Bexley Bulletin
10 October 2008
Mayor of London visits Bexley to Celebrate Bexley's third new Leisure Centre
The London Borough of Bexley welcomed the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to the borough this week (Wednesday 8 October).
The Mayor held his monthly press conference in Bexleyheath and went on to officially open the new Sidcup Leisure Centre in Hurst Road, Sidcup.
Mr Johnson was the guest of the Mayor of Bexley, Cllr Nick O'Hare, Cllr Teresa O'Neill, the Leader of the London Borough of Bexley and Andrew Holt, the MD of Parkwood Leisure, who manage the centre.
Council Business
Digest of Decisions
Transportation and Traffic - Consideration of future options for the provision of Professional Engineering Services and Traffic Count Surveys
Decision reference – ETR 37/08-09
Ward – Borough-wide
Decision – To authorise the Assistant Director of Environment and Regeneration Services (Strategic Planning and Regeneration) to undertake a competitive tender exercise and award two new contracts, following OJEU procedures, Option (1).
Taken by - Councillor Peter Craske, Cabinet Member (Transport)
Date of decision –7 October 2008
Last date for call-in – 17 October 2008
Contact officer – Andrew Sims, 020 8308 7792, andrew.sims@bexley.gov.uk
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Calendar of Meetings – 29 September -10 October 2008
Unless otherwise stated, all meetings will take place at Bexley Civic
Offices, Broadway, Bexleyheath commencing at 7.30pm
13 October – Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee
14 October – Public Cabinet
15 October – Licensing Sub Committee (7pm)
15 October – Regeneration and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee
16 October – Conservation Advisory Committee
16 October – Employee Appeal Panel (6pm) #
21 October – Licensing Sub Committee (10am)
21 October – Community Affairs Overview and Scrutiny Committee
22 October – Licensing Committee
23 October – Occupational Health and Safety Joint Advisory Committee
23 October – Finance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee
24 October – Joint Health Scrutiny Committee (10am, London Borough of Islington)
# Press and public are likely to be excluded for the majority of business to be conducted.
Other Meetings
27 October - All Member Briefing re Bexleyheath NightVision Strategy (7.30pm) *
28 October – All Member Briefing re Modern Gov (7pm) *
* Closed to Press and Public
Period of Notice for Deputations, Petitions, Questions, Motions and Items for Debate
Members are reminded of the provisions in the Council’s protocol for dealing with deputations and in Standing Orders 21, 22 and 23 in respect of the period of notice to be given for deputations, petitions, questions, motions and items for debate at Council Meetings. Under these provisions, any Member who wishes to request the Council to receive a deputation, present a petition, ask a formal question, submit a motion (other than a motion which under Standing Order 25 may be moved without notice), or raise an item for debate must give seven clear working days’ notice to the Management Secretary.
This means that for the Council Meeting on 5 November 2008 written notice of these items must be
delivered to the office of the Management Secretary by midnight on Friday 24 October 2008. Standing Order 21 also provides an opportunity for electors to ask a question at Council Meetings and the period of notice to be given to the Management Secretary is the same as that for Members – seven clear working days.
Agenda Information –13–24 October
Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee –
13 October
Contact officer: Louise Peek 020 8294 6154
- Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report
- Healthcare for London – Next Steps
- Reality Checking Visits
- LINks Update
- Care Partners Trust
- Transforming Adult Social Care Scrutiny Sub-Group – Update
- Links Between Organisational Review and the Social and Community Services Change Programme – Verbal Update
- NHS Constitution – Department of Health Consultation
- Workplan of the Committee
Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee –
13 October
Contact officer: Kevin Fox 020 8294 6912
- Medium Term Plans 2009/10 – 2011/12
- London Borough of Bexley Quarterly Performance Monitoring Report
- Food Law Enforcement – Service Delivery Plan 2008/09
- Bexley First Programme
Regeneration and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee –
15 October
Contact officer: Louise Peek 020 8294 9154
- Transforming Transport Regeneration in Bexley Sub Group Report - Initial Response
- Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report
- Bringing Empty Homes Into Use
- Housing Options and Homelessness Scrutiny Sub Group – background presentation
- Quarterly Monitoring Statement
- Work plan of the Committee
Community Affairs Overview and Scrutiny Committee – 21 October
Contact officer: Shanie Dengate 020 8294 6999
- Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report
- Reality Checking Visits
- Bell and CCTV Tendering Process – Update
- Street Briefings
- Safer Neighbourhood Newsletters
- Quarterly Monitoring Statement
- Work plan of the Committee
Licensing Committee – 22 October
Contact officer: Nicola Jacobs 020 8294 6050
- Animal Welfare Fees
- Licensing Act 2003 – Licences Granted Under Delegated Powers and Appeal Activity
- Gambling Act 2005 - Update
Finance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee –
23 October
Contact officer: Louise Peek 020 8294 6154
- Business Continuity – Bexley First and the Staff Decant
- Registrar’s Service Cabinet Advisory Group – Update
- Council Tax Review – Update
- Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report
- Workplan of the Committee
Advance Agenda Information – 27 -31 October
Planning Control Committee – 30 October
Contact officer: Ceri Yates 020 8294 6896
- Town Planning Applications
- Delegated Planning Applications
- Town Planning Appeals Decisions
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Tender advertisements
Where the Council does not maintain an approved list to use for tendering it will advertise for applicants, drawing up a list of firms to whom tenders will be issued. In this case the contract notice or advertisement will state what is required from the potential tenderers.
