopping or proceeding on Watermead Road between its junction with Bromley Road and the extended north-eastern building line of Nos. 13 to 18 Flatford House, Bromley Road;
(10) entering, exiting, proceeding or stopping on Beckenham Hill Road between its junctions with Bromley Road and the access road to Homebase Beckenham Hill Road;
(11) entering, exiting, proceeding or stopping on Ansford Road between its junction with Bromley Road and the extended southern property boundary of No.386 Bromley Road;
(12) entering, exiting, proceeding or stopping on Chelford Road between its junction with Bromley Road and the south-western building line of No.400 Bromley Road;
(13) entering, exiting, proceeding or stopping on Old Bromley Road between its junctions with Bromley Road and Bamford Road;
(14) entering, exiting, proceeding or stopping on Downham Way between its junction with Bromley Road and the unnamed service road at the rear of Nos. 446 to 468 Bromley Road and Nos. 9 to 23 Old Bromley Road;
(15) entering, exiting, stopping or proceeding on the unnamed service road at the rear of Nos. 446 to 468 Bromley Road and Nos. 9 to 23 Old Bromley Road between its junction with Bromley Roan and a point 3 metres southwest of the north-eastern building line of No.446 Bromley Road;
(16) entering, exiting, proceeding or stopping on Winlaton Road between its junction with Bromley Road and the extended eastern building line of No.9 Winlaton Road;
(17) entering or exiting Bromley Road at its junction with the access road to BP Petrol Station, Bromley Road;
(18) entering, exiting, proceeding or stopping on Oakridge Road between its junction with Bromley Road and the extended western building line of No.5 Oakridge Road;
(19) entering, exiting, proceeding or stopping on Oldstead Road between its junction with Bromley Road and the extended north-eastern building line of No.359 Bromley Road;
(20) entering, exiting, proceeding or stopping on Daneswood Avenue between its junction with Bromley Road and the extended south-western building line of Nos.271 to 275 Conisborough Crescent, Bromley Road.
The Order will allow two way operations on Oakridge Road between its junction with Haddington Road and extended south-western building line of No.5 Oakridge Road.
The Order will be effective between 16th February 2025 and 16th August 2025 every night from 9.00 PM until 5.00 AM or when the works have been completed whichever is the sooner. The prohibition will apply only during such times and to such extent as shall from time to time be indicated by trafc signs.
4. The prohibitions will not apply in respect of:
(1) any vehicle being used for the purposes of those works or for re brigade, ambulance or police purposes;
(2) anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform or a person authorised by Transport for London.
5. At such times as the prohibitions are in force an alternative routes will be indicated by trafc for northbound trafc via Bromley Road, London Lane, Burnt Ash Lane, Southover, Downham Way, Northover, Verdant Lane, Brownhill Road, Plassy Road and Bromley Road to normal route of travel. (For HGV) Park Avenue and then follow the above diversion for southbound trafc via Bellingham Road, Hazel Bank Road, Verdant Lane, Northover and Downham Way to normal route of travel.
Dated this 31st day of January 2025
Matt Standell Performance and Planning Manager, Transport for London
Transport for London Public Notice
ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984
THE GLA ROADS AND SIDE ROADS (WANDSWORTH) RED ROUTE CONSOLIDATION ORDER 2007 THE A3205 GLA ROADS BATTERSEA PARK ROAD AND NINE ELMS LANE VARIATION ORDER 2025 THE A3205 GLA ROADS (BATTERSEA PARK ROAD AND NINE ELMS LANE, LONDON BOROUGH OF WANDSWORTH) (CYCLE LANES) TRAFFIC ORDER 2025 THE A3205 GLA ROAD (NINE ELMS LANE, LONDON BOROUGH OF WANDSWORTH) BANNED U-TURN TRAFFIC ORDER 2025 THE GLA ROADS (WANDSWORTH) (BUS PRIORITY) CONSOLIDATION ORDER 2008 A3205 GLA ROADS (BATTERSEA PARK ROAD AND NINE ELMS LANE) VARIATION ORDER 2025
1. Transport for London, hereby gives notice that it intends to make the above named Orders under section 6 of the Road Trafc Regulation Act 1984.
2. The general nature and effect of the Orders will be to:
(1) introduce a 918 metre long eastbound with ow cycle lane on A3205 Nine Elms Lane/ Battersea Park Road from a point 65 metres southwest of the north-eastern kerb line of the junction with Cringle Street to a point 100 metres west of the north-western kerb line of the junction with Wandsworth Road;
(2) introduce a 958 metre long westbound with ow cycle lane on A3205 Nine Elms Lane/ Battersea Park Road from a point 23 metres west of a point opposite the furthest extended southwestern building line of Brunswick House, Nine Elms Lane to a point 70 metres south west and opposite the south-western kerbline of Cringle Street;
(3) introduce a 113 metre long eastbound with ow cycle lane on A3205 Battersea Park Road between its junctions with Pump House Lane and Cringle Street
(4) extend the double red lines (No Stopping at Any Time) on the north side of Cringle Street by 16 metres;
(5) extend the double red lines (No Stopping at Any Time) on the south side of Cringle Street by 28 metres.
