Latest news with #Lambeth
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Labour council ‘using socialist sledgehammer' to impose LTN
A Labour-run council has been accused of using a 'socialist sledgehammer' to establish a Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) without proper consultation. The Kennington Triangle LTN, planned to cover streets in both Lambeth and Southwark, has provoked anger from local representatives who say Lambeth council has not informed them of the decision. The dispute comes months after a judge ruled that the same council must scrap an LTN in West Dulwich, saying Lambeth council had ignored residents' 'legitimate concerns' about the zone. Metropolitan Tabernacle Baptist Church said the Kennington scheme would 'adversely affect' its long-standing work in support of elderly worshippers. The church also runs weekly youth activities for more than 400 children, bringing many of them door-to-door using minibuses. It said the incoming traffic restrictions would block vehicle access, and reduce the street parking needed for staff and their accessible transport. Neighbouring area 'ignored' by council Graham Neale, a Liberal Democrat councillor on Southwark council, said as many as 1,500 homes could be affected on the Southwark side, including two 40-floor tower blocks, but no effort was made to consult elected officials or service providers in the area. 'They've used this sort of socialist sledgehammer. It's just the wrong way of going about it,' he said. He described the process as 'a dog's breakfast', claiming Lambeth officials failed to name any Southwark contacts when asked, and had only engaged with stakeholders inside their own borough. 'They consulted Lambeth libraries, schools, community groups, but nobody in Southwark,' he said. 'Residents have seen Lambeth flyers and are bombarding me with questions.' The LTN has been championed by Cllr Rezina Chowdhury, Lambeth council's deputy leader, who was recently urged to resign after a judge ruled she had misled the High Court over the separate traffic scheme in West Dulwich. Mr Justice Smith ruled in May that the council had ignored residents' 'legitimate concerns' about the zone. It is the first time that an LTN, a zone where traffic is restricted in residential roads and fines are issued to unauthorised vehicles that enter the area, has been shut down by the courts. Campaigners from the West Dulwich Action Group said it set 'a powerful precedent' for residents locked in similar battles nationwide. A Southwark council spokesman said: 'We have worked closely with Lambeth Council to ensure residents in both boroughs have the opportunity to share their views. We will carefully review all responses once this initial engagement exercise is complete and will make a decision once we have weighed up all of the facts, ensuring it reflects the needs and concerns of local residents.' A Lambeth council spokesman said: 'We are committed to consulting with as many stakeholders as possible on these proposals to make local streets safer, cut harmful air pollution and improve people's health. 'That consultation is ongoing, we have distributed the engagement materials to people who live in Southwark, within the scheme area and beyond, to ensure people have a way of participating and provide their feedback. The proposals are still at formative stage and people have until July 7 to respond.''
The Guardian
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
London artworks celebrating Windrush generation restored after vandalism
Portraits celebrating the Windrush generation in the heart of Brixton have been restored after a vandalism attack led to a global outpouring of support. The Windrush Untold Stories exhibition, displayed in Windrush Square, features 20 portraits and recollections of people who arrived in the UK from the Caribbean in the postwar era. The exhibition, a joint project involving community groups, social enterprises and creatives, was launched at the Big Caribbean Lunch event celebrating Windrush Day on 22 June in Lambeth. But, in the early hours of 3 July, the portraits were slashed and daubed with green paint. News of the attack led to community groups involved in the exhibition receiving support from all over the world, said Ros Griffiths, the chair of Friends of Windrush Square, with about £5,000 donated to an online fundraiser at GoFundMe in a week. The fundraiser has not yet met the £15,000 target, which meant the restoration work was only possible with a loan, Griffiths said, but organisers were keen to see the exhibition restored quickly, and would keep the fundraiser open. Griffiths added: 'Even though we did not achieve our target, we still went ahead and restored the portraits on credit because the stories couldn't wait. But we still ask everyone to continue to support the campaign to reach our goal, because every contribution helps to honour the legacy of our generation with the dignity and visibility it deserves. 'The public's response was overwhelming. The exhibition went viral. Messages of solidarity poured in from across the UK and beyond, as far away as Tokyo, any way they could connect with us, they did – people who had never set foot in Brixton. This is a testament of power of truth, visibility and collective pride.' The exhibition, developed with groups including Friends of Windrush Square, Empathy Museum, Black Cultural Archives, Photofusion and Born or Made, had been due to end on 10 July, but has now been extended for another fortnight, with talks under way to move it to the Home Office. The equalities minister, Seema Malhotra, visited the scene this week. The exhibition features a portrait of Clovis Samuel, one of the oldest members of the Windrush generation, who died recently, which gave this year's Windrush Day celebrations an added poignancy. In a post on GoFundMe, Ed Errington, of Empathy Museum, said: 'This exhibition is more than just images. It's a proud and public celebration of the Windrush generation and their descendants – a space for collective memory, recognition, and resilience.' The Metropolitan police said they arrested a 24-year-old man on Saturday 5 July, on suspicion of vandalism, and that he was taken to hospital due to concerns for his welfare. He was further arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage and possessing articles with intent to destroy or damage property, although officers added that 'based on additional inquiries', they did not believe the incident is racially motivated, but are continuing to 'explore all possible motives.'
