Caroline's news

Transport for London have promised to assess the case for a new school bus between Hinchley Wood School and Chessington following a recent meeting with local parents Steve Griffiths and Steph Narramore, Cllr Mary Reid, Ed Davey MP and Caroline Pidgeon AM, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member and Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee.

At the meeting held on Wednesday, detailed evidence was presented to Transport for London (TfL) showing that the increase in pupils attending the school from Chessington clearly justifies a dedicated school bus. Using a map showing where pupils live, evidence was shown that already about 140 pupils of Hinchley Wood School come from homes in the area. Pupils can only get to the school by bus using the 71 followed by the K3 which takes about an hour, and both buses are already pretty full at peak hours.

In 1834, arguably the greatest attraction in the country at the time was formally opened in Walworth, in the shape of a 15-acre exotic zoo. It housed not only elephants, rhinoceroses and leopards but also the first giraffes ever seen in the UK. As well as the zoo, the Royal Surrey Zoological Gardens also hosted spectacular shows that incorporated large scale scenes of historical events, such as the eruption of Vesuvius or the Siege of Sebastopol. These were popular shows of the day using specially constructed sets and special effects such as fireworks, or burning ships which were part of naval battle re-enactments. One recreation of the city of Rome covered 5 acres.

The venue was so popular that it once drew crowds of up to eight thousand visitors a day and over 500,000 people came to see one spectacular during its first 100 days. Its music hall could hold over 12,000 people and put on concerts of up to 1000 performers.

However, by the late 1840s the popularity of the zoo was beginning to fade, and the animals were sold off, the music hall was destroyed by a fire, and the park was finally closed in 1877.

In an article for the Lib Dem Voice website, Caroline describes the difficulties of carrying out repair work efficiently on the Underground, and asks whether it would be better to accept lines shutting completely for a few weeks, rather than disruption continuing for months.

Caroline says:

LibDems and Londoners need to face reality: would you prefer a six week closure of a section of Tube line and get the work over and done with (more efficiently and so at lower cost), or do we stick with 19 weekend closures and take four months? We have many years of this work ahead so it is perhaps time Boris made up his mind.

What would YOU want him to do?

Simon Hughes MP joined Caroline for the summer open studios on the Pullens Estate in West Walworth. After a wander around the wonderful artistic studios chatting to local residents and businesses, including jewellers, painters, photographers, dress designers and ceramic artists, the team enjoyed some food and drink in the wonderful Electric Elephant Café run by Louisa.

“The weather held off for another successful Pullens open studios. The work never fails to impress me” commented Caroline Pidgeon.

Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson at City Hall and Chair of the Assembly’s Transport Committee, today published a response to the Mayor’s Statement of Intent on transport.

Commenting, Caroline said:
“Londoners are looking for cleaner, greener and cheaper solutions on transport in London. The key transport challenges for London in the next decade really turn on what the Mayor, business and the taxpayer can afford.