Brixton news, rumour and general chat - January 2015

[ricbake]

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly and completely these discussions get waylaid into bullshit

We've been here before...........
But hey - maybe I'm wrong. Go and ask them. See what they say.

So go and talk to them.
You won't get away with bullying them into it. You will need to cooperate to get what you want. And they will want to deal with someone who has control, can make decisions and will /can take responsibility for making sure that whatever is agreed to will be adhered to.

It's even firewalled on my work PC (by me). 15mins max per day, along with facebook, guardian and twitter!

Must be nearly 15 minutes....
What is the point of continually obscuring the message because of your personal issues with the way it is being delivered

The Council is now "Cooperative" - they are embracing everyone who says they will help do their job for them

 

[editor]

All that needs to happen is for the Lambeth planning portal to be bang up to date and a little easier to use. Plus the more visible local notices, as suggested by Rushy.

Lambeth's entire website was recently updated at a cost of £fucknows. I doubt if it's going to get any better anytime soon.

 

[Crispy]

All that needs to happen is for the Lambeth planning portal to be bang up to date and a little easier to use.

Unlikely to happen. It's the same shitty 3rd party system as used by dozens of other councils and I imagine they're well and truly locked into it.

 

[ricbake]

I think the Planning Portal lacks any consistent search tags or formats for entering building names or street numbers, also many larger buildings and big developments span more than one postcode - the planning officers probably haven't been given much help on that side of the IT

 

[Crispy]

The Map Search is actually the best way to track down applications for a specific site, but it's incredibly slow and has a terrible interface

 

[Rushy]

Must be nearly 15 minutes....
What is the point of continually obscuring the message because of your personal issues with the way it is being delivered

The Council is now "Cooperative" - they are embracing everyone who says they will help do their job for them

You keep saying help. The point is, Lambeth will need to be convinced this will help them. Whilst I know that there are those in the council who have respect for this site, even many of those largely regard it as something to be engaged with at arm's length. Not a reliable partner for helping them carry out their duties. Lambeth have no obligation to advertise their planning consulting more widely than they are currently doing and partnering up with Urban could reasonably be expected to risk bringing more problems than it solves. These are valid concerns which Urban needs to confront if they want to be more involved at an official level. Even if it is for the "public good", it is Urban who is calling for this. If U75 does not even have anyone willing to say they are in charge and able to manage a relationship, whatever it may be, Lambeth would be daft to get involved.

None of this stops U75 setting up the planning sub forums mentioned and highlighting particular applications. It's a good idea. The info is all freely out there. Even if Lambeth did provide a feed, someone would need to read it. The only difference would be that no one would have to step outside Urban to do it.

Urban is sometimes a great tool for publicising things and exerting pressure. It is not IMO a credible partner for providing council services. And, to be honest, I can't see why it would want to.

As for 15 minutes - I have a phone, smarty pants.

 

[editor]

You keep saying help. The point is, Lambeth will need to be convinced this will help them. Whilst I know that there are those in the council who have respect for this site, even many of those largely regard it as something to be engaged with at arm's length. Not a reliable partner for helping them carry out their duties. Lambeth have no obligation to advertise their planning consulting more widely than they are currently doing and partnering up with Urban could reasonably be expected to risk bringing more problems than it solves. These are valid concerns which Urban needs to confront if they want to be more involved at an official level. Even if it is for the "public good", it is Urban who is calling for this. If U75 does not even have anyone willing to say they are in charge and able to manage a relationship, whatever it may be, Lambeth would be daft to get involved.

None of this stops U75 setting up the planning sub forums mentioned and highlighting particular applications. It's a good idea. The info is all freely out there. Even if Lambeth did provide a feed, someone would need to read it. The only difference would be that no one would have to step outside Urban to do it.

Urban is sometimes a great tool for publicising things and exerting pressure. It is not IMO a credible partner for providing council services. And, to be honest, I can't see why it would want to.

As for 15 minutes - I have a phone, smarty pants.

