Two updates this week on the ongoing saga of SE16’s painfully slow broadband.

Firstly, Andrew Campling of BT has posted a detailed response to the recent blog post by Val Shawcross AM:

As you may be aware, fibre broadband is available from our Bermondsey exchange but a fair number of existing premises in the Rotherhithe area are not included with our current deployment plans as it is uneconomic to deploy service to the area. The fundamental problem is the cost of converting the very large number of so-called “exchange only lines” in the area in order to make it practical to provide fibre broadband to those properties. We are looking at options to address this, and your Assembly Member, Val Shawcross, has already put forward some potential solutions.

He adds:

Although fibre broadband is not available to all premises in Rotherhithe, the situation is different for larger new developments, where it is often possible to provide fibre broadband during the construction phase, subject to agreement with the developers of course. So there is no reason that new developments will have a problem, however I’m afraid this will not by itself address the separate issue for the majority of the existing premises in the area.

In other parts of the UK where the market is unable to deliver fibre broadband, government funding is available to make it economically viable and we are currently investing the best part of £1bn of our own funds alongside the government to deliver faster broadband in these areas – this is on top of the £2.5bn we are investing within our commercial programme. Unfortunately state aid rules currently prevent public funding being offered in London in this way in order to benefit areas that are otherwise uneconomic for ourselves and other network providers, so this option is not currently available to address issues in areas like Rotherhithe. I know that this is an issue that Val Shawcross has raised directly with the Mayor.

Alternative options include working with larger landlords or residents associations to provide service to groups of dwellings, with joint investment by both parties. Where this takes place the subsequent network functions identically to that provided elsewhere, offers the same wide range of service provider options, ensuring residents are not tied in to a single providers and instead are able to take full advantage of any packages or other promotions that are being offered. There are no on-going obligations once the network infrastructure has been provided, with all subsequent operational aspects being undertaken by Openreach, the infrastructure business of BT Group.

In summary, whilst there is access to fibre broadband for premises connected to our Bermondsey exchange, this is not the case for all, in particular in the Rotherhithe area. I’ve outlined above some of the options that are available, notably for new sites and for larger landlords and residents groups, and we are continuing to look at options as we want to deliver fibre broadband as widely as is economically possible, so it may be that the position changes. If it does then we will update our website accordingly (www.superfast-openreach.co.uk/where-and-when/), as well as notifying key stakeholders such as Val, the local authority etc. In addition, I’ve no doubt service providers with customers in the area will be in touch directly with their customers as appropriate.

Meanwhile Simon Hughes MP has written to BT, the Mayor of London and Virgin Media.

“I have 45,000 constituents living in SE16 and it is totally unacceptable that they should be forgotten about when it comes to appropriate broadband speeds,” said Simon Hughes.

“The internet is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity. Councils and governments require people to use the internet in order to access their services but then don’t provide them with internet fast enough to do the job.

“I have been informed that some of the businesses operating in my constituency have decided to pay huge amounts of money to BT in order to set up their own individual direct internet line. And I’m not talking about big conglomerates; I know of mid-sized companies which have had to look into such drastic measures in order to survive in this tough economy. It’s just simply not acceptable.”

David Hubber, Liberal Democrat councillor for the Surrey Docks ward, said “Residents of Rotherhithe and Surrey Docks find it hard to understand why they should be deprived of a good service while they are paying the same for a very poor service. We are in an inner city area, where the population is still growing and more people are working from home, so good broadband speeds are essential.”

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Southwark’s planning committee this week resolved to grant outline planning permission for Sellar’s proposed development of a 40-storey tower on the site of the Decathlon store at Canada Water.

The scheme includes a new Decathlon store, more than 1,000 homes, a cinema and other facilities.

Local Lib Dem councillor Lisa Rajan spoke against the scheme at the committee meeting, raising concerns about increased density, impact on traffic and lack of affordable housing.

Cllr Fiona Colley, cabinet member for regeneration and planning, said: “The new homes, with their bold and exciting architecture will replace the lifeless, out-of town, retail-park look the area is associated with.

“The new Decathlon store will be retained as an anchor to the town centre we’re beginning to see emerge. This approval will help to realise the vision of the area action plan to create a new heart for Rotherhithe.”

“We were really pleased to see so many turning out to see last night’s fireworks display at Southwark Park,” said Cllr Veronica Ward, Southwark’s cabinet member for culture, leisure, sport and volunteering.

“It was a great family atmosphere and wonderful to see the community come together to enjoy and celebrate such a milestone calendar event. Thank you to everyone who helped organise and keep everyone safe on the night.”

Local residents and businesses have formed a new group to create a neighbourhood plan for the Rotherhithe and Surrey Docks area.

The aim of the Rotherhithe and Surrey Docks Neighbourhood Planning Forum is to provide an organisation where local residents and businesses can plan the economic, social and environmental development of the Rotherhithe and Surrey Docks area.

