Safer Neighbourhood Team Ward Panel updates by local chairs – Ian McInnes
Southwark Police Community Consultative Group – Simon Taylor
Street leader programme – Sue Hunter
South of the Borough Event update – Robin Campbell
Dulwich Community Hospital Physic Garden – Heather Burrell
Minutes:
Dulwich Library
David Penn, Assistant Librarian said the library was open 9am – 8pm during the week. A range of items could be renewed simply and it was the second most popular library in the borough.
Street leader programme
Jo Skelton, Community Warden, explained that the scheme was a great way for local residents to improve their local environment. Don, a local resident and Street leader, gave a brief summary of the history of Street leaders. He explained that at one point there had been several hundred street leaders under the management of Dave Taylor and they reported environment offences such as fly-tipping and graffiti quickly and efficiently. Don said he had been a street leader for about 8 years and filed a few reports each month that were usually quickly resolved by officers. He added that the time devoted by the volunteers was varied and flexible. It was a simple way of helping to improve the community
South of the Borough Event update
Robin Campbell, Head of Communications, explained that there would be three pop-up events, one for each Dulwich Community Council ward. The first on Saturday 1 December 2012 which would be a cultural event and promotion of traders in East Dulwich. It would be around Northcross Road and Lordship Lane. There would be a bandstand and roaming art. Village ward would have an arts event close to Easter. College ward would have an intergenerational event around St. George’s Day. There would also be a large spring time event called a ‘Collective Community Art Showcase’. It would involve a lot of community participation. Ideas and concepts were being worked on with local groups.
Dulwich Community Hospital Physic Garden
Heather Burrell and Dr. Kate Millar, explained that there were currently nine raised beds at the hospital. There had been a very positive response from the community in terms of fund raising and volunteers devoting time to the garden. A physic garden was the name give to a garden where the plants were known to have medicinal benefit for the treatment of conditions including Alzheimer’s and cancer. The garden was also a place for people to visit. The garden had been built on derelict land and had improved the appearance of the area.
Centre of Excellence for Older People
The Council was currently consulting on the future of in-house day services. There were currently two day centres in the borough: Fred Francis in Dulwich and the Southwark Park Road centre in Bermondsey. There would be a significant increase in people aged over 80 years in the future. Recently, users of the centres tended to be people with Alzheimer’s and dementia. The proposed new centre would be a different service model. An undecided location would provide a whole range of services and work with voluntary groups. The consultation would run until 26 September 2012 and include a questionnaire. A report would go to Cabinet in December 2012.