News from Cricklewood!

Just received from the busy and energetic people who are making headlines in Cricklewood!

The second Cricklewood Winterfest takes place on 23rd November 2013 from 1pm to 6pm - have a look at http://www.cricklewood.net/events/ for more details on the festival. There's a Spot the Oddity competition running now with prizegiving at Winterfest, a lantern procession for children from Beacon Bingo to Yew Grove and food and gift stalls on Yew Grove , music and light outside The Crown Hotel

We hope you can join us.


CIP Cricklewood Improvement Programme & Cricklewood Town Team
Working together for each other
tel 0208 2088590
http://cricklewood.net
Twitter @cipcricklewood
Facebook page Cricklewood

Emergency!

This is an email we have just received.

Dear Councillor,
You have likely seen the images of the devastation across the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan. If, along with so many others, the images in the news have left you feeling powerless, this is your opportunity to help.
Tesco have allowed the British Red Cross to collect THIS WEEKEND (16-17 November) at their stores across London. Would you be able to give some time this weekend to help us raise vital funds? Would you be able to help us spread the word about our collections? Could you share on Twitter? Facebook? Your intranet or website?
We are looking for collectors between 9am-6pm on Saturday and 11am-4pm on Sunday at stores across London. We need your help to raise money for those in crisis in the Philippines. Even just 1 hour of your time could help make a big difference.
I have attached details of all the London Tesco's where collections are taking place, along with a registration form. Please choose the Tesco store you wish to collect at and fill in the attached form by marking an ‘X’ under the time slot(s) convenient for you. Please return the form to challenges@redcross.org.uk. Please do feel free to pass this on to friends, family, colleagues or neighbours and we'll be able to make an even bigger difference.
Alternatively to find out more you can call the Events Team on 0844 412 2877.
Typhoon Haiyan has caused catastrophic damage across the Philippines with up to 90% of buildings in the path of the Typhoon destroyed or damaged and thousands feared dead. A massive humanitarian response is underway. Red Cross volunteers have been on the ground since before the storm hit, helping with evacuation plans and warning communities. Now, they are getting aid to the people who are most in need and preparing to help thousands more.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Kindest regards,
Suzanne Ryder Richardson
Community Fundraising Manager

More trees for the chop.......

......but these trees were not damaged by the recent storm, just by "wear and tear". And much as most of us love trees - from time to time is does become necessaryr to remove them - like this one in Hillfield Road!       

In addition to a list of trees in Ravenshaw/Broomsleigh Street we received recently, we have just had a second list from the Council’s Tree officers.

It seems they recently inspected our local trees and decided to remove some for health and safety reasons. The trees are scheduled for removal this winter by the Council’s term tree contractors. The tree pits will be marked for replanting.

Below is a list of locations and reasons they give for removal of the trees.

Achilles Road (outside 56)                               Cherry                   Basal decay
Agamemnon Road (outside 1 Norman Terrace) Bird cherry           Dead
Ajax Road (side 2 Achilles Road)                   Bird cherry             Basal decay
Ajax Road (opposite 2 Ulysses Road)             Birch cherry            Basal decay
Asmara Road (side 9 Menelik Road)               Cherry                     Dead
Ebbsfleet Road (outside 16)                             Rowan                     Dead
Fordwych Road (outside 188)                          Cockspur thorn        Basal decay
Fordwych Road (outside 137)                          Purple cherry           Damaged crown
Fordwych Road (outside 79)                            London Plane           Basal decay
Fordwych Road (outside 85-87)                       London Plane           Basal decay
Fordwych Road (outside 89)                            London Plane           Basal decay
Fordwych Road (jct Minster Road)                  Lime                         Basal decay
Footpath between Gondar Gdns/Sarre Rd        Bird cherry               Basal decay
Gondar Gardens (outside 1 Gondar House)      Rowan                      Basal decay
Hillfield Road (outside 92)                              Tamarix                     Leaning low over highway
Kingscroft Road (outside 6)                             Cherry                        Basal decay
Menelik Road (opposite 36)                             Birch                          Dead
Minster Road (outside 50)                                Cherry                        Basal decay
Oak Grove (outside 19b)                                  Bird cherry                 Basal decay
Sarre Road (opposite 10)                                 Bird cherry                 Basal decay
Sarre Road (opposite 60)                                 Bird cherry                 Basal decay
Sarre Road (outside 42)                                   Bird cherry                 Dead
Somali Road (outside 8)                                  Rowan                         Dead
Somali Road (outside 4)                                  Bird cherry                  Basal decay
Ulysses Road (outside 24)                               Bird cherry                  Crown die-back
Westbere Road (side of 17 Mill Lane)            Privet                           Dead


The London Planes outside 79, 85-87 and 89 Fordwych Road will have detailed tree removal notices attached due to their size and significance.

For further information about the Council’s tree programme (including tree removal and re-planting plans), log on to http://camden.gov.uk/trees. or contact Colleen O'Sullivan (Aboricultural Officer)
phone: 020 7974 5183 or email:  colleen.o’sullivan@camden.gov.uk

Upcoming Events

Among the many things to look out for in coming weeks are:

11th November 10.45 - Annual Remembrance Day service and wreathlaying by the Deputy Mayor at the War Memorial and also Hampstead's Civilian Memorial both at Hampstead Cemetery in Fortune Green Road

14th November -7.30 Area Action Group for West Hampstead & Fortune Green at the Synagogue Hall, Dennington Park Road - among topics for discussion will be the behaviour of the 139 buses!

30th November 10.00am- 4.00pm Annual West Hampstead Christmas Market on West End Green - crafts, activities, and food
Details  - go to: http://www.westhampsteadchristmasmarket.co.uk/

Clean Camden?

