I was at the Patrolling the Streets Scrutiny Commission tonight giving an update on the introduction of the 22 new Police Community Support Officers we as a Labour council have invested in. I have a feeling the Commission was supposed to report its findings at the beginning of the year, but here we are in May. Could this have anything to do with it being chaired by a Lib Dem?
Anyway, I was followed in the hotseat (bear in mind this was hardly the Spanish Inquisition) by Cllr Jackie Meldrum, the Deputy Leader, who was answering questions about our plans for greater community engagement.
Jackie prefaced her remarks by expressing her views on the literally hundreds of council staff who patrol Lambeth streets, from highways engineers to refuse collectors.
She then went slightly off the page, and I was unable to force back giggles, when she told the assembled councillors, officers and single member of the public that: "I'm very interested in stench pipes."
I may have giggled at the sudden remark, but there is a seriousness to the situation, both in terms of sanitation and conservation. She was referring to the 158 stench pipes there are (apparently) dotted around Lambeth, only about six of which the council and Thames Water actually know the location of.
So I'm publishing a picture to give a general indication, in case anyone bumps into one (not literally I hope). They are taller than lamp posts, Victorian in design and probably looking a bit the worse for wear since they have been forgotten about. So support your local stench pipe, if you can find it first.
2 comments:
Mark, I can't believe I'm doing this! There's one of these at the top of St Julian's Farm Road.
What on earth are 'stench pipes'? I must be alot younger than you, Mark, because I have no knowledge or recollection of them. Are they where Lib Dem Focus leaflets end up?
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