Bath Time

Slightly odd one this. We found a bath as we were walking along Castellain Road this afternoon. Luckily it was unplugged.

We've arranged for the Council to remove and dispose of the item.

Dumping - in all forms - is very anti-social, particularly when Westminster Council will pick up two bulky items for free. For further details, please phone the Environmental Action Line on 7641 2000.

Lee

The Thames Problem: New Meeting Date

We've set up another meeting with Thames Water, Laing O'Rourke and Westminster Parking Services on Thursday 12 April to again discuss the replacement programme in Maida Vale.

We have seen three real results to date from our meeting. Two of these have been from Westminster Parking Services. In the last month or so there have been warm words from Thames, but not enough action. There remains major issues on most roads which they have worked on and, as a result, we still consider their approach unacceptable and unsustainable. We'll be telling them just that.

Please do get in touch if you have any comments you'd like us to consider and pass on. Please also do get in touch if we can assist if you have been inconvenienced or received a parking ticket you feel is unfair.

Alastair, Jan and Lee

£10k Karen: Please Save My Seat!

Yesterday afternoon, our local Labour MP popped up in Parliament to vote for another waste of your taxpayers money. Karen joined a majority of the Labour Party in voting for an additional £10,000 communications allowance for all MPs every year (see here and here). Apparently this allowance - which will cost us all, in total, £6.5 million pounds per year - is to be spent on things like websites.

Well, the total cost of our website is about £20 a year. You'll forgive us, then, if we think that £10,000 is a bit much.

Not good enough, Karen.

Lee

Committee Report: Resources

On Monday night, I sat on the Resources & Corporate Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee, which analyses how Westminster is spending its money.

The committee looked at the following:

(i) the use of bailiffs by the Council (where a number of Councillors, including myself, requested further information before drawing any conclusions)
(ii) looked at the Council's performance in the year to date
(iii) the Council's flagship Customer Service Initiative programme, which has attempted over the last four years to improve customer service - the conclusion being that there had been may successes but also were many challenges going forward to improve

Lee

The Thames Problem: Result #3

On Monday, at the request of all three of us, Westminster Council's Parking Board met to discuss the current parking issues in Maida Vale.

We're very grateful to the Cabinet Member for Parking for recognising that the current enforcement situation is not sustainable and needs changing. Following our lobbying, he has agreed to change two key elements of Westminster's parking policy, on a temporary basis, whilst the Thames works are underway.

From now on, unless there are compelling reasons/the suspension sign specifically says so, suspension signs will only be enforced during controlled hours. Combined with Westminster Parking's commitment to altering its suspension signs to clarify whether weekends are included or excluded, we hope this will help local residents to park more easily. Additionally, Parking Services will now only move vehicles in suspended bays if there is a direct request by Thames or its contractors.

We feel that these changes - which will be reviewed next month - are a start to reducing the problem in Maida Vale. However, no changes are perfect and we know that some residents may still have issues with parking going forward. As a result, we still think it very wise to exercise caution when parking and, if possible (much easier said that done, of course), avoid suspended areas when parking. And we would, of course, be delighted to hear from any resident given a parking ticket which they feel is unfair.

Alastair, Jan and Lee

Maida Vale Area Forum - tonight

The Maida Vale Area Forum takes place tonight (27 March) at The Amadeus Centre, 50 Shirland Road, between 6.30 and 8.30pm.

There will be an informal surgery between 6.30 and 7pm where Councillors and council officers will be around to discuss any local issues. Thames Water will also be available to discuss the works currently underway in Maida Vale. The City of Westminster College will also be exhibiting proposals for the redevelopment of its Paddington Green site.

Workshops are available from 7pm on (i) priorities for older people, (ii) Westminster's new Housing Strategy, (iii) St. Charles Hospital and the future of local health services and (iv) the priorities of CivicWatch going forward.

Please do come along and have your say!

Lee

A day at St. George's School

They say that standing up and giving a speech in dusty Council chambers is something of a challenge. Nothing, however, has yet compared to the grilling that I got on Tuesday from two of the most engaged audiences I've ever spoken to - two Year 10 classes at St. George's School.

It was open forum for two hours last week to discuss the work of the Council and anything anyone wanted to talk about, during GCSE Citizenship classes. All of the students were informed, interested and concerned about their local communities, and I learned a huge amount. Discussions ranged from youth facilities to recycling, from school dinners to knife crime, from homelessness to public transport.