You know how much we've all been grumbling about our dirty streets recently? Well this morning we received this from the Council:


"This week the council has launched the Clean Camden campaign, a new initiative to tackle environmental crime across Camden. The campaign will crack down on those people who continue to litter, dump their waste or unwanted items, or not clear up after their dog. The new education and enforcement team will lead operations across the borough to increase the action being taken to tackle these issues.

The Clean Camden campaign also calls on residents to help us crack down on environmental crime by identifying local enviro-crime hotspots or offenders so we can target our work. Anyone caught committing an offence will be issued with an £80 fixed penalty notice, and flytippers face being prosecuted and fined up to £20,000.

Please encourage local residents to visit www.camden.gov.uk/cleancamden or call 020 7974 4444 for more information or to report a problem or offender."

Great, isn't it - we applaud this initiative even if it does turn us all ito whistleblowers, it's probably in a good cause. But... and it's a big but - this is only half the problem.

Much of the mess on our streets is actually caused by the refuse service (Veolia) and their sloppy habits! Litter left lying about and in this weather blowing down the street both before and after the refuse collection, bins not returned properly and almost worst of all, not properly collected. We're sure it can't just be this area  -  it seems to be Borough-wide. Streets aren't swept - Ok we are aware that with less money to spend, the residential streets don't get cleaned as frequently as they used - but what about the main roads? West End Lane, Mill Lane and Fortune Green Road often look as if there's a refuse strike on and that's before tackling the issue of commercial waste!

But its the collection failure rate that exasperates us all -one of our local residents has only had his brown bin emptied once in four weeks, another never seems to get his ordinary bin emptied, others say their recycling has been missed on a regular basis and so on! And at least two people have told us that the refuse collectors have actually been rude to them when they complained. This is completely out of order!

Until the Labour Council takes its responsibilities seriously and cleans up the Veolia contract, sadly we will continue to have dirty streets in spite of their "Clean Camden" campaign!

News

FORTUNE GREEN AND WEST HAMPSTEAD
AREA ACTION GROUP (AREA FORUM) MEETING
Wednesday 13th November 2013 7.00pm - 9.30pm
Hampstead Synagogue Community Hall, 1 Dennington Park Road, NW6 1AX


Dear resident,

We are writing to invite you to the next Area Action Group (Area Forum) meeting on Wednesday 13th November. The last area action group meeting took place on 2nd July 2013. Copies of the notes of that meeting will be available at the meeting and on We are Camden shortly.

The agenda for the next meeting on the Wednesday 13th November is as follows:

7.00 Opportunity to meet ward councillors informally over tea/coffee

7.30 Start of meeting and introductions:

• Transport for London – 139 bus route and other issues
• Refuse collection and street cleansing – new service launched
• Thames Water – Cllr Moffitt to give verbal update on feedback to date
• Neighbourhood Planning Forum update
• Any other business

All Fortune Green and West Hampstead residents, local employers, employees, local voluntary groups, including young people are invited to attend the upcoming area action group meeting.

This will be a chance for you to get more involved, be kept up to date on what’s happening in Fortune Green and West Hampstead, and have your say.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 16th November. Meanwhile, please contact Olivia Mensah on the above number or any of us as your local ward councillors if you would like any more information.


With best wishes,



Councillor Russell Eagling Councillor Nancy Jirira Councillor Flick Rea

Big red empty buses in Mill lane - Why?

Calling all those cross about the 139 bus! This is your opportunity!

This is for a) everyone who has ever complained to us about the 139 Buses using Mill Lane to and from their Cricklewood garage and b) those who ask if the buses do have to use Mill Lane why can’t they pick up and drop off passengers?

Following a site meeting earlier this year where Cllr Flick Rea met representatives of Transport for London (TfL) and Metroline who run the buses, we asked them to come and explain themselves at our next Area Action Group and they have agreed!

So now is the time to come and meet them in person and let them know what we think about their big empty buses on Mill Lane!.

The next Area Action Group will be held on Wednesday 13 November at the Synagogue Hall in Dennington Park Road NW6, just off West End Lane. The doors open at 7.00 for informal chat/networking and light refreshments and the “business” usually starts at 7.30. All welcome!

Paying at the Post office

We have just received this notification from the Council – and we believe that this in part due to the Lib Dem Councillors motion to the full Council last year, urging them to make some Council services available in local post offices. Since then the Council has seemed to be hell-bent on closing all its own local outlets so it’s a welcome move which will help local residents and help support our local Post offices! Now we wish they’d add the ability to get Visitors Parking Permits at post offices as well.

Camden Council Update: Pay for council services at your local Post Office branch
As part of our customer improvements, residents can now pay for a range of council services online at camden.gov.uk, by phone on 020 7974 6104 and in any Post Office branch. Paying by direct debit or standing order is still the simplest and most effective way to pay.

Council services can now be paid for using cash, cheque or debit card at a time and location that is convenient without having to make a dedicated trip to a council office.

With 17 local Post office branches across the borough, it means residents will never live more than a mile from a payment point and will be able to benefit from longer opening hours, including Saturdays.

Since launching in August we have seen over 60,000 transactions made through Post Offices and PayPoints.

A key aspect of our customer service improvements is that no residents are left behind and we have worked closely with our most vulnerable clients to ensure individual solutions are in place where they used the cashier’s service.

Payments for parking services are not accepted at Post Offices & PayPoints. From 31st October customers can activate their parking permit instantly without the need to visit a council building.
The cash office in the town hall, Judd Street will be closing on 31st October. Customers have a wide range of ways to make payments as highlighted above,

For more information, visit camden.gov.uk/contactcamden

What the storm did to Fortune Green

Some of us managed to sleep through the severe storm in the early hours of Monday morning, but on waking up, it seemed there was more damage than we'd thought - Fortune Green was covered with leaves and branches and a tree had been uprooted from the bed by the Sager building in front of the phone boxes blocking access to the bus stop.

