Incredible Edible Lambeth has created a new walking map linking food gardens and wellbeing sites throughout Brixton, which includes locations within Myatt’s Fields.
The organisation will launch the map on Saturday 13th April with a family friendly walk starting from Wyck Gardens Orchard at 1.30pm and ending at the Boiler Garden, on the Myatt’s South estate.
Incredibly Edible Lambeth describe the walk as “family friendly and step free, so bring your children for a walk in nature, ending with fun activities at Myatt’s Fields South Boiler Garden.” The route also takes in the award winning Myatt’s Fields Park.
The walks are funded by Transport for London and the event is funded by the National Lottery Climate Action Fund.
You can book a ticket for the event here: and a map of the walking route is below.
Local Myatt’s Fields councillors Paul Gadsby and Annie Gallop have called on energy providers EON to take urgent action over heating failures that have affected households across the Myatt’s North estate (Oval Quarter) during the Easter break.
Residents across the neighbourhood faced limited or no heating after an outage during the recent bank holidays, the latest in a series of failures over the past few years. The system is operated by energy provider EON.
Cllr Gadsby and Cllr Gallop said:
“It is unacceptable that many residents across Myatt’s North have had to go days with either partial or no heating over Easter. To make matters worse, local people have been struggling to get any response from EON about what is going on.
“As councillors, we have written to EON asking them to urgently explain when this problem will be fixed and what compensation residents can expect. We have separately asked the Council to raise this matter with EON at the highest level.
“In the longer term, it is worth remembering that two years ago EON promised Lambeth Council and the local community that they had fixed the heating outages on the estate: it is about time that this company, which makes billions in profit, fulfilled their promises to their customers.”
UPDATE (3/4/24): EON have confirmed that heating has been restored to the area, and the energy provider has confirmed they will be offering compensation to residents for the Easter outage.
While welcome, Local Councillors will be taking up the repeated pattern of long term heating failure with EON, and will be expected improvements to be made in the future.
Longfield Hall Trust is taking part in the National Theatre Connections Festival, 2024, by hosting two performances of Abi Zakarian’s brilliant play Age is Revolting – a tale about a choir rehearsal descending into chaos when the class are transformed into their 80 year-old selves.
As part of the celebrations, Longfield Hall have formed their first ever Young Company, made up of 20 local young people aged 13-18, who are either performing or working backstage.
Two performances are being held on Friday, 15 March and Saturday 16 March, with both shows kicking off at 7.30pm.
More information, and ticket booking, can be found here.
The shocking figures are contained in a new analysis of education funding since the Tories, aided by their Lib Dem allies, came to power in 2010. It reveals that:
Christ Church Primary School on Cancell Road has had its budget reduced by £276,710 since 2010, a drop of £1,520 per pupil.
Van Gogh Primary School has had its budget cut by £416,487, with a reduction of £1,281 per pupil.
St Gabriel’s College has lost a staggering £1.7million from its a budget, over £2,700 per pupil.
Overall, schools in Lambeth have lost over £41 million in funding since the Tories began slashing budgets.
Local councillors Paul Gadsby and Annie Gallop said:
“These cuts lay bare the awful impact of more than a decade of Tory austerity: cut after cut has had a direct impact on the education of local children.
“We will continue to campaign for a better deal for our local schools, and for a Labour government that properly funds our local schools.”
Following lobbying from local councillors, Lambeth Council has given the green light for two sustainable drainage (SUDs) gardens, aimed at reducing flooding by planting water retaining plants and surfaces, on the Myatt’s South estate.
Cllr Paul Gadsby pressed for an update on plans for the SUDs on the estate at a recent meeting of Lambeth Council, while highlighting the impact of Tory cuts on the local authorities budget. In response, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air, Councillor Rezina Chowdhury, said:
” You are right (Cllr Gadsby) to highlight the government’s woeful record on funding for adaptation to climate change. It is left to local authorities to bid for little pots of funding and lobby Thames Water to deliver work that we know to be essential as we continue to break temperature records.”
“However, we are determined to deliver for and with our residents, and Myatts Fields estate is an excellent example of this. We have commissioned construction of the rain gardens at Myatt’s Fields, scheduling this around ongoing deep retrofit work to properties on the estate, which temporarily requires the green space where the SuDS will be positioned. The SuDS works are now scheduled to be implemented in Spring 24.”
