Lambeth has published its report on the current situation with the Streatham Hub project in advance of its cabinet meeting later this month – it is available online here.

Chuka’s People’s Question Time on the Streatham Hub development is taking place this Thursday at the upper school site of Dunraven School, 94/98 Leigham Court Road, London, SW16 2QB from 6.30pm onwards. For further details of the event, follow this link.

The People’s Question Time event which Chuka is holding on the Streatham Hub has been moved to Thursday 22nd July at 6.30pm, still at Dunraven School.

The reason for the change of date is that Lambeth council is due to release a paper on the Hub development next week, and this will give everyone time to digest the report and ensure that everyone is fully up to date before the meeting.

Have your say on the Streatham Hub redevelopment

During the election campaign, Chuka pledged to hold People’s Questions Time events if elected as MP. On Thursday July 15, the first of these events will take place, allowing local residents to have their say on the Streatham Hub redevelopment.

The public meeting will be held at Dunraven School, Leigham Court Road SW16 2QB on Thursday July 22 at 6.30pm. Officers of Lambeth Council and Tesco have been invited; the event offers them an platform to update residents of the scheme’s development.

Tesco purchased the site where Streatham Ice Rink is currently situated almost a decade ago. In June 2001 the retailer published plans to demolish the Ice Rink – these were abandoned following strong opposition from local user groups, community and voluntary organisations.

Revised proposals were approved by Lambeth Council in February 2003 with a Section 106 Agreement associated with the scheme – which has become known as the ‘Streatham Hub’ – being concluded between the Council and Tesco in 2007. The development is set to provide new leisure facilities, a new supermarket and affordable housing for the Streatham area. There will also be a new transport hub linking road and rail. Lambeth Council has said that Tesco will not be allowed to open a supermarket until a new leisure centre and ice rink have been opened.

As part of the plan, the option of siting a temporary ice rink on Streatham Common while a new rink is built has been discussed and alternative sites have also been proposed. At a public meeting in October 2009, Tesco sparked anger by refusing to guarantee that it would be able to fulfill its original guarantee continuity of ice.

In March this year, the Streatham Hub agreement got the go-ahead: following pressure on Tesco by the campaign to ‘Keep Streatham Skating’, spearheaded by Chuka, Tesco agreed to take forward its redevelopment plans guaranteeing continuous ice rink provision.

In Parliament last week, Chuka met with representatives of umbrella group Hands Off Our Common, which includes the Streatham Society, Friends of Streatham Common, Sustainable Streatham and Streatham Action, and with groups representing users of Streatham Ice Rink including Skaters for the Hub, Streatham Ice Skating Action Group and Streatham Redskins.

And by holding the first People’s Question Time, Chuka is also ensuring that the community at large is fully consulted as part of this ongoing process. He will use future People’s Question Times to give the people of Streatham a forum for discussion of similarly important issues.

Last month, the Streatham Hub Redevelopment was given the go-ahead.

The project includes a brand new ice rink, swimming pool, leisure centre as well as affordable housing, and will bring up to 600 new jobs to our area.

Following pressure by the “Keep Streatham Skating!” campaign, Tesco have agreed to guarantee continuous ice rink provision and Lambeth Council has said the retailer will not be allowed to open it’s supermarket until the new rink and leisure centre are opened.  To read more about the history of the project and the campaign to maintain ice provision, follow this link.

Of course, we have been here before – agreements with Tesco to develop the project have been reached in the past. However, when I spoke with Tesco on behalf of local residents at the end of last month (and asked why we should believe the scheme will proceed this time round), I was told that on the last two occasions the scheme had gone to the Tesco Plc Board for approval and no approval had been forthcoming, whereas on this occasion the scheme was promoted by the Chief Executive himself and given Board approval.

Tesco has agreed to provide a temporary ice rink whilst the new rink is built.  Finding a site for this structure has been difficult, and I have concerns over placing a large structure on Streatham Common.  Doing so, in my view, should only be considered as a matter of last resort if no better alternative site can be found in Streatham.

If the Common is the only option, a full explanation should be given to the community with reasons and the structure should be there for as short a time and take up as little space as possible. The Common should also be restored to a better state once the temporary structure is gone. Consultation with interested parties, including skaters and users of Streatham Common, is currently underway.

So there are still issues which need to be ironed out but I believe that our area – including skaters, swimmers and users of the common – will benefit and Streatham High Road will be given a much needed boost from the Streatham Hub development.

Chuka Umunna, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Streatham, has called for Tesco to be given a firm deadline within which to come forward with revised proposals acceptable to Streatham residents to develop the Streatham Hub.

At a public meeting in Streatham held by community organization Streatham Action, Lambeth council cabinet members and officers gave local residents an update on the future of the Streatham Hub project.

The Streatham Hub Project is intended to provide a new ice rink complex, leisure facilities, a new supermarket and affordable housing for the Streatham area. Under proposals agreed with Lambeth Council in 2007, Tesco promised that the existing ice rink would not close until the new complex is opened, but refused to guarantee this at a public meeting held in October 2009.

