Lambeth and Southwark politics news

Planning & Development

Elephant & Castle developer asks to drop on-site affordable homes

16 newly built flats at the Elephant & Castle intended as affordable housing could be sold or rented on the open market after a developer told Southwark Council it couldn't find a housing association prepared to take them on.

Lambeth

Residents launch petition against ‘dark kitchens’ in rail arches

People living opposite so-called 'dark kitchens' supplying hot food for home delivery say their lives are being made hell by delivery drivers who defecate outside their flats and shout abuse at them.

Southwark

Peabody 'sorry' for series of ceiling collapses on local estate

Residents of a Peabody estate in Southwark have spoken of their fear after at least seven ceilings collapsed in four homes.

Parliament

Government quizzed in Commons on future of COVID memorial wall

A minister has given a non-committal answer to a question tabled by a Labour front bencher asking what the Government has done to secure the future of the COVID memorial wall on the South Bank.

Politics & local government

Florence Eshalomi backs calls for pedicab regulation

Vauxhall MP Florence Eshalomi has backed calls for pedicabs to be regulated, telling Parliament that patients leaving St Thomas' Hospital have been "harrassed" by unscrupulous rickshaw riders.

Transport

Council drops Blackfriars Road area Low Traffic Neighbourhood

Plans to create a low traffic neighbourhood in the streets west of Blackfriars Road have been pared back by Southwark Council citing 'safety concerns'.

Bankside

Marion's Way: Gambia Street Garden named after Marion Marples

Gambia Street Garden has been given the name Marion's Way in memory of community activist Marion Marples.

Health

Hospital plans to chop down tree to avoid ‘unsightly’ pruning

NHS bosses have applied to Lambeth Council for permission to chop down a tree outside the main entrance to St Thomas' Hospital, claiming that pruning 'would render the tree unsightly in such a prominent location'.

Hotels

Green light for expansion of Bankside’s Hilton hotel

Plans to add an extra 76 rooms to the Hilton London Bankside hotel have been approved by Southwark councillors.

Transport

Elephant & Castle: new tube station might be left unfinished

A new entrance to Elephant & Castle tube station will be built by the developers of the shopping centre site - but it might be left empty if Transport for London can't afford to finish the work.

Lambeth

NatWest criticised for patching up Victorian bank with concrete blocks

Lambeth Council has slammed NatWest for 'unacceptable' works to the now-closed Lambeth North branch of the bank in Westminster Bridge Road.

Greater London Authority

New GLA building won't be ready when Mayor and Assembly leave City Hall

The Greater London Authority's move from City Hall to the Crystal in East London has been postponed due to delays with refurbishment and security, the Local Democracy Reporting Service understands.