St. George's: Problems with Lorries

A number of residents have alerted us to some serious concerns regarding the redevelopment works at St. George’s school which started two months ago.

Prior to the works beginning, we spent a significant amount of time negotiating with the building contractor to ensure the impact on local residents would be minimised as much as possible. We managed to get agreement on three important things to do this:

• a reduction in the size of the site compound;
• that the compound will be moved in mid-2010 away from Glasgow House upon completion of the major part of the works on the new sports hall;
• that the number of lorry movements would be limited to an average of 5 per day and would not occur before 9.15am without prior permission of the Estate Office.

Lanark and Glasgow residents have been in touch over the last couple of weeks to say that the builders have not adhered to the agreement on lorry movements. We immediately took this issue up with the builders and with the Council department coordinating the activity and raised again raised it at two meetings (last week and this).

The builders do appear to have allowed much larger number of lorries on to the site on numerous occasions since the end of May, apparently because of “unforeseen soil conditions” (whatever that is).

We have been very clear with the contractors that this is completely at odds with the agreements that they voluntarily signed up to only a few months ago. Furthermore, having publicly committed to being a considerate neighbour, to break those commitments within a few weeks is not an auspicious start for a project which will take several years to complete.

As a result, an unequivocal apology letter will shortly be distributed by the contractor to all affected residents.

The contractor has also committed in the letter to the following:

• that from 13th July, the number of lorries visiting the site will be limited to 6 per day (unless the Estate Office have been notified in advance);
• that they will write to their suppliers outlining that lorries should not arrive at the site before 9.15am not after 6pm (and should not all arrive at once causing traffic). In addition, a traffic marshall will be deployed outside of these times to try to stop lorries entering Lanark Road ;
• that no works will be carried out before 8am or after 6pm;
  that extra checks will be made on the generator to ensure it is switched off at night (and so not causing noise for nearby residents), and;
  that a new “Resident’s Hotline” (0800 083 5575) will be set up so residents can inform the contractor of any problems or issues they have.

As local Councillors, we are extremely disappointed by the contractors early failure to adhere to the agreements that we put in place – and we have told them, in no uncertain terms, our thoughts. The letter will not make up for the inconvenience that local residents have experienced over the last few weeks but we hope that the message has now got through to the contractor that they will have to consider local residents during the build.

Going forward, we’ll keep watching the contractor to ensure they are keeping their end of the bargain. Thanks to those residents who got in touch with us to report the problems with the lorries. We hope there won’t be but, if there are any further issues going forward, please do get in touch again – and we will take it up again.

Alastair, Jan and Lee

BBC Maida Vale studios: Broken Air Conditioning

Residents in Delaware Road may be aware of some additional plant which the BBC have installed over the weekend next to the Studios.

The BBC were in touch with us and the Council’s planning department on Friday to explain that they were experiencing a problem with a defective air conditioning unit in the Studios. The noise from this unit, which apparently is audible enough to be picked up by the recording equipment, was threatening the recording of a series of concerts by the BBC Symphony Orchestra due over the next couple of weeks.

The BBC asked our Planning Department if they could be granted emergency permission to install an external air conditioning unit which would allow the internal defective one to be switched off until repairs could be made. They indicated that the external equipment would need to be in front of the studios (and may need some parking suspended) and would be on site for up to 8 weeks.

As local Councillors, we are very concerned about the impact that the temporary air conditioning might have on local residents – from a noise, parking, amenity and general inconvenience perspective. We have spent much of the weekend in discussions with the BBC and with Council planners to find a solution which would allow the recordings to go ahead whilst not overly impacting the quality of life of residents.

We are pleased to report the following progress so far:

That the original proposal to site the equipment in front of the studios (taking up parking places) has now been scrapped and the unit will be placed on top of the studios itself, and;
That we have come to an agreement that the unit will only be used during periods of recording (although there is quite a busy schedule for the next week or so, up to 9.45pm on some evenings)

This morning I attended a site meeting with representatives from the BBC and the Planning Department where we talked through all of the issues. Despite the progress reported above, we know that semi-continuous noise can have a really big impact on quality of life for residents and we remain very concerned about this. In particular, the unit is very close to Rayne House, and we remain in constant contact with the warden, Anne, to see if/how residents are being affected. We are also yet to be convinced on the 8-week timeframe that the BBC are quoting to resolve this.

For today’s recording the Council have agreed that the will not enforce against the plant that has been installed and will allow the Symphony Orchestra recording to go ahead. We have requested (and the BBC have agreed) to immediately distribute a letter to all residents in Rayne House and Delaware Mansions to explain the situation and also explain what they should do if they are inconvenienced. Dependent upon the level of problems reported, the Council has reserved its right to re-visit this issue in the coming days and weeks and we too, as local Councillors, will also press for changes if the agreement proves unworkable.

If you are a Delaware resident and have any comments or views on this, please do get in touch. We are monitoring this issue on a day-to-day basis at the moment and would be very glad to hear of your thoughts on the situation.

Jan

Grantully & Morshead: Changes to waste collections

As local Councillors, one of the things we pride ourselves on is trying to solve the problems that local residents raise with us.

A month or so ago, residents of Grantully Road highlighted that the Council were not collecting the refuse from Grantully and Morshead Mansions at the same time, despite them being just yards from each other – meaning more noise for residents early in the morning.

We’re now pleased to report that, following discussions, the Council has agreed to slightly tweak the collection schedules in Maida Vale to ensure that both will be collected at the same time.

It’s the little things that count!

