Brixton Buzz

Four more Lambeth parks have recently received Green Flag Awards, bringing its total to 30, on the 30th anniversary of the awards, proving that the borough continues to have exceptional green spaces.

Lambeth Walk Doorstep Green, Pedlar’s Park and Windmill Gardens have all secured Green Flag Award accreditation for the first time, adding to the borough’s existing 26 council-managed award-winning sites. It means Lambeth Council now manages 29 Green Flag Award sites; the highest number it has ever achieved.

There’s a serious fire going on in a waste transfer shed behind Loughborough Junction Tesco Express.

Paint peeling off the metal cladding on the walls and a distinct inferno visible through join between the metal clad wall & brick lower wall.

Smoke billowing up – visible a distance.

Whoever certified such a use in a built up area in these days of lithium battery e-scooters etc?

Madness or inefficiency?

And only a three years since the Herne Hill fire completely destroyed another such building

The five Liberal Democrat councillors representing Streatham have written to the Mayor of London demanding urgent action over Transport for London’s management of the £25 million Streatham Hill improvement scheme.

The councillors say TfL has “treated bus passengers as an afterthought”, closing four bus stops on Streatham Hill with little or no warning, leaving elderly residents, disabled people, parents with buggies and others facing long walks on one of London’s busiest bus corridors.

Andy Burnham had been Prime Minister for barely two hours when Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Labour MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, called on his government to end all arms transfers to Israel and suspend the UK’s bilateral trade agreement.

It’s characteristic of the 41-year-old socialist, whose forthright stance on racism, justice and equality has seen her stature rise among the left in the borough and beyond since she succeeded Chuka Umunna as MP for Streatham in 2019.

Peckham MP Miatta Fahnbulleh has been appointed Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary, giving one of South London’s newest MPs a major role in Andy Burnham’s first Cabinet.

Her promotion caps a rapid rise: first elected in 2024, she now holds one of the government’s most strategically important briefs.

Save Streatham High Road M&S Simply Food

We, the residents of Streatham, local business owners, and loyal customers, are deeply concerned by reports that the M&S Simply Food / Foodhall at 352 Streatham High Road (SW16 6HP) is planned for closure.

This branch is an essential anchor for our community. It provides vital access to high-quality fresh food, serves as a crucial Click & Collect hub for local residents, and employs dedicated local staff members.

Steve Reed has left government within two hours of Andy Burnham’s first speech in Downing Street, becoming the first Cabinet casualty of the afternoon as the new Prime Minister begins assembling his team.

Reed, widely seen as one of Sir Keir Starmer’s closest allies and among the government’s most frequent media defenders, had been Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government since September 2025, and was Environment Secretary before that.

He left at around 3.37pm.

In a resignation letter addressed ‘Dear Andy’, Reed wrote:

Just over a month after opening its doors, The Hill is quickly becoming one of Streatham’s go to neighbourhood pubs.

Packed quiz nights, a hugely popular Tuesday Steak Night and Sunday roasts that regularly bring families and friends together have helped the venue establish itself as a genuine local favourite.

Alex Davies overturned a Green majority to take Streatham St Leonard’s for the Liberal Democrats, while veteran community campaigner Michael Ball held Clapham Park for the Greens by just 43 votes in two closely fought by-elections decided at Lambeth Town Hall tonight.

Davies won with 1,161 votes (42%) to the Greens’ Dario Goodwin on 972 (35%), with Labour’s Jade Ellen Albas trailing on 421. The Lib Dems had finished third in the ward in May – making the gain all the more remarkable.

A fresh report has delivered another damning line to the epitaph of Claire Holland’s failed Labour administration, just weeks after their historic loss in May’s local elections.

Two decades of Labour rule in Lambeth have left the borough with one of the worst housing records in the country – chronic under-building, unsustainable temporary accommodation expenditure, the costly collapse of its own development company, Homes for Lambeth, and now another official finding against its conduct as one of London’s biggest landlords.