St. George's Update

An update on the issues associated with the redevelopment plans for St. George’s, which we’ve been working through over the past few weeks:

As you’ll remember St. George’s was granted permission for the building of a new block, close to Glasgow House, which would allow the school to expand to take more pupils from our local community. This redevelopment is expected to take two years to complete and, when concluded, will see an almost totally refurbished school able to support the great work that the new headmaster, Martin Tissot is doing.

As local Councillors, it is our job to make sure that these works do not cause unnecessary inconvenience and problems for the local community. Residents of Glasgow House, Lanark Road, parts of Dibdin House, Andover Place and Carlton Vale are all going to have to live next to a building site for some/all of the next two years and it is crucial that their interests are considered.

At our last meeting with residents, three major issues were identified – (i) the position of the building site compound, (ii) the encroachment of that compound into Lanark Road and (iii) the lorry movements that will be associated with the building works.

Here’s the progress on each:

• Position of the building site compound: We asked the team coordinating the redevelopment to look at alternatives to the compound being next to Glasgow House for the entirety of the building programme. Glasgow House residents (and those close by on Lanark Road) will endure a disproportionate amount of inconvenience and hassle due to these works and, by the middle of 2010, the majority of the work being undertaken close to Glasgow will have been concluded (the project then moves to the refurbishment of the existing school buildings near Carlton Vale). We’ve asked the school if they might consider moving some/all of the compound onto the land they use over the road to give Glasgow House residents a respite (and to say thankyou for putting up with the works). We’re currently in discussions and will let you know the outcome.
• Encroachment of building compound into Lanark Road: We’re very pleased to say that we’ve had some success with this, following discussions with the builders. The original plans were for the compound wall to extend out several feet into the road – which we thought was unacceptable and could affect driving down the road. Now the builders have agreed to pull the compound back off the road – it will now only go up to the edge of the pavement. Every little helps!
• Lorry movements on Lanark Road: We were very concerned to see that the builders wished to operate lorry movements from quite early in the morning and all the way through the period when kids were coming and going to school. In addition, Lanark is a busy road with many people wanting to access the Maida Centre and the Boy’s Club. We’re continuing discussions with the builders about regulating and reducing lorry movements when Lanark is likely to be busy.

The builders have indicated that the works are likely to start in the next few weeks, so we’ll continue to work on these issues and let you know the outcome. We have a meeting in the next couple of days, so we’ll report back then.

Lee

Paddington Waterways AGM

Last night, I was very glad to be able to represent us at the Paddington Waterways and Maida Vale Society Annual General Meeting, held at St. Saviour’s School on Shirland Road.

Paddington Waterways is the local amenity society covering the Paddington Basin, Little Venice and Maida Vale and does some absolutely super work on behalf of local residents. As an official amenity society recognised by Westminster Council, the society – run by a group of local residents in their own time – are active in our local community on issues such as planning and licensing. They also led the recent campaign to keep the post office in Clifton Road.

There was a great turnout last night, chaired by our colleague, Cllr Melvyn Caplan from over the border in Little Venice. Guest speaker was Rosemary MacQueen, who heads up the Council’s planning, licensing and transport activities. She was extensively grilled on all of these!

If you would like to get more involved with our local amenity society, visit their website here.

Lee

Licensing Application: Quality Hotel, Kilburn High Road

We've been alerted to a licensing application that has been made for the Quality Hotel, 53 - 59 Kilburn High Road (over the border in the borough of Brent) which has the potential to affect residents at the top of Maida Vale.

The application is for an alcohol and music licence until 5am every day and permission in addition for live music until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.

As the application is over the border in Brent, as local Councillors, we don't get the opportunity to comment on it formally - although we will be putting in representations anyway. If any resident feels strongly, then they should place those concerns in writing to Brent Council before 25 March. The address to send your comments to is London Borough of Brent Health, Safety & Licensing, Brent House, 349 - 357 High Road, Wembley, HA9 6EP.

Jan

More on the Dibdin House bike racks ...

Good news!

We heard this morning that the bike racks had arrived and will be installed in the next week or so in Dibdin House.

If you are a resident of Dibdin House, please let us know how you get on once they have been put in. We can feedback your comments to Stephen and Michelle at Pathmeads.

Lee

Dibdin House: Bike racks

A number of residents have been in touch over the last few months to enquire about the possibility of bike racks within Dibdin House. Encouraging cycling and providing the infrastructure to do this is something as local Councillors we are very supportive of.