(6) ban all vehicles proceeding westwards on A3205 Nine Elms Lane to do a U-turn at the gap in the central reservation opposite its junction with Viaduct Gardens onto the eastbound carriageway of A3205 Nine Elms Lane;
(7) ban all vehicles proceeding westwards on A3205 Nine Elms Lane to do a U-turn at the gap in the central reservation opposite its junction with the Riverside Court Access Road onto the eastbound carriageway of A3205 Nine Elms Lane;
(8) change the operational timings of the bus lane on the north-west side of Nine Elms Lane between a point 30 metres north-east of the northeastern kerb line of the junction with Cringle Street and a point 100 metres north west of a point opposite the western kerb-line of Viaduct Gardens to Mon – Sun, At Any Time
(9) change the operational timings of the bus lane on the north-west side of Nine Elms Lane between a point 22 metres north-east of a point opposite the eastern kerb-line of Viaduct Gardens and a point 100 metres west of the north-western kerbline of the junction with Wandsworth Road to Mon – Sun, At Any Time;
(10) change the operational timings of the bus lane on the south-east side of Nine Elms Lane between a point 110 metres west from the southern kerb line of Wandsworth Road and a point 30 metres east of the north eastern kerbline of Ponton Road to Mon – Sun, At Any Time
(11) change the operational timings of the bus lane on the south-east side of Nine Elms Lane between a point 10 metres west of the western kerb line of Ponton Road and a point 60 metres west of the western kerb line of New Mill Road to Mon – Sun, At Any Time (12) change the operational timings of the bus lane on the south-east side of Battersea Park Road between a point 45 metres west of the northwestern kerb line of Savona Street to a point 20 metres west of a point opposite the northern ank wall of No. 4 Battersea Park Road (Battersea Dog’s Home) to Mon – Sun, At Any Time;
3. The roads which would be affected by the Orders are A3205 Battersea Park Road, A3205 Nine Elms Lane and Cringle Street.
4. A copy of the Order, a map indicating the location and effect of the Order and copies of any Order revoked, suspended or varied by the Order can be inspected by appointment at our ofces at the address below by emailing trafcordersection@t.gov.uk. Copies of the documents may be requested via email at trafcordersection@t.gov.uk, or by post at the following address quoting reference NP/REGULATION/STOT/LL/TRO/GLA/2025/0126-9: •Transport for London Streets Trafc Order Team (NP/REGULATION/STOT) Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road London, SE1 8NJ
5. All objections and other representations to the proposed Order must be made in writing and must specify the grounds on which they are made. Objections and representations must be sent to Transport for London, Streets Trafc Order Team, Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ quoting reference NP/REGULATION/STOT/TRO, GLA/2025/0126-9, to arrive before 21st February 2025. Objections and other representations may be communicated to other persons who may be affected.
Dated this 31st day of January 2025
Matt Standell Planning & Performance Manager (South), Transport for London Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ
LONDON BOROUGH OF LAMBETH ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 - SECTION 14 TEMPORARY TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS
1.
2. Acre Lane,
3.
4.
AND WINCOTT STREET
1. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that, to enable the construction of rain gardens to be carried out, the Council of the London Borough of Lambeth made an Order the effect of which will be to temporarily ban motor vehicles from entering that section of: -
south-eastern kerb-line of Gilbert Road; and (c) Reedworth Street, which lies between the north-western boundary of Nos. 1 to 10 Jubilee House and a point 2 metres south-east of the north-western boundary of Nos.1 to 12 Elizabeth House.
2.
3. The ban will only apply at such times and to such extent as shall be indicated by the placing of the appropriate traffic signs.
4. The Order comes into force on 3 February 2025 and continues for a maximum duration of 18 months (to allow for contingencies) or until the works have been completed whichever is the earlier. In practice it is anticipated that the works will take place between 3 February 2025 and 7 March 2025, but if the works cannot be completed or carried out during that time the Order will also have effect at a subsequent time within the maximum period of 18 months.
Dated 31 January 2025 Ben Stevens Highway Network Manager
Notice of application for variation of a Premises Licence
Name of applicant: Nova Caravella Ltd Postal address of premises: Ristorante Sorrento, 379 Ewell Road, Surbiton, KT6 7DE
Application details: This variation seeks to extend the relevant entertainment activity on Fridays and Saturdays from 18:00 until 00:00.
Full details of the application can be inspected on the licensing register, online at kingston.gov.uk or in person at the address given below.
Deadline for representations: 18/02/2025
Representations must be made in writing to the Licensing Authority by post: Licensing Team, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Guildhall 2, High Street, Kingston upon Thames, KT1 1EU or by email: licensing@kingston.gov.uk
It is an offence to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement in or in connection with an application, punishable upon conviction by an unlimited fine.
LONDON BOROUGH OF LAMBETH
ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 - SECTION 14
TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE, SUSPENSION OF ONE -WAY SYSTEM AND INTRODUCTION OF A TWO -WAY SYSTEM –LOUGHBOROUGH STREET
1. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that, to enable Power on to carry out new circuit installation works safely, the Council of the London Borough of Lambeth intend to make an Order the effect of which would be to temporarily:(a) ban vehicles from entering that length of Loughborough Street which lies between Kennington Lane and Brangton Road; (b) ban right turn and ban left turn from Kennington Lane into Loughborough Street.
2. Alternative routes would be available via (a) Kennington Lane, Courtenay Street, Sancroft Street and Newburn Street; and (b) Kennington Lane, Vauxhall Street, Sancroft Street and Newburn Street.
3. Whenever the ban referred to in paragraph 1 above applies, the one-way system in Loughborough Street between its junction with Kennington Lane and Brangton Road would be temporarily suspended to allow access for deliveries to and egress from that length of road.
4. The bans and suspension would only apply at such times and to such extent as shall be indicated by the placing and covering of the appropriate traffic signs.
5. The Order would come into force on 17th February 2025 and would continue for a maximum duration of 6 months or until the said works have been completed, whichever is earlier. In practice it is anticipated that the works would take place between 17th February 2025 and 21st February 2025 and between 7th April 2025 to 28th April 2025, but if the works cannot be completed or carried out during these dates then the Order would also have effect at a subsequent time within the maximum period of 6 months.
Dated 31st January 2025 Ben Stevens Highway Network Manager
LONDON BOROUGH OF LAMBETH ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 – SECTION 16A TEMPORARY TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS AND TEMPORARY PARKING, STOPPING AND WAITING RESTRICTIONS – BELVEDERE ROAD IN CONNECTION WITH THE ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL BAFTA AWARDS EVENT
1. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Council of the London Borough of Lambeth intend to make an Order, the effect of which would be to temporarily ban vehicles from entering and waiting (including waiting for the purpose of loading or unloading a vehicle) in:-
(i) Belvedere Road, between Chicheley Street and Waterloo Bridge Road; (ii) Chicheley Street; (iii) Upper Ground, between Belvedere Road and the south-western kerb-line of Cornwall Road; and (iv) the slip road connecting Waterloo Road to Belvedere Road, in a north-westerly direction (the down ramp).