Fallen branches on the Green



Tree blocking the bus stop

 




Fallen tree by the police station

 

Cllr Keith Moffitt inspecting the damage

 There was also damage to trees in the cemetery, and by Emmanuel Church and the pavement was blocked by the police station. However, after we (and probably lots of other people as well) had notified the Council, the tree teams moved in. within a few hours, the fallen tree by the police station  was cut up and removed and the blocked pavement was open again. Other damage may take longer to repair.

It's particularly sad that the Green itself suffered as on Sunday the Friends group held an open bulb-planting afternoon with the extra attraction of  a display of birds of prey and launched their new noticeboards and a rathet splendid owl totem. There was quite a good crowd of people, including families and, in the sunshine, the Green was looking its best!



Sager School refused

Camden have rejected the application for a school to move into the ground floor premises of Alfred Court on Fortune Green Road.

The full decision is available on the Camden website.

Five reasons are given for refusal (although at the time of writing this they don't appear sequentially on the website). Four of the relate to the area of greatest concern for residents who have contacted us - transport to and from the site.

More detail will follow - and as we know from the past - a refusal doesn't mean that the decision can't be appealed. But here are the reasons for refusal as taken from the website...

Reasons 1
The proposed private school, by reason of its catchment, reliance on private transport, unsatisfactory arrangements for on-site servicing and parking for the proposed use, would result in an unsustainable development, detrimental to the operation of the site and contributing to congestion in the local area and highway safety impacts on and near to the site...

Reasons 2
The proposed development, in the absence of a legal agreement requiring a management plan for the school, would be likely to result in unacceptable impact on the site and local area...

Reasons 3
The proposed development, in the absence of a Workplace and Student Travel Plan, would be likely to give rise to significantly increased car-borne trips and would result in a unsustainable form of development...

Reasons 4
The proposed development, in the absence of a legal agreement to secure a delivery and servicing management plan, would be likely to contribute unacceptably to traffic disruption, and would be detrimental to the amenities of the area generally...

Reasons 5
The proposal, in the absence of a legal agreement securing contributions towards Camden's Pedestrian, Environmental and Safety improvement initiative would fail to undertake external works outside the application site, and would fail to secure adequate provision for the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles...

Flooding at West End Green



Cars and bystanders were forced to wade through knee-high water after a flash flood hit West End Lane yesterday afternoon, putting shops and businesses at risk.

The flood, which rushed through the high street around 4pm, followed an unusually heavy downfall of rain and stretched along the north end of the street by Pizza Express and West Hampstead fire station.

Following the quick-thinking of nearby firefighters who waded through the water to clear the drains, shops at risk from the torrent of water were saved from any damage.

                        

Nick Russell wading through the water at West End Green

Nick Russell, (member of our local LibDem Spotlight team, a former councillor who lives in Mill Lane and who happened to be there at the time) said :

“It’s a good job the firefighters were there
to help clear the drains. It was shocking  
to see people having to wade through
knee-height water after such a short
period of rainfall.

I think in this case it must have been due
to drains which hadn’t been properly 
cleared of fallen leaves but we’ve had
endless problems with flooding in the area!”

Water leaks and flooding have been a long-standing problem in the area and have prompted angry residents and councillors to call for Thames Water and the council to get to the bottom of the issue.

Reports that basements and cellars of homes in Fordwych Road and the West End Lane area have been flooded have been circulating since December last year.

Cllr Keith Moffitt, who represents West Hampstead, said yesterday’s flooding comes after a series of reassurances were given to residents about sorting problems out. "Thames Water came to talk to us and made a long list of promises about flooding in the area but problems seem to be continuing. It's happened before and it will go on happening whenever we get really heavy rain as long as the Council don't clear the drains regularly and until Thames Water gets its act together and starts giving value for money. Our bills get higher every year and the service just seems to get worse!"

This report appeared in the Ham & High online on Monday 



Visitors parking permits - changes to the system

If you regularly get visitor permit scratch cards, you will know the process of getting them has changed over the years. Once upon a time we had local parking offices where you could get both residents and visitor permits, and when these were closed down you either could ring up and get them sent to you or you could visit the Town Hall and pay in person.

Soon you will no longer be able to visit and pay for them at the Town Hall - so you can only get them by phone or online but now the Council is moving to a new system altogether which they think will be more "flexible" and quicker.

This is from a recent parking document by the Council:

"Camden is in the process of moving away from the traditional approach of displaying a physical permit towards a system based on the vehicle registration being held on a database of active valid permits. This system is referred as ‘e-permits’ and is currently being introduced across Camden. The programme began in April 2012 and is expected to be completed by December 2014.
The eventual aim is to phase out all existing card permits as well as visitor permit scratch cards, so permit customers no longer need to display anything inside the vehicle).

E-visitor parking permits (eVPs) are already available in all CPZs across the borough. This means that rather than purchasing scratch cards, residents can now use their visitor parking permit allocation more flexibly by purchasing and activating their visitor parking sessions using the following channels: mobile app at the following link, via a permit customer account, SMS or by ringing Contact Camden. Once a customer has “migrated” to using e-VPs, they will no longer be able to purchase the old scratch card permits."
This is easier and qicker for some but not all "customers" - we recently had an email from a very aggrieved resident who said: " As a resident in Camden for over 36 years I have seen many changes in our borough, some good, some not so good. But the idea of closing the only site for buying visitors parking permits, Judd Street, at the end of October. thereby forcing people to phone in and buy by debit card, assuming you have one: or going on line for an 'e' ticket assuming you have access to a computer : or getting an app for your phone assuming you have a phone or your phone can take an app. My and many of my friends phones do not have that facility....

You have no proof if you use the internet or App system. You are reliant on information being accurate on the computer or you will be ticketed.

What happens when the computers are down ?
How do you convince a traffic warden that you have a valid permit to park there?

You have got to not only to buy time online but then have to phone/.email./text or however you make contact, and give the registration number of the vehicle and if it runs over the time initially allocated you have to be available to contact Camden, which will actually be a call centre (and how long will that take) to use more time rom what you have bought as an "e' ticket.

