Myatt’s Fields local police team is inviting residents to meet them at their first Safer Neighbourhood Team panel of 2025.
The panel – at which the local team answer questions about local crime and safety issues – will take place at the Myatt’s Fields North community centre on February 12th at 7pm.
At the last meeting, new policing priorities were set by local people – they were:
Anti-social behaviour, including drug dealing, on the Myatt’s Fields North estate
Positive engagement with local young people
Violent crime, including robbery in the Ward.
Earlier this month the team reported that three suspects had been arrested and bailed following a robbery in Patmos Road on Christmas Eve.
The Myatt’s officers say they are working with the Met’s robbery team in the investigation, and intend to have Community Behaviour Orders imposed to ban the suspects from the area.
Myatt’s Fields councillors have confirmed their public surgeries for 2025, including a change to the first surgery of the new year.
As in 2024, Myatt’s Fields Labour councillors will hold a regularly monthly surgery (apart from in August) at Longfield Hall on the first Thursday of each month, between 6pm and 7pm. Either Cllr Gadsby or Cllr Gallop will be on hand, accompanied by support volunteers, to speak to residents about any local issue they might have. No appointments are necessary!
Residents can also contact councillors at this page.
The schedule for 2025 is below: the councillors have opted to move the first surgery of the new year to the second Thursday in January to avoid a clash with the start of the year.
Surgery details for 2025 (all held at Longfield Hall, 50 Knatchbull Road, London, SE5 9QY between 6pm and 7pm)
An exciting drama programme at Longfield Hall and multisports and crafts at Myatt’s Fields North community centre are just some of dozens of activities planned during the borough council-organised Winter of Food and Fun, which runs from Monday December 23rd to Friday January 3rd.
The programme is aimed at children between four and 16 years who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals. Each club will provide free healthy meals, fun physical activities to suit all tastes and ages, as well as opportunities for the family to learn about food and nutrition.
A flyer is being distributed around our neighbourhoods — you can find it here. More about the project, funded with cash from the Department for Education, is here.
The Myatt’s North Community Centre is hosting a “free food” tasting event this Saturday (23 November) between 12pm and 2pm.
Home Grown Brixton, currently based in the cafe, are throwing open their doors – and their excellent menu – to the community.
They describe their approach to cooking local cuisine below:
Our food is uncomplicated but tasty and made using as many locally sourced ingredients as possible to ensure we give back to the community that we love. Whether it be for you, a family member or someone you care for, we want to make sure that not only do we deliver food, but that food hug satisfaction too!
More information about Home Grown Brixton, including their delivery service, can be found here.
Pedestrians in the Holland Grove, on the edge of the Holland Town estate, are set to walk a little easier thanks to Lambeth Council’s newly-announced highways improvement plans.
The neighbourhood features in a list of projects, which are yet to be prioritised but are likely to go ahead in the near future.
Part of the pavement in Holland Grove shares in the plan, which also covers many areas across the borough. Papers released by the council reveals that the pavement on the west side of the road, from Chryssell Road to Vassall Road will be renewed (shown in green below). Flexible paving will be used to protect tree roots.
The council says it wants to start the work ‘at pace’ to avoid the worst of the Winter weather, although it admits some parts of the long list of sites may have to be delayed. All businesses and residents effected will be notified individually, by letter.
Local Labour councillors Annie Gallop and Paul Gadsby said:
“We are pleased that a particularly delipidated part of Holland Grove has made the cut for the borough’s roadway improvements: we have been lobbying for the past 12 months for these pavements to be refurbished following feedback from local residents. If residents do have other roads they feel need some attention, please get in touch with us!”
Local Labour councillors have written to the Government asking for urgent action to curb the ‘mess’ of e-bikes which are increasingly left strewn across roads, pavements and other public spaces.
Councillors Annie Gallop and Paul Gadsby have contacted Simon Lightfoot MP, Parliamentary under-secretary in the Department of Transport, to tighten regulatory powers in the face of a growing problem from “dockless” e-bikes and scooters.
Local residents have complained about public spaces in the ward being used to abandon the vehicles, creating an eyesore and blocking pavements – a particular nuisance for our neighbours with mobility issues.
In the letter – which can be read in full here – the councillors point out that thousands of people in Lambeth rely on the hire bikes and remind the Minister of the “clean and green” pro-cycling policies of Lambeth Labour’s environmental agenda.
