Stockwell Toilet Watch

WHAT NEWS WILL TOMORROW BRING? A LOT MORE THAN COUNCIL CLAPTRAP?

Tomorrow will see the publication of the SOUTH LONDON PRESS following its Tuesday news feature about this BLOG and LAMBETH COUNCIL's pathetic attempt to silence the criticisms being levelled against it for its absolutely disgraceful neglect in the matter of public toilet provision, not just here in STOCKWELL but in numerous localities in the borough.

It will be very interesting to see what response the S L P will have had to its positive useful request to readers to respond to the public toilets controversy. Will it bring yet more absolute bullshit lying responses from more faceless Council mouthpieces like the one on Tuesday -

"Councillors and officers are always willing to engage in frank and open debate with residents about local issues; that is the cornerstone of democracy".

Yes and so is Kilroys public toilet deprived rear end. The above statement - so far as public toilet provision is concerned - is an absolute lie. This blog is chockka with postings about Lambeth's unwillingness to openly discus the matter. The public toilets news item in the 4 February 2008 edition of Lambeth Life (see earlier post) is the first fully reported item for the best part of 2 years and KILROY was informed by email by L L's editor Ella Cope in September 2006 that public toilet provision was a topic that L L would NOT write about. Since that date L L has steadfastly never reported on it despite being requested over and over to do so by STOCKWELL TOILET WATCH (see numerous previous posts).

Astonishingly LAMBETH LIFE had never even picked up on the Greater London Authority March 2006 major review ("AN URGENT NEED") of London wide public toilet non-provision. When toilets were an agenda item at the Clapham and Stockwell Area Committee in September 2006 LAMBETH LIFE put out a "Press Release" that got no publicity and it was never ever picked up on in editions of LAMBETH LIFE distributed to 136,000 homes. So the controversy was kept under wraps. Indeed, in late 2006 the L L editor in her email referred to elsewhere in this post stated that she had never heard of the 6 months old GLA Report and was careful not even to name the report that she was referring to. In its "EXPLORE LAMBETH" pack of the same year none of the borough's public toilets were in any way identified on any of the maps and Councillor Lib Peck who fronted that effort has Council Cabinet responsibility for public toilet provision. She never responded when attempts were made to query this glaring omission.

Only one of the 3 Stockwell Ward Councillors have EVER responded in ANY way to STOCKWELL TOILET WATCH's campaigning - and even then totally failed to mention the problem of toilet provision here in central Stockwell. Hence Councillor (Middlesboro are playing away) BOWYER was awarded the mock STOCKWELL TOILET WATCH award for 2007 (see earlier posts). He is a Board member of Hyde Southbank Homes which has ownership of the STOCKWELL STUDLEY ESTATE, parts of which are being regularly used on a fly-by-night basis as a public toilet, he was contacted about the problem months ago and he has NEVER acknowledged or responded in any shape or form EVEN THOUGH HE IS A HYDE SOUTHBANK HOMES BOARD MEMBER!

And so we await tomorrow. Will there be more "CORNERSTONE OF DEMOCRACY COUNCIL CLAPTRAP? It wouldn't have fooled the SOUTH LONDON PRESS whose reporter had copies of the ELLA COPE email saying that LAMBETH LIFE would NOT discus public toilets. That's probably why the SLP called the Council's bluff and opened up the debate.

LAMBETH COUNCIL ARE THE PITS. Its head of LEGAL and DEMOCRATIC SERVICES can't even bring himself to sign threatening letters - but we live in hope that even he'll be pursuaded otherwise.

posted by Ian Cameron aka KILROY WAS-A-HERO @ 19:17