The current tender advertisements are available at - http://www.bexley.gov.uk/eproc/tender.html
For more information contact the Procurement Team on 020 8294 6420 or email procurement.strategic@ bexley.gov.uk
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Forward Plan
The Forward Plan is published monthly and sets out the key decisions that the Cabinet expects to make or recommend to the Council in the next four months.
Edition 89 of the Forward Plan covers the period October – January 2009 and is available here.
Information Digest
2008 Green Guardian awards
The final entry date for the  2008 Green Guardian Awards is now only one week away.
The awards are open to anyone who lives, works or studies in the boroughs of Bromley, Bexley, Lewisham or Greenwich.
This year judges will be particularly looking at what new environmental activity entrants have engaged in during 2007/8. The aim is to provide a level playing field for those who have recently begun to go green and those who have been environmentally active for many years.
The awards categories are:
- Green School - Primary and Junior
- Green School - Secondary
- Green Household
- Green Business
- Green Project or Group
- Young Environmentalist
- Green Building
- Green Champion
Please submit your entries by Friday 17 October either by post or by email to ggawards@newsshopper.co.uk
London Borough of Bexley is one of the sponsors of the ground-breaking Green Guardian initiative.
Planning Obligations Guidance Published
The London Borough of Bexley has now published its Planning Obligations Guidance Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).
The SPD, together with its accompanying Sustainability Appraisal Report, form part of the Local Development Framework, with the SPD being a major consideration for the Council when considering planning applications.
Planning Obligations (also known as Section 106 Agreements) can be sought in addition to any necessary planning conditions attached to a planning permission. These contributions might include affordable new homes, new open space, school places, employment training schemes, or health and sports facilities. The developer will either provide these facilities directly or make payments to the Council for them to be provided. Contributions may be required before the local planning authority grants planning permission.
The Council consulted widely on the draft SPD earlier this year.
The SPD and more information about planning obligations, including a calculator to give developers an idea about the likely level of contributions the Council will expect from planning obligations, are available on the Council's website at www.bexley.gov.uk/service/planning/planning_obs_guidance.html
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News
News Releases
All Council news releases are available on the Council's website at www.bexley.gov.uk/news/news.html Alternatively email communications@bexley.gov.uk
6 October - A happy Halloween for the whole community
9 October - Alleygate puts residents in control
9 October - Two Mayors join forces to celebrate Bexley's third new Leisure Centre
10 October - Bexley has no deposits with Icelandic banks
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Licensing Applications
To view the Current applications made under the new licensing regime (the Licensing Act 2003) visit
www.bexley.gov.uk/service/licensing/currentapplications.html
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Community Information
MPs' surgeries
David Evennett MP (Bexleyheath & Crayford)
Surgery: First and third Friday of each month (except August) -
- First Friday 4.30-6.30pm, at 17 Church Road, Bexleyheath
- Third Friday 5-7pm, at Crayford Town Hall
To contact David Evennett write to: House of Commons, Westminster, SW1A 0AA,
e-mail evennettd@parliament.uk,
call 020 7219 8403 (House of Commons) or 020
8303 4695 (Local
Office) or visit www.davidevennett.org.uk
John Austin MP (Erith & Thamesmead)
John Austin MP holds regular advice surgeries at Erith and Thamesmead and his staff hold advice sessions during the week by prior appointment.