2. The bans are necessary because of the likelihood of danger to the public caused by an increase in pedestrian and vehicular traffic and parked vehicles due to the Bafta Awards event taking place at the Royal Festival Hall.
3. The road closures would only apply at such times and to such extent as shall be indicated by the placing of the appropriate traffic signs. Access for residents and businesses would be maintained, as directed by marshals positioned at each closure point.
4. Alternative routes would be available for vehicles affected by the restrictions referred to in paragraphs 1 above via (a) York Road, Waterloo Road, Stamford Street, Cornwall Road and Upper Ground; and (b) Cornwall Road, Stamford Street, Waterloo Road and York Road.
5. The Order would come into force on 16th February 2025 for a maximum duration of 2 days.
Dated 31st January 2025 Ben Stevens Highway Network Manager
LONDON BOROUGH OF LAMBETH
THE LAMBETH (CHARGED-FOR PARKING PLACES) (AMENDMENT No. 50) ORDER 2025
THE LAMBETH (FREE PARKING PLACES, LOADING PLACES, AND WAITING, LOADING AND STOPPING RESTRICTIONS) (AMENDMENT No. 54) ORDER 2025 THE LAMBETH (MOVING TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS) (AMENDMENT NO. 4) ORDER 2025
(NOTE: This Notice is about making permanent certain restrictions on movement, parking, waiting, loading that were introduced in the Brixton Hill area which were introduced under experimental measures, initially in September 2023 and modified in November 2023 and January 2024.)
1. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Council of the London Borough of Lambeth on 28 January 2025 made the above-mentioned Orders under sections 6, 45, 46, 49 and 124 of, and Part IV of Schedule 9 to, the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 as amended by section 8 of, and Part I of Schedule 5 to, the Local Government Act 1985, and all other enabling powers so as to continue in force indefinitely the provisions of the Lambeth Brixton Hill Low Traffic Neighbourhood (Prescribed Routes) Experimental Order 2023, the Lambeth Charged-For Parking Places) (Amendment No. 16) Experimental Order 2023, the Lambeth (Free Parking Places, Loading Places and Waiting, Loading and Stopping Restrictions) (No. 16) Experimental Traffic Order 2023, The Lambeth (charged-For Parking Places) (Amendment No. 26) Experimental Order 2023, The Lambeth (Free Parking Places, Loading Places and Waiting, Loading and Stropping Restrictions) (No. 29 Experimental Traffic Order 2023, The Lambeth (Charged-For Parking Places) (Amendment No. 1) Experimental Order 2024 and the Lambeth (Free Parking Places, Loading Places and Waiting, Loading and Stopping Restrictions) (No. 1) Experimental Traffic Order 2024.
2. The general effect of the Orders, which will come into force on 10 February 2025, will be to:-
(a) Continue two-way working in certain lengths of the roads listed in Schedule 1 to this Notice;
(b) Ban motor vehicles with exemptions for pedal cycles, emergency vehicles, and vehicles with a valid dispensation from entering or proceeding in certain lengths of the roads listed in Schedule 2 to this Notice;
(c) Ban motor vehicles from entering or proceeding in certain lengths of the roads listed in Schedule 3 to this Notice;
(d) Ban motor vehicles from entering:
(i) Dumbarton Road from Brixton Hill;
(ii) Branksome Road from Acre Lane.
(e) Continue the contraflow cycle provision in:-
(i) Branksome Road in a northbound direction between the southern kerb-line of Winterwell Road and the northern kerb-line of Sudbourne Road;
(ii) Dumbarton Road in a westerly direction between the western kerb-line of Brixton Hill westward for 7 metres.
(f) Continue “At any time” waiting restrictions in certain lengths of the roads listed in Schedule 4 to this Notice
(g) Remove the Disabled Persons Parking Place outside No. 58 Morrish Road;
(h) Remove the Shared Use (permit holder and paid limited waiting) parking places in certain lengths of the roads listed in Schedule
5 to this Notice;
(i) Replace permit holder parking places in certain lengths of Branksome Road with a solo motorcycle parking place and a car club parking place.
3. A copy of each of the Orders, and other documents giving detailed particulars about them (including maps) will be available for inspection online at: https://streets.appyway.com/lambeth or www.lambeth.gov.uk/traffic-management-orders and at the offices of Lambeth Council’s Parking and Enforcement Group (Resident Services), 3rd Floor, Civic Centre, 6 Brixton Hill, London SW2 1EG, between 9.30 am and 4.30 pm on Mondays to Fridays inclusive (except on bank/public holidays), until the last day of a period of six weeks beginning with the date on which the Orders were made. Please contact Trafficorders@lambeth.gov.uk to arrange an inspection. A copy of the Orders and the other documents are also available on request by email to Trafficorders@lambeth.gov.uk
4. Any person desiring to question the validity of the Order or of any provision contained therein on the grounds that it is not within the relevant powers of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 or that any of the relevant requirements thereof or of any relevant regulations made thereunder has not been complied with in relation to the Order may, within 6 weeks of the date on which this Order was made, make application for the purpose to the High Court.
Dated 31 January 2025 Ben Stevens Highway Network Manager
Local media reaches you in huge numbers. Local news brands now reach 40 million people every single month, which is 73% of the total GB population. And
Notice of application for variation of a Premises Licence
Take notice that I/we: ROZIKHEL SEFATULLAH have made an application to Lewisham Council acting as the Licensing Authority, for a Variation of a Premises Licence in respect of BASEMENT CAFÉ, UNIT 5 BASEMENT GOLDCREST HOUSE, 32-64 LEE HIGH ROAD LONDON SE13 5HF
The details of the application are as follows: Sale by Retail of Alcohol (On Premises): Sunday – Thursday: 11:00 – 02:30 Hrs
Regulated Entertainment: (Live Music, Recorded Music): Sunday - Thursday:23:00 –02:30Hrs
Late Night Refreshment: Sunday –Thursday: 23:00 – 02:30 Hrs
The application and the Licensing Authority’s public register can be inspected at: Lewisham Council, Safer Communities Service, 9 Holbeach Road, London, SE6 4TW by appointment between Monday to Friday (except on public holidays) and between the hours of 9.00 am to 4.00 pm; or at www.lewisham.gov.uk
The last date by which responsible authorities or other persons may make representations to the Licensing Authority in relation to this application is: 24th February 2025
Any representations must be made in writing to the above address or by emailing licensing@lewisham.gov.uk
It is an offence knowingly or recklessly to make a false statement in connection with an application and the maximum fine for which a person is liable on summary conviction is unlimited.
