Tories Refuse To Make a Commitment To Put Council Tenants First

At Full Council on Thursday 12th January 2012 I moved a motion in order to allow the administration to give a commitment to the borough's council tenants.  The Tory Cabinet are always bragging about how they put residents first in all they do, so this should have been an easy motion to support.  The motion reads as follows:-

This Council is committed to maintaining mixed and stable communities, and encouraging the development of housing to meet local need. Council housing is a vital part of the social rented sector and we are committed to ensuring that our tenants are put first.  Furthermore the Council recognises that to meet local housing need it requires more new, and improved council tenancies, other secure and genuinely affordable homes for rent.

 Council therefore requests that the Cabinet ensure that Hillingdon’s tenants are reassured that their secure tenancies will not be undermined by the outsourcing of the council’s housing stock, or the introduction of fixed term tenancies.

The Localism Act that came into being on 15th December 2011 gives local authorities a number of freedoms and to make local choices.  For example, the act removes life time tenancies and replaced them with fixed term ones with a minimum of 2 years, but no upper limit.  So the Tory Cabinet could give a commitment to long term tenancies, they could also chose to keep lifetime tenancies.

Also many other councils have attempted to force through tenant ballots in order to sell off their entire council stock to a housing association, or Registered Social Landlord, and this motion was an opportunity for the Tory Cabinet to give an assurance that they won't sell off the remaining council stock.

Cllr Ray Puddifoot - Leader of the Council - responded to the motion by saying that the administration could not support the motion because the legislation is in its infancy and as such the finer details are still to emerge. Therefore the administration could not make any commitments at all.

I think its a pity that on one hand they can make a commitment to put the residents first in all they do, but when those residents are council tenants, it seems to be a different story.

Hillingdon Supports The Barnardo's "Cut Them Free" Campaign

Several residents have emailed me regarding the Barnardo's "Cut Them Free" Campaign, and requesting that I raise this with the Cabinet Member for Education & Children's Services, to ensure that Hillingdon supports this campaign because according to the Barnardo's website, Hillingdon did not support this campaign.

I therefore raised the following question at the Full Council meeting on Thursday 12th January 2012:-

Can the Cabinet member tell me if Hillingdon has any plans to support the “Barnardo’s Cut Them Free Campaign” to tackle the sexual exploitation of children, and thereby make a commitment to take the necessary steps to tackle the risk of this abuse in Hillingdon.

Cllr David Simmonds - Cabinet Member for Education & Children's Services, replied to the question with a two word answer of "We Do" When I asked him to expand on his answer, he stated that Hillingdon does support the campaign but for some reason the Barnardo's website does not recognise our support.

I therefore sent an email to Barnardo's asking if there was any reason as to why they are not publishing Hillingdon's support on their website.  I received a reply apologising for the error but Barnardo's were only aware of Hillingdon's support for the campaign on 5th January 2012, which just happens to be the day after the Council Agenda was published and my question was revealed.  Is this a coincidence? I will let you decide, but the important thing is that now Hillingdon have signed up to support the Barnardo's Cut Them Free campaign.

Campaign To Stop Spitting In The Street

You should soon see the council putting up posters around the town centres of the borough explaining that spitting in the street is an offence and you could be charged an £80 fixed penalty fine if you are caught spitting in the street.  This campaign is a direct result of residents in Hayes raising this issue at a community safety question time event.

Having listened to the concerns of local residents and then investigating the health hazards associated with this anti-social habit, I moved a motion at the full council meeting on Thursday 4th November 2010.  The motion received all party support.  The motion & resolution appear in the minutes of the full council meeting as follows:-

9.1 MOTION FROM COUNCILLOR CURLING

Councillor Curling moved the following motion:

“This Council recognises that the habit of spitting in the street is both anti-social and a hazard to public health. Council therefore calls on Cabinet to set out a scheme of public information and education on the subject of spitting in public areas, and consider the introduction of a “No Spitting Zone” throughout the borough.”

The motion was seconded by Councillor Allen. Following debate (Councillors Corthorne, D Mills and Simmonds), the motion was put to the vote and agreed.

RESOLVED: That this Council recognises that the habit of spitting in the street is both anti-social and a hazard to public health. Council therefore calls on Cabinet to set out a scheme of public information and education on the subject of spitting in public areas, and consider the introduction of a “No Spitting Zone” throughout the Borough.

The Poster Can Be Downloaded HERE

Crime & Anti-Social Behaviour in Townfield Ward

As you may have seen in the national press and television news programmes, the Metropolitan Police have launched a new website that details where various crimes and anti-social behviour has been reported.

You can see the details of Townfield's Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour, and contact details of The Townfield Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) by entering your postcode at the following link:-

www.police.uk

Double Yellow Lines for Bury Ave / Charville Lane Junction

The Council propose to put double yellow lines around the junction of Charville Lane and Bury Avenue. This is to alleviate the various problems caused by vehicles being parked around the area of this junction and its mini-roundabout. The council's proposals are detailed in this document:-

Bury Avenue / Charville Lane Junction September 2009

Skylark Community Association & Centre

At their meeting on Tuesday 15th September 2009, the focus group setup to form a community association to run the new community centre that is to be built on the site of the old Grange Club, chose a name for the association and the centre itself.

After much debate the name chosen was "Skylark Community Association" and the new centre will be called "The Skylark Community Centre". The name has its origins in the natural history of the site which boarders the Skylark Meadow.

This marks the start of a new era, and the focus group can now concentrate on working with the architect to ensure that the internal layout of the building is designed to make best use of the space and the association can now develop the range of activities that the new centre will cater for etc.