Lee

Bowling Green - Next Steps

Maida Vale's new Bowling Club - the group of local residents set up to save the Bowling Green - will be meeting this Thursday, from 8pm at 215e Elgin Avenue.

This will be a chance to talk through how the first couple of months have gone and to talk about 'next steps'. Do go along if you want to get involved!

You can find further information out at: http://www.maidavalebowls.org.uk/.

Alastair

Paddington Rec Meeting

Last Wednesday we attended the latest quarterly meeting of the Paddington Rec steering committee, the group of officers who run the Rec on a day-to-day basis. The meeting is a great opportunity to talk through any current issues with the Rec and also to talk through any future plans that officers want to put forward.

We received an update on the long-running upgrade works in the Rec, which have done so much to improve the park in the last few years. Work continues on the Cafe, health and fitness facility and the environmental area - all of which are on plan. On the 20th July, the Hockey pitch will be closed for approximately 6 weeks whilst the surface is replaced after many years hard use.

We also received the latest information on the use of the Bowling Green. The first full month of operation saw more people use the Green than for the whole of last year - which is a great result. Much of this is down to the local residents who have come together to form the Maida Vale Bowls Club. If the Green is to be retained going forward, however, we need to see a similar (if not higher) level of use all the way up to October - so keep booking and keep using the Green!

We also discussed a number of other issues including the continued police presence in the Rec, a proposal to name the Pavilion and the visibility of the dog warden.

Jan and Lee

Maida Vale Police Meeting

Last Monday the Maida Vale Safer Neighbourhoods Team held a meeting for local residents to talk through their concerns and views on our local area.

The meeting was well attended by a number of local residents, many of whom who wanted to speak with the police about issues or concerns they had. A number of issues were brought up - from the high-profile (regarding the recent success against the youths on Elgin Parade) to the ones which the police and Council are always fighting a battle against (like dog mess or people cycling on pavements).

As local Councillors, we also invited our colleague, Cllr Audrey Lewis, to the meeting. Audrey is the Chairman of one of the committees which monitors the police's response to crime and anti-social behaviour within Westminster. We're very glad that Audrey was able to hear at first hand the concerns that Maida Vale residents had.

All in all, most residents agreed that Maida Vale was, in general, a pretty safe place to live. There are always problems and concerns and it is good that the police can gather these at regular intervals by holding meetings like this.

If you have a concern about crime or anti-social behaviour in our area, please don't hesitate to get in touch. We hold weekly meetings with our local police team and will always feedback any issues you tell us about.

Jan

Atholl and Braemar Houses: Major Works

CityWest have been in touch to say that the next meeting to discuss the major works for Atholl and Braemar Houses will be held on Wednesday 8th July at 6pm at 8a Braemar House.

If you live in Atholl or Braemar and would like to influence the direction of the proposed major works, please do go along. Last time, most residents decided that they wanted CityWest to concentrate on water ingress rather than replacing the windows and doors. As a result, CityWest have now agreed to move the replacement works for doors/windows back by five years - showing that CityWest do listen to what residents want!

Alastair

Quality Hotel Licence Application

Back in April we wrote about a licencing application which had been submitted by the Quality Hotel on Kilburn High Road to allow 24-hour drinking on the premises.

Our last post detailed the date, time and place of the licencing hearing - originally set for 23rd April. For reasons which we can't quite fathom (not least because Brent don't have the most intuitive website in the world), the decision on the original application does not seem to have ever been made. Instead, it seems to have been delayed for several months.

We've now been informed that the objections (one of which was from us) to the licence will be determined next Thursday, 25th June. The venue is the Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, Brent Town Hall, Forty Lane, Wembley (starting at 10am). Anyone is able to attend.

We'll let you know the outcome.

Jan

Randolph Avenue resurfacing

As many local residents are already aware, Westminster Council has recently begun resurfacing Randolph Avenue.

Many Randolph residents had mentioned to us in recent years that the street was looking past its best (and that it was becoming an increasingly bumpy ride!) - so we are very pleased that the Council has carried out the resurfacing. This comes hard on the heels of resurfacing on the Elgin Avenue-Shirland Road junction.

Alastair

Westminster: Visitor Parking Experiment

One of the biggest problems that residents tell us about on the doorstep is the problems they have with parking. Most of these issues - as residents point out to us - are down to living in a busy and crowded city, which means that parking space is always at a premium.

Over the last few years, Westminster has taken strides to improve parking and reduce the dreaded parking attendents and tickets in our area. Where Westminster has got it wrong, as local Councillors, we haven't been afraid to stand up and tell them - like when we managed to get the tickets of many Wymering Road residents rescinded a couple of years ago because they were the fault of Thames Water not residents.

One of the areas where residents do, however, tend to think that the Council could go further is on visitor parking. This is obviously a very difficult area - we have a limited number of parking spaces and the Council has always taken the view that residents come first.

With residents views in mind, though, the Parking Department will launch a trial experiment next week in three wards around the City (not Maida Vale) which will see a number resident parking bays over a wide area converted into multi-use in the middle of the day. This will allow visitors to use them at this time whilst still ensuring that they are available to residents at the busiest times (the beginning and end of the day).

The experiment is due to run for an initial 6 months in Queen's Park, Abbey Road and Regent's Park wards. The Council will then have another 12 months to collect any further information it needs and then to make a final decision on the project. Although parking will never be perfect in Westminster, we are pleased to see the Council at least trying to improve things in this area. If it works, the experiment may be extended elsewhere in the City.

Lee