Notice of application to vary a Premises Licence.
Notice is hereby given that Mountain Food and Wine Limited has applied to Wandsworth Council to vary the premises licence at 20 Battersea Park Road, London, SW11 4HY as follows: The proposed variation seeks to extend the current licensing hours from 7am to 7pm, to a later time, allowing for both the sale of alcohol and general goods beyond the current restriction.
Proposed Time: Sunday to Thursday 7:00am to 00:00am Friday and Saturday 7:00am to 02:00am
Any person who wishes to make a representation in relation to this application must give notice in writing by 25/02/2025 stating the grounds for making said representation to: Wandsworth Licensing Authority, Regulatory Services Partnership (Serving Merton, Richmond and Wandsworth Councils) Merton Civic Centre, London Road, Morden,Surrey,SM4 5DX or by email: licensing@merton.gov.uk
The record of this application may be inspected Monday to Friday (except Bank Holidays) by prior appointment at the offices of Wandsworth Licensing Authority, Regulatory Services Partnership (Serving Merton, Richmond and Wandsworth Councils) Merton Civic Centre, London Road, Morden,Surrey, SM4 5DX between the hours of 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. Information on all new and variation applications received by the Licensing Authority can be viewed on the Council’s website www.wandsworth.gov.uk
It is an offence, under section 158 of the Licensing Act 2003, to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement in or in connection with an application, punishable upon conviction by an unlimited fine.
APPLICATION FOR PREMISES LICENCE VARIATION TO PREMISES LICENCE UNDER THE LICENSING ACT 2003
Statement of the relevant licensable activities which it is proposed will be carried on or from the premises:
The variation is to increase the licensable hours for:
The sale of alcohol (on the premises):
Monday to Thursday 11.00 hrs to 01.00 hrs Friday to Saturday 11.00 hrs to 02.00 hrs
Sundays 11.00 hrs to 00.00 hrs
Provision of late night refreshments (on the premises): Monday to Thursday 23.00 hrs to 01.00 hrs
Friday to Saturday 23.00 hrs to 02.00 hrs
Sundays 23.00 hrs to 00.00 hrs
To increase the opening hours: Monday to Thursday 09.00 hrs to 01.00 hrs Friday to Saturday 09.00 hrs to 02.00 hrs Sundays 11.00 hrs to 00.00 hrs
Name of Applicant: Mr Besjan Selimaj Full postal address of premises: Qualia, 802 Wickham Road Croydon CR0 8EB
Postal address of local authority where register of applications is kept for general viewing: London Borough of Croydon, Place Department, Licensing Team,10th Floor, Zone B, Bernard Weatherill House,8 Mint Walk,Croydon,CR0 1EA
Application details can be viewed at Access Croydon Reception, Bernard Weatherill House, between 9 a.m. & 3.45 p.m., Monday to Friday (except bank holidays), or online via www.croydon.gov.uk
If you wish to make any representations in relation to this application, please do so in writing, within 28 days from the date of this notice, to: Place Department, Licensing Team,10th Floor, Zone B, Bernard Weatherill House,8 Mint Walk,Croydon,CR0 1EA BY: 20/02/2025
It is an offence to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement in connection with an application. The maximum fine on summary conviction for such an offence is £5000.
Date of this notice: 24/01/2025
To place a notice in this paper and online, please email em@ cm‐media .co.uk or call us on 020 7232 1639 Deadline is 3pm on Wednesday
Transport for London Public Notice
ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984
THE A2 GLA ROAD (OLD KENT ROAD, LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF BANNED TURN) ORDER
2025
1. Transport for London hereby gives notice that it intends to make the above named Trafc Order under section 14(1) of the Road Trafc Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose specied in paragraph 2. The effect of the Order is summarised in paragraph 3.
2. The purpose of the Order is to enable telecom works to take place at A2 Old Kent Road.
3. The effect of the Order will be to prohibit any vehicle from turning left into Dunton Road from Old Kent Road.
The Order will be effective at certain times between the 19th February 2025 and the 24th February 2025 every night from 8.00 PM until 11.59 PM or when the works have been completed whichever is the sooner. The prohibition will apply only during such times and to such extent as shall from time to time be indicated by trafc signs.
4. The prohibitions will not apply in respect of:
(1) any vehicle being used for the purposes of those works or for re brigade, ambulance or police purposes;
(2) anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform or a person authorised by Transport for London.
5. At such times as the prohibition is in force an alternative route will be indicated by trafc signs via Old Kent Road, Humphrey Street and Old Kent Road to normal route of travel.
Dated this 31st day of January 2025
Claire Wright Co-Ordination Manager Transport for London Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ
Transport for London Public Notice
ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984
THE A3 GLA SIDE ROAD (TOLWORTH RISE SOUTH, ROYAL BOROUGH OF KINGSTON UPON THAMES) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF TRAFFIC)
ORDER 2025
1. Transport for London in consultation with the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames hereby gives notice that it intends to make the above named Trafc Order under section 14(1) of the Road Trafc Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose specied in paragraph 2. The effect of the Order is summarised in paragraph 3.
2. The purpose of the Order is to enable water valve repair works to take place on Tolworth Rise South.
3. The effect of the Order will be to prohibit any vehicle from:
(1) entering, exiting or proceeding on the Tolworth Rise South Service Road between its junction with Warren Drive South and the extended southern property boundary of No. 112 Tolworth Rise South;
(2) turning right into Tolworth Rise South from Warren Drive South.
