This is an important Council initiative that dates back to last year and perhaps has not been adequately communicated. Camden is offering up to 100% grants to all freeholders and leaseholders in privately owned blocks of flats across the borough. The grants are part of the Camden’s £1.15m funding for the private sector home insulation programme, which also receives funding from the utility provider EDF. This programme offers grants for cavity wall and loft insulation for residents that live in privately owned blocks of flats in Camden, and runs until 31 March 2011.
The Council is able to offer freeholders and leaseholders 100% of the cost of installing loft and cavity wall insulation in their properties, including access costs, labour and materials.
To date three pilot blocks, with 54 flats, have been insulated that could save 20 tonnes of carbon annually. The council is currently insulating a further 16 properties comprising 230 flats, which will save a further 66 tonnes of carbon annually.
We think there could easily be blocks in Swiss Cottage that could benefit from this. If you think this is so, please mention to your landlord or building management committee, and ask us for more information.
Monday, 27 September 2010
Sunday, 26 September 2010
Council estate and mansion block recycling
Arrangements for recycling in communal blocks, both council and housing association housing and private mansion blocks have not been good in the past, and this autumn will see the rollout of what is hopefully a better service - work that we had been planning over the last 18 months in the last council administration.
In council blocks, residents in all the Swiss Cottage estates will now be getting a brand new recycling kit delivered to their door, which contains everything they need to use the new service. They also get a leaflet which explains how they use the service. The service will start on Nov 1. This includes the following estates: Broadfield, Kingsland, Harben, Hilgrove, Sidney Boyd, St Marys Mews and Acol.
Progress on private mansion blocks and housing association blocks is slower, mainly because of the need to contact and liaise with a wide variety of landlords with different management arrangements in place. Apparently there are 36 blocks to survey in Swiss Cottage, and 10 have been completed so far. The rollout in private mansion blocks is likely to be in Feb/March.
More information about communal recycling here: camden.gov.uk/newface
In council blocks, residents in all the Swiss Cottage estates will now be getting a brand new recycling kit delivered to their door, which contains everything they need to use the new service. They also get a leaflet which explains how they use the service. The service will start on Nov 1. This includes the following estates: Broadfield, Kingsland, Harben, Hilgrove, Sidney Boyd, St Marys Mews and Acol.
Progress on private mansion blocks and housing association blocks is slower, mainly because of the need to contact and liaise with a wide variety of landlords with different management arrangements in place. Apparently there are 36 blocks to survey in Swiss Cottage, and 10 have been completed so far. The rollout in private mansion blocks is likely to be in Feb/March.
More information about communal recycling here: camden.gov.uk/newface
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
Legacy Club licensing application
Many residents near Swiss Terrace - including Cresta House, Centre Heights, the Harbern estate and Belsize Road- were most concerned last week to hear that the Legacy Nightclub in the old Barclays Building had applied for a substantial increase in their operating hours in their Licensing Permission.
We hear that the Club has withdrawn this application following Police objections but we understand the Club will be submitting another Licensing application in the near future.
We hear that the Club has withdrawn this application following Police objections but we understand the Club will be submitting another Licensing application in the near future.
Saturday, 11 September 2010
Shops selling food waste caddy liners around Swiss Cottage
Colleague Freeman may not be up on twitter, but he has furnished a very useful list of caddy liner stockists:
People are asking us where they can buy more caddy liners for the new food waste recycling west of the Finchley road(we appreciate that those who are east of it have had this recylcing for some time).
Camden has published a list of stockists. Those in our area on the list are:
Hampstead Garden centre, 161/163 Iverson St
Shepherd Food, 59 Regents Park Road
Pricewise 221 Finchley Road
The Late Late Store, 60 Belsize Lane
Cost Cutter, 23 Lower Merton Rise
Supersave 93 Fairfax Road.
Remember they come in two sizes. For the Green ie smaller ones the size is 7 litres.
This comes at a time when the new Camden Labour Cabinet has announced that general domestic waste collections will be reduced to one a week next April. People will no doubt have mixed views about this, and we know there are differing views on the food waste recycling. I think given both financial constraints and the need to reduce residual waste much further to hit landfill targets, the move was inevitable. It may be a bit premature given that it's early days on the food waste recycling. We have put in a question to the Full Council meeting on Monday about some of the teething problems and will report back further on this.
People are asking us where they can buy more caddy liners for the new food waste recycling west of the Finchley road(we appreciate that those who are east of it have had this recylcing for some time).
Camden has published a list of stockists. Those in our area on the list are:
Hampstead Garden centre, 161/163 Iverson St
Shepherd Food, 59 Regents Park Road
Pricewise 221 Finchley Road
The Late Late Store, 60 Belsize Lane
Cost Cutter, 23 Lower Merton Rise
Supersave 93 Fairfax Road.
Remember they come in two sizes. For the Green ie smaller ones the size is 7 litres.
This comes at a time when the new Camden Labour Cabinet has announced that general domestic waste collections will be reduced to one a week next April. People will no doubt have mixed views about this, and we know there are differing views on the food waste recycling. I think given both financial constraints and the need to reduce residual waste much further to hit landfill targets, the move was inevitable. It may be a bit premature given that it's early days on the food waste recycling. We have put in a question to the Full Council meeting on Monday about some of the teething problems and will report back further on this.
