We had a good children's Xmas party, sponsored by Sainsbury's, and in conjunction with the Wheatsheaf Hall. A nice way to round off the year.

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Here is our advert: 

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03/06/17: Vauxhall Park Summer Fair will take place on Sunday 18th June, 2pm-5pm, and the Friends of Vauxhall Park would like to make this year's Summer Fair (on 18 June) a really special one.

It is being held during the Great Get Together Weekend during which we are all being encouraged to celebrate our communities and forge new friendships with our neighbours in the spirit of Jo Cox.  The FOVP have booked all the attractions but would like some volunteers to take responsibility for the go-karts by organising the stewarding rota for it for the duration of the fair (2-5pm).  This would involve taking the money for the ride and ensuring that everyone has an enjoyable afternoon.

They also need help from 10am to put up the gazebos and signs in the morning and take everything down at the end of the fair.

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To volunteer, contact Christine on 07950 253 673 or christinehomer@btopenworld.com

12/05/17: There are awards for private gardens, window boxes & food growing as well as community gardens and food growing projects. You can nominate yourself/neighbour but deadline is June 16th. Entries can be posted to Getting Involved at Blue Star House or emailed to bloom@lambeth.gov.uk. The awards ceremony will be held 12 October at the Garden Museum, Lambeth Palace. Click here for the poster and here for the entry form.

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For help and support re: food growing go to http://urbangrowth.london/  or contact Flora@urbangrowth.london or ring us on

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0207 926 3401.

20/4/2017: Tuesday 25th April - Tenants Council in International House, Brixton (opposite the police station)

​Thursday 27th April - Leaseholder Council in International House, Brixton 

The meetings on 25th and 27th are mainly about the Council's wish to dismantle engagement structures to stop residents acting together against its policy proposals (eg the huge increase in pram shed rents, the proposed huge increase in service charge management charges and so on). This is your opportunity to speak out. 

​Additionally, for Leaseholder Council, the Council wants to prevent it holding its AGM so as to argue that it no longer exists. Leaseholder representatives are arguing that Lambeth Council cannot do this and intend to hold an AGM. Your support is important.

Any tenants who wish to do so can register directly with Lambeth Housing Residents working together by emailing lambethhousingresidents@gmail.com

20/02/2017: The Committee announced at the last AGM, and advertised widely in newsletters since then, that it wanted to open up the Hut between Edgar and Frank houses for residents to use as a social venue.

The committee secured sponsorship funding to do this and one part of Lambeth Council helped by donating some pram sheds to allow cleaners to store their materials there.

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However, at short notice, just before the children's Xmas party in December 2016, the Council decided, in response to pressure from cleaners, that residents should not be allowed to use The Hut for social meetings.

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Instead, the Council has given primary use of this facility to the Pinnacle cleaners to use as a rest room and to store their material. The Council's actions betray their words that they put residents first. It is clear that those responsible for managing our Estate in Lambeth Council value the cleaners more than they value residents.

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With the Council adamantly refusing to allow you to use The Hut, the committee has had to reluctantly forego the sponsorship funding to renovate it and can no longer deliver on its plans to provide somewhere on the Estate to meet socially. We are sorry about this because it could have been a good way to generate further the community spirit that we are building.

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Lambeth Council say we should use the Wheatsheaf Hall, but the cost of doing so is prohibitive and it is too big for small group meetings, except for the access challenged upstairs rooms. The full exchange of emails detailing the position is here.

25/01/2017: Click here to see the current vision of how the space between Martin, Norman, Oliver and Peter House will be landscaped - this follows on from the last estate-wide consultation on January 18th.

14/11/2016: Now available here.

5/11/2016: All residents should have received this letter in the week beginning Monday, October 31st. It is very important to report all major works defects and keep a copy of your report. If we don't report now the defect is likely to get worse, things will break down/need replacing at a much higher cost and you will have to pay for it a second time. This applies to tenants and leaseholders via rents and service charges.

General Repairs and maintenance: same as above. If work is not done properly do not agree that it is finished and do not sign-off sub-standard work. Check if work is done on time and properly, both in the communal areas near you as well as your own flat.

