Sunday 31 May 2020

BrickbyBrick the council owned building and development subsidiary. At Homefield House
Old Coulsdon 14 houses are now complete and being handed over to occupants. The block of
flats has been purchased by the council as Key Worker accommodation. The site should be
complete in the near future. Tollers estate site was closed on 24th March while social
distancing measures were introduced. The site has now reopened.
At Lion Green the archaeological work is now complete and BrickbyBrick are in negotiations
to start work in August 2020. We will be asking BrickbyBrick for details of how car parking
will be managed as they construct the new car park. They have said they will produce an
ongoing monthly newsletter when building starts. At the former CALAT centre the local
NHS has failed to obtain funding in this financial year for the proposed Medical centre on the
site. As a result, the other BrickbyBrick projects are on hold. Maureen our secretary has raised
this with the NHS Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group as to why other projects have
obtained funding, but not the Coulsdon Medical centre. We have now been told that with
slowing of Covid-19 staff can be released to progress this over the summer. We will continue
to press them for progress on this important site especially as it affects the other projects that
are important to Coulsdon including the new town centre community centre.
(With thanks to ECRA  and The Review)

Join the London TravelWatch June Board meeting

Our next public meeting is our Board meeting which will take place at 10.15am on 16 June via Zoom. The meeting will be broadcast live on the London TravelWatch YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/londontravelwatch . Our guest will be Mark Evers, Director of Customer Experience at TfL. The agenda will be available on the London TravelWatch website.

First ever London TravelWatch webinar offers plenty of food for thought

During the leadup to the Government’s announcement about the easing of the lockdown, London TravelWatch held a webinar Emerging from Lockdown to discuss possible ways to get London back moving in the best possible way as restrictions on travel are eased.

There was some really wide ranging discussion and we came away with plenty of ideas to consider as we continue to ensure that the transport network in the capital works for all those who need to use it.

We heard from the Deputy Mayor for Transport, Heidi Alexander about how TfL was planning for increased passenger numbers. She was clear that there will not be a return to business as usual anytime soon - 2 metre social distancing measures mean that Victoria line carriages can only accommodate 21 people rather than the usual 125. But she was adamant that one public health emergency cannot be replaced by another – the danger of increased car use would set back all the positive work being done to reduce air pollution and threaten all Londoners’ health. Her message was clear – people who can work from home must continue to do so and those travelling need to retime journeys and spread out the times of day they are travelling as well as re-planning journeys, using less busy routes. It was encouraging to hear that TfL are looking to widen pavements, encourage more walking and cycling and travelling in a more active way. Josef Schneider, Chair of the European Passenger Federation pointed to similar schemes in Brussels.

London TravelWatch's 10 passenger asks as lockdown eases

We published a set of 10 key asks for TfL, train companies and councils to make sure that public transport could cope with an
We asked TfL, train companies and councils to:

  1. Use journey planner and social media alerts to direct passengers away from ‘hotspot’ stations
  2. Keep fares as low as possible for Londoners who have to use public transport
  3. Continue to prioritise key workers on public transport
  4. Skip stops at busy stations so key interchanges are not overwhelmed
  5. Give clear information on which services are running and how they will operate.
  6. Adopt a ‘One Team Travel’ approach so real-time disruption information is available to everyone
  7. Extend stopping/loading restrictions on main roads and operate bus lanes 24/7
  8. Ban ‘A’ boards from pavements, making it safer to walk
  9. Increase roads policing to enable safer walking and cycling and speed up buses
  10. Make all toilets at train and bus stations free
We are now monitoring the progress of these asks and will continue to lobby transport operators if we have any additional concerns, and when we feel they could do more.

Urgent answers sought from TfL and train companies on safety and security as more people start to return to work in the capital

Friday 29 May 2020

update presentation from GTR

and Arriva have confirmed the following bus routes will return to normal weekday schedules from Saturday

the routes 50, 59, 60, 137, 157, 264, 333, 410, 450 and 468 to full schedule operation

Monday 25 May 2020

MESSAGE OF THANKS FROM COULSDON COUNCILLORS

1.  A huge thank you to all who have contributed to the tremendous community spirit that's existed and continues to exist in Coulsdon during the epidemic. There are a number of positives that have come out of the nightmare especially the way volunteers have worked together to fight this invisible enemy. 