To contact John Austin write to: John Austin MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA, call 020 7219 5195, fax, 020 7219 2706, e-mail austinj@parliament.uk or visit his website at www.epolitix.com/john-austin
Derek Conway MP (Old Bexley & Sidcup)
If you wish to contact Derek Conway MP for Old Bexley & Sidcup please
write to him at the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA or email to conwayd@parliament.uk
AMs' surgeries
London Assembly Member – James Cleverly AM
To contact James Cleverly write to: James Cleverly AM, Greater London Authority, City Hall, The Queen's Walk, London SE1 2AA or call: 020 7983 4354 (City Hall), fax: 020 7983 4419, or
e-mail: james.cleverly@london.gov.uk
Community News
Bexley Multi Faith Forum
Bexley Multi Faith Forum are holding a seminar on faith and food on Saturday 11 October from 2pm to 5pm at Pincott Hall, Christ Church, Bexleyheath DA6 7BT.
Speakers who will be attending the event include Rev Francis Jakeman, Vicar Christ Church,
Cllr Sharon Massey, Cabinet Member for Health and Older People, Mr Lux Ananarajah, Director BCRE, Mrs Faozia Rashd, Mrs Vidya Misra, Mrs Davinder Kaur Babraa, Dr F Rashid and a speaker from Bexley Care Trust.
There will be a questions and answer session and light refreshments will be available.
For further information contact Professor Harbhajan Singh, 020 8316 7746 or 07961 463248.
Traditional Chestnut fencing repair
Lesnes Abbey Conservation Volunteers (LACV) need help with a traditional wooden chestnut fence repair task in Abbey Wood. The task will be held on the Sunday 12 October and will start at the information centre near Lesnes Abbey at noon, finishing at 3.30pm.
The task will involve learning how to restore traditional fencing which protects important wildflower enclosures. The wildflower enclosures have been designated as a site of special scientific interest, due to the site's underlying geology. Lesnes Abbey woods has one of the best displays of wild daffodils which can be seen, and the fence protects this for future generations.
LACV will provide all the tools, safety equipment and hot drinks, volunteers should provide a packed lunch. Anyone is welcome to attend these free events, children under 16 should be accompanied by a responsible adult. Please wear suitable clothing and sturdy shoes or boots, also please ensure your tetanus inoculation is up to date.
All ages and abilities are welcome. To find out more about this and other free Lesnes Abbey Conservation events phone 020 8317 3748 or visit www.lacv.btik.com.
Blackfen Forum
The next meeting of the Blackfen Forum will take place at 7.30pm on Wednesday 15 October at Our Lady of the Rosary Church Hall, 330A Burnt Oak Lane, Blackfen.
Local Ward Councillors and members of the Police Safer Neighbourhood Teams have been invited to attend.
The meeting is open to all residents together with representatives of local businesses and voluntary organisations in the Blackfen area to express their views and discuss any issues of local interest.
Further information may be obtained from the secretary, George Murrell 0208 850 2046.
Grass Roots Soccer Schools
Grass Roots Soccer Schools are running ten courses during the October half-term throughout Kent and Surrey in association with Arsenal Football Club. The courses are for boys and girls aged 5–14 years old, regardless of ability.
For more information visit www.grassrootssoccerschools.co.uk or call 01474 874 937 between
9am–5pm Monday to Friday.
Christ Church Bexleyheath
On Saturday 18 October at 7.30pm, theatre organist, Chris Jones will be performing at an event to raise funds at Christ Church. Tickets £6.50, refreshments available.
Exhibition of photographs and memories from Crayford, Barnehurst and Slade Green
Crayford Town Archive Group is arranging an exhibition of photographs and memories from Crayford, Barnehurst and Slade Green in the hall above Crayford Library, 110 Crayford Road, Crayford, DA1 4ER on Tuesday 21 October from 10am to 4pm.
There will also be displays and slide shows. Staff will be on hand throughout the day to answer any questions. Admission Free
Celebrity opening for birthing unit
Queen Mary's midwifery led birth centre will be officially re-opened by Dr Miriam Stoppard on
15 October. Dr Stoppard is a medical doctor and has been a well known figure since the 1970s, when she began her writing and broadcasting career.
In a recent 'naming' competition, the unit was given the name 'Queen Mary birth centre' as suggested
by Claire Hunter of Sidcup. She will be invited to the official opening and will see the name she has chosen above the door.
The Queen Mary birth centre is a midwife-led service, which offers a relaxed, home-from-home environment where women who have experienced normal pregnancies and are in normal labour can give birth. The centre sits alongside the QMS delivery suite at the hospital in Sidcup.
The re-opening of the centre heralds a change in the way maternity care is provided in Bexley. The new model has been designed in keeping with recognised best practice, and aims to give much more equitable access to quality maternity care throughout the whole of the borough. To provide mothers-to-be with better continuity in their care, midwives will move out of GPs surgeries and into ten children's centres throughout the borough. This will mean longer appointment slots, and crucially, that mum will have the opportunity to already know the midwife who attends her birth.
