Southwark News - April 20th 2023

millwall See sport

Issue 1630

Established: 1987

50p

April 20 2023

southwarknews.co.uk

REPORT: One in 25 females have undergone genital mutilation in southwark

Lions play-off pressure

Exclusive See page 11

critical mass Holy row after parishioners hit with fines during Easter service

Exclusive

Page 8

this Five-year-old dreams of being a bin man See page 3

Man dies after being ‘Tasered by police’ and falling from balcony See page 4

FRI 12 MAY - SAT 03 JUN BOX OFFICE 020 8858 7755 greenwichtheatre.org.uk

2 NEWS www.southwarknews.co.uk/news

NEWS Pages 2-18 OPINION Pages 16-17

Southwark praised for Banning junk food adverts and putting healthy food in 35 corner shops Photo by formulatehealth (Creative Commons)

Contents

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

Arts Page 18 Classified & Family announcements Page 21 Public notices Pages 23-25 SPORT Pages 26-32

Free school meals will now be extended to secondary

By Herbie Russell

herbie@southwarknews.co.uk

Contact us if you have a story on 07973175511 or email

editor@southwarknews .co.uk

We are a London Living Wage employer Do you have a story

for our news team?

Call 0207 231 5258 You can WhatsApp us on 07494 070 863.

Southwark Council has been commended for its action on food poverty - including banning junk food ads and encouraging corner shops to stock healthy products.

Healthy food advocacy group London Food Link said Southwark was one of four London boroughs that “stand out as… leaders” in helping its residents to live healthier lives.

Cllr Evelyn Akoto, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “We are proud to be recognised as leaders in promoting good food for all. This is especially urgent with more and more families going hungry as the cost of living soars and obesity rates increase.

“In Southwark, we are getting

to the root of the problem while looking at all the ways we can help families access healthy food they can afford.”

Southwark’s work includes: • Being one of four councils to ban junk food advertising across its advertising portfolio • Encouraging 35 local shops to stock more healthy food products • Being one of the first councils to invest in free, healthy school meals for all primary school children, guaranteeing children a hot, nutritious meal at lunchtime. This is set to extend to some secondary school pupils.

Increasing the take up of Healthy Start cards so families with children under four and pregnant women can buy more healthy food MILLWALL EXCLUSIVE

HUTCHY GETS HIS PLACE BACK Issue 1629

Established: 1987

50p

Page 8

Editor: Kevin Quinn Deputy Editor: Katherine Johnston Reporters: Herbie Russell; Isabel Ramirez Sports Editor: John Kelly Sports reporter: Alex Jones Arts Correspondent: Michael Holland Media Partnerships: Anthony Phillips Advertising: Clarry Frewin, Sophie Ali Design: Dan Martin, Ann Gravesen Finance: Em Zeki - Tel: 0779 883 3758 Subscriptions/Announcements: Katie Boyd Managing & Commercial Director: Chris Mullany Managing & Editorial Director: Kevin Quinn Published weekly on a Thursday at: Unit A202, The Biscuit Factory, Drummond Road, Bermondsey, London SE16 4DG. News and Sport: 020 7231 5258 Advertising: 0792 203 4598 News: news@southwarknews.co.uk Advertising: ads@southwarknews.co.uk Finance: em@southwarknews.co.uk Printed by Iliffe Print. Tel: 01223 656500 www.iliffeprint.co.uk

100 AND FABULOUS

April 13 2023

Page 4

PECKHAM RYE STATION REVAMP

southwarknews.co.uk

Page 30

Page 13

PARK RAPIST JAILED

Dancer was bitten by a mosquito on holiday and then woke up from a coma with no arms or legs Page 3

‘MY WORST NIGHTMARE’

Young people in Elephant can access free online therapy

By Isabel Ramirez isabel@southwarknews.co.uk A new initiative has been launched which will offer free online counselling sessions to young people in Elephant and Castle, in a bid to tackle rising cases of anxiety and depression.

Stop.Breathe.Think (SBT) - a national mental health charity - is running a scheme to allow young people to access free mental health support.

This comes as existing mental health services report being under strain following a rise in cases of anxiety and depression.

The charity currently runs this scheme all over the UK and this one is aimed at youths from the Elephant and Castle area.

It will see them matched to specific counsellors for six weekly online sessions tailored to their needs.

Support is easy to access and the

campaign is being promoted via a QR code on Stop.Breathe.Think. posters that can be scanned by those who require assistance.

The posters will be distributed across the area, both in hard copies and digitally through newsletters, job fairs, shops, and offices and hosted on the Elephant & Castle Town Centre website.

The site welcomes young people to the service and provides a brief explainer video to illustrate what will happen if they need support.

They can then proceed to book their first session, where they will add their details, including their postcode, so operations can confirm who they are helping and where they are from.

SBT also provides ‘wellbeing drop-in’ sessions, which are short 30-minute calls with a fully trained on-call counsellor.

This scheme is being funded

by Developer Delancey and the Elephant and Castle Town Centre.

Delivering an action plan that focuses on the root causes of food poverty to create a fairer food system for all Kath Dalmeny, chief executive at Sustain, said: “London’s councils have a critically important role to play in ensuring that all Londoners can eat well.

“Where access to healthy and sustainable food is prioritised, our city is prosperous, green and thriving. Community gardens flourish, children and older people are well fed, and money flows to local food enterprises, building economic resilience.

“The Good Food for All Londoners report shows what can be achieved when we set our hearts, minds and policies to achieving a better food system.

“It is now our duty to make this work for everybody, not just for those in boroughs showing leadership.”

The Southwark News is proud to be the only independent, paid for newspaper in London Southwark News started life as the Bermondsey News in 1987, as an A-4 photocopied sheet of paper and rapidly grew to cover the entire borough and the surrounding area. As the borough grew, so did the newspaper.

It is owned and run by Chris Mullany and Kevin Quinn.

Former reporters for Southwark News, they bought the title in 2002, after the founder Dave Clark died suddenly from cancer four years earlier.

A dedicated team of staff work tirelessly to cover as much of what is going on as possible and strive to ensure that a community-led, independent newspaper can survive and excel in a market dominated by national and multinational media groups.

Follow our social media to be updated on local news

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Southwark News is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK’s magazine and newspaper industry).

We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint, please contact 0207 231 5258.

If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors’ Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

These people are building human towers in Bermondsey

www.southwarknews.co.uk/news

By Isabel Ramirez isabel@southwarknews.co.uk A Bermondsey-based group, that builds human jenga-style towers, are encouraging locals to join them as they try to reach new heights this year.

It’s a Catalan tradition that tests strength, coordination and most importantly, trust.

For 200 years, people from Catalonia, Spain have competed to build the highest human towers, known as Castells (‘Casteys’). Now, groups all over the world are in on the fun, that sees individuals of any age - and even whole families - take part in forming the impressive structures.

Castellers of London started in 2015 and has been based in Bermondsey for the last few years - and founders say they are keen to attract more locals.

Stephen Anderson, who runs the group, said although it is Catalan, ‘it is for everybody.’

“It was originally part of a dance. They were building up to six levels, as part of the dance, and then some people just decided to focus on the human tower part of it. That’s when the modern tradition started.”

Each structure is carefully configured based on each person’s height, weight

Watch the video

nline

NEWS 3

and ability - so although it may look ‘death-defying’ - Stephen assures it is safe.

“Everything is planned - every part of the tower is rehearsed,” he said.

They are currently focused on building towers six and seven levels tall and are encouraging locals to join them. The practice is free to attend.

As well as being exciting, regulars many of whom are not originally from England - say it has offered them a sense of community.

Gerard, from Tarragona in Spain, has been part of the group for five years. “This is my family in London,” he said. “The best part is feeling part of a common goal that we all have. Every person is important and has a role. It makes you feel a sense of belonging as well. Everyone is accepted, everyone is welcome.”

Stephen added that they currently have 12 nationalities represented in the group - and they want to see more.

They have performed down the Blue a couple of times, and they are hoping to do more performances in the coming year.

They perform on Wednesday evenings, from 7 pm to 9 pm inside Borough Market, and practise at The Oxford and Bermondsey Club, Webb Street, SE1 4RP on a Sunday, from 3 pm to 6 pm. Click here to find out more.

The five-year-old boy who dreams of being a bin man

southwarknews.co.uk

By Isabel Ramirez isabel@southwarknews.co.uk a Walworth recycling enthusiast, who puts his neighbours’ bins out every week at just five-years-old, got to meet his local bin crew as they congratulated him for his hard work.

Locals feature in Surrey Quays exhibition

Arts page 19

Youngster Roman said he already knew what he wanted to be when he’s older - one of Veolia’s recycling operatives. So he was ‘delighted’ when he got to spend the day with them on the job last week.

Already at the forefront of the next generation of eco leaders, Roman never fails to pull his neighbours’ bins out for his local recycling crew every week.

His mother says he has an abundance of toy trucks and has insisted they all be stickered with the Veolia logo, to look just like the trucks he sees out and about in Southwark.

Last week, Roman’s local recycling crew visited him at home to congratulate him on all his hard work.

After all the time he’s spent helping his

neighbours, he was ‘delighted’ to join his hi-vis heroes as they collected and emptied the bins.

When all the hard work was over, Roman sat in the cab with the crew and received his very own hi-vis jacket to match his Veolia toys.

Matthew Crane, Veolia Southwark Regional Manager: “It brings a sense of pride to see a young resident take such an interest in our hard work. The teams always enjoy engaging with the local community, so it is especially rewarding when we get to meet the future generation of eco leaders, like Roman. There’s a place for him with Veolia Southwark when he’s older!”

Cllr Catherine Rose, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Parks, Streets and Clean Air said: “Not all superheroes wear capes, Roman wears Hi-Vis! His passion for refuse trucks and recycling is shared by many other young residents and those young at heart too.

“Roman is an inspirational young man, taking an active role in creating a cleaner, greener environment for us all.

We look forward to Roman joining our team in the future.”

4 NEWS www.southwarknews.co.uk/news

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

Man dies after being ‘Tasered by police’ and falling from balcony in Peckham He had been threatening to jump from a balcony, according to the Met Police

herbie@southwarknews.co.uk An investigation has been launched into a man’s death after he was ‘Tasered by police’ and fell from a balcony in Peckham.

©Met Police

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has said it is investigating the incident that took place at a residential

block at around 2am, on Wednesday, April 12.

The man, who has not been formally identified, was threatening to jump from a balcony, according to the Met Police.

Police tried to convince the man to come inside for over an hour, the IOPC said.

In a statement they told the News: “We have established that officers were present for over an hour and attempted to

persuade the man to come inside from the balcony. The man has then been Tasered while on the balcony and he has fallen several floors to the ground.

“The man was transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries and died later the same day.”

Police are now working to notify the man’s next-of-kin and a post-mortem examination will take place in due course.

The exact location of the incident is unlikely to be revealed before the man is formally identified and his next-of-kin informed.

The Met Police referred the case to the IOPC, as it is obliged to do, which is now undertaking an independent investigation.

The IOPC is gathering evidence and has obtained the police’s body-worn wide footage.

By Kevin Quinn

Barton and Hyacienth are said to have attacked the victim after hearing him comment on the driving and Hyacienth stabbed him in the head with a knife.

Police said the two suspects had stolen the victim’s phone and analysis of its movements showed it followed the route their car took after the incident.

Officers had obtained data from the car park’s number plate recognition cameras and CCTV recordings. They also examined social media and ‘communications data’, which identified the pair.

Detective Constable Shane Richardson, who carried out the investigation, said: “This was an extremely violent attack on a man who was enjoying a night out with his friends, and highlights the harm which knife crime can cause.

“He is still in the process of recovering from his injuries and the trauma of this incident and I hope this outcome brings him and his family some closure.

“The Met is committed to removing violent offenders

Dulwich man jailed after plunging a knife into man’s head in pub car park kevin@southwarknews.co.uk A 28-year-old man from East Dulwich faces over eight years behind bars after he plunged a knife into his victim’s head for laughing at his friend’s driving.

Peter Hyacienth sentenced to eight years one month jail

Detective Chief Superintendent Seb Adjei-Addoh, Southwark’s new Borough Commander, said: “I know the community will be concerned about this tragic death and I share their concern.

“All police officers know that their actions will be scrutinised in situations such as these, and the Met is fully supporting the independent investigation by the IOPC.”

Peter Hyacienth was sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on Monday, April 17 to eight years and one month imprisonment.

He previously pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent and his co-defendant, 27-yearold Ras Barton from Catford, was sentenced to a community order at an earlier hearing, after he pleaded guilty to assault by beating.

The shocking attack just after midnight on March 12 last year, at the Fox on the Hill pub in Denmark Hill, has left the 20-year-old victim with injuries he is still ‘recovering from.’

The court was told that the victim and a friend were stood in the smoking area of the pub’s car park having enjoyed a night out when Barton drove in ‘erratically’.

©Met Police

By Herbie Russell

Ras Barton sentenced to a community order after pleading guilty to assault by beating from the streets of London and I am pleased this investigation resulted in the identification and apprehension of two violent men”.

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6 NEWS www.southwarknews.co.uk/news

are Council repair delays down to staff If this means more office working from time for council staff then it needs adopting ASAP home more? - MP Neil Coyle

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

EXCLUSIVE

By Herbie Russell herbie@southwarknews.co.uk Southwark Council takes longer to repair residents’ homes since staff increased working from home post-pandemic, a freedom of information (FOI) request has revealed.

The News investigated after Tenants’ and Residents’ Association (TRA) chairs said repairs were being slowed by employees taking remote working “to a whole new level” - some even joining Zoom meetings from their cars.

Data now shows that, post-pandemic, 25 per cent of repair cases, ranging from internal repairs to heating outages, went unfixed for over 31 days. This compares to 21 per cent before the pandemic.

However, it should also be noted that council officers dealt with a higher overall workload of repair cases, which rose from 157,035 to 166,209, across comparable repair categories. This could also explain increased delays.

MP Neil Coyle said: “The Southwark News statistics are worrying as they do seem to suggest an overlap between delays and wait times for repairs and home working.

“The council should investigate this quickly and take measures to fix the problem. If this means more office time for council staff then it needs adopting ASAP.”

By Herbie Russell

herbie@southwarknews.co.uk South London dub music pioneer Jah Shaka, famous for spearheading the genre with his ‘spiritual’ sound systems, has died.

His exact age and cause of death last Wednedsay April 12 have not been disclosed.

Also known as Zulu Warrior, the singer, producer and record label owner, who was believed to have been in his 70s, came to the UK from Jamaica as part of the Windrush generation in the 1950s.

His selection of powerful dub steppers, which he played through his totemic Jah Shaka Sound System, have influenced renowned outfits like Iration Steppas and the Channel One Sound System.

Jah Shaka had strong roots in Peckham and across south London, playing in venues across the capital, UK and Europe.

British Dub producer Mad Professor tweeted: “It’s a sad day today, as we say

This paper is often inundated with desperate calls from council tenants and leaseholders complaining of mould, damp, heating outages and collapsing ceilings.

They often feel they are “fobbed off” by the council and some TRA chairs suspect home working is to blame.

George Riccardi, chair of the Southampton Way TRA, said remote working had “definitely” slowed repairs.

“I had a zoom meeting… and one of the council staff members joined the zoom call while driving her car! That’s taking working from home to the next level,” he said.

Speaking anonymously, one council officer said the Tooley Street offices “still feel empty.” However the officer added that working from home was well-suited to some people and that it wasn’t the farewell to my friend Knocky, the Zulu warrior, Jah Shaka.

“In the very early days he would book the studio weekly, and shared building in Peckham, with Jah Shaka Music operating from the HQ.” Jah Shaka often spoke about music as means of freedom in a racist society. In a 1978 interview, he said: “There’s a lot of things what makes black people not really free even in this country and all over the world.