2.  Thank you to the Coulsdon children who have submitted an entry for our ward councillors 'Posters of Hope' competition. The closing date is 1st June so it's not too late to enter. (see details below)

3.  As ward councillors we have been in touch with the care homes in the ward and have offered our services if required.

4.  I've helped a number of Coulsdon businesses seeking grants from the Council. £60m was passed quickly by central government to Croydon

5. I was accepted as an Emergency Response Volunteer in support of Croydon residents. As such my services were and still are available for Croydon's most vulnerable. 

6.  I've done numerous shopping trips for the vulnerable, particularly elderly residents and offered my services to a Coulsdon pharmacist to help with prescription deliveries. 

7.  I was privileged to be able to help deliver parcels to Coulsdon veterans on VE Day. 

8. Planning Committees have resumed in virtual format with 5 members rather than the usual 10.  

9.  As a group of councillors we've had virtual meetings with the Chief Exec and other senior officers and also with the Chief Exec at CUH whose main message was for non Covid-19 patients to keep on using their services without fear. 

10. Our Councillor monthly street stalls/surgeries will resume in due course. 

11.  We're pretty certain the Yulefest won't go ahead this year but we hope to maintain the Christmas lights through our community ward budgets. 

12.  As ward councillors, we've contributed to a pot which improves facilities for Croydon’s nurses. 

STAY ALERT, CONTROL THE VIRUS, SAVE LIVES

Coulsdon Councillors
May 2020

POSTER COMPETITION FROM THE CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS – CLOSES 1ST JUNE.

RECYCLING AND RE-USE CENTRES

Croydon's Reuse and Recycling Centres have now re-opened but are extremely busy and is some cases the wait is many hours. Factory Lane did have to close this week but has now re-opened but restrictions at all sites apply. More info on this Council link
SES WORKS ON GODSTONE ROAD DEFERRED TO 2021

All SES works on the Godstone Rd (A22) from Tuesday 26 May have been deferred until 2021 at the earliest!

FREE CAR STICKER IN SUPPORT OF BRITISH FOOD AND FARMING.
We have created a new car sticker to enable you to show your support for British food and farming.
Never has it been more important for us to support our local shops and communities. In the past few weeks, businesses up and down the country have diversified, adapted and branched out into new services like home delivery and click and collect to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

dedicated ‘Pick for Britain’ website has been created by the UK government to bring together those looking for work and those looking for workers to ensure British farmers and growers can continue to deliver the high-quality fruit and veg they do each year.
There will be thousands of vacancies opening up in fields, polytunnels, glasshouses and packhouses across the country in the coming weeks for anybody seeking extra work, be that furloughed workers, those without work or anybody looking to work on farms this summer.



We have become aware that a fake council tax reduction email is being sent to some Croydon residents. The email appears to be legitimate but it is not. It appears in the same format and style of HMRC emails. This is a SCAM Phishing Email – trying to extract personal bank details. Council tax reductions, if any, will only be published by Croydon Council directly. We have informed Croydon Trading Standards of this scam. Please report any similar emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.
Similar scams are being sent on BT and other providers.  Be alert.


FREEDOM PASS 60+ OYSTER AND CHILDREN'S TRAVEL
It has also been hinted that restrictions will soon apply to the hours of use for Freedom pass, 60+ Oyster and children's free travel. However, TfL have advised they are still in discussion about this and the London Councils will update their website when these restrictions come in.
Their website currently says:
"You may have heard that as part of TfL’s financial support deal, it has been proposed that Freedom Passes can no longer be used at busy times. The details of this measure have not been finalised and London Councils is seeking clarification urgently from TfL and the Department for Transport.
Until clarification is received, Freedom Pass holders can continue to enjoy the full concession and extended concession on local non-TfL buses at the moment. However, we would urge all pass holders to avoid all but essential travel and to avoid travelling at peak commuter times.
We will update this website and our advice when details of the changes are agreed. Please continue to follow government COVID-19 and social distancing advice at all times."