Reply From The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson

Its been some time since my last posting, but I should let you know that I did recieve a reply from Boris Johnson, but it would appear to simply echo the replies we have already had from Hillingdon's Cabinet member and officers.

The reply from Boris can be viewed Here

The latest information that I have regarding the U7 saga, is that after public consultation on the actual positioning of the proposed bus stops, local residents reiterated their concerns, but the Council officials are still determined for the scheme to go ahead as planned.

The Bus Stops are Coming !

The first bus stops for the extended U7 bus route are now being installed in Hewens Road. Apparently Charville Lane is due to be done within the next couple of weeks. I have therefore send an 11th hour email to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. My email to Boris is below:-

Dear Boris

I would like to request your urgent attention to the extension of the U7 bus route in Charville Ward, Hayes ( London Borough of Hillingdon). I make this request to you as Mayor for London and also Chairman of TfL.

I am particularly concerned about the destruction of Greenbelt land, including the possible felling of a protected Oak Tree, just to lay concrete in order to place a bus stop. The bus stops are also proposed to be in places that will cause considerable inconvenience to the residents, i.e. bus stops that cover household drive-ways and access roads.

This is all going to happen in a small semi-rural Lane in North Hayes. The Lane is one of the rare areas of Hayes that has not been spoilt and cluttered by un-necessary urbanization and the installation of “street furniture”. However the installation of Bus Stops and the associated road marking etc. will amount to a considerable urbanization of the Lane, to the detriment of the Green Belt and the Tree protection area.

There are also a number of safety issues as well, being that the proposed bus stops are to be placed very near a sharp bend (where Pole Hill Road becomes Charville Lane). Close to this bend we have the rear entrance to a secondary school, a walk-way to a primary school and a riding stables. The prospect of serious accidents involving cars, busses, children, teenagers and horses are of major concern to the residents.

The residents do not recall ever having been consulted on this scheme, although TfL assure us that their officers personally delivered the consultation letters. The Hayes MP, John McDonnell, and I have held public meetings with local residents and we have yet to meet anyone who actually agrees with this scheme. I have spoken to a couple of residents who think the route extension is good, but even they do not particularly like the destruction of the greenbelt and the felling of an oak tree just to put a bus stop in.

I have met with Hillingdon’s Cabinet Member for Planning & Transportation, together with officers from Hillingdon and TfL, and I have suggested that this particular section of the route be on a “hail & ride” basis. A number of years ago the old 207A used to run along Charville Lane on a hail & ride system, but the service was withdrawn due to insufficient passengers to make it viable. My suggestion of “Hail & Ride” was dismissed because it was said to be non-compliant with Health & Safety, although there are plenty of other Hail and Ride routes around the Greater London Area.

The local residents have formed a campaign group in order to try and stop the destruction of their lane and the encroachment into the green belt, but it has all been to no avail. The attached report from Hillingdon council was approved by Hillingdon’s Cabinet Member and the work has started on the installation of the bus stops, the un-necessary urbanisation of the Lane, the destruction of green belt land, the encroachment of a tree protection area, the felling of an Oak tree and the blocking of residents drive-ways and access roads. However the work has only just started so there is a chance that you could stop this madness.

I am therefore appealing to you on behalf of my constituents to give this your urgent attention. The residents have also setup a website which I suggest you take a look at, it is http://www.councilsgonemad.com/

Sorry for a lengthy email but the residents, myself and John McDonnell MP have all tried to get Hillingdon’s Cabinet member to engage with the residents to resolve these issues but he has consistently refused to hold site visits and I gather he is now not even answering emails from residents.

I hope that as Mayor of London and Chairman of TfL, you can provide some common sense and some good news that I can pass on to the many residents who regularly email me regarding his issue.

Kind Regards

===============
Cllr Peter Curling
Charville Ward Councillor

Labour Group Office
Civic Centre
Uxbridge
Middlesex
UB8 1UW

Heathrow 3rd Runway - Public Meeting

I will be attending the meeting outlined below, organised by John McDonnell MP, and would urge all residents who can get there to come along as well. Also please pass on the following details to any friends and neighbours who might be interested in attending.

3rd Runway – Community Meeting

Thursday 22nd January 7.30pm - Botwell Social Hall, Botwell Lane, Hayes

You will be aware that regrettably the Government has announced this week it’s approval for a third runway at Heathrow.

This is a disgraceful decision and I have made it clear to the Prime Minister that I will not support this proposal and will vote and stand as an independent on this issue.

I am convening a community meeting on Thursday 22nd January at 7.30pm to discuss the Government’s decision and our response.

In my view this is not the end it is the beginning of our campaign.

Please tell your friends, neighbours and relatives to come along to this important meeting.

I look forward to seeing you.

Yours sincerely
John McDonnell MP
Member of Parliament for Hayes & Harlington

U7 Bus Route Extension Given the Go-ahead

I find it somewhat ironic that on the day when the Government made its decision on a 3rd Runway at Heathrow, I was told by a Gazette reporter that the Hillingdon Cabinet Member for Planning and Transportation (Cllr Keith Burrows) had made his decision on the extension of the U7 bus route. Although the two decisions are at different ends of the scale, the similarities in the approach of the decision makers is staggering.

The new bus stops are placed in such a manner that they will cause considerable difficulty and inconvenience for residents who need to use their driveways and access roads. The building of a new pavement will mean that part of a tree preservation area on the edge of the green belt will now be concreted over, and it looks like this concrete will encroach onto the actual green belt land. On top of this what is currently an unspoilt semi-rural lane in North Hayes will see considerable urbanisation, which will no doubt lead to more cars using the Lane as a rat-run.