20/10/2016: Click here to download a copy.

16/10/2016: Pumpkin carving and spooky treats, Saturday 29th October from 10am at the Hut. Click here for more information.

12/10/2016: On Saturday 8th October Lambeth residents united in Windrush Square, Brixton to voice their discontent with Lambeth council.

Many residents in the borough oppose the eviction of family businesses from Brixton’s Arches area, unnecessary library closures and the imposition of wasteful and arrogant estate management programmes that leave us with poor quality repairs and and high bills.

Click here to learn more about the event.

3/10/2016: The Kennington, Oval and Vauxhall Forum (KOVF) will be electing a new board at their next AGM on 13th October. In order to widen their reach, they welcome representatives from TRAs and other local community groups to join! For more information click here.

28/9/2016: Please note that parking will be suspended in the bays along Wyvil Road from 5am on Tuesday 11th October until 11pm on Friday 14th October. We have no further information about why this is at present.

20/9/2016: Oval has a Dedicated Ward Officer and Police Community Support Officer. There is a regular community meeting with the Safer Neighbourhood team where the group receives updates from the police and local councillors address priorities. The next one is on the 6th October, 7pm in the Prince of Wales room at the Oval Cricket Ground.

20/9/2016: Sainsbury's recently gave residents a tour of the new store, as well as inviting the WERA Chair and Secretary to the unveiling of the Vauxhall Motors commemorative plaque. For the Chair's report on this please click here.

17/9/2016: The Gardening Club has organised a community bulb planting day next Saturday (24th September, 11am) for people of all ages and all abilities. Everything is provided: bulbs, tools, gloves and advice on how to do it. Where you plant (as long as it is in the communal areas of the Estate) is up to you!

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They are also providing refreshments and invite you to bake a cake and bring it along for the Great Wyvil Bake Off! 

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This is a children friendly event but for health and safety they should be supervised and consent forms will need to be filled in, so please can children bring their adults along to sign them!

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Please join us at the committee room hut (between Edgar and Frank Houses) to pick up bulbs and equipment, have a cup of tea, and get further information.

6/9/2016: You may have noticed Traffic Management Order notifications on a lamppost near you. Transport for London and the Council transport planners have come together to put a traffic management order on many of the streets from the Imperial War Museum down to Larkhall Park so that they can respond to fluctuations in traffic. For more information click here.

 5/9/2016: Please note that from 19th September 2016, for up to 5 days, vehicles will be banned from entering or leaving Wyvil Road at its junction with Wandsworth Road. 

2/9/2016: The manager of the new Sainsbury's opposite the estate has kindly invited estate residents over for a coffee morning on Sunday 18th September at 09:45 am.

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They need to know who is coming - so click here [link no longer active] to register your interest in attending (complete by 14th September latest).

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If you cannot reply electronically, please put a note in the committee mail box as soon as possible saying, “Yes, I want to come to the Sainsbury's Coffee Morning on Sunday 18th September and my name/address is: [insert your name and address]”. The committee mailbox is on the wall of the small building between Edgar and Frank House

22/08/2016: Tate South Lambeth Library is running a community festival this weekend featuring food and drink, live music, face-painting, a kids fun zone and craft stalls. This will be a great day to enjoy yourself, meet other members of the local community and support our library!

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Tate South Lambeth Library

180 South Lambeth Road

Saturday 27 August, 10am – 4pm

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Volunteers needed to help supervise the children's area and activities: contact Maria Kwofie, the manager at the Tate South Lambeth Library, at mkwofie@lambeth.gov.uk

For stall booking contact Tedros: tisaac@lambeth.gov.uk  or 020 7926 0705

Keep up to date with what’s planned at the library by visiting tatesouthlambethfriends.org

08/07/2016: The Chair's Report ahead of the 2016 AGM is now available: click here to read it.

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Certified accounts (2015/2016) for the Wyvil Estate Residents Association can also be viewed here. 

04/7/2016: It has now been confirmed that Wyvil Road will be closed again, starting on the 22nd August. It is estimated that it will be closed for 3 weeks. Mace has explained why this is necessary: click here for more information.

