Pictured: Cllr Kim Caddy, Cllr Guy Humphries and Cllr Terence Walsh.
Welcome to Your Essential Southfields Update: April 2020
Dear Southfields Resident,
Welcome to your April Southfields Ward newsletter from the three Ward councillors.
We understand that many residents will be very worried about the effects of COVID-19 on our community, so we wanted to share information about how we can best protect ourselves and support each other.
We also want to add our thanks to all those local people working in the NHS, Care Homes, Bus Drivers and other critical roles, and to those volunteering to help others as we unite to fight this pandemic. Please find as follows an update surrounding key local services.
Housing.
Councillor Kim Caddy, Cabinet member for Housing and her team have been ensuring our key focus during this crisis is to carry on with emergency repairs, making sure blocks are clean and safe and deal with housing emergencies, including offering all rough sleepers accommodation. The team have provided accommodation to over 60 people already and the multi-agency teams also offer support with health needs and make sure people have enough food. If you see someone who needs help with somewhere to live, please report it via www.streetlink.org.uk so we can get the right help to them.
Community resilience hub and supporting local business.
Councillor Guy Humphries who is the Cabinet Member for Planning and his team have been working with three local organisations who have formed the “Southfields Grid Alliance” to assist the elderly, lonely and those in self-isolation.
The Southfields Grid Residents’ Association, St Barnabas Church and the “Grid Mummies” Facebook group combined forces, distributing a leaflet to 3,000 Grid homes just before lockdown giving details of help offered and a central 24/7 number. The 10-15 daily requests for prescriptions and shopping to be delivered, dogs to be walked, perhaps a “phone friend” to talk to are distributed to a network of 50 volunteers, all of who are local, known and trusted. Any serious calls are referred to the council’s authorities, though most issues are resolved quickly, effectively and locally by the “Grid Alliance” For more information please check out: www.southfieldsgrid.org.uk.
Guy has also been working on making sure the council keeps our planning process working. All current and prospective applications continue to work through the system in line with government advice, to help ensure we have a robust economy after this crisis has passed. Wandsworth will be holding it's first ever virtual Planning Applications Committee meeting later this month on the 23rd April.
Contact details for the Hub are - 020 8871 6555/ [email protected]
For all medical enquiries residents should continue to contact the NHS on 111.nhs.uk or on 111.
For all general enquiries about Council services, residents should check wandsworth.gov.uk for updates or call the main Contact Centre on 020 8871 6000.
To support local businesses and local jobs, please find a help directory put together with thanks to the Southfields Grid Residents Association https://www.southfieldsgrid.org.uk/2020/03/grid-local-shops-during-coronavirus-pandemic/
For Wandsworth Community Mental Health team on 020 3513 5000 or the Crisis Line on 0800 028 8000, 5pm-9am Monday to Friday, 24 hours Saturday and Sunday.
Wandsworth Council Covid-19 help webpages:
- Our dedicated page for self employed residents can be accessed here. This page is very comprehensive and is regularly updated.
- Our dedicated webpage for businesses can be accessed here and a dedicated page on business rates including an online form can be found here.
- Our dedicated webpage for employees can be accessed here.
- Information about how residents can help, including volunteering is published here.
- The online form to apply for the COVID-19 Response Fund is here.
- For information about other funding available for the voluntary sector please go here.
- Updates on our services are posted here.
- Our dedicated webpages are regularly updated and can be found here.
- Residents can sign up to our for further regular e-newsletters here.
Transport
Councillor Terry Walsh chairs the Passenger Transport Liaison Group which is comprised of councillors and representatives from public transport providers, including South Western Railway, Southern and TfL. The Group is interested in the standard of services and explores how services can be improved or modified to suit the needs of passengers in Wandsworth. Recently the Group has discussed the frequency of cleaning of buses and trains. If anyone has particular concerns about the standard of service, or suggestions about how services can be improved please email [email protected].
Parks, Rivers, open spaces, exercise! and observing the 2 metre rule!
During the lockdown it has been challenging with gyms closing, however we have some great parks and greenspaces on our doorstep including Coronation Gardens, The River Wandle and King Georges Park, in addition to this some of our local personal trainers in the ward are offering free on line indoor bootcamps, so you can roll back the carpet and get fit in your own front room or bedroom, for more information check out https://www.facebook.com/groups/446352109409680/
Our local Police have been equally busy working on ensuring that residents are kept safe across Southfields by enforcing safety rules. On a number of occasions there have been groups forming in King George’s Park, however Wandsworth Police have been on site rapidly to break up gatherings. In the event that you see something that appears not to be right, please call the local Wandsworth Police team on 020 8785 8874. Full information surrounding social distancing measures are available on this link: https://wandsworth.gov.uk/news/march-2020/two-metre-rule-vital-in-keeping-safe-and-preventing-spread-of-virus-in-parks-and-open-spaces/
Stay safe and best wishes
You can get in touch with your Councillors by clicking on their name below:
Cllr Kim Caddy
Cllr Guy Humphries
Cllr Terence Walsh