Tackling the Lancaster Gate junction
Your ward councillors met representatives of the Hyde Park Estate Association, Paddington Residents Active Concern On Transport and the South East Bayswater Residents Association (see photo) to work through options to reduce the disruption caused by Transport for London’s (TfL) changes to this junction.
Traffic capacity on the Bayswater Road has been affected. We discussed possible modifications to the Cycle Superhighway to reduce traffic tailbacks while still protecting cyclists; and plans to discourage and slow down rat-running through the Hyde Park Estate while maintaining access for residents. We are also looking at pedestrian crossings near junctions around Hyde Park Square, Hyde Park Street and Connaught Street to help improve pedestrian safety
The cycle superhighway is a TfL initiative so the next step is to meet our Assembly member Tony Devenish and Sadiq Khan’s Deputy Mayor for Transport Val Shawcross to show why change is needed. We will be pushing for solutions in the light of traffic patterns which differ from TfL predictions when planning the Lancaster Gate scheme.
Success for St. Mary's Hospital with planning consent for outpatient building
The plans for developing a new outpatients’ building for St Mary’s Hospital were approved last month. The consultation showed that residents and our local amenity societies supported the proposals, though some nearby residents did have concerns. Your councillors lobbied for certain requirements to be incorporated in the development to protect these residents in the neighbouring buildings and the planning committee did impose several conditions.
The new building will be state of the art and will make having to visit for outpatient appointments a much more pleasurable experience. It will replace forty services in different locations currently provided across a hospital state with buildings in need of renewal.
Much of the hospital was built in the nine century and we need a 21st century hospital to serve our community properly.
Tackling the problems of short-letting
Short letting of property via platforms like AirBnB is not lawful for more than 90 days in a year but many properties see a constant turnover of guests every few days, often causing disturbance, fear of crime and problems with noise and litter. The high short-term rents involved effectively remove much of our housing stock from long term use, making the housing shortage worse.
That argument was accepted by the Planning Inspectorate in a recent appeal case in which a planning consent for short-letting was refused on the basis that it removed a property from stable, long term tenants more suitable for residential areas than what are effectively hotel visitors. In addition, WCC is seeking a court order for breaches of a Community Protection Notice served on a short-let landlord who allowed properties in Hyde Park ward to be used for noisy and dangerous parties.
Your councillors have secured £15,000 to fund two specialist planning enforcement officers to tackle problem cases of short-letting beyond 90 days, and are exploring other routes to tackle abuses