“But you know, just by hearing a certain record… you have to move your body - it’s automatic. There’s no other way, as far as I see it… except from music, to be free in this country.”

In 1980, he launched Jah Shaka Music label and in 2009, Greensleeves Records issued a compilation of roots reggae cuts chosen by Jah Shaka, entitled ‘Jah Shaka Presents the Positive Message’.

He also set up the Jah Shaka Foundation with projects in Jamaica, Ethiopia, and Ghana, in 1992.

main cause of repair delays - which were more likely caused by a lack of resources.

In fact, Liberal Democrat councillor Jane Salmon said residents working from home had probably helped repair teams as they were more often available to let contractors into their homes.

Around September 2022, Southwark Council told staff in an internal email: “Everyone will be expected to attend their normal place of work… unless they have agreed a flexible working arrangement with their manager”.

But after what was described as a “negative” backlash from disgruntled workers, council chief executive Althea Loderick reasserted her commitment to “hybrid arrangements”.

Apparently, this has meant many people keeping their covid-era work patterns.

Increased delays to repairs post-

pandemic could be down to numerous factors, including funding, and a higher volume of complaints.

But regardless of the cause, differences pre and post-pandemic are stark.

Whereas before the pandemic just 14 per cent of communal repairs took more than 30 days to repair, this rose to 27 per cent in 2022.

Roofing, internal repairs and lift repairs also saw increased delays. Responses times did however improve heating outages and fire safety issues.

MP Coyle said: “The services need improving to meet the needs of the people I see every week in my advice surgery at my office and out on the doors

Dub music pioneer Jah Shaka has died and tributes are pouring in for the south London ‘soundman’

when I do local mobile campaign and surgery sessions.”

Most studies seem to suggest that hybrid working arrangements benefit organisations. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 41 per cent of employers said hybrid working had improved productivity.

However another study, published in the ‘New Technology, Work and Employment’ journal found performance fell by 70 per cent when teams increased working from home by eight hours or more.

The News approached Southwark Council for a comment, but received no reply at the time of going to press.

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

NEWS 7

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Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

holy row

Bermondsey Carnival on the brink of a ‘special’ return Exclusive

By Herbie Russell herbie@southwarknews.co.uk Bermondsey Carnival is set to return this summer after being cancelled last year due to a lack of funds.

The age-old festival of music, food and workshops is scheduled to take place at Southwark Park on Sunday, August 6, from 12pm to 8pm.

Russell Dryden, manager of the Blue Bermondsey Business Improvement District (BID), said he was “99 per cent” sure the carnival would be back, but that he was still looking for private sponsorship money.

“It will be something special this year if everything comes together and to make it happen we still need a couple of funders.”

The Blue Bermondsey BID has been given £10,000 from Southwark Council’s ‘Cultural Celebrations Fund’, far less than the £80,000 the carnival historically received.

Father Alan and the congregation

Mass anger over parking at Dockhead church Exclusive

By Herbie Russell herbie@southwarknews.co.uk A Bermondsey priest has slammed “cruel” Southwark Council for fining elderly parishioners who parked up for morning mass on Easter Sunday.

Father Alan of the Holy Trinity Dockside Church said around six worshipers, who believed parking restrictions were lifted on the bank holiday weekend, were slapped with £30 tickets.

He said parking wardens even turned up for seconds in the afternoon, but were foiled because the usual 6pm mass wasn’t scheduled.

A priest at the Catholic church for thirty years, he said: “This is absolutely scandalous! People presumed that, because it was a bank holiday weekend, they could park on the road and a whole load of them got fined!”

Peter Cooper, 69, a parishioner and retired taxi driver from the Dickens Estate, said: “It’s about money. They know the times of the masses and they must rub their hands together thinking ‘we’ll make a killing here’.

“In this day and age, with the cost of living,

it’s hitting people where it hurts.”

The church off Jamaica Road falls within Controlled Parking Zone G (CPZ G) which covers much of Bermondsey and has some of the strictest restrictions in Southwark.

Unlike most other zones, residents’ permits are required from 8.30am to 11pm seven-days-a-week, with no exemption on Sundays or bank holidays.

Father Alan said visitors who come from outside the area can pay £5.05 per hour for temporary parking permits but this had been poorly publicised.

Elizabeth Abbey, 74, said: “Elderly people like us can’t always get online to pay online.

It’s not fair on us!”

Father Alan said that, over the Easter holidays, which saw three religious gatherings in one week, some people shelled out up to £40 for parking.

Sister Assumpta, 89, who has been in the congregation for seventeen years, said the council had “no respect for families trying to worship their god” and that “this wouldn’t happen anywhere else”.

She said mothers were forced to walk long distances through the rain because they couldn’t park near the church.

The congregation is now urging

Political bust-up over a music festival in the park

By Herbie Russell herbie@southwarknews.co.uk A political row has erupted after the Liberal Democrats accused Southwark Council of ignoring residents’ opinions over a music festival planned for Southwark Park.

Southwark Council to drop parking restrictions on Saturday and Sunday.

Parking in Bermondsey has been a longstanding bugbear for local residents ever since CPZ G parking restrictions were introduced. The parking zone, which stretches from the river to the railway line running parallel with Jamaica Road, aims to give priority parking to local residents in what is a congested, central London ward.

But local residents often complain that permits are hard to get and too expensive.

Southwark Council has been approached for comment.

But Russell praised the council for helping to facilitate the event.

The News also understands that the council events team helped broker a deal that means Rally Festival, taking place the day before, will allow the carnival to use its infrastructure such as stages.

So while £10,000 funding wasn’t enough for the carnival last year, it will probably be enough this time because carnival organisers can save on infrastructure.

Russell said: “It’s just lovely to have a community event. Not everybody can afford to go to big concerts. I remember when I was kid, it was a really good day out.

You can see some live music and all cultures, all different people, can come together and enjoy the park.”

The carnival’s history stretches back to 1900, during the Second Boer War, when the Daily Telegraph launched a charitable fund to support the wives and orphans of soldiers killed in battle. The carnival was established to raise money for this fund and soon became an annual event.

The council is asking residents to share their opinions on Rally Festival, set to be held on Saturday, August 5.

But the Southwark Liberal Democrats say Rally Festival has been offering pre-sale tickets since March 31.

The groups argues this shows that “the council views consultation as merely a formality”.

But Southwark Council has hit back, saying organisers “often sell tickets before the licensing” to ensure good attendance.

It has added that the festival “would be expected to refund all tickets if the event did not secure the relevant licences to take place”.

The 10,000-capacity festival, organised by GALA and promoters Bird On The Wire, will feature live music and visual performance art.

Bermondsey Carnival will benefit from it by using the event’s infrastructure the next day, which carnival organisers say has been a huge financial boost.

Local Lib Dem Cllr Rachel Bentley said: “We are thrilled that Bermondsey Carnival looks likely to be back on this year. However, Southwark has once again delivered an inadequate consultation process.

If residents were uniformly against this proposal, would Southwark have ordered Rally Festival to refund all sold tickets? I think this is unlikely.”

But Cllr Catherine Rose, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Parks, Streets & Clean Air, said: “Organisers often sell tickets before the licensing process has finished to try and ensure that their event is well attended.

“They do this at their own risk. We ask any organiser to make it clear that the sale of tickets is ‘subject to licence’, which Rally festival is doing on their website.”

The council said it had also posted 2,800 letters to local addresses, erected twenty A3 public notices and held a stakeholder engagement consultation from March 17 to April 14.

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

www.southwarknews.co.uk/news

NEWS 9

‘It’s outrageous’

New build flats in Elephant have been empty for nearly four years due to delayed cladding repairs Exclusive

Bermondsey mum’s endless housing hell

By Herbie Russell herbie@southwarknews.co.uk A mum-of-two is still stranded in her mouldy Aylesbury Estate flat, overrun with vermin, with no sign of a way out any time soon.

Twenty-two-year-old Georgie, from Bermondsey, told the News about the horror of her temporary accommodation in December last year and, four months on, says her situation has worsened.

Sadly, her predicament is all too typical among some of the people stuck on the 17,000-plus strong housing waiting list, with Southwark Council expressing its “sympathy” with Georgie.

She has been forced to move to her mum’s two-bedroom flat with her two children, saying: “I’ll be honest, I just give up. I feel so bad for my kids… my mum has given up her bed for them, bless her.

“But I just sit about all day depressed.

In January I found a dead rat and the walls are starting to peel at the bottom…

the flat is just falling apart.”

It’s just the latest chapter in Georgie’s recent history of what she says has been inadequate housing.

Before being moved to the Aylesbury Estate, she lived in temporary accommodation in West Dulwich.

There, she said water poured through cracks in the ceiling whenever her neighbour had a shower, with the bathroom ceiling eventually collapsing.

She says her two children have developed asthma from living around the mould and that in October 2021 her three-year-old daughter was hospitalised.

Georgie says her flat is overrun by cockroaches and that, despite pestcontrol visitations, the vermin haven’t subsided.

Georgie added that her kids’ clothes have been ruined by mould and that they are terrified of the “beasties” crawling around their home.

Southwark Council said it had offered Georgie alternative accommodation

outside Southwark, which she rejected.

But a spokesperson expressed their “sympathy” with Georgie, admitting that a move outside the borough could be disruptive.

The council said there were “integral” problems with her block and that it was working to repair her home.

The spokesperson said it would continue to help Georgie find a home in the meantime but was unable to give a clear indication of when that might happen.

Dozens of people are understood to be in temporary accommodation in the Aylesbury Estate, all of which has been earmarked for demolition.

It was built in the ‘60s as part of Southwark’s slum clearance – then regarded an exemplar model of modern social housing, But the following decades saw it fall into disrepair and in 2015, developers Notting Hill Housing Group got permission to demolish and redevelop it.

By Isabel Ramirez isabel@southwarknews.co.uk A new build in Elephant and Castle has been empty for nearly four years after residents were forced to move out due to unsafe cladding - and remedial works still haven’t started.

In 2019, tenants and leaseholders of 26-28 Arch Street in Elephant and Castle, were forced to move out whilst cladding was removed.

More than 100 people living in 52 flats were told the new-build blocks were unsafe due to their external cladding.

Arch Street was constructed for L&Q by Willmot Dixon, in 2011. The cladding is not made of the same material used in the Grenfell tower, an Aluminium Composite Material (ACM).

They were originally told to expect work to take around eighteen months - but nearly four years later, it still hasn’t started and the building has remained vacant.

The building was one of the Heygate replacement housing sites.

According to the housing association L&Q, they are still in negotiations with the developer, which they say has caused the delay in starting work.

David Lewis, Executive Group Director at L&Q, said, “The safety and wellbeing of our residents will always be our top priority. After identifying the need for building safety works, we took action to find alternative homes for residents living in the building.

“We are in negotiations with the original developer of the building over a programme of works. We are sorry that

this has led to delays in starting works, and have offered to buy back the homes of affected leaseholders should they wish to move out permanently. We are in regular communication with residents and are grateful for their patience and understanding whilst we try to resolve these issues.”

Cllr Helen Dennis, Labour Councillor for Chaucer Ward, and Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development said: “It’s outrageous that there’s been no progress on bringing these Arch Street homes back into use and no recent updates from L&Q to ward councillors, or indeed the council.

“These blocks are crucial to our neighbourhood and were an important contribution to genuinely affordable housing at Elephant & Castle.

“It’s high time that L&Q provide clarity for residents on the future of their former homes and provides assurances to the community that our affordable housing isn’t going to be lost for good.”

Jerry Flynn, from the 35% Campaign, said: “It is scandalous that a new-build development at the heart of the Elephant and Castle has been standing empty for nearly four years.

“Whatever the structural problems are, they should have been solved by now.

Arch St is built on former council land and was supposed to supply replacement homes for people from the demolished Heygate estate, just over the road.

“It’s time for Southwark Council to step in and use whatever powers it has to make Arch Street a safe place to live – these are homes that are desperately needed now.”

The developer was approached for comment but did not reply by the time of going to press.

New council homes built off the Old Kent Road

By Herbie Russell herbie@southwarknews.co.uk

Southwark Council has built 21 new social rent homes off the Old Kent Road, including seventeen flats and four threebedroom houses.

The new development on Ivy Church Lane, next to Burgess Park in Walworth, replaces an old garage site on Kinglake Estate.

There is also a new community hall, commercial space, disabled parking

and two wheelchair accessible flats.

The development is called Wouldham Court, named after a village in Kent in keeping with the rest of the estate.

Southwark’s housing boss Cllr Darren Merrill said: “I’m delighted to see this development completed and ready for residents to move in.

These properties are spacious and thoughtfully designed, and will make wonderful homes for our residents who are in housing need.

“We have already built over 1,000

new council homes across the borough and we will continue to build more to tackle the housing crisis locally. I am excited to see residents move in to Wouldham Court shortly and start enjoying their wonderful new homes.”

In line with the council’s local lettings policy, at least 50 per cent of the new council homes here will be offered to local tenants in housing need who live in the immediate area.

The rest will be allocated to people on the council’s wider housing waiting list.

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

www.southwarknews.co.uk/news

Peckham Park gets a life-saving bleed control kit following a fatal stabbing there last year Former Mayor Charlie Smith with Lisa Pearson and Community Enagagement officer Nigel Pearce at the cafe in Peckham Rye - iset victim Kalabe Legesse

NEWS 11

One in 25 females have undergone female genital mutilation in Southwark, report finds Exclusive

By Herbie Russell herbie@southwarknews.co.uk Women living in Southwark are eight times more likely to have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) than those elsewhere in England, according to a council report.

Watch the video

nline

southwarknews.co.uk Exclusive

By Isabel Ramirez isabel@southwarknews.co.uk Peckham Rye Park, the site where a 29-year-old man lost his life to a stabbing last year, now has a lifesaving bleed control kit.

Lisa Pearson, a local woman who has been campaigning to get these kits installed across London, said she was happy to finally see a bleed kit in a park.

“This area is not well-lit and there’s nothing around here should someone get into a situation where they need lifesaving equipment,” she said.

Peckham Rye Park is the first park in London where a life-saving cabinet has been installed.

It was also the site of a fatal stabbing last year. Kalabe Legesse, 29, was stabbed

outside the cafe on Strakers Road on December 30.

Lisa said this kit could have saved his life.

The kit, containing a tourniquet, gloves, gauze and lots more equipment, can be used by the public to treat incidents involving traumatic blood loss, such as car accidents and stabbings.

This one also includes a defibrillator - a device that gives a high-energy electric shock to the heart of someone who is in cardiac arrest.

There are three publicly-accessible cabinets now in Southwark, but Lisa added that it was proving difficult to get people on board. “We focus on keeping young people safe. We’re trying to get these pieces of equipment into every area across the whole of London. There seems to be a stigma of people not wanting to be associated with stabbings - and that is

understandable. This is not a solution, but we have to do something to save the lives that are being lost every day.”

Although these kits are a response to the violence the capital has seen, they can be used to prevent any situation from becoming fatal.

“This equipment can be used in an emergency by anyone at any time to stop bleeding - such as for road collisions or if someone collapses,” Lisa explained.

The cabinet is located on the outside of Peckham Rye Park cafe - and is easy to use. When somebody dials 999 to report an incident, control staff direct the caller to the nearest kit and tell them, step-bystep, how to treat the victim.

Community Engagement Officer for the Met Police, Nigel Pearce said this could be the difference between a life saved and a life lost. “I think it’s wonderful,” he said.

“It would be fantastic to see as many first

aid kits and defibrillators put around for a number of reasons - I’m not just talking about the most serious crimes. Any help that we can provide to any person, of any age, of any background from any community will absolutely benefit all of us.” He said from his experience, a rapid response is often ‘crucial’ to saving a life.

“It’s not a solution - but it’s key that this kit is there to assist people to fill that gap between medical professionals arriving.”

