Dog Fouling

A perennial issue that local residents raise with us is dog mess. Although not the biggest problem in the world, we know that it is one of those things where just a small group of people not cleaning up after their dogs can make a big impact on whether our streets are clean, tidy and pleasant.

Following requests from residents, we've asked our community protection department at the Council to run a campaign to crack down on dog fouling on the streets of Maida Vale. Over the next couple of months, council officers will make this a priority issue and will seek to warn (and, if necessary, fine) any dog owners who are not cleaning up after their dog.

If you think that your street needs particular attention, please do get in touch (maidavale@maidavaleconservatives.com).

Jan

£100,000 Your Way: Fighting Crime in Maida Vale

The next part of Maida Vale's Community budget has now been committed:

Another key priority identified by residents in our consultation was the need to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. Although Maida Vale is an exceptionally safe place to live in general, we know that more can always be done and that residents want a visual reassurance that the Council and Police are taking their safety seriously.

As a result, two new City Guardians will be joining Maida Vale's police and anti-social behaviour force from the end of July. For six months the Guardians will be patrolling the streets of Maida Vale and helping out the local police and police support officer teams. Look out for them - they are there to help!

Alastair, Jan and Lee

Maida Vale Safer Neighbourhoods Panel: Reception

On Tuesday we were very glad to be invited to a celebratory reception at the new Westminster Academy, Harrow Road, for the Maida Vale Safer Neighbourhoods panel.

The panel, made up of 10 representatives of Maida Vale ward, is the major link for our local police team into our local area. The police use the panel as a ‘sounding board’ and they are responsible for setting local crime-fighting priorities. The reception on Tuesday was to thank everyone on the Maida Vale team for giving up their time to help stop crime in Maida Vale. Thanks for all of their help and support.

Jan

Maida Vale Police Team: News Update

The Maida Vale Police Team have provided their latest quarterly update of what they have been working on:

Elgin Parade

All members of the group responsible for low-level anti-social behaviour in/around Elgin Parade have now been identified. Four of the group have been made to sign Acceptable Behaviour Contracts with strict conditions (the precursors to Anti-Social Behaviour Orders). Two arrests have been made in relation to incidents that occurred during the Autumn on Elgin Parade and one individual has been taken to court.

The police report that anti-social behaviour decreased significantly since November. ASBOs and other measures will be held in reserve if there is any uptick in problems.

Paddington Rec

Officers are continuing to monitor Paddington Rec and are pleased to report no incidents in the last few months. Known troublemakers remain banned and have not been spotted in recent months and there continues to be attempts to engage other youngsters in diversionary activities (sport or other physical activity).

City of Westminster College

Officers report an incident before Christmas where 7 students from Westminster College were caught smoking cannabis in the doorway of a nearby mansion block. All have been given written warnings by the College, with one youth having been arrested and permanently excluded from the college.

New Team Member

We welcome Sargeant McGregor who joined the team in the late Autumn.

Lee

Kilburn Park Road: Street Surgery

Last Saturday, we held one of our regular street surgeries, talking to local residents and checking that they were happy with their local area and the services that Westminster Council provides.

This month, we chose Kilburn Park Road, one of our much-valued border roads we share with Brent. We spoke to a lot of local residents who were very happy with the improvement they have seen in the last few years – the road resurfacing which we were successful in securing last year and the continued attention the Council is giving to maintaining high standards of cleanliness.

Following our conversations we’ve taken away a number of small issues regarding housing and trees growing over from Paddington Rec. We also continue to see that Brent are not providing the needed level of service on their side of the road – particularly with regards to graffiti. We’ll take this up.

Lee

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

Motor Vehicle Crime: Update

When the Maida Vale Safer Neighbourhoods police team asked local residents last year for their major priorities to tackle crime, it was theft and vandalism against cars which came the highest on their list. It is something which we both hear about and see the consequences of (smashed glass on the pavement) too often.