You will have no visual reminder of what time is left on the 'e' ticket.

What about the elderly with no internet access, or those with no phone, or whose phones cannot take the App, or who are out of credit, or in a poor reception are --- What are they to do?

If you use the phone they are only going to be there during office hours -- so what happens to people like my sister whose restriction go on until 10pm and on Saturdays?

Not only will you have to buy time with an 'e' ticket but you have to activate them on the computer as well. Not everyone is at home all day or has access to a computer all the time.

Sites do crash: what then?

When does Camden plan to publicise and explain /consult with residents? this is very shabby treatment indeed. This not a user friendly scheme!"

Says it all really!!

Proposed Kinsgate School expansion - is it too late for a rethink?

Camden have come up with a proposal to help solve the problem of the shortage of primary school places locally which involves providing a new school on an area called Liddell Road. Many people in Fortune Green will not have heard of it as it is an industrial estate just off Maygrove/Iverson Roads backing onto the railway line and the Sidings Peace Park. It has been considered as a potential site for a future new school for some time (back when the Council was run by the LibDem/Conservatives) but since then the landscape has changed.

Under the present Government, the only new schools that can be built are Free Schools or Academies. Unfortunately, the current Labour Administration in Camden are ideologically opposed to these options, even though academies were introduced by the last Labour Government and the new Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt has stated that the bulk of existing free schools would be kept open as his party wanted to "keep the good free schools". ) Instead of creating a new primary school for the area, Camden’s current administration are therefore promoting the expansion of an existing school (Kingsgate) funded by building homes for sale on the site and throwing off all the existing businesses.

Everyone agrees that the need for additional school places in the area is a high priority, but we believe that this approach is flawed. Kingsgate is rated as an “Outstanding” school, and its success and educational provision to local children should not be compromised by political expediency.

Our response to the Council includes the following key points:
1) There is no good educational case to be made to have a school based on two sites, a mile apart with railway lines in between, with no clear access route between the two. Further, it could have a harmful effect on the community feeling of the existing Kingsgate School.
2) The increase of 412 additional pupils on the new site will add to traffic and pedestrian congestion on West End Lane and Kilburn High Road especially during peak morning rush hours with families travelling to, between and from the two sites. It is not likely to be acceptable or attractive to families.
3) If an application had been made to build a Free School or Academy, the funding would come from Central Government and so there would be no need for Camden Council to raise money through selling off the land to developers to build expensive homes for sale (120-160 units) and, in the process, putting 250 people who work in the existing businesses out of work. 

While this complicated and flawed scheme has been progressed by the current administration with painful slowness, two new primary schools (Free Schools) in Camden have been through the whole process and opened with central government funding. This new school "extension" would not be open until at lest 2016.

Rubbish - our streets are a mess! Time for a clean-up!

Rubbish - its all round us and seems to be getting worse!

Every day, there seems to be a new pile of litter by a lamp post or a tree or just by someone's garden wall. And that doesn't take into account the piles of stuff round the local recycling centres - the horror on Minster Road seems to be a semi-permanent feature of our landscape and from time to time the West End Green and Fortune Green road "Mini-centres" are not much better. What is it about this time of year that makes people throw out furniture?  

A sort of Spring cleaning in the autumn or lots of people taking up
new DIY courses?

Also, since the changes to refuse/recycling came in in the July, our

councillors complaints bag has been full to bursting - rather like uncollected rubbish! People say they have only had half their bins emptied, or the food refuse bin has been left to fester for another week or that the rubbish is strewn all over the road during and after the weekly collection. And that's before complaints about commercial waste outside shops and dog dirt! Then you ask us why the Council doesn't seem to care about our dirty streets?

There are probably no easy answers - maybe the refuse people don't care or they're trying to do too much in too short a time, maybe they aren't properly supervised either by their own bosses or by officers in Camden who are supposed to monitor the contract. Also it seems lots of people just don't care where they leave their rubbish - smelly old mattresses, broken chairs etc. Whatever the reasons - our streets are definitely a mess!

                                     

Also, it's not very easy to make a complaint via Camden's system, but there's possible good news in sight. The Council has agreed to look at a simple way of reporting problems based on "Love Clean London" (an easy to use website) which means you just send in a photo (that's if you have the technology - if not you'll have to stick with the Camden call centre with all its difficulties!)

The other good news is that Camden's Street Environment Services have been re-organised, recruited new staff and hope that when they are all in place, things will improve and our streets will get to look a bit cleaner.

Meanwhile - over in Fordwych Road - some enthusiasts have planted flowers instead of rubbish round their trees!  Thank you!

Campaign for a clean-up! Make our street environment better and our area somewhere pleasant to live!

Christmas events on West End Green

It's going to be lively on West End Green in the run up to Christmas!

Saturday 30th November the annual West Hampstead Christmas Market, 10am-4pm
supported by the West Hampstead Business Association.

Stalls will include local artists, crafts, festive food, jewelry and cards.
Activities will include African drumming, carol singing, arts and crafts and dancing for families and children.
Local shops involved include Kitchen Table, Achillea Flowers, Village Haberdashery and others as well as the Mill Lane Garden centre who will be selling Xmas trees!

A week later there is a new event: 6, 7, 8th December Cabbages & Frocks Festive Marketplace - to 4pm each day Stalls will include festive fayre, & vintage arts and crafts

Parking - possible changes on the way - slowly!

At long last Camden are almost ready to begin the full house-to house consultation on parking in our area –the full CAP Zone of Fortune Green and West Hampstead. But it is only the beginning of a quite lengthy process.

Camden’s officers have just held a preliminary meeting for local organisations and residents’ associations, including local Councillors. This meeting was to explain the process and timetable and discuss the questions which should be asked in the questionnaire. These will be straightforward and, for example, include (for all three CA-P subzones)what should the start and end times be on weekdays, should there be Saturday/Sunday controls and, if so, what start and end time?

