Lewisham London Borough Council

Restoring the Victorian Ladywell Playtower in Lewisham will cost an extra £1.7 million.

The “significant” rise in costs comes after surveyors found an array of unforeseen issues such as rotting timber and asbestos.

New structural support, basement waterproofing, water and electric upgrades, and repairing brick work, drains and roof coverings will also add to the cost.

Originally it was estimated the restoration of the Grade II listed Playtower, built as a public swimming baths in 1884, would cost £4.5 million but that figure has now risen to £6.2 million.

Developer Guildmore, in partnership with Curzon Cinemas, bought the years-derelict Playtower in 2017.

Plans for the site originally included a nursery and step-down care facility but this was dropped after few residents showed support for it.

The space will now be used for extra flats – 33 up from from the initial 21 – which the council says will mitigate the extra costs.

Councillors approved the changes at Mayor and Cabinet last night, as well as an offer from Curzon to give discounted cinema tickets to Lewisham Local Card holders, which rewards local volunteers.

Lewisham Council has approved more than £8 million worth of cuts, out of the additional £12.2 million they announced in July.

The proposed cuts concentrated on £9.2 million of the £12.2 million, added to the £9 million it announced early in the year.

Adult social care received the biggest blow, slashed by £4 million.

The council has proposed to cut £2 million in costs by “managing care at the point of access”, including plans to ensure more people are able to remain independently at home.

The aim is to make savings by rehabilitating people instead of putting them into care, which is “very expensive” and “emotionally difficult” on families.

According to the council, £37 million in cuts will be needed to “put the council’s finances on a sustainable footing” in the two years to 2021/22 – £20.6m in 2020/21 and £17m in 2021/22 – and a further £12 million in cuts in the year after that.

The cuts have been made in the context of central Government funding for local authorities being slashed by 63% since 2010, inflation, and a growing population in Lewisham, according to the budget report.

Lewisham Council

Lewisham Council in south east London is planning to build 32 new council homes including 26 homes providing temporary accommodation for homeless families and six supported living homes for residents with learning difficulties and/or autism.

The authority today submitted plans to itself for the demolition of a warehouse on Mayow Road and the construction of the new homes.

The supported living units will be delivered in partnership with the NHS as part of which residents will be provided with 24/7 on-site care and support, and communal garden space for their sole use, the council said.

It added that a new special educational needs school was also planned for construction opposite the site.

Councillor Paul Bell, cabinet member for housing, said: "Mayow Road is a landmark scheme. It is a joint collaboration with the NHS, aiming to create socially integrated accommodation which will cater to both homeless families and to residents with learning difficulties and/or autism.

"These homes reflect our determination to deliver on making a difference for our residents by building and enabling new places to call home."

Lewisham Council is appealing to the public to help fund the Blackheath fireworks – the largest free fireworks display in London.

The display, due to take place 2 November at 20:00, has cost the authority £40,000 in previous years, and has drawn close to 100,000 attendees.

But a Lewisham Council spokesperson said the display was “under threat due to government funding cuts”, with the authority turning to crowdfunding to raise £20,000 for the event.

Cllr Jonathan Slater, Cabinet Member for Community Sector, said: “Lewisham Council has organised a free fireworks display for over 30 years. With over 80,000 attendees, Blackheath Fireworks is London’s largest free fireworks display and we want residents to continue to enjoy it. However, the event is very expensive to run and the future of the fireworks is at risk due to government funding cuts.

“I encourage anyone that has enjoyed the display in the past and would like it to continue to visit the crowdfunder and donate to help keep the fireworks going.”

If the funding limit is reached, the event will have a funfair from midday, food and bars from 17:00 and a fireworks display from 20:00 which will last around 15 minutes, a Lewisham Council spokesperson said.

Lewisham Council has appointed its new chief executive, former Hackney Council housing boss Kim Wright.

She was chosen from an all-women shortlist, Mayor Damien Egan told the council, and is the borough’s first female chief executive.

Ms Wright will be paid a £180,000 salary – less than former chief executives Ian Thomas and Barry Quirk, who were paid £185,000 and £196,254.

Mr Egan said: “We had a very high bar in terms of what we were looking for. We were focused on experience and experience of change in London.

“We had a fantastic short list and long list which was made up of some the most experienced women leaders within local government.

“Kim is currently the executive director of neighbourhoods and housing at Hackney Council. She joins Lewisham with a huge wealth of direct experience with transforming and improving services for Hackney residents and involving communities in that change,” he added.

Ms Wright will start at the council at the end of October.

Lewisham’s children and young people will get two new mental health support teams to work across schools and colleges from 2020, funded by the NHS.

This comes as a new survey finds as many as one in four Lewisham children and young people experience anxiety or depression.

The teams will have a range of clinicians who will focus on issues like anxiety, depression and primary to secondary transition.

They will work between schools and child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), and offer support and treatments in schools, including cognitive behaviour therapy.

But the exact details are yet to be confirmed, a council spokesman said.

Lewisham Council bought 144,000 disposable plastic cups in the 12 months ending March.

The figures have been labelled “hypocritical” by Lewisham and Greenwich London Assembly candidate for the Conservatives, Charlie Davis, since the authority last November moved a motion to ban single use plastics and in February declared a climate emergency.

The cups were bought to stock Laurence House, the Town Hall, Civic Suite and Eros House.

The declaration came a month before the FOI period ended.

But Mr Davis said the authority was not moving as quickly as others to change its practices, such as Greenwich Council, which has pledged to remove single use plastics from its buildings by 2020.

Councillor Sophie McGeevor said the council had already made a commitment to end the use of single and short term use plastic in council buildings, offices, schools and nurseries by May 2022.

But the cabinet member for environment and transport said the council had stopped restocking the cups, but much more needed to be done.

Beckenham Place Park’s new wild swimming lake will be open to the public in a matter of weeks, ready for a launch event on 20 July.

The much-anticipated lake forms part of a £4.9 million project to regenerate the park – which is the largest in the borough – funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

It includes a new wet woodland, play areas, BMX track, skate park, public toilets, as well as a cafe, visitor hub and education centre in the Homestead.

Lewisham Council also contributed nearly £2 million to the project, including a new bridge over the Ravensbourne River.

Cllr Sophie McGeevor, cabinet member for parks and recreation, said the park “looked amazing” and hoped the new lake and play areas would enocurage children and their families to live more active lifestyles.

“We have just got the latest health figures for Lewisham and 38 per cent of year six pupils are overweight or obese,” she said.

“It is really important to have activities to get kids outside. There has [already] been a lot of focus on sugar and healthy eating.”

Swimmers will have to book online and pay electronically when they turn up, she said. But there will be a free section of the lake for paddling.