The very thin blue line - local policing

Well - now we know what the future of policing looks like! We also know how much or little the Mayor has listened to the people of London.

As we said previously, West Hampstead Police station will NOT be closed but will be used for "deployment."

The new public "contact point" will be at our local SNT base179- 181 West End Lane but only open a couple of hours a week.

(They say: Contact Points are open every Wed-Thur evening between 19.00 and 20.00 and every Saturday afternoon between 14.00 and 15.00)

So catching sight of a police officer will be like spotting a member of an endangered species!

These are the views of Caroline Pidgeon who is the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on the London Assembly and Deputy Chair of the Police and Crime Committee:

"The Mayor published this morning his final Police and Crime Plan for London.  This follows consultation meetings in each Borough and a wide range of responses from Communities and individuals across London including the London Assembly Lib Dem Group.

Front Counters

The Plan has hardly changed from its initial draft.  63 police front counters will now close across London.  You can find the full details of the future police front counters and some of the possible new contact points for your borough through this link.

Safer Neighbourhood Teams

The Mayor is going ahead with his plans to cut our dedicated and valued Safer Neighbourhood teams to only one Police Constable and one PCSO per ward.  The other ‘neighbourhood policing’ officers will be for each Borough and will be allocated by the Borough Commander.  They will also all have a new investigative role, moving away from the traditional problem solving and intelligence gathering role that has seen confidence in the local police increase.

Our position

My concerns are that this plan is a return to the bad old days of policing.  The Mayor is planning to decimate dedicated Safer Neighbourhood Teams and return to ‘sector’ policing which failed so many communities across London. 

At the same time the closure of 63 police front counters will dramatically reduce the ability of many Londoners to access the police, especially when reporting some of the most serious forms of crime.  To add insult to injury we are still being denied the full details of how the new contact points will operate, especially the hours they will actually be open and the locations.  Some will only open for 3 hours a week which is not the like for like replacement that the Mayor has previously promised.

If you have any further questions then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

With best wishes

Caroline

Caroline Pidgeon AM Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group Chair Transport Committee Deputy Chair Police and Crime Committee  

www.carolinepidgeon.org

Latest news on the wheelie bins - its a green one!

Councillors have just received the following (and some of us have also had the promised letter so, apologies if you already know all this)

Changes to recycling in Camden this summer – update

From July, suitable properties north of the Euston Road will be provided with wheelie bins so that paper, plastic and glass recycling can be put in one place. Experience from other councils that have introduced wheelie bins shows that by providing additional storage capacity the amount of recycling increases.

Letters and surveys about preferred wheelie bin size and colour were sent to suitable properties north of the Euston Road in October.

Feedback from the survey and from community groups has been used to clarify which properties are to receive wheelie bins when the new recycling service starts.

This month, another letter will be sent out to the same properties with the following updates:

• Residents who responded to the survey will receive a letter to confirm that they will receive a 140 litre bin or 240 litre bin in line with their response
• Those residents who live in flats will also get an update on the number of wheelie bins for their building
• Residents who contacted the Council to say that they do not want a wheelie bin will receive a letter to confirm that they will not receive a bin.
• If a resident who does not want a wheelie bin lives in a flat their response has been taken into account, but their building may still receive a wheelie bin based on the responses of others in the same building.
• Those who did not respond to the survey will receive a letter letting them know that they will be receiving a bin/their building will be receiving bins
• The majority of residents asked for a green wheelie bin or did not mind which colour they received. All residents will therefore receive a green wheelie bin. This also takes into account requests from community groups that all wheelie bins be the same colour. 

This letter also has information about how to contact us, so that residents can let us know if they would like a different sized or no bin or have any comments. Wheelie bins will be delivered in the summer and residents who want a wheelie bin will be contacted again with a delivery date closer to the time.

Community groups are also being contacted with an update on the changes and another opportunity to request that a Council officer attend one of their meetings to discuss these changes.

October’s survey received 8000 responses, and these have provided useful information about recycling in Camden. Responses said that the biggest single barrier to recycling is that people feel they currently did not have a big enough box or container. Residents also said that they do not have enough information about what to recycle. In order to deal with this last point the next letter will include a list of all of the items which can be recycled in Camden

Feedback and further information

You can view useful questions and answers at camden.gov.uk/recyclingchanges.

