Chris Best

On my web site you can find out about me, my work in Sydenham and Lewisham Council. Please visit my councillor web site as this provides links to Lewisham Council and factual information such as my Newsletters and the Ward Profile - please see my latest quarterly Newsletters for Winter 2011/12.

Please visit my Contact me page for way to get in touch or just send me an email - info@chrisbest.org

We have received 19 bids totalling over £44k for the £15k Sydenham Assembly Fund. This is a fantastic response and there are bids to meet each of Sydenham's top five priorities:

• more activities for children and young young people

• improving community safety and tackling anti-social behaviour

• vibrant high street

• transport improvements

• environmental improvements to provide a cleaner and greener Sydenham

The next step is for the Coordinating Group to review each bid and then a presentation and voting on bids that fit the criteria at the next Sydenham Assembly on Thursday 14 June.

Please visit the Sydenham Assembly page of Lewisham's web site and take a look at our Spring Newsletter.

Information on the previous Sydenham Assembly meetings is under the Get Involved page and the photos of our meetings can be found here.

Please join the facebook page.

I am really pleased that Lewisham supported our bid for the Mary Portas pilot and delighted with the video that accompanies the bid. Take a look at what local residents are saying needs to improve and ideas for the vacant shops.

What is great is the passion that local residents have and the support for the Town Team to drive forward improvements to the look and feel of our high street and as well as Kirkdale and Forest Hill..

The Sydenham Town Centre Steering Group have agreed match funding with the Sydenham Traders Association for the wonderful new web site http://www.sydenhamtowncentre.com - please spread the word and like the facebook page!

If you want to see the Government's response to the review then view here and more about the recommendations from the Mary Portas High Street Review please view here.

The Arts Festival programme is coming soon - please visit the web site for more details.

As a warm up there is the Queen's Jubilee and Big Lunch on Sunday 3 June - click here for more information about holding a street party.

Lewisham Council is once again offering residents a more convenient - and free - way of disposing of garden waste at the weekend.

Please take you bags to Girton Road car park where a refuse truck and staff will be available at the weekend - from 9am to 12noon on both Saturday and Sunday.

To use the service, residents need to ensure that garden waste is presented to Council staff in plastic or reusable bags. Flowers and plants, grass clippings, hedge trimmings, leaves, and twigs and branches up to four inches in diameter will all be accepted.

The Council cannot accept kitchen waste, vegetable peelings, soil, turf, stones or Japanese knotweed.

The service is free, but residents should bring along proof of address and ID, otherwise they may be refused access to the service. No trade waste or trailers, vans or open back vehicles will be allowed.

Garden waste can also be taken to the reuse and recycling centre on Landmann Way, New Cross. Green garden waste bags can be purchased from any Lewisham library and arrange collection through CallPoint - 020 8314 7171.

In these times of financial constraint we have been supporting Lewisham Plus Credit Union - http://www.lewishampluscu.co.uk/.

Lewisham Plus are a financial cooperative with a mission to promote the financial well being of its members by encouraging members to save what they can, and have access to borrowing at levels that they can afford to repay.

By operating as a financial cooperative every member of the Credit Union is a part owner of the organisation. Call into the office on Kirkdale and find out more about becoming a member.

If you want to find out the latest events in Lewisham please take a look at the Visit Lewisham site.

Please see the link to the News Shopper celebrating the unveiling of a maroon plaque to Henry Cooper who lived in Bellingham.

I have set up a photo stream to show my activities on flickr.