We've been asking Pathmeads for a good few months now whether they would consider installing some bike racks within Dibdin House. Although times are tough and money is tight, Pathmeads have confirmed that the bike racks have been ordered and will be installed as soon as they have been received. This, we are told, should be in a matter of weeks.

We'll let you know when we get more information.

Lee

Paddington Rec works update

Good news! The works on the Pavilion in Paddington Rec are due to come to an end in the next couple of weeks. The contractor was issued with a 'practical completion' certificate on Thursday which means, for all intents and purposes, the major changes are complete - with only the tidying up and making ready left.

Council officers have confirmed that the Pavilion will re-open on Monday 30th March.

Jan

Maida Vale Community Compact Meetings

CityWest Homes have been in touch to say they will be holding two sessions for local residents on the 'Community Compact' which is being drawn up for Maida Vale for the next year.

The compact is a set of aims which CityWest will promise to try to deliver over the coming year, and is drawn up directly from the thoughts and views of local residents. If you want to change our community for the better - do go along and give your ideas.

The sessions are:

• Mon 16th Mar between 7pm and 8pm
• Thurs 19th Mar between 1200 and 3pm

Both will be held in the Maida Centre. You can drop in at any point during the times.

Alastair

Westminster freezes council tax ... again

2009/2010 Conservative Westminster Council Tax: £687.62 (no change)

2009/2010 Labour-passed Islington Council Tax: £1,271.73 (+2.5%)

2009/2010 LibDem Richmond-upon-Thames Council Tax: £1,287.39 (+3.5%)

We're very pleased to report that at a full council meeting last week Westminster Council voted to freeze its share of the council tax for the second year running.

As local Councillors we always fight hard for council tax to be kept as low as possible because we know that you can spend your money better than the state can. And, for the first time, the Mayor's precept has also been frozen - thanks to Boris and proving, after eight years of huge rises under Livingstone, that taxes don't always have to rise. That's the reason why Conservative Councils really do cost you less.

The average band D property in Maida Vale will pay, as last year, £681.62.

We're very proud to be able to freeze the tax burden on local residents in Maida Vale - every little helps!

Alastair, Jan and Lee

PCHA Meeting

Last night we were very glad to attend the second regular meeting of PCHA with its tenants on Randolph Avenue.

Following our request, PCHA have agreed to quarterly meetings with residents to provide a forum for discussion and to raise issues, the first being held at PCHA's Harrow Road offices in October. For this meeting, we were able to organise the use of the Maida Centre, which is much closer to Randolph and allowed more people to attend.

Meetings with PCHA are always lively and traditionally have always been seen as frustrating (PCHA, shall we say, not having a reputation for being particularly responsive or helpful). Over the last few months however, we have seen a real change in PCHA's approach and this was on display last night. PCHA were honest with residents where they could do things and also honest with residents when they didn't have the funds. They promised to take away a number of issues regarding fire alarms, the gardens, service charges and post boxes. Some of these are perennial issues and some are relatively new - but at least PCHA are listening.

We now wait to see what progress PCHA make with each over the next few months. Baby steps!

Jan, Lee and Alastair

Paddington Rec Bowling Green - Meeting

Yesterday afternoon we went along to a well-attended public meeting organised by local residents to talk about the Bowling Green in Paddington Rec.

As you may remember, the Council have been investigating options for the Bowling Green, situated on the corner of Biddulph Road and Grantully Road, which is currently very poorly used. Following a campaign last year by ourselves and local residents, the Council have agreed to put on hold redevelopment plans for a year to give the community in Maida Vale the chance to prove it is still something they value.

A group of local residents are now leading the way to try to secure the Green future for the local community. The meeting yesterday was a great opportunity to kick off this campaign. We're very grateful to have been invited and given the chance to talk about the present position, along with listening to all the views of resident's who want to see the bowling green retained. It was a really helpful meeting and it was great to see the determination of local people to make a difference in our community.

We've arranged a meeting between council officers and representatives of the local group, where they can ask the questions they would like and prepare for the opening of the Green early in the Spring.

Now - it's down to you! If you want to keep the Green, you need to use it over the Summer. We'll certainly be spending some of our Saturdays down there learning the art of hitting a small white ball - and, if you want to retain the Green, we hope you will too!

Lee