Paddington Sports Club: Planning Application

Last week, the application to cover two tennis courts at Paddington Sports Club came in front of Westminster Council's planning committee, with a number of local residents listening in the audience.

As local Councillors, we provided our own comments directly to the committee - saying that we couldn't support the application because of the potential effect on the quality of life of local residents.

The committee made their decision on the evening and agreed with our (and many local resident's) comments - that the plan shouldn't go ahead. Although they were keen to promote sport and sport facilities throughout Westminster they agreed that it shouldn't come at the expense of local residential amenity.

Thanks to all local residents who have been involved in the process over the last couple of months.

Alastair

Paddington Sports Club: Planning Application

Planning officers at the Council have now confirmed that the planning application for Paddington Sports Club will be heard next Thursday, 24th February, starting at 6.30pm.

The papers for the hearing have now been published. Planning officers, having considered the application, have recommended refusal on the grounds of (i) potential to harm the character and appearance of the area and (ii) potential to harm the amenity of the residents living closest by.

The full papers are available here.

The final decision rests with the planning committee (who can choose to accept or ignore officers recommendation next Thursday). Please do feel free to come along if you wish - the meeting is open to all. We will be there.

Alastair, Jan and Lee

Paddington Sports Club: Planning Application

A number of local residents have been in touch with us over the last week or so regarding the recent planning application made by Paddington Sports Club.

The club is proposing the erection of a metal and canvass structure over two of its tennis courts (closest to the entrance of the club on Castellain Road). We understand that the structure might be up to 10m high (at its highest point).

As local Councillors, we would very much like to hear from any local residents who has a view on this issue. We have circulated a letter to residents on Delaware, Castellain and part of Elgin today to highlight that the application has been submitted and seeking comments (and encouraging comments to be provided to Council officers in the usual way).

If you are a local resident and would like to discuss the application, please get in touch (maidavale@maidavaleconservatives.com). We'd be delighted to hear from you.

Alastair

PS And if you want to make comments to officers to be considered at the planning committee (when the application will be decided - and currently scheduled for towards the end of February), you should e-mail those to northplanningteam@westminster.gov.uk, marking it for the attention of the case officer, Robert Winkley. The reference is 09/10162/FULL.

BBC Maida Vale Studios: Chiller update

Last month we wrote about a temporary chiller unit which had been installed on the BBC Maida Vale studios.

Although the chiller was intended to temporary - and concessions were secured from the BBC that it would only be used when absolutely necessary - we were still somewhat concerned about the potential impact on local residents nearby.

We're pleased to report that, following the initial few uses that the residents were informed about, the chiller has not been switched on since. And we're also pleased to report that the BBC has said it will be removing the unit come the end of the month.

Jan

BBC Maida Vale studios: Broken Air Conditioning

Residents in Delaware Road may be aware of some additional plant which the BBC have installed over the weekend next to the Studios.

The BBC were in touch with us and the Council’s planning department on Friday to explain that they were experiencing a problem with a defective air conditioning unit in the Studios. The noise from this unit, which apparently is audible enough to be picked up by the recording equipment, was threatening the recording of a series of concerts by the BBC Symphony Orchestra due over the next couple of weeks.

The BBC asked our Planning Department if they could be granted emergency permission to install an external air conditioning unit which would allow the internal defective one to be switched off until repairs could be made. They indicated that the external equipment would need to be in front of the studios (and may need some parking suspended) and would be on site for up to 8 weeks.

As local Councillors, we are very concerned about the impact that the temporary air conditioning might have on local residents – from a noise, parking, amenity and general inconvenience perspective. We have spent much of the weekend in discussions with the BBC and with Council planners to find a solution which would allow the recordings to go ahead whilst not overly impacting the quality of life of residents.

We are pleased to report the following progress so far:

That the original proposal to site the equipment in front of the studios (taking up parking places) has now been scrapped and the unit will be placed on top of the studios itself, and;
That we have come to an agreement that the unit will only be used during periods of recording (although there is quite a busy schedule for the next week or so, up to 9.45pm on some evenings)

This morning I attended a site meeting with representatives from the BBC and the Planning Department where we talked through all of the issues. Despite the progress reported above, we know that semi-continuous noise can have a really big impact on quality of life for residents and we remain very concerned about this. In particular, the unit is very close to Rayne House, and we remain in constant contact with the warden, Anne, to see if/how residents are being affected. We are also yet to be convinced on the 8-week timeframe that the BBC are quoting to resolve this.

For today’s recording the Council have agreed that the will not enforce against the plant that has been installed and will allow the Symphony Orchestra recording to go ahead. We have requested (and the BBC have agreed) to immediately distribute a letter to all residents in Rayne House and Delaware Mansions to explain the situation and also explain what they should do if they are inconvenienced. Dependent upon the level of problems reported, the Council has reserved its right to re-visit this issue in the coming days and weeks and we too, as local Councillors, will also press for changes if the agreement proves unworkable.