15/5/2016: Mace (Sky Gardens) part-closure of Wyvil Road: see our newsletter and click here to see the diversion map and here to see what we have said.

01/11/2015: CLICK HERE FOR THE MAJOR WORKS SURVEY. IT TAKES FIVE MINUTES TO COMPLETE BUT COULD SAVE YOU THOUSANDS OF POUNDS PLEASE COMPLETE IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

06/08/2015: A very successful and well attended AGM on 18th July. Very informative presentations by Lambeth Council and very welcome support from Kate Hoey MP and Councillors. Nice to have lunch with so many good neighbours!

Thank you to all who attended.

Chair's Report is here

Treasurer's Report is available here

The financial statement is here 

and the bank statement is here

We have condensed the bank statement to fit on one page. You will note there are two cheques that have cleared through the account ending with the number '33'. This is a bank error. The second incidence is actually cheque that ends in number '31'. We are taking this up with the bank. Sorry the bank statement is landscape. Need some technical help to rotate it!

CONSTITUTION

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For the AGM we consulted on whether or not to adopt a new Constitution that Lambeth Council had drawn up and sent to us (and all other Resident's Associations): The new constitution was adopted at the AGM on 18 July 2015 and can be viewed here. The previous Constitution here

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The major differences, according to Lambeth Council, are:

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The new constitution is shorter as advice sections have been taken out & put in the guidance. The three new main changes are:

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1)      5i – amended to read ‘the committee & officers should reflect….the tenure split of the properties’.

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2)      Section 6 – new section on sub committees & section on youth deleted

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3)      8b – deleted reference to only needing an independent check/audit if the TRA turned over £5,000 in the year to ‘accounts should be independently audited or verified’.

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LANDSCAPING ACROSS OUR ESTATE

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Over the summer of 2015 we undertook a survey of residents about car parking, green space and ideas on landscaping. As 17th July. A large majority of residents are in favour of pedestrian and vehicle access controls and having more greenery on the Estate. Please click here for the graph showing also the actual figures. Please click here to see the views that were expressed.

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Estate Plan: Prior to the AGM we circulated plans and options to landscape our Estate and we showed these options at the AGM. We were pleased to receive constructive comments and ideas to further refine the Estate Plan at our AGM on 18th July. The key points that came out of this consultation included that there were preferences for both increased greenery and good parking facilities. Here is an outline draft plan of our Estate with ideas on parking, gates, greenery, and other improvements as proposed just before the AGM. 

Luckily, we have Fernando Rihl, an expert landscape architect on the committee who has been willing to donate his time and expertise to provide what everyone wanted - more greenery and good parking facilities. He has now come up with a plan that would give us both. See the advertising at the top of this page and click here for more information.

Parking: Make sure you have a permit. Enforcement patrols are more regular. Do you want parking access controls? Let us know: click on the Contact Us button on the right.

Waste/Recycling/Dumping: Please put recycling INSIDE the green bins: anything on the floor next to the bins goes into general waste. If you see people dumping rubbish around the Estate report it to our Estate Services Officer Muhem Miah on Mmiah@LambethLiving.org.uk

Pram Sheds: If you currently use a pram shed, or want to go on the list to get one, please register as soon as possible with the Garages Team at Lambeth Living. Unregistered pram sheds might be re-allocated (this has happened to one resident already). Contact: by phone 020 7926 6950 or email: garages@lambethliving.org.uk

AgeUK: Lambeth Council run a website and information service specifically for older residents. Details can be found by clicking here for their flyer and here for their website.

Know a good plumber, electrician etc? Let us know. We are compiling a list. Details of a good plumber added to our list and a local resident who is a qualified refloxologist. Click on the link below to get more information.

Download our May Newsletter here  

16/06/2015: The landscaping project is now well underway. We need volunteers to do some watering while the grass grows and bushes bed in.   Where do we do the next greening project?   Do you want your part of the Estate greener? You need to show support for this project to get more funding from Lambeth, and you need to be involved in the project where you live - we will help and support. Please click here to see a newsletter with more information from residents in the gardening club. Want to join the gardening club or get involved?  Email:  wyvilgardening@gmail.com  Or put a note in our post box outside the meeting room between Frank and Gilbert Houses   Now that the better weather is coming why not consider joining the gardening club? Be part of growing an even nicer Estate. Visit the Gardening Club page for more information and updates. 

