In response to enquiries from local resdients about problems with the changes to the train timetables at Blackheath Station, Parliamentary Candidate for Greenwich and Woolwich and Leader of Greenwich Conservatives Cllr Spencer Drury commented:
"Local Conservatives have been raising issues over these changes for some time, but South East Trains (SET) did their best to hide the true impact at Blackheath by distorting the amount of trains moving from one time (peak or off-peak) to another, which made it difficult to figure out exactly what the impact would be.
 
We have already raised it with Gareth Bacon (a London GLA member) and he has asked TfL about it, although I understand that they have no specific jurisdiction as this has been changed as a result of government requirements. I have been told that Mike Gibson, SET’s Public Affairs Manager when justifying the changes stated that:
 
‘A rail franchise is a form of contract set by the DfT specifying the service pattern, subsidy levels, performance targets and other determinants it (the DfT) wishes to see on the network to which the franchise relates.  The franchise is a legally binding document and any change has to be agreed by the DfT. Our draft timetable for December this year is based upon the Integrated Kent Franchise (IKF) draft service specification we inherited as a contractual commitment from the DfT when awarded the franchise in 2006.  The draft service specification was itself the outcome of a consultation exercise carried out by the DfT and the former Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) in 2003/04 and consultees included the former London Transport Users Committee, (now London TravelWatch), Transport for London and the London boroughs of Greenwich and Lewisham. Included in this specification was a requirement to operate an all day Orpington to London Service via Lewisham.  
 
Lewisham is an interchange with the Docklands Light Railway and there is a demand for more stops at stations offering a DLR connection to meet the needs of those travelling on to Canary Wharf. As you may know over the last decade employment in London has been gradually shifting eastwards to Canary Wharf and in southeast London and north Kent demand for stops allowing interchange with the DLR has increased significantly. When we took over the franchise we commissioned an in depth demand validation study (the results of which were shared with stakeholders) to see if the assumptions on which the SRA/DfT had based the draft service specification were still operationally valid in light of revised demand forecasts and subsequent developments such as the Thameslink programme. The results revealed that as a result of infrastructure constraints, Lewisham station is at its maximum capacity for train movements during peak periods and the only way for the DfT’s specification for more peak DLR connecting services to be achieved was for some services to be re-routed away from Lewisham to Greenwich (which also has an interchange with the DLR). We consequently looked at all the routes which serve Lewisham, and the only trains which could be re-routed away are the North Kent semi fast trains from Charlton. So to meet the DfT’s objective our proposal is for these trains to run via Greenwich, so passengers for Lewisham can change onto the DLR.  Blackheath passengers can either do the same interchange as the Lewisham people or alight at Charlton and catch a bus to Blackheath.
 
Meeting this DfT specification obviously impacts on the number of North Kent line trains stopping at Blackheath.  At present during the morning peak period there are six North Kent trains and these are being reduced to three. However we are offering two additional Charing Cross trains at Blackheath which at present run past Blackheath non stop, these trains will be calling at London Bridge, thereby offering interchange opportunities for Cannon Street passengers. Therefore the actual reduction in trains at Blackheath during this period is just one. This was explained to the DfT nearly two years ago when we set out the operational implications of the IKF draft service speciation and all parties agreed that this was a necessary consequence of meeting the DfT’s aspiration for operating the Orpington service via Lewisham.  The specification detailing future services to London from Blackheath and elsewhere from December 2009 compared to what is on offer today was shared with stakeholders and posted on our website in December last year.
 
I accept that for Blackheath passengers travelling to Cannon Street, the new timetable may be inconvenient.  However, it’s perhaps worth pointing out that Blackheath passengers commuting to Charing Cross, Waterloo East and Victoria will have additional services.  For passengers travelling in off-peak periods, there will also be an uplift in service levels from four to six trains an hour’.
 