It was a real privilege to get a new perspective on Maida Vale. Thanks to everyone at St. George's for the great welcome, and for being willing to let me into their classes for a morning.

Lee

The Thames Problem: Result #2

Several weeks ago we summoned Thames Water, Laing O'Rourke and Westminster Parking Services to a meeting in City Hall to discuss the unacceptable situation in Maida Vale. We were (and still are) deeply concerned that Thames are inconveniencing residents unnecessarily.

One of the most important things we wanted from the meeting was to get people talking. As a result, following two immediate follow-up meetings, Thames and Parking Services have now confirmed that they will be holding fortnightly meetings to review issues in Maida Vale.

Lee

Maida Vale Area Forum - This Tuesday

The Maida Vale Area Forum will take place next Tuesday (27th March) at The Amadeus Centre, 50 Shirland Road, between 6.30 and 8.30pm.

Between 6.30 and 7pm an informal surgery will be held where Councillors and council officers will be available to speak about any local issues. The City of Westminster College will also be exhibiting proposals for the redevelopment of its Paddington Green site. Thames Water will also be available to answer questions on their works in the area.

From 7pm onwards, residents can participate in two interactive workshops:

• Priorities for older people in the area (including Leonora House)
• Westminster's new Housing Strategy
• Consultation on St. Charles Hospital and the future of local health services
• the priorities of CivicWatch going forward

Further information is available from the Westminster Council website (click here)

Lee

Full Council Meeting

Last night was another meeting of the full Westminster Council.

During question time, Alastair pressed the Cabinet Member for Street Environment once again on the Thames Water problems in Maida Vale. Cllr Bradley highlighted how had discussed the matter a number of times with Thames management in recent weeks and would continue to do so (including during his upcoming meeting with the new Chief Executive of Thames Water).

Later in the evening, I made a speech on how we intend to re-examine Westminster's recycling strategy in the coming months. I asked all Councillors to get in touch with any residents who would like to get involved and to let us know. Please do get in touch if you have any comments on our current recycling policies (lee@maidavaleconservatives.com) - we want to throw this wide open, so that when we do put the strategy together it draws upon as many ideas as possible.

Lee

Keeping the streets clean

At our street surgeries in Andover Place and Lanark Road last month (see here), a number of residents commented that the cleanliness on their streets weren't quite up to the very high standard which they have come to expect from Westminster. We were very concerned to hear this and went straight back to the Council's Street Cleaning team to discuss.

We are very happy that, in response to our lobbying, Westminster has changed the schedules for street cleaning in these streets going. Cleaning times have been brought forward in both Andover and Lanark to mornings (from early afternoons) to pick up any problems earlier in the day. Also, the frequency of street sweeping in Lanark Road (between Elgin and Carlton Vale) has also been upped from 6 days a week to 7, to reflect the need for additional attention on a Sunday.

We're very pleased that the Council has listened to local residents and is willing to see sense and be flexible.

If you have any issues or concerns that we might be able to help with, please don't hesitate to get in touch. We'd be very happy to help.

Alastair

The Thames problem: Result #1

Several weeks ago we summoned Thames Water, Laing O'Rourke and Westminster Parking Services to a meeting at City Hall to discuss the unacceptable state of the the pipe improvement works currently underway in Maida Vale (see here for earlier stories). The results of that meeting are now starting to come through.

One of the most irritating aspects of parking suspensions is the lack of clarity regarding when residents can and cannot park, particularly at the weekends. As a result, all parking suspension notices printed since the beginning of this month should now clearly indicate whether or not they relate to weekends.

As importantly - although don't hold us to this - any suspension which is in force at the weekend should mean that work actually does take place. We have worked closely with Thames in recent weeks to ensure they are only taking parking spaces offline when absolutely necessary and we have received assurances that they will only request 24-hour 7-day suspensions when they do intend to work. Please let us know if Thames aren't holding to their side of the agreement on this.

It's not enough, but it is a start. Let's hope there is more good news to come.

Lee

Westminster Tenants' Day - Monday 26 March

Next Monday, the Westminster City Partnership/Housing Network will host the Westminster Tenants' Day. This event is open to all Westminster tenants - whether CityWest, Paddington Churches, Pathmeads or any other housing associations - to come along and ask questions and seek advice about housing (or any other subjects!)