All this has been given the go-ahead by one person - Cllr Keith Burrows - and it is against the wishes of the residents who will have to live with the consequences and suffer a deterioration of the environment. The reason, or is it an excuse, for pushing residents views to one side is that it will benefit the wider community. This is the attitude I find most disappointing from the Cabinet Member (Cllr Keith Burrows), who said he would lay down in front of the bulldozers to stop a 3rd runway at Heathrow.

The Other issue of great concern to the residents is that of road safety, which also falls under Cllr Burrows remit. I cannot understand why the resident's concerns have not been taken more seriously, especially as the sharp bend where Pole Hill Road becomes Charville Lane, is a pinch point with the rear access to Swakeley's School, a footpath leading to Highfields Primary School and a riding stables all concentrated in that area, meaning that there are large numbers of children of all ages plus horses going back and forth, all of which will now have to share the narrow road with buses.

I also note that in the decision notice the name of the Lane is still wrong. The decision notice refers to Charville ROAD. At least they have corrected the other spelling mistake where they mis-spelt Charville as Charvile. However this decision will no doubt see Charville Lane transformed into CharVILE ROAD.

The decision notice can be found HERE (Item 5 on pages 4 & 5)

Cabinet Member Decision Notice - U7 Bus Route

CABINET MEMBER FOR PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION PROPOSED CHANGE TO BUS ROTE U7 UXBRIDGE – HILLINGDON HOSPITAL – CHARVILLE LANE REVISED

REPORT

The Cabinet Member all correspondence, emails and Ward Councillor input into consideration when making this decision.

DECISION

That approval is given to the installation of new bus stops in Hewens Road, Mellow Lane and Charville Road, Hillingdon as shown in Appendix B and improved street lighting in Blacklands Drive/ Hewens Road at an estimated cost of £90,000, all of which will be funded by Transport for London.

REASONS FOR DECISION

To introduce public transport in the form of a bus services to an area of the Borough that currently has no public transport.

ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED AND REJECTED

No other options have been considered, as the locations for the bus stops arose following discussion with Ward Members and consultation with the police and bus operators.

To view the report relating to this decision, click HERE

Charville Streets Ahead

Thursday 23rd October 2008 was the date that has been in my diary for almost a year !!! It finally arrived and it was the Charville Ward Streets Ahead day, which is a full day of intensive activity for the various council departments and partner agencies (i.e. services like the Fire Brigade and the Police etc.) In short this is the day when you can expect to see the ward being given the "Royal Treatment".

The day started at 9:30 with a Welcome from Council Officers, Cabinet Members and The Mayor, where they explained that the Theme of the day was Halloween and Bonfire night. This theme lead to quite an amusing slip up by one of the council officers who introduced me as Cllr Peter Cushing (I didn't realise I was that scary!!!), at least it set the day off with some good humour. I would estimate that we had around 30 residents in attendance at the launch, and around half of those joined a minibus tour of the ward

The itinerary of the day was as follows:-

1. Top end of Charville Lane to visit the Probation Service's "Community Payback Team" cutting back vegetation and clearing the ditches
2. Michael Frost Park - Charville Lane to visit the Council's Green Spaces Team and Blue Sky's team of ex-offenders maintaining the Hillingdon Trail and surfacing a footpath.
3. Kingshill Avenue to visit the Street Scene Maintenance team who were carrying out the annual Gully Cleansing.
4. Further along Kingshill Avenue to visit the Charville Safer Neighbourhood Police Team whilst they carried out Vehicle Tax inspections and the enforcement of the 30 mph limit with the aid of a speed gun.
5. Portland Road Estate to meet up with the Caretaking Service from Hillingdon Homes, who were giving the estate a good clean up.
6. Cross the ward boundary to Barnhill for a much needed light lunch at the Barnhill Community Centre.
7. Weald Way & Goshawk Gardens to meet up with the Council's Private Sector Housing team for a visit to a couple of well established, well run and fully licenced Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO)
8. Back to Kingshill Avenue to visit the Crime Prevention bus and see the advice being given out to local residents on how to prevent crime.
9. Also in Kingshill Avenue we met up with the Council's Highways Maintenance Team whilst they were removing street clutter in response to the audit conducted by street champions the previous week.
10. Also at various points in between all of these stops we caught up with the Fire Brigade who were doing a door to door check on smoke detectors and general fire safety.

The tour finally ended around 3:30pm back at the Charville Community Centre. All in All it was a pretty good day, the various council department certainly gave the areas they were working in some much needed treatment, and the residents certainly gave their views to the various councillors and council officials on the tour. It was also good to see things like Blue Sky and Community Payback in action and doing something to improve the environment. It was also good to demonstrate just how lucky we are to have such a lot of open green space in Charville Ward, especially semi-rural areas such as Charville Lane - Something that we should all be working to protect.

New Community Centre for The Grange

The Planning Appraisal for the Grange Site can be found here:-

The Grange Planning Appraisal

John McDonnell's Video Blog after the Public Meeting

Local residents have been celebrating a major success in their 20 year campaign to restore the old Grange Centre site in Pine Place, Hayes back to its former glory with a new community centre. The old Grange Centre was demolished in 2001 and when I was first elected as Charville Ward Councillor in 2002, The Grange was a very hot topic on the doorstep. Ever since then I have given my whole hearted support to the resident's campaign, along with John McDonnell MP.

In latter years the campaign was centred around the existence of a covenant on the land restricting its use to that of a "Labour Hall". After considerable research, including the involvement of Taylor Woodrow (the original developers of the Hayes Park Estate), we discovered that this was the terminology used in the early 1930's for what we would now call a Community Centre.