Parking rules to be reintroduced across Croydon as lockdown eases
Parking enforcement across Croydon will be gradually reintroduced from next week to help keep the borough’s roads clear and safe, as lockdown eases.
Parking rules and charges were relaxed to help key workers and residents during lockdown, but from the afternoon of Tuesday, 26 May drivers will be able to apply for new permits and pay and display machines will be reactivated.
From Monday 8 June, parking enforcement across the borough will resume and those parking illegally, or failing to display valid permits or parking tickets risk being issued with a fine.
Relaxed restrictions for blue badge holders and key workers registered through their employer will continue until further notice.
The reintroduction of enforcement comes as Croydon’s roads are expected to become busier as more people return to work and some pupils return to school, and will help to ensure routes in Croydon are safe for all road users and those walking and cycling.
To help residents whose finances may have been impacted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the council has introduced a new, one-month permit option. Drivers applying for a renewed 12-month permit will receive up to three free months in addition to the 12 they pay for to cover valid permits they held while restrictions were lifted.
The council is now contacting all drivers with a permit expiring between Monday 23 March and Tuesday 30 June to inform them they can apply to renew their permit.
All new permits will be issued in line with the council’s new emissions-based charges, which rewards motorists with less-polluting vehicles. Introduced for residents’ permits last year, drivers with vehicles producing less CO2 per km travelled will pay less for their permits.
Drivers renewing or buying new permits for diesel vehicles registered before September 2015, will now have to pay a surcharge of between £16 and £50, depending on the duration of the permit. The charge, which formed part of a consultation on the new permit scheme last year targets the most polluting vehicles.
“As lockdown begins to lift, residents return to work, and children to school, more people will be using Croydon’s roads, so we are reintroducing parking enforcement across the borough, to help keep all roads users and pedestrians safe.
“As we continue to introduce our emissions-based charging scheme, drivers with older diesel vehicles will now need to pay a surcharge for their permits, but we can now also offer an element of flexibility to residents that need it through the introduction of new one month permits and by giving up to three extra months on a year-long permit.”
Councillor Stuart King, cabinet lead for environment and transport
More information on the new emissions based permits is available online

Sunday 24 May 2020

Travelling Safely
To enable social distancing of two metres, public transport will have severely reduced capacity, even when 100 per cent of services are operating fully. This means public transport should be avoided wherever possible to free up the limited space available to those who have no alternative way to travel, and that those who can should walk or cycle instead.

It is therefore crucial that we act now to enable social distancing outside school gates and on London’s roads by making walking and cycling part of everyday travel plans for schools.  We’re therefore asking parents and students to:

·         Walk, cycle or scoot to school wherever possible
·         Use local Streetspace improvements, which include widened footpaths and cycle lanes, to help maintain social distancing when travelling
·         Avoid busy stations and interchanges, if using public transport. Please plan ahead and allow more time for your journey as travelling at the busiest times may take longer than it would normally, as queuing is likely. To help with this, please check tfl.gov.uk where you will find advice and information of how the network will operate differently
·         If using public transport, or taxi and private hire services, please use a facial covering, carry a hand sanitizer and wash your hands before and after you travel. Follow the advice on maintaining social distancing and act on the instructions of our hardworking staff, who are there to help prevent crowding on the transport network

We would be grateful if you could share this guidance widely to inform the travel plans of parents and students.

You will also be aware of the temporary changes to travel for under 18s, as required by the Government as part of the funding deal agreed last week. We are still finalising the details and once agreed, we will be fully communicating this to our customers before they are implemented. We will be abiding by all statutory requirements and our policy of taking care of vulnerable customers.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like further information.

Best wishes


Michelle Wildish
Local Communities & Partnerships | City Planning
Mobile: 07864 245 586 | Floor 9, 5 Endeavour Square, London, E20 1NJ

Available 08:30-16:00 Monday to Friday


Everything you need to know about transport locally
Visit tfl.gov.uk/boroughs-and-communities to find out what is happening in your area




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Hello  CWRA,
You are invited to the following event:
COMMUNITY MEETING IN CROYDON VIA ZOOM - 26 MAY 2020 - OPEN TO ALL
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Event to be held at the following time, date and location:
Tuesday, 26 May 2020 from 18:45 to 20:30 (BST)
online, via Zoom
Croydon
Share this event:
FacebookTwitterLinkedIn
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If you've already booked you'll have just received an email encouraging you to submit a topic, notice or question for discussion.
If you haven't yet booked, it's not too late to do so! If you can't attend but would like apologies noted, please let us know. Bookings close on Monday at midday.
Details of how to join will then be sent out along with notes on using Zoom for the purposes of this meeting to make sure all attending have time to familiarise themselves with these and raise any queries prior to the event.
Everyone with an interest in Croydon is welcome to join in but we ask that everyone refrains from making party-political comments.
If you are attending and have a topic, notice or question you'd like to raise, please email this to us so we can group and prioritise these.
Please see our website for full details, a downloadable flyer and any updates.
Our events are free and open to all but donations to support our work are welcome and we also offer a paid membership option.
Kind regards,