The neighbourhood forum has applied to Southwark Council to be recognised as a designated body under the Localism Act.

“This would be a major step forward for local people both council tenants and residents along with businesses to ensure that the local community benefit from the developments currently being planned for the area,” said chair Pauline Adenwalla.

Vice-chair Brian Hodge added: “We have seen a considerable amount of development in the area without the promised community benefits being delivered. Key to the future of the area is affordable housing and jobs not just jobs in retail although they are important the nature of retail is changing so some of the focus needs to be on the provision of other jobs. There is still a lot of development to come and our aim is to give all the local community a major say.”

The neighbourhood forum says that it will be working over the next year to involve as many local people as possible and will hold its first AGM in 2014 when recognised as the formal neighbourhood planning forum for the area.

Anyone interested in getting involved can contact the forum by emailing [email protected]

The event – held at Canada Water Library – was devised by torchbearer Kevin Steward and past Mayor of Southwark Cllr Althea Smith (who served as the borough’s first citizen during London 2012).

Dignitaries including Deputy Mayor of Southwark Sunil Chopra welcomed representatives from the Brazilian embassy, British Olympic Association, British Paralympic Association and legendary paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson to help congratulate Southwark’s young people and look to Rio 2016.

Certificates were then presented to London Youth Games medallists and young 2012 volunteers who have continued their work in Southwark since the games.

Councillor Veronica Ward, cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure, Sport, Volunteering and Olympic Legacy said: “We are really pleased to be able to celebrate the achievements of all our young people and their contribution to Southwark since the Olympics. Whether it has been through volunteering for events, giving young people a voice or taking part in the sports themselves, all have become an inspiration to their peers – something we would like to thank and congratulate them for. It was also wonderful to see the signed flags given to Rio as a sign of friendship to children in Brazil from Southwark.”

Councillor Dora Dixon-Fyle, Cabinet Member for children’s servicesm said:”Our children and young people in Southwark have made a tremendous contribution to the local community and our visitors. This event was about recognising those young people who not only took part during 2012 but that have continued to volunteer in their community since.”

Kevin Steward, a London 2012 Olympic torch bearer for Southwark, added: “This event is for the children of Southwark and is something which has never been done before in Olympic legacy history. We hope that these flags will serve as a symbolic reminder of how everyone, especially the children, in the host city is involved in the magic of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

This month our local London Assembly member Val Shawcross (Labour, Southwark & Lambeth) tabled the following question to Mayor of London Boris Johnson:

Are you prepared to take steps as Mayor of London, working with BT and other relevant agencies, to progress the roll out of improved broadband speeds in the Rotherhithe area?

The mayor’s reply has just been published:

Officers at the GLA are working very closely with all the relevant agencies to deliver a step-change in the London connectivity to drive economic growth and jobs.

My office will be happy to help facilitate any discussions between the Rotherhithe communities and Broadband providers to ensure their views are taken into account.

The Super Connected Cities Plan (SCCP) is largely focussed on a demand led voucher scheme to encourage the take up of ultrafast broadband amongst high growth SMEs across all London boroughs including SME’s in Rotherhithe area.

However the Mayor’s reply to a similar question tabled by the Green Party’s Darren Johnson AM offered some hope for local businesses but was less helpful so far as residents are concerned:

The Super Connected Cities Plan (SCCP) is now largely focussed on a demand led voucher scheme to encourage the take up of ultrafast broadband amongst high growth SMEs across all London boroughs including SME’s in Rotherhithe area. It will be ensured that SSCP scheme is promoted in Rotherhithe area so that all eligible SME’s can participate.

While I understand the frustration that some Rotherhithe constituents experience over the speed of their internet access, currently we are unable to intervene directly in matters relating to residential broadband connectivity.

The GLA will next year be looking to publish a document looking at Long Term Infrastructure in London, which will include a section on broadband and I know my team drafting that section will be looking at the situation in Rotherhithe closely.

Sublime Magazine Center for Sustainability

Local controversy is mounting over the future of the former Rotherhithe Library and civic centre in Albion Street.

This week Southwark’s cabinet approved in principle plans to develop new council homes on the site – a move supported by the Rotherhithe Area Housing Forum whose chairman Barry Duckett addressed the meeting in support of the plans.


However there is a rival proposal from Sublime Magazine to turn the building into a ‘centre for sustainability and social enterprise.

Sublime claims that the centre will lead  research into renewable energy, environmental design and the delivery of education on sustainable practices. It will promote local skills and manufacture, support social enterprise and media-training activities for local young people.

Sublime’s proposal has been branded as “awful” by Cllr Richard Livingstone, cabinet member for resources, who tweeted:

An e-petition calling on the council to consider the sustainability centre plan has so far attracted 236 signatures. It must reach 500 to force the cabinet to consider their request.

