Sustainable homes
On Golden Lane our homes are cold and damp. We wait and wait for the new windows that have been promised for years. Water leaks through the roofs and mould from condensation is rife.
In the Barbican the communal heating system is expensive and patchy some flats too hot and some too cold.
With ever increasing energy costs, we must have properly insulated, dry homes – now.
I will continue to fight to get these projects completed.
Major works and repairs must be coordinated and right first time
We wait and wait for action. Contractors come and do something. It doesn’t work. They come again and we pay for it.
I will continue to try to ensure that projects are properly co-ordinated, that our drains and our communal lighting are regularly maintained rather than just dealt with when systems fail or when buildings like our Community Centre are flooded.
Local developments cannot be dictated by business interests alone
Residents must have more say in local developments like the Barbican Centre, 1 Golden Lane and London Wall Bastion House and Museum of London site.
We are surrounded by development sites, but our voices are not always listened to. I have a record on the Planning and Transportation Committee of opposing tall buildings that take daylight and sunlight from homes and reduce residential amenity.
I will try to make sure that we are asked in good time about developments that affect our lives, that we have a chance to have our say and be listened to so as to ensure that our quality of life is maintained, not degraded.
We must find a way to deal with anti-social behaviour
The City needs a better strategy, with resident input, for dealing with anti-social behaviour, whether it be skate boarding, urinating on our estates or on the street, or dogs fouling the estates.
I will work with Corporation officers and the City Police to make this happen. I will also strive to get scooters, e-scooters and cyclists off our pavements and on the road where they belong.
More consultation and more accountability
Consultation, when it happens at all, happens too late and we – the residents – are bounced into acceptance.
I will continue to fight for early engagement and proper consultation, not just box ticking.
Care, health and wellbeing
Children and young people; people with mental health issues; older people; lonely and isolated people: all of these groups need more support.
With the growing resident population, I want to make sure that the social, medical and educational facilities that we need are provided.
Air quality, biodiversity and green spaces
The air we breathe is polluted.
I want to make sure that we make every effort to improve it: I don’t just mean traffic pollution, but also the pollution caused on construction sites. Contracts must include clauses about clean operation including no idling when delivering. The use of generators and other polluting equipment must be controlled.
Beech Street closure made a huge difference to the air quality and now many of the issues have been solved it must be reintroduced as soon as possible but, at the same time, we need a bigger study of what can be done in our surrounding streets to ensure that the pollution is not just transferred and that we all enjoy the benefits of cleaner air and safer streets.
The outdoor spaces on Golden Lane Estate are tired and grey. Much of the Barbican podium still needs repair.
I will seize every opportunity to improve the quality and biodiversity of all outdoor spaces and look to create more.
Susan Pearson 