Each household will have a questionnaire posted out and you should receive it on Monday 18th November. It will also be available online should you prefer, but you can’t do both!

Usually 3/4 weeks are allowed for completion and then the questionnaires will be collated and the responses assessed, and officers will make recommendations. These recommendations will be presented in a published report to the Cabinet Member responsible (Cllr Phil Jones) probably for a “Single Member Decision”. The report will make recommendations for changes in hours or subzones or for no change depending on the responses received. This is likely to be in late January and any changes agreed would then be the subject of statutory Traffic Management Order consultations which makes for another delay. Then they have to make new signs!

So, all in all, there will be no actual changes until late Spring at the earliest – but it’s not possible to alter the timetable and remember the only thing which will influence the Council is the response YOU make to the official consultation next month.

So look out for it coming through your letterbox, and be sure to respond and make your views known to Camden! Whether you own a car or not, your views are important as changes to parking affect us all – visitors as well as drivers.

If you have any queries, don’t hesitate to contact us or go direct to Camden – the officer responsible is Charlie Parish - email: Charlie.parish@camden.gov.uk or call 020 7974 4639.

News and Events in Cricklewood

Latest News from the Cricklewood Improvement Programme includes:

Silk Road Festival: 1st-7th September 2013 in Cricklewood – a week long programme of cultural events You are all welcome. Bring the sunshine with you!
CIP are looking for help with leafletting of this event. They will be hitting the streets the second last week in August and many hands make light work. So, any offers of help will be gratefully received. Email info@cricklewood.net if you'd like to get involved with leafletting, or even volunteer at one of the events.

Also An Evening with Zadie Smith: Wednesday 4th September - The Crown Moran Hotel, Cricklewood – 6pm Tickets are available from a variety of locations.

Brighter High Street: We were delighted to hear that planning permission for the building and shop front improvements on Cricklewood Broadway has been granted by Brent Council. Works should begin in September. CIP Cricklewood Improvement Programme has been campaigning for this via the Cricklewood Outer Town Centre fund programme. Watch this space……..

Also in the pipeline: Projects to improve the public realm and visitor experience of Cricklewood are underway. A street greening strategy has been developed under the banner '50 new trees for Cricklewood'.

An audit of guardrails has been completed and a strategy for de-cluttering of the footways is being prepared for implementation. A plan for comprehensive repaving of Cricklewood town centre, extending from Beacon Bingo to the Crown Moran hotel along Cricklewood Broadway and to Cricklewood Station along Cricklewood Lane, is nearing completion.

Plans to improve the crossing arrangements at Cricklewood Lane and Chichele Road are being progressed in dialogue with LB Barnet, LB Brent and Transport for London. Discussions with LB Barnet are ongoing in relation to the greenspace on Cricklewood Lane and a strategy is being developed to implement improvements.

Later in the year new festive lights will be installed along with lights for trees in time for Winterfest, an event featuring art, food and drink stalls and seasonal entertainment. Winterfest had a successful debut in November 2012.

Good news for Post offices- pay for Council Services at your local Post Office

This news comes a special pleasure as about 2 years ago Lib Dem Councillors, Flick Rea and Jill Fraser proposed a motion to Camden Council that they should make it possible for residents to pay for Council services at their local post office. This has finally happened! It is particularly good news for our "new" Post office at St James Church(The Sherriff Centre) which now has the official go-ahead to take over when the West End Lane Post Office closes in Spring 2014.

You can also use Mill Lane post office!

posted from our "sister blog" - West Hampstead Spotlight

From 5th August, 2013, Camden residents will be able to pay for Council Services at their local Post office. Services that can be paid for at the Post Office include: Council Tax, Housing Rents, Business Rates, Leaseholder Services, Housing Services, Commercial Rents, Sundry Invoices, Commercial Waste, Nursery Fees, Street Trading and Licensing, Allotments and Building Control. Services can be paid for by Cash, Cheque or Debit Card free of charge. Residents can also pay by Cash at any shop displaying the PayPal sign. Post Offices where these services are available include West Hampstead on West End Lane, Swiss Cottage on Finchley Road and on Mill Lane all of which are open on weekdays and Saturday morning. Council Services can also be paid for on line at www.camden.gov.uk, by phone on 0207 974 6104 and by Direct Debit. From the Autumn 2013, the Cash Office at the Town Hall in Judd Street will close. Posters and leaflets on these new services will be available in Libraries and Post Offices across the Borough.

A Cleaner Camden?

Does this sight seem familiar? It stayed like this for several days, stinking in the hot sun, until a quick Councillor phone call resolved the problem - but it shouldn't need to be like that!
This is by no means the only complaint we've received in recent weeks, and in each case the resident had reported their problem via the website - had no joy, rung up, tried again and eventually reported to Camden's complaints department.
This is sad because the waste collection and recycling service is usually efficient and responsive, but just one or two incidents like this bring the whole service into disrepute.

Recently, one enterprising resident asked Camden if they had heard of a company called Love Clean London (http://lovecleanlondon.org/Reports/Home) who work in a number of other Boroughs. They supply an app which allows people to photograph a problem (such as graffiti or fly-tipped rubbish) and send it in to be dealt with.  It works so well in Lewisham apparently that they actually issue their street cleaners with smart phones so they can themselves report problems (e.g. graffiti) or open cable boxes.  Plus it saves Lewisham money, for example fly tipping has fallen by 53% since this was introduced.  It is also much quicker and cheaper to report a problem. 

So, he asked :"Why isn't it being used in Camden?"

Camden's reply is typical! They don't believe it currently would work as well as their existing system and they say it “would not offer us an integrated solution for getting the report to our contractors in a quick and efficient way as it would require the manual inputting of the reports received.”  But they say they will investigate various solutions, including making better use of the Camden’s own website and add: “Either way we are committed to making reporting as easy as possible for our customers.”