Councillors revealed that negotiations with Tesco, which owns the Ice Rink site, are still ongoing. Councillors were not in a position to announce the results of the ongoing negotiation with Tesco, but did indicate that should it not be possible to reach agreement, alternative options would be considered.

Councillor Lib Peck, the Lambeth Council Cabinet member for housing and regeneration outlined the main principles underpinning the council’s approach to the ongoing negotiations with Tesco, including importantly continuity of ice provision until a new ice rink is built.

The board of Tesco PLC is due to meet in mid March when the chief executive, Sir Terry Leahy, will put forward proposals for the Streatham Hub for approval before the retailer reverts back to the cabinet of the council with its final position. In turn, the council officers will prepare a report either recommending that the Tesco proposals be approved or not by the meeting of the Lambeth council cabinet on March 22 2010.

Commenting on the current state of negotiations, Mr Umunna said: “If Tesco comes forward with proposals which are acceptable to the community and the council, it is crucial they are legally bound into their commitments. Any contract entered into with them must have teeth, and they should not be allowed to renege on any promises made.

“If Tesco do not come forward with proposals which are acceptable, the council should walk away from any deal and look to immediately progress the development of the Streatham Hub project on its own. We cannot keep waiting for the retailer to come good – The fact they did not even bother to send anyone to speak on their behalf at this important meeting is indicative of their poor attitude to local people.

“I am most concerned that the ice rink, which is already in a parlous state, will be left to rot by Tesco. As a sign that they are serious about moving forward from the present impasse, they should take all action they can as owners of the ice rink to invest in it so that it is viable and can be used while we wait for a new ice rink to be built.”

Local people are holding a demonstration to make their views heard by the retailer outside Tesco Express on Streatham High Road from 11am on Saturday 27 February 2010.

Support Chuka’s Keep Streatham Skating campaign by signing the petition and joining the Facebook group.

An investigation by structural engineers last November revealed widespread structural problems at Streatham Leisure Centre. Lambeth Council consequently decided to close the Centre on 25 November 2009 for the foreseeable future while further investigations took place to find out the extent of the work needed.

In the meantime alternative arrangements for users and all schools have been arranged during the period of the Leisure Centre’s closure at other locations including Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.

Future of Streatham Leisure Centre

Many local residents have raised the issue of the future of the pool with me in person and in correspondence. I started using Streatham Swimming Pool as a child when my swimming club, Leander S.C., used to compete there against other local clubs such as Streatham S.C., Battersea Jacs S.C. and others. Until recently we used to hold Keith Hill MP’s constituency surgeries there too, where Keith and I dealt with hundreds of constituents problems. So, rest assured, I completely understand the strength of feeling on this issue – the current situation regarding leisure provision here is clearly unsatisfactory.

The closure of the pool has become somewhat of a local political football but all local residents want is for their pool to re-open – that is their priority.  The fact is that Council administrations of all different political persuasions have not invested enough in the pool for a long time and they should all be big enough to admit as much.

Streatham Hub Scheme

Why have Council administrations underinvested in the pool? Because they expected the Streatham Hub scheme – of which a brand new leisure centre and ice arena are a part – to be developed by Tesco in return for the retailer being allowed to build a big supermarket in the area. Both the current administration and the Lib Dem/Tory one before that spent much time negotiating with them and pinned their hopes on Tesco sticking to their promises.

Next week at a special public meeting organised by Streatham Action, the Council and Tesco will tell us the result of their negotiations on the future of the scheme. The meeting takes place at Hideaway at 7pm on Wednesday 10 February 2010.

Action

I have lobbied my Council colleagues to take a tough line with Tesco – I do not see why the community should put up with Tesco’s dithering and prevarication any longer. I have sought to put as much direct pressure on Tesco to live up to their promises in relation to the Streatham Hub scheme through the Keep Streatham Skating! campaign and in other ways.

In the short term, I think the Council should at least look into providing temporary arrangements for non-pool activities (e.g. Step classes, gym facilities) at other locations in Streatham area.  This is something I will be pressing the Council to do to the extent it is not already happening.  Please do not hesitate to contact my office for further information.

Chuka

First Capital Connect and Aslef have reached agreement on a revised pay offer but serious questions still remain for FCC.

A dispute over pay last month led to First Capital Connect (FCC), operators of the Thameslink train line in and out of London, only being able to run a skeleton service from Streatham, Tulse Hill and other train stations to central London, with as few as one train an hour remaining in operation.

Drivers angry at a pay offer offering a 0% rise this year and at least 3% next year, refused to work overtime and on rest days which led to FCC running the much reduced service. On 11 November 2009, Aslef - the train drivers union - announced that it would be balloting its 550-plus members working for FCC to take strike action over the issue.