Tenants can drop in at anytime between 1pm and 8pm, and will be held at the Porchester Hall, 45 Porchester Road, Bayswater.

For further information please contact the Council on 7641 2789.

Lee

(Photo of the Scottish Towers courtesy of CityWest Homes)

Paddington Waterways & Maida Vale Society AGM

Last Thursday, all three of us attended the annual general meeting of Paddington Waterways and Maida Vale Society, the local amenity organisation for Maida Vale and Little Venice.

PWMVS performs a sterling - and crucial - role bringing together residents in our local area, leading campaigns to improve our quality of life and commenting on local licensing and planning applications. It is a completely voluntary organisation and we have much to thank Joanna and her team over the last year for everything they have done.

As well as electing a new executive, Cllr Colin Barrow (Deputy Leader of the Council) came along to discuss Westminster and our local area. We also had a lively floor debate where all residents had the opportunity to bring up any issues or problems that they had.

If you are interested in finding out more details about the society, please visit their website.

Alastair, Jan and Lee

A day at the recycling centre

One of the most frequent questions that residents ask is about what happens to Westminster's recycled waste, particularly given that we collected all materials for recycling in the same box/bag. Residents are very eager to see that we are disposing on the waste in the most cost effective and environmentally-friendly manner possible. There is also the occasional sceptic who wonders if we simply nip round the corner with the recycling boxes and stick it in with the rest of the rubbish too!

So, I decided to spend an afternoon at the recycling centre where Westminster sends all of its waste for recycling. The centre is based south of the river, in Thamesmead, and has been used by Westminster since it opened. Recycled waste is collected from doorsteps and the 'big black bins' and stored at a collection point in Brent. Every few days a 20 tonne lorry takes all the waste down at once (to reduce the impact on the environment) to Thamesmead for processing.

The facility, which has only been operating for a couple of years, is actually very impressive. All kinds of machines are employed to separate all the waste that is collected (various magnets to remove the aluminium or steel / a huge tumbler to separate the newspaper from plastic etc.) There is even a machine at the end which separates plastic and glass through the medium of infra-red and high-pressure jets of air. And at the very end, a team of professional (and very quick) monitors check to make sure all of the recycled waste has been separated correctly into paper, plastic, glass and the like. Once separated, recycled waste is then sold, via a number of contracts, for use in other industrial processes, both at home and abroad.

Westminster Council is strongly committed to reducing the impact of our rubbish on the environment, but we face considerable problems, not least our city centre location and that space is precious for most of our residents living in flats. It is through facilities like Thamesmead that we are still able to deliver on our commitments to recycling resident's waste.

Westminster's recycling team are intending to run a number of visits to the Thamesmead facility in the next few months for any residents who are interested. Please do get in touch if you'd like to find out more details. You too could be wearing the same funky luminous overcoat as I am in the picture!

Lee

PS Do you have everything you need to recycle? If you need boxes or bags let us know! There are also large boxes available if residents find the smaller ones aren't sufficient for all the waste. We'd be happy to get one ordered for you.

Eighteen Ways to Improve Westminster

In last week's Council Meeting, Sir Simon Milton, the leader of Westminster Council, outlined the plans for the second year of our One City programme, which seeks to improve the lives of Westminster residents. He outlined 18 separate initiatives which the Council will work on over the next year:

• improving secondary school attainment
• a new learning and achievement strategy for Westminster's schools
• improving opportunities for older residents through the Every Older Person Matters programme
• launching a new temporary-to-permanent housing scheme to boost home ownership
• launching a Local Employment Initiative
• bidding for a new Construction Training Centre to be based at Paddington Green
• making Westminster an exemplar green authority through our Go Green initiative
• exempting all green vehicles (not just electric) from resident's permit charges
• continued spending on local high streets
• receiving and actioning the planning application from the proposed Victoria Interchange
• developing Westminster's first ever noise strategy
• supporting a Family Drug and Alcohol Court to support early intervention
• targeting crime and disorder around the Prince of Wales junction on the Harrow Road
• improving parking and the range of parking services available online
• launching a Wireless Innovation Competition
• strengthening the role of ward councillors at neighbourhood level
• recruiting 4,700 additional volunteers by March 2009
• launching further engagement programmes with local residents

Further details can be found here.