The Campaign then turned into quite a legal minefield with John McDonnell MP attending a hearing at the Lands Tribunal as the representative of the residents who qualified as Official Objectors. It soon became clear that taking the campaign to the Lands Tribunal could prove to be very expensive for some of the residents who could be exposed to unknown legal costs.

We approached Cllr Puddifoot, The Leader of the Council, and he explained that he wanted to build a new community centre on the land but the council's legal advisers were telling him that the only thing that could be built on the Land was a new "Labour Hall". A suggestion was put forward that rather than remove the covenant altogether, it should be modified and brought up to date. However this would prove to be very costly and the legal advise was not to follow such action.

Finally we managed to broker a deal, Cllr Puddifoot promised to put in writing his commitment to the local residents that he would build a new community centre of the land providing the residents drop their objection to the removal of the covenant. The residents reluctantly agreed and Cllr Puddifoot made his written commitment.

The Covenant has now been removed and I am pleased to say that at the Cabinet Meeting on 25th September 2008 the Cabinet Agreed in principle the building of a new 2 storey community centre, to be funded by a small housing element on the site. The sale of the housing will pay for the new community centre.

John McDonnell MP convened a Public Meeting on 9th October 2008 to bring the residents and campaigners up to date with the situation. The next step is for this planning appraisal to be put together as a planning application and submitted through the planning process.

John McDonnell's Video Blog after the Public Meeting

The Planning Appraisal for the Grange Site can be found here:-

The Grange Planning Appraisal

Kingshill Parade Stop & Shop Petition

I attended the petitioners meeting with the Cabinet Member for Planning & Transportation on Wednesday 17th September 2008, to support the shop keeper’s petition for a "Stop & Shop" parking scheme along Kingshill Parade.

Some time ago I was invited to stand in one of the shops on a Saturday afternoon to watch the parade's trade pass by due to the lack of parking for the shoppers. I also witnessed some very inconsiderate drivers double and triple parking along the parade. The shops suffer and the viability of the parade is put at jeopardy due to the vehicles that are parked and left along the parade for most of the day, these vehicles are not those of shoppers and as a result the parade and its shops suffer. This situation also creates a hazard for those shoppers who do want to park and use the shops.

The shop keepers presented a petition to Cllr Keith Burrows (Cabinet Member for Planning & Transportation) with over 300 signatures requesting that the parade be included in the "Stop & Shop" programme, which will mean that anyone parking their car at the parade will have to display a ticket (pay & display), with the first 30 minutes being free of charge. This should enable genuine shoppers and users of the parade to park easier and use the shops without the need to pay any parking charges.

Since the petitioners meeting I have been informed that Kingshill Parade has been added to the programme, with the design stage due to take place around March 2009 followed by public consultation around April / May 2009 and the implementation of the scheme between October and December 2009.

Update on U7 Bus Route Extension

I had a meeting with Cllr Burrows, Council officers and TfL officers on Thursday 5th June. This was originally meant to be a meeting for all ward councillors from both Hillingdon East and Charville Wards, However it would seem that I was the only ward councillor able to attended the meeting. Apparently the other ward councillors passed their concerns on separately.

Cllr Burrows had a rather large pile of emails that he had been sent highlighting many of the concerns raised. The officers talked us through the plans. I pointed out some factual errors, i.e. a set of steps shown on the plans to be outside number 5 when in fact they are outside number 7 etc.

The main issues centre around the Charville Lane area with placing of bus stops, the widening of the road (which I didn't realise was part of the plan until this meeting), the installation of traffic islands and the paving over of the grass verge and drainage ditches.

Various options were discussed with the possibility of "Hail and Ride" being discounted due to the fact that it may mean that passengers may be dropped off the bus onto potentially un-safe areas of Grass-land etc. The officers put the argument that as the old 207A route only travelled one way along Charville Lane, it let people on and off at Paved areas, where as the new U7 will travel in both directions and will have to let people on and off on the grass verge, which may cause difficulty to passengers, especially the elderly.

Some residents expressed concerns about their current Journey lengths being increased. Officers explained that this is really not the case, because the new proposed route is travelling in both directions, so most journey times would in fact be reduced. The new route also provides better public transport links to Hillingdon Hospital and The Lombardy Retail Park, as well as moving the terminus from the current stand further down Charville Lane where residents suffer from the bus drivers leaving their engine's running and using the bushes as a toilet. So the new route does have a positive side to add to the argument, especially as the proposed new route came about as a direct result from a public meeting held at the Charville Community Centre some years ago (around 2004/05).

I stressed to the officers that this area benefits from the Green-belt and it is still a very nice semi-rural area of Hayes, and that we really don't want to lose that. The officers agreed that this would be what they called a considerable "Urbanisation" of the area.

The meeting concluded with the officers saying that they would redesign the scheme to remove the traffic island (and the need to widen the road), move the location of the bus stops, significantly reduce the paved area on the green belt side of the road, look at the possibility of a zebra crossing to assist pupils walking to school (which was a road safety concern raised by residents) and in doing so ensure that anything they propose would be sympathetic to the rural character of the area.

The proposed new scheme will be presented to the cabinet member for his decision (in the same way as the original scheme) and ward councillors for further comment, and this report should be ready in 2 weeks time. So this can be distributed to local residents for feedback etc.

So we shall have to wait and see what the new compromise scheme looks like and take it from there, as I understand it the scheme needs drawing up and then the council needs to consult with the Police before they can put it forward as a revised cabinet member decision notice.

Arrogance Prevents Site Visit

Further down my blog you will see a posting regarding various concerns raised by residents regarding the placement of bus stops, bollards and traffic islands in Charville Lane in preparation for the U7 Bus route extension.

