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!

Thanks

It's not often, these days, that people remember to say thank you, so its so much more gratifying when they do.

Lots of us enjoy the West Hampstead Farmers Market which seems to be going from strength to strength and so I was delighted to receive the following email which I forwarded to my Lib Dem colleague, Cllr Gillian Risso Gill who was at the forefront of getting this market off the ground:

"I wanted to tell you how much I look forward to being able to shop at the farmers market on Saturdays on Iverson Rd. I don,t know whose idea it was to initiate this, but I for one am grateful.

I especially like to buy greens etc and fresh bread, and sometimes the lovely pies and pasties etc.

 .

I am also proud of myself for being able to support farmers and country folk, listening to the accents, it seems a number hail from the Midlands, so presumably get up early to travel and set up their stalls.

I do appreciate this and would like for them to know we appreciate all they do.

It is very much an enjoyable part of Saturday.

All good wishes "

As a local councillor, I and my colleagues are fully aware that many people contribute to ideas and initiatives which help to improve our area - individuals, local groups and public bodies all play a part and all are deserving of thanks. West Hampstead is full of people who care about their environment and about developments which threaten it or sometimes improve it. They write letters, start petitions and set up new groups. We are always delighted to encourage and support them - recent examples include the new Neighbourhood Development Forum and the proposed "Sherriff Centre Post Office" and try to ensure that everyone gets the credit and any due thanks!

It is somewhat surprising therefore to read a leaflet from another political party where a claim to have "saved" West Hampstead Police station comes from a Councillor from the other side of Finchley Road!!

(A dubious claim at best as the building may be technically  "saved" but will be closed to the public! And also because its his own friend and colleague, the Mayor of London is responsible for the closure in the first place!)

On this occasion thanks - but no thanks!