The Order will be effective at certain times between 17th February 2025 and 19th February 2025, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM every day or when the works have been completed whichever is the sooner. The prohibitions will apply only during such times and to such extent as shall from time to time be indicated by trafc signs.
4. The prohibitions will not apply in respect of:
(1) any vehicle being used for the purposes of those works or for re brigade, ambulance or police purposes;
(2) anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform or a person authorised by Transport for London.
5. At such times as the prohibitions are in force an alternative route will be indicated by trafc signs via Oakdene Drive, Raleigh Drive and Warren Drive South and in reverse to normal route of travel.
Dated this 31st day of January 2025
Claire Wright
Co-ordination Manager Transport for London, Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London, SE1 8NJ
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burns lands testimonial
Rory Burns has scored more than 11,000 fi rstclass runs
Dulwich drop towards trapdoor
By John Kelly
Skipper has been with the club for 25 years
By John Kelly
surreY sKiPPer rory burns has been awarded a testimonial in 2025.
Burns, 34, has spent all of his career at Surrey after joining at the age of nine.
Epsom’s Burns has been the captain of the Three Feathers since 2018 and has won four County Championships in the last seven years, including the last three.
Burns has scored more than 11,000 first-class runs for Surrey and has played 32 times for England.
“Having been part of the Club for 25 years, I’m honoured to have been awarded a testimonial by Surrey,” Burns said. “The Oval has always been home for me and I’m very grateful for all the support that I have received while I’ve
been here.
“The Surrey family is a very special community to be a part of and I’m looking to celebrating with friends, team-mates and supporters this year.”
High performance cricket advisor Alec Stewart added: “No one is more deserving of this honour than Rory Burns. Rory is a leader of the highest calibre and very few men have had the impact on the club that he has.
“Everyone knows what he can do on the pitch with a bat in hand but that quality as a batter is matched by his tactical skillset in the field as captain and by his leadership in the dressing room.
“On behalf of the club I want to thank Rory for his 25 years of service and I look forward to seeing him scoring runs at the Kia Oval for many more years.”
Lionesses suffer Darts pain
By Myles Thornton at St Paul’s
MiLLWaLL Lionesses were defeated 5-0 by leaders dartford in the L&serWfL Premier division at st Paul’s last weekend.
Shauni Griffiths scored a hat-trick for the Darts, who had Ellie Dolby, daughter of Millwall 1991 FA Youth Cup winner, Tony, in their side.
Millwall had their highest attendance of the season, 200, in Rotherhithe as they suffered just a second league defeat in their last eleven games.
Dartford took the lead after fifteen minutes through Amy Russ’s shot from 25 yards
Griffiths got her first goal on 23 minutes and added her side’s third with a powerful 30-yard free-kick nine minutes later.
Just before the half-time break, Mia
Lockett had a chance to get one back for Ted Jones’s side, but her shot was saved by goalkeeper Paris Smith.
Millwall made a bright start to the second half. Emel Huseyin crossed from the right to find Lockett in the box only for her effort to go over the bar.
A ricochet in the area gifted Dartford a fourth goal, with Griffiths completing her hat-trick on 64 minutes.
Dartford finished the scoring thirteen minutes from time when Emily Vaughan add their fifth.
The Lionesses are seventh in the twelve-team table, with 21 points from fifteen games.
Millwall have a weekend off before returning to league action on February 9 against Ashford United at the Homelands Stadium.
brilliant green takes crown
By Sports Reporter
surreY’s charlie green won the ruislip christmas open last month with a superb display.
He defeated James Colyer, European Champion Ritchie Edhouse, Josh Price, Nick
Ruislip IDL will have a monthly slot in the 2025 Mega Grand Prix. The IDL is currently accepting sign-ups for all venues. Visit www.theidl.co.uk for more information.
dulwich hamleT suffered an agonising second successive defeat under bradley Quinton as they conceded in added-time to lose 2-1 to chichester city at a capacity champion hill last weekend.
Jimmy Wild scored in the 47th minute before George Porter equalised for the hosts two minutes later.
Chichester claimed the three points through Lloyd Rowlatt in the 97th minute in front of a 3,334 attendance.
Dulwich are just two points above the Isthmian League Premier Division relegation zone.
Quinton is in charge until the end of the season.
Outlining his aims for the rest of the campaign, Quinton said “getting the squad in the right mindset is a huge key factor and what is needed confidence-wise, expressing their ability, and playing for the badge, playing for the fans is something that I dedicate my time to. That’s the ambition from now until the end of the season, to leave everything out on the park, and to play with a smile on your face, and make the crowd proud, and really aim for whatever is possible.”
Quinton added he wanted the fans to “enjoy, be proud, understand that the work ethic is going to be different and committed and we’ve got strong ambitions for this club for the remainder of the season, and as long as I’m here it will be going further and further”
“We will be aiming to match the crowds’ ambitions, and to move as high as possible, and the scalability of what we can do is down to the fans. I’m sure they will be supporting us in the right way so we’ll be looking for their support as much as possible.”
Dulwich travel to Horsham this Saturday for a 3pm kick-off.
Ellie looking Skye-wards after making it perfect ten
By John Kelly
eLLie scoTneY wants a move to featherweight after making it a perfect ten with a unanimous points victory against Mea Motu in nottingham last weekend.
Catford’s Scotney, 27, retained her IBF, WBO and Ring Magazine superbantamweight belts by handing New
Zealand’s Motu, 35, her first professional defeat.
Unbeaten Scotney now wants a fight with 29-year-old Australian WBC featherweight world champion Skye Nicolson (12-0) as she continues to forge a name as one of Britain’s best boxers.
“People have got to be willing to take the fights and willing to pay, but getting names is probably what gets you
noticed,” Scotney said.
“I’m looking at featherweight and Skye Nicolson’s a fight I want and I’ll be pushing for that too.
