Caroline Pidgeon AM and Stephen Knight AM joined Lib Dem councillors and campaigners in Kingston to protest at plans to build 70,000 new homes in Chessington on Green Belt land.
The plan is proposed in a report by Business Group London First and the Conservative Mayor of London's Housing Deputy Mayor is reported to support their recommendations.
Caroline Pidgeon AM joined Lib Dem MP for Carshalton and Wallington Tom Brake and local Lib Dem Councillors on Saturday 15th March to campaign on a number of important transport issues.
Firstly Caroline joined the team to once again highlight the issues with the X26 bus which does not stop at The Plough in Beddington even though it did previously. The local Lib Dem Councillors along with Tom Brake MP are calling for Transport for London to reverse this decision.
Sutton residents had the chance to debate cycling safety in the borough, as Carshalton and Wallington MP Tom Brake hosted Sutton’s first ever Cycling Safety Summit.
Caroline Pidgeon and Tom Brake have called on Transport for London (TfL) to get an Oyster reader installed and working immediately at the entrance to the new step-free path at Hackbridge.
The work on the new step-free path from London Road to platform two at Hackbridge train station has been completed but, according to Rail Network, the opening has been held-up by the delay in the delivery of the Oyster card reader.
The Mayor has recognised the “reasonable business case” for extending the Tramlink to Sutton after being grilled at City Hall by Caroline Pidgeon AM, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group.
Caroline joined local Lib Dem Councillors and Tom Brake MP on Saturday 18th May to collect signatures from local people against the proposed closure of St Heliers A&E and maternity services, and to campaign on some key transport issues in the area.
Give us back our night bus
The loss of the N213 night bus has had a real impact on people in Carshalton and Wallington. Local Lib Dems are calling on TfL as part of their review of bus routes to look to reintroduce a night bus service in Carshalton and Wallington by converting the existing 154 route into a 24 hour service.
The gap between the last and first bus is only 4 hours, so a half hourly service during these hours would not require too many additional journeys. Timetabling an extended route to connect the N155 at Morden and N44 at Rosehill would also improve connections for those returning back from Central London.
The London Assembly today urged Mayor Boris Johnson to halt his plans to dilute police Safer Neighbourhood Teams and recklessly close police front counters across London.
The Assembly's motion calls on the Mayor to retain the existing neighbourhood policing model of a dedicated sergeant, supported by two Constables and three Police Community Support Officers, allocated to each ward in London.
Caroline Pidgeon AM, who seconded the motion, said:
“Londoners value their local police stations and the local, recognisable police teams dedicated to serving their ward. Shutting up cop shops to public access and destroying the local policing model risks setting policing back more than a decade and separating the police from their communities.”
Caroline Pidgeon AM, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Mayor’s response today to her questions about the future of Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) across London, where he failed to recognise that there would be a reduction in dedicated police officers for each safer neighbourhood team, said:
“The Mayor should come clean with Londoners and admit that he is decimating the current and successful model for safer neighbourhood teams.
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.
Caroline spent Saturday 21st April out and about in Sutton with London Assembly Candidate Abigail Lock, Paul Burstow MP, Tom Brake MP and Cllr Ruth Dombey.
“We had a great day talking to shoppers in Worcester Park and out knocking on doors of local residents across Sutton” commented Caroline