Email inbox at recyclingiseasy@camden.gov.uk is checked regularly and ensures that all emails are managed. Please use this email address if you have any questions for the service.

Council officers are still available to visit community groups to give updates and address any concerns. Groups can contact recyclingiseasy@camden.gov.uk or call 020 7974 4444 with requests or questions.

There is also a further opportunity to see what happens to Camden’s mixed recycling after it is collected by visiting the Bywaters materials recycling facility, in Bromley by Bow. The next opportunity to visit, which is open to any interested residents or community leaders, will take place at 12.20pm to 2pm on 8 April (Monday). If you or group members would like to be included on the next trip please email recyclingiseasy@camden.gov.uk or telephone 020 7974 4444 to register your interest. Information about the facility can also be seen at bywaters.co.uk/services/mrf.php

20mph zone - Council consultation

Camden is consulting on a proposal to introduce 20 mph speed limit in all those areas of the borough which are not currently so limited.

For Fortune Green this means all of Fortune Green Ward from Finchley Road to Westbere Road. (not including Finchley Road which is a Red Route and managed by Transport for London.) (Note that West of Westbere Road has already been declared a 20mph zone)

The Council says:

"The proposal is to help reduce road casualties and create more pleasant neighbourhoods for everyone.  Many roads in Camden are already 20 mph and a borough-wide 20 mph speed limit would use signage and road markings only. Speed humps or cushions would not be installed as part of this scheme.

It is expected that a 20 mph speed limit will reduce the number of people killed and injured on Camden’s roads and by making our roads safer and more pleasant to use this will encourage more walking and cycling.

They are asking people to fill in a survey on line by 25^th March which you can find by clicking on the link below.
Proposal to introduce a borough-wide 20 mph speed limit

Law and Order -NOT

Where are we heading with local policing?  It seems no-one really knows for sure.

The debate around the future of policing in Camden has been plagued by poor consultation (and a fair bit of misinformation!)

The Camden “consultation” event on Mayor Johnson’s Police and Crime Plan held at the Camden Centre at the end of January was generally regarded to have been shambolic, and an occasion when the panel seemed more interested in talking at than listening to those who took the trouble to attend.

A few days later some 50 local residents attended the West Hampstead and Fortune Green area forum on a bitterly cold night, anxious to hear about plans for the closure of the front counter at West Hampstead police station and fearful that the station would close altogether. Lib Dem local councillor John Bryant led a lively debate but sadly both the police and Camden’s community safety team had sent their apologies.

Then Camden’s Labour Cabinet Member for Community Safety set up a meeting on the same subject on Wednesday 6^th March at West Hampstead library with minimal publicity and short notice, which only attracted four local residents plus councillors.  However, Camden’s Borough Commander of police Richard Tucker was present and promised a further, better organised and more widely advertised meeting once the result of the police consultation is published. He also said he hoped to find a way to keep the front counter open at Fortune Green police station!

Meanwhile at yesterday’s Fortune Green Safer Neighbourhood Panel meeting, the “North Area” Inspector, Matt Ashmead, outlined what local police have been told of latest schemes. We will be part of the “North Area” (or cluster) which stretches from Highgate to Kilburn and will have more “neighbourhood police” than before, but they will be doing different things.

Fortune Green and West Hampstead will drop to dedicated teams of one shared sergeant, one PC each and one PCSO each plus another PCSO who will not be dedicated to the SNT. There may be other officers who can be called on to help out if they aren’t busy in, say, Highgate!  Not very reassuring and its clear no-one knows if this will work.

The Area Inspector will set overall priorities and it will be up to the local panels to find their own “priorities” (or what they are calling “promises”) to slot in under these.

Inspector Ashmead also told us the latest plan is for the North Area Team to be based at the police station in Fortune Green so the building itself  should remain whether or not it is open to the public. “Contact points” are to established across the area which will be open to the public for about 4 hours a day – one during the week and one on Saturdays. These are now NOT going to be in Costa Coffee or Sainsbury’s but maybe in the SNT bases.

It’s still all shrouded in mystery and speculation and the scene in the library where all is revealed seems some way off yet! It would take the assorted skills of Poirot, Miss Marple, and Sherlock Holmes to untangle this plot!

