Agenda item

This is an opportunity for public questions to be addressed to the chair.

Residents or persons working in the borough may ask questions on any matter in relation to which the council has powers or duties.

Responses may be supplied in writing following the meeting.

The following public questions were raised at the meeting:

1.  Re: East Street trading and shops encroaching onto the pavement: Why has the council not enforced against this? Traders needing extra space should hire a stall and not take up space on the pavement. The chair and ward councillors responded that they would follow that up with the relevant officers.

2.   Re: the Tower Bridge closure planned for the end of 2016: Why was it reported in Southwark News, five months before the Corporation of London gave official notification to the borough of Southwark about the closure? Would officers confirm that the delay of notification was correct and what representations were being made to the Corporation of London about this discourtesy. The discrepancy between public knowledge and official notification required explanation.

The chair said that she would follow up regarding the discrepancy and get a written response for the community council. Councillor Darren Merrill, cabinet member responsible at the time, added that proper notification had not been given until November 2015, although there were rumours prior to that. He explained that he had written to Transport for London (TfL) and the City of London, requesting a delay of works on Tower Bridge Road until after the Tooley Street partial closure, but that had not happened.

3.   A member of the EWNF asked for the councillors’ views on the application for designation of the area. The chair responded that she was a member of the neighbourhood forum and was positive and supportive of it and that there were some exciting ideas for the Walworth Road. Several councillors supported the proposals and thanked those involved for their work.

4.   A resident asked:

a)   Has the council heard anything yet from the Government about the Housing Bill.

b)   Was there an abstention from Neil Coyle MP, and if so why.

c)   Following the Brexit vote, could housing officers put up notices giving details of who to contact, if anyone was having issues with hate crime or negative comments, following the referendum.

The chair responded that the Housing Bill had gone through. If the resident wanted a response from Neil Coyle MP, he could be contacted directly at neil.coyle.mp@parliament.uk. Re the hate crime question, the chair explained that Councillor Barrie Hargrove was preparing a speech in response to the issue on behalf of the council. Councillor David Noakes added, that a cross party motion would be debated at the next council assembly meeting on 13 July 2016. Several councillors emphasised the need to combat hate crime and to report incidents to the safer neighbourhood teams. Police Inspector Nicholson added, that so far there had not been a rise in hate crime in Southwark but the situation was being monitored across the community networks.

5.   A resident expressed concerns about officers recommending disabled parking bays should be removed. Ward councillors responded that they had not seen any proposals about disabled parking bays in Wansey Street and they would follow that up with officers.

The following question was asked later in the meeting:

6.   Why does the council expect residents to pay for the green recycle food bags. Previously, they were free. The chair asked for a written response to be provided.