Workspace Group has announced a £51 million deal for the sale of seven acres of land at the Biscuit Factory in Bermondsey to the Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor  Britain & Ireland company.

The deal relates to seven acres of the 11-acre site. Workspace obtained planning consent in May 2013 for 800 new homes  together with new business space.

Grosvenor already owns a three acres site at the nearby former Southwark College campus in Keetons Road which was sold by the new LeSoCo college earlier this year.

Peter Vernon, chief executive of Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, said:   “This is a very exciting opportunity for Grosvenor to help transform two currently underused sites in a vibrant London location, through a mix of new homes, community facilities, public spaces, and retail links complemented by Workspace’s innovative business hub.

“In addition to owning and managing great places in central London, our team has delivered large scale place-making projects across the UK for many years.

“We have exciting community developments in Barton, Oxford; Springside, Edinburgh; Liverpool and in Cambridge.   This site in Bermondsey is an opportunity to use these skills to build and manage much needed housing for London too.”

Grosvenor Britain & Ireland says it will now consider the two sites together before consulting the local community on its development plans.

Under the terms of the Biscuit Factory agreement with Grosvenor, Workspace will receive £51 million in cash. £48 million will be payable on a phased basis as vacant possession is achieved on the 7 acres of land being sold for the residential redevelopment.

Full vacant possession is expected to be achieved by January 2016. A further £3 million in cash will be payable on completion of each stage of the redevelopment.

Grosvenor will  construct for Workspace a new commercial building (with 47,000 sq ft of net lettable space) at an estimated cost of £11 million, on the land retained by Workspace. This increases the amount of business space at the Biscuit Factory  to 270,000 sq.ft.

Grosvenor will also be responsible for all required infrastructure improvements, including landscaping and the creation of a community park on a further 1 acre of the site being sold to Grosvenor.

“This is another milestone for Workspace in its redevelopment activity,” said Jamie Hopkins, chief executive officer of Workspace Group.

“We are delighted to have a partner of the calibre and track record of Grosvenor to take forward the residential component of the redevelopment.

“Once completed this will be a thriving residential and business location, providing Southwark with its largest hub for small and growing businesses. This partnership will deliver significant value for our shareholders and considerable benefit to the local community.

“London has the opportunity to become the entrepreneurial capital of the world.  It is important that we continue to redevelop sites like this across London, that will attract people and businesses who are looking to live and work in dynamic locations with good transport links at the centre of the city.”

This week Southwark’s cabinet approved the latest version of the planning policy document for Canada Water, revised to take into account the pending redevelopment of Harmsworth Quays.

Once approved by council assembly the document will be subject to an examination in public before it is formally adopted.<

“The principal reason for the revisions to the Area Action Plan is the relocation of the Daily Mail Group print works from Harmsworth Quays, making a very substantial area of land available for redevelopment,” said Cllr Fiona Colley, cabinet member for regeneration.

“Our vision is to prioritise non-residential uses on the site, in particular education uses including the opportunity for a new campus for King’s College London. This vision was strongly supported in the consultation on the proposals.

“Southwark Council owns the freehold of the Harmsworth Quays site and so, alongside the changes to the AAP, officers in the regeneration team are working closely with King’s College and British Land (who have acquired the Daily Mail Group’s lease on the site).

“We hope to come back to cabinet within the next few months to agree a process for developing a masterplan for the area which meets the vision as set out in the AAP revisions.”

Roma Finlinson imageA wedding cake designer from Rotherhithe  has been shortlisted in a national wedding awards scheme. Roma Finlinson, founder of Sweetness Cake Boutique is in the final ten cake designers in the hitched.co.uk Breakthrough Awards.

Roma trained in French patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu before starting her own cake company. She said: “I have always loved baking and found cake designing and sugar craft to be a fantastic outlet for my creativity. I wanted to do something I am passionate about on a daily basis that gives me a sense of achievement and fulfilment.”

The awards are run by wedding website, hitched.co.uk to recognise new talent in the wedding industry.

60 people (ten in each category) have been shortlisted by expert judges in six categories: wedding cake design, wedding floristry, wedding stationery, wedding photography, wedding hair styling and honeymoon hotels.

The 60 shortlisted have been narrowed down from hundreds of entries from all over the country with the editor of Wedding Cakes magazine, Jenny Royle selecting the ten cake finalists.

Sweetness Cake Boutique opened in 2012 and Roma says: ‘It was the realisation of a dream I have had for years.”

The company specialises in bespoke wedding cakes with beautiful sugar flowers and intricate piping detail. Roma gets most of her inspiration from her clients. She said: “My clients are a constant source of inspiration to me – I love hearing about their unique ideas that they have for their big day and coming up with a design that encompasses their vision of their personalities.”

To vote for Roma, simply go to http://www.hitched.co.uk/HBA/vote/  and click on Roma Finlinson in the wedding cake designer category.