The police team have provided us with an update on their latest efforts to tackle the problem:

• intelligence continues to be gathered against 13 identified regular offenders who are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime in our local area (with a majority of these currently in prison/on remand)
• issues continued to be regularly discussed at the local Civicwatch briefing sessions, bringing together the police team, the council, City of Westminster College, CityWest Homes and others
• decoy operations have been run in our streets, resulting in one arrest

The majority of crimes against vehicles are speculative, often because criminals think they can get lucky. The best way to reduce the chances of damage is to remove all valuable from sight and to remove the tell-tale signs of any valuables (such as the marks left on the windowscreen from TomTom holders).

Our local Safer Neighbourhoods team are based in Harrow Road. Contact details can be found to the right.

Please do get in touch if you would like to discuss this any further. We've been working closely, for example, with residents in Delaware Road to reduce car crime in the last month or so, and we'd be very happy to help in any way we can.

Alastair

Update from Maida Vale Police Team

The Maida Vale Safer Neighbourhoods Team have provided an update on what they are currently up to:

• Priorities: the two main priorities are currently motor vehicle crime and Paddington Rec youth anti-social behaviour
• Paddington Rec: Photographs are being compiled of ASA gang members, with 93 individuals currently on film. 7 youths have been banned from the Rec to date. 3 individuals have been successfully prosecuted 3 individuals for 5 different graffiti offences and 2 Public Order offences
• Westminster College: letters have been sent to individuals identified as causing issues - behaviour seems to have improved since then

Lee

Graffiti removed

We've reported a number of instances of graffiti around Maida Vale recently. So far, the anti-graffiti unit at Westminster Council have removed graffiti from the following roads:

• the garage on Lanark Road, close the rear of Hamilton Court
• the parking meters close to Dundee House on Lanark Road
• the electricity box close to the Sutherland Avenue junction with Lanark Road
• the entrance to Paddington Sports Club in Castellain Road
• the gate to the City of Westminster College on Morshead Road
• the postbox on Morshead Road, close to Elgin Avenue
• the telephone kiosk closer to Strome House on Carlton Vale
• the electricity box on Delaware Road
• the gate to St. Augustine's School on Oxford Road

If you spot any graffiti in our area, please let us know and we'll make sure it is removed.

Lee

Civicwatch Meeting

Last Friday afternoon I had the opportunity to sit in on a crime and anti-social behaviour planning meeting for Maida Vale.

These regular meetings, coordinated by the Council's Civicwatch team, bring together the local police, the Council, CityWest Homes, the City of Westminster College and others to discuss ways to reduce anti-social behaviour in our area.

Last Friday, discussions centred around (and/or I raised) the continuing problems with graffiti, the need to reduce problems in and around the Rec (which a number of residents continue to write to us about), the overspill problems from the College around Elgin Avenue and the usual minor issues with school kids from St. Augustine's and St. George's.

Work continues on the graffiti issue and the people involved have been identified - but it is difficult to prosecute until they have been caught in the act. One individual has already been caught on Morshead Road. There is also a lot of work going on to hammer home the message that College students need to stop treating Elgin Avenue and the Rec as a doss-house. The College does seem to be slowly engaging on this.

Please do let us know if you have any thoughts, comments or experiences.

Lee

PS The picture above was taken last year (just to clarify!) and we got the graffiti removed immediately.

Cleaning up

And the white goods award for this week goes to two roads (sadly) -

We have arranged to be cleared a fridge freezer from the junction of Carlton Vale and Randolph Avenue, and a second fridge freezer from the junction of Widley Road and Essendine Road.

Dumping - in all forms - is very anti-social, particularly when Westminster Council will pick up two bulky items for free. Westminster will pursue legal action against offenders.

Lee

PS We've also arranged the removal of a random wooden pallet from Grantully Road and the obligatory shopping trolley which has appeared on Lanark Road.

Randolph Avenue:Erasing the Pen Marks

A couple of weeks ago, some highly irritating individual vandalised the pavement at the entrance to Paddington Rec in Randolph Avenue. Not big or clever.