What of course, they don’t seem to consider – it’s not just that we want the reporting made easier – we also want something done about the problems we report!!

Next Area Action Group

Fortune Green and West

Hampstead Area Action Group

Tuesday 2nd July, Hampstead Synagogue

Community Hall, 1 Dennington Park Road, NW6 1AX,

from 7.30-9.30,

(7pm to meet councillors for light refreshments).

This area action group meeting is your local forum and gives you the opportunity to have your say on the issues that matter to you locally.

Agenda:

 7.30 Start of meeting and introductions:

•

Thames Water provision and maintenance in the local

area a subject of particular relevance to those in the

West Hampstead area who have had water shortages

and a burst water main recently;

•

Potential S106 funds for community development

• Neighbourhood Planning Forum update

Spotlight on Cricklewood

The Cricklewood Networking Event went off very well last night at The Crown Moran Hotel. The room was filled with local residents and business people come to meet new neighbours and hear about the latest developments in Cricklewood.
There was a very interesting presentation from Sally Williams, a local retail specialist who is working with businesses in the area. She presented the findings of a UCL study into the reasons why people come to Cricklewood - and how they would like to see it improved.
Its interesting that the survey clearly indicated that the most important thing people want to get sorted is the basic regular tidy and proper cleaning/cleansing of the public realm. This ought to be bread and butter stuff to the three council's involved - but I'm afraid to say they find it very difficult to get the co-ordination right.

Jonathan Joseph was also on hand to give a preview of the issues he'll be showing about revised Brent Cross Cricklewood redevelopment. I wasn't a fan of the last scheme which seemed to me far too car centric. I'm glad therefore to hear that there is a cycling/pedestrian bridge in these new plans.
More details of the changes will be available at Brent Cross Shopping Centre, Hendon Leisure Centre, or the Crown Moran Hotel on different dates over the next fortnight. For exact details - look at the Brent Cross Cricklewood website. (Crown Moran is likely to be most convenient for readers of this blog - and the roadshow hits there on Monday 1 July, 12pm - 8pm and  Tuesday 2 July, 12pm - 8pm).
For more details on the Cricklewood Improvement Project (including signing up to their useful weekly email) visit http://www.cricklewoodcip.org

Congratulations Cllr Flick Rea MBE - a message from Russell and Nancy

A very nice surprise greeted us all on Saturday as we discovered that our colleague (and fellow blogger) Flick Rea had been awarded an MBE for:

"Services to Local Goverment and the community in London"

Flick has been a local councillor for the West Hampstead and Fortune Green areas for over 27 years and she was deeply involved in community life long before she first got elected.
We suspect that the "...and to the community in London" part of the commendation is a special recognition of her work with the Jester Festival - which she helped after the old West Hampstead Community Association which was running it until a few years ago collapsed quite in the run up to that year's festival. Rather than watch a much-loved local tradition die, Flick rolled up her sleeves and made sure a team of committed volunteers were coralled into making sure the show did go on.
Flick is helping to organise the festival again this year - set to be on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th July.
Hope to see you there!
Russell and Nancy

New Post office for West Hampstead and mysteries of 106 money



Cllr Gillian Risso Gill

From our "sister blog" for West Hampstead

http://westhampsteadspotlight.blogspot.co.uk/

 

"To gain planning permission, writes Cllr Gillian Risso-Gill, developers are often required to provide additional monies for amenities that will benefit local communities in the form of Section 106 obligations.  The developer of the new student development nearing completion in Blackburn Road has contributed £500,000 to Camden for various items including pathways, health services and community amenities.

Your Councillors have campaigned to ensure that the monies are spent in the local area and not siphoned off to other parts of Camden.   Despite having two public meetings, it is still unclear how Section 106 monies are allocated and who makes the decisions.  We have argued that decisions should be made by local communities through their local Councillors.  However, we are pleased that Camden Council has agreed to provide £50,000 towards the relocation of the new Post Office as part of the community amenities allocation.  How the remainder of the monies will be spent is still uncertain but we shall continue to campaign for greater transparency in allocating these monies.

West Hampstead Post Office

The West Hampstead Post Office on West End Lane will close later this year as the Postmaster is unable to continue due to ill health.  The Post Office cannot close until a new premises is secured and the only location that has come forward is St. James Church on the corner of Sherriff Road, 200 yards from the current site.

Fr Andrew Cain has proposed to run a post office  in the rear of the church building.

The post office will be run by a charitable trust, with other facilities including a café, stationery store and other amenities as a social enterprise, the profits from which will provide finance to employ three part time community workers for families, youth and elderly residents.  These commercial activities will be separated from the areas for worship in the church which will remain .  At the time of writing, the Post Office is reviewing the Business Plan and, if approved, planning permission will be sought, building work commissioned  with a view to the new Post Office being operational before the Christmas period in 2013.

Fr Andrew has secured over £200,000 in finance for the scheme, including £50,000 from Camden Council and over £85,000 from St. James Church as its contribution to the community to celebrate its 125 year anniversary.



Reservoir latest

We hope this is good news, but still some fears for the future!

Latest bulletin from GARA (Gondar and Agamemnon Residents Association):

"Dear GARA members and supporters,

Fantastic news, at least temporarily ... the ‘frontage’ appeal is dismissed for reasons of poor detailed design.  But the impact on Open Space, SNCI, views, parking etc are all considered acceptable.

As you know, having won one appeal, the developer appealed against refusal of its second planning application for this site.  The first scheme allows destruction of a large part of the protected Open Space and Site of Nature Conservation Interest.  The second scheme – refused on appeal – would block the Open Space aspect from the street, including views across the site towards Hampstead.