These kits have already been used to save stab victims in Birmingham’s China Town, a secondary school student in Wolverhampton, and a Scottish man who fell off a roof and impaled himself on a spike.

For information about getting involved with the campaign or how to get a bleed kit in your area, email lettheyouthlive@ gmail.com. You can also contact them via @lettheyouthlive

No arrests over two-day wave of knife attacks

By Herbie Russell

herbie@southwarknews.co.uk Police have made no arrests after three men were stabbed in separate incidents in a horrifying two-day wave of violence.

Between Monday April 3 and Tuesday April 4, three males, one as young as sixteen, were stabbed in Bermondsey and Elephant and Castle.

Thankfully, none of their injuries are believed to be life-threatening or lifechanging.

But over two weeks later, police told the News that no arrests have been made over any of the incidents. Their investigations are ongoing.

Man in his twenties wounded in knife attack on Tanner Street

A man was stabbed in Bermondsey, on Monday, April 3, and rushed to hospital.

Police were called to Tanner Street,

off Tower Bridge Road, at 4.34pm and found a man, in his twenties, suffering from stab injuries.

Those with information are asked to call 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting CAD5132/3APR.

Stabbed man flags down passing police car in Bermondsey

A man who’d been stabbed was discovered by police at the corner of Ilderton Road, near South Bermondsey Station, on Tuesday, April 4.

The stricken victim, aged in his 30s, waved down police in broad daylight, at 10.15am, after suffering stab wounds to his chest and leg.

In the hours following the incident, police erected a cordon cutting off the Bargain Booze shop and a portion of the car park.

Those with information are asked to call 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting CAD2125/4Apr.

Police at the scene on Ilderton Road, Bermondsey, with sniffer dog

Sixteen-year-old boy stabbed on 63 bus along New Kent Road

A sixteen-year-old boy was stabbed on the Route 63 bus going through New Kent Road, Elephant and Castle, on Tuesday April 4.

Police were called to reports of a stabbing on a bus just after 2pm and

found the teenager suffering from his injuries.

He was rushed to hospital for treatment where his injuries were assessed as non-life-threatening.

Those with information are asked to call 101 or tweet @MetCC quoting CAD3821/4Apr.

In 2021 one in 25 women and girls (4%) aged over fifteen had undergone FGM compared to just 0.5% nationally, the report found.

It is estimated that as many as 5,900 women and girls are affected in the borough, including 500 aged under fifteen.

Of the 160 Southwark resident women recorded to have FGM in 2020 to 21, two-thirds were born in Eastern or Western Africa.

Thankfully, none of the 160 FGM cases recorded in Southwark between 2020 and 2021 involved children under the age of eighteen.

Just three per cent of those recorded had been born in the UK. FGM has been a specific criminal offence in the UK since 1985 under the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act. It is defined as all procedures that involve the partial or total removal of external female genitalia, or other injury to women’s genital organs, for non-medical reasons.

In a bid to end the practice, Southwark Council has established an FGM clinic at a local school and does mandatory safeguarding training for school staff.

The Health and Social Care Scrutiny Commission has recommended the reopening of a specialist FGM clinic after the closure of one in 2017 led to “confusion”.

According to the report, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital has had a gap in its support provision ever since the retirement of a single midwife who specialised in FGM. 90 per cent of cases are identified by the midwifery service but only the most severe cases, likely to affect childbirth, generally saw women referred to specialist clinics outside the borough.

The report found that “nearly all women and girls known to have FGM in Southwark experienced it 30 or more years ago outside of the UK”.

However, it also said support for the practice continued “within some communities living in Southwark”.

The reported added that “diaspora and migrant parents face overwhelming cultural and social pressures to perform the practice when travelling back to home countries to visit family”.

If you or somebody you know is affected by FGM you can get support here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ female-genital-mutilation-fgm/

12 NEWS www.southwarknews.co.uk/news

By Isabel Ramirez isabel@southwarknews.co.uk Canada Water Theatre has a new operator and the performance space will now be offered for free to local artists across Southwark.

Theatre Peckham has been appointed as the new operator of the Canada Water Theatre, following a competitive process, which will see them take over from The Albany.

The latter has successfully managed and programmed the theatre since 2012, delivering a broad range of plays, music gigs, poetry nights, and family-friendly events.

Southwark Council has appointed Theatre Peckham to transform the way the performance space is used in 202324, as the council is keen for it to be used by even more local artists.

Having operated as a community theatre on Havil Street in Camberwell since the ‘90s, Theatre Peckham pride themselves on championing underrepresented voices and say they plan to continue this in Canada Water.

Artistic Director and CEO of Theatre Peckham Suzann McLean said: “This is an incredible opportunity for Theatre Peckham to continue its mission of building an equitable sector by providing a platform for diverse talent in the arts.

“The venue will provide a much-needed space for Southwark artists to come together and collaborate on projects, be a resource for sector-wide theatre companies seeking a performance space and continue as a community hub for local groups. This opportunity will allow us to further our commitment to artistic excellence, social change, and community connections.”

The space will be offered for free to Southwark artists to develop their

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

Theatre Peckham takes over Canada Water venue

creative ideas.

Independent creatives will also benefit from artist mentorship programmes, support with funding applications, production and marketing.

In addition to this, they are offering free rehearsal space for artists performing in Peckham Fringe (which starts on May 5th) and Young, Gifted & Black.

Given that the theatre is located inside a library, Theatre Peckham explained that in July they will be hosting a young people’s literary festival, with more

details to be confirmed.

However, it is not only exclusive to the arts - local community groups looking for space will also be able to hire it out at an affordable rate.

The theatre will also host community events, with the programme to be announced in the coming months.

Passing the torch on, the head of the Albany says she is ‘confident’ the venue will flourish under the new leadership.

Shenay Gaul, Chief Operating Officer at the Albany, said: “We look back proudly on

Advertorial

our joint achievements at Canada Water Theatre over the past 10+ years. We will miss working with our partners in this wonderful theatre and with relationships built over so many years but are confident that the venue will continue to flourish as a space for local artists under Theatre Peckham’s leadership.”

Cllr Catherine Rose, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Parks, Streets and Clean Air, said: “While we’re sad to see The Albany go, we’re excited to welcome Theatre Peckham to the Canada Water Theatre.

“The new direction of the space reflects our ambition not just to platform local artists and theatre-makers, but to cultivate their talents and provide them with the resources to hone their practice and make a living.

“Rehearsal space is at a premium across the capital so we’re glad to be offering opportunities to use the space for free or at affordable rates, all underpinned by the expertise of an organisation dedicated to unlocking the potential of grassroots talent.”

Challenging a UK Visa Decision, has it become a mighty task? Administrative Reviews, Tribunals, Reconsiderations and the Judicial Review Process.

Lawyers to raise grounds to a more independent judicial body to review the decision and consider whether it had been decided correctly by the Home Office Case Worker. You can find more details of cases we have successfully challenged and overturned through those process: https:// icslegal.com/cases.php.

When dealing with the Home Office on a UK Visa and Immigration matter, whether it is a Spousal Visa, Indefinite leave to remain or for British nationality, one always does contemplate what do if the application does get refused.

At ICS Legal, we have witnessed a number of decisions wrongly decided, leaving individuals and families with further legal costs to remedy, in certain occasions errors by a Home Office official. It does then beg the question on how to avoid a refusal when applying.

1.

2.

3.

Of course, meeting the visa criteria set by the category needs to be covered.

Followingly, information requested on the form needs to be as clear as possible.

Also, where there had been previous refusals or removal matters, you need to ensure clarity is enclosed to go over the circumstances raised.

The Home Office does provide legal remedies, that can take time to resolve. In certain instances, we have been able to request decisions to being reviewed by responding to Home Office Case Working teams where on some instances decisions were overturned.

Reconsideration As part of a Legal Submission, you are able to exercise the request to the Home Office Deciding Case Worker whether the decision made on the visa application had been made accurately.

1.

2.

How to approach the refused visa application?

When an application is refused, knowing what to do next is important and you can find more information here https://icslegal.com/uk-visarefusal.php.

Our Immigration Lawyers believe this is how best to consider the matter,

3.

First and foremost, you need to read the grounds the Home Office have raised as part of the decision letter. This is to confirm whether in their point of view accurate evidence had been originally supplied.

Followingly, if as part of the application, certain circumstances were overlooked, neither considered, you are able to look at challenging the decision via the remedy provided by the Home Office or potentially consider other legal avenues to challenge the visa refusal.

Consider the best process to follow, taking in account the length of the next steps as well as costs involved.

A major factor is being comfortable and understanding towards a refusal matter.

As Legal Experts we have seen delays with Government offices, where very little can be

done to expedite decisions.

Administrative Review Where certain applications are refused, an Administrative Review allows you to challenge a decision, where documents had been provided with the original application. Or if it was a case that these documents were not considered appropriately.

First Tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal This allows for immigration visa applications which have been refused, to be challenged legally, for example under a partner or family route, as well as others, to challenge a decision you must do within 14 (in country) – 28 (out of the UK) days.

With this process, it does allow our Immigration

Notably we have this as an option where British nationality applications are refused. There has been a lack of consideration of exceptional circumstances.

Judicial Review Matters These allow a formal submission to a Government Legal Department to review the entirety of the matter.

As an immigration firm we have managed to have many decisions overturned via such means. This is a common means to have a decision reviewed especially where for example a visitor visa is refused. We have successfully challenged against those decisions and able to have the visa refusals overturned.

ICS Legal are experts in UK Visas and Immigration, based in London. Speak to an Immigration Lawyer at our office and let’s see how best we can help.

mikemckenna.co.uk

WilloW Walk

sWan Mead

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Now you know where to raise a glass for St. George this Sunday. Join us from 12pm onwards, there’s a free buffet, 90-plus gins and a box of 45s, so bring your chums and your best dance moves.

THE VICTORIA, PAGES WALK, SE1 4HL

|

020 7237 3248

14 NEWS www.southwarknews.co.uk/news

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

By Herbie Russell

Archbishop Tenison’s School in Oval.

herbie@southwarknews.co.uk South London schoolchildren have been left scrambling after an Oval secondary gave them just four months to find a new school following a shock closure announcement.

Three hundred year old Archbishop Tenison’s School will shut its doors in August due to “falling pupil admissions”, according to the Southwark Diocesan Board (SDB) that runs the school.

Twenty-eight primary schools across Lambeth and Southwark are already set to amalgamate over the next two years and this latest announcement is a reminder that secondary schools are also vulnerable.

Both Southwark and Lambeth councils have previously said that Brexit, covid-19 and declining birth rates are the cause of falling pupil admissions.

Southwark Council has also accepted that regeneration could be to blame.

In a statement, the SDB said: “Due to the significant and ongoing challenges with falling pupil and application numbers in schools across London Local Authorities and the London Borough of Lambeth, and after considerable review subject to a listening period, it has been proposed to close The Archbishop Tenison’s Secondary School, Oval by the end of the academic year (August 2023).

“We understand the importance of

continuing education for the students impacted by this decision and are working closely with parents, the school and colleagues at Lambeth Council, who are in the process of providing offer details for pupil placements in the academic year 2023-2024.”

Although it is not run by Lambeth Council, the local authority will help

students find new places.

The council has said year ten pupils will be made a “priority” and will all be offered places at St Gabriel’s College - a fifteenminute walk away.

Students in year seven to nine will be offered places at ‘good’ rated schools elsewhere but parents are free to apply to other schools if they wish.

© Google

shock closure: Pupils at 300-year school given just four months to choose a new secondary

Founded in 1685 by Vicar Thomas Tenison, Tenison’s is one of London’s oldest secondary schools.

The SDB took the school over in 2019 after it was rated ‘inadequate’ and it hasn’t been inspected since.

Last month, Southwark Council announced that it had recommended that eight schools amalgamate with one

Black civil rights legend Dr Cecil Belfield Clarke has plaque unveiled in Elephant and Castle

By Herbie Russell

herbie@southwarknews.co.uk Legendary black civil rights activist and physician Dr Cecil Belfield Clarke has been immortalised in a blue plaque in Elephant and Castle.

A huge crowd of people flocked to London South Bank University’s Perry Library building to witness the unveiling last Wednesday, week, April 13.

Milton Inniss, High Commissioner of Barbados, who spoke at the event, said: “His contribution to the country has been immense and indeed immeasurable.”

Born in Barbados in 1894, Dr Belfield Clarke ran his surgery from where the library now stands. From here, he tended to patients between 1920 and his retirement in 1965 - even when bombs rained down on the area during the blitz.

He also fought the rampant racism of mid-20th century Britain, founding the civil rights group The League of Coloured Peoples in 1931.

Asked whether Britain appreciates its homegrown black civil rights activists enough, Black History Walks founder Tony Warner said: “We’re talking about Martin Luther King and not what happened here.

“When I speak to schools they can’t explain why they talk about the March on Washington in 1963 but don’t talk about the New Cross Fire in 1981 and the protests for human rights and equality that followed.”

After arriving in the UK in 1914, Belfield

Clarke attended Cambridge University, later becoming president of his old college, and was also a member of the Council of the British Medical Association.

He also devised the misnamed Clark’s rule, a mathematical formula that is still used to calculate medicine dosages for children.

The scale of his achievements is only enlarged when one considers that, for most of his life, there was no UK legislation against racial discrimination.

Addressing the doctor’s lack of recognition despite his work, the Bishop of Croydon the Rt Rev Dr Rosemarie Mallett said at the event: “I met people who knew Harold Moody and I knew nothing about Dr Belfield Clarke.

“He was not invisible he was invisibilised… his contribution should have never been made unknown.”

Clarke is thought to have had a gay relationship with lifelong partner Edward ‘Pat’ Walter, which he concealed by employing him as his secretary.

In his 1951 book No Green Pastures: The Journal of Negro History Roi Ottley described the doctor as a “light brown freckle-faced man of 50-odd years inclined to corpulence with the buoyancy of one who has lived well and happily.”

In October 2021, just two per cent of Historic England’s blue plaques commemorated black historical figures.

This plaque, installed thanks to a collaboration between community trust Nubiak Jak and Black History Walks, aims to remedy that figure.

another, although it would not name which ones.

Four other Southwark primary schools St Jude’s and Charlotte Sharman Primary School on the one hand and Cobourg and Camelot on the other - have also announced mergers, taking the total to twelve.

Lambeth Council has recommended a strategy that would see sixteen schools merge by 2025, although it is unclear which schools have been earmarked.

While schools across south London struggle to fill surplus places, more than 30 new free schools are in the pipeline for London, creating 14,500 new places, it was recently revealed.

Last February, London Councils, the cross-party group representing London’s local authorities urged the government to be wary of how new schools could destabilise existing institutions.

Ian Edwards, London Councils’ executive member for children and young people, said: “London schools are at a crossroads. Careful management of school places supply is essential to ensuring children across the capital get access to the sustainable, high-quality education they need.”

He added: “We are asking the Department for Education to work with London boroughs to ensure no new free schools are approved in areas where there is clear evidence that demand for school places is decreasing, as this could destabilise existing schools.”

Picke Event organisers and friends hold a plaque mock-up with Jak Beula, Nubian Jak founder, at the front. Dr Cecil Belfield Clarke (inset)

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

www.southwarknews.co.uk/news

NEWS 15

London Marathon 2023: Sunday April 23rd

Look out for local runners including the millwall boss

By Isabel Ramirez isabel@southwarknews.co.uk Thousands of runners will take to the streets of London this weekend for the marathon, and our local runners are raring to go - including Millwall's manager and one man who has run it 34 times.

Kevin Downey, from Bermondsey, has raised over £120,000 for children’s charities since he started running in the 1980s.

This year will mark Kevin Downey’s 34th London Marathon.

He’s dedicating his run to Millwall superfan, Harvey Brown (pictured).

