Housing Essay: A fairy tale of two south London councils – one has 700 empty homes, the other has filled 640 empty homes in less than two years

Once upon a time there were two Labour-controlled councils in south London. Both faced huge financial problems because of the collapse of their own house building companies, formed in politically-instigated moves because the wicked Conservative government would not remove a Government cap on borrowing to build council housing.  Eventually the Government changed their minds and …

Food market: CHEERS! Antenna cafe selling wine and beer again… and: AW, SHUCKS! Veasey’s fish stall now selling Oysters!

It’s all about collaborations One of the things we are most proud about at the market is that it is the result of many collaborations - with all our stallholders, with all the other traders around Haynes Lane and often with our customers, too.  But our longest collaboration is with Antenna Studios, who determined the …

MP: Lettings agency “refused to budge” after demanding rent from parents of son who took his own life…

...Helen Hayes contacted by landlords and letting agents after raising case in Commons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Landlords and letting agents contacted MP Helen Hayes after she raised a case in the House of Commons of a letting agent who insisted the parents of a university student who committed suicide should pay rent on the tenancy - before …

Community: Crowdfunding begins for Gipsy Hill village fete… Theatre’s sewing bee is back… and PC Lucy gets a Blue Peter badge!

  The Gipsy Hill Village Fete 2024 crowdfund is live and rocking! Fundraising for the Gipsy Hill Village Fete is now underway, with the crowdfund launched by Friends of Gipsy Hill at a sing-along night of rock songs held at Gipsy Hill Brewery, led by Kate Proudlove. The Gipsy Hill Village Fete is a fun-filled day of community stalls, …

Blocked-off roads: Lewisham and Lee Green LTN cost £816,000 to introduce, FOI request reveals

The Lewisham and Lee Green Low Traffic Neighbourhood scheme cost £816,000 to introduce,a Freedom of Information request by News From Crystal Palace has revealed. A total of 170,413 penalty charge notices have been issued since the scheme was introduced in May 2020*. ~ Of these 32,330 were challenged - and a massive 25,609 overturned. ~ *The …

Arts: Lambeth Readers and Writers Festival 2024

Lambeth Libraries are making May and June months of celebration with events for readers, writers, listeners, and all who love knowledge. Lambeth Libraries Readers and Writers Festival has been a May highlight in the Lambeth calendar for almost two decades. You will find something to love in 2024’s month-long (and more) programme of inspirational events. …

Arts: Blossom Walk concert tonight (Friday)… Get Lost at the Bridge House (and have some marble cake)…

******************************************************** Chet Baker: Let’s Get Lost plays the Bridge House May 7th to 18th After last year’s hugely successful run at The Brighton Fringe and following the hit new show “The Importance of Being Frank”, Stage D’Or are back and bringing the beautiful musical monologue, Chet Baker: Let’s Get Lost. Join Alfredo Mudie Smart as …

Vote for ME! (if you can be bothered to…)

News item: London mayoral election: Sadiq Khan asks to borrow Lib Dem and Green votes Published January 24th by Tim Donovan Political Editor, BBC London: London mayor Sadiq Khan has urged supporters of the Lib Dems and Greens to "lend" him their vote in this year's race for City Hall. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Voting takes place next …

Council news: Grass cutting season gets under way in Croydon… Record 24 motorists prosecuted for blue badge fraud in Bromley…

This year’s grass cutting season is under way in Croydon which will see 127 parks and open spaces including cemeteries and 673 highway verges attended to by the council’s ground maintenance team. An estimated 3.2 million square metres of grass is maintained each year, which is the equivalent size of more than 450 Selhurst Park-sized …

Stalking victims urged to report offences swiftly… New guidance on tips paid to staff… extra protections for victims’ counselling notes during criminal investigations… and more

The following are thumbnail (or larger) details of various Government communiques / press releases which you may / may not have read about.  Not all involve politicians. But not all the headings on them say what the item is REALLY about so, in a few cases, NFCP have put an alternative headline (or alternative opening …