Community activist, food bank founder-green energy co-op Author * Food Bank Britain *-DEPTFORD radicle history & Liberty , play-book true story Kath Duncan battle 2 establish UK civil. Bio The Last Queen of Scotland Out 2018 .Am guest speaker, social enterprise -poverty-food waste issues . Broadcaster & write The London Economic . My aim giving updates, comments, insight what establishment up 2 across Globe & briefing you on Campaigners MSM chose 2 ignore .
This morning Sunday , i was interviewed by Police following on from the growing scandal around public funds the development company * Renewal* involving a former leader of Labour Lewisham Council, and the present labour Mayor Steve Bullock, this is fast moving even though Lewisham People Before Profit got active in this campaign more than 10 years ago , but as this £1 billion pound development deal has got closer to reality the concerns raised by LPB4P have become of global concern , just 2 weeks ago i tabled a Question to full council calling for an Independent Investigation into how this deal has come about and to restore confidence in our borough, days later the latest local labour council;or elected in Blockley ward tweeted that the whole deal had a *Stink * about it and this week the story grew wings with Guardian exposing the fact £500,000 of Lewisham tax payers cash was funnelled via a dodgy charity set up with much of what was going on rubber stamped by the Councils own Labour scrutiny committee .
Lewisham People Before Profit have campaigned long on hard in seeking to expose the cosy relationship between the Developers in our borough and a council lead by the all powerful Sir Steve Bullock who has been able until this week to give jobs in his cabinet to like minded fellow Labour Councillors. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jan/20/millwall-stadium-foundation-taxpayer-money-misleading-claims?CMP=share_btn_link
This Week after the Guardian blew the roof of the scandal, The Charity Commission has launched an investigation and this has kicked of a police investigation, although at todays interview i was told at present police are investigating allegations to see if a fraud investigation should be launched, in light of the huge about of paper work on this, much tweeted via my twitter feed Ray Woolford this is almost certain to happen this week.
Today in a further twist a senior Labour party official contacted me in private to state Sir Steve Bullock would be standing down, whilst many using the hash tags Millwall and LEWISHAM4 are demanding the heads of all the top people in Lewisham including The Chief Executive .
Councillor Alan Hall has been extremely brave in writing the letter attached to this blog copy
Charity Commission opens case into charity at heart of Millwall FC controversy
The regulator will not confirm the issues behind its probe of the Surrey Canal Sports Foundation
The New Den: Millwall FC's ground
The Charity Commission has opened a case into the sports charity at the heart of a controversial £1bn development scheme involving a compulsory purchase order of land around Millwall Football Club’s ground in London.
The sports charity the Surrey Canal Sports Foundation has claimed it received a £2m funding pledge from Sport England for a sports facility on the proposed development, but this has been denied by the funder itself.
According to Lewisham Council’s website, planning permission was granted in 2012 for the New Bermondsey regeneration scheme. The developer Renewal, which set up the Surrey Canal Sports Foundation in 2011, said this would provide 2,400 homes and an improved setting for Millwall FC’s stadium.
The council website says Renewal has been purchasing land at the site since 2004, and in a meeting on 7 September 2016 the council decided that a compulsory purchase order should be made for the rest of the land needed for the development.
Earlier this month, a council meeting to discuss the compulsory purchase order was adjourned, with a new meeting expected in February, according to the football club.
Council discussions about the development have cited the Surrey Canal Sports Foundation’s claim that it has a £2m funding pledge from Sport England towards a £40m sports complex on the New Bermondsey site.
But a spokeswoman for Sport England said: "In 2010 we received a funding application from the Surrey Canal Sports Foundation, but this was subsequently withdrawn in 2013. We therefore have no funding agreement, of any kind, in place with them."
In a statement from Steve Norris, chair of the Surrey Canal Sports Foundation, the charity said it approached Sport England in 2011 to seek a £2m funding commitment for the sports facility in New Bermondsey.
"In October 2013 we received a formal letter from Sport England which referenced their ongoing support for the project and that the application was now being moved onto the strategic facilities fund," the statement said.
"While the SCSF has made significant progress over the past four years, we have not progressed a more formal application since October 2013 due to the inordinate length of the compulsory purchase order process and ongoing land assembly led by Renewal.