This appeared to me to be a lengthy and not very informative response, but at the December Council meeting, Cllr Geoff Brighty (Blackheath Westcombe) raised the issue in Council and received a similar reply to that one laid out above. However, in a supplementary, I did raise the fact that I was aware that there had been a Transport Liason Committee meeting in December and the Deputy Leader of the Council agreed to send me the minutes of that meeting. The relevant bits are laid out below:
 
"Southeastern Trains
 
MG:           Train performance was back up to 93% following the four week ‘leaf drop’ period.
From 2nd January, Pay As You Go Oyster would be live on the network allowing passengers the cheapest fare option for journey. There will be a fare increase freeze in Jan 2010, although Kent will unfortunately experience a 1.6% fare increase. 
                 
The new timetable comes into operation on 13th December and although the borough has a net increase in services SET were still receiving complaints form customers, especially in the Blackheath area, about a reduction in local services
 
SET had given an undertaking that from January they would monitor overcrowding on services and if levels were unacceptable they would use the information to renegotiate the local element of the service specification with the DfT
 
 
KS:            Requested information on SET’s publicity on the time table changes, and Andrew Stern in GC’s Comms could place all changes on the LBG web site.
 
Action:      Kim to send e-mail to MG re Andrew Stern contact details so that MG can liaise).
 
MG:           Said publicity on the timetable changes included:

• announcements on their current train services
• a leafleting campaign at stations
• posters at stations
• on Monday 14th December they will have all available frontline and back office staff out on the network to offer advice and information

 
There had been site meetings regarding additional station access at Maze Hill station, which formed part of a Section 106 obligation. Assurances had now been given to SET by the developer and they were now hopeful of a way forward in the New Year.
 
The installation of new lifts at Blackheath station was scheduled to commence in early 2010 following the resolution of a long term tenancy dispute.”
 
(Kim Smith (LBG) [KS]
Mike Gibson (South Eastern Trains) [MG])
 
I understand that the next major timetable change is for December 2010, so it is absolutely essential that the Council lobbies to achieve a better deal for the users of Blackheath Station. In addition, those users of Westcombe Park, Maze Hill and Greenwich who have lost direct services to Charing Cross need to have their strongly represented. 
 
As a Parliamentary Candidate for Greenwich and Woolwich and Leader of the Conservative Group, I will be campaigning to reverse these changes which seem to be a side-effect of a set of central government requirements to run an all day Orpington service via Lewisham. In the short term, the more feedback that we have about people’s difficulties, the more we can use to sort out the problems, so please encourage everyone to feedback their problems and we will use this to back up our views during the timetable review next year.
 
I do hope that this sums up the position adequately – as you can see we have been active on this, but please do let me know if you think there is more we can be doing."
 

Conservative plans to improve home insulation and reward recycling
 
Spencer Drury, Parliamentary Candidate for Greenwich and Woolwich and Leader of the Opposition on Greenwich Council, this week gave his backing to bold Conservative plans to help Greenwich’s households protect the environment and save money. Major policy proposals for a Conservative government include giving rewards to householders for recycling their rubbish and also a ‘Green Deal’ of providing up to £6,500 for home insulation improvements at no upfront cost to residents.
 
Green Deal: Under the plans, every household will have the right to have home energy efficiency work of up to £6,500. There will be no upfront cost, as the work will be paid for by the much larger savings on energy bills from the improved insulation. This will open up a whole new market in energy efficiency, create tens of thousands of skilled jobs and cut carbon emissions. It will also save families money and make Greenwich’s homes warmer in winter – helping the elderly and ‘fuel poor’ in particular. A typical home could see £30 a month knocked off its final bill.
 
Rewards for recycling: A Conservative government would also scrap Labour’s plans for new bin taxes on family homes. Labour Ministers have already changed the law so bin taxes can be imposed, despite the fact that they have been shown to increase fly-tipping and dangerous ‘backyard burning’. Conservatives would work with councils across London to promote schemes where good behaviour is rewarded, but families are not taxed or fined. Under the American ‘Recyclebank’ scheme now being piloted in Britain, households receive points for recycling; these are then converted into vouchers for local shops, including Marks & Spencer and Costcutter, or into donations to charities.  Households could earn up to £175 a year in vouchers.
 
