Consultation Hub

We asked residents to evaluate two proposals for the redevelopment of Walworth Town Hall.

Respondents told us that the proposal by General Projects better met the aspirations of the local community. However, there were concerns that neither proposal provided a good mix of uses, as much publically accessible space as people wanted or were sympathetic to the building's heritage. Respondents were concerned about the loss of library and heritage provision, length of the lease, security around the commitment to the community space and how the community space will be managed.

Now that cabinet has approved the recommendations for the preferred bidder we are proceeding discussions with General Projects. As noted in the cabinet report we have negotiated modifications to the proposed lease terms and security through a covenant around the minimum amount of community space. We have also committed to a process of engagement to determine the vision and operational options for the community, arts and culture space.

Alongside the Walworth Town Hall project  the council has approved the leasing of ground floor space for a new 559m2 library and Southwark heritage centre on the Walworth Road. This will help meet the need for local community library facilities and will promote Southwark’s heritage through exhibition and learning opportunities. Additional consultation will be carried out to gain an understanding of people’s ideas for the new library and heritage centre.

For your views on the latest plans for Dickens Square Park

You liked the designs, and gave us lots of feedback on the details.

The detailed design will be developed by LDA Design, informed by the preferences expressed in the third community consultation on the design elements.

A fourth and final community consultation, relating to a detailed single design is planned for March 2019; it will comprise site/visualization meeting, and online consultation.

We engaged with residents and key stakeholders in September and October 2018 in regards to a trial ‘No entry’ measure in Champion Hill intended to cut the high volumes of through traffic especially as the road is part of a cycle route ‘Quietway 7’.

The trial is now live. Please provide feedback on the trial by responding to the feedback questionnaire

We received hundreds of responses, including a range of very helpful suggestions. The majority of people (57%) within the consultation area were in support of the trial with 71% of residents in Champion Hill in support. Further afield there was less support for the trial.

The main concerns raised during consultation:

• Accessing the main road is difficult from Grove Hill Road due to the banned right turn and will displace traffic onto other residential roads,
• The trial will cause congestion on the main roads and unacceptable delays to buses and emergency services.
• The trial will increase traffic flows in Camberwell Grove, also on the quietway.

A summary consulation report of the trial is attached below.

A decision has been made to proceed with the 'no entry' trial which will be monitored using before and after data within a 6-9 month period. A comprehensive monitoring and evaluation plan has been set up to ensure that impacts of the trail are carefully identified and assessed, and if necessary, mitigated to ensure any negative impact is reduced. This is available in the "Consultation summary and next steps" document attached below.

The timescales are listed below:

• Winter 2018/19: Independent road traffic safety audit and final design of trial no entry
• January 2019: Experimental Traffic Management Order
• January 2019: Baseline data gathered as per final traffic monitoring plan 
• Monday 4 February 2019: Construction begins (weather permitting)
• Week of 4 February 2019: Trial to go live (weather permitting)  
• February - Autumn 2019 (6-9 months): Monitoring period, including settling in period and monitoring surveys. Please provide feedback on the trial by responding to the feedback questionnaire
• Late Autumn 2019: Results of monitoring analysed and presented and consultation on permanent feature
• Winter 2019/20: Decision making- consultation report and recommendations
• Spring 2020: Make permanent/remove/modifications/mitigation (subject to statutory consultation)

The trial will be carefully coordinated with the Camberwell Traffic Management Study (currently in early stages of the project) where possible to ensure joined working and a single purpose outcome of creating Healthy Streets for all in the Camberwell area. We are also coordinating with other road works in the area during the trial monitoring and construction.