Queen's Cottage Cafe

The application for increased hours and to sell more kinds of alcohol was rejected yesterday by the licensing committee. Jan spoke on behalf of residents living nearby who were not keen on the proposal.

Thanks to everyone who got involved on this issue - we hope this is a satisfactory outcome.

Lee

JPS Planning Application: Committee Date Changed

The planning committee date for the JPS planning application has now been moved back by a week, from 8th to 15th July.

Lee

JPS Planning Application: Decision Date

Back in March we reported that a planning application had been submitted by the JPS School to build several new stories on top of the existing building on Andover Place.

A decision date has now been set for the application - the committee will hear it on 8th July at City Hall.

You can find out more about the application (and comment on it) by clicking here.

Lee

Andover Place

Just a short note to say that the planning application from JPS on Andover Place - which was due to be heard by Westminster Council's planning committee last Thursday evening - was deferred to another date at the last minute.

The application will now come in front of the committee in a few weeks time (date to be confirmed). As soon as we know, we'll let you know.

Alastair

Andover Place planning application

Several years ago, the local JPS preparatory school on the corner of Andover Place and Kilburn Park Road was granted permission to build two new storeys on top of the existing building. At the time, as local Councillors, we opposed this building because of the potential to affect residents living close by in Torridon House and Dibdin House, both from a sense of enclosure and overlooking.

Despite JPS having permission to undertake the development they have not, to date, begun works.

Westminster City Council recently received a new application from JPS for a slightly amended version of the above proposal. From our initial briefing from planning, we understand that the application is a for a similar, potentially even slightly larger build.

We have circulated a letter to nearby residents to ask their views on the application.

Jan, Alastair and Lee

Brent Council planning massive changes to Kilburn Park Road

On Thursday night we attended a hastily convened meeting, at our request, with planning and housing officers from Brent Council at Westminster City Hall on Victoria Street.

A little while ago, as local Councillors, we had got wind of new plans being promoted by Brent to regenerate South Kilburn. This is a long-standing project which Brent have been naturally keen to do for many years, with a number of false starts and unsuccessful attempts.

Another plan has now emerged and Brent Council seem to have decided that it must be all pushed through exceptionally quickly. Irrespective of the merits of the plans, this is most alarming and shows a lack of respect for those residents on our side of the border who have not yet been publicly consulted about the plans. This message was conveyed in no uncertain terms at the meeting on Thursday to Brent.

Details of the plans are still being worked through, but we can see that they have the potential to have a huge effect on local residents in Maida Vale, particularly in Kilburn Park Road and Carlton Vale.
The headlines of the first stage of the plans are:

• to block off the roundabout at the top of Kilburn Park Road: and instead create a four-way junction controlled by traffic lights;
• to build 135 flats on the roundabout site: which will mean the loss of the open space, the grass and the 40 trees;
• to narrow parts of Kilburn Park Road and Carlton Vale: which will bring existing traffic a little bit closer to the houses currently in Kilburn Park Road and may reduce traffic capacity on the part of Carlton Vale which is just outside Westminster.

This is all part of a plan to remove the large high-rise tower blocks, in stages and over a number of years, which are such an eyesore at the moment.

We asked a lot of questions for Brent and went through their plans in as much detail as we could in two hours. We have further questions and need to get more answers from Brent about just how affected local residents, particularly in Kilburn Park Road will be.

The most single disappointing thing was that Brent Council, throughout this process, have not sought to engage with local residents in Maida Vale on plans which could hugely change our area. After quite a lot of questioning, it also seems like there is about 3 - 4 weeks left now for Brent to do some consultation with Maida Vale residents before the planning application has to go in. This is absolutely unacceptable.

The officers from Brent asked our views about how to consult with local residents. Bearing in mind the limited time that is now left, we have asked Brent to get in touch with local residents as soon as they can and also to set up a meeting so that they can present their views to all interested residents. Affected residents should receive further information from Brent shortly.