These proposed plans have potentially devastating effects for the residents who live in that part of Charville Lane. I have been successful in getting the Cabinet Member's decision on this scheme halted until residents concerns are considered, and I have had the general support of other councillors for the area and the neighbouring area of Hillingdon East Ward. As a result the Conservative Cabinet Member for Planning & Transportation (Cllr Keith Burrows) has agreed to hold a meeting with ward councillors in order to discuss these concerns.

However I have consistently argued that as part of that meeting we should have a site visit so that we can match the plans with whats actually there and ensure that Cllr Burrows does not cause any unnecessary distress and worry to the residents by allowing bus stops to be placed in inappropriate places, bollards being placed in such a way as to prevent access for the disabled and traffic islands being placed in areas that will prevent residents from using their driveways and garages.

Cllr Keith Burrows and Cllr Mary O'Connor do not consider a site visit necessary, and Cllr Burrows has sent me the following reply to my latest request for a site visit:-

Once again I reiterate a site visit as far as I am concerned as Cabinet Member is not necessary at this moment in time lets all get around the table then if I feel a site visit is necessary I will ask for one. Unless of course no one wishes to get around the table and by keep asking for a site visit just stalls things further.

I find this sort of reply from a Cabinet Member of the Conservative run council quite breathtaking. It shows the sheer arrogance and the true contempt that the current administration has for the residents that they are supposed to represent.

Save Hayes Carnival

The Conservative controlled Council have decided to scrap the Hayes Carnival and combine the event with the Uxbridge Big Fest in October. In reality this means that the Hayes Carnival will die and the people of Hayes will lose their Carnival for ever.

I have fond memories of the Hayes Carnival, watching the procession of floats as a child and then taking part in the procession as a member and volunteer of a local charity (Hospital Radio Hillingdon), and now as a Community Councillor representing a ward in North Hayes I am committed to defending the good aspects of Hayes life. As such I am proud to be part of the campaign to Save Hayes Carnival.

The Carnival has a long history and it is a valued event for local charities, voluntary youth groups (such as Cubs, Scouts, Guides, Brownies, Boys Brigade and Girls Brigade) and community organisations. Its one of those events in the Fund Raising calendar that many local charities and community groups rely on in order to raise the funds to continue for another year.

John McDonnell MP and Hillingdon Labour Group have joined forces to fight for our Carnival and you can help us with this campaign by signing our on-line petition.

Please visit http://www.savehayescarnival.co.uk/ for more information

What Can Be Done About "Pig's Alley"

I recently received a request for assistance from the Charville Safer Neighbourhood Police Team with regard to "Pig's Alley". This is the alley way that runs between Hayes End Road and Balmoral Drive.

The alley seems to provide a getaway route for burglars as well as a secluded place for various unsavoury activities. Some of the residents of Balmoral Drive have experienced anti-social behaviour and criminal damage to their properties.

On Tuesday 15th April 2008, I attended a site visit at Pig's Alley with the council's anti-social behaviour officers and the local Police team in order to see what can be done to improve the security around the area of Pigs Alley. Various possibilities are currently being considered and reviewed.

Calling Charville Street Champions

A few weeks ago, just before Easter, I attended the launch meeting for the Street Champions scheme for Charville, Barnhill, Yeading and Townfield.

Are you a Street Champion in Charville, if so, How is it going and do you need any assistance from your Ward Councillor.

I am very keen to make contact with the Street Champions in the ward so that I can work with you and engage in the various issues that you are dealing with. Therefore if you are a Street Champion in Charville Ward, you can contact me at pcurling@hillingdon.gov.uk

Update on the Park Road / Uxbridge Road Traffic Table (Speed hump to you and me)

This is the saga of the Road Hump at the junction of Park Road and the Uxbridge Road in Hayes. I attended a petitioners meeting in order to support the local resident's with their request for the road hump .... Sorry, Traffic Table .... to be removed and the road to be returned to a normal flat surface.

The petitioners presented their case very well and highlighted several areas of the cycle lane design and safety guide that this particular traffic table seems to ignore. I also made the point that having a raised table (road hump) that makes the road the same level as the pavement could actually endanger cyclists using the cycle lane because they could quite easily think that they had right of way. Especially if the cyclist is listening to an Ipod and perhaps doesn't notice that they have left the safety of the cycle lane that utilises an area of pavement, then suddenly they are in the middle of a road without that need to stop, look and listen at a road junction.

The Council's Cabinet Member for Planning & Transportation (Cllr Keith Burrows) listened to the concerns and agreed to follow officer recommendations, which are to commission an independent safety audit of the traffic table. So we wait to see what the safety audit brings.

Concerns Raised Over New Bus Stop Locations

I have alerted my fellow Charville & Hillingdon East Ward Councillors to issues regarding the placement of new bus stops and traffic bollards as part of the extension to the U7 bus route. I have also requested that they join me in making representations to the Council's Cabinet Member for Planning and Transportation (Cllr Keith Burrows) before he makes any decision on this scheme.

Several residents from the Charville Lane & Pole Hill Road area have contacted me with various concerns with regard to these proposals. I share these concerns and have made the following points in my submission to the Council's Cabinet Member and the other Charville & Hillingdon East Councillors.

In the body of the report to the Cabinet member (which can be accessed by the link below) it states that during the consultation held in January 2007, the majority of the residents were against the sighting of certain bus stops, but the recommendation is to go ahead with the scheme by taking the view that this is for the benefit of the wider community.

Firstly NONE of the residents that I have spoken to ever recall being consulted on any of this!!! Secondly, I am particularly concerned with bus stops and bollards being placed in areas that cause our residents problems and these proposals will cause considerable difficulty with regard to existing drive-ways and cross-overs, leading to residents not being able to access their own garages or off street parking areas.