Mums-to-be with no existing health conditions will be able to choose a midwife-led birth, having all of their ante-natal checks and blood tests in their local children's centre with a midwife that they know.
The midwives will work in small teams of around seven to ten, and each mum-to-be will meet all of the midwives in her group in the run up to the birth. A midwife from every group practice is on-call day and night. When mum goes into labour, her on-call midwife will bring her into Queen Mary's birthing unit, attend her birth and then visit her at home afterward.
The centres will also have drop-in sessions, where women can get easy access to a midwife to answer those all important queries on trying to get pregnant, or what to do when you find out that you are.
Each team will have a dedicated midwife specialising in smoking cessation advice, infant nutrition, domestic violence and other key topics.
Midwives will retain their links with local GPs, each GP will have a dedicated midwife to answer queries and attend surgery meetings to keep the surgery team up-to-date.
The staff are delighted at the news of the official opening as well as looking forward to welcoming seven newly appointed midwives to their team. "We are so happy to be offering mums-to-be the choice of a midwife-led birth in a comfortable environment," says Astrid Osbourne, head of midwifery at QMS.
Open space event hailed as huge success by leading companies!
Innovative training company Leaps and Bounds held their very first open space event at The Thames Innovation Centre in the London Borough of Bexley. The event was attended by representatives from
across the call centre industry including leading companies; Nationwide and Scottish and Southern Energy!
The Thames Innovation Centre was chosen by Leaps and Bounds as the perfect venue for their open space event. The event encouraged a varied array of people from the call centre industry to take part in discussion, debate, sessions and tasks. To share their thoughts, ideas and experiences with people with similar interests.
Founder of Leaps and Bounds and organiser of the open space event Caroline Esterson said: “As soon as I went and visited the Thames Innovation Centre I knew that it had to be held there, it is such a fantastic space and I was really taken by the fact that it is eco-friendly too!
“It was just a fantastic bonus that the centre is superbly positioned in Erith, which offers access to Central London and is close to the railway stations and the airport so that all of the attendees travelling from all over the country could get there easily.
“You can imagine my delight when The Thames Innovation Centre agreed to sponsor the open event. It really was a fantastic event, in such an inspirational setting.”
Everyone that attended the event have been asking when the next event will be, so watch this space as the Thames Innovation Centre may become a regular home for creative thinking!
For more information about the Thames Innovation Centre visit www.thamesinnovationcentre.com or if you would like to see pictures or more information about the event visit www.moreforless2008.com.
Parents morning
A parents’ information morning will be held on Wednesday 22 October from 10am to 12pm at
St Augustine’s Children’s Centre, St Augustine’s Road, Belvedere DA17 5HP, for families who live in Belvedere, Erith and Thamesmead who have children under five.
Topics that will be discussed will be; Job Centre Plus(works and benefits), Family Information Service (general information), Adult Education(training), childcare advice and parenting skills.
Refreshments will be available and playtime for the children. Parents are responsible for their children at all times, but facilities and staff will be there to provide play opportunities.
Erith and the River Thames
Ken Chamberlain, a local historian, will be giving an illustrated talk about Erith and the River Thames on Friday 24 October, starting at 7.30pm at North Heath Library, Mill Road, Northumberland Heath.
Ken Chamberlain will be illustrating these influences and changes, highlighting the impact of the River Thames which continues to this day. Tickets costing £2 are available in advance from the staff at North Heath Library, Mill Road. For further details 020 8303 7777.
Further details of the talk can be obtained from John Grosvenor, Local Studies Librarian, Bexley Local Studies and Archive Centre, Townley Road, Bexleyheath DA6 7HJ. 020 8836 7369. Email john.grosvenor@bexley.gov.uk.
Are you a budding Picasso or Monet?
The Arts Council of Bexley are inviting artists to submit up to three pieces of work for their 37th Open Art Exhibition, which will be held at the prestigious new Stable Gallery at Hall Place, Bourne Road, Bexley from 15 November to 14 December. Paintings can be in oil, watercolour, pencil, acrylic, pastel, collage, mixed media and batik or framed creative embroidery .
Submission dates for art work to the Stable Gallery are 7 and 8 November between 10am-3pm.
For an entry form please telephone the Arts Council of Bexley Office on 020 8301 5806.
Road Watch
For up-to-date information about road works across the borough, you can visit 'Roadwatch' on the Council's website at www.bexley.gov.uk/service/road.html
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Planning applications
For a list of planning applications log on to the council's website at www.bexley.gov.uk/service/planning/planning_apps.html
The deadline for the next issue of your weekly Bexley Bulletin is:
Midday – 16 October 2008
Produced by the Council's Communications Team. |