If you are a Delaware resident and have any comments or views on this, please do get in touch. We are monitoring this issue on a day-to-day basis at the moment and would be very glad to hear of your thoughts on the situation.

Jan

Open Age

We want to make a quick special mention to Open Age, a local charity which is doing excellent work in our local community with older people -

In particular, we are very grateful to Open Age for having organised a weekly afternoon bowls session on the Rec bowling green. All are welcome - it starts on 1 June, running every Tuesday between 2pm and 4pm. It's only £2 per session. If you need any further information, you can call Open Age directly on 8964 1900.

The charity also has a monthly W9 Social on the first Wednesday of every month at Rayne House on Delaware Road (2PM - 4PM). June's event will include a talk from a local environmental charity, Groundwork, who have been doing some great work in Paddington Rec (amongst other places).

You can also find out about the huge programme of events and support that Open Age offers the older community in Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea - visit www.openage.org.uk.

Lee

Thames: The slow wave goodbye

When Thames Water returned to Elgin Avenue earlier this Spring, as local Councillors we let out a collective groan at the prospect of further inconvenience to local residents and businesses. We also confess to being a trifle irritated - the information provided to us earlier in the year told us they were going back into Elgin Avenue, but not until a few months after when they eventually turned up. Not good form.

So, we're trying a new strategy with Thames. Instead of trying to understand opaque maps and diagrams that are provided (usually late), we have asked them directly what their plans are for every single road in Maida Vale. And we have good news!

The following roads have been completed - Lanark Road, Grantully Road, Morshead Road, Essendine Road, Widley Road, Wymering Road, Delaware Road, Lauderdale Road, Castellain Road, Shirland Road and Elgin Mews South. And the following roads are "not covered within current ... scope" - Andover Place, Carlton Vale, Kilburn Park Road, Oxford Road, Maple Mews and Elgin Mews North.

Which leaves just a few roads. For Elgin Avenue, all works should be completed by the end of July. For Randolph Avenue, further works should be done by mid-July 2008 (although this might also relate to the Little Venice side of the road). For Biddulph Road and Ashworth Road, the streets are complete but work still needs to be done on the connections to Elgin Avenue.

We have a few points to clarify with Thames but - finally - it looks as though Thames will soon leave our local area. It can't come a day too soon!

Lee

CityWest Homes: Maida Vale Update

CityWest have been in touch to let us know about work being undertaken around the Maida Vale estate:

• Rayne House: Works to refurbish the communal areas are due to start shortly. Additionally, CityWest also intend to spend six weeks upgrading the lift over the summer and will shortly be speaking with residents about how to minimise any inconvenience.
• Edinburgh, Falkirk and Glasgow Towers: the gas boilers are currently being renewed, causing scaffolding to be erected outside all three. All affected residents should have received a letter giving them further information.

If you are a resident and have any issues or comments on the above works, please get in touch.

Lee

More Cycle Racks coming ...

More good news for local cyclists ...

After last year's well-received installation of bike racks in Castellain Road, Shirland Road and Lauderdale Road, we were keen to ask the Council to install more. And we're pleased to announce that after quite a bit of lobbying, Westminster is now proposing to install new bike racks in both Delaware Road and at the entrance to Paddington Rec in Randolph Avenue.

These new racks should be installed in the next few months. We'll let you know when they have.

If you would like some new or additional bike racks in your street in Maida Vale, please do let us know (maidavale@maidavaleconservatives.com).

Lee

Delaware Road: Street Surgery

Last Saturday, we held another of our regular Street Surgeries in Delaware Road, calling on residents and checking that they were happy with the Council and the services it provides.

We were also grateful to be joined by Kit Malthouse, the Conservative candidate for our area in May's Greater London Assembly. Kit spent the morning calling on residents in our area who look set to give him a great big thumbs up in a few weeks time. Kit will be a fantastic representative for Maida Vale and, working with Mayor Boris, he will be just the fresh start that London needs after so many years of failure.

Almost everyone we spoke to on Saturday was very happy with the services provided by Westminster. There was some concern about car crime in Delaware Road - which we know the police are working on - and we will certainly feedback the concerns.

Lee

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

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

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

Thames into Widley and Randolph

The latest roads in Maida Vale to be subjected to the Thames treatment are Randolph Avenue and Widley Road. Thames went into both last week and is due to be in Widley until early July and Randolph until mid July. The Randolph works are likely to have quite an impact, with the road between Sutherland and Elgin becoming one way for the duration.

We'll give Thames some credit for performing adequately in Delaware Road - and we're grateful that they've learnt the lessons of the last few months. Widley and Randolph are the next tests. Otherwise, we're watching.

Lee

Thames Water Apology: Coming to a letterbox near you (Finally)

After a few more prods from us, Thames Water have finally pulled their finger out and begun to distribute an apology for the unacceptable problems they have caused recently.

Here is the text of the letter, 3,500 of which are currently being distributed:

"Dear Customer,

Thames Water would like to thank you for your patience and understanding during our essential works to replace Victorian water mains in Maida Vale. We understand your concerns and would like to apologise for the inevitable inconvenience and disruption this type of works causes.