Here is what the inspector says in dismissing the second appeal:

Conclusion [from Inspector’s report, 3-Jun-13]

The development has been designed to minimise the impact on the POS [private open space] and SNCI [site of nature conservation interest] and I have concluded that the benefits of the scheme outweigh any small harm in this regard. While many other aspects of the scheme are acceptable including the siting and size of the proposed buildings, the scheme fails on the detailed design as outlined above [in the report]. For this reason, it would be contrary to National and Local Plan policy and the appeal is dismissed.

So, what does this mean?  Well, the developer can ...

a)      Build the first scheme, for which permission was granted at appeal last year
b)      Improve the design of the second scheme within the same envelope and re-submit
c)      Prepare another scheme combining elements of #1 and #2, and addressing points on design
d)      Sell the site

Of course, all these options would also have been available to the developer if they had won this appeal, so the inspector has at least removed the option to build a poorly designed scheme #2.

A quick reminder:

Scheme #1: 16 large houses in the middle of the to-be-excavated reservoir space, mostly below ground level; major loss of open space and major impact on wildlife; low impact on street frontage; and a large contribution to Camden in lieu of affordable housing ... refused by Camden but allowed on appeal (which we still struggle to comprehend!).

Scheme #2: 28 units filling-in the street frontage between existing mansion blocks; lower impact on wildlife but significant impact on openness from the street and houses opposite; affordable housing included within the scheme ... refused at Camden planning committee and also dismissed on appeal (as described above)."

www.gara-westhampstead.co.uk

Gondar Gardens -waiting for news

The latest public enquiry into the Gondar Gardens Reservoir proposed development (refused by Camden) was heard by the Appeal Inspector at the beginning of April over 3 days. The result was promised by the end of May - not long to go then!

Flick Rea writes : "The residents, led by GARA's Chair represented themselves magnificently and, as local Councillor, I also made a statement opposing the development. The developers used the full line up of barristers and clerks and piles of papers and, I'm sure thought they'd got a walkover. But the opposition was terrific and just as competent without expensive legal help as it came from the heart. Fingers crossed the Inspector felt the same!"

GARA reports:

"It is impossible to read the inspector’s mind.  We think we did as well as we could have expected.  We put across all of our key points and we stood up well to being questioned.  We also “scored some points” during cross-examination.  Camden worked hard to demonstrate that the reasons for refusal are valid: loss of openness from the street / western end; and poor design.  The developer will also think that they have got their points across.  Their professional advisers were kind enough to complement us privately on the presentation of our case and our performance at the inquiry. 

The inspector will make up her mind on the evidence in front of her.  Judging by the previous appeal, which the inspector granted after citing all the reasons against it, we cannot predict the outcome.

What next?

Just to reiterate what you already know:

If the “frontage scheme” (scheme #2) is approved at appeal, LW (Linden Waites) can choose whether to proceed with #1 or #2 or submit a third scheme.  So we would need any approval to come with conditions that protect the remainder of the site - for its own sake and to help secure refusal of a possible third scheme.

If scheme #2 is refused, then LW can choose to proceed with #1 or could submit a modified version of #2 which addresses the inspector's reasons for refusal.  

We don’t even know whether LW might seek to capitalise on any permissions and sell the site to another developer – then we would almost certainly get another proposal.

So we were not expressing a preference between the two proposed schemes.  Our aim is to maximise protection for the site and minimise a developer’s options. "

Unfair charges?

Electric vehicles

Camden is busy trying to get people to use electric cars/vehicles and is currently offering free trials to businesses in the Borough. But what about residents? If you’re lucky enough to have a driveway or a crossover and an off- street parking space by your house then you can charge your car on your own electricity with no trouble. But, if like lots of us in West Hampstead you live in terraced houses or big blocks of flats, you can’t do that. And woe betide you if you try and run a cable across the pavement – a Health & Safety inspector will be down on you like a ton of bricks. You have to go to the nearest on street “charging point” (which may not be very near as there are only 20 across Camden,) hope it’s free, leave your car there for three hours while you kill time waiting for it. Not very customer friendly! We think Camden needs to have a rethink on this.

Transport/Traffic problems - have your say!

 London Borough of Camden: Transport Liaison public meeting, June 25 at Swiss Cottage Library, from 7pm – 9pm

Each year, Camden Council holds a public meeting to discuss local transport issues in the borough. The meeting is attended by our partners at Transport for London (TfL) and local public transport providers (such as bus and rail operators), and it is an opportunity to discuss directly with them issues that relate to their operations.

The types of issues discussed include (but are not limited to), buses, tube, overground rail, cycle hire, traffic signals etc. This year the meeting will be held on June 25 from 7pm to 9:00pm in the Swiss Cottage Library, 88 Avenue Rd, NW3 3HA.

The meeting will be chaired by Councillor Phil Jones, Cabinet Member for Sustainability.

The keynote speaker will be Professor John Parkin, who is a Professor of Transport at the South Bank University, specialising in transport engineering and planning, with a particular interest in cycling.

Representatives from the TfL family (including London Underground, London Overground and London Buses), local public transport operators and Camden Council transport planners will be at the meeting to answer your questions.

If you would like to raise an issue for discussion please contact LTLiaison@camden.gov.uk by Friday June 7, 2013.

Items for discussion need to be raised prior to the meeting. If a large number of requests are received there may not be time to include all items on the agenda, although all are welcome to attend the meeting.

Jester Festival 2013 - volunteers needed

This year the Festival will take place on Saturday July 6th and Sunday July 7th 12-6.00pm.

Although we have traditionally been lucky with the Jester Weekend (apart from the year we had a hailstorm) so far the Spring/early summer weather has not been promising. But if we didnt take weather risks in this country we'd never plan anything and at least we're not likely to see a tornado or an earthquake!
So, undeterred, the planning goes on to make this year's Festival better than ever. All the entertainments are booked, stall spaces virtually sold out, new excitements this year include a Dalek (Sunday only) and all that's needed now are a few more volunteers on the day.
Stewards, raffle ticket sellers, helpers with the putting up and taking down all needed.
If you can help, please go to the Jester webssite and leave your name and contact details.

www.jesterfestival.co.uk.