“You can see the action here. It’s a fight that can be made. Eddie [Hearn] wants the big fights. He wants you to be willing to be paid. He wants the fights that mean something, and that means something, right?”
Scotney fights out of Shane McGuigan’s gym with Caroline Dubois, the WBC lightweight world champion, and she believes both of them can be undisputed champions this year.
“I’ve never been someone that blows my trumpet, that’s not how I was brought up,” Scotney said.
“I think you go through the record and you weigh it up, I think the proof is in the
pudding. I’m just going to remain silent and God willing this is the year that I cement my name and people will be ranking me amongst that.
“I’ve been thrown in the deep end and Scotney’s learned to swim. I’ve had nine fights but I feel like the depth I’ve been willing to mix in sometimes doesn’t really get appreciated.
“Maybe this will be the year.”
Photo by Mark Sandom
Holman and Grand Slam finalist Martin Lukeman to take the crown.
Charlie Green
romantic ending spoiled
£14.5million winger nets on Eagles debut but Bees taste success
ByJohn Kelly
roMain esse said he “forgot everything for a second” after scoring with his first touch in a crystal Palace jersey in the eagles’ 2-1 defeat to brentford at selhurst Park.
Esse tapped in a cross from Daniel Muñoz at the back post to halve the deficit with five minutes left before doing a knee-slide celebration.
The Bees had gone in front in controversial fashion in the 66th minute.
Brentford were awarded a penalty when Maxence Lacroix fouled Nathan Collins but Bryan Mbeumo's spot-kick hit the post before Marc Guehi cleared. However, the penalty was ordered to be retaken after the VAR judged that Guehi had encroached in the area, and this time Mbeumo sent Dean Henderson the wrong way.
Kevin Schade headed in a cross from Mikkel Damsgaard with ten minutes remaining and Palace couldn’t rescue anything from the game after Esse, a £14.5million signing from Millwall, had given them hope.
"I think it was a decent performance," Esse said. "I thought the game was very equal, both teams going at it. I think if the game kept on going for a bit longer, we would have got another goal and then went back in chasing the game.
"But the lads should still be proud. If we perform like that every week we'll get points out of games. We just need to pick our heads up and go again.”
Esse added: "I didn't know before the game, but I thought I'm going to be ready regardless. So when I came on I managed to take my chance. I'm looking forward to working hard and improving every day in training, to give myself every best chance of starting games.
"My first-ever Premier League goal is something good to have in life, so I'm happy with that, just obviously disappointed about the result.
"When I scored I forgot everything for a second. But it was good to connect with the fans for a brief moment and hopefully many more of them moments come in the future. I'm just excited to show them what I can do.
"I received a very warm reception from the fans, so I'm very happy and I'm very grateful. I just want to pay them in good performances, which we'll see very soon."
Eagles boss Oliver Glasner was pleased with the one bright note on a disappointing afternoon.
"Of course we had in our minds that [Esse] would get some minutes," Glasner said. "We thought we need some attacking input with Daichi [Kamada] and him, so we also changed the shape to a 4-4-2, with Eddie [Nketiah] as a second striker.
"We knew [for the goal] we could have an overload on the far post in this situation and we managed to find Daniel Muñoz. Romain had a great run, and then a nice finish, so it's good for him, giving him confidence, and it helps us for the next weeks."
Glasner added; ”I think the performance was okay, but okay isn't good enough. Especially two minutes before the penalty, we made too many mistakes in our own box. We couldn't clear the ball and then we cause a penalty.
"Everything went wrong with this situation but the first three or four mistakes were our mistakes. No one is to blame for it.
"Then when you are 1-0 down against Brentford it is difficult, we didn't create many chances today.
"The reaction after their second goal was great. We got a goal from Romain, then we tried everything but we were not quite accurate enough.
"We had some set-plays, but we were not good enough in these situations to score the equaliser - and that's why we lost the game."
Glasner praised the fans for their backing in difficult weather conditions.
"Especially at the end," Glasner said. "They pushed us forward to try and get the equaliser. So thanks for supporting us again, in not the nicest conditions.
"They stayed and believed in us. Today we couldn't give them something back, but we will do our best to get the win at Old Trafford.”
That game against Manchester United is on Sunday at 2pm.
Zaha makes US switch
ByJohn Kelly
forMer crYsTaL Palace
attacker Wilfried Zaha has joined MLs side charlotte fc on loan from galatasaray for the 2025 season.
Zaha, 32, has linked up with former Brentford and Aston Villa boss Dean Smith on a deal with an option to extend for the 2026 season.
Zaha left Selhurst Park for Turkey on a free transfer in 2023 and spent part of last season on loan at Lyon in France.
“Wilfried is a world-class talent who has proven himself at the highest
level of the sport as an elite goalscorer and chance-creator,” Charlotte general manager Zoran Krneta said.
“His performances in the Premier League and on the international level speak for themselves and we are confident that Wilfried can make an immediate impact in Major League Soccer.
“He provides valuable versatility in the attacking areas of the pitch and adds that little bit of magic to our front-line that can help us win more games. We are delighted to add a player of Wilfried’s pedigree and experience to our squad, and we’re excited to welcome him to Charlotte.”
Mart admission after Hoops halted
ByJohn Kelly
marTi cifuenTes accepted his side weren’t clinical enough in the battle between two sides that have raced from the relegation zone earlier in the season into play-off contention as sheffield wednesday won 2-0 at Loftus road at the weekend.
Michael Smith and Callum Paterson scored in the last 20 minutes to end the Hoops’ five-game unbeaten run.
The Owls moved to within three points of the top six with QPR three points further back.
“I am not happy with the result but credit to Sheffield Wednesday, they were more clinical than us in a game with not many goal chances,” Cifuentes said.
“I thought we started the game pretty well. We were trying to use the possession to put pressure on, I thought we were quite active on the right side especially, with [Paul] Smythy and Kieran [Morgan] but we lacked a bit of end product.
“The first goal was a big moment in the game.
“We had a couple of chances with the crossbar from Ken [Paal] and the header from Ronnie [Edwards] but the keeper made a very good save from that one.