Residents further down Charville Lane already experience intolerable nuisance caused by busses using that bus stand and keeping their engines running, as well as the anti-social behaviour of some drivers who use the bushes opposite their homes as a toilet, indeed at a recent residents meeting I was appalled to hear that a female bus driver was seen urinating whilst standing on the entrance platform of her bus.

I recall, in July 2006 the ward councillors concerned (Charville & Hillingdon East) went on a dummy run of the proposed bus route and on this dummy run the subject of where the bus stops would be was raised and ALL of the councillors expressed the view that they MUST be placed in areas that DO NOT cause any problems for the residents, indeed we all agreed that they should not (if at all possible) be placed directly outside someone s home. It is therefore extremely concerning to learn that the proposed bus stops and bollards will cause considerable difficulty for the very residents we represent.

I also have other concerns about the safety of pedestrians, especially children and young people, because this proposed work is also very close to the rear entrance of Swakelys School and a riding stables that is used by various young people and other horse riders. I fear that elements of this proposed scheme will have a detrimental effect on the general road safety for the Students of the School and the users of the stables.

I fully support the concept of the U7 route extension, however I do feel that the proposals in the cabinet member report have not been fully thought through and have totally disregarded the comments and suggestions that were made on the dummy run in July 2006.

I am also concerned that the views of the residents have not been sought, or if they have, the report clearly states that those views are being disregarded. I therefore ask all Charville and Hillingdon East Councillors to do whatever they can to put pressure on the Cabinet member not to approve this scheme until these issues have been addressed and the residents have been fully consulted.

The Cabinet Member Report can be found HERE

Planning Permission REFUSED for 1,2,4,5 & 6 School Approach

I attended the Central & South Planning Committee on Tuesday 26th February to support the Grange Resident's Association with their petition against the proposed erection of a pair of two bedroom houses next to the Grange Park School House on the back gardens of the properties in Fredora Avenue.

This proposed development would have been a complete overdevelopment of the site and would have casued considerable loss of amenity to the residents, particularly those who live in the School House.

The Central & South Planning Committee refused the application on the following grounds:-

1) The proposal by reason of its excessive density, design and cramped layout represents an overdevelopment of the site and will result in acramped living environment for the future occupiers and would beoverdominant in the street scene and out of character with thesurrounding residential area, contrary to Policy 4B.3 of the London Planand Policies BE19, BE21 and BE23 of the Hillingdon UDP Saved Policies(September 2007) and the Council’s HDAS (SPD) ‘Residential Layouts’.

2) The use of the proposed communal garden for the proposed dwellingswould cause an unacceptable loss of privacy for future occupiers andwould fail to provide an adequate amount of private usable amenityspace for the future occupiers of the proposed dwelling units. As such,the development is contrary to Policies BE23 and BE24 of the HillingdonUDP Saved Policies (September 2007) and the Council’s HDAS
(SPD)‘Residential Layouts’.

3) The proposed dwelling by reason of failing to provide units which wouldbe easily adaptable for use by a wheelchair disabled person or toLifetime Homes standards fails to meet the need of people withdisabilities, contrary to policy 3A.4 of the London Plan and the Hillingdon Design and Accessibility Statement on Accessible Hillingdon.

During the debate on this application the committee agreed to add another reason for refusal due to the close proxity that the proposed building with have with one of the bedroom windows on the side of the School House.

Planning Permission REFUSED for 61 Adelphi Crescent

The erection of a part single, part two storey rear extension at 61 Adelphi Crescent has been refused for the following reason.

The proposal, having regard to the size of the enlarged accommodation, would fail to maintain an adequate amount of amenity space for the occupiers of the enlarged property, and as such would result in an overtintensive use of the remainder of the garden to the detriment of the amenity of the neighbouring occupiers and character of the area. The proposal is therefore contrary to policies BE19 and BE23 of the borough's adopted unitary development plan, and paragraph 3.13 of the HDAS residential extensions.

Local residents organised a petition against this application and Cllr Peter Curling spoke on the petitioner's behalf at the Central & South Planning Committee Meeting on Tuesday 26th February 2008. Cllr Curling referred to the appeal decision on a previous similar application on this site, and drew the committee's attention to the inspector's description of the character of the area being that of modest sized semi-detached houses, and reminded the committee that this application was to extend a 2 bedroom house into a 4 bedroom house, and as there is already one house on a corner plot with an extension, this further development would only serve to further erode the character of the area and have a detrimental effect on the street scene. Cllr Curling also pointed out that a 4 bedroom house would have the potential to generate several cars which would only add to parking problems for a road that already suffers from parking issues that in turn cause considerable difficulties for the two main bus routes that run along the road.

After general debate and questioning of planning officers, the committee resolved to REFUSE the application.

Congratulations to The Girls Brigade - Hillingdon District

I would like to say a big thank you and congratulations to The Girls Brigade – Hillingdon District, because I had the pleasure of attending their District Show “Journeys” on Saturday evening (23rd Feb 08).

The evenings entertainment was in the form of 12 short plays all centred around Christian and moral journeys. Some of the journeys that I enjoyed the most were; “Rush Hour Chaos” performed by the Juniors, “Journey for Fun” by Explorers, “A break in the journey” by 1st Uxbridge, “The Cruise” by 3rd Hayes and the breath taking Gym display “Flying High” by the Boys Brigade & Girls Brigade Gym Team.

The finale was a musical Journey by the whole district, called “Rats”, which was an excellent musical version of the pied piper story. I thought it was particularly amusing that most of the rats inhabited the Town Hall, and of course the Mayor was the bad guy who broke his promise to pay the pied piper 100 pieces of silver.

