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Posted: 26/11/2004; 10:04:09 
On Tuesday 7th September 2004, a small group of us attended the Mayor's
initiative "it's your borough, let's talk", the first of a series of
meetings aimed at giving the residents of Lewisham the opportunity to
meet the Mayor and ask him questions about the Council's plans.
This first meeting took place at St. Andrew's Church in Brockley road and was attended by about 50 people.
Our initial idea was to just have a stall outside to collect petition signatures and campaign with the public.
But we always seem to overestimate the attendancy at these Council's
initiatives. So, after everybody signed our petition, there wasn't much
left for us to do. So we moved in and joined the meeting.
This idea that there would have been a lot of participation in this
event came mostly from the reading of an internal newsletter from the
local Labour party.
In this newsletter, the party activists were urged to come and populate
the meeting, so that their leader wouldn't have been left prey to those
there to make trouble but would have had a friendly audience ready to
receive his word with a smiling attitude.
But, after yesterday's meeting I am sure that Mayor Bullocks has a very big question in mind: where have they all gone?
Where are the labour activists? Is there anybody left there?
Steve Bullock, supercool as ever, managed in one way or another to keep a straight face, and repeat the usual stuff.
In answer to our question about why he hadn't done any consultation, or
any study on the effects that the closure of the Ladywell pool will
bring to the people of Lewisham, he simply repeated that education is
his priority.
So the question is still there.
For two hours, more and more questions on the pool, on the new school,
on the social facilities that are closing around Lewisham just kept
coming back to him .
Suave and elusive, the Mayor answered all of them focusing on the
future, a future that will mostly take place in the new redeveloped
Town Centre.
Unfortunately for us all that exists at present of this redevelopment
is an artists impression portraying an elegant shopping mall.
We'll knock down the pool... but in the future we'll build another one, bigger and better in Lewisham's new centre.
We'll knock down the Mornington Centre... but in the future we'll build another one, bigger and better in Lewisham's new centre.
Our experience tells us instead that it's much better to have these things built before they are demolished.
As he was reminded yesterday, the demolished secondary schools still have to be replaced.
The Downham Pool, whose roof collapsed 8 years ago, is still to be
built. It should have opened by now, instead it has been
rescheduled for 2006. The works still have to start.
So the message from Mayor Bullocks is one, the priority is education, anything else is not included in the answers.
People of Lewisham, be grateful, the Council is buiding a school.
For any other issue, keep a stiff upper lip and just get on with it.
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