As it happens, we'd agreed with Westminster Council the replacement of the paving slabs beforehand, so the artwork wasn't around for very long. That said, we are well aware that some people do seem to be getting quite excited with their felt tips at the moment around Maida Vale. One such person has been caught so far (on Morshead Road). We're working closely with police to catch the rest.

If you know of any graffiti in Maida Vale, please do let us know and we'll get it removed.

Lee

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

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

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

Maida Vale Police Meeting

There was a great turnout on Monday evening for the police meeting that we asked the Council to organise. Representatives from the Maida Vale Safer Neighbourhoods Team, Civicwatch and the Maida Vale Estate Office were all present, along with around 50 local residents. We're really grateful that local residents gave up their Monday evenings to come and discuss their concerns regarding crime and anti-social behaviour, and there was some real progress made.

The Police/Civicwatch teams, led by Ian Russell and Aleks Pogroszewski, began by highlighting some welcome successes in Maida Vale in recent months:

• Dibdin House: anti-social behaviour has been severely cut in Dibdin House, after local residents and councillors brought the problems to the attention of the police in the middle of last year. The planning proposals about to be laid before Westminster's planning committee may, in our opinion, also contribute to further 'designing out' the potential for misbehaviour.
• Glasgow House: anti-social behaviour in Glasgow House appears to have been successfully disrupted in recent weeks, and the police are keeping a close eye on the situation. A review of security arrangements has taken place, including changes to the concierge service. Areas of the property where misbehaviour was occurring have now been padlocked.

We then went straight into questions and comments from the floor, last for over an hour. Local residents and police officers discussed, among other things, Oak Tree House, the rest of the Scottish Towers, graffiti, lighting around Carlton Vale, Paddington Rec and begging in Elgin Avenue. We also discussed wider issues of provision for activities for younger people and the perception of crime in our local area. Police and Civicwatch officers have agreed to go away and look at each individual case to feed into their long-term problem solving.

Residents were urged to make sure that they report patterns of non-emergency anti-social behaviour to the Westminster hotline - 7 641 3000. Community intelligence helps the police build up a picture of any emerging problems - and the police rely on residents to provide that intelligence.

If you'd like to get in touch with your local police team, details can be found here.

Thanks again to all who came.

Alastair, Jan and Lee

More Graffiti Cleared

In the last week or so, we've noticed a few other areas where graffiti has appeared around Maida Vale. We've reported everything to the anti-graffiti unit at Westminster Council and they have removed scribbling from:

• the garage near Dundee House adjacent to Lanark Road and Hamilton Court
• the entrance to Elgin Mews South in Lanark Road
• on the Pay & Display machine on Delaware Road

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

Lee

Maida Vale Police Meeting

Just a short post today to say that, at our request, we'll be holding a community meeting to discuss our local police team, crime and anti-social behaviour on Monday 26 February. The meeting will be at the Maida Centre, Lanark Road from 6.30pm onwards.

Please do come along to listen to our local police team, our local Civicwatch and to have your say. All welcome!

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Jan

Graffiti Cleared

In the last couple of weeks, we've noticed that there are a few areas where graffiti has sprung up. We reported all of the problems and the graffiti team have cleared scribbling from:

• a wall opposite the City of Westminster College on Morshead Road, close to the junction with Elgin Avenue
• the telephone box on the junction of Randolph Gardens and Kilburn Park Road
• an electricity box next to the forecourt of Tesco on Lanark Road
• walls at both ends of Elgin Mews North
• the "Ashworth Road" sign on the junction of Ashworth Road and Grantully Road

There are still a few more areas which need attention. We've reported those and we'll let you know when they've been cleared.

If you know of any graffiti in Maida Vale, let us know and we'll get it sorted.

Lee

White (Goods) Christmas

Christmas came early for residents of Lanark Road on 23 December, when Santa (or a friend of Santa) left this lovely dishwasher near Braemar House.

We called Westminster Council's Environmental Action Line and the dishwasher was removed.

Abandoning waste and rubbish on a street is really anti-social, and Westminster Council will pursue legal action against offenders.

Lee