“We knew they would bring a lot of physicality. There were a lot of interruptions and a lot of free-kicks and unfortunately we could not create the momentum that we wanted.
“In the end, they were clinical and we were not.
Cifuentes added: “We cannot blame fatigue. That is the way the league is. Obviously it was a big effort but we were ready for the game, we cannot use an excuse.
“We just need to make sure we move on and we recover well.”
QPR travel to Millwall on Saturday.
Cifuentes said: “One defeat cannot just now make us feel very pessimistic. We need to focus on the task which is to prepare for the next game and learn from this one.”
Meanwhile, Cifuentes welcomed the news that Ilias Chair, 27, signed a new contract over the weekend.
“I have said many times that for me he is one of the best players in the league and he is a very important player for us,” Cifuentes said. “I am sure it is very good news for all of us.”
Romain Esse celebrates his debut goal from his fi rst touch
EXCLUSIVE
By Will Scott
aLfie MasseY has had quite the year.
Three years after joining millwall’s academy, the midfielder was handed a new contract after spending preseason with the first team, and has gone on to make two cup appearances - including one at The den earlier this month. The 19-year-old now has his sights set on being the next Lions academy product to crack the first team.
Massey’s journey started at the Lions’ deadliest rivals - he was picked by West Ham as a kid before joining Arsenal aged eleven. He played there until he was fourteen, then he was told they would only give him a contract if he played at centreback - a position Massey did not see a future for himself at.
Instead, he opted to head to Millwall, a club a bit closer to home.
“I’ve been traveling all up and down London really from a young age,” Massey told our paper. “Millwill was local. We trained at Well Hall in Eltham, which is only about fifteen minutes from me.
“The old academy manager, Kenny Brown, his son was at Arsenal as well. So our dads were friends and he asked me if I wanted to come in and see what it was like. I came in there and I enjoyed it. So I just thought it’s local, it’s perfect for me.”
He progressed through the academy before being invited on the 2024 preseason tour in Spain after impressing for the under-18s in the FA Youth Cup.
“The first team had a game against Reading and I started that game, I played 60 minutes in that game,” Massey said. “After the game I said ‘am I coming to Spain tomorrow?’, and they said, ‘yeah, you’re on the plane.’ It was last minute.”
How did he think it went?
“It was a really good experience for me,” Massey said. “Coming in as an under-21, I wasn’t really expecting that to happen, but I trust myself and I knew as soon as we would get in and had a chance around the first team that I could showcase myself.
“Being out in Spain as well was a really good experience to be around the boys 24/7 to see how they act outside of football and the professionalism that they have.”
A first-team debut soon followed, with with ex-Millwall boss Neil Harris naming him in the starting eleven for the Lions’ first-round EFL Cup clash with Portsmouth on August 13, 2024.
“The couple days before I had an inkling because we were doing shape work and I was in the shape,” Massey said. “But at the
‘i’m
ready for a chance’
Alfie Massey on signing a long-term deal with Millwall, breaking into the first team and making his Den debut
same time I was thinking, surely I’m not playing.
“We got to Portsmouth that night and I was eating dinner with a couple of the lads and then the manager just tapped me on the shoulder and just said, ‘I’m gonna be starting you tonight.’
“From then on I had three hours [until kick-off]. It was better that way. I didn’t have much time to overthink it, I was just straight in there to play.
“I was around all the first-team boys as well, so they all heard the conversation.
They were all really happy for me. I just sort of pretended like I wasn’t really bothered. I just said ‘yeah, thank very much’, but obviously deep down I was nervous.”
Massey acquitted himself well, and days
later, Millwall offered him a long-term contract, which Massey considered a ‘nobrainer’ to sign
“I thought that as soon as I came into preseason and I’m adapting more to the first team, I felt like I belonged here,” Massey said “I felt like I should be here.
“As soon as they offered me a contract, it was a no-brainer really. I thought another three years of my development, I can already see myself getting better. It was always going to be yes for me.”
Since then, Massey has been around the first team a lot - both in training and on match-days, and he’s been helped along by a number of first-team regulars - Massey named Billy Mitchell, Ryan Leonard and Shaun Hutchinson as players who have taken him under their wing over the
course of the season.
It culminated in the midfielder making his Den debut earlier this month, when he came off the bench to feature in Millwall’s 3-0 win against Dagenham & Redbrige in the FA Cup Third Round.
“I knew I was going to be in the squad,” Massey said. “He [Alex Neil] told me, I think the day or two before, it was a couple of us, he said ‘you guys are going to be in the squad.’ I didn’t know I was going to be on the bench. When I saw the second goal go in, I thought there might be a chance here. He told me to go warm up. I knew I was going to come on at that point.”
When asked how he thought it went, Massey said: “Especially playing at The Den at the under-18 level in an empty stadium, it felt good to be under the
lights, not at full capacity, but a number of Millwall fans there supporting as well.
“It was a surreal feeling. I thought I did okay. Obviously I only got seven minutes I think it was. So I couldn’t showcase everything that I was about, but I thought I did well.”
So what is next for the talented youngster?
“Hopefully a Championship debut is next and featuring more regularly,” Massey said. “I’m working hard at the moment to get my chance and I’m ready for a chance.
“I deserve a chance whenever the manager’s ready to give it. I’m working hard every day in training and keeping my head down and just being patient and whenever that chance comes, I’ve got to make sure that I take it.”
Ravens Cooked Matty’s a Godden as Addicks step on Gas
By John Kelly
broMLeY shoWed no signs of being able to arrest their slump after a miserable 3-0 defat to chesterfield at the smh group stadium last weekend.
Armando Dobra opened the scoring in the first half before late goals from Ryan Colclough and Paddy Madden finished the job for Paul Cook’s side.
The Ravens had Omar Sowunmi shown a straight red card in the 23rd minute for a foul on Tom Naylor and manager Andy Woodman received the same punishment for protesting the decision.
Bromley have lost three and drawn one of their last four league games after a twelvematch unbeaten run.
They have dropped from play-off contention as they are ten points off the top seven.