In the meantime, we will today be distributing a letter to all potentially affected residents alerting them to these plans and asking for their initial feedback on it. If you are a resident in the area, please do let us know what you think. Clearly the aspiration to improve South Kilburn is a laudable one, but is the loss of the roundabout, the green space and the potential effect on traffic a price worth paying for this? We need your views, as residents, as soon as possible.

Alastair, Jan and Lee

St. George's Update

Another success on St. George's!

One of the main issues we were concerned about for Lanark Road, Carlton Vale and other nearby residents, was the movement of lorries to service the St. George's redevelopment once it got underway. Lanark Road, in particular, is a relatively narrow road and we needed to be sure that deliveries to the site had been thought through so as not to really inconvenience local residents.

After a lot of negotiations, we are pleased to say that the building contractor has agreed to a number of conditions that will hopefully reduce the impact of the St. George's works for local residents. These conditions are:

• that lorries can only access the site from 9.15am unless they have informed the Estate Office in advance. The building contractor had asked to be able to access from 8am - which we thought was too early and was likely to coincide with the busy time of day for Lanark Road.
• that no more than 5 lorries should access the site on a daily basis - which will ensure that local residents aren't affected by continuous lorry movements all day, every day.

We know that the next year or so is going to be challenging - large scale building works so close to a residential area always are. We hope, though, that the conditions we have negotiated - on lorry movements, on the location of the compound and also on its size may help reduce the impact on local residents as much as is possible. We want to thank local residents near St. George's in advance for their patience and support for this important project.

And, of course, as your local Councillors we are here to help. We've delivered a letter containing all the conditions to nearby residents, so that they can check the contractor is fulfilling his side of the bargain. If local residents have any comments at all, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us.

Jan, Alastair and Lee

St.George's Update

Success! Good news for Glasgow House residents.

Further to our last update on the St. George's redevelopment works, we're very pleased to report that the school have now agreed to our request to re-locate the building compound after the construction of the new sports hall.

The compound, which is to be sited between Glasgow House and the school, was initially due to be in place from now and last until the end of the works in mid-2011. At our request - and following lengthy discussions with the school - it has now been agreed that the compound will be moved in the middle of 2010 (there are two options regarding where to place it - both on school land).

We are very grateful to the Diocese and the Governing body for being so helpful on this matter and being a good neighbour to Glasgow House.

The main outstanding issue with St. George's is now lorry movements on Lanark Road. We're continuing to discuss this issue and will come back with an update shortly.

Lee

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

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

Andover Place - planning appeal

Last year, we wrote about the planning application made by the Jewish Preparatory School (JPS) on Andover Place to increase its height from 2 to 4 storeys to include 8 new flats for school teachers (see here and here). Although the Council rejected the original application in June 2007, the JPS appealed (as is their right) in early January to the government's Planning Inspectorate to have the decision overturned and to allow them to begin to build.

We received the decision a few days ago and the Planning Inspectorate has decided that JPS should in fact be allowed to increase its height. As local Councillors, we are disappointed that the Planning Inspectorate has chosen to overrule the democratic decision of a local council.

Nonetheless, we have already spoken with Rabbi Levy with regards to the appeal and we hope to help in any way we can to support the fantastic work of the local school and to make sure that the forthcoming building work affects local residents in Kilburn High Road, Andover Place, Dibdin House and Torridon House as little as possible.

We now look forward to working with everyone involved.

Alastair

InTouch with Maida Vale - Summer 2007

We are currently distributing our latest InTouch newsletter, highlighting our work on Thames Water, the recent police meeting, our success in increasing the amount of cleaning in Andover Place/Lanark Road, improvements to the street in Delaware Road and our work to crack down on graffiti.

You can access a pdf copy here.

Lee

Andover Place Planning Decision

Last night, the Planning Committee at Westminster Council declined the planning application from Saatchi Synagogue on Andover Place.

The application, submitted to the council earlier this year, requested permission to increase the height of the building to four storeys to provide a new art room for the school and 8 new flats for teachers and staff.

