Archives for October 2021

Leader of the Council Kieron Williams – hear him in the attached Radio London phone-in clip here – says that residents are now being consulted on the ‘changes to the changes’ (see this explained in Southwark’s email here).

We say that the changes are minor tweaks, and are not responding to the two-thirds of those living and working in all three Dulwich LTNs who want a major re-think. The tweaked scheme is flawed. It still includes 24/7 closures, both at the central junction in Dulwich Village and in East Dulwich, which cause displacement of traffic, discrimination against those who are less mobile, and damage to shops and businesses. Like the original scheme, judged by Southwark’s own report to have a negligible overall impact on air quality, it is not a useful response to the climate emergency and does not properly consider the needs of the whole community.

Please object – explaining your reasons in detail – to each traffic order by 11 November. We will be putting up information here, via the Dulwich Alliance Go Fund Me site, and via One Dulwich campaign updates (www.onedulwich.uk/get-involved), to help you do that before the deadline.

We will also be posting up news of next steps as soon as possible.

Around 1,000 people took part in the Dulwich Alliance’s demonstration on Saturday 16 October, converging on to the main junction in the centre of Dulwich Village at 12 noon.

You can see coverage of the protest on this BBC London News item here and also in Southwark News. Clips of the speeches – including one by clean air campaigner David Smith, better known to his many Twitter followers as @LittleNinjaUK – will be uploaded here shortly.

The protest centred on Southwark Council’s refusal to remove the Dulwich LTNs, despite the fact that more than two out of three people living and working in Dulwich rejected them in the Council’s recent public consultation.

Protestors came from a wide area, as displacement traffic caused by the road closures has created traffic pollution and congestion as far afield as Lambeth in the West, Forest Hill and Sydenham to the south, Camberwell to the north and Peckham in the east. People of all ages took part, both young families and cyclists, as well as older people – including those with disabilities – who have been particularly badly affected by the road closures.

Banners called on Southwark to “Return our roads to residents and retailers” as well as “Start again. Get it right”, “Cyclists against 24/7 closures”, “Southwark LTNs Ideological insanity”, “Displacing pollution is not a solution”, and “Why doesn’t Southwark care about carers?”

The protest came a day after Southwark Council refused to call in the LTNs following a request by Liberal Democrat councillors on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The council have not yet published their reasons.

Speaking at the demonstration, Clive Rates, chair of the Dulwich Village, College Road and Woodyard Lane Residents’ Association, said: “These road closures have dislocated people’s lives and forced them to make longer journeys and generate ever more emissions. This makes climate change worse, not better. We are here to demand that Southwark remove these road closures and come up with something that actually works.

“We formed the Dulwich Alliance to support each other and unite against what has been done to us and to others. What we have in common, all of us protesting today, is that we care about more than what happens outside our front doors.  We care about the wider community. They promised us ‘traffic evaporation’ – it never happened. The only thing that has evaporated around here is support for Southwark Council.”

The closures have devastated local trade. Richard Aldwinckle, who spoke on behalf of shops and businesses in the area, highlighted that over 95% of traders say the LTNs are threatening their future, with large numbers of former customers no longer coming to Dulwich. “Some shops have closed, several have had to make redundancies and cancel apprenticeships, passing trade has gone right down, fresh deliveries are held up, and essential services like medical supplies and food shops are badly affected,” Richard said. “More businesses will close soon unless the closures are removed.”

Marianne Kavanagh, a co-founder of One Dulwich, read out the stories of four local people and the impact the road closures have had on their lives. The first was from the mother of two young children living on East Dulwich Grove, a road where 3,000 schoolchildren go to school but which is now so congested that it’s dangerous for both pedestrians and cyclists.

She then spoke the words of an 83-year-old car-dependent widow with arthritis who struggles to reach her GP in West Dulwich and health clinic in Streatham because of the volume of traffic on Lordship Lane and the South Circular; a Dulwich resident who is the carer for her mother in Herne Hill and can’t visit her at key times of the day; and finally young parents on Croxted Road, now so full of displaced traffic that they can’t open their windows because of the effects of air pollution on their baby.

Also speaking at the event was clean air campaigner David Smith (@LittleNinjaUK), who explained the social and environmental injustice of pushing more traffic on to already congested main roads and how stop-start traffic creates more pollution and causes more deaths among the less well-off and BAME communities who live on them.

