Lanark Road: Peace

In the police team update we posted earlier this month, we talked about an eviction of a problem household in Lanark Road. We've now been informed that the household left of their own accord a few days ago and the property is now being prepared to be re-let by CityWest Homes.

It never gives us any pleasure at all as local councillors to see CityWest being forced to take action in this way against local households. The difficulties that have been caused, however, for several years at the end of Lanark Road were unacceptable and near neighbours had been very badly affected for several years - something we saw several times at first hand.

At least local residents can now enjoy their days and nights in peace - finally.

Alastair, Jan and Lee

Grimebusters: November 2008

In the last month, we've reported and had reported a few bits of graffiti in the ward:

• on the wooden fence in front of Oak Tree House, Shirland Road;
• on the side of 'Wine Rack' on the corner of Elgin Avenue and Randolph Avenue;
• on the telephone box on the corner of Elgin Avenue and Randolph Avenue, and;
• on the side of Hamilton Court, close to 'Sales and Lettings' on the Elgin Avenue-Lanark Road junction.

Let us know if you spot any graffiti and we'll arrange to have it cleaned off - maidavale@maidavaleconservatives.com

Alastair

Elgin Parade: Anti-Social Behaviour

Just a short note to provide an update on the progress made to combat low-level anti-social behaviour in/around Elgin Parade.

Having identified most of the group causing the problems, the police have now issued a number of Acceptable Behavioural Contracts (ABCs) against a number of individuals. These ABCs are a last warning for recipients and inform them that their behaviour needs to be improved. ASBOs will follow if nothing changes.

Jan

The yellow bollard invasion

A number of residents have contacted us in recent months regarding the replacement of the 'caution' bollards in many streets in Maida Vale.

Around 130 old-style white box 'caution' bollards have been replaced over the Summer with a new yellow design. The previous bollards were coming to the end of their lifespans and a number in our local area were looking very worn after having been clipped over several years.

The new bollards do not require mains electricity (being solar powered and highly reflective), thus saving energy and the periodic need to change the internal lamps. In addition, there is no internal cleaning required, reducing servicing and maintenance time.

All very laudable - and it's great to see a reduction in electricity use in the Council's infrastructure. However, as many residents have told us (and as we agree), the bollards simply aren't as subtle as the previous ones. It's not the biggest issue in the world but we think the design and colour of the bollards are often out of keeping with our local streets.

Of course, the new bollards have only just started their operational lives and will be in the area for a number of years. When the Council begins to discuss their renewal in years to come, we'll definitely ask the Transport Department to take into account resident's comments and will press for a more subtle version!

Lee

£100,000 Your Way: Update

Earlier this year, Westminster Council made available £100,000 for every local ward in the city to spend on their priorities and interests. We wanted to update you on the progress we have made to date.

Over the Summer, we spent three months consulting with every resident in our ward to find our your priorities. We asked you to vote on six priorities - (i) Improving Safety, (ii) Greening our area, (iii) Improving Recycling, (iv) Improving Elgin Parade, (v) Helping the Community or (vi) Something Else. We also asked for your specific ideas about what to do within these themes.

Over 250 local residents gave us their views and, when we calculated your votes, it was clear that you wanted some of the budget spent on all five of the themes. So, over the last few months we've working through all the options:

• Improving Safety: After liaising with the police and our colleagues in Little Venice ward, we are trying to secure a mobile police station which will be dedicated to Maida Vale and Little Venice. The police are interested in the proposal and have been able to find an existing van which we may be able to buy. We are currently working through all the (many) issues and questions which need to be resolved on this quite complicated issue. We'll come back when we have further news.
• Greening Our Area: Council officers have told us that the best way to support bio-diversity and the environment is to either plant trees or hang flower baskets at regular intervals. We've spoken with our Tree team at the Council and they already have an existing budget to plant trees in roads where the roots can take hold - so we'll look at that separately. On the baskets, we've identified a number of key roads which will benefit from next Spring.
• Improving Recycling: We have two options here - firstly, to employ a council officer to identify which roads in the ward could recycling more and then work with local residents to find block-by-block solutions. Alternatively, we could introduce an additional collection for all Maida Vale residents - which might be quite expensive. We are currently working through the costs of both and will report once we have completed this.
• Improving Elgin Parade - this is likely to be the longest project to come to fruition and we have a lot of negotiations to complete. We begun meeting with officers to work out the best way forward.
• Helping the community - last Monday at Area Forum we asked for views from neighbours and residents on precisely how some of the budget can help our community. We have some initial ideas - but we'd like to hear from you on this. Get in touch with your ideas - maidavale@maidavaleconservatives.com.

We'll let you know as soon as we have further news on each of these.

Lee

Carlton Vale: Gates

Residents may have noticed that the gates to Paddington Rec at the Carlton Vale entrance have disappeared.

Fear not - they have not gone permanently! The gates have been taken away for repair and will be away for about two weeks or so.

We look forward to when they are back, as good as new!

Jan