Bromley host Grimsby on Saturday at 3pm.
By John Kelly
naThan Jones said he was “pleased with so much” after charlton athletic moved to within one point of the League one play-offs after their 2-0 win against bristol rovers at The valley on Tuesday night.
Matty Godden bagged his tenth goal of the season on his first start since December to put the hosts in front in the thirteenth minute.
The Addicks were dominant and deservedly got their second through Josh Edwards who fired low past goalkeeper Josh Griffiths from the edge of the area nine minutes before half-time.
Ashley Maynard-Brewer saved
former Charlton winger Scott Sinclair’s free-kick in the 39th minute but the Gas rarely looked like they had enough to deny Jones’s side.
“I was pleased with so much,” Jones said. “They’re a wellcoached, difficult side to play against. I thought out of possession we were outstanding, really aggressive, really brave. We defended our box, with the high press we didn’t allow them to get any fluency and then we looked a threat all night.
“I know we scored two but the keeper has made two or three really good saves first half.
“Second half Godders has missed one that he lost in the lights,
Thierry [Small] has had chances and we’ve looked a threat all night. I’m really pleased because these are the games that we’ve come unstuck a little bit.
“The reaction from the Rotherham game has been truly outstanding and I’m really proud of the group.”
Charlton have kept twelve clean sheets in the league this season. They have conceded 26 goals in 27 games, the best outside the top six. Only four teams - Birmingham City, Wrexham, Huddersfield Town and Leyton Orient - have a better record than them.
“This is a hard-working team and we’re really good, really aggressive,” Jones said. “When
we came in there was a problem keeping clean sheets, three before we came in and two after that, which wasn’t good enough. So last year it was five clean sheets, we’ve kept twelve in the league, three in the cups, it shows that we’ve improved significantly. If you have that foundation then we believe that the work we do, the players we have and the way that the crowd help then we can be a really good side.
“If you keep clean sheets you only need one, if you score two then you are in a really good position. Tonight we did both sides of the game.”
Charlton travel to Blackpool on Saturday.
Alfi e Massey has made two senior appearances for Millwall
Sport INSIDE
fratt party
Millwall’s dynamic duo do it again BURNS GETS 2025 GIFT
By Will Scott
aLeX neiL praised ra’ees bangura-Williams and Mihailo ivanovic after the duo combined for the decisive goal in millwall’s 1-0 championship win against Portsmouth at fratton Park on Tuesday night.
Bangura-Williams, 20, exchanged passes with Casper De Norre in the 40th minute before threading a perfectly-weighted ball behind Pompey’s defence for Ivanovic to run on to. The Serbian striker took a touch and then chipped goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid from just inside the box.
“We spoke about how they were going to swing off the backline and we were going to end up one-v-one as a striker and the space was going to
be in behind, so make sure you get the timing right,” Neil said.
“Ra’ees’ pass was unreal. It splits the defence. Mihailo goes straight through and he had a lot of time to think about it, because he gets in behind quite early.
“Sometimes as a striker you want one or two steps and then finish. Whereas he has probably got to travel fifteen yards with the ball. Your mind can play tricks on you at that point.
To keep his composure and just lift it over the keeper’s shoulder, what it does show is the confidence he has currently got - how he is playing and contributing to the team.”
It was a redeeming moment for Bangura-Williams, who missed an open goal in the fourth minute. He now has three assists in three league
starts since breaking into the first team a few weeks ago.
“He is supremely confident,” Neil said. “I spoke to him after the last game - he was disappointed with his first half. I shouted at him: ‘It’s gone, let it go!’ It doesn’t affect him, he knows what he is doing.
“He understands and knows how much I trust him, hence the reason why he is playing. I have played him as a ten, I’ve played him off the right and off the left. He has literally played most positions behind the striker. He is fine. He won’t even think about it, that kid.”
The pair also combined for Millwall’s goal in their 1-0 win against Luton Town last Saturday and are quickly becoming an effective partnership.
Neuf said as Dons make point
By John Kelly
Josh neufVille scored a stunner as afc Wimbledon claimed a point at fellow League Two promotion challengers crewe alexandra at gresty road on Tuesday night.
Jamie Knight-Lebel gave the Railwaymen the lead in the fifteenth minute when he finished from close range from a free-kick to the back post.
Dons goalkeeper Owen Goodman denied Knight-Lebel a second goal before Neufville fired into the bottom corner after he was set up on the right of the box by Matty Stevens.
Marcus Browne crashed a shot off the crossbar in the second half as Johnnie Jackson’s side dominated but couldn’t force a winner.
Wimbledon are two points off the automatic promotion spots and host Bradford City this Saturday at 3pm.
Eagles target Blues outcast
By John Kelly
crYsTaL PaLace are reportedly interested in a late transfer swoop for chelsea outcast ben chilwell.
Mihailo Ivanovic celebrates his winner against Portsmouthafter another assist from Ra’ees BanguraWilliams
“If you think of players, combinations are important,” Neil said. “If you look back over the days, you’ve got a big man/wee man combination of strikers, or you’ve got a running nine and you’ve got a technical ten.
“Ra’ees wants to land on it, he wants to thread balls through, but if he’s not getting anybody running, they’re not going to score. So Ivanovic wants to work away from the ball, Ra’ees wants to find that pass.
“All we’ve got to do is come up with enough patterns that puts him in that position enough times to make it effective. The last two games, it’s worked out.”
Meanwhile, Neil revealed on-loan Liverpool left-sided player Calum Scanlon could miss the rest of the season through injury.
Left-back Chilwell, 28, was part of the Blues’ infamous ‘bomb squad’ - those out of first-team contention - earlier in the season.
England international Chilwell has played only 45 minutes for the first team this season, a 5-0 win against Barrow in the League Cup last September.
The Eagles need more depth on the left along with Tyrick Mitchell.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are in talks with Bayern Munich for France Under-21 attacker Mathys Tel, 19.
Enzo Maresca’s Blues are also open to offloading Christopher Nkunku, but are asking for £70million for the forward.
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