To address specific concerns raised by residents, we have been consulting Westminster City Council, Transport for London and, more recently, the Maida Vale ward councillors. As a result, Thames Water will continue to support a full time member of staff on Westminster City Council’s parking team, dealing with parking suspensions.

In addition, our future correspondence will include information of concern to residents, such as changes to the working schedule, work interruptions or suspension of parking bays.

If you would like to contact us to discuss any aspects of our VMR programme, please call our project office Customer Service Team on 0845 603 4002 between 8am and 5pm Monday to Friday (or email to twlot6customercare@laingorourke.com).

Your ward councillors have provided their details so that, if you wish, you may contact them. We are in regular contact with them. They are:
Alastair Moss (amoss@westminster.gov.uk), Jan Prendergast (jprendergast@westminster.gov.uk) and Lee Rowley (lrowley@westminster.gov.uk).

Yours sincerely,

Paul Hammond"

Please let us know if you are still having problems with Thames. Unexpectedly their works in Delaware Road seem to have passed off without incident - yes, we were surprised too!

Lee

Thames Works Update

Thames continue to progress down Delaware Road, and are now beginning to free up more spaces at the top of the road (close to Elgin Avenue). Currently most of the spaces from the BBC down to Sutherland Avenue are suspended. The signs state that this stage of the work should be completed by 31 May. We'll see.

Thames are also entering Castellain Road today (temporarily for the moment) as part of their works on Sutherland Avenue.

Lee

Delaware Road: Thames update

The waterworks in Delaware Road seem to be progressing at a steady pace and, to date, we have not had the same general level of ineptitude from Thames experienced on the other side of Elgin Avenue over the last few months.

Thames seem to be making progress down the road, and signs are now up ready to suspend the remainder of the parking moving towards Sunderland Avenue. The good news, though, is that some of the parking spaces near the Elgin Avenue junction have started to come back on line.

Please do let us know if you are having problems in Delaware with Thames and we will be very happy to take them up.

Lee

Rayne House Visit

Last week, Jan welcomed Westminster Council's Older Peoples' Champion, Cllr Christabel Flight, to Rayne House, on Delaware Road.

Jan took time to show Christabel around the property, and to speak to residents and staff. Jan was very keen that residents had the opportunity to provide feedback on their experiences, which could be taken back to feed into the Council's Older Peoples' Strategy.

Rayne House is one of the premier housing blocks for older persons in Westminster. The property contains around two dozen apartments, with additional services and amenities provided by onsite staff, led by Anne Beatty. Rayne is a great example of how older peoples' needs can be met in the community.

Jan

Meeting Thames Water (part two in a series)

Last Thursday, for the second time, we summoned Thames Water to City Hall for another meeting on the replacement programme which is underway in Maida Vale.

We had a productive meeting and we're glad that there has been some progress by both Thames and Westminster Parking Services towards resolving some of the problems we have highlighted. In particular, Thames have begun to tighten up on their operations and Parking Services have temporarily relaxed their enforcement rules in affected roads (which has been a huge help).

We re-iterated, however, that there were still significant areas where improvement was needed:

• that Thames must not operate in areas where they do not have the correct permission (they're getting better, but still seem to be trying their luck in places)
  that there was too much variation in the quality and effect of the works between roads in Maida Vale (no more Essendine, Wymering or Morshead Roads please)
• that works were still taking too long (and residents were being inconvenienced as a result)

We have asked Thames/Parking Services/Council Officers to take action on a number of other issues:

• that Thames provide a short report of their activities-to-date in every road in Maida Vale where they have operated, with information on the reasons for late starting/delays/late ending etc.
• that a revised schedule of future operations is provided
• that Parking Services provide information on the effects of the changes to the parking enforcement rules
• that a discussion takes place on how suspension signs can be removed quickly once work is finished (we pointed out the obvious answer to this one)
• that more consultation is undertaken before future locations are chosen for the storage containers (such as the large white ones on Wymering and Widley)
• that an explanation is provided for the burst water main on Sunday 8th April on the Elgin Avenue-Randolph Avenue junction

Overall, as Councillors, we believe that Thames are slowly getting better - and they have displayed a commendable willingness to listen in recent weeks. The next test is how they work on new roads like Delaware, Castellain and Lauderdale (and whether they finish speedily in the roads they are already on). As we've already noted, Thames moved into Delaware on Monday and we're watching closely. We'll have no hesitation in hauling them straight back into City Hall if standards do not carry on improving.

Alastair, Jan and Lee

PS Please let us know how you feel the Thames water works are going. We'd be delighted to help in any way we can.

Delaware: Hurdle One Jumped

So far, so good in Delaware Road from Thames Water.

On the first day of the parking suspension, work actually seems to have begun. Areas are cordoned off, skips have been set down and excavation work has commenced.

The next challenge is to minimise the inconvenience to local residents and to work in the correct areas (where parking suspensions have been applied for). We are watching ...

Lee