And again it fell slowly and stealthily this time all night - but this time it seems its no good contacting the Council to ask for our grit bins to be filled as the Goverment has asked them not to!! So don't complain to me - get in touch with Gordon Brown - or Transport Minister Andrew Adonis! It looks as if we'll all just have to slide about until it goes away - whenever that may be!
At least the cold weather will help to get rid of various garden pests and swine flu!
FORTUNE GREEN LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Grit bins
We are told there are 140 grit bins in Camden - not actually a lot! There is one round the corner on my road which I know has been filled (and emptied )several times but several seem to have gone missing including one at the junction of Sarre and Westbere Roads. However, as conscientious local Councillors we have reported this and got this immediate response:
Unfortunately it seems that the bin we had at this location was stolen. We are ordering 20 new grit bins to add to the 140+ that we currently have on the streets and as soon as they arrive, one will be put at this location.
Hooray! Although of course it may arrive after the snow has gone - if it ever does!
Meanwhile we have had two reports of people driving up with buckets and shovels and loading up with OUR grit and driving off! No wonder the bins are often empty!
Unfortunately it seems that the bin we had at this location was stolen. We are ordering 20 new grit bins to add to the 140+ that we currently have on the streets and as soon as they arrive, one will be put at this location.
Hooray! Although of course it may arrive after the snow has gone - if it ever does!
Meanwhile we have had two reports of people driving up with buckets and shovels and loading up with OUR grit and driving off! No wonder the bins are often empty!
Saturday, 9 January 2010
Friday, 8 January 2010
Weather update - Friday 8th Jan
This morning's update from Camden...
The latest weather forecast for today shows snow flurries of up to 3cm are possible in London but mainly across the east and southeast of the capital. Winds will remain north to northeasterly.
Roads
Gritting of priority roads continued last night and has started this morning. All main priority routes remain open and buses are running.
We have enough grit to last today and tonight covering our main priority roads. We are expecting further deliveries of grit today.
Many side roads are covered in sheet ice and remain hazardous.
York Way and Arkwright Road NW3 are closed because of continued water leaks and Chetwynd Road NW5 is closed because of an abandoned British Gas van.
The gritting and maintenance of Red Routes and their adjoining pavements – Finchley Road, Camden Road and Euston Road – is the responsibility of Transport for London.
Pavements
Maintenance teams will continue to break up ice off main pavements but no grit will be spread today to conserve supplies. Pavements remain hazardous for pedestrians.
Pavements next to main routes will get some of the gritting overflow.
Refuse and recycling
The refuse and recycling service will remain disrupted all the time this spell of bad weather persists. We will make sure that every home gets at least one collection this week and will work over this weekend to catch up, weather permitting.
Regis Road recycling centre is expected to open this morning
Parks
All parks are open today.
Parking
We will enforce main roads only north of the Euston Road and all roads South of Euston Road. CCTV enforcement and removals will continue across the whole borough.
Transport
Transport services will not be running today and all affected clients have been contacted.
Schools
A list of schools closed will be posted on our website as we receive this information.
Housing
We are prioritising gritting on walkways on estates to ensure supplies last for as long as possible.
A number of Decent Homes sites have been closed for health and safety reasons, although work is continuing where possible; albeit on a reduced scale.
We are keeping residents informed of any site closures and are working closely with tenants over improvements currently in progress.
We will place up to date information about how services are affected on our web site so please check this regularly.
The latest weather forecast for today shows snow flurries of up to 3cm are possible in London but mainly across the east and southeast of the capital. Winds will remain north to northeasterly.
Roads
Gritting of priority roads continued last night and has started this morning. All main priority routes remain open and buses are running.
We have enough grit to last today and tonight covering our main priority roads. We are expecting further deliveries of grit today.
Many side roads are covered in sheet ice and remain hazardous.
York Way and Arkwright Road NW3 are closed because of continued water leaks and Chetwynd Road NW5 is closed because of an abandoned British Gas van.
The gritting and maintenance of Red Routes and their adjoining pavements – Finchley Road, Camden Road and Euston Road – is the responsibility of Transport for London.
Pavements
Maintenance teams will continue to break up ice off main pavements but no grit will be spread today to conserve supplies. Pavements remain hazardous for pedestrians.
Pavements next to main routes will get some of the gritting overflow.
Refuse and recycling
The refuse and recycling service will remain disrupted all the time this spell of bad weather persists. We will make sure that every home gets at least one collection this week and will work over this weekend to catch up, weather permitting.
Regis Road recycling centre is expected to open this morning
Parks
All parks are open today.
Parking
We will enforce main roads only north of the Euston Road and all roads South of Euston Road. CCTV enforcement and removals will continue across the whole borough.
Transport
Transport services will not be running today and all affected clients have been contacted.
Schools
A list of schools closed will be posted on our website as we receive this information.
Housing
We are prioritising gritting on walkways on estates to ensure supplies last for as long as possible.
A number of Decent Homes sites have been closed for health and safety reasons, although work is continuing where possible; albeit on a reduced scale.
We are keeping residents informed of any site closures and are working closely with tenants over improvements currently in progress.