"We are still awaiting the outcome of the CPO process, but following this we intend to re-engage Sport England and will be making a formal application for funding in the coming weeks."
The Charity Commission spokesman said its case on the Surrey Canal Sports Foundation was opened at the start of January and concerned a number of issues, but he was unable to confirm what these were.
According to the Charity Commission’s website, Surrey Canal Sports Foundation had no stated income in 2015/16, 2014/15 and 2013/14, with a £5,000 income in the year to 28 February 2013, meaning the charity did not have to file accounts with the regulator in any of those years.
The charity spent £97,080 in 2012/13, £232,200 in 2013/14, £236,074 in 2014/15 and £198,112 in 2015/16, the Charity Commission website says.
The most recent accounts available on the commission’s website, which are for the year to 29 February 2012, show the charity had net assets of £901, a total income of £48,269 and spending of £47,368.
Lewisham Council has faced criticism about the development from local residents and politicians, including the Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, and has been warned that the proposals could force Millwall FC to leave the area.
At the football club’s annual general meeting last month, its chairman, John Berylson, said that although the club would welcome the redevelopment of the area around the stadium, it wanted to "be able to develop our own land within the wider scheme for the benefit of the club and its fans and neighbours".
following on from my Question to Council demanding exactly this , but Labour Lewisham is changing although the present Leadership is almost all totally opposed to Corbyn and even went as far as to write to the South London Press urging Labour members not to vote for him many new members have joined who are pro Corbyn including large number of former PBP members, Greens, Socialist Party etc but as yet are not in a position or been members long enough to ditch the old guard , the fact that Labour Councillors are breaking ranks is something that is welcome but Lewisham voters must insure at local level we have opposition councillors elected who can ask questions and carry out due diligence , is it really acceptable that our Labour Council is in power with just 17% of the electorate?
Postcard from an earlier Lewisham People Before profit campaign action.
I have today raised a fresh question for Lewisham Labour council as the Millwall foot ball land grab deal continues to raise national interest and concern since the people behind the land deal include former leading Labour party Councillor and senior Council staff and with the offshore link it is increasingly looking like a deal that is in all but name a can of worms. Lewisham People Before Profit had some years ago at the start of the plans launched a broads community campaign and collected thousands of signatures in protest at Lewisham Council support for these plans as reality comes ever closer more people are asking questions and i intend to cover this in depth on my * Talk radio Europe show * in February . This is my latest Question to full council .
* In light of a Labour Councillor stating her concern that the Millwall planning applications have a *Stink* about them. and widespread community concern. what is Lewisham doing to insure that these planning proposals by former senior Labour party and Council employees are open and above board?
And would it not be better for public confidence for an independent body to review these plans?*
After launching the Lewisham People Before Profit campaign to insure every lorry and truck driver working on the increasing number of developments in the area are made aware that we have 6 primary schools, 4 children centres and 3 care homes in Deptford . i am shocked that the welfare of local residents can be ignored by our Labour Council, when i raised this as an issue with Lewisham Council as a question, they replied that they would look into it..and yet Deptford schools are probable the only ones in the UK that have no school awareness signs or basic road markings to warn the many truck drivers using our residential roads.
Since my last Question and after our campaign was reported in the South London Press at least two local residents have been hospitalised and yet still no signs, but Labour Lewisham have put up new signs on the entrances to Brookmill Park Deptford , to remind local dog owners the park does not allow dogs , but cannot erect a basic school safety sign..I have therefore today raised a further question to Council that reads.
* Brook mill park has just received new signage to highlight ban on dogs, and yet Deptford Schools are still without a single sign to highlight school awareness to increasing number of lorries pouring into the areas developments and since Lewisham People Before Profit launched the campaign reported in the South London Press, 2 local residents have been hospitalised.
As we have made the council aware of the risk to local residents, does the council have an idea as to how many more local residents must be hit by lorries and trucks before basic school safety signs outside almost every school in the UK , will be displayed in Deptford Schools?*
I will post Council responses once i have it.
Ray Barron-Woolford and Babara Raymond
Lewisham People Before Profit . See attached image of what most schools have.
