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Edward Lister is the Leader
of Wandsworth Council and a
member for Putney's Thamesfield
ward.
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Good
news for local
parents this
month as the
new Church of
England secondary
school at Sutherland
Grove, Southfields
launched the
search for its
first head teacher.
It's
no exaggeration
to describe this
as the best head's
job in London.
After all how
often does a
head teacher
get to start
a brand new school
from scratch
with hand-picked
staff in gleaming,
state-of-the
art buildings?
The
first 150 boys
and girls will
start at the
school, St Cecilia's,
in September
2003. The admissions
process will
begin next autumn
for primary children
currently in
year 5.
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The
new school will be especially popular with parents of children
at the borough's nine Church of England primaries who currently
have to leave the borough for their secondary education.
Good
news too for elderly residents in Putney and Roehampton with
the announcement of exciting plans by the council in conjunction
with Richmond Churches Housing Trust for two new residential
developments in Arabella Drive.
One
will become the site for a brand new sheltered housing complex
for elderly residents with high care needs. The other will
house a 45 bed residential care home - all designed to the
latest standards and including en-suite bathrooms.
Both
new developments will widen the choice of living and care
options available for elderly people in the borough.
And
finally the prospect of some long-overdue relief for anyone
in Putney kept awake by night-time aircraft noise.
A
landmark ruling at the European Court of Human Rights in October
found that the UK Government had put economic arguments ahead
of environmental and quality of life concerns.
The
case had been brought to Strasbourg by eight west London residents.
They were backed by Wandsworth Council, which helped to raise
more than £50,000 towards their legal costs from other
councils in London and the south east.
Sadly
there is no sign of ministers taking immediate action to limit
night flights following the judgment. Indeed it seems more
and more likely that the next big announcement will be the
official go ahead for Heathrow's Terminal Five.
These
are difficult days for the aviation industry. But if events
since September 11th have taught us anything it must be that
we need to rethink our whole approach to siting airports in
built-up areas.
Now
more than ever is the time to look afresh at our assumptions
on future demand for air travel - and in particular the scope
for sharing airport capacity more evenly around the South
East.
Edward
Lister
You
can contact Edward Lister at
the Town Hall on 0208 871 6041
or by email at elister@wandsworth.gov.uk
Tony
Colman MP for Putney speaks
about current local issues
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