Crossing guard hit by car? Post Reply

[AbbevilleMummy]

I firmly believe that we should have a rise in our council tax.

Having low taxes is all well and good but it's just not economically feasible any more for wandsworth to have this ridiculous policy of having the lowest rates in the country.

I am sick of the filthy streets, the poor refuse collection, the pot holes and dangerously damaged paving, the lack of schools, the lack of school sports fields, lack of lollipop men/ladies, short library opening hours, closing of children's playgrounds...... I could go on and on.

It is selfish of our councillors (spelling?!) to keep the low council tax. They are doing it for fear of not being re-elected, as opposed to making decisions for the good of everyone living within the borough.

[MGMidget]

The potential problem that I have noticed in the absence of the Broomwood Road lollipop man is (sometimes) the crowd of children waiting to cross the road at busy times. What with school run traffic at the same time as loads of children arriving or leaving on foot the crowd builds up while waiting for a gap in the traffic. I expect parents will at times become 'volunteer' crossing guards by default as they may have to step out and signal traffic to stop to enable a big crowd of kids to get across the road!

[livegreen]

@AbbevilleMummy

If you live in Lambeth your Council Tax is approx double that of Wandsworth.
Wandsworth Streets are cleaner, less potholes, better refuse collection etc etc than Lambeth.
Wandsworth Council is far better managed than other boroughs which incidentally are also cutting back on school crossings and actually closing their libraries.
In these austere times is putting up our taxes the solution and what guarantee is there that an increase will result in an improvement in the services you list?

[FAFB]

A big thank you to everyone who has signed our petition so far - almost 300 signatures in only three days! If you haven't signed it yet, but would like to lend your support to this vital service, please take one minute to sign at:

There is a campaign to persuade the Council to reverse its decision. If you would like to help, please sign the online petition at :

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/w ... he-borough.

Thank you!

[Minatoku]

I also strongly believe there should not be that many Range Rovers on her streets !! This is getting frankly ridiculous ! And is doesn't help with our kids' safety at all.

[AbbevilleMummy]

@Livegreen, I don't live in Lambeth, I live in Wandsworth!

But as my username suggests, I used to live in Lambeth and I'm afraid I have to completely disagree with your comparison of the 2 councils.

When I lived in Lambeth, I was by no means their biggest fan and I was pleased to see my council tax bill have when I moved to Wandsworth. However, the streets here are much dirtier, the refuse collection/recycling a joke. The road are definitely worse. And I could go on and on. My husband and I regularly say that we would rather our council tax be at the rates it was when we were in Lambeth rather than have to put up with everything above.

I don't like paying taxes any more than anyone else and I wouldn't want taxes to be raised for the sake of it, obviously. But to keep EXTREMLY low taxes in such an area is just unnecessary when an increase could provide better services in line with most other councils.

We are a relatively wealth borough in London and we have the LOWEST council tax rates in the entire country! That surely isn't right or necessary.

[FAFB]

Hello everyone.

Some of you may have seen the press coverage about Talk Talk's sponsorship of the crossing patrols. To clarify the deal, this is a short-term contract providing £12,000 of sponsorship to cover the costs of four patrollers for 12-18 months. All of the other patrollers will still be made redundant unless their local schools pay for them.

If you would like to support our lollipop ladies and gentlemen, and ask the Council to continue funding this vital service, please join us for a photocall tomorrow, Tuesday 11 December, at 8.45 am at the junction of Wroughton and Broomwood Roads, where the patroller was knocked down recently.

Thanks!

[MGMidget]

FAFB, only 4? The press article I saw said 12 crossing guards were being sponsored in Wandsworth Borough. Could you let us know which 4 crossing guards are being sponsored or is that still to be decided? Thanks!

[FAFB]

The deal hasn't been finalised yet, but it is expected to cover:

(i) Beechcroft/Glenburnie Roads (Fircroft School); (ii) Clapham Common Northside (Eaton House/Wix); (iii) Hearnville Road (Hornsby House); Plough Road/Falcon Close (Falconbrook/Highview); and (iv) Swaffield/St. Anne's Roads (Allfarthing/St. Anne's/Swaffield).

These are sites where the schools have agreed to contribute to the costs of the patrollers, so Talk Talk will not be meeting the full costs of the lollipop ladies and men.

Crossings that will no longer be patrolled include Northcote/Honeywell Roads, Webb's/Honeywell Roads and Battersea Rise/Webb's Road.

I hope that helps, and thanks so much to everyone who came along on a frosty morning for our photocall!

[Goldhawk]

So how much are Talk Talk contributing then?

[FAFB]

We think it's going to be £12,000 over 18 months, compared to the Council's current budget of £198,000 p.a. (or just under £300,000 for 18 months).

[wasateacher]

You can find a list of the crossing patrols here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... 0NkE#gid=2. There is a map of them here https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid= ... 05e7&msa=0.

The Council will be saving £170,000 by their cuts (£28,000) will be spent by WBC on training.

In the year 2011/12, the Council underspent both its capital and revenue budgets. According to Cllr Govindia all the cuts they are making to playworkers, youth work, meals on wheels, home helps, etc amount to a mere £3 per household per week. So next time you casually spend a fiver on something or buy a coffee at the prices they charge in Northcote Road, think.

On housing: the housing budget has been in surplus because the Council have been selling off council housing and not replacing it. Some of that sold at a subsidy is now being used to make profit by private landlords. 18 leaseholders of EX council properties own more than 10 properties each. We, the council tax payers, have paid for their profits. Over 100 employees of the Council are paid below the London Living Wage.

Sorry about the rant, but Wandsworth is, in my view, neither efficient or moral.