Lewisham cuts £33m, doubles the cost of resident parking

Lewisham Council yesterday agreed a package of £33m in savings. In addition to the £1m expected to be saved by closing or transferring management of five libraries in the borough, the South London Press reports that other measures agreed include:

• Amersham Early Years Centre, in Amersham Road, New Cross, which offers childcare, will also close in August.
• Costs for the borough's remaining three early years centres will be upped by as much as £50 a week for parents.
• Charges for the meals on wheels service are going up, there will be less home care support for elderly people and the council will start using staff members rather than consultants to investigate deaths of kids in care.

The Council also resolved to double the cost of resident parking permits from £60 per annum to £120.

Given the abject state of parking enforcement in many parts of the borough, a low-cost CPZ scheme has been suggested by many as a way of reducing parking abuse in Brockley. This move by the Council may put a few off the idea.