I would therefore just like to express my thanks for the invitation to the District Show and pass on my congratulations to all the Girls (and Boys in the Gym Display) and the officers of the Brigade. It must have taken a lot of hard work and it certainly paid off. Well Done!!!

Whats Happening to the Trees in Lansbury Drive

You may have noticed that a number of street trees in Lansbury Drive have been felled. This is due to footway and kerb replacement works.

The council officer responsible for this work has told me that

The process of re-newing the footway is extremely injurious to tree root systems and experience says not to take a 'preservationist approach'. The physical difficulties of trying to re-lay a smooth pavement round mature root system presents problems but the damage done just as a result of the process frequently ends up with dead or dying trees the following season.

So far 6 trees have been felled, 2 pruned and 12 planted. On close inspection 3 of the 6 felled trees, also had decay fungus showing and ground level so their demise was going to be in the short term anyway.

I have been assured that the work on this section of road will restore it as a tree lined footway.

Remove the Park Road Hump

I would like to declare my support for the local campaign to remove the hump at the junction of Park Road and the Uxbridge Road in Hayes. Local residents have expressed concern regarding the safety issues associated with this hump, they cite the fact that there are no warning signs and the reverse camber of the road as you travel over the hump, as contributory factors in a spate of recent accidents in this area.

I am also concerned about the design of the cycle lane and the compromise to safety for the cyclist that it represents. With the road hump being level with the pavement and the markings of the cycle lane continuing unbroken, it gives a false impression that a cyclist would have right of way. This is completely contrary to the highway code and represents a complete disregard for the safety of any cyclist using the cycle lane.

Bus lanes have appropriate road markings at junctions like this, that warn the driver of a potential hazard, and I feel that the cycle lane should also benefit from such markings in order to safeguard the cyclist and avoid a nasty accident.

Over the weekend I received a copy of a petition signed by 55 local residents requesting that the council do something about this dangerous road hump. I support this petition and will attend the petition hearing and speak in favour of the petition when it comes before the Cabinet Member for Planning & Transportation.

Noise Service Only Operates at the Weekends

The Council's noise team do an incredible job of responding to reports of noise nuisance. Unfortunately this is only a 4 night a week service, operating Thursday night through to Sunday night. I have recently learnt of residents in Charville reporting noise nuisance on the nights that the service does not operate. I have therefore raised the issue with council officers and received the following reply.

The Noise Service does not operate 24/7, in fact, it only operates from Thursday night to Sunday night. It is fair to say that many of the noise complaints we receive tend to be towards the end of the week and this is the reason the service has been organised this way.

However, to ensure that we are meeting the needs of residents in the borough, we are intending to carry out a customer satisfaction survey in the next few months as part of our service review. Should a need to operate a 7 day service be identified, we would consider putting forward a bid to improve the service.

In the meantime, to address the issue of not providing a reactive service between Monday and Wednesday evenings, we will set up periodic programmed visits to ensure that noise problems that occur regularly during this period could be dealt with.

If you have had cause to use the council's noise team then please look out for the customer satisfaction survey mentioned above, or send your comments to me at pcurling@hillingdon.gov.uk so that I can pass your comments on and build up a case for the expansion of the service to 7 days a week.

Speeding & Road Safety

This is an issue round the whole Charville ward. Cllr Curling raised various issues with the council's highways department with regard to the speeding, inconsiderate parking and general traffic issues around the Charville Lane / Langdale Drive area. One of the council officers responsible for highways attended a public meeting in July and did not provide the residents with the answers that they required, so Cllr Curling has been pursuing these matters and has received the following replies from the Council's highways officers.

Thank you for your e-mail of 1st August as a follow up to the public meeting at the Community Centre on 26th July.

These issues can be investigated as part of the Council's Road Safety Programme which could also be a source of funding subject to feasibility and cost.

When we have concluded our studies, we will keep you informed
of the results.

Following the public meeting on 3rd October Cllr Curling sent a follow up email to the council's highways department and received the following reply.

I refer to an approach you made to our Members Enquires Section with a number of issues emanating from a meeting you attended with John McDonnell MP.

I have been asked to address residents concern with inconsiderate and dangerous parking in the above.

We would be pleased to consider controlling parking in Langdale Drive but I would expect the vast majority is associated with local residents. Any restrictions therefore will impact on those living in the road and it will be helpful if suggestions could be made so that any proposals do not lead to objections. I note from the e-mail the intention is to setup a Residents Association and their input would be most useful.

I understand residents of Langdale Drive are also concerned with general traffic and speeding issues. Although I have been aware of concerns with inappropriate speed of vehicles in the main section of Charville Lane, the issue of speeding at its
eastern end and into Langdale Drive is a recent issue drawn to our attention as I indicated at the meeting organised by John McDonnell on 26th July. Again if the Residents Association would like to contact us with their concerns and possibly suggestions to address them, we can investigate further as part of the Council's Road Safety Programme.

Thank you for bringing these matters to our attention.

Dark & Potentially Un-Safe Pavement

Something that has been troubling Cllr Curling for some time, in fact ever since he was elected in 2002, is the stretch of pavement along Charville Lane between Bury Avenue and Langdale Drive. This pavement is very secluded and hidden behind some very large and over-grown bushes and trees. To add to this, there is only ONE street lamp and it give out a very dim light. Cllr Curling has been campaigning for many years to get the bushes cut back and the street lighting improved.

After the public meeting at Charville Community Centre Cllr Curling has yet again raised the issue with council officers and here are a couple of the replies that he has had back:-

The Highways Inspector for the area has inspected the location and found that this overgrowth is the responsibility of our Grounds maintenance Dept and has passed it to them to have it cut back.

