southlondon.co.uk

The Green Party have retained a seat in Clapham Park but have lost another to the Liberal Democrats in Streatham St Leonard’s following last night’s by-elections (July 9).

Michael Ball is the newly elected Green councillor for Clapham Park, after winning 842 votes (44 per cent), with Labour’s Louie Somerville-Sutherland following closely behind with 799 votes (42 per cent).

Finishing in third place was the Lib Dem’s Ben Amos with 108 votes (6 per cent), followed by Joshua Jack Forrester of the Conservatives and Martin Lester Read of Reform UK.

With just days to go until the local elections, political parties across Lambeth have published their manifesto pledges which detail how they would rule the council over the next four years.

Across the 25 wards in Lambeth, a total of 309 candidates are hoping to win one of the 63 seats on Lambeth Council.

Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives each have 63 candidates meaning there is a person contesting every seat in the borough. The Green Party has 62 nominees.

A historic Croydon rugby club has said its successful emergency fundraiser to secure the club’s future is “only just the beginning”, as it now faces fresh challenges to upgrade its ground and improve access to the sport.

A South London youth service that was on the brink of shutting down is determined it will survive so it can continue providing vital support to hundreds of children and young people each year.

Last year, Streatham Youth and Community Trust (SYCT) faced a major crisis when the previous Board of Trustees decided it wanted to shut down the charity for good, a move that shocked staff members and left the local community devastated.

GPs have been urged to ask patients about gambling habits in the same way they ask about smoking and alcohol after a man took his own life shortly after placing 628 bets in just over an hour.

Lee Adams, 36, died in his home in Streatham on July 24, 2020 after developing a gambling disorder. That day Lee had placed hundreds of bets on online slot games and had spent almost all of his monthly salary in the hours before his death.

A site in Streatham will be redeveloped to deliver 92 properties, including a number of ‘pocket’ homes measuring 38sqm and a pub which is set to reopen after being closed for eight years are among some of the major developments to look out for in Lambeth in 2026.

The borough could also see a 288-home development in tower blocks up to 20 storeys tall built in Brixton, while land owned by Prince William in Vauxhall will be turned into dozens of new homes following planning approval from the council.