However, they write: “…too many of these dockless cycles are left scattered across pavements and streets, often on their sides, blocking walkways for pedestrians and leaving our street space in a messy and unsightly condition.
“In our experience the companies behind these schemes are often unresponsive and too slow to move these cycles, especially if they are damaged. And the parking areas where these cycles are usually stored can be particularly chaotic.”
The letter points out that London councillors lack the powers to crack down on abuse of the bikes and scooters, and that the previous government ignored the issue. The councillors write:
“We are asking that you look, with fresh eyes, into urgently granting strategic transport authorities the levers and authority to improve the use and operation of dockless bikes.”
Lambeth Council has already installed 240 designated parking bays in the borough, with another 100 planned. Even though the authority negotiated a “memorandum of understanding” with the hire companies – who rent the spaces – the council says enforcement is too difficult. Officers are working with Transport for London, London Councils, and other boroughs to create a consistent, citywide approach and legal agreement with e-bike operators.
However, long term regulatory changes are necessary to deal with the problem, they say.
Long-awaited refurbishment work on the children’s play area in Myatt’s Fields Park is to be carried out following pressure from your Labour team.
Local residents and visitors have highlighted an obvious decline in the much-valued part of the award-winning park, leading Myatt’s Fields councillors Paul Gadsby and Annie Gallop to press for urgent remedial action from Lambeth council.
In a public answer to a question submitted by Cllr Gadsby at October’s Lambeth Council meeting, the Council issued a statement saying:
Myatt’s Fields Park play area was last inspected on 11th September, with many small-scale tasks and improvements being commissioned by the council’s maintenance team. These will be undertaken over the next few weeks. Several play items have been removed in the past few weeks … In addition, one set of swings and the zip wire frame now need replacing. Despite the really difficult financial conditions facing local government, we are exploring capital funding to replace all these items and will look to potentially work with Myatt’s Fields Park Project, which manages the park on Lambeth’s behalf, over joint fundraising.
Cllr Paul Gadsby and Cllr Annie Gallop said:
“We want to thank every resident who got in touch about this issue, and we are pleased that immediate works are now planned to the play area. We understand that more work needs to be done, and will continue to press for further investment in this excellent children’s playspace.”
Local residents will have an opportunity to raise any issues, opinions or concerns they have about community safety in Myatt’s Fields at a Safer Neighbourhood Team meeting in November.
The meeting, organised by the ward’s police team, is open to all residents and will review local anti-social behaviour, crime and community safety issues in our area.
April’s meeting will be held on Friday, 15 November, 7-830pm at Longfield Hall.
If you have any issues you would like raised with our police team, please contact your councillors here.
A jellyfish which saves the world and and a doll which goes on an accidental global tour feature in two of the events just announced by Myatt’s Fields’ Longfield Hall.
The doll — called Lottie — is the star of a puppet performance by the String Theatre in a production suitable for all ages, which is accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences. Clyde the Jellyfish, on the other hand, is on a quest for a friend in a “tentacle-tapping puppetry musical”, according to the Jam Jar theatre company.
Other events include “primal rock theatre” from Bones and the Aft’s Christmas party (pictured above) and — perhaps more sedate — a “mooch” around local areas including Little Portugal and the Minet estate.
For more details of these unmissable attractions, click here.
The historic Minet Library in Myatt’s Fields is set to benefit from a major share of new money from Lambeth Council.
The library, which dates from the late nineteenth century, will enjoy an extensive refurbishment, including improved electrical and heating systems, renewed shelving and other furniture, and upgraded PCs.
Other improvements will include more spaces for hire and enhancements to audio loops, as well as health-check machines and better soundproofing in event rooms. A total of £1.7 million will be spent on Minet and other libraries in the borough, part of the Council’s commitment to ensure libraries are at the heart of Lambeth’s communities.
This significant investment ensures they remain fit for the future, offering not just books and learning resources, but also vital community spaces for events, technology access, and personal development.
Local councillors Paul Gadsby and Annie Gallop welcomed the refurbishment, saying:
“This is a long overdue refurbishment to this much valued local institution. We are pleased the Council has listened to our calls for this funding.”
Myatt's Fields Labour 