We will place up to date information about how services are affected on our web site so please check this regularly.
Thursday, 7 January 2010
Snow in Camden
Councillors have just received this update about how the council is responding to the snow.
Do get in touch if there's any particular areas you think we can help chase up.
More updates can be found from the front page of the Camden website - http://www.camden.gov.uk/
Dear Councillor,
Due to freezing overnight temperatures, ice in London and the surrounding counties is the main issue today. More snow may come today.
Roads
Principle routes in Camden were gritted last night and are passable with caution. Most main roads remain open with some closed due to burst water mains which includes York Way. These have been reported to Thames Water. Arkwright Road remains closed despite the barriers being removed by the public, we continue to replace these. Side roads and pavements are icy.
Low grit levels are now a London-wide issue. We have received a delivery of 30 tonnes of grit and are expecting another 30 tonnes before 10am today with a further 100 tonnes by the end of the day.
Maintenance teams are responding to calls and will start gritting principle routes again early this afternoon.
We will be issuing messages on our website for residents to take care when using the roads and pavements and to only make car journeys that are absolutely necessary to allow our gritters to lay further grit on priority routes.
Pavements
Pavements are hazardous in many places. Street cleansing is still suspended, to allow crews to work solely on physically clearing snow from high priority pavements such as town centres, hospitals, doctors’ surgeries, schools and tube stations. This is difficult and time consuming. With the medium range forecast, supplies are being conserved.
Pavements next to main routes will get some of the gritting overflow but no other pavements in the borough will be gritted.
Gritting of roads and pavements has been carried out in line with our winter maintenance plan.
Refuse and recycling
There will be severe disruption to refuse and recycling services this week. We will make sure that every home gets at least one collection this week and will work over this weekend to catch up, weather permitting. Crews have gritted roads to Regis Road recycling centre will be opened later today.
Parks
All parks have been opened today. Paths in parks have not been gritted so could be hazardous.
Parking
Yesterday we enforced all main roads in the borough both by CCTV and on street but did not enforce side roads or carry out removals. We will enforce all main roads north of the Euston Road and carry out removals only on main roads. We will be pragmatic and fair in local circumstances where markings may be obscured. We will enforce on all roads south of Euston Road.
[Council]Transport [ie not TfL!]
Transport services will not be running today. Special educational needs children will not be transported by our services to Jack Taylor and Swiss Cottage schools who have been informed. There will be no transport to any of the day centres and resource centres who have been informed. All clients are being advised by transport services by phone. Social services are aware and are contacting effected service users. Care arrangements will be in place for any vulnerable clients.
Schools
We have provided advice to schools about opening during the bad weather. We have been told that South Camden, Maria Fidelis, St Dominics, New End, Chalcott and Gospel Oak schools are closed today. Rosary School is partially opening but the nursery is closed. We will update the web site with the most up to date information on schools.
Housing
We are prioritising gritting on walkways on estates to ensure supplies last for as long as possible.
Apollo has suspended work for health and safety reasons.
Staff
A news item will be sent to staff today saying it will be business as usual and that they are expected to travel to work as long as it is safe to do so. A message has also being left on the staff information line. If there is disruption to the transport system many staff will be able to work from home.
We will place up to date information about how services are affected on our web site so please check this regularly.
Paul Inglefield
Head of Communications
Do get in touch if there's any particular areas you think we can help chase up.
More updates can be found from the front page of the Camden website - http://www.camden.gov.uk/
Dear Councillor,
Due to freezing overnight temperatures, ice in London and the surrounding counties is the main issue today. More snow may come today.
Roads
Principle routes in Camden were gritted last night and are passable with caution. Most main roads remain open with some closed due to burst water mains which includes York Way. These have been reported to Thames Water. Arkwright Road remains closed despite the barriers being removed by the public, we continue to replace these. Side roads and pavements are icy.
Low grit levels are now a London-wide issue. We have received a delivery of 30 tonnes of grit and are expecting another 30 tonnes before 10am today with a further 100 tonnes by the end of the day.
Maintenance teams are responding to calls and will start gritting principle routes again early this afternoon.
We will be issuing messages on our website for residents to take care when using the roads and pavements and to only make car journeys that are absolutely necessary to allow our gritters to lay further grit on priority routes.
Pavements
Pavements are hazardous in many places. Street cleansing is still suspended, to allow crews to work solely on physically clearing snow from high priority pavements such as town centres, hospitals, doctors’ surgeries, schools and tube stations. This is difficult and time consuming. With the medium range forecast, supplies are being conserved.
Pavements next to main routes will get some of the gritting overflow but no other pavements in the borough will be gritted.
Gritting of roads and pavements has been carried out in line with our winter maintenance plan.
Refuse and recycling
There will be severe disruption to refuse and recycling services this week. We will make sure that every home gets at least one collection this week and will work over this weekend to catch up, weather permitting. Crews have gritted roads to Regis Road recycling centre will be opened later today.
Parks
All parks have been opened today. Paths in parks have not been gritted so could be hazardous.
Parking
Yesterday we enforced all main roads in the borough both by CCTV and on street but did not enforce side roads or carry out removals. We will enforce all main roads north of the Euston Road and carry out removals only on main roads. We will be pragmatic and fair in local circumstances where markings may be obscured. We will enforce on all roads south of Euston Road.