Hope to see you there!

We(s)t Hampstead

As we all know, the West Hampstead area has been plagued by water problems over the last few months, with burst mains in West End Lane and nearby Cricklewood causing disruption to traffic and loss of supply to many of our homes. We think it’s time our area got the benefit of the Victorian water mains replacement programme, and we’ve invited representatives from Thames Water to come to our next Area Forum. This will follow on from the last Area Forum when we discussed flooding problems and lots of criticism was levelled at Camden Council for not keeping the gullies clear.

Meanwhile Cllr Nancy Jirira wrote to the Council recently to ask about the programme of gully cleansing. Camden responded to say they do clear the gullies regularly, but went on “however if a gully is covered by a car they leave it alone. This can mean that certain gullies can be left unmaintained for a number of years. For example the maintenance team went to clear the gullies of Cannon Hill in July 2012 but were only able to clear 3 of the 10 gullies. They have now, since the meeting, suspended parking on the street so that they can clean all the gullies."

Nancy also pointed out that the numerous developments in the area could add an intolerable structural strain on the Victorian Thames Water drainage system and that this should be taken into account in planning policy. She added:

" it is not clear what the prolonged recent wet months have contributed to the loss of drainage capacity. Along Fordwych Road cellars have been flooded with water to about 12 inches or more. Similar reports in adjacent roads and in  Kingscroft Road have also been received. I have reported two major water bursts - one outside the new development at 1a Mill Lane and the other in Westbere Road."

Finally, Nancy mentioned that local residents of many years standing had said they had always been aware of the issue of local flooding and asked if there was available a historical map of rivers flowing from the Heath in Hampstead to the Kilburn marshes including the Westbourne.

The Council officer (Nick Humfry) replied: "The effect of new developments on the drainage system is something that we are very aware of. I now look at all major planning applications and if they are within a flood risk area I will provide comments, including information of previous problems and scrutinise their plans to ensure that they are taking opportunities to reduce stress on the Thames Water system.

"This is a new activity which we have only been able to do regularly for the last few months but I feel it can help make sure that developments take better consideration of drainage issues. We will also be feeding in information to the basements policy guidance which is currently out for consultation and the Local Development Framework as it is reassessed.

"However the more information we receive from councillors and the public about incidents, the more effectively can we influence planning policy and decisions. So thank-you for bringing to my attention the concerns of residents who have suffered from flooding.  It would be great if you could encourage residents to get in contact with me so that I can build up the incident log which I use in discussion with planners and highways maintenance.

"I would however stress that burst pipes are the responsibility of Thames Water and residents should report any incidents to them directly.

Here is a reference for the old rivers of Camden:

http://www.camden.gov.uk/ccm/content/environment/air-quality-and-pollution/water/lost-rivers-project.
"The rivers are now incorporated into the sewer system and are not the reason for the very high levels of groundwater.  A lot of this is simply due to the saturation of such a wet year but we are looking into other potential causes such as burst pipes and the cumulative impact of basements."

Our advice - stock up with sandbags and get out your wellies!

 

The wheels on the bus go on and on and on

Once upon a time we had a big friendly bus called the 59 whose terminus was West End Green and which went to all sorts of faraway places south of the river. Occasionally it even took us up the hill to Fortune Green on its way home to its garage at Golders Green. Then its route got shorter and it became a single decker bus and it was operated by a different bus company out of Cricklewood Garage - then it was transformed again into a big bus called the 139 and took to travelling empty up and down Mill Lane (and sometimes Westbere Road) to Cricklewood.

By now many local residents were complaining and, as local councillors, we took these up with the bus company, Transport for London, Camden Council, and the Greater London Assembly. Why did the bus have to use Mill Lane which was unsuitable for a doubledecker bus going in both directions? And if it had to do this journey, why couldn't it pick people up? What good was a large empty bus?

We thought we'd won when the bus started going up Fortune Green Road on its way to Cricklewood and at least only using Mill Lane coming back. This lasted, more or less, for quite a long time, but in the last year or so the double Mill Lane trip returned and complaints mushroomed again. Finally losing patience, Cllr Flick Rea demanded a meeting on site with the opportunity of meeting the Cricklewood Garage Manager.

It had often been explained that while TfL decided the running route of the bus, once "out of service" it was up to the drivers what route they used to go to and from the garage, so we wanted to remind them of what we had assumed was a "gentleman's agreement" to encourage drivers only to use Mill Lane eastbound. No such thing, the man from Metroline who runs the 139 told us! They only stopped using Mill Lane because of the difficulties with the turn out into Shoot-up Hill, but reverted to it after Camden resurfaced the road there. It seemed their fancy new buses used to damage their undersides on a hump in the road surface and now it was flat it was all OK for them and they could sail cheerfully up to Cricklewood!

A reply obtained by Caroline Pidgeon (Lib Dem Chair of the GLA Transport Committee) added the following information: 

"While we do appreciate Caroline’s constituents’ concerns, I would like to assure you that there are sound operational reasons for the usage of Mill Lane by route 139 buses en route to West Hampstead. In order for buses to reach West Hampstead from the Cricklewood Garage, they must use Mill Lane as it is not possible to turn right onto the A41 from Cricklewood Lane. This means that this potential alternative route along the A41 cannot be used.

"The reason for using Mill Lane is that buses travelling to and from the Cricklewood Garage get the benefit of the bus lane in Cricklewood Broadway, thus reducing the out of service trip times. If we were to use Fortune Green Road, the A41 and Cricklewood Lane for trips back to the garage then we would have to increase the running time for those trips. Metroline are, however, sensitive to the concerns of local residents, and have undertaken to minimise the use of Mill Lane for out of service running, and to ensure that their bus drivers drive in a considerate and safe manner when such usage is necessary."

 

And they all didn't live happily ever after!