20/04/2015: Updated Newsletter arrived today - read it here.  A new tube station is to be built directly opposite Adrian House and the new tunnels will go under Wilcox Road and Adrian House.   There may be vibration, noise, movement of the property. Those properties affected can get a survey done in advance by TfL. If you think you may be affected, or if you have views on the building of the tunnels and/or the station, please contact TfL on 0343 222 2424 or email nle@tfl.gov.uk. Please note the cut-off date for entering into a Settlement Deed (in respect of possible movement of the building) is 12 April 2015.   You may wish to seek professional advice and/or advice from Lambeth Living/Lambeth Council if you are not sure about this. TfL can provide details of this scheme.   There will be public exhibitions about the Northern Line Extension on 19th, 20th and 21st March in the Tate South Lambeth Library. For timings and other details, please click here.

01/04/15: No, not an April Fool joke. There really is a prospect that libraries across Lambeth will be closed. There is an on-line petition if you want them to be kept open. Please click on this link if you want to express an opinion: www.change.org/p/london-borough-of-lambeth-save-lambeth-libraries

17/03/2015: The electrical upgrade work has been done at substantially less cost than even the lower revised Section 20 notice figures. For example, according to the figures shown to the Residents Association in December, the S20 price (lower revised) for the Basil House block was £87,442 but the out-turn is likely to be around £68,000 (including boxing-in of the conduits and upgraded lighting). Most of this reduction is due to careful monitoring of the project to identify areas of over-scoping. We worked cooperatively with the project manager to secure these reductions for all residents, tenants (who pay via rent increases) and leaseholders (who pay via Service Charges). More information is available by scrolling down our news archive page here.

17/03/2015: Lambeth Council approved yet another high rise luxury block of flats directly opposite our Wyvil Road car access. It will overshadow and reduce light to some flats but the developer thinks this is 'acceptable'. Do you?   If the site traffic entrance is opposite our only vehicle access it will cause traffic chaos, making it even more difficult to get in an out of our homes. Are you happy with this?  We have asked that site traffic should be routed from another direction.   We have also asked Councillors to support our bid for the public realm development money generated from this new building to be spent on amenities for this Estate. Click here for more details of what we have done and what you can do. We only stand a chance of getting a better deal if we all act together. Contact your Councillor and tell her or him that you want the site entrance located somewhere else and that you want the Community Infrastructure Levy to be spent on this Estate.

10/02/2015: The latest Sky Gardens Jan 2015 update is now available on the Newsletters page.

2/2/2015: Do you get disturbed by aircraft noise? You can join thousands of others and complain.

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Email: noise@heathrow.com

Phone: Heathrow Noise Line 0800 344 844 

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The more complaints, the more likely we are to have the aircraft routed differently so as to reduce noise.

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We can also influence the decision over where to build a new airport. Expanding Heathrow will cause more noise disturbance for longer every day and increase pollution over London.

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Flying aircraft regularly over central London is also a serious safety risk: a 3 second fault or pilot error could cause an approaching aircraft to hit a skyscraper, 7 seconds to hit the ground.

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Download more about aircaft noise complaints and airport expansion here and here. 

20/1/2015: Following reports from residents about persistent problems with the lifts in Norman and, to some extent, Peter House, we have raised our concerns with Lambeth Living. They have told us that:

Let the Residents' Association know if lifts are not repaired quickly or if the situation does not improve by the end of July. We will need to know the complaint reference numbers and dates the complaints were made if complaining about non-response.

