What a load of rubbish...

We all know that the council take away our general household waste (see here for details on your collection day), but what about everything else?

Southwark has a number of different schemes to help you get rid of your rubbish

• Recycling: everyone can do their bit, whether it's through collections from your own front door or taking your bottles, clothes, paper and plastic to one of the local recycling centres. A full guide as to what you can or can't recycle is available here
• Garden waste: once you've spruced up your garden it can be a real pain to get rid of all your unwanted plants etc. Southwark collect garden waste once every two weeks. Find out how you can do it here and when your local collection day is here
• Large household items: there's no need to fly-tip! Not only does it make the area look ugly, it's completely unnecessary. Southwark will collect your large household items absolutely free of charge on a day that is convenient to you. All you have to do is set up an appointment - find out more here
• Almost everything else: if you have a car or access to a vehicle, you might consider taking your waste to the Household Waste Reuse and Recycling Centre, currently situated off Manor Place. They take pretty much everything here - all of the stuff listed above, in addition to batteries, aerosols, tyres and even oil

So there's no excuse really! If you see litter, dumped rubbish, dog mess or an area that you think needs cleaning you can contact the council using this online form.

Check before you travel!

As some of you may have noticed, the lifts at Kennington are about to be refurbished - great news in the long run, but potentially disruptive in the short term!

From the 20th January through to December 2009, TfL will operate a reduced lift service - closing one lift at a time in order to carry out the work that is required.

Those of you who had the misfortune of being caught up in the temporary closures of the station on a number of mornings just before Christmas will know that any reduction in service can result in fairly major problems!

If there should be a problem at Kennington, remember that the P5 bus route runs right through our area with local stops on Lorrimore Rd, Lorrimore Sq/Chapter Rd, Penrose St and Walworth Rd, leading north to the Elephant and Castle (where you can connect with the Bakerloo Line and Mainline Rail Services) and south to Brixton, Stockwell and beyond. Likewise, the 155, 133, 333 and 415 (amongst others - see map for full details) run up and down Kennington Park Road in both directions - providing other alternatives.

So - the best advice is, check before you travel. Tube status updates are available on the homepage of the blog (at the bottom) or direct from Transport for London.

Vote for Kennington Park!

The Mayor of London has announced plans to give away ten grants of up to £400,000 to make improvements to parks around London - Kennington Park is one of those nominated.

You can find out more details about the scheme here.

Anyone visiting or living in London can vote - it's quick and simple to do, just select Kennington Park from the drop down list on this page, enter your details and away you go!

Voting is also available via post or mobile phone - see details on the same page.

Spread the word and let's see if we can't secure some cash for Kennington!

Survey

Following the November AGM and December meetings, the TRA have decided to conduct a survey to narrow down the options for spending our cash from those suggested so far.

As yet we've not scoped out any of these options - our funds may, or may not, cover some of these ideas. As a result we're not using this survey to get to a definite result - instead, we'll collect your responses and report back to the TRA on the top few options which we will then investigate further (gathering costs etc).

The proposals, as they stand, are:

• Improving the cut through between Lorrimore Rd and Lorrimore Sq (opposite St Wilfrid's Church). The idea here was to brighten up the area by including a tree/s and possibly a bench, as well as resurfacing
• New bins for Lorrimore Square park
• Resurfacing of the tarmac throughout the park, in particular the ruined mosaic area
• New trees for Lorrimore Road
• New trees for Carter Street
• Collaboration with Penrose on the area leading to Walworth Rd. Although out of our TRA, this is an area that many residents pass through. As such, it was felt that clearing up this area (perhaps in collaboration with the TRA that covers Penrose Street) could be of benefit
• A natural (e.g. willow) gazebo in the centre of the park (where the current mosaic is located)

If I've missed anything, or you've had another idea, please e-mail me as soon as possible!

Please only complete the survey once per person. I will close the survey on New Years Day - get your responses in before then!

Take part in the survey by clicking here - thanks in advance for all your responses.

Minutes - December 2008

Surrey Gardens General Meeting
Minutes
Tuesday 9 December

In attendance: Katy, Tricia, Marcus, Jo, Melissa, John, Jenny, Cath, Tony, Paul, Melissa, Lawrence, Joanna

Apologies: From Sue (Vice Chair), Simon, Emily (Committee members) and Megan

1. Chair Tony welcomed new members and introduced the new committee.

2. Update from Chair:

a) Tony wrote to the council re: Carter Street – as yet no reply
b) Letter of thanks sent to Safer Neighbourhood Team who spoke at the AGM
c) We have a new email address: surreygardenstra@googlemail.com
d) We have a new website: www.surreygardenstra.blogspot.com. This is to be put on all new flyers to keep people up-to-date with meetings, issues and events

The meeting agreed that updates on the site will mention people by first name terms only – and at any point anyone can request that this be changed/amended.

