There is still another week left for you to provide feedback on the Lewisham Central website. You can find out more and leave feedback here

Thousands of people are fleeing Ukraine, fearing persecution from Russian forces. The UK has a proud history of supporting those who flee war and persecution. We must support Ukrainian refugees.

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libdems.org.uk/ukraine

When Lewisham Council introduced its Lee Green LTN in July 2020 we were assured there would be a proper consultation exercise after the trial period. When we saw the consultation questions in August 2021 we realised that they were skewed towards one outcome: the retention of the LTN in one form or another (see my article). There was little scope for objecting to it overall or for reforming it radically, and it was clear that the use of monitoring data and statistics was unscientific to say the least. 

Now we have the report on the consultation, which will be submitted to the mayor on 12 January for ratification.

Labour-run Lewisham intends letting flats at private sector rents rather than make them available to people who need them.  Liberal Democrats believe the plan is completely barmy.

Please make your views known to the Council before 8 August (see https://consultation.lewisham.gov.uk/highways-and-transport/low-traffic-neighbourhoods-ltn/). 

Although the Council is asking for people’s thoughts and experiences of the Lee Green LTN, the online and paper surveys are predominantly asking us to choose between the first and second versions of the LTN, and we are being nudged in that direction by the two maps, various misleading tables, and questions included in the survey. Anyone who thinks that the whole scheme should be completely rethought will need to send in a detailed response separately, or take full advantage of the ‘further comments’ sections.

Our Lib Dem London Assembly candidate for Greenwich and Lewisham, Chris Annous, sat down with a student journalist to talk about why he is running to represent our local community.

While the majority of graduates fresh out of university probably think about getting on the career ladder, I doubt many dream about becoming their constituency’s representative in the London Assembly. Yet, within five months of graduating, Chris Annous decided to throw his hat into the ring to become the next Greenwich and Lewisham Assembly Member. If elected, he would be the youngest London AM ever. It’s an unusual move for a 22-year-old and begs the obvious question: why?

Catford resident Diana Cashin has been selected as the Lib Dem candidate to fight the by-election on 6 May. In the 23 years she has lived in the ward Diana has become known as an active campaigner on issues that affect the area, working closely with residents’ associations.

Margot Wilson has been selected as the Lib Dem candidate to fight the Sydenham by-election on 6 May. Margot, a former teacher of French and English to Speakers of Other Languages, moved to Sydenham in 2011 to be near her family. She appreciates the lively arts scene in Sydenham and is a strong supporter of local independent shops.

Transparency is not a virtue of Lewisham’s Labour Council. Anyone reading their Commonplace email sent on 1 March about making our streets safer for children might be forgiven for thinking that they plan to introduce school streets near St Winifred’s RC School, Trinity CofE Secondary School, Trinity CofE Primary School,Brindishe Lee School, Brindishe Manor School and St Saviours RC School. This is, however, not the case.

Each year at our Burns Supper toasts to the Lassies and Lads are part of the tradition, this year Alex Feakes combined both toasts in this tribute to the NHS.

Lewisham Liberal Democrats members recently took part in some socially distanced festive activities to learn about making Christmas cards and Gingerbread biscuits. We provide the steps (and some photos of the results!) in the article below.

Concern has been expressed that many fire doors in Lewisham Council owned housing stock fail to meet fire safety requirements. A report to the Council’s Housing Committee in December 2018 stated that over 9,000 properties had Front Entrance Doors (FED) which did not consistently meet the 30 minute fire resistance required under building regulations and needed replacing.