I'm not sure what ongoing partnerships/relationships/management/people in charge/engagement would be required if a planning sub-forum feed was established. All I see is an opportunity to get a lot more people informed and involved in planning applications in their area - and that would seem to sit very agreeably with Lambeth's stated co-operative aims.

 

[Rushy]

I'm not sure what ongoing partnerships/relationships/management/people in charge/engagement would be required if a planning sub-forum feed was established. All I see is an opportunity to get a lot more people informed and involved in planning applications in their area - and that would seem to sit very agreeably with Lambeth's stated co-operative aims.

So propose it too them. End of.

 

[teuchter]

That is, of course, a pack of silly lies.

But feel free to back it up by furnishing the forum with some examples of any Brixton-related posts of yours that have been edited, deleted or "shut down" please? Or any discussions by anyone else in this forum that have been closed down by me because "I don't like it". URLs please. Thanks.

Oh, and post it in the feedback forum please. I don't want this thread trashed with your beef.

Trying to keep this concise for the sake of other readers:

1) I have in the past been instructed by you not to reply to any of your posts, or mention or refer to you in any form, on threat of a ban. This was by an official "warning" PM so I can't post a link. Do you deny this? I understand I'm not the only one who's been in this situation.

2) Your response in this instance (ie. your post quoted above) is an example. A comment was made, in context of discussion of Brixton planning application notifications, that Lambeth Council would be unlikely to make u75 an official partner because of the ownership of this site and the way this affects its content and partiality. You made a statement that "everyone is free to post their opinions on Brixton matters". Reacting specifically to that statement, and therefore continuing to be entirely relevant to the conversation that you were yourself engaging in, I disagreed. Your response? Dismissing the entire thing as "beef" and instructing me to make my reply and provide my evidence in the feedback forum where it can be conveniently ignored, instead of on this thread, the location of your claim that I was responding to.

SpamMisery has said above he often refrains from commenting on this thread because of the way you are likely to respond. So do other people hold back from posting. So do I, quite often, believe it or not. I know of several people who don't even read this thread any more for the same reason. These are facts very relevant to the question of how "free" people are, in practice, to share their opinions.

This is your site, your considerable skills have been instrumental in raising it to the prominence it has, you put a lot of your time into it for free, it is a vehicle for many very positive things, it has enriched my experience of living in the area in many ways, and it allows freer and more informative discussion than is possible in many other arenas. You obviously have a genuine care for Brixton and what goes on it, and plenty of the interests you have, I share. But, the fact that you have ultimate control over this site (and more recently Brixton Buzz, which is heavily promoted by links on this thread) means that you have a massively disproportianate ability to publicise your views and favoured issues compared to any other poster. You have to accept and recognise that as the inevitable consequence of being in the position that you are.

Have I wasted 20 minutes of my life typing this all out? Probably.

 

[editor]

Trying to keep this concise for the sake of other readers.

Take it to the feedback forum please, as instructed. It is the appropriate forum for such discussions and your complaints will be seen by all the mods, many of whom will be familiar with the background to this.

 

[Rushy]

 

[editor]

So propose it too them. End of.

Already done.

 

[editor]

The feedback forum is the appropriate place for such discussions. It's what it was set up and I've invited him to have a conversation there. So why the facepalm?

 

[teuchter]

Take it to the feedback forum please, as instructed. It is the appropriate forum for such discussions and your complaints will be seen by all the mods, many of whom will be familiar with the background to this.

Reasons I haven't done this are explained in my post. Plus, the last time I did it as requested, you refused to engage with the actual request being made, and the thread was closed by another mod with the word "yawn".

 

[editor]

Reasons I haven't done this are explained in my post. Plus, the last time I did it as requested, you refused to engage with the actual request being made, and the thread was closed by another mod with the word "yawn".

Thank you for highlighting that thread. I hope people take the time to read the responses from a wide range of regular posters on that thread and make up their own minds about your conduct and agenda here. I do not intend to discuss this any further in the Brixton forum.

 

[editor]

I won't be holding my breath on a reply from Lambeth planning then:

Thank you for your email. We aim to respond to all enquiries within 10 working days, though often we will be quicker.