The Independent
06-07-2025
- The Independent
Man charged with murder after 85-year-old found dead in south London property
A man has been charged with murder after an 85-year-old was found dead at a property in south London. The Metropolitan Police said Amithraz Balgobin, 36, of Woodbourne Avenue, Lambeth, was charged with murder and possession of Class A and Class B drugs on Sunday. The London Ambulance Service called officers to an address in Streatham at around 1pm on Friday following reports that a man, 85, had suffered serious injuries. He was found with a number of injuries and pronounced dead at the scene in Churchmore Road, the Metropolitan Police said. Balgobin was arrested nearby and charged on Sunday, the force said. He was remanded in custody to appear at Bromley Magistrates' Court on Monday. The Met said: 'Despite the best efforts of emergency services, the man was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. 'A post-mortem examination will take place in due course. 'The victim's next of kin have been made aware and are being supported by specialist officers.'
BBC News
03-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Lambeth primary schools to merge as birth rates fall
Two Catholic schools in Lambeth, south London, are the latest schools in London to merge due to a drop in pupil numbers and falling birth September, St Bernadette Catholic Junior School will join into St Bede's Catholic Infant and Nursery School, on the St Bede's site, to create one primary school for ages 3-11. According to Lambeth Council, the past ten years have seen a drop of almost 30% in pupil numbers, the equivalent of 18 classes. Westminster City Council has recently approved two separate school mergers while in Southwark, eight schools have shut since 2022. It comes after Lambeth Council moved to close or amalgamate a number of schools in the borough to alleviate pressure on the council's currently receive funding from central government on a per-pupil basis so a decline in pupils mean reduced borough currently has 4,555 empty spaces across all primary schools."If we do nothing across these schools, the cumulative deficit position for them is expected to reach £17 million by March 2026," the council said as part of its consultation on changes. St Bede's and St Bernadette Catholic Schools already work in partnership, under the umbrella name The Federation, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).All pupils at St Bernadette's will be offered a place at the new school and all permanent staff on a federation contract will move to the new site. 'Greater financial security' Ewa Ostrynska, headteacher at St Bede's, said the majority of pupils and parents were "very excited" about the merger, and that staff already worked across both said the merger would allow the school community to "thrive", and that it would "strengthen spiritual partnership" with the church and headteacher added: "Of course it will ensure greater financial security for the schools and more stability for pupils, staff and the local community and potential cost savings as well."She added that the new school would allow the transition from nursery to primary to be "seamless" and SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) children would be supported all the way from aged 3 to Ostrynska added parents would benefit from bringing their children to one site rather than travelling to separate locations, and that staff would benefit from opportunities such as gaining more experience and Kind, cabinet member for children, young people and families, said the merger was about "acting pro-actively and responsibly" to create an all-through primary school which would "preserve Catholic education locally".
