Residents First

The speech H&F Labour councillors didn't want you to hear

Conservative councillors were annoyed that by taking up time with a lot of procedural points at last night's Council meeting. The Labour councillors talked out their own motion on crime. We would have proposed the following amendmnmet:

AMENDMENT TO SPECIAL MOTION NO. 5 – CRIME AND ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

HAMMERSMITH & FULHAM FULL COUNCIL MEETING 29/06/2011

Delete all after “This Council” and replace with:

Welcomes the fall in reported crime in Hammersmith & Fulham by 10,818
offences since 2006, whilst noting the opening of Westfield London in 2008
has added c. 1,600 crimes per year to reported crime in the borough.

Supports the strong record of the Conservative Administration in fighting
crime and anti-social behavior in Hammersmith & Fulham through – amongst
others – the following measures:

• £1.3 million a year on enhanced town centre beat policing in Fulham,
Hammersmith and Shepherds Bush;
• Financial support for Police specialist drugs desk, crack house closure
programme and other operations such as ‘sting’ bikes;
• Expansion of cctv network on streets and council estates, with 24/7
monitoring;
• A borough wide Controlled Drinking Zone;
• Licensing Saturation Zones in Fulham and Shepherds Bush town
centres;
• Expansion of Neighbourhood Watch from 6 schemes in 2006 to over
200 today.

Also thanks Mayor of London Boris Johnson for increasing Police numbers in the Borough through Transport Hub Teams at Hammersmith Broadway and Westfield London; and welcomes news that there will be 1,000 more Police officers in London at the end of his current Mayoral term compared to at the start of it.

Further thanks Westfield London and Hammersmith London BID (Business Improvement District) for providing an extra £350,000 a year to fund more Police Officers for the Borough on top of the Council’s £1.3 million a year.

Notes that there is still much more to do in the fight against crime and anti- social behaviour in H&F; further acknowledges that the 2010/11 reporting year was not as strong as previous years and vows to continue to work together with the Police, Mayor of London, Neighbourhood Watch groups, the voluntary sector and local businesses to cut crime and anti-social behavior further.

Proposed by: Cllr Greg Smith

Seconded by: Cllr Thomas Crofts

From a minority of local children in local schools to a majority

Cllr Peter Graham, of Fulham Reach ward, gave the following speech at last night's Council meeting.

Madam Mayor, this September will see the opening of three new schools in Hammersmith and Fulham: three new schools that will provide choice for our parents, places for our children, and opportunity for our borough.

For too long, parents have faced a lottery of over-subscribed schools. Right now, more than half of our secondary-age children aren’t educated in our borough’s schools at all – unable to get into the school they want, they’ve been forced to travel elsewhere.

Well, this September, we go from a minority in our schools to a majority.

Through this motion, I am delighted to welcome the Hammersmith Academy, the West London Free School and the Ark Conway Primary School to the borough. Together, they mean an extra 240 children will attend one of our secondary schools each year. Another hundred or so will be joining Hammersmith Academy’s new sixth form. And 30 children will start primary school at Ark Conway.

Super Sewer would mean living hell for Carnwath Road residents

Cllr Ali de Lisle, from Sands End Ward, gave the following speech at last night's Council meeting

Thank you Madam Mayor.

My fellow Cllr has just spoken on the merits of building a Super Sewer but I want to focus on a small area in the far south of this borough that has been named as a potential site for this project. Carnwath Road.

It wasn’t Thames Water’s first choice, in fact in December last year a report was published by Thames Water in titled “Barn Elms Sports Ground – How We Chose the Preferred Site”. The report clearly states on page 3 that “the sites identified at Carnwath Road even if used together, were considered to be too small to be used as a main tunnel drive site” it goes onto say on page 4 “we chose Barn Elms because there were no suitable sites in Wandsworth Bridge from which to drive the tunnel”.

In March this year Thames Water did a huge U turn. Protests at the preferred site in Barnes made Thames Water look for another solution. Carnwath Road became big enough to be considered to be the ‘main drive site’ for the Super Sewer Project.

Look to alternatives to the Super Sewer

Key points from the speech by Cllr Steve Hamilton, of Sands End Ward, to last night's Council meeting:

• September 2008 in this chamber debated the tunnel.
• Then threatened Furnival Gardens, Carnwath Road site was not suitable.
• Opposition called for: “…campaign that put the residents need to stop Thames Water blighting our open spaces for years to come…”.
• Colleague will discuss Carnwath Road.
• Then estimated at £2.B, now >£3.6B – but that is ‘indicative 2008 price’.
• Thames Water have instructed £10B in bonds on projects – Thames Tideway Tunnel main project.
• Currently extra £65 on bills - for life not construction – but rises to £180 based on bond issues.
• Currently due to link 34 CSOs [Combined Sewage Overflows] out of 57 number intercepted drops due to costs spiralling.
• Just 5% of discharge is sewage – rest just water

Problems with the Super Sewer.

• Doesn’t eliminate overflows.
• Doesn’t stop flooding which affects so many in H&F.
• Minimal public health benefits - £3.6B = £360M to cure 15 minor ailments - £24 each!
• Minimal environmental benefits – Thames is much cleaner than when I was younger - salmon in river – one of cleanest metropolitan rivers in the world.

Need to consider alternatives:

• SUDS – Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems.
• Treatment at CSOs – already TW have boats to treat on site.
• Bubblers and Skimmers - why not include tools at the worst CSOs prior to discharge.
• Inventive storage solutions – under road soakaways when roads resurfaced?