Elizabeth

on behalf of Croydon Communities Consortium (CCC)
CroydonNeighbourhoods@gmail.com
Find us on Twitter @CroydonNbrhoods 
Find us on Facebook
Book a free place for our meetings on Eventbrite:  http://croydoncc.eventbrite.co.uk/
Phone/Text: 07864 676 088
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This invitation was sent to info@thecwra.co.uk by the organiser of this event, Croydon Communities Consortium.
To stop receiving invitations from this organiser, you can unsubscribe.
Eventbrite UK Ltd 10-11 Charterhouse Square EC1M 6EE London

Phased introduction of touch in on London buses from  23rd May

Customers who use buses on 85 routes which are served by single-door and New Routemaster buses will be required to touch in using their Oyster, Contactless or concessionary card on the reader as they board. This is the first step towards returning all of London’s buses to being able to accept payments once further safety measures have been introduced to protect bus drivers. The requirement to touch in will follow on more routes over the coming weeks, and there will be announcements and signage in place on bus doors to let customers know they need to touch in.

Middle-door boarding was brought in as a temporary measure to protect bus drivers, as card readers are usually located at the front door adjacent to where the driver sits. This meant customers were not required to touch in when making a bus journey. We have since worked to return card readers located by the middle doors of New Routemasters and introduced a wide range of safety measures, including working with our bus operators and trade unions to make changes to the protective screen around the driver. On the buses where these changes apply, all protective screens have now had the openings where cash was previously accepted sealed off, in addition to the vinyl screen that was fitted a number of weeks ago to close communication holes. This step will be taken across the network to further boost safety for drivers which, once completed, will enable customers to touch in again as normal across London’s entire bus network.

We also have a rigorous cleaning regime in place across our whole transport network using new, anti-viral fluid in stations, depots, bus garages, trains and on buses, including inside the driver’s cab. Hand sanitiser dispensers are also being introduced across the transport network, including at all bus stations. We are also asking customers to use a face covering when using our services and masks are available for all bus drivers.

The requirement to touch in will restore our ability to collect accurate data on the number of passengers using buses. This will help us plan for the national requirement for people to maintain a two-metre distance from each other wherever possible. We have increased the amount of bus services we are running over the past week and are now operating 85 per cent of the normal service and are working to return to a full service as soon as possible. However, the requirement to maintain social distancing means capacity on the bus network is hugely reduced compared to what it was before the crisis. The clear advice from the Mayor and Government is to avoid using public transport wherever possible to free up the limited space available for those who have no alternative means of transport. People who can continue to work from home should continue to do so, and we are asking people to walk or cycle if they can using the existing and extensive new cycling lanes and widened pavements that we are introducing as part of the London Streetspace programme.

Bus drivers are playing a vital role during this crisis and we are asking that passengers follow signage and the advice of drivers and TfL staff when travelling on the network. Anyone using buses should help us maintain social distancing wherever possible by respecting the space of fellow passengers to keep everyone as safe as possible.


I hope this has been helpful. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Best wishes

Michelle Wildish
Local Communities & Partnerships | City Planning
Mobile: 07864 245 586 | Floor 9, 5 Endeavour Square, London, E20 1NJ

Available 08:30-16:00 Monday to Friday


Everything you need to know about transport locally
Visit tfl.gov.uk/boroughs-and-communities to find out what is happening in your area





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The contents of this e-mail and any attached files are confidential. If you have received this email in error, please notify us immediately at postmaster@tfl.gov.uk and remove it from your system. If received in error, please do not use, disseminate, forward, print or copy this email or its content. Transport for London excludes any warranty and any liability as to the quality or accuracy of the contents of this email and any attached files.


Transport for London is a statutory corporation whose principal office is at 5 Endeavour Square, London, E20 1JN. Further information about Transport for London’s subsidiary companies can be found on the following link: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/


Although TfL have scanned this email (including attachments) for viruses, recipients are advised to carry out their own virus check before opening any attachments, as TfL accepts no liability for any loss, or damage which may be caused by viruses.
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