Contact the Residents' Association either by email: wyvilestate@gmail.com or by dropping a note in our mailbox on out meeting room between Frank and Edgar Houses

4/1/2015: Over the last few months Lisa Keating the Head of Home Ownership at Lambeth Living has been working with the Wyvil Estate Residents Association on historic and current service charges.   In the coming months Lambeth Living will begin work with Larkhall representatives.   While Lambeth Living investigate the service charges for Wyvil Estate and Larkhall Lambeth Living will not chase any of the leaseholders for payment. All leaseholders should pay the amount they consider is reasonable until Lambeth Living has agreed their position with the association and Lambeth Living will then write to everyone with the outcome.   The collections team have been advised not to chase for any service charge debt until the position is agreed for the Wyvil Estate.   If leaseholders have any queries they can contact Lisa Keating directly (Lisa’s contact details are below).

Lisa Keating

Head of Home Ownership

Hambrook House

Porden Road

London Borough of Lambeth

SW2 5RW

Phone:    020 7926 3583

01/12/2014: Lambeth Living has just informed us that the installation programme for new wiring and lighting has been completed today (with the exception of some minor snagging work). The work has been done at substantially less cost than even the lower revised Section 20 notice figures. For example, according to the figures shown to us today, the S20 price (lower revised) for the Basil House block was £87,442 but the out-turn is likely to be around £68,000 (including boxing-in of the conduits). 

This is a substantial reduction for all residents. Tenants will benefit from less pressure on rent increases and leaseholders will benefit from lower Service Charge costs. It is a testament to the way in which the electrical team has worked closely with the Residents' Association to give us what we want and to cut out all unnecessary charges. 

Work will commence in Adrian House early in the week of 1 December to construct the boxing around the electrical conduits. 

The pricing for the boxing has been assessed using the 'Agreed Maximum Price' contract system that has been imposed on us by the contracting part of Lambeth Living. It is a ludicrous system that allows a contractor to put in a hugely inflated cost for a job as the maximum possible price they will charge. The principle is that the contractor cannot charge more than this but if fewer labouring hours and less material is used during the project, we only pay for the actual cost of labour and material etc. 

This system relies heavily on honesty and continuous close scrutiny to ensure that only these costs are charged. With the electrical works, we have been fortunate to have both of these bases covered. It has been a very productive relationship, with much time invested on all sides to ensure a good outcome in every respect.

We have invested, and will continue to invest, the same time and effort to get the boxing-in part of the contract done cost-effectively. 

Adrian House will be done as a pilot and the labour time taken plus material will be checked by Lambeth Living, the surveyor and members of the Residents' Association. This will give us the basis on which costs can be raised and re-charged. 

As soon as this is done, the rest of the blocks of the same design as Adrian House will have the boxing-in done. 

As a guide, the AMP figure for the boxing-in came to about £387 per flat, but we believe that the real price will be less than £250 per flat. Given the huge aesthetic improvement brought about by boxing-in the conduit and that we have secured a reduction of more than £1437 per flat through close scrutiny and working with the contractor closely, we feel that this is a worthwhile additional cost.

01/12/2014: Dear Neighbours and interested parties,  click here for the attached document that outlines a planned road closure over the weekend of 6th and 7th December 2014. We have arranged a letter delivery for this coming Friday to capture residents and businesses living in the area.

04/11/2014: PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOUR PARKING PERMIT IS UP TO DATE Click here for more details

28/10/2014: Lambeth Council is taking over car parking controls on our Estate. They will be stepping up enforcement with warning notices being placed on vehicles without authority to park on the Estate from 3 November and on 17 November they will start issuing fines. More details, including how you can get a parking permit, can be found on our October newsletter and a fact sheet that Lambeth has sent us can be found in this link.

4/10/2014: The Vauxhall Sky Gardens project in association with the Met Police will be holding a cycle safety awareness event on the 27 October from 7.30 – 10am – see attached poster for event details.

The Wyvil Primary School on South Lambeth Road have kindly donated their car park during the school holidays to hold this event.

We look forward to seeing some of you there on the day.

16/09/2014: We were so sorry to hear about the floods in Norman House. The Committee has visited nearly every flat that has been affected by the flood and continues to monitor the repair and restoration process. We are pleased that, at last, most of the problems are in process of being addressed.