Labour back the Super Sewer

Lots of focus at last night's Council meeting on the proposal from Thames Water for a Super Sewer.

Local resident Alexandra Kennough put down the following public question:

“What is Council the doing in the short- and long-term to oppose the proposed Thames Water super sewer site in south Fulham, which will lead to (1) a significant degradation in local air quality for all residents and school children in south Fulham, not only from the site and but also from increased traffic congestion related to the site—for a decade, (2) a decline in existing residential and commercial property values, as well as the opportunity cost of future residential and commercial development on the proposed site, and (3) the permanent loss of existing quality of life in south Fulham punctuated by the permanent scar of the venting column, more commonly known as the stink pipe?”

The Council leader make very clear the priority being given to opposing the plans - including holding meetings with Ministers.

Recycling campaign launches

A campaign to encourage people to recycle even more - and help the council save money in the process launches this week.

Last year, Hammersmith & Fulham Council saved £500,000 by recycling waste that would otherwise have been expensively landfilled or incinerated.

In a bid to save even more money, the council has joined forces with Recycle for London (RfL) and is calling on residents for their support.

With an estimated 80 per cent of the average bin content recyclable, the campaign's message is to thank Londoners for their recycling efforts and show if we all up our game we could help to free up money that could be  spent on other, vital local services, especially in times when public finances are stretched.

Ravenscourt Glasshouses open

Pupils from local schools attended a healthy lunch at Ravenscourt Glasshouses to mark its refurbishment by the council.

The event was organised by Hammersmith and Fulham Urban Studies Centre (HFUSC) and Hammersmith Community Gardens Association (HCGA).

HFUSC were awarded funding by the council to run a series of healthy living events and are using the Glasshouses to deliver sessions to pupils from Flora Gardens School and Lena Gardens School.

Activities include making fruit smoothies using a pedal powered smoothie maker, planting vegetables and taking part in a shelf life quiz.

Pupils from Vanessa Nursery School were also in attendance because the Glasshouses are the base for their Get Growing! Project – a scheme that promotes food growing and healthy eating in nursery and pre schools across the borough.

Hammersmith & Fulham Council has spent £10,000 refurbishing the Glasshouses so that the space can be used more flexibly for training courses and to provide environmental education programmes.

Cllr Greg Smith, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services attended the launch and said:

“I am delighted that the refurbished Glasshouses are now open and am sure that it will become an environmental resource centre for the entire borough."

Council calls on schools to stay open

Hammersmith & Fulham council’s cabinet member for children’s services has called on teachers and staff in the borough’s schools to do everything they can to keep their building open during this week's
strike.

The council is advising schools that they should consider making up the time by replacing an inset day with a full day’s teaching, so that no children lose out. The National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) are striking on June 30.

Cllr Helen Binmore said that her top priority is the education of children in the borough and that local pupils should not suffer.

Farrells to help council tell ‘West Side Story’

 

Sir Terry Farrell (right) and Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh at Old Oak Common

World renowned architects Terry Farrell and Partners are to work with Hammersmith & Fulham Council to create a vision for the regeneration of Old Oak Common.

The proposed High Speed Rail line from London to Birmingham will include a major interchange station at Old Oak Common that will provide a catalyst for significant regeneration of this neglected corner of London.

Plans for a Crossrail station at the interchange will link train services to the High Speed line to the continent, as well as links to the existing North and West London suburban routes, Bakerloo and Central Lines. A second phase will see a spur to Heathrow.

It is projected that HS2 will bring 10,000 new homes and 20,000 new jobs to west London, regenerating an area in the bottom fifth of the most deprived areas in Britain. At the time of the last census just over a half of working age adults living within 2km of the site were in employment, falling to less than half for those living within 1km.

“Old Oak Common has the potential to be as significant for west London as the redevelopment of Stratford has been for the east of the city,” said H&F Council Leader Stephen Greenhalgh. “H&F Council is determined to demonstrate what the regeneration of the area can achieve and to present a vision for the future of Old Oak.”

Farrells have previously been involved in other regeneration projects in the borough, such as the proposals for the transformation of Earls Court. The architects have also had specific involvement in the proposed High Speed Rail line at other stations on the route.

Sir Terry Farrell said:

"This is an incredibly exciting opportunity to work on a project that will not only reshape west London, but have a huge impact on the country as a whole.

“High Speed Rail is not just a transportation strategy; it’s a nationwide economic catalyst that requires creative placemaking. At Farrells we have previously worked on proposals for Euston and Birmingham stations in relation to HS2 and are helping reshape Ashford and Folkestone thanks to the economic stimulus provided by the arrival of HS1.

“Old Oak Common presents an exceptional opportunity and we look forward to developing a clear vision to maximise the benefits of HS2."

H&F Council is engaging with the Mayor of London, Transport for London and other west London councils before making its submission to the Department for Transport consultation that closes on 29 July. Cllr Greenhalgh will also be giving evidence to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee on 28 June.

£5m for more town centre Police Constables than ever before

More Police Constables than ever before are set to patrol the borough’s town centres thanks to a £5 million boost from local taxpayers and businesses.

Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council is ploughing £1.3million a year into the Met’s coffers, with local firms adding an extra £350,000 a year.

The cash is being used to boost the standard Safer Neighbourhoods Teams (SNT) in the borough’s three town centres - which are based on one Sergeant, two PCs and three PCSOs and are paid for by the Mayor of London.

The new arrangement will see the council focusing its resources on more warranted officers, although the PCSOs that are funded by the Mayor of London will remain.