Highways, transport, traffic and parking services in the boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham will be managed by one person as the two councils cement their commitment to bi and tri-borough working.
Both Councils agreed on the appointment of Mahmood Siddiqi as Director of Transportation and Highways . Mahmood was previously Head of Highways and Traffic at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. He has been at the Royal Borough for 11 years - initially as a Principal Engineer
Mr Siddiqi replaces Graeme Swinburne, who retired last month, and had worked for the Royal Borough for the past 16 years.
Cllr Nick Paget-Brown, Deputy Leader for the Royal Borough and Cabinet Member for Environment and Transportation said:
“This is an excellent appointment for both boroughs. It allows us to build on the knowledge and skills of our past close relationship and will lead to greater efficiency and effectiveness, benefiting residents and visitors to both boroughs. I have no doubt that where we lead, others will follow.”
Cllr Nicholas Botterill, Deputy Leader of Hammersmith & Fulham and Cabinet Member for Environment said:
“Issues with a heavily used inner London road network rarely respect borough boundaries so it makes sense to work extremely closely with neighbouring councils to solve the problems that face us all. By having a single Director of Highways and Transportation we hope to improve our responsiveness to transport issues across the two boroughs and save taxpayers’ money in the
process.”
Mahmood Siddiqi biographical details
Mahmood Siddiqi is a graduate civil engineer with a 25-year municipal engineering career in highway design and construction, traffic management and transport policy, spanning both public and private sectors. He has a strong London bias having worked in three excellent-rated London Boroughs (Wandsworth, Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) and also for Acer Consultants and Project Centre Limited.
He was resident engineer on a major road widening project quite early in his career and went on to manage some major projects in the capital, including the refurbishment of Oxford Street in the 1990s. In the Royal Borough, he has been instrumental in promoting the Council’s streetscape policies for which Kensington and Chelsea is a frontrunner. He is currently responsible for the Exhibition Road scheme which will set a new standard for public realm projects. He is highly regarded in the various pan-London forums such as the London Technical Advisors Group and is an active member of the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation Greater London Branch.
Tri-borough proposals to combine services
In June the three Councils’ Cabinets agreed to combine a number of services in a move to protect the frontline by cutting overhead and management costs by half.
Services that will be combined include:
* Environment management teams in Hammersmith & Fulham and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea saving £1.5 million with a 48 per cent reduction in senior management (14 posts).
* Fostering and adoption services and youth offending services, with the creation of a single Local Safeguarding Children Board, saving nearly £199,000 a year by 2014/15.
* Library Services, saving taxpayers more than £1million a year and ensuring all of their 21 public libraries remain safe from closure.
* Cabinets for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham also will share a chief executive from October 2011
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