CS-11 update
Residents will know the Mayor of London has indicated his desire to see this Cycle Superhighway built despite fierce opposition from the local Community both in St John’s Wood and Swiss Cottage. Talks are currently continuing between Transport for London (TfL) and the Royal Parks/Crown Paving Commission concerning the planned closing of the gates into Regent’s Park. Initially a decision regarding the funding and the gates was expected in early autumn but clearly this has now slipped.
The exact timings of the project remains uncertain but your local Councillors continue to lobby TfL expressing our serious concerns about the scheme and the impact it will have on our residents especially around the displacement of traffic. We will continue to monitor developments and let you know as and when we get more updates.
Autumn leaves
During the autumn Westminster City Council bring in additional street cleaners to focus on leaf collection and ensure our roads and pavements are kept clear. It is estimated within the City we collect approximately 1000 tonnes of leaves at this time of the year.
Your local Conservative Councillors will once again be ensuring extra sweeps take place in our ward. If you notice any street which has not been cleared please contact us or call the Westminster City Environmental Action Line on 020 7641 2000.
Flats at Lord's rejected
MCC members voted in September against a proposal to build two 10-story blocks of flats inside Lord’s Cricket Ground at the Nursery End by the Wellington Road. Your local Councillors shared the concerns of local residents who were consulted at the Lord’s Community Group www.westm.news/LordsCommunity (an informal consultation group consisting of the MCC and local people who live around and near to Lord’s) about this plan citing the impact it would have on the streetscape especially in relation to the Grade II St John’s Wood Church and issues around traffic.
High Street gets a deep clean
St John’s Wood High Street is an asset to our community and we want it to look its best at all times. To ensure that is the case your local Councillors pushed for it to receive a deep clean aimed at removing unwanted waste stains and markings on the footpath caused primarily from commercial waste and leaky bags. The deep cleaning was very labour intensive and took place in September over a number of days and seems to have done the job.
"We are grateful to our local Councillors and Westminster Council for their action and help to ensure the High Street remains clean and attractive to shoppers"- Matt Farrell, Trophaeum
Trophaeum’s portfolio includes many buildings on the High Street.
ZSL & Hop-on Hop-off bus
London Zoo submitted a planning application to extend the ‘Hop-on Hop-off Golden Tours bus’ to include a new zoo stop on Prince Albert Road stopping every 15 minutes during the summer and every 30 minutes during the winter.
Your local Councillors supported the objections from local people and the St John’s Wood Society on highways and amenity issues. Based on our representation and the strong objections from residents, Westminster Planning Officers recommendation for refusal; ZSL decided to thankfully withdraw the application.
If you have any planning concerns you wish us to take up on your behalf, please do get in contact.
Conservatives propose innovative voluntary Council Tax contribution too build a fairer Westminster
Conservative Councillors have put forward plans for a voluntary council tax contribution from residents living in the most expensive properties in Westminster.
Leader of the Council Nickie Aiken said: “Our voluntary contribution aims to protect Westminster’s front-line services and maintain our low council tax levels for those on the lowest incomes. We believe in low tax, but that those that can afford to give more should be able to do so.”
Westminster will pioneer this scheme, encouraging those at the top to give more to support the wider community. Whilst similar schemes have previously been launched with businesses, Westminster City Council is leading the way by introducing this voluntary Council tax contribution for residents.
From April next year, these plans for a ‘Westminster community contribution’ could see an additional £2.75 million raised through Council Tax, which would make up a significant proportion of the £49 million that the City currently raises each year.
Money raised from the voluntary contribution will be used to protect front-line services, especially youth provision and work to support young people across the city.
Stop the forced Police merger
Westminster Conservatives are calling on residents and businesses to sign our petition to stop Mayor Sadiq Kahn’s plans to merge the Westminster Police Service with Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea.
This new initiative from the Mayor is currently being piloted in two other areas of London which have produced extremely worrying results with potentially devastating consequences. Response times in these areas for emergency 999 calls have reached nearly 40 minutes, falling catastrophically short of the 15 minute target. Yet the Mayor persists with this cost-cutting venture and now plans to roll it out across London.
Westminster’s Police provision already takes on unique responsibilities, diverting Westminster resources to national support such as the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. These plans are a step too far and the evidence is clear that our Police response will be reduced for residents.
Conservative Leader Cllr Nickie Aiken said: “Enough is enough. The proof points directly towards a bad outcome for London residents. We will not support a plan that will damage the safety of Westminster residents.
Don't Be Idle campaign
Following complaints from residents and worrying reports on air pollution levels in in the city, the Conservative-led Council has taken action to reduce dangerous levels of toxins caused by car pollution. Westminster was the first London borough to develop an air quality strategy.
The #DontBeIdle campaign has been launched to cut out the idling pollution that is so damaging to us all in Westminster. Just one idling car produces enough exhaust emissions each minute to fill 150 balloons, with buses, taxis, vans, cars and delivery vehicles accounting for over half of the most deadly emissions in the air.
The Conservative run Council is taking serious action by introducing fines for idling vehicles, putting pressure on the government to devolve more power to its control to deal these issues, and campaigning for an air-quality regulator to improve standards.
The #DontBeIdle Campaign is gathering steam with more than 2,000 signing the pledge to stop idling. The campaign has also won the backing of some recognisable faces including actor Nigel Havers, athlete Colin Jackson, F1 driver Valtteri Bottas, who have each signed the pledge.
On top of this, in the Marylebone area, the Council is trialing a range of pilot ideas in an experimental Low Emission Neighbourhood. These include diesel parking surcharges for non residents, which have led to a drop of 12% in more polluting diesels parking in the pilot area. In addition, freight is being massively reduced by reorganising with local businesses, a range of new greening is underway and a pilot green club aims to retrofit buildings which produce nearly half of air pollution.
Westminster Conservatives will continue to fight for better air-quality in the city and we call on local residents and businesses to join us by signing up to our #DontBeIdle campaign.
