Pressure is building on Thames Water to extend their super sewer consultation as an alternative and less disruptive construction site emerges.
The Mayor of London has written to the Water Minister, Richard Benyon MP, asking him to ‘instruct Thames Water to extend the consultation period to the end of March 2012’.
Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council is backing the Mayor’s calls as local authority engineers say that the sewer construction site that Thames Water has earmarked for Kirtling Street, in Wandsworth, could be expanded.
Kirtling Street is already one of three main construction sites needed for the 20 mile long concrete tunnel and council engineers say that by expanding it slightly the threat to Carnwath Road and Barn Elms could be minimised – or even removed completely.
The brand new £1 million children’s and community centre on the Fulham Court Estate has been officially opened by Council Leader, Stephen Greenhalgh.
The Tudor Rose has replaced a crumbling 20-year-old prefab building and combines a ground-floor children’s centre for families with children under five and a first-floor community centre which is able to host everything from youth groups to healthy eating classes.
The children’s centre at the Tudor Rose is run by the Pre School Learning Alliance who will also run four other centres in the borough.
Almost 100 volunteers have been honoured for their outstanding contribution to their local community by the Hammersmith & Fulham Volunteers Centre (HFVC).
These individuals showed exceptional skill and dedication across all areas of volunteering from meals on wheels to prisoner mentoring.
Eleven young volunteers taking part in a youth project at HFVC also helped to plan and run the event, including its stage management.
The Awards were presented at a packed Hammersmith Town Hall on Friday December 9.
The new and improved William Parnell Park in Fulham has been officially opened.
Hammersmith & Fulham Council (H&F) has been working closely with environmental regeneration charity Groundwork London to transform the open space from a park and play facility which suffered from vandalism and bouts of nuisance behaviour into a secure, modern and innovative natural play area for all ages.
Known affectionately as Pineapple Park, the revamped park utilises the existing landscape including its large hills to create exciting opportunities for play. The park features a large slide and stepping stones on one of its hills, a timber climbing frame with cargo net and a basket swing. A sand pit, digger and board walk have also been installed for younger children.
The new facilities were officially opened by the Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham, Cllr Frances Stainton on Saturday December 17.
"We remain fully committed to this scheme to regenerate King Street. We believe it represents an opportunity to enhance the environment, protect the interest of the council taxpayer, promote local businesses and provide new homes. There have already been changes to reduce the height of the proposed buildings but we understand that the Mayor and a number of local residents remain concerned about this and in particular, the impact on the views from riverside properties. So Hammersmith & Fulham Council has agreed to work with the GLA on a further independent rigorous assessment to see whether it would be financially viable to proceed with a further reduction in height."
More than 300 leaseholders are to be given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to buy their own homes off Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council.
Under H&F’s ‘Right to Freehold’ 308 leaseholders who live at 140 street properties the length and breadth of the borough will be able to purchase the freehold of their building.
Each of these 140 buildings are comprised entirely of leasehold properties and residents will be able to join forces to buy the right to the land off the council.
Buying the freehold of the block will give residents complete communal ownership of the block, and full communal management rights to the flats, and the building.
Motorists can now find out how much time they will have to add onto their journey’s when the Olympics come to London.
By visiting the website motorists can select various destinations around London that they intend to drive to from Hammersmith during the Games, which take place from July 27, to August 12.
For example, the website advises drivers to add an addition 43 minutes to their journey from Hammersmith to Camden during morning peak hours. If you intend to drive from Hammersmith to the site of the Games in Stratford you need to leave 73 minutes earlier that you normally would. Hammersmith to Wandsworth during the evening will take an additional 23 minutes.
In the meantime, the council is reminding residents that the Games will bring significant transport disruption to the borough.
Cllr Nick Botterill, deputy leader and cabinet member for environment said:
A rogue builder who turned a quiet street in an historic conservation area into a building site after knocking down his house without consent is now more than £500,000 worse off after being taken to court by Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
Piers Rance of Cloncurry Street, Fulham, was fined £120,000 at Isleworth Crown Court yesterday – £40,000 more than the previous highest fine for similar offences in the UK.
He was also told to pay the council’s legal costs of around £100,000 and will have to meet his own costs, said to be around £300,000 - to make the eye-watering total of more than half a million pounds.
Conservation areas are designated for their special architectural and historic interest and anyone wishing to demolish a building needs to obtain permission from the council before going ahead with the work.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council is celebrating Threedom - the prospect of it achievinig the third lowest Council Tax in the country.
Performing Arts students from Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College (EHWLC) recorded their own unique versions of tracks from local government heavyweights the Rolling Stones (‘I’m Three’), George Michael (‘Threedom’) and Blind Melon’s epic ‘Three is a Magic Number’ for the short video.
Also featured are dinner ladies serving mushy peas in the shape of a 3 to schoolchildren at West London Free School, refuse collectors hurling a giant 3 into the back of their truck and books with 3 in the title at the council’s award winning Shepherds Bush Library.
The former UK ‘Council of the Year;’ is proposing to cut tax but 3.75% in April next year - while protecting frontline services like weekly bin collections, street sweeping and care for the vulnerable.
H&F Council Leader, Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, said:
“In these tough economic times we want to free residents from the burden of excessive taxation. This innovative YouTube clip takes a light-hearted look on a very serious message. We are saying loud and clear that it is possible to consistently cut tax and council debt while improving frontline services. We are also proud to be climbing the league table of low tax boroughs and look set to break into the top three nationwide with our biggest council tax cut yet.”
The average council taxpayer in H&F is set to be £243 better off compared to the average Londoner... based on five years of tax cuts at a time when average council tax bills in the capital have risen by £73.
The 3.75% reduction would bring H&F £1 below RBKC’s tax level, when including levies for the maintenance of garden squares, and closer to Westminster City Council - if the cut is ratified by H&F’s Full Council in February 2012.
Johny Thomson, Music Lecturer and Tutor at EHWLC says:
“Ealing Hammersmith & West London College welcomes the opportunity for our performing arts students to get involved in industry projects. Our collaboration with H&F Council has been a great experience for our learners. Working to a professional brief and having to meet its criteria has given our learners an insight into the industry and provided real experience which can be used on their CV's.”
The Prime Minister is leading tributes to Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh who has announced today that he intends to stand down as leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, who has been leader since 2006, is standing down on the same day that H&F Council reveals it intends to reduce council tax by 3.75% next year. If approved, it would be the fifth council tax cut in six years.
During that period resident satisfaction increased to a record level, H&F was given the highest score possible by the Audit Commission for the quality of services, and the borough won the prestigious LGC 'Council of the Year' award in 2010.
The council is also on course to cut its historic debt of £176 million in half, saving local taxpayers £9.1 million a year in debt repayments.
The Prime Minister, David Cameron, said:
"Stephen Greenhalgh has demonstrated that good management and tackling waste can keep council tax bills down whilst protecting services."