Now, 14, he suffers from the ultra-rare Morquio syndrome, which affects skeletal growth. The money raised by Kevin, a lifelong Millwall fan himself, will go towards supporting children with rare syndromes like Harvey’s.

“It’ll be the second time I’m running for him,” the 64-year-old said.

He’s no stranger to the race itself, but he said it’s only got harder over the years. “I usually go out the night before, but I won’t be doing that this year,” he said.

“What’s important to me is finishing it and raising the money for the kids.

“They can’t do it for themselves and I want all kids to have a good start in life,” he added.

Search ‘Kevin Downey’ on justgiving.com to donate.

Hanaa Bengtsson El Mchrafi, also from Bermondsey, is running her first-ever marathon, after living above it for 17 years.

Forty-six-year-old Hanaa from Bermondsey only started running four months ago but explained it has helped her through menopause.

“I really struggled at the start - and I want to raise awareness about it too for all the women who feel alone,” she said.

Despite being new to running, she has been a spectator for a long time and said she’s excited to finally be taking part: “I can’t wait. I’ve lived directly above the race for 17 years - so now it’s my time to do it."

She is running for Time and Talents.

“I wanted to do something communitybased, and this charity is close to my heart.

“They do so much for people in the area.”

Search ‘Hanaa Bengtsson El Mchrafi’ on justgiving.com to donate.

Walworth’s Sean O’Sullivan running again and this time as a visually impaired guide Kevin’s 34th marathon and he is dedicating it to his pal Harvey Brown fan who tragically passed away on March 17th, 2022.

Fans can donate by searching ‘Millwall Football Club’ on justgiving.com

Sean O’Sullivan, from Walworth, ran for Blind Aid last year after fearing he would have to use their services and is running for them again.

The 50-year-old said: “Last year was my first time running it and it was incredible. I would convince anyone to do it.”

Sean said he jumped at the chance to run again for Blind Aid - a charity he has got more involved with since last year, after finding he had glaucoma himself.

“It’s inspired me to do more. I’m going

to learn how to be a guide runner in June.”

This will allow him to support visually impaired people by guiding them whilst running, to allow them to take part.

Sean is one of eight people running for the charity, and the money raised goes towards funding a Southwark Sight Support Worker. “As it’s a small charity, it feels good to know you’re having a direct impact,” he said.

Search ‘Sean O’Sullivan’ on justgiving.com to donate.

The London Marathon kicks off at 10 am from Greenwich Park, Blackheath on Sunday 23rd April.

More local runners can be found on our web ite southwarknews.co.uk

Millwall boss is running for the second time, in memory of a fan.

Lions manager Gary Rowett is set to run in aid of the British Heart Foundation.

He ran the same marathon in 2022, completing the 26.2-mile course in four hours and four minutes, raising more than £1,000 for the Lions Food Hub. This year, he will be supporting the British Heart Foundation, which is the chosen charity of the family of Paul Jiggins, a journalist and lifelong Millwall

Millwall manager Gary Rowett is running in memory of lifelong fan Paul Jiggins

Hanaa is running her first marathon for Rotherhithe’s Time & Talents

16 OPINION www.southwarknews.co.uk/letters

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

Comment

‘Criminals know they can get away with it under the Tories’ T he Conservatives have now been in power for 13 years, including five with the Liberal Democrats, although it increasingly feels longer and like the country has not improved.

People are left asking what services or opportunities are better now than they were before the Tories.

Food and energy bills are soaring, wages do not match inflation or rising costs, waiting lists for the NHS are increasing, and crime rates continue to rocket.

But the Prime Minister has reannounced his priority is maths.

Well, his priorities just don’t add up and he has severely miscalculated what people care about.

In London last year the police didn’t turn up after more than 1,000 reported burglaries a month and over 70% of all burglaries went

unsolved. I meet and work with the dedicated local police team in Southwark and know many individual officers care deeply and want to do more to help anyone experiencing any crime. But they are overstretched, under-resourced and lack sufficient powers.

Since the Tories took office, the Met has lost 3,000 police officers, over 3,000 PCSOs and 5,000 other police staff.

The effect is felt in Southwark now where you are four times more likely to have your bike stolen; five times more likely to be robbed; and almost 10 times more likely to be the victim of a pickpocket or snatch-and-grab crime.

Police visibility and activity is crucial to tackling these problems but the PM is absent from the scene, too busy lecturing on the

from

Westminster

NEIL COYLE

MP for Bermondsey & Old Southwark importance of maths whilst his education Ministers fail children by not solving teachers being on strike.

Huge cuts to neighbourhood policing, the colossal court backlog and the pitiful prosecution rates (including just 2% for rape) all leave criminals knowing they can get away with it under the Tories.

Labour want to fix the situation with 13,000 extra neighbourhood police and PCSOs; punishing offenders with tougher sentences; and taking more action to stop young people being drawn into crime.

Crime and antisocial behaviour

are not the only pressing issues facing our community. The cost-ofliving crisis continues with rising rents, bills and food prices all leaving many families struggling.

Our Labour Council has been working hard to support people in need with a ‘Cost-of-Living Fund’ which has now helped almost 15,000 households with an additional £100 through the most difficult winter months. I and my small team in my Bermondsey office referred 170 people and supported many more with their applications in this difficult period

‘Our fish are disappearing and our birds are crashing’

D

o you like fish and chips?

Do you like the sound of birds singing? Do you like summer sunshine?

If so, here’s some news that you might have missed. This week, the world’s oceans reached an all-time temperature high, which will cause more extreme weather – storms, hurricanes, flooding.

The fish that form part of many people’s diet will disappear as algae take over.

Also, this week, it was reported that the UK bird population is crashing, with 48% of species declining.

Woodland birds have been hit hardest, losing their homes as trees are felled. Birds are an indicator of the state of health of all our wildlife.

And in July and August last year, UK

temperatures rose above 40 degrees for the first time. It was reported as a ‘fun in the sun’ story but there were wildfires in open country and inner cities, widespread drought and 3,000 more deaths in the over-65s than usual. What will this summer bring?

Yes, I want to see a future that includes birds. Or, to put it another way, I want a happy, healthy life for every child born in Southwark this month. What can I do as an individual about these scary news stories?

As Dr Charlie Gardner puts it, individual action ‘doesn’t just mean addressing our footprints, as important as that is. It also means talking about it, it means pushing for change at work and in our communities.’

So this weekend I’m going to ‘The Big

So this weekend I’m going to ‘The Big One’, organised by XR ... hop on a bus, cycle or even walk to join me One’, organised by XR and supported by unions, Operation Black Vote, Fuel Poverty Action, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, among others.

People will be coming to London from all over the UK but Southwark residents are lucky – we can hop on a bus, cycle or even walk there.

There’s an opening event on Friday at 3pm outside Parliament, and events continue all weekend. The programme is at extinctionrebellion. uk/the-big-one/programme If you go along for an hour, you

might hear from Chris Packham or Green MP Caroline Lucas, or from XR writers, doctors and scientists.

You might join a discussion or listen to live music, decorate a t-shirt or go on a guided walk.

You’ll meet other people who are grappling with what to do in their own lives and communities. On Monday, Parliament will be sitting. Simply by turning up, you will be giving MPs the message that you want serious change – clean energy, insulation and an end to new fossil fuel projects.

as well as linking people to other advice and help elsewhere.

But there is much more that needs to be done and we need Rishi Sunak and his Tory Government to wake up to the real priorities and to stop patronising people about maths when Ministers are routinely failing to improve our country.

Labour has a long-term plan to build a better Britain. Not Tory headline-grabbing, but ineffective solutions. A genuine long-term, mission-driven aspiration to, step by step, improve people’s lives in Southwark and across the country.

Southwark

Green eleanor margolies Eleanor Margolies writes about theatre and on environmental issues, and is an active campaigner for urban green spaces and clean air. www.eleanormargolies.co.uk @ellanOrnell

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

www.southwarknews.co.uk/letters

OPINION 17

Does it hurt residents when council staff work from home? We need to hear from Southwark Council

I

n recent months, the News has cranked up its investigations into the causes of Southwark’s housing disrepair.

We’ve looked at how thinly spread resident services officers can struggle to stay on top of casework and whether a caretaker system could be reinstated.

On their travels around Southwark’s housing estates, our journalists are often told by residents and estate association chairs that council staff working from home has delayed repairs.

Like almost all workplaces, Southwark Council had to adapt to remote working to meet the demands of lockdown. From speaking to council staff and senior political figures, it would appear that many still spend a large amount of time working from home.

In a purely practical sense, working from home shouldn’t meaningfully impact repairs. Council staff will be well-versed in how to use online communication tools. Also, many studies indicate that working from home increases productivity and decreases the risk of burnout.

But there is something about being in an office, and feeling connected to the place and people that you serve. Is it inconceivable that council staff’s physical disassociation from council offices has led to a mental disassociation from the council tenants and residents they work for?

It’s a very difficult thing to measure. The fact that repair delays have increased post-pandemic does not necessarily mean remote working is the root of the problem. That is why we look forward to hearing Southwark Council’s side of the story.

Why the reluctance to accept bleed control kits?

T

his week, a bleed control cabinet was installed in Peckham Rye Park – following the fatal stabbing of 29-year-old Kalabe Legesse last year. We salute the work of Lisa Pearson, who has been pushing for this life-saving equipment to be installed in every area of London – but shockingly, people are reluctant to take her up on it.

Is it the stigma? Perhaps people feel that if they agree to have a bleed kit they are somehow ‘accepting’ that there may be an incidence when they will have to use it.

It is worth noting that these kits can be used in any event of traumatic blood loss – which is not limited to stabbings. Yet given the lack of widespread support for this initiative, it seems we have a problem with actively doing anything to minimise the damage.

cryptic Puzzle Clues Across 1 Come in. Thank you. Dine informally.

Be received as a guest (11) 9 With this one has nothing (3) 10 Died having no will to survive (9) 11 The rascal sounds as if he’s in church (5) 13 Could a mere lad be such a jewel? (7) 14 I start out to be a craftsman (6) 16 Mark the regular pattern (6) 18 Flower one could somehow say has a circular centre (7) 19 Belief in the bitch who has whelped? (5) 20 Can I be in dual collision and not be heard? (9) 21 Only part of a piece of pastry (3) 22 Substitute newly mixed paler cement (11)

Clues Down 2 Trap what is left after deductions (3) 3 Chosen to put it in the roughly sheltered side (5) 4 Named the bird who was in front (6) 5 Examine closely an invertebrate creature soft in the belly (7) 6 Forthcoming fellow completely absorbed in eating (9) 7 Sounds a peremptory order to a lazy exporter, but denotes skill (11) 8 Containers for sewing accessories or drug addicts? (6,5) 12 Change a net around for every other answer (9) 15 Descriptive of a conventional gathering? (7) 17 Having two feet with which to make rhythm (6) 19 Fond hope of a mad reversal concerning the enclosure (5) 21 Hold down; check growing up (3

Quick Puzzle Clues Across 1 One who covers furniture (11) 9 Spike of corn (3) 10 Manyfooted animal (9) 11 Lesser in importance (5) 13 Amidst (7) 14 Deny (6) 16 Shackle (6) 18 Colossal (7) 19 One who sets rate of progress (5) 20 Setbacks (9) 21 Belonging to him (3) 22 Teenagers (11)

Clues Down 2 Face value of shares (3) 3 Come to mind (5) 4 Type of footwear (6) 5 Incident (7) 6 Vigorous (9) 7 Sproutinducing agents (11) 8 Form of printing (11) 12 Vetoed (9) 15 Supporting shoot (7) 17 Small pieces (6) 19 Stick (5) 21 Shed (3)

Solutions to last week’s crossword Cryptic PUZZLE

Across: Abstain 5 Crest 8 Stab 9 Tabulate 10 Under pressure 13 Ruse 14 Edge 17 Interrogation 19 Derision 20 Emit 21 Eases 22 Message Down: 2 Biting 3 Tableau 4 In top gear 5 Clubs 6 Erasure 7 Theseus 11 Emergence 12 Spindle 13 Retires 15 Gathers 16 Hoping 18 Rests

Quick PUZZLE

Across: Chowder 5 Bacon 8 Stir 9 Elegance 10 Architectural 13 Spur 14 Oval 17 Establishment 19 Reliance 20 Reed 21 Risen 22 Useless Down: Haters 3 Worship 4 Electoral 5 Bigot 6 Control 7 Needles 11 Cloisters 12 Clearer 13 Settles 15 Admiral 16 Angers 18 Brain

18 NEWS www.southwarknews.co.uk/news

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

www.southwarknews.co.uk/news

NEWS 13

ADVERTORIAL

ADVERTORIAL

Family thank hospital for life-saving heart op on two day old baby

THE FAMILY of a girl born with a rare heart condition has thanked the cardiology team at Evelina London Children’s Hospital for saving her life.

Before birth, six-month-old Daphne was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect known as transposition of the great arteries, where the two main blood vessels leaving the heart are swapped over.

Born in August 2022, at just two days old Daphne underwent her first operation to keep a small gap open in her heart, called an atrial septostomy. Eight days later, she had open heart surgery to move the two major blood vessels into the correct place, known as an arterial switch.

Daphne spent two weeks in the specialist children’s hospital, including spending time on the neonatal intensive care unit, the paediatric intensive care unit, and Sky cardiology ward.

Uncle Paul Farrer is setting his sights on the TSC London Marathon in 2024 to raise funds for Evelina London Children’s Charity. The 39-year-old completed his first marathon in 2013, and is hoping to complete his next one in under three hours.

Paul said: “After seeing first-hand the amazing and essential work that all of the teams at Evelina London do, I’ve decided to run the London Marathon on behalf of them to show just a fragment of our family’s appreciation for Daphne’s continued care.

“So many people have been involved in

Daphne’s care, we’d like to thank everyone.

To say they’ve been amazing is a total understatement. They saved Daphne’s life and cared for her when she needed it the most! Daphne is now six months old, recovering brilliantly, and won’t stop smiling and laughing. Every day she shows her fighting spirit and brings so much happiness to everyone around her.”

Mum Hayley Farrer, said: “I’m so grateful for all the care that Daphne and I received from the maternity team at St Thomas’ and the cardiology teams at Evelina London Children’s Hospital. Everyone was amazing.”

Mr Caner Salih, Chief of cardiac surgery at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, said: “It’s wonderful to see how well Daphne is doing. I speak for all of the different teams involved in her care that we’re extremely thankful to hear about Paul’s future fundraising plans.”

Daphne continues to receive regular checkups, and will be under Evelina London’s specialist cardiology care until she transitions to adult services.

Children’s cardio-respiratory and intensive care services delivered at Evelina London Children’s Hospital and Royal Brompton Hospital are part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

The internationally recognised services see around 22,000 children a year and the specialist teams are able to treat a wide range of heart conditions.

Daphne and mum, Hayley Farrer

Would you like to help shape patient care at Guy’s and St Thomas’?

BECOMING A member of our Trust is free, and a great opportunity to get involved in the life of your local hospitals and community health services.

The views of patients and local communities are vital to ensure our services meet your needs now and in the future.

To learn more and to join, complete the application form at www. guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/membership or contact the membership office at members@gstt.nhs.uk. You can also scan this QR code to complete the membership application form.

COVID-19 spring boosters OUR FRIENDLY staff in our new vaccination centre at Guy’s will be offering extra COVID-19 booster vaccines this spring.

Protection from the virus fades over time so spring boosters will be available from the middle of April for: • adults aged 75 years and over • residents in a care home for older adults

• people aged 5 and over who have a weakened immune system.

Book your appointment now at www.nhs.uk/covidvaccination.

Walk-in appointments are also available but please check the COVID-19 walk-in website at www.nhs.uk for opening times.

For further details please visit guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination.

