• Question by: Mike Tuffrey
• Meeting date: 17 December 2003

As someone who grew up in the area, my father before me remembers using Crystal Palace and he actually saw the fire. I can still remember him describing what he witnessed when he grew up in Beckenham where he was living. Is the Mayor aware that both personally and politically we will be very supportive? Can I urge him to be careful of the politics of the thing? I think Val would be the last person who would want this to be entangled in the forthcoming election. Clearly, she has an electoral interest.

• Question by: Valerie Shawcross
• Meeting date: 17 December 2003

I suppose I should declare an interest as a resident of the Crystal Palace area, we are going into this so intensively. Would you agree that in terms of any discussion about the top site that we do not just need to have a safety assessment done in terms of the soil chemistry, but there are also potential structural issues on the terraces? If we are going to make the park serve the people of the area we will need to have a proper safety assessment done, as well as an environmental impact assessment before we can decide how to...

• Question by: Bob Neill
• Meeting date: 17 December 2003

): Does it come to this, that you do not rule out in fact recognising that it may well be an appropriate commercial development (I accept all the caveats) which could actually be beneficial both to the sports package and the future developments that we might both want to see?

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 17 December 2003

I agree that it is an eyesore at the moment; it is an absolute dump. What is your preference: to see it restored as open parkland, or to see some sort of development on it?

• Question by: Darren Johnson
• Meeting date: 17 December 2003

People were clearly unhappy with those outrageous proposals for the cinema last time round. A local poll showed 83% of the local community of households in the area actually wanted the top site to remain as open parkland.

• Question by: Andrew Pelling
• Meeting date: 19 November 2003

I am a bit concerned about the process of allocation, at the basic borough level; three wards per borough does discriminate against larger boroughs like Croydon. But in terms of the allocation being locally determined, I am concerned that it should not be entirely driven by the issue of social deprivation because the problems is when you do that by ward, you will end up with repeating the mistakes you sometimes get with Government allocations. The smaller neighbourhoods suffering from high crime will get excluded; from my area places like Monkshill or Shrublands or certain parts of North Sutton. What...

• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 19 November 2003

I agree with you, Mayor, that we have set the agenda at the MPA and I am proud of that but I am still worried that we do not have the accurate figures. For example, there are no infrastructure support services figures in the basic business case figure of £364 million.

• Question by: Elizabeth Howlett
• Meeting date: 19 November 2003

Are you satisfied, Mayor, that the step-change business case made by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and stated to you and to ourselves as the full cost of the step-change programme, can be relied on, for example, the business case put forward is £364 million over three years. The Deputy Commissioner, in a recent speech, mentioned £500 million and the Deputy Assistant Commissioner, for Territorial Policing, recently said £750 million over three years. So, we are all a bit perplexed. Have you got a handle on the figures?

• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 19 November 2003

You have got to actually be honest with the people of London. Where is your financial strategy? Where do you want to take London? What do you expect them to pay? We have already nearly doubled their Council Tax. Deal with the cards that are there, not those you wish you had.

• Question by: Richard Barnes
• Meeting date: 19 November 2003

No, you are the Mayor of London with a financial strategy.