Agenda and draft minutes

Cllr Kevin Bonavia welcomed everyone to the Blackheath Assembly and introduced Cllr Gareth Siddorn and Cllr Amanda De Ryk.

Cllr Siddorn explained that the first part of the meeting will be deciding the Blackheath Assembly Fund and with enough money to fund all the projects voting will encompass a show of hands with 51% assembly endorsement required for the project to be successful.

The projects bidding for the £12,500 Blackheath Assembly Fund were:

•           Winning Post Sports – Walking Football £1,820

•           Dalmain Athletic - Girls Football Fit & Healthy Project £1,904

•           Quaggy Development Trust - Older people’s day trips x 2 £2,000

•           Quaggy Development Trust - Older people’s trips / mini buses £1,100

•           The Church of the Ascension - English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Classes £2,000

•           Age Exchange – Memory Makers £1,878

•           Age Exchange (in partnership with Universal Board Games) – Communities at Play £1,744

The assembly unanimously supported all of the projects, for more details about any of the proposals contact Paul Gale 0n 020 8314 3387 or email paul.gale@lewisham.gov.uk

PC Gary Washington told the assembly that Blackheath is a low crime area, however, at present car registration numbers are being taken from vehicles, you can buy special screws for this and Halfords do them. Burglary is quite low in the ward, but do ensure your houses are secure as well your gardens.

A male has been knocking on doors asking for money, he is white with mousey brown hair and a tattoo on his neck. He is asking for £20 stating that his child has been run over in North London or that his wife is giving both. Do not give him money as this is a scam, we know who is so if he does it gives us a ring.

Q Why do people steal number plates?

A  This is mainly theft of petrol, as when the CCTV is checked it registers as a different car.

Q When do you dial 999?

A My rule is that if something is occurring then you can call 999, with the man knocking on doors, he is targeting the elderly so you can dial 999.

Q How are the Neighbourhood Watches doing?

A They have evolved and much is done via email rather than meetings and they do work. The man that knocks on the doors was identified by a Neighbourhood Watch. Speak to me if you want to start one.

Blackheath Village Day – Cllr De Ryk expressed a thank you to PC Gary Washington for all the help and support that he provided on Blackheath Village Day.

Sue Parks thanked the assembly and the councillors for their support last year and the previous year. This is a big event with about 5,000 attendees and I must thank Tom Watts from On Blackheath for his donation via the businesses and of course the Blackheath Society as well as numerous others. We will be doing the event again this year with better lights and it will be more fun.

Talbot Place Consultation – Cllr De Ryk explained that the Council is doing a consultation on the future of the existing changing rooms. They have been closed for a long time due to asbestos, at present they house some sports equipment and furniture left on the Heath. At the back of the building Glendale have some porta-cabins. We cannot refurbish the buildings, so we want your views on what you would like to see in their place, assuming that you want them replaced. The Heath is special, so we are very restricted with what we can do, so no housing, schools or doctor surgeries etc. We hope that we can re-provision community facilities. The portal is now live and the address is: www.lewisham.gov.uk/consultation we will also advise people on our contact lists and the consultation will be open until 17 April. There will be consultation / engagement events with the next one being at the Blackheath Joint Working Party 23rd February from 7.30pm at the Bakehouse. There will be a Saturday morning at All Saints School with the date to be confirmed and a session at Age Exchange. This is a first stage consultation, so it is very open and we are gauging support.

Q Is the Play Space forgotten?

A No, this is not a Play Space consultation, there was a group that was formed to discuss this and this met several times over a year. The unanimous preferred site was the disused changing rooms. In some respects this consultation is arising out of this process, but there are no plans for this unless people want it. The use will have to be ancillary to the Heath as it is open metropolitan land.

 Q Is the Car Park included

 A This is up for debate, it is a big site and it is used by lots of people, so there will be views on this. This is very much the start of the process and we are seeking community views and support. There is not necessarily any money available to do anything at this stage.

Lewisham Gateway written update - Unfortunately, due to work being carried out by Thames Water on one of it’s critical water mains, the anticipation for completion of the highway is delayed until Autumn 2016.

There are two critical water mains that supply around 100,000 homes in the area with fresh water.

Thames Water has shut off  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.