Chuka welcomes government plans to improve security and services at train stations across Streatham and South London.

The Department for Transport has announced that all trains running on the South London rail network are to have CCTV cameras installed on them to increase safety for users. In addition, rail stations, including Streatham, Streatham Hill, Tulse Hill and Streatham Common, are to be staffed at night, and an extra 1,500 secure cycle bays will be provided to stations across the network.

The measures have been written into the criteria of the new franchise agreement for the South Central rail network – currently operated by Southern - which covers stations across South London and parts of Southern England. They were developed after consultation with rail user groups to improve services for commuters.

The operator that wins the bid to run the South Central network between 2009 and 2015 will be required to implement the security measures, and increase services running through South London. Late night services will run until 12.30pm on Fridays and Saturdays and at least 11pm all other nights of the week.

Chuka welcomed the recent government announcement:
“Improving our transport links and services to the Streatham constituency is an absolute priority and we are doing just that with these moves to increase safety on our stations and extend running times.”

Chuka is currently campaigning to maintain Thameslink services to Streatham rail stations, click here to find out more information and to join the campaign.

Carys Afoko

Last week, Chuka paid a visit to Renton Close on Brixton Hill, to see their new community garden.

The project, run by Simon Ghartey encourages children from Renton Close and nearby areas to build and maintain an allotment on the green spaces of the estate. We were given a tour of the garden by Simon and Debbie Etienne, Secretary of the Renton Close Tenants and Residents Association.

The children all aged under 11, work from 3.30pm to 6pm after school each Thursday. They learn to dig and prepare a plot in addition to planting and caring for vegetables like tomatoes and pumpkins. As well as teaching them new skills, the initiative has the benefit of putting the outside space in the estate to functional use, receiving a positive response from local residents.

Although the garden has only been up and running for a few months, it was named the second best community garden in the 2008 Lambeth Estates in Bloom Competition.

Chuka was really impressed by the garden:

“It is not just a question of giving our young people things to do, it is a question of finding them interesting and different things to do - this is a great way of doing that and enabling them to contribute to the environment they live in, in a fun way.”

Carys Afoko

A noticeable rise in the number of prostitutes working in the Tulse Hill and Brixton Hill areas has followed the disbandment of Brixton Police’s dedicated Vice-Squad.  I am very concerned about this and residents are questioning what the Police and the Council are doing about it.

Myself and local Labour Cllrs Toren Smith, Ade Aminu and Marcia Cameron have worked with local residents to come up with some suggestions.  We are proposing the following:

• More Police resources devoted to assist the local Safer Neighbourhood Police team with an early review of the impact of the loss of the vice-squad;
• The Council should put pressure on London Mayor Boris Johnson to speed up the delivery of the new gate at the Brixton Hill end of Josephine Avenue;
• The Council should begin working up an area wide traffic management plan to stop kerb crawling, so that any displacement from the closure of Josephine Avenue can be dealt with swiftly;
• The Council should limit the 3am opening hours of the off-licences on Brixton Hill to discourage pimps and prostitutes from the area; and,
• The Council needs to address the derelict site at 85 Brixton Hill.

I have met with both Council my colleagues and the Police to let them know of residents concerns.  If you have any further comments to make, please let us know your suggestions using the Contact page here.

Congratulations are due to Streatham, Balham, Brixton, Clapham and Tulse Hill’s GCSE pupils who have achieved a fantastic set of GCSE results this year. All the hard work paid off for both pupils and teachers as Streatham parliamentary constituency’s secondary schools saw improvements on last year’s grades.

La Retraite Girls School in Atkins Road, Clapham, reported its best ever results to date with 81% of pupils achieving five A* to C passes.  Elsewhere in the constituency, Dunraven School in Leigham Court Road, Streatham, saw 72 % of pupils achieving five A* to C passes, while St Martin’s School in Tulse Hill saw a rise from 69% to 75% achieving five A*-C grades.  Bishop Thomas Grant in Belltrees Grove, Streatham, saw the biggest improvement in its results with a 13% improvement on the numbers gaining five A* to C passes since 2007. Over 90% of pupils at Streatham and Clapham High School achieved grade A* to C passes.

Across the constituency’s schools, there was an average increase of 6.25% of students achieving five A*-C passes and all Streatham’s schools are now above the national average of 65.7%.  The year on year improvements are tangible results of the many changes made by Labour since 1997, including improving weak and failing schools, increasing literacy and supporting more young people than ever to go on to university.

And the changes are continuing with Building Schools for the Future funding arriving in the constituency. Also, the new Elm Green School, set up by parents, will be opening its permanent site on nearby Elms Court Road in 2009.

Chuka, who himself is a governor at Sunnyhill Primary School, sees continued investment in primary, secondary and further education as a major priority and congratulated Streatham’s students :
“ Streatham constituency’s students have done themselves proud. They’ve tried their hardest and now have the opportunity to move on to further success in the future. While education is much broader than targets and tests, these results will improve the life outcomes of our young people, raise their aspirations and take them a long way to gaining meaningful employment .
“Labour has decreased class sizes, improved funding and given young pupils more choices in what they can learn. I’m committed to ensuring that this continues and that every child in Streatham has a place in a good local school.”

Labour has an ambitious vision for every child which sees schools at the heart of each community, providing a wide range of services for everyone and, with staff, students and parents working together to ensure the best outcomes for our children.

You can watch the BBC News 10 O’Clock News report featuring Dunraven School here: “A Generation of Labour Education”

Jamie Audsley

Last week the fantastic “Urban Art” fair on Josephine Avenue took place and had its most successful year ever despite the credit crunch, Brixton tube station being closed all weekend and Herne Hill being closed on Sunday. Selected pictures of the event are below.

Locally based artist, Paul Anthony Smith, exhibits his paintings.  More information on his work can be found at www.pasartwork.com.

Enjoying the sun with one of the organisers.  We are standing near Priscilla Watkins work (not pictured), which particularly caught my eye - you can see her work at www.priscillawatkinsart.co.uk.  

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I am a huge fan of the arts in general and made no secret of that fact during my campaign to become Labour’s parliamentary candidate in Streatham. Not only do I enjoy the arts myself but I also think they provide a fantastic outlet for the boundless energy of our young people in need of things to do outside of school time.

There are so many unsung heroes in the arts who have lived or still live in this parliamentary constituency. Our MP for Streatham, Keith Hill, even shared a flat here with the well known comedian and actor, Eddie Izzard a while back!  Another collection of unsung heroes in the arts are the organisers of Urban Art, led by Tim Sutton, which will be held on 19 and 20 July 2008 on Josephine Avenue, just off Brixton Hill, between 10am and 6pm.

As the residents of Josephine Avenue put it:
“For the seventh year running our sleepy, tree-lined, South London avenue will be transformed into a bustling art fair showcasing new and exciting work from over ninety UK artists. Exhibited pieces will include paintings, mixed-media, photographs and print-making with costs ranging from under £10 to over £1,000. It’s an art buyer’s dream.”
…and, unbelievably, the event is free!  It has my full support and I would highy recommend visiting it in just over a month’s time.