Westminster Conservatives are committed to putting forward a positive, pragmatic vision for Westminster for the next four years and beyond. We would welcome your support in achieving these aims.

Please do get in touch if you have any comments on the proposed initiatives launched last week.

Alastair, Jan and Lee

Filling in the Holes (Part Two)

Further to our post yesterday about the works on Delaware, we also asked the Council to put pressure on EdF who dug this lovely little hole, right next to Maida Vale tube a couple of weeks ago.

While accepting that the works had been going on for too long, EdF protested that the fault lay with the London Underground repairs at the tube station. That didn't surprise us. Either way, following pressure from us and the Council, the hole has now been filled in.

If you spot any utilities performing random earth movements in Maida Vale, please don't hesitate to contact us and we'd be happy to look into it.

Lee

CityWest Councillor Meeting

CityWest Homes held another of their update meetings for Councillors last night, to highlight the progress of the last few months.

We received a presentation from MORI showing tenant and lessee satisfaction rates and discussed resident engagement. The good news is that satisfaction rates have risen over the last three years, which is all credit to CityWest and their engagement team led by Lorna Whitehorn. Tenants generally are more satisfied than lessees, and CityWest recognise that they have a way to go in improving their relationship with leaseholders in the city. CityWest are shortly to revamp their communications with village residents, so hopefully we shall see some further improvements over the next few months.

We also had a detailed discussion regarding the repairs system, which a number of Councillors thought was not working as well as it could. CityWest have streamlined the number of contractors they use and are shortly to implement a new system which increases the onus upon contractors to get repairs right first time. All Councillors present agreed that they would like to revisit this at the next meeting to see if any progress had been made.

Finally, we had a long debate regarding major works. CityWest accept that they also have a way to go in convincing residents that they are completing works in an appropriate manner, and also for the best price possible. CityWest agree that they need to engage with leaseholders more and to engage in more of a dialogue.

Equally as importantly, CityWest announced that they would begin to consult with residents and Councillors regarding the spending programme for the next five years. We are very keen to make sure all affected residents in Maida Vale have the opportunity to further contribute, and we'll let you know once we've received the initial proposals.

Lee

(Photo of Tollgate Gardens courtesy of CityWest Homes)

Filling in the Holes (Part One)

Residents of Delaware Road will be pleased to know that the pavement works which have been visible (and untouched) for several weeks next to the BBC studios have now been completed.

We noticed that no work had been taken place for a while earlier in the month and got in touch with the Council's Streetworks department to find out why. The delay appears to have been caused by contractors not realising that they would need to suspend several parking bays to access the area.

After we highlighted the delay and need for immediate attention, contractors completed the works last Wednesday.

Please do let us know if you notice any unattended holes around Maida Vale. We'll be very happy to investigate and make sure works are completed quickly and with the least inconvenience to residents.

Lee

Lee's Surgery This Tuesday

Lee will be holding his surgery this Tuesday, 13 March, between 7pm and 8pm at the Maida Centre, Lanark Road.

If you have any problems or issues we can help you with, please do come along.

Lee

Approval for Dibdin House improvements

Proposals to update and improve the security of Dibdin House were unanimously approved by Westminster's planning sub-committee last night, after lobbying and support from local Councillors.

I addressed the planning committee last night, on behalf of Jan and Alastair, and offered our strong support for the proposed improvements, which will see new gates fitted to Dibdin and new external access doors around the property. We don't think Grainger's solution is perfect - but we do think it represents the best opportunity to start 'designing out' the anti-social behaviour which have affected resident's lives in the last year or so.

We're very pleased that the planning committee agreed with us, Grainger GenInvest and most of the local residents that we have spoken to, that greater security was needed for Dibdin. We see this investment as the beginning of a process to making Dibdin all it can be.

Lee

Westminster: Council Tax

2007/2008 Conservative Westminster Council Tax: £681.68

2007/2008 Labour Lambeth Council Tax: £1187.23

2007/2008 LibDem Islington Council Tax: £1219.40

At the annual council tax meeting last night, Conservative Councillors voted for a minimum increase in Westminster's share of the Council Tax paid by local residents. From April, average Band D council taxpayers will pay £377.80 to Westminster (a rise below the current inflation rate of 2.7%).

During the election last year, Westminster Conservatives committed themselves to council tax rises at no more than 2% each year to 2010. We're very pleased to be able to deliver on our promise.

