Thursday, December 24, 2009

Merry Christmas

Season's Greetings from all of us - we hope you have a good one!

Alastair, Jan and Lee

Community Fund Update: Trip for Maida Vale Kids

One of the biggest messages coming back from the Community Fund consultation was the need to ensure that kids in Maida Vale had something to do.

As a result, one of the projects we have agreed to support is a trip to the Council's highly-regarded leisure facility just outside of London, Sayer's Croft (more info: here).

The trip is completely free for any child living in Maida Vale between 10 and 14, and will take place during February half term. If you know of anyone who would like to take part then please contact the Council on 7641 2012.

Lee

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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Kilburn Park Road: Consultation Letters due out ...

We've heard today that the Kilburn Park Road application by Brent has now been checked to make sure it is valid (the first step in any planning application) and that consultation letters will be dropping on the door mats of nearby properties in the next couple of days.

As soon as we have seen a copy and gone through the detail we will write to all residents with information on, should they wish, how they can comment (and how those comments are best structured).

As many local residents are away at this time of year or are busy with other things, we have been concerned about the timing of the consultation letters being sent out. At our request, Brent have agreed to extend the consultation period from 21 days to 35 to account for the Christmas period. We think this is very sensible and thank Brent for their willingness to do so.

We'll keep you posted.

Alastair, Jan and Lee

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Monday, December 21, 2009

Paddington Rec: Meeting

Last week, we attended the quarterly Paddington Rec meeting with Council officers. This meeting, which is held in the Pavilion, is the time when local Councillors, officers and representatives of Nuffield Health (who manage the Rec) come together to discuss issues and developments. It's also our opportunity to feedback everything local residents have told us about the Rec over the previous few months.

There are a number of things to report:

  • Cafe Extension: is on track for completion in Summer, as previously reported;
  • Wifi in Cafe: Westminster will be installing wifi in the cafe from early in the New Year, following a request from a resident, via Jan;
  • Environmental Area: has won an award from the Institute of Groundskeepers - this is great news which is a testament to all the hardwork designing and constructing this area;
  • Bowling Pavilion: planning permission has now been obtained for the upgrade of the Bowling Pavilion - work is scheduled to be completed for the re-opening of the Green in Spring;
  • Anti-social behaviour: The police were pleased to report that the Rec remains very quiet with no incidents being reported recently - regular patrols, regular visits with the mobile police station and a number of banning orders against known troublemakers all seem to be helping this;
  • Leaf Blowers: a number of residents in Randolph Avenue have raised concerns about the practice of using mechanical leaf blowers in the Rec in recent months. We asked the officers to undertake a thorough assessment of their use and whether any alternative provision could be put in place. We are pleased to report that we agreed to stop the use of the blowers during the weekends, which we hope is a helpful compromise for those who are concerned.

If you have any comments on the Rec, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us (maidavale@maidavaleconservatives.com). We'll be happy to raise them on your behalf at the next meeting, which will be held in the Spring.

Lee

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Paddington Waterways Meeting

Last week we held another of our regular meetings with our local amenity society, Paddington Waterways. We were able to talk with a number of aspects of the Council's work, its relationship with local organisations and how things can be improved.

Paddington Waterways does fantastic work in our local community, looking out for and protecting the interests of residents. It is always looking for people to get involved and help out - if you want to, check out their website www.paddingtonwaterways.com.

Alastair

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Thames Water: Progress

We wrote last month on Thames's rocky ride at the latest Area Forum in Maida Vale, where they were repeatedly questioned by residents and local Councillors on a number of aspects of their local policy.

Since then, we are very pleased to be able to report further progress.

I represented all three of us at a meeting in early December held at City Hall where Thames were questioned once again by Councillors and the public regarding their policies. I emphasised the effect that some of their policies were having on the local area - the regular breaking of the mains pipe on Kilburn High Road and the flooding in Shirland Road and Kilburn Park Road. It was a useful meeting and Thames seemed willing to listen.

Since then further meetings have been held between the Council and the local residents group leading on this issue, Maida Flood Action. On the flooding issue, we are very pleased that Thames have now accepted the case that more work needs to be done and are no working through the data collected by the Group to work out next steps. Slowly, but steadily, we are getting there!

Jan

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Sunday, December 13, 2009

Award for Tube Station

Congratulations to Maida Vale tube for winning a National Railway Heritage award for its modernisation last year. More details can be found here.

Congratulations to TfL (even if it was late!)

Lee

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