11/09/2014: The Gardening Club was founded by the The Residents Association in 2014 with unanimous voting in a public meeting in June 2014. The club is composed of 22 members and works with participatory methods and processes. Its DNA is diverse in terms of ethnicity, age and gender.   The G Club is an open club for all current residents in Wyvil Estate. The club is is advertised in the TRA website and TRA newsletter, LL newsletter, in public meetings and by word of mouth. The following proposal has been developed by the Wyvil Estate Gardening Club during the Summer of 2014.  Please read more...

12/08/2014: Major Works costs affect both Leaseholders and Tenants (because part of the payment comes from the account to which rent is paid). We need to push Lambeth Living to give us better service for more competitive costs. They now want Leaseholders to pay in advance on the basis of inflated estimates and there are consultations underway about rent increases. To stop the advance payment scheme please sign this PETITION!

06/08/2014: A big thank you to all the residents who came to the AGM on 2nd July. 

We had a good discussion about a number of important issues, including parking, landscaping, the new gardening club and volunteering to work with the committee. In the second part of the AGM Lambeth Living conducted elections. The following residents were elected.

Malcolm Russell - Chair and Housing Forum Representative

Eva Gomez - Vice Chair

Lisa Fleming - Secretary

Nigisti Khasay - Treasurer

Committee Members:

Anne Hattley, Fernando Rihl, John Dooley, Lorraine Pinnock, Ray Heath, Tony Ainsworth, Saeid Masroor, Tom Young, Richard Blackwood, Sachin Shah, Paulo Castilho, Oscar Rodriguez

The Committee will send round a newsletter soon with plans for the year and a bit more about what they would like to focus on, and asking for your views. 

Please keep checking back on the website, our facebook page and the Association's notice board outside its meeting room for updates. If you want to go on the mailing list, please email wyvilestate@gmail.com

27/06/2014: The Young Lambeth Cooperative is an independent, community-owned organisation with responsibility for deciding on play and youth service provision in the borough. It is having a community launch event on Saturday 5th July from 12 - 5 pm in Windrush Square, Effra Road, Brixton SW2. There will be live music ,performances and entertainment. It's a free event.

12/6/2014: Our Wyvil Estate Big Lunch on Sunday 1st June 2014 was a great success. A big thank you to everyone that attended! Well over 60 adults and their children joined us for good food, music and fun and games, including a bouncy castle, arts and crafts, a magician and a dance demo!25 people completed a survey 'the Big Lunch, Big Questions' which we are currently analysing. We'll share the findings with you shortly.Some of the big issues that residents mentioned were the need to address drug dealing, more safety/security, better maintenance and parking enforcement on the estate. These are all things that the Residents' Association have also addressed as issues and we're discussing options with Lambeth Living and other partners.Photos from the event can be viewed here. Watch this space for more feedback on the 'Big Questions'.

05/06/2014: Our sincere condolences to the family of the cyclist who was killed on the Vauxhall gyratory on Monday.

We have written to the main developers in our local area to express our concerns about the large volume of HGVs using our roads and to urge them to take every possible safety precaution.

01/6/2014: Our AGM is fast approaching. Please join us on Wednesday 2nd July at 7pm in the Wheatsheaf Hall. Registration and refreshments will be available from 6.45. The agenda and most recent newsletter can be found here. The minutes from last year's AGM  can be downloaded here. Read the Chair's report here. We hope to see you there. Please come, consider standing for election, and vote in a new committee.

20/05/2014: We found out about plans to make Wyvil Road one way. We challenged the original plans and asked Lambeth Council to consult residents and other stakeholders. We’ve discussed our concerns and alternative plans have now been agreed.We are also continuing to lobby for additional measures to be put into place to avoid traffic congestion and illegal parking. 

Read more here

Tell us what you think

7/4/2014: This summer, the Lambeth Food Partnership launches a new programme to support food start-ups across the borough.Budding food entrepreneurs will have the chance to hear from experts covering a range of issues, including: branding and marketing, premises, sourcing ingredients, food safety, business planning and other key factors to consider when starting a food enterprise. 

By the end of the programme, participants will feel empowered to take the leap - turning fledgling ideas to reality.

Find out more here.