"Dig for Victory"

It's exciting times on Fortune Green! For some years the turf has been deteriorating badly and the least amount of rain has turned the north west section of the Green into a soggy swamp - a few years ago we had some ducks on it! The Friends of Fortune Green have been working on ways to improve the Green and have applied to various funding bodies to get the funds to do this next part of the work. To nearly everyone's surprise on digging down they found not the streams we had always suspected but a large WWII air-raide shelter. This has to be removed and filled in before the returfing could start  - it started today.

The battle will be won to improve the drainage on the Green but not before this hole has been completely excavated - its great fun to watch!

Meanwhile the Friends plan other improvements - heres an extract from their newsletter:

"The good news is that phase two of the renovation of Fortune Green is about to begin!  This will include excavating the remains of the WW2 air raid shelter then refilling and re-turfing the upper quadrant plus some 'spot' turf repairs elsewhere on the Green; two replacement noticeboards and one new one by the playground; a children's landscaped corner and a '2012' legacy running route.

The bad news is that this will cause some disruption and disturbance from now until Easter.  During this period the affected area of the Green will be fenced off.  Sorry for the inconvenience, but it will be worth it in the long term.

Your involvement will help make the project a success as it did with phase one.  So please make note in your diaries/calendars of the following dates; Sunday 3rd March (1 - 4pm ) to cut down the perennials and Saturday 16th March (also 1 to 4pm) planting." 

Camden's latest bright idea! Mobile catering in Parks

As Ward Councillors we have just received the following email from the Council :

"As you will be aware during 2011 and 2012 we trialled mobile catering concessions at Cantelowes Gardens; Kilburn Grange; Tavistock Square and Waterlow Park.  Over all the mobile catering concessions in parks and open spaces have had mixed success depending on the site but generally there has been positive feedback from the local community.  Income from mobile catering concessions has though been very low from £2,500 in 2011/12 to £4,350 in 2012/13. 

A barrier to the contract value has been the duration of the contracts and the scope of sites, limiting the potential for facilities to build up a customer base.  This year the parks and open spaces team are considering tendering licences across a broader range of parks and allowing successful providers to deliver a service from a pitch for 365 days a year during park opening times over a 3 year period with the potential for a 3 year extension following a performance and rent review.  In addition to this we are proposing to encourage social enterprises and community run organisations to tender, potentially favouring Contractors who can demonstrate social value and local benefit.

From Monday 18^th February to Sunday 31st March 2013 a survey will go live on the We Are Camden website asking for peoples opinion on this proposal."

Parks and open spaces included in this "broader range" include Fortune Green and the Peace Park in our ward. Please look at the link below and let Camden have your views and copy us in as well! (email flickrea@gmail.com)

https://consultations.wearecamden.org/culture-environment/mobile-catering-concessions-in-parks/consult_view

Monday 18 February

Monday, 18 February 2013

Statement by Emily Frith, Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn

Statement from from Emily Frith sent to Hampstead and Kilburn Democrat members this afternoon:

“Dear All

It is with regret that I have to let you know that I am standing down as the Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn just a few weeks after I had the honour of being selected by Liberal Democrat members in the constituency.

This has come about because I have been offered a job in government in which I will be working to give the Liberal Democrats a stronger voice within the Coalition in key areas where I have expertise. However, as this job is politically restricted I will not be allowed to continue as a parliamentary candidate.

I am very sorry to be leaving the campaign at this stage, as I have enjoyed working with Hampstead and Kilburn's excellent team of campaigners backed by the strong membership I have enjoyed getting to know in recent months.

Hampstead and Kilburn is the most marginal three-way seat in the country, and I am confident that you will be able to attract an excellent new candidate very soon who will work with you on winning campaigns in next year's local elections as well as for the 2015 General Election.

I wish you every success in your future campaigning.

Best wishes

Emily “

Comment by Cllr Keith Moffitt, Leader, Liberal Democrat Group, Camden Council:

"Obviously our members and supporters in Hampstead & Kilburn will be disappointed as Emily had impressed during the selection and was already working hard with local campaigners. But it is a tribute to her standing within the party that she has secured this important role supporting Liberal Democrat Ministers in Government, and we wish her the best in the role.

"We will be looking to advertise for a new Prospective Parliamentary Candidate shortly."