I represented all three of us at the meeting earlier tonight. As a team, we opposed the planning application on the basis of parking provision in the area and the likely effect to Kilburn Park Road, Torridon House, Andover Place and Dibdin House residents from doubling the height of the builiding. The Council Officers also recommended a refusal, based on parking.

Major planning applications are often difficult for local residents and organisations. It is never easy when one neighbour disagrees with another. On balance, as Councillors, we did feel that the potential disruption to local residents was likely to be too great to support the application. However, we look forward to continuing to work the Synagogue to finding a compromise solution which supports all the wonderful work that they do in the local community.

Alastair

Visit to Saatchi Synagogue

Last week, Jan took up the very kind invitation of Rabbi Levy to visit the Saatchi Synagogue.

Jan was taken on a tour of the synagogue, which is based on the corner of Kilburn High Road and Andover Place. She saw all of the many activities which are available for members of our local Jewish community and the school which is part of the synagogue. Jan also spent a significant amount of time with Rabbi Levy to discuss the recent planning application which has been submitted. The application seeks to increase the height of the building by a further 2-storeys, something which local Councillors and residents in Dibdin House, Kilburn High Road, Torridon House and Andover Place remain very concerned about. Jan put forward the concerns of local residents regarding the potential loss of light and parking difficulties to Rabbi Levy, who was keen to listen.

The next step is the Planning Committee, who will determine the application on 21 June. We'll let you know what happens.

Our thanks to Rabbi Levy for his time and to our colleague, Cllr Cyril Nemeth for organising the visit.

Jan

Chief Executive Visit

Last night we welcomed Peter Rogers, Chief Executive of Westminster City Council, to Maida Vale for a tour of our neighbourhood and a discussion of the major issues affecting it.

We spent two hours showing Peter around almost all of the roads in our ward, and discussing the individual issues of each. We particularly highlighted:

• the need to improve security at Oak Tree House and Beechcroft House, on Shirland Road
• the continuing issues with City of Westminster College on Elgin Avenue
• the real need to address the problem of insufficient parking on Randolph Avenue
• the need for greater support for Paddington Boy's Club on Lanark Road
• the works about to start in Dibdin House
• the need to further improve and make secure the Tollgate Gardens Estate
• the planning application which has recently been lodged at the top of Kilburn Park Road
• the failure of Brent to resurface Kilburn Park Road
• the continuing difficulties created by Thames Water throughout the ward
• anti-social behaviour on the corner of Grantully and Ashworth Roads

We're very grateful to Peter for taking the time to come up and discuss Maida Vale. We are also hopeful that actually taking the officers to the issues on the ground - both yesterday and the other week with the Director of Transportation - can focus attention on how we can make Maida Vale even better.

Jan and 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

Andover Place and Lanark Road Street Surgery

Earlier today, we held another one of our Down Your Street Surgeries in Andover Place and Lanark Road.

Not many people in (quite right too, being a lovely day!), but we were pleased to hear that most local residents are happy with Westminster Council.

We'll be taking back a couple of issues regarding street cleaning to check that the service levels are right for both streets. We'll also be looking into continuing low-level issues with graffiti (having reported earlier this year the new 'artwork' which has appeared - it should be cleaned shortly by the Council's anti-graffiti team).

If you live in Maida Vale and have any issues or comments regarding council services, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Alastair and Lee

Dibdin House Meeting - Thursday 19 October

Pathmeads are holding a meeting for Dibdin House residents tomorrow, Thursday 19 October, at 6.30pm in the Community Hall to discuss estate improvements.

Representatives from CivicWatch, the local safer neighbourhoods team and the youth offending team will also be present to discuss the continuing anti-social behaviour within Dibdin House and Andover Place. CivicWatch have confirmed that additional resources have been allocated for Dibdin to try to stamp out the low-level youth offending of recent months.

If you are a resident of Dibdin or Andover Place, please do go along and have your say.

Lee