And the issue regarding street lighting is covered by another council department and they provided this answer:-

Thank you for your email regarding the street lighting.

I have a record of a previous request from you in September 2003 requesting improved lighting in this section of road, I have added a reference to the footpath in relation to this request.

There is currently very little funding available for street lighting improvements, I currently have requests for lighting improvements for about 180 areas and I have made a bid for capital funding for an ongoing programme of lighting improvements starting in 2008/09. However, previous bids have not been successful.

Dirty and Blocked Ditches in Charville Lane

Another issue raised that Cllr Curling raised after the public meeting at Charville Community Centre, was that of the condition of the ditches either side of Charville Lane. These ditches are prone to flooding, especially when they are not kept clean and clear of rubbish and general debris. As a result of Cllr Curling's members enquiry into this matter, he received the following reply from the council officers:-

Thank you for your enquiry.

Our Contractors are issued with a works order to cut the sides of the ditch once a year as this is not on a scheduled highways maintenance program.This is for the area along charville lane up to Bury Avenue. I have spoken to the Highways section and they have already programmed in ditch clearance work for the area between Bury Avenue and Langdale drive to be done during the winter.

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention

Fly Tipping in Charville Lane

Following on from the public meeting at Charville Community Centre, Cllr Peter Curling raised several issues with council officers. One of those issues was that of fly-tipping along the top end of Charville Lane, especially the area around the golden bridge and ten acre wood.

The council officers have provided Cllr Curling with the following reply:-

I can advise you that several CCTV cameras are in operation covering the main fly tipping locations towards the end of Charville Lane. These cameras have been in operation since June 2006. Evidence gathered by these cameras have resulted in the Environmental Enforcement Team serving 3 Fixed Penalty Notices for littering offences, 1 successful prosecution with a further 2 pending court dates to be set. In addition footage from those cameras have been used by the Anti Terrorist Squad as part of a recent operation. Our records show that only 10 reports of littering & fly tipping has been received & this includes 6 reports generated as a result of CCTV evidence (see above).

I would ask that if any local residents have any information or sees any person fly tipping, they should report the full facts to our Customer Contact Centre on 01895 556000. A report will then be generated for action by Environment Enforcement Team & Street Cleansing who are responsible for the cleansing of the Lane.

I hope that you find the above information of use.

New Resident's Association

Local Labour Councillor Peter Curling and Local MP John McDonnell convened a public meeting on 3rd October for local residents to launch the Charville Lane and Grosvenor Avenue Residents Association at the Charville Community Centre.

Local residents have been pressing for action by the council to tackle local environmental issues such as fly tipping and blocked drains, in addition to speeding traffic and road safety concerns. In July Councillor Peter Curling and John McDonnell MP undertook a walkabout with local residents and local Police officers to inspect the local area. Strong concerns were expressed at the lack of response from the council. It was agreed at that stage to attempt to form an association to take forward their plans to improve the local area.

Peter and John convened the public meeting in order to establish the new association.

Local MP John McDonnell said "This association will give local people a strong voice to raise local concerns and to press for action to improve their local community."

Councillor Curling commented "There is a strong sense of community in this area of Hayes and people want to see their concerns about the local environment addressed by the council. The association has been formed to enable us to work together consistently to improve the quality of life of local residents."

Cwm Pennant at risk yet again

The Conservative administration announced in last years budget that they were going to close the Cwm Pennant Mountain Centre in order to save £35,000 in a 2 year period. The Labour group publicised this proposed closure and the resulting publicity generated a series of petitions from a variety of young people and School students, as well as an on line petition.

Cllr Henry Higgins, the cabinet member responsible for the decision, held a petitioner's meeting and once again showed complete contempt for the Mountain Centre, its staff and its customers, by describing the centre as a "Kids Holiday Centre". He just cant grasp the fact that this is a unique residential Educational resource. The Cwm Pennant Mountain Centre is the Jewel in Hillingdon's crown especially when the Government are expecting councils to ensure that their young people experience learning that is "out of the classroom environment".

As a result of the petitioning the Conservative administration came up with a deal to effectively sell on the lease of the Cwm Pennant Centre to the Disabilities Trust. This deal has now fallen through and the future of the centre once again looks very bleak, with the prospect of closure once again on the horizon.

Another twist to this issue is that the Centre Manager has now got another job and left the council's employment. I am quite sure that the administration are totally oblivious to the fact that he was the person employed by the council to make health and safety risk assessments for all school trips and visits. So now the borough are left without anyone to risk assess school trips.

How on earth did we get into this position? Well the conservative administration have restructured the council and done some very strange things in the process. First of all, Lord Laming's report into the Victoria Climbie case recommended that Children's Social Services and Education be combined so that ONE council department is responsible for the well being of Children. This lead to the Government's "Every Child Matters" policy.

In Hillingdon, the Conservative administration have followed Government policy by creating a department called "Education and Children's Services", but in doing so they have split up the old "Education, Youth and Leisure" department. Education and Youth has joined Children's Social Services to form the new Education and Children's Services Department, meanwhile Leisure, Cultural Services, Libraries, Adult Education and Life Long Learning, has been shipped off the the Planning Department to create "Planning and Community Services".

What all this means for Cwm Pennant is that the centre was classified (by the administration) as a "Leisure" facility (or in Cllr Higgins' words - "A kids Holiday Centre") thus removed from Education and shipped over to Planning, where the Educational values of the centre go completely unrecognised and the £35,000 two year saving seems more important.

Cllr Puddifoot - The leader of the council, and his cabinet have shown that they have a complete lack of understanding and a total disregard for this sort of character building residential education, and they show their usual arrogance by ploughing ahead with total disregard to the petitioners and their opinions.