London-wide + Lewisham stories

The future of Thameslink - don't cut off south London

Caroline has responded to a national public consultation on proposed changes to the Thameslink train service, raising concerns that it will severely hit thousands of people in south London, especially in Sutton, Lambeth and Southwark.

At present the Department of Transport is consulting on the specifications for the new rail franchise that will see Thameslink and Southern services operated by a single company. A key element of the consultation involves the suggestion that trains which run through Sutton on the Wimbledon loop, and then through south London, should terminate at Blackfriars, rather than continuing on through central London to St Pancras and beyond. Such changes would create havoc for many people in south London wanting to travel to north London every day.

1 September 2012 - 3:59pm

Shame of empty buildings owned by TfL in Catford

Speaking to the South London Press about a row of homes in Catford which Transport for London owns but has left empty since 1987, Caroline Pidgeon said:

It is shameful these publicly owned properties have been empty for 25 years. Not only has this been a terrible waste of public money, but the properties are a complete eyesore. It is time TfL stopped making excuses.

You can read the full story here.

18 May 2012 - 10:48pm

Supporting Upper Norwood Library

Brian Paddick and Caroline Pidgeon put their support behind the Upper Norwood Library at a mini rally on 1st May.

The team looked around the library and talked to the strong campaign group who are campaigning to save the library as Conservative run Croydon Council is looking to pull out its funding.

The library is just where 5 boroughs meet and is used by huge numbers of local people in the Crystal Palace/Upper Norwood area.

1 May 2012 - 11:04pm

Out and about in Lewisham

Caroline was joined by local Assembly Candidate John Russell, Lib Dem leader in Lewisham Cllr Chris Maines, Cllr Julia Fletcher and other campaigners talking to local residents in Lewisham on Friday, including members of one of Lewisham’s mosques.

28 April 2012 - 11:04am

Campaigning in Lewisham

Caroline joined local Assembly candidate John Russell, Cllr Chris Maines, Cllr Julia Fletcher and local members out and about in Lewisham on Friday. The team started in Catford talking about our campaign for a One Hour Bus Ticket, and finished in Downham knocking on doors in the thunder and rain!

15 April 2012 - 9:48pm

Paddick and Pidgeon launch One Hour Bus Ticket

The London Liberal Democrats toured a range of London boroughs on Wednesday 30th March in a campaign bus to launch their fares package for Londoners.

The Fairer Fares package proposes Six Ways To Save, one of which is a One Hour Bus Ticket that will allow people to hop-on and hop-off buses as many times as needed within one hour, paying only one single fare.

The scheme works successfully in several European cities ensuring that multiple journeys on one of the most popular forms of transport are kept as low as possible. From the moment an Oyster card is touched, or a paper ticket is printed, passengers would have 60 minutes in which to make additional journeys without any extra cost.

30 March 2012 - 10:02pm

Greenland Pier boat service campaign - update

Local Liberal Democrat Councillors Lisa Rajan, David Hubber, Paul Noblet, Simon Hughes MP and myself have been inundated with emails from concerned passengers in Surrey Docks about the future of Greenland Pier. This also affects people who use the service and live just over in Lewisham.

We held a meeting on Monday morning with Gill Davies, Southwark Council's Director of Environment and Leisure. Our main aim for the meeting was to get Southwark Council to stop the temporary closure of the pier on 28th February, and instead keep it open for the Thames Clippers boats to use. We know how vital and valued the commuter boat service is and how many people rely on it. We also wanted to ask for a temporary pontoon to be installed if the existing one really does need to be removed for repairs.

We divided the pier issue into two parts - the immediate future, following the official Notice to Quit served on Thames Clippers, and the longer term future of the pier.

As far as the immediate situation is concerned, the Notice to Thames Clippers was, we were told, a legal requirement to enable the pier to be inspected and repaired as necessary. Thames Clippers should be granted a temporary licence to enable them to continue to use the pier until such time as it may be removed temporarily for any works. We have stressed that there should be no discontinuance of the service on 28 February, nor until it is essential for the pier to be closed, and we were led to believe that this would be the case. We also asked that users should be given one month's notice before the pontoon is actually removed.

20 February 2012 - 7:42pm

Save Sydenham Police Station

Caroline Pidgeon, along with Brian Paddick, the Lib Dem candidate for Mayor of London, and local London Assembly candidate John Russell, joined members of the Sydenham Society to campaign against the planned closure of the local police station.

London Liberal Democrat Mayoral Candidate Brian Paddick and Lib Dem London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon joined London Assembly Constituency candidate for Lewisham and Greenwich, John Russell and the Sydenham Society, the Forest Hill Society and local residents on Saturday the 18th of February to campaign against any closure of Sydenham Police station.

19 February 2012 - 6:21pm

Is this the most dangerous junction in London?

Caroline Pidgeon joined local Liberal Democrats including Lewisham and Greenwich Candidate John Russell and Leader Cllr Chris Maines out and about in Lewisham on Friday 27th January. The team were collecting signatures at the dangerous Courthill Road and Lewisham Way junction. Pedestrians literally take their lives into their own hands as they attempt to cross the roads at this junction with traffic in all directions.

“It is absolutely unacceptable that TfL seem to be putting traffic flow over pedestrian safety. I witnessed someone on crutches balancing in the middle of a road with no island trying to get across whilst cars sped past, and parents with buggies struggling to cross this junction. The Mayor and TfL must take action now” commented Caroline.

29 January 2012 - 5:35pm

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