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

what’s on

I have been a fan of John Godber OBE since I first saw Bouncers and knew from his dialogue that we both had similar working-class upbringings, so when I was asked if I wanted to interview him before the only London run of his play Teechers Leavers ‘22, I jumped at the chance, writes Michael Holland...

The Northern Soul of UK Theatre coming to Greenwich

known since he was 19.”

Early influences were the writer Barry Hines and in particular his work on Ken Loach’s Kes. While studying for his PhD he says, “I became very familiar with Brecht and other German playwrights... I loved Berkoff’s early work too when I was at university.”

These days, John declares his influences are life and politics: “I’m lucky enough to have a family who are all sharp social observers and theatre makers so we are

Painter celebrates community connections at Surrey Quays

Rod Kitson with Machines for Living In sq-ft painting project

in constant conversation about the state of the nation and in particular the theatre we are making.”

Having been first drawn to John Godber’s plays because I could relate to them, there was a certain style about them that also attracted: small casts who would play multi-roles, minimal sets and actors who had the skills and energy to work like that. He tells me that this style came about while he was with Hull Truck Theatre: “It was a physicality which came from

my interest in sport, and training; but there was also an economic imperative too since at that time Hull Truck were quite poorly funded so we had to make work that was economic otherwise the company would have collapsed.”

Teechers Leavers ‘22 is an update of an earlier play. I asked why he has given it a new life for these troubled times: “I return to my early work sometimes to keep them fresh and current, and of course because I can. My career took off when I

Southwark painter Rod Kitson is launching an exhibition exploring the connections between artist and community that showcases artwork created in collaboration with local people at his drop-in art studio and gallery, writes Michael Holland...

When lockdown hit, the artist was one of the first to showcase in real life the creative energy of people at home during the pandemic.

His Art of Isolation exhibition’s open call had a phenomenal response, with more than 200 entries coming in.

“It was a true ‘anything-goes’ exhibition and brought people together after a very difficult period,” he remembers.

“Some of the more unusual entries included a pair of jeans that had been artfully darned, a sourdough loaf which was hollowed out and hung on the wall and a broken sledgehammer used in a renovation project!”

Also on show are portraits from the artist’s sprawling ‘Where Are We Now’ project, which so far includes 350 faces, mainly of local people who have an open invitation from Rod to sit for two hours to have their portraits painted.

“As my presence here becomes stronger I have increasingly been painting people who live in the area. They are now literally in my shop window!

“I want this whole collection of work to show the journey that we have been on, the connections we have made, the friendships formed and the warmth and acceptance I feel from the people here.

“It’s been a joy to involve so many people – and hopefully inspire a few of them on their own creative journeys. I hope I am contributing something useful by being here.”

Solo work from Kitson’s colourful 2021

The free exhibition, called ‘Communities’, opens on April 21 and is a retrospective of all the projects which have taken place at his studio-gallery in a repurposed shop unit at the Surrey Quays Shopping Centre since 2019.

They include the 2020 workshop, ‘Boxed In’, where the artist and the public created a living room out of cardboard, complete with fireplace, grandfather clock, gramophone and houseplant – all made from boxes discarded by retailers in the surrounding shops.

And a large ‘rug’, painted by local people in 24 individual one-sq ft pieces, is also on display.

“I loved that rug project,” Rod said.

“It was a great metaphor for the community and creativity in general.

Everyone’s response was unique, but they all slotted together in unity, with the differences making the piece all the more interesting.”

The idea of the rug came from Kitson’s first show at the gallery, ‘Machines for Living In’, in which he replicated his apartment in 30 cm square pieces over the course of 190 days, one made every day.

ARTS 19

in Southwark

© Savanna Photographic

Born in West Yorkshire to a miner father and dinner-lady mother, perhaps nothing much was expected of John, but at one of the new comprehensive schools where the arts was mandatory he found himself under the tutelage of a forward-thinking drama teacher: ‘At the age of twelve we did Marat/Sade and The Dumb Waiter!’

John had found something he loved.

His teacher had trained at Bretton Hall College, an arts-based teaching training college near Wakefield, so, naturally, John also wanted to train there too, even though he had won a place at Central School of Speech and Drama to train as an actor. “I acted in school plays and at College and Leeds University, where I later read for an MA and a PHD but drama in schools had been so important to me that I wanted to pass on the baton.

“Compulsory arts was the mastermind of Sir Alec Clegg, Wakefield’s Chief Education officer,” says John, “who was also instrumental in creating Bretton Hall where I trained as a drama teacher: Sir Ken Robinson, Kay Mellor and Oscar winner Colin Welland all went there.”

John says, “I am first and foremost a playwright and director, and will only act in my own work,” before revealing, “I was offered Mark Addy’s part in The Full Monty film, but turned it down and recommended Mark for it, who I have

www.southwarknews.co.uk/arts

was relatively young so I have a body of work which I have become well known for which I sometimes like to refresh to keep them in relevant.”

This rewrite has come about since John heard that some students were without computers or iPads and were writing essays on their phones. “This digital poverty is very extensive in many of our schools, so when the opportunity came to rewrite Teechers for Hull Truck I decided to incorporate many of the problems which are in schools today, and I wanted to sharpen the argument for drama in school, which is being watered down and is not a core subject. The Government’s insistence of maths being taught to age eighteen was another example of a lack of understanding of what a fully comprehensive education should be.”

It was obvious John’s heart is very much in the right place. He and wife Jane ‘established a foundation to help support drama students from Hull and East Riding who are studying in drama schools and universities.’ And he is strongly against any form of private education for the wealthy as it creates ‘deep inequalities in the state system’.

But before politics changed the mood too much, John Godber OBE divulges he is “looking forward to start working on DO I LOVE YOU, my long awaited play about Northern Soul of which I have been a fan since 1972. Keep the faith!”

We will indeed.

Greenwich Theatre, Crooms Hill, London, SE10 8ES from 27th - 29th April. Times: 7.30pm, Saturday matinee 2.30pm. Admission: £18.50, £16.

Booking: www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk

‘Blue Lotus’ collection is also on show, alongside the paintings by students from nearby Bacon’s College.

I asked him how that came about: “I did a workshop at the school where I showed the students how I created the pictures by painting over life drawings and using lots of references from mythology and fantasy. Then they made their own in the same manner… I made those pictures during lockdown, which was an incredibly fertile period for me. With hindsight it looks like I was retreating into the realms of my imagination to escape the reality at that time.”

Perhaps some of the artwork from his weekly life drawing class will find their way into ‘Communities’, but he admitted that he wasn’t sure if there would be the space.

But if there is I know it will be there because I can’t think of any other artist that shares his studio, his time and his exhibitions with local people as much as Rod Kitson.

‘Communities’ runs from April 21 to May 4 at The Art of Isolation, 47 Upper Floor, Surrey Quays Shopping Centre, Redriff Road, London, SE16 7LL Times: Tues, Wed, Fri 11-6pm, Thurs 12-7pm, Sats 11-3pm, Sun 2.30-5pm.

Closed Mondays.

Private View: Friday April 21, 5-7pm Rod Kitson can be contacted on +44 (0) 7960 402 903 or rodkitson36@ gmail.com

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

www.southwarknews.co.uk

Classified

Southwark Pensioners’ Centre Supporting older people in Southwark for over 35 years.

Offering advice, support, activities, rooms for hire and a voice for older people.

ScotsCare is here to help and support Scots and their families in Greater London

Contact us on 020 7708 4556 or info@southwarkpensioners.org.uk

Our services include: Financial Support | Advocacy | Counselling | Sheltered Housing | Homelessness | Job Coaching | Social Events | Volunteering

Or pop into 305 -307 Camberwell rd, Camberwell Green, SE5 0HQ

Elim House Day Centre Supporting older people in Southwark for over 35 years.

To find out more, visit

www.scotscare.com

Offering Leisure & Fitness activities, Minibus Service to and from the centre, Outings and a voice for older people.

Morning breakfast, afternoon lunch and tea and biscuits served late afternoon

or call

0800 652 2989 to speak with a case worker to see how we can assist you.

Contact us on 020 7358 9502 or elimhousecas@gmail.com Or pop into 86-88 Bellenden Road, Peckham, SE15 4RQ W: elimhousedaycentre.com

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Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

www.southwarknews.co.uk

PUBLIC NOTICES 23

Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 NOTICE UNDER ARTICLE 13 OF APPLICATION FOR PLANNING PERMISSION

LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 SECTION 14(1) (GILKES PLACE)

Proposed development at: Arches 114-119, Elephant & Castle, London, SE17 1LB.

TEMPORARY WAITING AND LOADING RESTRICTIONS 1.

The Council of the London Borough of Southwark hereby gives notice, that, because of development works, it made, an order, the effect of which would be to introduce ‘at any time’ waiting and loading restrictions in part of the above named road

2.

Whilst the restriction is in place, and whilst the authorised traffic signs/road markings are displayed, no person shall cause any vehicle to wait, including waiting for the purpose of loading and unloading at any time in: (a) Gilkes Place, which lies between it’s junction with Gilkes Crescent. 10m of ‘at any time’ waiting and loading restrictions (double yellow lines) will be introduced from the end of the existing double yellow lines on the north side of Gilkes Place to the south side for 10m.

3.

Exemptions will be provided in the Order to permit reasonable access to premises, insofar as it is practical without interference with the execution of the said works.

4.

The restrictions will not apply to any vehicle being used in connection with the said works, or for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes or anything done with the permission or at the direction of a police constable in uniform.

5.

The restriction will come into force for on the 28th April, and can remain in place for a maximum duration of 18 months.

6.

Further information may be obtained by contacting Road Network & Parking Management at ttmo@southwark.gov.uk

Dated this 20th April 2023

Take notice that an application is being made by: Elephant & Castle Properties Co. Limited To the London Borough of Southwark for planning permission for: “Change of Use and remodelling of existing arches 114-119 to Flexible Retail/Café/Restaurant (Use Class E) with associated cycle parking.”

Any owner* of the land or tenant** who wishes to make representations about this application should write to Southwark Council by 4th May 2023 at the address below: Planning and Growth Department 5th Floor Hub 2 Southwark Council London PO Box 64529 London SE1P 5LX *‘owner’ means a person having a freehold interest or a leasehold interest the unexpired term of which is not less than seven years. **‘tenant’ means a tenant of an agricultural holding any part of which is comprised in the land.

Signed: On behalf of: Date:

DP9 Limited Elephant & Castle Properties Co. Limited 20th April 2023

Statement of owners’ rights The grant of planning permission does not affect owners’ rights to retain or dispose of their property, unless there is some provision to the contrary in an agreement or lease.

Ian Law Traffic Manager London Borough of Southwark Network Management Environment, Neighbourhoods and Growth 160 Tooley Street PO Box 64529 London SE1 5LX Ref: (2a) 6516/gilkesp/DYL

Statement of agricultural tenants’ rights The grant of planning permission for non-agricultural development may affect agricultural tenants’ security of tenure.

Notice of Application for a Premises Licence made under Section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003

Please take notice that I / we Martin Ekeocha-Kamara have made application to Southwark Council to vary the Premises Licence in respect of L’Attitude, 18-20 Choumert Road, London, SE15 4SE

Notice of Application to Vary a Premises Licence made under Section 34 of the Licensing Act 2003

Please take notice that I / we John Ogier. Helen Evans (Eric’s) Have made application to Southwark Council for a new Premises Licence in respect of Eric’s, 20 Upland Road, London, SE22 9EF

The proposed variation is as follows: Variation to opening and closing times – also in relation to service of alcohol and entertainment.

Days

Start time

Finish time

The retail sale of alcohol:

Monday to Thursday Friday & Saturday Sunday

12:00 12:00 12:00

23:00 00:30 23:00

The provision of regulated entertainment:

Monday to Thursday Friday & Saturday Sunday

12:00 12:00 12:00

23:00 01:00 23:00

The provision of late night refreshment:

Monday to Thursday Friday & Saturday Sunday

12:00 12:00 12:00

23:00 00:30 23:00

Opening hours:

Monday to Thursday Friday & Saturday Sunday

12:00 12:00 12:00

23:00 01:00 23:00

The relevant licensable activities and proposed times to be carried on, or on from the premises are Days

Start time

Finish time

The supply of alcohol:

Monday to Thurs & Sunday Friday & Saturday

10:00 09:00

16:00 17:00

Opening hours:

Monday & Tuesday Wednesday & Thursday Friday & Saturday Sunday

10:00 10:00 09:00 10:00

16:00 18:00 18:00 16:00

A register of all applications made within the Southwark area is maintained by: The Licensing Service, Hub 1, 3rd Floor, 160 Tooley Street, London, SE1 2QH A record of this application may be inspected by visiting the office during normal office hours by appointment on 020 7525 2000; details are also available on our website at http://app.southwark.gov.uk/licensing/licenseregister.asp It is open to any interested party to make representations about the likely effect of the application on the promotion of the licensing objectives. Representations must be made in writing to the Licensing Service at the office address given above (or by email via licensing@southwark.gov.uk) and be received by the Service within a period of 28 days starting the day after the date shown below.

Note: It is an offence to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement in connection with an application. A person guilty of such offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Date of application: 11th April 2023

Proposed closure of Townsend Primary School Townsend St, London SE17 1HJ Southwark Council has published proposals to close Townsend Primary School, with effect from 31st August 2023, which is stage two of the Statutory Process. Stage one involved the previous consultation, earlier in the academic year Within four weeks from the date of publication of this proposal (17th April 2023) – stage 2 of the statutory process - any person may object to or make comments on the proposal by emailing them to vilma.edwards@southwark.gov.uk. This period is stage three of the statutory process. After the end of the four week representation period, within two months, the Council’s Cabinet will meet in June 2023 to take the final decision on whether to close. This will be stage four in the process.

Should the decision to close Townsend Primary School be taken, all children attending Townsend Primary School will be offered places at alternative schools in line with parental preferences and/or within the area for September 2023. The closure forms stage five in the statutory process A copy of the proposal can be viewed on the school website at https://townsendprimary.co.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2023/04/Statutory-Proposal-To-close-Townsend-Primary-School.pdf, and paper copy of the proposal can be requested via email to: vilma.edwards@southwark.gov.uk.

You can also respond in writing to: Vilma Edwards, SELA, Children’s and Adults’ Services, Southwark Council, 160 Tooley Street, London SE1 2QH or by email to the address above.

All responses must be received no later than 5pm on the 15th May 2023

A register of all applications made within the Southwark area is maintained by: The Licensing Service, Hub 1, 3rd Floor, 160 Tooley Street, London, SE1 2QH A record of this application may be inspected by visiting the office during normal office hours by appointment on 020 7525 2000; details are also available on our website at http://app.southwark.gov.uk/licensing/licenseregister.asp It is open to any interested party to make representations about the likely effect of the application on the promotion of the licensing objectives. Representations must be made in writing to the Licensing Service at the office address given above (or by email via licensing@southwark.gov.uk) and be received by the Service within a period of 28 days starting the day after the date shown below.

Note: It is an offence to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement in connection with an application. A person guilty of such offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Date of application: 23rd March 2023

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925, that the Trustee of the TP Bennett (1983) Pension Scheme (“the Scheme”) intends to wind-up the Scheme and wishes to trace any person who was a member or believes they have a claim against or an entitlement from the Scheme.

If you consider that you may be entitled to benefits from the Scheme and have not already been contacted, please write to the Scheme Administrator, Cornelis von Mollendorff, at the address given below with full details of your claim and any benefits that you think you are entitled to, including your full name, address, NI Number, dates of employment and copies of any relevant papers. This information must be received within 2 months of the date of publication of this notice.

If the Trustee has already been in contact with you (for example if you have received correspondence from them relating to the wind-up) you do not need to reply to this notice as your interest has already been recorded.