3. Meeting agreed to flyer once a quarter for meetings. Dates of meetings: February, May, September, November. Exceptions: end of year drinks (December) and summer picnic (TBC). Other meetings to be announced on the web or in the public notice boards.

4. Meeting agreed that the £3,000 allocation must be spent. Ideas will be put up on the website and a vote taken in the next meeting in February.

Suggestions from the floor included:

a) Improvements on Lorrimore road (perhaps as a joint project with Cleaner Greener Safer Communities [CGSC])
b) A collaboration with Penrose
c) Improving the cut through from Lorrimore road to Lorrimore square – relaying the paving, adding bench or trees etc
d) Adding more trees to Lorrimore road or Carter street

5. It was proposed that the CGSC come to talk to the SGTRA in February.

6. Signs around the park – it was voted on to pay for work done to the signs to have them fixed (glass replaced and new locks). Estimated cost: £300-£500. Tricia to confirm.

7. Chair showed the meeting the proposal to extend the conservation area to include the park in Lorrimore Square and the meeting voted to support the Chair’s proposal.

8. Report from Housing Area Forum by John:

a) Pollution rep to be asked to come to next meeting (Feb)
b) Customer care contract from the council in process of being redrafted
c) When they are ready a copy of the tenant’s charter to be put on the new website
d) The resources centre on the Aylesbury estate is available for tenant usage (copying machines, PC and an administrator to give practical advice) on Tuesdays between 10-5


Chair adjourned the meeting for end of year drinks.

What is a TRA?

What is a TRA?
A TRA (or Tenant's and Resident's Association) is a group of people from the same local area who meet together on a regular basis to socialise and discuss local issues

What do you actually do?
All kinds of things! We chat about stuff that is happening locally and advise on where to go and who to contact if there's a local issue you wish to raise. We're also usually the first point of contact if the council, or other group, wishes to consult with the local community

We look after the park in Lorrimore Square, leasing the area from Southwark Council, and have been responsible for installing and maintaining the playground equipment

A big part of what we do is meet and socialise with our neighbours, with drinks and snacks provided at meetings at least once a quarter - not to mention our annual summer picnic (in Lorrimore Square park) and end of year drinks in December

Where do you get your funding?
As a recognised TRA, Southwark Council provide funding for the TRA through the Tenant Fund

If I come, does that mean I have to do anything?
Not if you don't want to! We'd love to see more and more people come to meetings - please don't feel like you have to have an issue or that you need to get actively involved, though you would be more than welcome to if you wanted!

OK, so what do I do next?

• Come to the next meeting! See the "Next Meeting" info on the homepage for more details of the date, time and location
• Follow this blog for updates
• Subscribe to live updates of the blog via the RSS feed on the homepage
• Sign up here to be added to the mailing list for minutes and other info
• Use the same e-mail address to send through any comments or issues you'd like raised if you can't come to the meeting in person

Our area

The Surrey Gardens TRA covers Lorrimore Square, Lorrimore Road, Carter Street and Forsyth Gardens - SE17, London (see here for a map), and is responsible for the maintainence of the park in Lorrimore Square.

The area has a rich history. A 1681 map of Walworth made for Dean and Chapter of Canterbury Cathedral shows a common called "Lattam-more" (or Lower Moor), later becoming "Lorrimore" and lending its name to various streets in the area.

In 1831, Lorrimore Common (as the area was then known) was sold to Edward Cross who used it to host the Royal Surrey Gardens (hence the name of the TRA), which featured lions and tigers amongst other animals. As the gardens declined in popularity the area was once again sold, and in 1872 the common was largely developed for housing.

St Paul's Church (one of two churches within the area covered by the TRA - the other being St Wilfrid's Roman Catholic Church, Lorrimore Road, built in 1914) is located in the centre of the square. In 1940, during the Second World War, incendiary bombs hit the original church (which had been completed and consecrated in 1856) and destroyed it, leaving only the steeple. The current church, which was built in 1959–60, is Grade II listed and used some of the original church materials in its construction.

The same incendiary bombs destroyed a number of houses in Lorrimore Square itself, leading to the development of newer flats on the north and south west sides. Carter Street was also subject to bombing.

Those houses that escaped destruction date largely to the 1850s - 1870s. The age and importance of these buildings has been recognised by their inclusion in the Sutherland Square Conservation Area, to ensure their protection for years to come.