Lewisham Council is set to challenge Government proposals to reduce the borough’s representation in Parliament.

Government plans to cut the number of MPs in Parliament overall will lead to the London Borough of Lewisham losing its 3 dedicated Lewisham MPs.

 This is despite the borough having worked so hard to enrol eligible voters that it increased its electorate by nearly 20 per cent – the highest such increase in the whole of the UK.

Cllr Alan Hall who has been leading the challenge to the proposals said before the Full Council meeting on Wednesday 23rd November: “Lewisham has the highest increase in registration of new voters in the whole of the UK. Yet we are going to have our 3 dedicated Lewisham parliamentary seats cut.

“It runs counter to common sense, fairness and democratic principles. It is also just plain stupid as the maths doesn’t reflect the reality.

“We are not going to just roll over and accept this gerrymandering lying down. Even though we know the Government is intent on pushing this through, we will not lose the opportunity to highlight the fact this is a tory stitch up.”

Notes

Maps with the proposal, counter proposal and current Parliamentary boundaries for Lewisham are in the full report on the Parliamentary boundary changes to be agreed at Lewisham Council  and it is  here

This letter has been published in The Mercury newsaper on Wednesday, 26th October:

Dear Editor,

Lewisham’s scrutiny chair councillor Alan Hall today welcomed a leading representative of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) Oscar Guzman to a successful joint project in Catford between Phoenix Community Housing and Lewisham Plus Credit Union (LPCU) that helps people manage their finances in difficult circumstances.

Mr Guzman is visiting to see for himself the project where in 2014 Lewisham Plus opened a new savings branch and office at Phoenix’s Green Man Community Hub in Bromley Road, Catford.

Cllr Alan Hall a Bellingham councillor and Phoenix board member said: “A successful credit union like Lewisham Plus is a real, practical example of how individuals can combine their resources to ensure that there is an alternative to traditional banks or loan sharks especially in times of austerity.”

“Over £1million worth of savings has been generated by working with Phoenix Community Housing, Lewisham Council and other housing providers. This money is available as loans to members of the Lewisham Plus Credit Union. This is the power of cooperation in the community: It can improve people’s homes, lives and their environment.

“We are delighted that Mr Guzman a leading world exponent of credit unions has come to see for himself how our joint project works. This is a visit from Colombia to Catford to learn and share the best practice from around the world. “

Mr Guzman will be visiting Phoenix and Lewisham Plus in Catford before he visits the Houses of Parliament to address the All Party Parliamentary Group on Credit Unions to mark International Credit Union Day on 20th October.

ENDS

Editors Notes:

Oscar Guzman
Oscar Guzman is a leading member of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and has supervised micro-finance and cooperative projects on behalf of organizations like the Bill Gates Foundation and US Aid. He is a faculty member and trainer at the Boulder Institute of Finance in New York. (For the full biography of Mr Guzman, please see below)

International Credit Union Day^® – Oct. 20, 2016
The ultimate goal is to raise awareness about the great work that credit unions are doing around the world and give members the opportunity to get more involve. For further information, contact Jack Van Kauwenbergh at jvankauwenbergh@woccu.org International Credit Union (ICU) Day® has been celebrated on the third Thursday of October since 1948. The day is recognized to reflect upon the credit union movement’s history and to promote its achievements. It is a day to honour those who have dedicated their lives to the movement, recognize the hard work of those working in credit unions.

Lewisham Plus Credit Union (LPCU)
Lewisham Plus Credit Union is a financial co-operative owned by its 9,000 members and founded in 1992. It is a “not for profit” organisation which offers a savings and low cost loans service to its members. Credit unions work by members saving together to create a pool of money from which low cost loans are made and any profits are reinvested. At the beginning of 2014 it opened a new branch and office at The Green Man, in Catford SE6 (on the BR1 boundary), in the new headquarters for Phoenix Community Housing Association and as part of their Community Hub.

Phoenix Community Housing
Phoenix Community Housing is a not-for-profit resident-led housing association with over 6,000 homes in the Bellingham, Whitefoot and Downham areas of Lewisham. For the past two years running it has been named in the top 10 best landlords in the UK in a poll by 24housing magazine.

Councillor Alan Hall is Chair of Lewisham Co-operative Party and Lead Non Executive Councillor on Lewisham Council. He is a Board Member of Phoenix Community Housing – which is a co-op. Cllr Alan Hall was part of the design team that planned and developed the Green Man Community hub.

Oscar Guzmán Full Biography
A financial inclusion and microfinance expert with over 20 years of experience. Oscar Guzman is currently the Representative of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) for Colombia and Ecuador, Head of the Financial Inclusion and Agricultural Micro Lending Projects under the auspices of the Banca de las Oportunidades, for the implementation of financial-inclusion methodologies/products that encompass microsavings, microcredit, value chain finance, technology and financial literacy.

He was WOCCU Rural Programs Manager, supervising projects in countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia financed by USAID, the Gates Foundation, and USDA. He was also the Project Director for consolidating savings and credit cooperatives in Ecuador, implementing microfinance products, transactional networks, training programs in microfinance, regulation and supervision, commercial, financial and expansion planning, and project evaluation methodologies. He has been Executive President and a member of the Board of Directors of the Red Transaccional Cooperativa – Coonecta and WOCCU, Services in Ecuador, the ASOF Foundation and Pagos Virtuales in Colombia. These organizations promote financial expansion to rural areas through the use of technology. He has worked with Swisscontact, IDB and Corporación Financiera Nacional (CFN) financing projects and SMEs.