The Scheme Administrator’s details are: Cornelis von Mollendorff TP Bennett LLP, One America Street, London SE1 0NE

Access all published notices: www.southwarknews.co.uk/public-not ices

24 PUBLIC NOTICES www.southwarknews.co.uk

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK TOWN & COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990 (as amended) PLANNING (LISTED BUILDINGS AND CONSERVATION AREAS) ACT 1990 (as amended) The planning applications listed below can be viewed on the planning register at https://planning.southwark.gov.uk/online-applications/ You can use facilities at your local library or 'My Southwark Service Points' to access the website.

How to comment on this application: You should submit your comments via the above link. Comments received will be made available for public viewing on the website. All personal information will be removed except your postal address. Online comments submitted without an email address will not be acknowledged and those marked 'confidential' will not be considered. Written comments can be submitted to; Southwark Council, Chief executive's department, Planning division, Development Management, PO Box 64529, London SE1 5LX. Reason for publicity. The applications are advertised for the reasons identified by the following codes: AFFECT - development affecting character or appearance of a nearby conservation area; OR development affecting setting of a nearby listed building(s); DEP - departure from the development plan; EIA - environmental impact assessment (these applications are accompanied by an environmental statement a copy of which may be obtained from the Council - there will be a charge for the copy); MAJ - major planning application; STDCA - development within a conservation area; STDLB - works to or within the site of a listed building; 18-22 DISNEY PLACE LONDON SOUTHWARK SE1 1HJ (Ref: 23/AP/0888) Alterations to front facade including: brickwork repointing, removal of shutter boxes, detailing to doorways, replacement doors and facade tiling. (Within: Liberty of the Mint CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Sean Gomes 020 7525 0666) 18-22 DISNEY PLACE LONDON SOUTHWARK SE1 1HJ (Ref: 23/AP/0839) Front facade advertisement consent for 1No. projecting sign and 2No. above doorway signs.

(Within: Liberty of the Mint CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Sean Gomes 020 7525 0666) 100 DENMARK ROAD LONDON SOUTHWARK SE5 9LB (Ref: 23/AP/1014) Demolition of rear extension and construction of a single storey rear extension. Planning for this scheme was approved but has now lapsed.

The planning reference for the lapsed approval was: 19/AP/2433 (Within: Camberwell New Road CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Chloe Rimell 0207 525 1397) 187 RYE LANE LONDON SOUTHWARK SE15 4TP (Ref: 23/AP/0921) Variation of Condition 3 'Opening Hours' of

planning permission ref. no. 15/AP/2064: 'Change of use from a temporary restaurant (use class A3) to a permanent restaurant and bar (use classes A3 and A4)' to extend the opening hours from 8:00-01:30 on Thursdays and 08:00-02:00 on Friday and Saturday to 08:00-02:00 on Thursday and 08:00-03:00 on Friday and Saturday. Opening hours of Sunday to Wednesday remain at 08:00-01:00. (Within: Rye Lane Peckham CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Vanessa Chai ) 30 GROVE PARK LONDON SOUTHWARK SE5 8LG (Ref: 23/AP/0871) Deconversion from four self-contained flats to a single family dwelling (Within: Camberwell Grove Conservation Area CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Michèle Sterry 020 7525 5453) BENBOW HOUSE 24 NEW GLOBE WALK LONDON SOUTHWARK (Ref: 23/AP/1025) Refurbishment and alterations to the front entrance to Benbow House to include new material finishes, new planters with defensible planting, repositioned handrails, floor lighting and a new CCTV system. (Within: Bear Gardens CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Michèle Sterry 020 7525 5453)

Notice of Application to Vary a Premises Licence made under Section 34 of the Licensing Act 2003

131 GREAT SUFFOLK STREET LONDON SOUTHWARK (Ref: 23/AP/1000) Construction of a roof terrace to serve the existing offices with extended acoustic screening, pavers, seating and external balustrade. (Within: Liberty of the Mint CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Louise Dinsdale 07513137967) 40A NUNHEAD LANE LONDON SOUTHWARK SE15 3TU (Ref: 23/AP/0613) Erection of two-storey top extension to the existing outrigger to facilitate the conversion of two existing flats into 3No 3bed flats. (Within: Nunhead Green CA) Reason(s) for publicity: STDCA (Contact: Glenn Ruane 020 7525 5447)

Dated:18 Apr 2023 - comments to be received within 21 days of this date.

STEPHEN PLATTS - Director of Planning and Growth

Notice of Application for a Premises Licence made under Section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003 Please take notice that I / we The Axis Bermondsey Ltd Have made application to Southwark Council for a new Premises Licence in respect of The Axis, 141 Ormside St, SE15 1TF

Please take notice that I / we Shaun Ryan Treasure have made application to Southwark Council to vary the Premises Licence in respect of The Thirsty Bear, 62 Stamford Street, London, SE1 9LX

The relevant licensable activities and proposed times to be carried on, or on from the premises are

The proposed variation is as follows: Extension of opening times Days

Start time

Finish time

The retail sale of alcohol:

Monday to Saturday Sunday

07:00 10:00

01:30 00:00

The provision of regulated entertainment:

Monday to Saturday Sunday

07:00 10:00

01:30 00:00

The provision of late night refreshment:

Monday to Saturday Sunday

23:00 23:00

01:30 00:00

Opening hours:

Monday to Saturday Sunday

07:00 10:00

01:30 00:00

A register of all applications made within the Southwark area is maintained by: The Licensing Service, Hub 1, 3rd Floor, 160 Tooley Street, London, SE1 2QH A record of this application may be inspected by visiting the office during normal office hours by appointment on 020 7525 2000; details are also available on our website at http://app.southwark.gov.uk/licensing/licenseregister.asp It is open to any interested party to make representations about the likely effect of the application on the promotion of the licensing objectives. Representations must be made in writing to the Licensing Service at the office address given above (or by email via licensing@southwark.gov.uk) and be received by the Service within a period of 28 days starting the day after the date shown below.

Note: It is an offence to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement in connection with an application. A person guilty of such offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Date of application: 14th April 2023

Access all published notices: w w w. s o u t h w a r k n e w s . c o . u k / p u b l i c - n o t i c e s

Days

Start time

Finish time

The retail sale of alcohol:

Monday to Sunday

11:00

23:00

Opening hours:

Monday to Sunday

11:00

23:00

A register of all applications made within the Southwark area is maintained by: The Licensing Service, Hub 1, 3rd Floor, 160 Tooley Street, London, SE1 2QH A record of this application may be inspected by visiting the office during normal office hours by appointment on 020 7525 2000; details are also available on our website at http://app.southwark.gov.uk/licensing/licenseregister.asp It is open to any interested party to make representations about the likely effect of the application on the promotion of the licensing objectives. Representations must be made in writing to the Licensing Service at the office address given above (or by email via licensing@southwark.gov.uk) and be received by the Service within a period of 28 days starting the day after the date shown below.

Note: It is an offence to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement in connection with an application. A person guilty of such offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Date of application: 3rd April 2023

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

LONDON BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK ELECTRIC SCOOTER TRIAL The London Borough of Southwark (Various provisions and exemptions) (e-scooter trial) (No. 2) Experimental Traffic Order 2023 1. Southwark Council hereby GIVES NOTICE that on 20 April 2023 it has made the above experimental order under sections 9 and 10 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, as amended.

2. The general effect of the Experimental Order will be, in connection with electric scooters (henceforth referred to as ‘e-scooters’) being used in a trial, to:(a) re-designate certain cycle tracks made pursuant to section 65 of the Highways Act 1980 as restricted carriageways; and (b) to exempt e-scooters, being used in a trial, from cycle lanes installed prior to when the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 came into force.

Note: Transport for London will permit the use of e-scooters on all GLA roads and side roads, where pedal cycles can already proceed, within the London Borough of Southwark from 7 June 2021. Details of Transport for London’s Order can be found by visiting their website.

3. Southwark Council hereby GIVES FURTHER NOTICE that under Section 15(4) of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1974, have resolved that vehicles (being e-scooters used in a trial, and in some cases pedal cycles for hire) which are parked on the footway and wholly within the areas delineated by white lines, on the footway at the locations identified below, shall be exempt from Section 15(1) of the said Act which makes it an offence to park on the footway. The resolution shall take effect from 27 April 2023. E-scooter and cycle hire parking places designated at the following locations:-

www.southwarknews.co.uk

PUBLIC NOTICES 25

Notice of Application to Vary a Premises Licence made under Section 34 of the Licensing Act 2003 Please take notice that I / we CITYGLEN PUB CO LIMITED have made application to Southwark Council to vary the Premises Licence in respect of BREFFNI ARMS, 888 OLD KENT ROAD, LONDON, SE15 1NQ The proposed variation is as follows: NAME CHANGE TO THE WINDSOR AMENDMENT TO HOURS FOR RECORDED MUSIC, LIVE MUSIC, DANCE, LATE NIGHT REFRESHMENT, SUPPLY OF ALCOHOL, HOURS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Days

Start time

Finish time

The retail sale of alcohol:

Monday to Sunday

10:00

01:00

The provision of regulated entertainment:

Monday to Sunday

12:00

01:00

The provision of late night refreshment:

Monday to Sunday

23:00

01:00

Opening hours:

Monday to Sunday

10:00

01:30

A register of all applications made within the Southwark area is maintained by: The Licensing Service, Hub 1, 3rd Floor, 160 Tooley Street, London, SE1 2QH A record of this application may be inspected by visiting the office during normal office hours by appointment on 020 7525 2000; details are also available on our website at http://app.southwark.gov.uk/licensing/licenseregister.asp It is open to any interested party to make representations about the likely effect of the application on the promotion of the licensing objectives. Representations must be made in writing to the Licensing Service at the office address given above (or by email via licensing@southwark.gov.uk) and be received by the Service within a period of 28 days starting the day after the date shown below.

Note: It is an offence to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement in connection with an application. A person guilty of such offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Date of application: 13th April 2023

4. For more information on the background and implementation of the trials please contact the Highways, e-scooter and cycle hire team Highways@southwark.gov.uk 5. Copies of the Experimental Order, which will come into force on 27 April 2023 (and expire on 5 November 2024), this notice and a statement of the council's reasons for making the order may be found online at www.southwark.gov.uk/trafficorders. Paper copies may be obtained from or viewed at Highways, Environment, Neighbourhoods and Growth, 3rd floor hub 2, 160 Tooley Street, London SE1 2QH by appointment only - for booking details contact traffic.orders@southwark.gov.uk or 020 7525 3497.

6. The council will in due course be considering whether the provisions of the experimental order should be continued in force indefinitely, by means of a permanent order made under the powers of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. Anyone wishing to object to the making of the permanent order or make any other representation regarding the scheme would have 6 months to do so, from the date the experimental order comes into force (or, if the order is varied by a subsequent order or modified pursuant to section 10(2) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, from the date that variation order or modification comes into force), and may send a statement to traffic.orders@southwark.gov.uk or to: Traffic Order consultations, Highways, Southwark Council, Environment, Neighbourhoods and Growth, P.O. Box 64529, London SE1P 5LX; or use the form labelled 'Parking - Road traffic and highway schemes - responding to statutory consultation notices' at www.southwark.gov.uk/statutoryconsultationnotices quoting reference ‘TMO2324-EXP01_e-scooters in tracks’. Please note that if you wish to object to the scheme you must state the grounds on which your objection is made.

TO BOOK THIS SPACE call Clarry on 020 8103 1481 or email clarry@urbanmedia.london

7. Under requirements of current access to information legislation, any letter or e-mail sent to the Council in response to this Notice may be subject to publication or disclosure, or both, including communication to other persons affected.

8. Anyone wishing to question the validity of the order or of any provision 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 have not been complied with in relation to the order may, within 6 weeks of the date on which the order was made, make application for the purpose to the High Court.

Dated 20 April 2023 Dale Foden - Head of Service, Highways

Access

all published n o t i c e s : w w w. s o u t h w a r k n e w s . c o . u k / p u b l i c - n o t i c e s We e k l y d e a d l i n e i s 2 p m e v e r y T u e s d a y.

P l e a s e e m a i l e m @ s o u t h wa r k n e w s. c o. u k

26 SPORT www.southwarknews.co.uk/sport

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

Champs make powerful statement Surrey pull away in final session for impressive nine-wicket victory Surrey 270 & 247/1 Hampshire 254 & 258 Surrey win by nine wickets

Ollie Pope scored 122 from 102 balls

By Mark Baldwin sport@southwarknews.co.uk IT IS only the LV= Insurance County Championship’s second week but Surrey’s impressive nine-wicket victory against Hampshire at the Kia Oval was a resoundingly powerful statement of intent from last season’s champions.

Photo by Mark Sandom

Needing to score 243 from 72 overs after finishing off Hampshire’s second innings on 258, Ollie Pope’s scintillating unbeaten 122 from 102 balls sped them to a 20-point win with 16.4 overs in hand, while Dom Sibley played a superb anchor role with 79 not out. The pair added an unbroken 193 in 30 overs for Surrey’s second wicket with, by the end, complete freedom.

Hampshire however, for much of last year Surrey’s closest challengers for the title, fully contributed to a terrific toe-totoe contest over the four days but, in the end, as overhead conditions eased and the pitch remained good, Surrey’s allround strength saw them pull away in devastating style in the final session of the match.

Pope was annoyed to miss out on an 11th Oval first-class hundred in the first innings, even though he had kept Surrey in the game with a hard-fought 91 when batting was far more difficult, and he treated a good-sized Sunday crowd to a stream of memorable strokes after a solid opening stand of 54 between Sibley and Rory Burns.

An extraordinary six off fast bowler James Fuller was struck tennis-fashion over the keeper’s head and one drilled straight drive for four, from a skip or two down the pitch against the same bowler, will live long in the memory.

Pope struck three sixes and 14 fours in total, finishing the match in style by lofting Felix Organ’s off spin for successive sixes, after cruising to his half-century from 60 deliveries, while Sibley faced 144 balls, hitting 10 fours.

Earlier, Dan Worrall's 5 for 40 from 17 overs provided the main cutting

edge in a five-man Surrey pace battery that, to a man, played its part in the win that followed a high-scoring draw with Lancashire at Old Trafford in the opening week. There were also two wickets apiece for Kemar Roach and Tom Lawes.

It took Surrey 22 overs, at the start of the day, to finish off Hampshire’s second innings after they had resumed on 198 for 5. With 14 overs still to be bowled before the second new ball was due, the onus was on Hampshire to press on in that first hour, but their cause was not helped when Nick Gubbins edged a fine ball from Lawes to first slip with just ten runs added to the overnight total.

Gubbins had made only five more on day four but his 84 was a mature, responsible innings that had rescued Hampshire from the depths of 34 for 3, and then 58 for 4, midway through the third afternoon.

Ian Holland, on 25 when the final day began, continued his own excellent innings and with new batsman Fuller put together another valuable 33 for the seventh wicket.

Fuller, with clear instructions to attack the bowling, had slashed his first ball, from Lawes, high over the slips for four and he also clipped the 20-year-old powerfully to the mid-wicket ropes, but on 23 he fell to Roach in the first over of the second new

ball.

After lofting a drive just short of a diving Burns at mid-off, and getting two runs for it, Fuller again aimed to hit Roach’s third ball on the up and this time succeeded only in lobbing a gentle catch to cover.

Keith Barker made six before getting in a tangle trying to hook Worrall and splicing to keeper Smith and Holland was left unbeaten on 46 when last man Abbas was pinned in front by Worrall to go for a duck.

Surrey’s chase was given the perfect, measured start by Burns and Sibley, who initially blunted the Hampshire pace attack with careful application studded by the occasional stroke of authority – such

as Sibley’s whipped four to mid-wicket off Mohammad Abbas and leg glanced and extra cover driven boundaries by Burns off Barker and Abbas respectively.