“We liaised with the local resident association and those living directly adjacent to the proposed scheme location at St Lawrence Way. We have updated the design to reflect resident input. The rain garden will be set back further from the property boundaries and will also take on a more natural shape and form. The engagement process has enabled us to develop a more aesthetically pleasing scheme. The local resident association has supported us to develop the Lord Holland’s Way rain gardens. We will soon liaise with residents to go through in detail the works involved and how they will be affected.”
Local councillors Paul Gadsby and Annie Gallop have both welcomed the new investment on the estate, saying:
“It is fantastic news that the Myatt’s South estate will benefit from this investment into two rain gardens: we will continue to press for more across Myatt’s Fields.”
Residents on the Lothian estate in Maytt’s Fields have overwhelmingly rejected proposals from a for-profit, private company to snatch control of their homes.
The results of a consultation, held at the end of last year, found that:
Around two thirds of eligible residents gave their views: a huge turnout from the community – thank you to everyone who took the time to vote!
A huge 82 per cent of council tenants said they did not want a ballot on the proposals
Every single leaseholder in the area voted no to a ballot being held.
This huge “no” vote came after local councillors and residents raised serious concerns about how the plans could affects the bills of tenants and leaseholders, and put the future of their homes in doubt. Vision Homes (Lambeth) Ltd and their partner PACCA TMO also clearly failed to convince residents that they had either expertise or ability to run their homes.
Speaking about the result, Cllr Paul Gadsby and Cllr Annie Gallop said:
“Lambeth Council have confirmed that they believe no ballot is now needed on these proposals given the large turnout and clear majority who rejected these plans. We support this position and would urge Vision Homes Lambeth to listen to the people and abandon the proposal. It is concerning that early indications appear to show that the for profit outfit still wants to continue with a ballot.
“We would like to thank everyone who has spoken to us about these takeover plans: we realise this process has been extremely stressful for many residents.”
A pledge by London Mayor Sadiq Khan to continue providing funding for free school meals for all primary school children should he be re-elected for a third term at this May’s election has been welcomed by local Myatt’s Fields councillors Paul Gadsby and Annie Gallop.
The programme funds 1.4 million free school meals every week in London. The councillors said:
“This scheme is a lifeline to many children in Myatt’s Fields, especially as many families are continuing to struggle from rising bills. At a recent roving surgery on Vassall Road, residents were delighted at Sadiq’s vow.”
Sadiq Khan said:
“Delivering free school meals has been one of my proudest moments as mayor as I have seen the difference it has made to the children receiving them and to their families.
“I know from personal experience what a difference these meals can make and it’s been fantastic to hear from teachers how much better children are performing and also how much parents and their children have benefited, with parents not having to worry about how to provide their children with a healthy, nutritious meal during the school day.”
You can find out more information about the pledge here.
This year’s Mayoral election will take place on Thursday 2 May: don’t forget to register to vote here.
Vauxhall MP Flo Eshalomi with local councillor Paul Gadsby and some of the Myatt’s Fields campaign team out and about listening to residents in our communities.
Lambeth Council is asking for residents to share their views on a proposed expansion of it’s licensing schemes covering the private rented sector.
The consultation, which runs until 4 March 2024, aims to raise standards for the many thousands of private renters across Lambeth and in Myatt’s Fields, by requiring more landlords to obtain a license to rent out their property – which they will only receive if they meet minimum safety and other standards.
Speaking about the proposals, Cllr Maria Kay, Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness said:
“We have already taken significant action to tackle poor standards in the private rented sector, and although most landlords operating in Lambeth provide our residents with decent, well managed and safe homes, we continue to uncover renters living in hazardous and unacceptable conditions.
“We are focussed on improving health and wellbeing and reducing inequalities for people in Lambeth. That’s why we have launched our consultation on the private rented property sector as part of our commitment to addressing these issues.
“It’s important that we hear from everyone who may be affected by our proposals. If you are a tenant or homeowner, or if you study or work in the borough, we need to hear from you. Your views are important and will help to ensure that we develop the best new scheme for everyone.
“We know that many of our residents are feeling the pressures of the current cost of living crisis and supporting our most vulnerable residents is a number one priority for all of us in Lambeth. That’s why we want to ensure that as many as possible have the chance to take part, share their views and comment on our proposals, and we are providing many different ways to engage with the consultation.”
Myatt’s Fields councillors Paul Gadsby and Annie Gallop are urging residents to give their views – find out more here.
You can also share your views by attending one of the virtual public meetings being held on the following dates:
Date & Time: Wednesday 17 January 2024 at 6.30pm – Please register and reserve your place by clicking this link.
Date & Time: Wednesday 21 February 2024 at 6.30pm – Please register and reserve your place by clicking this link.
Myatt's Fields Labour 