Agenda item

Peggy Fitzsimmons

The Speaker announced the death of former Lewisham Councillor Peggy Fitzsimmons. He welcomed Peggy’s friends and family to the meeting.

The Mayor said that he was deeply saddened to hear of the death of his former colleague. Peggy was a councillor in Lewisham from 1986 – 2014 and served as Mayor in 1988. He spoke about her genuine warmth and kindness towards her fellow councillors, recalling that she had been a fierce advocate for the rights of older people and founded the positive aging council. He expressed his thanks for all she had done for the borough.

Councillor Muldoon gave some examples of how Peggy improved services for the older residents of the borough. Her late husband Bill had been her consort. He had served in the guards and Peggy became involved in the Allerford Road ex-service men’s club.

Peggy spent her working life in the NHS and in retirement, took part in an appeal to raise funds for a CT Scanner at Lewisham Hospital. During retirement she continued to campaign for pensioners’ rights and ensured that their contribution to society was recognised and valued. Cllr Muldoon outlined some of Peggy’s achievements in Lewisham and said that she was a true and faithful servant of the people of Lewisham.

A minute’s silence was then held in remembrance of Peggy Fitzsimmons.

Right to Buy Back

The Deputy Mayor said that it was important that Lewisham provided access to affordable housing for all residents who needed it the most. In March 2021, the GLA launched the Right to Buy Back Scheme. Lewisham received funding and was able to buy back 100 ex-council homes. Due to the success of this scheme, Lewisham received further funding and 17 more ex-council properties were bought. It was hoped that more properties could be bought so that Lewisham could continue to improve the lives of Lewisham residents.

South Circular Road – Consultation

Councillor Krupski announced that the TFL consultation on proposed changes to the south circular road was open until 5 June. She encouraged everyone to give their comments on the proposals to ensure the best design was created for the needs of Lewisham residents.

 Mayor’s Charity

The Mayor thanked everyone for the support that his chosen charity, Young Lewisham Project, had received in 2022/23. He presented a cheque for £36,000 to the charity. Representatives of the charity thanked everyone for their support and outlined the resources they were able to fund and links they had made to different organisations including Lewisham. The Mayor announced that Councillors Harding and Royston both succeeded in running the marathon and the money raised was donated to his chosen charity.

Councillor Ingleby, the borough’s cycling champion, reported that he would be cycling in The Ford Essex Ride London 100 from Tower Bridge to Essex and back on Sunday 28 May to raise funds for the Young Lewisham Project and Lewisham foodbank. He asked members to sponsor him.

The Mayor announced that his charity this year would be Lewisham Food Bank. All money raised would go to providing food for residents in need in this borough. Two representatives from the charity made a presentation to members of the Council with the aid of slides. They spoke about how the project started, what they offer to people in need, and how numbers had increased since it started in 2012.