The opening stand had occupied 25 overs when Kyle Abbott was finally rewarded for some classy, probing bowling from around the wicket to Burns, having him well held for 35 at first slip

by James Vince after beating him several times off the pitch.

Pope, however, then arrived at the crease and – suddenly – a potentially awkward victory target began to shrink to something easily attainable in the time still left in the game.

“The boys are buzzing because Hampshire will be one of our toughest opponents this summer,” Pope said.

“There is a lot of amazing talent in our dressing room and everyone is really pleased that we have managed to come out on top in this game.

“I’m very happy with the way I’ve played and it was nice to bat with Dom in that partnership. He also played superbly and he will get many more scores of 50 and more this season.

“It was tough work in the first innings, in the overcast conditions against their attack, and although I

was annoyed to get out for 91 it was ok once I got back into the dressing room. I felt chilled because I had played well overall.

“Our fast bowlers were also brilliant in this match and it was their efforts which gave us the chance to chase down that sort of total.

“It was a new-ball wicket, which is why Dom and Rory Burns’ efforts up top were so important, but it did get easier to bat once the ball had got softer.”

Hampshire captain James Vince felt Pope was the difference between the sides.

“Ideally we wanted to bat through

to lunch today and get 30 or 40 more runs but they bowled well throughout and also batted better than us against the new ball,” Vince said.

“Even at the start of the last session, though, we were in the game and overall it was a 50-50 match for three-and-a-half days, and we hung in well and fought back extremely well in both our innings.

“Last year we bounced back after losing to Surrey in our second game, having won in the opening week, so there is a lot to take from this and, this season, we gave a home fixture too against Surrey, in the very last week of the championship, so we will

keep going.

“Towards the end of the game, too, after both Ollie Pope and Dom Sibley had batted so well to take them close to their win target, our main priority was to get our over rate back up so we wouldn’t lose any of the four bonus points we take from this game.

“From here, though, we have to start finding some more runs from our top order. In this game it was Pope, in essence, who was the main difference between the two sides because he is such a high-quality player and he scored over 200 runs for once out.”

Surrey’s next match in Division One is at Warwickshire from April 27-30.

Pope: ‘There is amazing talent in our dressing room’

By Mark Sandom sport@southwarknews.co.u OLLIE POPE said Surrey were “buzzing” after defeating “one of our toughest opponents this summer” Hampshire in the County Championship last weekend.

Pope helped Surrey to a nine-wicket victory with an unbeaten 122 from 102 balls, with Dom Sibley finishing on 79 not out.

Pope now averages a remarkable 96.29 in first-class cricket at the Kia Oval, with 2600 runs from 36 innings, and 11 hundreds.

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

www.southwarknews.co.uk/sport

Photo by Rob Avis

Hamlet take a huge step Hakan Hayrettin: ‘We’ve made this place a fortress’

SPORT 27

dulwich hamlet fc

First win for Olympians in promotion drive

By Sport Reporter johnk@southwarknews.co.uk THE LONDON Olympians’ 2023 season and new head coach Murray Dumas's reign got off to an ideal start with a 47-0 away win against the Essex Spartans last weekend.

Dulwich net crucial win in drop battle

By John Kelly

George Porter put the hosts in front on eleven minutes before Sanchez Ming’s penalty in the 79th minute helped seal the points.

The Hamlet have responded brilliantly to their 4-0 defeat at Dartford – after which manager Hakan Hayrettin apologised to the club’s supporters – with two wins and a draw since.

Hamlet fans again turned out in their numbers as their club battle against relegation, with an attendance of 3,291 in East Dulwich. The side are unbeaten in five home games under Hayrettin.

“Amazing. Again, full house, like I’ve said since I’ve been here, 3,400, 3,300 supporters, packed out, rooting for the team,” Hayrettin told Dulwich’s media.

“We got the job done. We scored early. Fair play to the boys, again we’ve made this place a fortress. Since I’ve been here we haven’t lost.

“It was a good, good win, [we’re] going in the right direction – but nothing’s over ‘til it’s over. I was brought here to do a job and until that job is done we’ve to keep our feet firmly on the ground and focus on every game, one game at a time.

“For me it’s about structure, it’s about discipline, it’s about dealing with the situation. You need people to deal with certain situations, we dealt with it today. We dealt with it at Easter, we got some great points. If you’d said to us last week we’d get four [points] out of six, I’d take it now.

“But here is where it matters now.

We’ve got to go to Hungerford and finish the job off, try and get some points there and that is never an easy place to go.

“Until the job is done I’m going to make sure that everybody connected to the football club keeps their feet firmly on the ground.”

Aaron Jones kept his first clean sheet in senior football after coming in for regular first-choice goalkeeper Charlie Grainger.

Hayrettin added: “Sad for Charlie, it was a bad injury, bad enough to keep him out that long. But the kid has come in and I think he was excellent, calm and composed. I was so pleased with everyone connected, the boys that played.

“We have a way of doing things that works for us. We’re quite regimental in how we set up and how we play

against other teams. We got the points, the boys put in an amazing, amazing shift for the football club, and they will continue to do that.

“Listen, my job here is to retain our [league] status, my staff’s job is to retain our status, the players’ job is to retain the status and that’s what we’re going to be focussed on doing.

“I’m not going to let anyone take it easy.”

Cheshunt, who were six points behind Dulwich this week, had their game in hand at home to Chelmsford City on Tuesday night.

Dulwich are at Hungerford Town this Saturday for a 3pm kick-off.

Hungerford are one of the four sides below the Hamlet in the table, and if Hayrettin’s team can avoid defeat against them then they will eliminate one of the four that can catch them in the fight to avoid the drop.

ByJeff Burnige

game last weekend.

one up after 28 minutes.

Ellen Napper was deployed in an unfamiliar role up front and she worked hard to occupy Fleet’s expensive back four which was marshalled well by exCharlton star Charley Clifford.

It took until 55 minutes for the hosts to double their lead, but their celebrations were cut short when youngster Melissa

Jones’s great shot was saved only for her under-18 team-mate Napper to make it 2-1.

A comeback looked on the cards but Jade Keogh’s drive was tipped onto the bar, before some effective Fleet substitutions dominated the Lionesses’ tiring midfield, and a late flurry of goals increased the score-line to 6-1.

johnk@southwarknews.co.uk DULWICH HAMLET took a big step towards preserving their National League South status with their 2-0 win against Taunton Town at Champion Hill last weekend.

The Olympians scored on their opening drive when Jed Brennan pulled in a pass from QB Aaron Griffiths in the back of the endzone, set up by his own 30-yard catch and run.

On the Os' next possession, Brennan electrified the away team sideline with a spinning catch on a deep ball that he took to the house for a second score.

On the other side of the ball, DC Matty Brown's new-look defense got off to an equally strong start. The front seven continually stopped the Spartans' running game and kept the hosts without a first down in the first half.

The Olympians went 19-0 up late in the first quarter, when RB Harry Dowdle ran in a score set up by Bleu Thompson's deep sideline reception.

Newly signed TE/WR Freddy Ashe began to impose himself in the second quarter, catching a pass from a scrambling Griffiths to convert a third and long, before hauling in his first Os TD to cap the drive. Brennan scored the two-pointer to make the score 270.

Ashe got his second TD catch on the next drive, set up when Olympians D stopped the Spartans on 4th&1 inside their own half.

In the second half, the outnumbered Spartans slowed the visitors' momentum, but couldn't break down a tough Olympians defence led by former Spartan Shadrach ‘Shady’ Tshibola.

Safety Angel Garcia Linares ended the host’s best drive with an interception deep in Olympian territory.

Meanwhile, the Os’ offensive line was in dominant form. Great protection allowed Griffiths to bag his fifth TD pass, this time to Chimoi Jay-Vince Young.

The final TD of the day came from RB Michael Alonga II, who impressed on his Olympian debut with a number of juking runs.

Dumas said: “It was a great day for the boys considering all the adversity this year has brought.

“Lots to do, but satisfying to have the win.”

Ebbsfleet too strong for Millwall Lionesses sport@southwarknews.co.uk MILLWALL LIONESSES crashed to a 6-1 defeat at Ebbsfleet United after conceding four goals in the last seventeen minutes of their London & South East Regional Women's Football League Premier Division

This was a clash between third and first, and Ebbsfleet confirmed top spot and probable promotion with this victory.

Injuries forced Lionesses manager Jack Wheeler into selecting five players from the under-18s, and the early signs were good until Amelia Woodgate put Fleet

Millwall must now settle for third place in the league this season, while Ebbsfleet are almost guaranteed to clinch promotion to the FA National League.

This Sunday, the Lionesses’ under-18s are in the Capital League Junior Cup against Brentford B at Bedfont Sports, where a 1,000 crowd is possible as it is Brentford Women’s home ground.

28 MILLWALL www.newsatden.co.uk/ Tom Bradshaw bagged his fifteenth goal of the season in Saturday’s 2-0 win

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

Bradshaw and Flemming score to down Preston and end barren run in front of goal

Lions bag crucial three points at Den

SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP Millwall - 2 (Bradshaw 14’, Flemming 72’) Preston North End - 0 Date: Saturday 15 April 2023 Referee: Tim Robinson Attendance: 16,488 Man of the Match: George Saville

By Alex Jones at The Den alexj@southwarknews.co.uk MILLWALL BOUNCED back from their four-match winless and goalless run by beating play-off rivals Preston North End 2-0 at The Den.

The Lions’ poor form had, impressively, seen them move from sixth in the table to fifth, but the chasing pack were able to cut the gap as a result. Preston were one of the teams to surge up the table, with Ryan Lowe’s men sitting level on 62 points heading into the game.

While the hosts have been blunt in front of goal, they were fortunate not to fall behind in the opening stages of the game.

Josh Onomah was afforded too much space down the right to slip Troy Parrott through on goal, but the former Millwall loanee fired his shot over the bar from the edge of the area.

It looked like everything was going against Millwall as Murray Wallace went down holding his left leg in the seventh minute.

The two teams moved over for drinks while the defender received treatment, but he had to come off for Scott Malone.

The break seemed to help Gary Rowett’s men, who instantly threatened through Oliver Burke down the right, although the Werder Bremen loanee was unable to capitalise.

However, Millwall were able to take the lead in the fourteenth minute when they won a throw-in down the right. Zian Flemming’s initial ball into the box was cleared back to him, allowing him to fire

a pinpoint cross onto the head of Tom Bradshaw, who diverted the ball into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.

Having dominated much of the game, Preston were clearly frustrated, and they looked to respond almost immediately.

George Long stood tall to deny both Onomah and Parrott, with Tom Cannon also close to an equaliser in the 25th minute. Shortly after that, Billy Mitchell almost turned a free-kick into his own net, but it was cleared off the line.

Both sides had chances in the latter stages of the half, with Long forced into yet another save after McNamara was caught out of position down the right. Flemming had a chance to double the lead up the other end of the pitch nine minutes before the edge of the break, but Onomah robbed him of the ball on the edge of the area to stop the attack.

An exhilarating first half was followed by a tepid spell after the restart, but the game quickly sprung to life in the 51st minute

Zian ends his goal drought

when Ben Whiteman was booked for pulling back Flemming’s shirt. However, it was Preston who had the first chance of the second half, with Daniel Johnson somehow scuffing his shot from Andrew Hughes’ cross, wasting what would have been a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Millwall were once again frustrated to not be awarded a penalty after Burke won a corner, adamant that the ball had come off Hughes’ hand. Flemming was brought down in the box while Andreas Voglsammer’s corner was headed over the bar by Shaun Hutchinson, but referee Tim Robinson said no.

It was clear that the Lions had the momentum, albeit that they were struggling to make their chances count.

That all changed in the 72nd minute when they won a free-kick deep in their own half.

Malone played a long ball into the box, with Jake Cooper heading it on into the path of Flemming. The ball bounced up and above the Dutchman, but he jumped up to

volley an acrobatic effort into the back of the net to seal all three points at The Den. Millwall were not done there, as they were presented with a chance to grab their third goal seconds later. Bradshaw found space to play substitute Duncan Watmore through on the left, but his deflected effort bounced up into the hands of Freddie Woodman. Nonetheless, it was enough to end the Lions’ winless run and get them back on track ahead of their final four games.

Millwall: 4-2-3-1: Long; McNamara, Hutchinson, Cooper, Wallace (Malone 7’); Mitchell, Saville; Burke (Esse 70’), Flemming (Shackleton 85’), Voglsammer (Watmore 70’); Bradshaw (Bennett 85’)

Preston: 3-1-4-2: Woodman; Storey, Lindsay (Diaby 68’), Hughes; Whiteman (Ledson 68’); Potts, Onomah (Woodburn 83’), Johnson, Brady (Fernandez 67’); Parrott (Delap 68’), Cannon

'Millwall midfielder talks through stunning volley that decided Preston win

By Alex Jones alexj@southwarknews.co.uk ZIAN FLEMMING was delighted to help Millwall pick up all three points against Preston North End, but revealed that he did not feel the pressure of his six-match goal drought.

The Dutchman contributed to both goals in Saturday’s 2-0 win, providing the cross for Tom Bradshaw’s opening goal before scoring an acrobatic volley to seal the victory against their play-off rivals.

It took his total for the campaign up to fourteen goals, with striker Tom

Bradshaw the only member of the Lions’ squad to find the back of the net more times so far this season.

Four of those have come against Ryan Lowe’s men, having netted a hat-trick in Millwall’s 4-2 at Deepdale back in November.

Flemming’s strike against the Lilywhites was also one of his finest goals of the season, with the 24-yearold admitting that it was a trickier strike than he expected it to be in the moment.

“At first, I didn’t expect the ball to land in my space,” he admitted after the win.

“It had quite a big bounce, which is why their defender misjudged it as

well, and then I had to take that ball quite high. I couldn’t wait for it to drop down because I felt like there were defenders around me in the end.

That’s why it had to be a bit more acrobatic than usual.”

“It’s always nice to score a goal, especially when it’s been a few games, maybe you want it even more.

“To be fair, it didn’t really feel different to any other goal. A goal is a goal, I’m always happy with it, but I’m not extra, extra happy. It wasn’t like I was feeling bad about not scoring for a few games.

“Sometimes it goes like that.

Sometimes they fall in and sometimes they don’t.”

Zian Flemming scored his first goal in six games in Saturday’s win at The Den

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

www.newsatden.co.uk

MILLWALL 29

Millwall shine with underdog mentality

Gary Rowett highlights how his side have upset the big boys in the play-off race

The Lions are on course to secure their first top-six finish in the Championship since 2002

By Alex Jones alexj@southwarknews.co.uk GARY ROWETT believes that Millwall have had to work extra hard to compete with the richer teams in the Championship.

The Lions are operating with one of the smaller budgets in the division but currently sit above the likes of Norwich City, Watford and West Brom, all of whom have had access to parachute payments in recent years.

However, Millwall have worked astutely in the summer and January transfer windows like many of their play-off rivals. Luton Town and Preston North End have never played in the Premier League, while Blackburn Rovers and Coventry City are looking to return to the top flight for the first time in more than a decade. None of them boast the same wealth as the teams who have been recently relegated to the Championship.

Rowett does not believe that finances necessarily dictate how the promotion race plays out, arguing that consistency is key for any side looking to take the step up from the second tier.

“I think the best cultures succeed, or the teams with the best players succeed,” he explained.

“You’ve either got to go down one route or the other. If you haven’t got the

resources to do one route, then you have to do what the likes of us, Preston and Luton are trying to do.

“That’s incrementally building a good structure, having a club with everybody pulling in the same direction with a clear strategy and a clear focus, and just trying to take those baby steps. It’s really

difficult.

“I think that’s why you get to this stage of the season where none of us have got lots of those individual players that can just turn a game on a knife-edge.

