Archives for July 2021

The interim EqIA just released by Southwark Council does not assess how the Dulwich Streetspace measures affect groups with protected characteristics (including the elderly and disabled). It’s not based on any data or knowledge specific to the Dulwich scheme, and its use of research is selective and biased. Read our full review here.

On Tuesday 13 July, less than four days after its release, and just five days before the extended deadline of the consultation, Southwark held a meeting to discuss the interim traffic data. Questions were invited by area (East Dulwich, Champion Hill and Dulwich Village), so most of the overarching questions about the interlinking schemes were never asked or answered. In addition, any questions put into the chat box were only visible to council officials and councillors and not to everyone at the meeting.

So we gathered together all the questions that weren’t answered (you can see them here), and sent them to streetspace@southwark.gov.uk on 22 July 2021, asking for a response. When we hear back, we’ll publish the answers here too.

Southwark is ignoring the key role played by dance and the performing arts in the health and well-being of its diverse community, say teachers whose classes have been made inaccessible by the LTNs. In a passionate letter to the council, they explain how dance helps the elderly, the LGBTQ+ community, and children and young people – and contributes strongly to both the mental and physical health of Southwark residents – but that dance schools and performing arts businesses are now under threat because of the road closures. See the full letter here.

Where do local political parties stand on the Dulwich traffic measures? With less than a year to go before the next Council elections, we asked the five political parties who stood candidates in 2018 to give us their views on the Dulwich LTNs. View their responses here.

Do local residents want the 24/7 closure of Dulwich Village junction to be made permanent?

Ten road surveys, representing the views of more than 800 households directly affected by the Dulwich Village LTN, show that more than 80% do not support making the temporary closure of the junction to motorised vehicles permanent. You can read a report summarising the results here.

Businesses and business associations within the Dulwich Alliance (representing more than 170 separate businesses in Dulwich Village, East Dulwich and Herne Hill) wrote to Southwark councillors on 8 July 2021, copying in streetspace@southwark.gov.uk, to ask again for the Council to listen to their concerns about the experimental LTNs. “We are putting on record,” they said, “your refusal to date to listen to what local business-owners are saying about the impact of the road measures on their ability to trade.” You can see the full letter here.

Southwark Council has invited responses from local stakeholder groups as well as from residents and businesses. We sent our corporate response (a fairly lengthy document) to Southwark councillors and officers, copying in streetspace@southwark.gov.uk, on 8 July 2021. Please read it here.

All parents want clean air so that their children’s lungs aren’t damaged by pollution. And all parents want their children to have safe routes to school. But the latest air quality data shows that nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels on Croxted Road, East Dulwich Grove and Lordship Lane (what Southwark calls the ‘displacement routes’) are now three times higher than on Calton Avenue. Are some children’s lungs more important than others? See our latest leaflet here.