improving Streatham Vale Park

One of the regular working group meetings this morning, monitoring the regeneration of Streatham Vale Park and chaired in no nonsense style by Keith Hill MP. Disbelief all round that the bowling pavilion has again been seriously vandalised, the immediate consequence being it was impossible to use it for our meeting.

Instead, we found a shady spot under a tree nearby and talked through progress, the main plank of which was the transfer of a pesky little strip of land at the edge of the park from Lambeth Housing to Lambeth Parks. The transfer is a saga which has been going on since I have been attending the meetings. My first duty as an elected councillor on 21 October 2005 was attending one of these meetings, and we are still discussing many of the same issues.

Hopefully, now that the bureaucratic transfer of the land from one part of the council to another has been accomplished (this piece of history was made at 8.30pm last night) we can now see the creation of a masterplan for the park. I am relieved that my ward colleague Cllr John Kazantzis (Cabinet Member for Housing) and Cabinet Member for Environment Lib Peck, urged on by me and my other ward colleague Dave Malley, have pinned the issue down to conclusion.

Being in a suit, Keith stood up throughout the meeting, while a circle of the regulars – councillors, council officers, the Friends of Streatham Vale Park - sat round him on the parched grass. Leah, the Streatham town centre manager, pointed out to me with one of her mischievous smiles that I was learning at the feet of a master.

3 Comments »

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Marc Fortuna said,
Sherwood Avenue

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 - 2:58 PM

It's good to see that finally an ellected council is working for Streatham because usually all the efforts from Lambeth is placed in brixton. I am glad I voted for you and I want to thank you for being a leader and for really representing Streatham voters.

Mark Bennett said,
Streatham

Tue, 25 Jul 2006 - 6:19 PM

Thanks for the suggestions, Richard. It may be that the pavilion could have several uses. There is already a 1 o'clock club in the park, but it would be nice to see a facility for pensioners, perhaps a cafe, and a library would be a welcome addition - bringing people into the park and its lovely environment to enjoy it in a variety of ways. The more people who use the park, the safer it will feel and the fewer opportunities for vandals.

I actually raised the idea of library use to the appropriate council officer yesterday, and it appeared that it was something which had not previously been thought of.

Richard Rickitt said,
Streatham Vale

Tue, 25 Jul 2006 - 12:55 PM

Thank you for taking interest in our local park.

The re-surfacing of the tennis courts has already helped to bring new life into this under-used corner of the park - I have already seen several groups playing tennis there for the first time in years.

Sorry to hear about the mindless vandalism in the Pavillion - perhaps not surprising given its currently abandoned state. Hopefully you will find new ways to turn this building into a great resource at the heart of the immediate community - much as it was when being used by the bowls club.

Could the bowling be re-started? How about a pensioner's club, playgroup or local library?

Keep up the good work!