Spencer said:
“Gordon Brown hits people with taxes, fines and bans, rather than trusting people and encouraging social responsibility. Conservatives believe in incentives to help and reward people to do their bit to help the environment.
 
“The Green Deal of insulating people’s homes for no upfront cost and rewarding people for recycling will not only protect the environment, but also help families and pensioners who are struggling to make ends meet. These practical policies show how if you vote blue, Greenwich and Woolwich will go green and save money.”

Conservatives recently uncovered a hidden programme of cuts, planned by Labour’s Greenwich Council. In a document marked confidential, leaked to the Leader of the Conservative Group, Cllr Spencer Drury, Labour discusses its plans for £26.8m of cuts following the next set of Council elections
 
The leaked document called ‘Future Financial Strategy 2011/12 to 2014/15 Potential Work Streams’ was presented to a Labour Group Meeting on behalf of the Labour Leader of the Council .
The briefing makes clear that the programme of cuts is ‘being pursued by officers’ and states “Current best estimates are that a four year freeze to Council budgets would require a reduction in revenue budgets of £26.m over the four year period of the next administration.” 
 
Areas which are identified as having potential to produce cuts or extra revenue are:-
 

• Reducing still further the separate Neighbourhood Offices
• Reducing funding to the voluntary sector (stated as “As a minimum this is likely to require cash limited and possibly reduced budgets.”)
• Stopping some Council services
• Within social services reviewing the eligibility criteria (to make less people eligible for care) and restricted access to services (“examine options to reduce demand and volume”)
• Raising charges to leaseholders
• Raising council charges still further.

 
After the 2006 Council Elections, the Labour Cabinet announced a programme of £24.7m of cuts (through service reductions and fee increases) which they had not advertised prior to the elections. In their 2009/10 budget, the Labour Cabinet chose to freeze fee increases.
 
Conservative Group Leader and Parliamentary Candidate for Greenwich and Woolwich at the next elections Cllr Spencer Drury said “The Labour Party has clearly got a hidden programme of cuts already in place – just as it did in 2006. They are taking voters for granted and refusing to be honest about their plans. 
 
“It seems that the old, the vulnerable and other users of Council services will be affected once again  if Labour wins. To add to that Labour are planning to cut whole areas of services, potentially including the VOCU police unit which has worked so hard to reduce crime in the Woolwich and Thamesmead areas.
 
“After 40 years in power this is a complacent, tired and dishonest Labour-run council and it is time for a change.”

 
Spencer Drury, Greenwich Councillor & Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Greenwich and Woolwich, this week issued a stark warning that Gordon Brown’s changes to housing benefit rules are harming the most vulnerable tenants and reducing the availability of affordable accommodation.
 
Last year, Labour Ministers introduced a new ‘Local Housing Allowance’, with housing benefit being direct to the tenant rather than to the landlord. But vulnerable tenants often struggle to manage their finances and spend their rent money on other things. Homeless charity, Crisis, has warned that this can result in rent arrears and eventually homelessness.
 
Landlords who were previously happy to take on tenants on housing benefit have suffered from non-payment of rent. Many landlords now routinely refuse to let to Local Housing Allowance claimants. According to the National Landlords Association, half of all landlords are reluctant to lend to tenants on Local Housing Allowance.
 
13,486 people in Greenwich are on local housing waiting lists, and a sizeable proportion of them are on housing benefit. Housing waiting lists have risen by 75% per cent under this Labour Council since 1997 – reflecting the shortage of affordable accommodation.
 
Conservatives have pledged to change Labour’s failed policy. Tenants will be able to choose whether to have their housing allowance paid direct to their landlord. This will increase the availability of quality low-cost housing.
 
Spencer said:
 
“Labour’s new housing benefit rules are failing the most vulnerable in our society. Landlords are put off from renting to those on benefit, slashing the availability of decent places to live. Some tenants struggle to manage their finances, using up their benefit money by rent pay day. They get into arrears and trouble as a result.
 
“Tenants should have greater choice, and be free to specify that their housing benefit should go direct to the landlord. This will help those most in need.”