Looking at issues in West Hampstead

Caroline Pidgeon,  LibDem GLA member, who is Chair of the GLA Transport Committee and a member of the Police Authority visited West Hampstead on Friday to meet the local Lib Dem Councillors and look at various issues. These included the complicated relationships around the three West Hampstead stations and the future of local policing and the police station in Fortune Green Road.



Flick Rea explaining to Caroline Pidgeon how difficult it is at West Hampstead
for parents with buggies, the elderly and disabled and those with luggage

 Starting at the tube station, Flick Rea explained that there was no lift access to the platforms. Although this had been promised several times in the past,  it kept being dropped from Transport for London's access programme. Caroline promised to investigate why this was and proposed we should all campaign for this long needed improvement. We also discussed the promised provision of level access to the Overground which TfL have undertaken to pursue with the support of the developers of the "Ballymore site". (Apparently TfL consider West Hampstead (Overground ) a "key station"! But, bizarrely, no such support for West Hampstead Tube just across the road!)


Then, passing the fire station (fortunately not currently at risk) we walked up to the police station. Here we talked about the current plan to keep the station as a north-west "cluster" base whilst closing access to the public.

The flickering out of the police blue lamp?

It seems as if it will only be possible to contact the police for a couple of one hour sessions a week down at the SNT base opposite the tube. But, if no-one goes along during those two hours even this may eventually get dropped!

However we should still have our one pc, one PCSO and half a sergeant (and we're not even sure about the sergeant!!) at least for the time being. Not much to handle crime in Fortune Green we think. Caroline agrees this is a truly dreadful situation and the Lib Dems at City Hall made strenuous efforts to get the Tory Mayor to think again before agreeing his plans. Sadly, it seems he doesn't really listen to anyone these days and just goes charging off like a bull at a gate. (Reminiscent of other past Tory politicians when power goes to their heads?)

Water , water everywhere!

It seems that West Hampstead is always under water somewhere! This week the local papers published a letter from me adorned by this rather splendid Ken Pyne cartoon.

For the umpteenth time in the last few months, last weekend West End Lane was closed, buses were diverted and traffic congestion clogged surrounding streets. And all because of a cascade of water pouring out of the pavement by Sumatra Road.

For months now, our email in-boxes and answer machines have been overflowing with complaints about mains bursts and water leaks. West End Lane, Westbere Road, Hillfield Road - there's hardly a road in West Hampstead that hasn't suffered. Water streams across roads, burst out of the tarmac, seeps from the guttering and tries to make its way down faulty drains. And all the time residents are suffering from low water pressure which Thames Water simply ignores.  Thames Water is not only the most inefficient of all the public utilities, it is also the least responsive.  They make huge profits while giving us a truly dreadful service and we are virtually helpless – it’s not even as if we could find another provider and if you refuse to pay your bill they can simply cut you off!  And in a month’s time, they’ll probably be warning us about drought restrictions! Any (legal) suggestions as to what we can do?