Stockwell Toilet Watch

Text of letters sent by Stockwell Labour Party

to Central Stockwell businesses in January 2009

to encourage their participation in

Details of local Central Stockwell businesses

to whom the CTS letters were sent.

Full text of January 2009 BETTER BOOKIES letter - the only

response that was forthcoming from those contacted.

Saved - current "COMMENTS" exchanged on the STAND UP FOR STOCKWELL blog

re the continuing lack of Central Stockwell public toilet provision.

Click on any of the above images to ENLARGE and read their content.

The immediately above recently blogged STAND UP FOR STOCKWELL "COMMENTS" have been copied to make it clear that matters re local toilet provision are still as dire as ever. Click here to see an earlier recent blogspot which has current topical relevancy re the local Labour Party blog.
--------------------------------------------------------

Stockwell Labour Party blogger Alex Bigham is back from the dead mumbling that accusations currently made by this blogger that he (Bigham) was unsuccessful in trying to engage Central Stockwell businesses etc., in the Lambeth Council COMMUNITY TOILET SCHEME (CTS) are being misrepresented.

Bigham points up that this blogger should have conceded (he means should have mentioned) that he had had one grudging reply from BETTER BOOKIES which in fact had turned down CTS involvement altho' it had offered that their loo could be used if on any particular occasion it suited them. The clear implication from BETTER BOOKIES' above response was that there would be occasions when access wouldn't be allowed hence they did not want to participate in the CTS. That meagre concession of 22 January 2009 is now a year old and since that time this blogger has more than once queried with Bigham via STAND UP FOR STOCKWELL - and by email - what he and his 3 Stockwell Ward Councillors (so-called) have done since to make proper provision. And additionally this blogger has sought information about what their intentions were for the coming period - and especially now with their electioneering getting under way and with still ABSOLUTELY NO ADEQUATE OR OBVIOUS PUBLIC TOILET PROVISION in the Central Stockwell area.

Mumbling would-be-local-Labour Councillor Bigham remains tight lipped on the latter matters. Here today are also reproduced above the most recent exchanges that have now taken place on Bigham's STAND UP FOR STOCKWELL blog - which latter I prefer to regard as the STOCKWELL STOOD UP blog.

A year ago (January) ago Bigham (only after I had barracked his then newly established Blog for being tight-lipped on local public toilets provision) did write to many of the local Central Stockwell businesses and outlets re their possibly becoming CTS participants - witness the documents reproduced above. He wrote for instance to the local BANK - frankly it would have been very surprising to get Bank participation for obvious security reasons - ditto his attempt to enroll the POST OFFICE. He wrote to at least one Surridge Court Business (Sunset Travel) which had actually already been closed down for months and at that time had notices on its windows to that effect - so no joy there. He wrote to the hard working Surridge Court man who cuts keys and repairs footwear in incredibly cramped conditions - how on earth that man could accomodate folk trapesing in and out to use what toilet provision he has heaven alone knows. Indeed on bad weather days he has a day-long posse of drinkers all along his side window who must be forever getting the runs.

Indeed some proprietors of small Surridge Court business units actually relieve their own toilet wants publicly amid the Studley Estate Memorial Gardens vergeside greenery immediately behind the Nile Cafe - I absolutely DO NOT refer here to the Key Cutting Shoe Repairer - but this is happening - I live there and I have witnessed others thus acting.

Further re BETTER BOOKIES decision. The reason it has not been refered to publicly before now is because given the cagey way in which BETTER BOOKIES had explained its decision there was a real danger that if publicised BETTER BOOKIES might have been inclined to have withdrawn even that access. This precise concern was raised as follows with Bigham by this blogger by email on 11th February 2009 ...

To the present time Bigham has never responded to the above. And in addition he has never blog-publicised or discussed the COMMUNITY TOILET SCHEME in any way since 1st January 2009. Furthermore the above email had also raised as follows other relevant matters given that his CTS correspondence had signally failed

Similarly this latter request - even unto this day - has never been replied to in any way shape or form by Stockwell Labour Party blogger Bigham. In fact BIGHAM is listed as a HYDE SOUTHBANK HOMES "BOARD MEMBER" HERE. Ward Councillor Peter BOWYER is also a BOARD MEMBER and over time he too has NEVER EVER RESPONDED to similar repeated requests by this blogger. And my request has been re-raised with Bigham since February 2009. Indeed the matter was raised again in passing by this blogger in an email to a senior member of HYDE staff as recently as November 2009 and the result was that it was IGNORED.

The BETTER BOOKIES toilet facility for males for example amounts to one single toilet pedestal. The premises have front door signage that they are off limits to persons aged under 18. It is bananas if not bizarre to imagine that throngs of folk who pass BETTER BOOKIES of a busy day are going to make a bee-line to use its facility - even if its facility were adequate -especially without any signage whatever that that would be okay.