[Council]Transport [ie not TfL!]
Transport services will not be running today. Special educational needs children will not be transported by our services to Jack Taylor and Swiss Cottage schools who have been informed. There will be no transport to any of the day centres and resource centres who have been informed. All clients are being advised by transport services by phone. Social services are aware and are contacting effected service users. Care arrangements will be in place for any vulnerable clients.
Schools
We have provided advice to schools about opening during the bad weather. We have been told that South Camden, Maria Fidelis, St Dominics, New End, Chalcott and Gospel Oak schools are closed today. Rosary School is partially opening but the nursery is closed. We will update the web site with the most up to date information on schools.
Housing
We are prioritising gritting on walkways on estates to ensure supplies last for as long as possible.
Apollo has suspended work for health and safety reasons.
Staff
A news item will be sent to staff today saying it will be business as usual and that they are expected to travel to work as long as it is safe to do so. A message has also being left on the staff information line. If there is disruption to the transport system many staff will be able to work from home.
We will place up to date information about how services are affected on our web site so please check this regularly.
Paul Inglefield
Head of Communications
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Something special
This isn't about Fortune Green - but self indulgence! In my capacity as "Culture Boss" of Camden, I am responsible for the refurbishment of Kentish Town Baths. Probably not somewhere visited very often by residents of NW2/6 but greatly loved by local people over the other side of Camden! Falling to bits and neglected by previous administrations over many years, in 2006 we took the bold decision to restore the baths to their former glory. The total cost of the project is £25million which is a huge amount of money to be responsible for and I have been determined it won't all go wrong, take twice as long or cost lots more money like Swiss Cottage did. Yesterday - before it snowed - I went on one of my regular visits and this is what the newly restored Willes Pool looks like now! Gorgeous!
New Year update and TV special
This is the view from my window of Fortune Green today - so - stuck at home- I thought it was time to update this blog!
I've been lazy over Christmas - spending time with family and friends and not worrying too much about the Council which always seems to go to sleep for a couple of weeks! Although I did get a call from someone on Xmas Eve - luckily it wasn't urgent!
Before Xmas though we were all hugely busy! The worst thing was the failure of heating on West End Sidings estate which involved many phone calls and furious emails until it all got finally sorted out and all residents got their heating back.
One piece of news that won't have made local residents happy was that planning permission for the new development on Maygrove Road was approved. I spoke up to voice the objections of local residents, and Russell Eagling who is also on the Development Control Committee voted against, but everyone else was in favour. We still think its just too big!
Before, during and after Christmas we have been bombarded with emails, texts and updates from Camden to tell us what they are doing during the bad weather. They have been doing their best - we know there have been complaints about the side streets but they have to concentrate on the main roads first! My local grit box has been filled and emptied several times! Here is the message that was issued late yesterday:
The Met Office is currently forecasting 2-5 cms of snow to fall across the borough from 9pm tonight, continuing into the early hours and throughout Wednesday.
Maintenance crews will start pre-gritting priority main roads and bus routes from 7pm this evening, after the rush hour. Pavements in high footfall areas such as town centres, hospitals, doctors’ surgeries, schools and tube stations will be gritted from 5pm this evening. All this is in line with our winter maintenance plan.
Further bad weather is predicted to last throughout the week and we have 200 staff on standby to enable us to respond with every resource at our disposal to minimise disruption.
We currently have 300 tonnes of grit salt at our Camley Street site and expect a delivery of a further 200 tonnes shortly.
We will be issuing messages on our website for residents to take care when using the roads and pavements and to only make car journeys that are absolutely necessary to allow our gritters to lay further grit on priority routes.
Parking enforcement is taking place as normal across the borough but this situation will be reviewed regularly. If the situation warrants the suspension of parking enforcement we will update you and our website as soon as we can.
Four schools across the borough, Eleanor Palmer, Jack Taylor, Carlton and Cobden were closed today due to heating problems but these have now been resolved. Should the adverse weather conditions lead to school closures tomorrow updates will be posted on our website.
Adult social care managers have implemented plans to ensure home care and other services for vulnerable people continue if there is disruption.
Our priority for housing estates is to grit pathways and walkways as most roads in estates are not priority routes. All requests for gritting pathways and walkways in estates should be made to district housing offices.
We will place up to date information about how services are affected on our web site so please check this regularly.
A news item was sent to staff today saying it will be business as usual and that they are expected to travel to work as long as it is safe to do so. A message is also being left on the staff information line. If there is disruption to the transport system many staff will be able to work from home.
Meanwhile Camden was on TV! Not Fortune Green but Grange Park. The outdoor gym was featured on the Breakfast Show on Jan 4th - encouraging residents to get out and work off all their Christmas indulgences! Local resident Grace Auguste who is a"motivator" (ie someone who encourages others to use the equipment properly) was interviewed by the BBC reporter. It was very cold - but before the snow - don't think anyone will be using it in this weather!
Anyway - Happy 2010 to everyone! Except the person who stole my daughters bag on Jan2nd!
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