The Independent
27-06-2025
- The Independent
Justin Welby says review that led to resignation as archbishop was partly wrong
Justin Welby, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has publicly challenged the findings of an independent review that led to his resignation, asserting it was "wrong" in its conclusion that he could have reported prolific abuser John Smyth sooner. Mr Welby, who officially stepped down in early January after resigning in November last year, faced scrutiny from a review led by Keith Makin. This independent inquiry concluded that he "had not done enough to deal with allegations of abuse by Christian camp leader Smyth". The report said Smyth 'could and should have been formally reported to the police in the UK, and to authorities in South Africa (church authorities and potentially the police) by church officers, including a diocesan bishop and Justin Welby in 2013'. During an interview which took place at the Cambridge Union in May, Mr Welby denied having learned the full extent of Smyth's abuse until 2017. 'Makin is wrong in that,' Mr Welby said during the event. 'Not deliberately, but he didn't see a bit of evidence that subsequently came out after his report and after my resignation. 'The bit of evidence was his emails from Lambeth to Ely and from Ely letters to South Africa, where Smyth was living, and letters to the police in which the reporting was fully given to the police, and the police asked the church not to carry out its own investigations because it would interfere with theirs. 'Now I had checked, and I was told the police had been informed.' Over five decades between the 1970s until his death, John Smyth is said to have subjected as many as 130 boys and young men in the UK and Africa to traumatic physical, sexual, psychological and spiritual attacks, permanently marking their lives. Smyth died aged 75 in Cape Town in 2018 while under investigation by Hampshire Police, and was 'never brought to justice for the abuse', the Makin Review said. Asked at the event why he did not report John Smyth in 2013 when he first heard of allegations made against him, Mr Welby said: 'First of all, I first knew of John Smyth's abuse in 2013 at the beginning of August, when one person in Cambridge disclosed to the diocesan safeguarding advisor that they had been abused. 'A few days later, I had a report through my chaplain who had been rung up from the Diocese of Ely, which Cambridge is in, saying … there was an allegation of abuse by one person. 'I didn't know the full details of the abuse until 2017 – that is clearly in the report … 'And it wasn't until about 2021, in a meeting with Keith Makin, that I discovered there were more than 100 people who had been physically abused. 'I disagree with the report on that … it's not truth. 'Secondly, I certainly didn't know about anything in Zimbabwe for the same period, and that emerged steadily as well.' Mr Welby added that, in 2013, he only knew of one person alleging they had been abused by Smyth, and that he was in the midst of dealing with other prominent cases of sexual abuse within the Church. Mr Welby said: 'I was dealing at the time with Peter Ball, the bishop of Gloucester, where we knew there were at least 30 victims, and he was going to prison, obviously, and one of those victims had committed suicide. 'That was among many cases that were coming out, and they were obviously getting my attention. 'I was focusing my attention on making sure it didn't happen again. 'I don't apologise for that. 'The worst of all possible things would have been to say, we're not going to change the system sufficiently to reduce the chances of such appalling events with such lifelong damage to survivors happening again.' The former archbishop, however, acknowledged he was 'insufficiently persistent' in bringing Smyth to justice while he was still alive – which ultimately compelled him to step down from his role as archbishop of Canterbury. Mr Welby also said he was seeing a psychotherapist with whom he has been discussing the time of his resignation, which he described as 'one of the loneliest moments I've ever had'. Asked about what he would have done differently, Mr Welby replied: 'I have thought a great deal about that. 'One must be very careful about making it sound as though it was all about me. It's really not. 'There will be people here who've been abused, who are the victims of abuse, sexual abuse, or physical abuse, emotional abuse, and I've been very open that I'm one of them, so I'm aware of what it means. 'There were two reasons it was right to resign. 'One was, although I thought I had done at the time everything I should have done, I hadn't. 'It had been reported to the police, the first signs of the abuse … and it was reported to Cambridgeshire Police and then to Hampshire Police, where he (Smyth) lived at the time. 'But I was insufficiently persistent and curious to follow up and check and check and check that action was being taken. 'And I felt that that had re-traumatised the survivors.' Mr Welby added: 'The other point was shame, because in my role, it wasn't only the Smyth case (in) the whole time I've been in post as archbishop for 12 years. 'There were more and more cases (that) emerged, very few from the present day, but going right back to the 60s and the 70s – 50, 60 years. 'And I'm sure we have not uncovered all of them, and I'm sure it goes further back than that. 'And there's one area the psychotherapist I have been seeing has helped me understand better, is: one develops an idealisation of an organisation, particularly the Church, and the sense of its failure made me feel that the only proper thing to do was to take responsibility as the current head of that organisation. 'It's one of the loneliest moments I've ever had, the reverberations of that I still feel. 'But I can persuade myself I could have done other things. I could have taken on the interviewers more strongly.' The process to replace Mr Welby is under way. It is expected there could be an announcement on a nomination for the 106th archbishop of Canterbury by autumn – a year after Mr Welby announced he was standing down.