We have to work incredibly hard to get those last little bits.

“This is virtually the fourth season that

we’ve been in the mix and, regardless of what happens this year, we’ll take exactly the same approach next season.

Whether that’s trying to get in again, whether that’s trying to survive in a different league, whatever that may be, it’s always small steps and a sensible way of doing it.

“I think that’s our success, I think our success has come from that. We’ve had a lot of consistency, particularly in football.

Most importantly, in the Championship, continuity and consistency are not things that come along very often.

“I think our club has been benefiting from that.”

Lions overcome their April dip

Millwall boss admits pressure played a part in their recent winless run

By Alex Jones alexj@southwarknews.co.uk MILLWALL MANAGER Gary Rowett is delighted that his side have managed to end their fourmatch winless and goalless run, but explained that those sorts of dips are normal for any side chasing promotion in the final games of the season.

Millwall picked up just two points in their barren run that lasted almost a month

The Lions failed to score against Huddersfield Town, West Brom, Luton Town or Hull City, picking up just two points between March 18th and April 10th.

However, they ended their drought by beating Preston North End 2-0 at The Den on Saturday afternoon, keeping their play-off hopes alive heading into their upcoming trip to Wigan Athletic.

Millwall started their barren run in sixth place, but because of results elsewhere, they sat fifth heading into their clash with the Lilywhites. None of the other major players in the top-six race have managed to take advantage, meaning that two places are still up for grabs with three games to go.

Rowett believes that this is a normal part in any Championship season, explaining that any team fighting for glory at the top end of the division will feel the pressure in such a tight battle.

“I think it’s inevitable,” he said.

“At this stage of the season, the teams in the bottom six often pick up as many points as the teams in and around the top six because one is fighting for their lives and the other maybe has something to lose, or there’s just a little bit more pressure on the games.

“I think that’s just the way the season

is. The teams that can churn out results and keep winning are usually the ones that finish in the top two.

“There’s a couple of other teams like Middlesbrough and Luton that seem to have done almost enough to get in there now, and the rest of us are slugging it out for the last two places.

“Nothing comes easy. We’re certainly used to that at Millwall, nothing comes easy to us. We have to fight and we have to scrap to try and get in there.

“We’re either going to do enough to do that in the next game or two, or like many of the teams, we’re perhaps going to fall short.

“I’m confident we can get in there, I’m confident we can do enough, but we’re going to have to start finishing off some of these big moments that we’re creating in games and taking those opportunities.”

30 MILLWALL www.newsatden.co.uk/

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

A bump in the road to the top-six

Tom Bradshaw had just seventeen touches across the 90 minutes

THE LINE-UPS 1 Long

4-2-3-1 2 4 McNamara Hutchinson

23 Saville

8 Mitchell 7 Burke Esse 84’

11 Malone

5 Cooper

Styles 75'

10 Flemming

21 Voglsammer Watmore 75’

Championship Millwall - 0 Birmingham City - 1 Jutkiewicz 28'

9 Bradshaw Bennett 84’

10 Jutkiewicz Hogan 78’

18 Chong

17 Khadra

Mejbri 78’

3 Friend

Graham 61’

7 Bacuna

26 Long

4 Roberts 21 Ruddy

Date: Tuesday 18 April 2023 Attendance: 13,311 Referee: Dean Whitestone Man of the Match: Billy Mitchell

27 Bellingham

31 Bielik

James 79’

2 Colin 4-2-3-1

Etheridge 38’

Head to Head 66% 21 7 11 6

Possession Shots off target Shots on target Corners Fouls

Birmingham dent Millwall's promotion hopes despite dominant home display

34% 7 4 4 9

By Alex Jones at The Den alexj@southwarknews.co.uk BEFORE MILLWALL’S defeat to Preston North End, there were clear issues that needed to be solved.

The Lions were creating chances and often keeping clean sheets, but finding the back of the net was a task. They struggled during a four-match winless and goalless run that saw them pick up just two points, although they remained fifth in the table due to results elsewhere.

It was absolutely crucial that they beat the Lilywhites, which they managed to do thanks to goals from Tom Bradshaw and Zian Flemming, but it was equally

important for them to carry on their form into their final four games. They certainly failed to do that in the early stages of Tuesday’s game against Birmingham City.

The Blues threatened with Juninho Bacuna down the right flank, allowing him to fire a powerful cross onto the head of Lukas Jutkiewicz, with Millwall’s blushes only saved by the striker fouling Danny McNamara.

The Lions worked hard to turn the tide soon after. George Saville’s wayward header from Andreas Voglsammer’s corner in the ninth minute started a seemingly endless string of injuries, with Tahith Chong the first to go to ground.

The former Manchester United man spent nearly three minutes receiving treatment before play continued, only for another stoppage to infuriate the home supporters even more.

Oliver Burke was able to pick up the ball down the right as John Ruddy rushed out to clear the ball out for a throw-in in the fourteenth minute. The Werder Bremen loanee went to take the throw-in quickly in order to score in an

open net, but referee Dean Whitestone stopped the game to allow him to get treatment.

Birmingham were not done there, as Jutkiewicz went down with a head injury just two minutes later. Another lengthy stoppage ensued for him to be patched up, by which time the clock had hit nineteen minutes.

It looked like Gary Rowett’s side were lagging behind due to the breaks as the the visitors tried to catch them cold.

Reda Khadra picked up the ball just 60 seconds later and fired a mishit cross into the box, forcing George Long to tip it over the crossbar for a corner.

They opted to play the set piece short, allowing Millwall to win back possession with Burke and Voglsammer, but they were unable to capitalise.

It was Birmingham who drew first blood in the 28th minute, and Khadra was unsurprisingly the architect of the move. The Brighton loanee picked up the ball down the left and played Jutkiewicz into the box. McNamara was left in the dust while Jake Cooper went to ground, allowing the 34-year-old to

round Long and fire it into an empty net from a tight angle.

The Blues made sure to make the game as scrappy as possible after the opener, with Bacuna picking up a yellow card for a foul on Zian Flemming shortly after the restart. The Dutchman took the free-kick from 30 yards out, forcing Ruddy to tip his dipping effort over the bar.

Three minutes later, the former Norwich City goalkeeper had to be withdrawn through injury, with Neil Etheridge coming on to replace him.

He stood helpless when Millwall had a corner in the 45th minute, but Cooper inexplicably managed to miss from a fantastic position.

It looked like the hosts would rue that missed chance just ten seconds into the second half when Khadra pounced on a loose ball. He rushed in and fired a powerful effort off Cooper, with Long once again called into action to keep it out of the net. Millwall raced up the other end and won a corner which the Blues cleared up to Voglsammer, but the German fired his long-range effort

Southwark News, Thursday April 20 2023

www.newsatden.co.uk

Championship preview

Wigan Athletic

MILLWALL 31

VS Millwall

DW Stadium. Saturday, April 22nd. Kick-off: 3pm

Millwall face must-win game against Wigan

Lions out to send Latics packing for League One Millwall have almost matched their points tally from last season with three games to go

By Alex Jones alexj@southwarknews.co.uk MILLWALL TRAVEL to the DW Stadium as they look to take another step towards securing a top-six finish.

Gary Rowett was left feeling frustrated by Birmingham’s time wasting on Tuesday night

Billy Mitchell impressed Millwall fans in his fourth game back from injury

straight at Etheridge for an easy save.

The Lions were knocking at the door, and they were presented with countless clear-cut opportunities to find the back of the net in the final 40 minutes of the match. The first came in the 52nd minute when Voglsammer found space down the right to cross the ball onto the head of Flemming, but the Dutchman could only divert it into the hands of Etheridge.

They came again just before the hourmark, with Billy Mitchell winning the ball high up the left flank. The 21-yearold crossed it into the box for both Bradshaw and Flemming, but neither player was able to get the killer touch to prod it over the line before Etheridge could gather it yet again.

Millwall were getting closer and closer, and an equaliser felt inevitable.

Bradshaw failed to make proper contact with an acrobatic effort, with the ball bobbling over to Flemming down the left. He took aim but scuffed his shot, instead allowing Burke to test Etheridge with a low shot that the goalkeeper pushed out for a corner.

The Scottish international came close once again four minutes later, curling a long-range effort past the post after picking up Scott Malone’s backheel down the left. Bradshaw was unlucky not to be given a penalty in the 71st minute after he was brought down in the box by Krystian Bielik, but the referee said it was not a foul.

There was clearly one last chance left in the game and Millwall knew that they would have to stop Birmingham from taking all three points. Substitute Callum Styles forced Etheridge into a good save from the edge of the area, parrying the ball into the path of Bradshaw, who had the entire goal to aim at. However, the striker seemed to panic in the moment, smacking the ball straight at the goalkeeper before the Blues could clear it.

They rolled the dice in the final ten minutes by bringing on Romain Esse and Mason Bennett, but it was too late for Millwall as Rowett saw his play-off hopes dented by his former club on an incredibly frustrating evening in SE16.

While a place in the play-offs is not mathematically secured if they pick up all three points, they will move closer to achieving their goal ahead of games against Blackpool and Blackburn Rovers to finish the campaign.

The Lions are the heavy favourites given how the Latics’ season has deteriorated. They lost just two of their opening eleven matches, sitting ninth in the table after winning 2-0 away at Rotherham United on October 1st. However, a lengthy run of poor form saw manager Leam Richardson sacked and replaced by former Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool centre-back Kolo Toure.

Toure made his managerial debut at The Den, drawing 1-1 with the Lions, but he lasted just nine games before being replaced by former boss Shaun Maloney.

The former Hibernian manager helped Wigan win the FA Cup in 2013 but has been unable to turn around their fortunes since returning to the DW Stadium, as the Latics are sitting bottom of the Championship with a three-point deduction for failing to pay their players on time.

Depending on results elsewhere, Millwall could send them back to League One just twelve months after they secured the league title on the final day of the 2021-22 campaign.

Gary Rowett’s side are, of course, looking upwards rather than down.

They are closing in on their highest league finish in 20 years with eyes on their first ever season in the Premier League. With nine points still up for grabs, Saturday’s game could be absolutely vital for both sides, although Wigan’s odds of staying in

the division look slim to none.

Millwall will be without a number of key players in Greater Manchester this weekend, with Murray Wallace [quad], Ryan Leonard [groin], Charlie Cresswell [eye] and George Honeyman [hamstring] all ruled out the latter two are expected to miss the rest of the season and any potential play-off ties.

matCh details

Possible Millwall starting XI: 4-2-3-1:

Long; McNamara, Hutchinson, Cooper, Malone; Mitchell, Saville; Burke, Flemming, Watmore; Bradshaw

Match odds:

Wigan 16/5 Draw 23/10 Millwall 5/6

Last meeting:

Championship (December 10th, 2022): Millwall 1-1 Wigan (Flemming 40’; Keane 33’)

SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE Table before Wednesday’s games P W D

L GD Pts

1 Burnley 42 26 14 2 48 92 2 Sheffield United 42 25 7 10 29 82 3 Luton Town 42 20 14 8 17 74 4 Middlesbrough 42 21 8 13 28 71 5 Millwall 43 18 11 14 8 65 6 WBA 42 17 12 13 9 63 7 Blackburn Rovers 41 19 6 16 -2 63 8 Sunderland 43 16 14 13 9 62 9 Coventry City 42 16 14 12 9 62 10 Preston North End 42 17 11 14 -6 62 11 Norwich City 42 17 10 15 8 61 12 Watford 42 15 14 13 4 59 13 Swansea City 42 15 11 16 -2 56 14 Bristol City 43 13 14 16 -3 53 15 Birmingham City 43 14 11 18 -7 53 16 Hull City 42 13 14 15 -9 53 17 Stoke City 43 14 10 19 4 52 18 Rotherham United 42 10 16 16 -10 46 19 Huddersfield Town 43 11 11 21 -19 44 20 QPR 42 11 10 21 -27 43 21 Cardiff City 41 11 9 21 -16 42 22 Reading 42 13 9 20 -19 42* 23 Blackpool 43 9 11 23 -25 38 24 Wigan Athletic 43 9 13 21 -28 37* *Reading deducted six points and Wigan deducted three points under EFL Regulations.

inside

Sport Southwark

Champs make powerful statement

Rowett handles the play-off pressure Millwall boss ready for final three games as top-six battle goes down to the wire

Gary Rowett has claimed that he is staying calm ahead of Millwall’s final fixtures

By Alex Jones alexj@southwarknews.co.uk GARY ROWETT is confident that Millwall can achieve their goal of a top-six finish this season - but understands that a single slip-up from now on could prove fatal in the promotion race.

The Lions boast a slender advantage on the chasing pack heading into their final three games of the season, but they will likely need at least six or seven points to make sure that they are involved in this year’s play-offs.

There is, of course, a lot of external pressure. Millwall have not played topflight football since 1990 and are on course to secure their highest league finish since 2002, but disappointing

results in their final fixtures could see them fall short once again, having narrowly missed out on their goal in each of the last three seasons.

Rowett is determined to handle the weight of expectation, with supporters desperate to see their side playing at the highest level once again, arguing that his experience will be vital as they look to navigate the trickiest part of the season.

“I think the fans are always going to be excited by that prospect,” he explained.

“The fans and the media are always going to speculate on the amount of time it’s been, but the reality for us as staff and players is that it [the time Millwall have spent away from the top flight] means very little.

“It’s this season, and it’s in the present, that we’re trying to get into the top-six

positions. We’re doing that because we deserve to have a shot at it based on our performances over a long period of time.

“I think the excitement has given us three record-breaking attendances at home in the league this year, so I think the fans have massively gotten behind the season, away from home also.

“Records are not that important to us but they’re a nice narrative for other people to talk about. We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do, which is trying to take that final step.

“As a manager, you know the route you have to go down. You know that it’s just consistency and continuity. We’re just trying to prepare the players as best we can and make good decisions.

“We want to give them the feeling

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to be able to play with a little bit of freedom within that and try to give them confidence, but ultimately it’ll come down to the eleven players on the pitch and the ones that come on to impact the game.

“I’m pretty calm about it, I’ve been here many times before. It doesn’t necessarily make it easy to get in there, but it at least allows you to know what’s in front of you.

“I was here with Derby with six games to go and we lost three on the spin. All hell was breaking loose, but you’ve got to learn to deal with those situations and we had enough to get in the playoffs in the end.

“It’s never all on one game, but we are getting to the point now where we can’t afford to slip up too many times.”

Page 26

Defensive duo expected to miss final fixtures

Murray Wallace pulled up with a quad injury in the Lions’ win against Preston North End

By Alex Jones alexj@southwarknews.co.uk GARY Rowett expects that Murray Wallace will miss the rest of the season after injuring his quad in Saturday's 2-0 win against Preston North End.

The defender pulled up in the early stages of the game and had to be substituted for Scott Malone, with the manager admitting afterwards that it looked like a serious injury.

Rowett has since revealed that he is expected to miss the Lions' trips to Wigan Athletic and Blackpool as well as their home clash with Blackburn Rovers on the final day, joining Charlie Cresswell [eye] and George Honeyman [hamstring] on the sidelines.

It leaves the manager short of options at the back, with just two senior centrebacks fit for the final three games and any potential play-off ties. However, Millwall have been able to welcome back Barnsley loanee Callum Styles, who has recovered from his quad injury despite being expected to miss the rest of the season.

“Cressy, that’ll be him out for the rest of the time, Muzza also looks like he’ll be out for the season as well," Rowett revealed after his side’s defeat to Birmingham City.

“It’s one of those, we’ve had some pretty big injuries at poor times of the season, but we’re at a stage now where we’ve got to do what we need to do with the players that we’ve got available. We’ve got good enough players available.

“That’s the big news for them and a bit of a blow to lose those players.

Hopefully Lenny isn't a million miles away, but it was good to get Stylesy back out there today.”

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