Agenda and draft minutes

Cllr Susan Wise, chairing, welcomed everyone to the Assembly and thanked Perry Rise Baptist Church for hosting.  She explained that there were minor changes to the agenda due to the rearranged date.  She mentioned that it was Cllr Till’s last Assembly as he is stepping down at the council elections in May, and invited all those who know him to take the opportunity to say goodbye.  Cllr Till will no doubt still be attending Assemblies as an active local resident.

Find out what’s out there for young people and how our parks and green spaces are looked after. Celebrate memories of Mayow Park through the years.

We were pleased to welcome the following projects to showcase their work with stalls and information:

• Perry Rise Baptist Church youth groups
• Youth First
• Friends of Mayow Park
• Rockbourne Youth Club
  
  

Unfortunately, due to the change of date, Glendales and Platform One youth club were unable to join us.  Friends of Mayow Park ran a “memories” competition as part of their celebrations of 140 years of Mayow Park.  People wrote their memories and thoughts about Mayow Park and a prize was awarded for the best one.  The memories will be used to help create a celebration of Mayow Park 140.

Thanks to those who volunteered to help the Friends with the 140^th anniversary celebrations.

Friends of Mayow Park

As Alona Sheridan, Chair of Friends of Mayow Park, was unable to join us, Laura Luckhurst spoke to the slide presentation.

Originally known as the Sydenham and Forest Hill Public Recreation Ground, it was was formally opened on 1st June 1878, with a procession joined by many local residents including school children & shopkeepers.  11,000 people were in the park for the opening – which must have been extremely crowded!

After a period in the 1990’s when many parks deteriorated, the Friends of Mayow Park have worked closely with the park management company (Glendales) to improve and look after the park, which has been able to boast a Green Flag every year since 2012.

FOMP are planning various activities to mark the 140^th Anniversary and also their own 25^th Anniversary this year, and local people are encouraged to get involved.  The prize for the best memory of the park was awarded to Sharon Baldock and everyone who took part was thanked for their contributions.

Danny Ruta, Public Health Director

Danny Ruta introduced the Sugar Smart campaign and explained the concern with rising levels of obesity in children.  Studies have shown that a major cause of this is the ubiquitous availability of sugar in our society (school meals, supermarkets, corner shops etc.)

To date 90 businesses have joined the Sugar Smart campaign, as well as a number of the large institutions in Lewisham – e.g. Lewisham hospital, Milwall football club, schools etc.

If you missed the meeting and would like to know more, find out about the Sugar Smart Lewisham campaign here: Sugar Smart Lewisham, and sign up to pledge your support here: Sugar Smart Pledge form.  You could win £200 of Jamie’s Italian Restaurant vouchers!

Q&A

Q: Fattening foods in our diet are now new – we used to eat a lot of suet puddings.  Why has obesity risen more recently?

A: People cooked more in the past – takeaway foods are among the worst for fats and sugars and Lewisham is the 17^th worst nationally for the number of take-away outlets. People eat higher proportion of sweetened foods and snacks in their diet today.  Processed foods are very high in fat and sugar.

Q: Can school meals be used to improve children’s diets and prevent snacking?

A: Lewisham school meals are high quality. We have a problem with children leaving the school sites at lunchtime to purchase food from take-aways.  It’s important not just to have tasty food but a good “dining experience” – attractive dining area and enough time to enjoy a meal.

Q: Everyone needs sugar for energy.

A: Eating too much sugar increases the body’s “need” for sugar.

Q: What role does exercise play in preventing obesity?

A: Exercise is good, but you have to take a great deal of exercise to burn off the extra calories that many kids are consuming due to high sugar content in food and soft drinks.

Q: Can we reduce kids being driven to school?

A: Agreed – we have to tackle the problem from many different angles, and a more walking-friendly environment is one method.  We are a “whole systems” pilot for the national campaign, and are training 100 children annually to get their cycling proficiency certificate.  We have introduced the first cycling “quiet way”.

Q: Why can’t reduced sugar and prevention of going off site at lunchtime be enforced on schools?

A: Schools are no longer under direct control of local authorities.  We rely on influence.  Many schools in Lewisham are now doing the “daily mile”.  With 22 schools on board that is reaching 7.5K kids.

Reports from projects funded in 2016/17

Item deferred

PC Richard Bailey

Kevin Hern, Chair of Safer Neighbourhood Panel, gave the update on behalf of SNT team who were unable to attend due to unavailability of staff.

The report can be read as Appendix A at the end of the minutes.

Carole Mensah and Carol Lisinski on behalf of Perry Rise Baptist church gave a brief update on the various community activities that are supported there, including the New Generation Youth club on Friday evenings 7.30 – 9 pm and the Girls Brigade.  The church is also a base for a number of regular groups including Baby and Carer group, Carers and Toddlers, General Health drop-in, Open Door Fridays.  The church also hosted the Christmas lunches in 2017.  They are modifying the entrance way to make it more welcoming and extending the kitchen to offer better facilities for different user groups.

Q: Bin collection service leaving wheelie bins on the pavement, leading to poor environment and access problems.  Fly tipping increasing, becoming endemic.  Concern that apps like “Fix my street” may actually encourage more fly tipping, as the criminals who fly tip see it as a free service.

A: Cllr Wise reminded people that the council has a free mattress collection and that if your black bin is too large for your needs, you can contact the council to get a smaller one.  She invited individuals with particular problems to see her after the meeting or at one of the regular surgeries.

Announcement of prize for Oldest/funniest/most exciting Mayow Park Memory

Cllr Wise reminded people to complete their feedback sheets and closed the meeting at 8.55 pm.

See Community Updates

And see below Appendix A for Safer Neighbourhood Team:

Appendix A