Saturday 16 October 2021, 12 noon

Briefing note for the Dulwich Alliance protest at the junction of Dulwich Village/Court Lane/Calton Avenue

Dear Supporter

Thank you very much for your support for the protest.  It is by banding together that we can make our voices heard, and by continuing to campaign for a better and fairer scheme that works for everyone, not just a few, that our democratic rights can be upheld. Please read to the end of this note for requests for action on the day.

Background

Southwark Council imposed the LTNs as emergency measures with no consultation at the beginning of lockdown in 2020.  Some residents have seen a positive benefit, but two-thirds of those living and working in Dulwich who responded to the consultation say they want the current scheme to go. Despite this, Cllr Rose, the Cabinet member for Transport, Parks and Sport, made the decision a few weeks ago to keep the current LTNs, with a few tweaks.

Key messages

The LTNs have not achieved the objectives set by Southwark Council and the impact has been negative. Overall, the scheme displaces traffic on to residential roads with schools and health centres, discriminates against those who are vulnerable, and damages the viability of local shops and businesses. Points to note include:

• Democracy is under threat

Our democratically elected councillors are not listening to the majority view of those who responded to a public consultation.

• Overall air quality has not improved

For residential roads now getting all the extra traffic and pollution, air quality is worse.

• Public transport is worse

Public transport is poor anyway in Dulwich (PTAL ratings between 1 and 3, no step-free access at many local stations), but now the buses we all rely on are delayed because of displaced traffic.

• The health and care needs of elderly and disabled people are being ignored

Medical staff and carers have longer journey times; residents with poor mobility struggle to reach GP, health centre and hospital appointments.

• The vast majority of shops and businesses are against the scheme

Data has been shared with the Council showing the significant negative impact of the closures and restrictions (separated out from the effect of Covid).

• Southwark are abusing the traffic system to extract excessive fines

Signage is unclear and exemptions are insufficient: Southwark has picked up £3m in fines.

• Data produced by Southwark is inconsistent, selective and opaque

There has been inconsistent gathering of data, and selective reporting, to justify keeping the LTNs. The Leader of the Council promised greater clarity on data and methodology in July, but this hasn’t happened.

On the day

The demonstration is timed for 12 noon at the junction and should last about an hour.  We have been told by the police that our protest is lawful, and we are putting in place all their requests to ensure safety for all.

Please stay safe and keep the protest peaceful by noting the following:

• There will be appointed marshals in hi-vis vests. Please follow their requests.
• Cycleways and pathways for pedestrians will be marked out and kept clear by the marshals. Access to all the shops and businesses will be maintained. For their own safety, and for the safety of pedestrians, cyclists will be asked to dismount rather than ride through the junction for the duration of the protest.
• Be Covid-aware – keep a reasonable distance from passers-by, staying with your friends/family group.
• If anyone is aggressive towards you, be polite and disengage. If aggression persists, alert one of the marshals.
• Stickers are badges for people – please put on clothing only.
• Printed flyers can be offered to passers-by, but please do not step into the road to hand out to drivers. Please also watch out for any flyers that are dropped and pick them up.
• If there are any complaints about noise (for example, drums), please stress that the protest is expected to finish at 1pm, and politely ask those responsible to be a bit quieter.
• Similarly, please don’t actively encourage cars to sounds their horns – we can’t stop this happening, but we don’t want to promote excessive noise.
• Please help with clearing up any litter at the end of the protest.
• Above all, please be respectful and kind, and look out for those who might need your help and assistance.

Thank you.

Dulwich Alliance

Saturday 16 October, 12 noon, at the junction of Dulwich Village/Court Lane/Calton Avenue

Next week, on Saturday 16 October, there will be a protest against the Dulwich LTNs. We are calling on Southwark to respect democracy and listen to the 66% who have rejected the current Dulwich LTNs in Champion Hill, East Dulwich and Dulwich Village.

Please meet up with family, friends and neighbours in your road (wherever you live or work in the wider Dulwich area) before gathering at the central Dulwich Village/Court Lane/Calton Avenue junction at 12 noon. Bring banners and placards so that everyone can see why you are against a scheme that displaces traffic on to roads with schools, discriminates against the vulnerable, and damages local shops and businesses.

If you would like to be put in touch with other people going to the protest, please email the central protest hub at dulwichalliance@gmail.com with the name of your road.

Please also circulate this flyer by email or through social media networks.

More information will be posted up here shortly.