Every single Labour Councillor present last night voted against the proposal.

Including the Mayor's cut of council tax, total Band D bills will be £681.68 for 2007/2008. Ken Livingstone is now taking almost half of the council tax you pay (£303.88 out of £681.68).

Lee

Another Wednesday Water Column

Last week we called in Thames Water and their contractors (along with the Council's own parking team) to City Hall for a summit to discuss the recent problems in Maida Vale.

We outlined in the strongest terms that the current situation in Maida Vale was unacceptable and that immediate attention was needed. In particular:

• that the recent works in Maida Vale have unnecessarily inconvenienced residents to a significant - and unacceptable - degree
• that the patience and flexibility of local residents have been exhausted by continuing incompetence and ineffective communications
• that we found the attitude towards ignoring parking suspensions and not finishing works on time utterly incredible
• that Thames had to get its act together before it moved onto other roads in the ward

We spent almost two hours going through the problems - mostly on a specific, case-by-case basis - regarding Thames's work and the parking suspensions which have accompanied them. After the meeting, we supplied Thames with a 2,500 word dossier detailing all of the instances which we (or local residents) have identified in recent weeks where problems have occurred. These include:

• the continuous extension of parking suspension (Essendine Road)
• contractors returning to roads which they have previously completed (Morshead Road/Essendine Road/Elgin Mews South)
• contractors ignoring the conditions of parking suspensions (Lanark Road, Randolph Avenue)
• works not displaying a parking suspension (or where the parking suspension notice was obscured by Thames works) (Randolph Avenue, Shirland Road, Grantully Road)
• general overruning of works in Maida Vale (all roads Thames have been on so far)
• the unacceptable state of works on pavements (Grantully Road, Randolph Avenue, Morshead Road)
• weekend working and the approach to residents parking on suspended roads at weekends (Grantully Road)
• inadequate communications to residents (every road Thames have been on so far)
• taking up more road space than appears to be necessary (Lanark Road, Morshead Road)

We have provided Thames with a list of over a dozen actions which they (or Westminster’s Parking team) have agreed to look at. We’ll let you know the results of those as they come through.

Thanks to all residents who provided their comments before the meeting, and which were passed on to Thames.

Alastair, Jan and Lee

Maida Vale Tube Closure

Transport for London has announced that it will be closing Maida Vale tube station early every day from this week for around five months.

The station will now close at 10pm between Sunday and Friday to allow more time for refurbishment works.

Please do get in touch if you have any comments you'd like us to pass on to TfL about this.

Lee

Karen: Stop Messing About

We don't often cover our local MP. That's because she doesn't give much of an impression that she's bothered about Maida Vale or Maida Vale residents (before her silly complaints in the paper last week about Paddington Rec, the last time most people saw her in Maida Vale was about 9 months ago).

And it does seem that Karen is a bit more interested in playing petty politics at the moment than delivering for her constituents. Take an Early Day Motion which she sponsored last Friday, which had absolutely everything to do with the Blair-Brown debate in the Labour Party, and absolutely nothing to with delivering for her residents (see here).

And the cost to the hardworking taxpayer everytime an MP puts down an early day motion? About £250.

Not good enough, Karen.

Lee

Alastair's Surgery Today

Alastair is holding his surgery this morning (Saturday), between 10 and 11am at the Pavilion in Paddington Rec.

If you have any problems that we can help you with, please do come along.

Alastair

Ashworth Mansions Weblog

We've added a link this morning to the fantastic news and information weblog for residents of Ashworth Mansions on Elgin Avenue and Grantully Road. You can find the site here.

Check out the photo of Elgin Avenue from 1910!

Lee

Graffiti Removed

We've reported a few more instances of graffiti around Maida Vale in the last week or so. The anti-graffiti unit at Westminster Council have removed pen marks from:

• the side of Dibdin House on Kilburn Park Road and Maida Vale
• both roads signs at the ends of Oxford Road, near Tollgate Gardens
• Lanark Road, close to Elgin Avenue
• the side of Braemar House on Lanark Road
• a wall and telephone box on Castellain Road, close to Sutherland Avenue
• the wall of Ashworth Mansions on the Grantully Road/Biddulph Road junction
• the electricity box on the corner of Wymering Road and Essendine Road

If you spot any graffiti in our area and would like it dealt with, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Lee