So anything up to 2 weeks.

 

[editor]

It's now up to 140 public comments, all objections as far as I can see. I wonder if this is something of a recent record for the site?
It's encouraging to see so many people prepared to go through the sign up process to register their opinion too.

 

[Rushy]

You are guaranteed not to get anywhere with a specialist enquiry through the main town planning customer services mail. You need to identify someone in policy and write directly to them. I would start by approaching

• Customer service and engagement: Councillor Marcia Cameron - Putting the customer at the heart of council services and improving standards of customer care; increasing public participation in council decision-making, local democracy and reaching out to different communities across the borough

 

[editor]

You are guaranteed not to get anywhere with a specialist enquiry through the main town planning customer services mail. You need to identify someone in policy and write directly to them. I would start by approaching

• Customer service and engagement: Councillor Marcia Cameron - Putting the customer at the heart of council services and improving standards of customer care; increasing public participation in council decision-making, local democracy and reaching out to different communities across the borough

I definitely want to be at the heart of council services so have emailed her. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[editor]

Looks like the Standard will be running a feature on this on Thursday. I told them about the billboard covering Woolies too.

 

[editor]

Now at 165 objections with Picturehouse adding theirs.

 

[ViolentPanda]

All that needs to happen is for the Lambeth planning portal to be bang up to date and a little easier to use. Plus the more visible local notices, as suggested by Rushy.

The notices are supposed to be placed for maximum visibility, which means that Lambeth either employ fuckwits who don't give a damn (entirely possible), or employ people who deliberately place the notices for less-than-maximum visibility (also entirely possible).

 

[ricbake]

Doesn't give much notice then. I've done my duty now, so there is at least 1 public comment!

Brilliant! - you really started something there! 181 objections and rising

 

[editor]

The Evening Standard have gone ahead with the feature but, being the shitty Standard, omitted to cite their source.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/lond...building-in-brixton-town-centre-10003309.html

 

[Rushy]

Why is there an assumption from Hopkins that this will go to committee? Surely Lambeth Planning can just turn it down under delegated powers? I may be incorrect but I thought it only went to committee if they were recommending approval of something potentially controversial, usually with objections.

 

[editor]

I'm beginning to wonder if a bit of a precedent may have been set with the awful Coors Christmas Bar - i.e. wave enough books-balancing wad about and you can put up any old corporate shit.

 

[CH1]

Why is there an assumption from Hopkins that this will go to committee? Surely Lambeth Planning can just turn it down under delegated powers? I may be incorrect but I thought it only went to committee if they were recommending approval of something potentially controversial, usually with objections.

I completely agree (unusually).
The only rider is this - they also sent things to committee if they are going to refuse, but expect an appeal (e.g. Tescos). Or that is how it used to be.

 

[Rushy]

I completely agree (unusually).
The only rider is this - they also sent things to committee if they are going to refuse, but expect an appeal (e.g. Tescos). Or that is how it used to be.

I imagine an appeal would be raised just because they can. But I can't see that it would have legs. It's a conservation area ffs!

 

[CH1]

I'm beginning to wonder if a bit of a precedent may have been set with the awful Coors Christmas Bar - i.e. wave enough books-balancing wad about and you can put up any old corporate shit.

Coors were paying the council, but the ad would have been paying Golfrate.
Where we need to worry is if Diane Morris & co find Times Square an attractive model for added local vibrancy.

 

[friendofdorothy]

I could think of an easy way: a new sub forum is set up here for Lambeth to post up major planning applications*. It would have to be read-only otherwise people may assume that commenting on it here will count as an objection.

If a subsequent discussion breaks out in the main Brixton forum, I could add a link to it from the application post.

End result: more people hear about the planning proposals and more discussions take place. Co-op-tastic!

*I understand that this could be open to interpretation

I'm interested in big developments and changes to the town centre - I don't want to hear about every house extension. It would be horrible if U75 became any sort of Lambeth council 'portal' as someone said above.