Oscar Guzmán is a Commercial Engineer and holds a Masters in Finance from the Instituto Universitario de Posgrado of Spain. He has been faculty for several universities and for the Boulder Institute of Microfinance. The author of several publications on financial inclusion and an international consultant in Peru, Mexico, Kenya, Colombia, Ecuador, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Argentina, Nicaragua, Ruanda, Uganda and Tanzania.

Lewisham Council’s new Public Transport Liaison Committee met for the first time on Wednesday, 5th October in the Mayor’s meeting room at Lewisham Town Hall.

The new Public Transport Liaison Committee was set up as a forum for Councillors, civic societies and the public to come together with bus, train and public transport operators across the London Borough of Lewisham to discuss improvements and other issues. The proposals were agreed at the Council’s AGM on 30th March, the papers are here.

Councillor Alan Hall, who led the proposals for the new Committee through Lewisham Council said: “The meeting has heard of possible improvements to the Catford Loop line trains services, dubbed the Cinderella Line. Two trains per hour in London, a world city is not good enough. I hope that Thameslink will seriously consider increasing their frequency to four trains per hour  and I welcome South Eastern’s trains suggestion that they maybe able to stop some fast Victoria trains along the Catford loop line at peak times. This is a real break through.”

He went on to say: “The meeting discussed various train and bus issues that matter to Lewisham residents and this first meeting has been very worthwhile.”

The agenda and papers for the meeting are here

The meeting heard that Thameslink are considering increasing their frequency on the Catford Loop Line – serving Beckenham Hill, Bellingham, Catford and Crofton Park stations and South Eastern trains are looking at stopping some fast through trains on Victoria and Kent lines.

Lewisham Councillors have been campaigning for more trains on the Catford Loop line see ‘Cinderella Line – Two trains per hour not enough’ 29th March 2016

Cllr Alan Hall asked the formal question on the Catford Loop Line here
Thamselink timetable consultation until 8th December 2016 is here

The reconsideration of the New Bermondsey Compulsory Purchase Order around Millwall Football Club by Lewisham Council was suddenly delayed pending “an investigation” after a new document was discovered. The hearing expected at Lewisham Town Hall this evening – 28th September – was halted by the new revelations. At the meeting scrutiny Chair Councillor Alan Hall said that the referral contained concerns about damage to the Council’s reputation and this seems very prescient now.

Councillor Alan Hall said: “The Compulsory Purchase Order decision would have been in place now if scrutiny Councillors had not referred this matter back to the Cabinet. The discovery of a new document that is serious enough to halt the democratic process needs to be explained fully and no further action on the CPO can proceed until then.”

The statement issued by Lewisham Council reads:

I am writing to you about the reconsideration of the decision made on 7th September to use the Council’s CPO powers in relation to the New Bermondsey site, which is scheduled to be discussed at the meeting of Mayor and Cabinet this evening.

I am informed that Council officers yesterday received a copy of a document which is now the subject of external investigation. Depending on the outcome of that investigation, the document may be referred to other authorities. In reconsidering this matter, the Council needs to be satisfied as to the veracity or otherwise of the document, and any potential impact it may have. Because of the ongoing investigation it is not possible to complete the reconsideration of the decision made on 7th September this evening. Therefore it is not anticipated that there will be any submissions made to the Mayor and Cabinet this evening. The Mayor and Cabinet will be asked to agree that further reconsideration of the matter be adjourned to a future meeting. Notice of the meeting at which this matter will be reconsidered again will be given at the appropriate time.

 The full report to the council of the call in is here:

 Media coverage in The Guardian is here, here and here
Evening Standard report is here
South London Press is here
Newsshopper report is here

Around 20,000 women in Lewisham born on or after 1st April 1951 are set to lose out by up to £12,000 on their pensions after the tory government moved to equalise the retirement age to 65.

 Little or no notice has been given especially when the changes were implemented faster than promised by the 2011 Pension Act.

 Lewisham Council voted unanimously to support Women Against State Pension Inequality known as WASPI and I urge your readers to do the same by writing to your local MP asking them to raise this monstrous injustice with Government Ministers and ask for proper transitional arrangements to be made.

Cllr Alan Hall
Lewisham Council

The Fellowship Inn next to Bellingham railway station on Randlesdown Road is a Grade II listed building. The pub has been listed as the ‘degree of survival’ is said to be rare. Historic England has a full history and architectural appraisal here.

Phoenix Community Housing – the resident led, community housing association – owners of the building are working with the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore and enhance the facilities in the building. Phoenix Community Housing have submitted their plans to Lewisham Council.

The plans include restoration of the pub bars, community facilities, a microbrewery, cafe and possibly a cinema. You can view their plans here.

Bellingham Councillor Alan Hall said: “This is an important milestone in the restoration of the Fellowship Inn. Planning consent will make the vision for a truly community based pub and hub a step closer. This represents real regeneration of a locality. Something that I support.”

The vision for the Fellowship Inn on youtube