On 19 November 2009 Chuka Umunna, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Streatham, wrote to Sir Moir Lockhead, Chief Executive FirstGroup Plc, to protest at the disruption caused to local residents. Umunna has asked to know why the situation was allowed to develop and what steps FCC were taking to resolve the dispute and get train services back running to normal levels. FCC have promised to provide a response to Mr Umunna shortly.

On Friday FCC announced that Aslef has considered a revised pay offer, equating to 5% over two years, and has agreed to recommend its acceptance to its members. Aslef have confirmed this . They are now working jointly to encourage drivers to resume rest day and overtime working. Services are not expected to return to normal until the New Year.

Commenting on this latest development, Mr Umunna said:

“Thameslink users will be delighted that an agreement has been reached and will look forward to a normal service being resumed as soon as possible but serious questions still remain.”

“First Capital Connect need to explain why on earth they have been operating a service without enough drivers – they should not be reliant on drivers agreeing to work overtime to provide a normal service.”

“I understand from reports that there are vacancies at Thameslink depots amounting to almost 10% of the work force. Why have First Capital Connect not recruited sufficient numbers of drivers to man their trains?”

Mr Umunna has also been running a campaign against proposals by Network Rail to terminate all northbound trains from Streatham and Tulse Hill train stations at Blackfriars. The Department of Transport is currently considering Network Rail’s proposals for the future of the line and Mr Umunna recently met with Minister of Transport, Sadiq Khan MP, to relay local residents’ views on the long-term planned changes to Streatham’s Thameslink service.

Hundreds of passengers have signed Mr Umunna’s petition opposing the changes and have joined his “Save Our South West London Thameslink Services” Facebook group.

Commenting on the future of Thameslink, Umunna said:

“Thameslink is an essential service for Streatham residents, linking the area with central London and beyond. That is why I have campaigned for an end to this dispute and against proposals to cut direct services to the City, Kings Cross and Luton Airport.”

London Mayor Boris Johnson has announced a major consultation on the future of London transport, which includes the potential scheme to bring the London Underground to Streatham.

Following the publication of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy, Londoners are being asked to register their views.

This is an important opportunity to let the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) know what a difference a tube extension to Streatham, currently under consideration, would make.

The Mayor’s Transport Strategy recognised the lack of transport connections in South London, describing the “paucity of the Underground network” in the area and the need for “better public transport connectivity between inner north and inner south London”.

It also confirms that TfL is looking into a number of options to extend the Bakerloo line southwards with the route currently being under development. The report pledges that the Bakerloo extension will serve “areas with poor transport accessibility”.

Despite these positive developments, we need to keep up pressure if we want a Streatham tube extension to become a reality.

The decision on where to build the tube extension will take into account the views of residents and you can take part in the consultation at http://www.london.gov.uk/shaping-london/ before it closes on January 12th 2010.

Registering views online only takes around 5 minutes and could help determine whether the Tube comes to Streatham or elsewhere.

If you haven’t yet signed the petition to bring the tube to Streatham, do so here.

Chuka explains the importance of keeping the Streatham Ice Rink open during his visit to support our ice hockey team, Streatham Redskins, in action this evening against Milton Keynes Thunder.

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This week, I launched a campaign with local people to get Tesco to guarantee Streatham Ice Rink stays open whilst the Streatham Hub scheme is developed in the south of this parliamentary constituency. You can read about the scheme here: the Streatham Hub.

At a meeting held earlier this month to update local residents on the scheme, I was concerned when Tesco representatives refused to guarantee that our ice skating provision would continue without interruption.

Tesco owns the ice rink site and under deveopment proposals agreed with Lambeth Council two years ago the company promised that the current ice rink would stay open while a new one was built.

However, the retail giant is citing the credit crunch as a reason for submitting revised proposals a few weeks ago. It is currently in talks with the Council, with an announcement due in December.

It is essential that Streatham does not lose access to ice – the ice rink hosts the Streatham Redskins ice hockey team and numerous school groups. It is also currently being used by skaters aiming to compete in next year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Tesco has the financial resources to stick to its original pledge and ensure that Streatham keeps skating while the Hub site is developed. You may have seen that earlier this year the retailer announced record breaking sales of more than £1bn a week and annual profits of more than £3bn, despite the impact of the global downturn.

To put pressure on Tesco to keep to its promises on the continuity of our ice provision, please sign the petition calling on them to keep Streatham Ice Rink open – the petition can be signed online here: Keep Streatham Skating! petition

A related ‘Keep Streatham Skating!’ Facebook group has also been set up which you can join too: Keep Streatham Skating! on Facebook

Tesco say they take into account the interests of local communities, in addition to their desire to return a huge profit, when making decisions. If they genuinely care for this community as they claim, they must ensure the continuity of our ice rink provision here in Streatham.

We need lots of local residents to sign the petition to send a clear message to Tesco – they need to know how strongly we, the prospective customers of the new Tesco supermarket they want to build as part of the Hub scheme, feel about this issue.