Friday, 10 September 2010
Eid Mubarak and Shana Tova Umetukah!
Eid Mubarak to all our Muslim friends and constituents, and Shana Tova Umetukah to all our Jewish friends and constituents.
Let's hope the coming 12 months bring peace around the world and here at home.
Let's hope the coming 12 months bring peace around the world and here at home.
Monday, 6 September 2010
Consultation on updated Swiss Cottage Conservation Area Appraisal about to kick off - with name change to South Hampstead proposed
The consultation on the updated Swiss Cottage Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy is set to be approved by the Council's Cabinet Member for Planning (the job I held until the electorate decided otherwise in May) on the 14th September. There will then be a six week consultation period with residents, including a public meeting, before the Council formally adopts the updated appraisal and management strategy.
Included in the report is a proposed name change to South Hampstead, which we believe will command support within the conservation area.
We have been pushing for this update for a couple of years. It matters because the more recent and accurate a conservation area appraisal is, the more planning weight it can be given. Swiss Cottage Conservation Area appraisal dates back to 1995, so it's not before time that it is updated. The timing also ties in with the great news that the Article Four Directions in the Conservation Area are going ahead, following strong support in the consultation earlier in the year. The update ensures all the latest information about the area is included, and officers have been undertaking a photographic record for council use to support the process.
At first glance, the draft document going out for consultation looks a very good piece of work. Camden Conservation officers have produced an excellent document with the very able assistance of a number of very dedicated volunteers in CRASH.
For anyone interested in local history and architecture, this is a fascinating document (and there's not often you can say that about a council report!). I didn't know that "Baron Corvo" lived in the area, nor that Sidney Boyd Court was built on the site of a flying bomb. You can find the document to read here
The document outlines the threats to the conservation area from insensitive changes and developments in some detail. With the Article Four Directions decision, English Heritage has now removed the conservation area from its register of conservation areas at risk. What is good to see in the report is the large number of buildings deemed "positive contributors" to the conservation area, particularly in the main "gardens" roads.
We'll be doing our bit as ward councillors to ensure everyone is aware of the consultation - generally with these updates (there is a rolling programme across the borough's 37 conservation areas) a good number of suggestions from informed residents are included in amendments post consultation before adoption.
Included in the report is a proposed name change to South Hampstead, which we believe will command support within the conservation area.
We have been pushing for this update for a couple of years. It matters because the more recent and accurate a conservation area appraisal is, the more planning weight it can be given. Swiss Cottage Conservation Area appraisal dates back to 1995, so it's not before time that it is updated. The timing also ties in with the great news that the Article Four Directions in the Conservation Area are going ahead, following strong support in the consultation earlier in the year. The update ensures all the latest information about the area is included, and officers have been undertaking a photographic record for council use to support the process.
At first glance, the draft document going out for consultation looks a very good piece of work. Camden Conservation officers have produced an excellent document with the very able assistance of a number of very dedicated volunteers in CRASH.
For anyone interested in local history and architecture, this is a fascinating document (and there's not often you can say that about a council report!). I didn't know that "Baron Corvo" lived in the area, nor that Sidney Boyd Court was built on the site of a flying bomb. You can find the document to read here
The document outlines the threats to the conservation area from insensitive changes and developments in some detail. With the Article Four Directions decision, English Heritage has now removed the conservation area from its register of conservation areas at risk. What is good to see in the report is the large number of buildings deemed "positive contributors" to the conservation area, particularly in the main "gardens" roads.
We'll be doing our bit as ward councillors to ensure everyone is aware of the consultation - generally with these updates (there is a rolling programme across the borough's 37 conservation areas) a good number of suggestions from informed residents are included in amendments post consultation before adoption.
Sunday, 5 September 2010
Safer Neighbourhoods Police make arrests for drug-dealing in Swiss Cottage
Very pleased to post this press release from the local police. Congratulations to the Swiss Cottage Safer Neighbourhoods team and to all others involved.
Swiss Cottage Safer Neighbourhoods Team execute successful warrant
On Wednesday 25th August, Swiss Cottage Safer Neighbourhoods Team executed a search warrant, issued under s.23 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. With support from the Territorial Support Group and the drugs sniffer dogs, officers gained entry and searched three separate addresses.
The operation proved very successful resulting in two men, aged 17 and 19, being arrested for possession with intent to supply at an address in Dorman Way NW8. Both men have been bailed to return to a Central London Police Station on 19th October 2010.
A third man, aged 19, was arrested at an address in Shoot Up Hill, NW2 and later charged with possession of cannabis. He will appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on 3rd September 2010.
All three men were given bail conditions preventing them from attending this year’s Notting Hill Carnival.
PC Phil Meatyard from Swiss Cottage Safer Neighbourhoods Team, said: "We hope that news of this warrant will reassure residents that the team are doing everything we can to tackle drugs misuse in the area.
Swiss Cottage Safer Neighbourhoods Team execute successful warrant
On Wednesday 25th August, Swiss Cottage Safer Neighbourhoods Team executed a search warrant, issued under s.23 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. With support from the Territorial Support Group and the drugs sniffer dogs, officers gained entry and searched three separate addresses.
The operation proved very successful resulting in two men, aged 17 and 19, being arrested for possession with intent to supply at an address in Dorman Way NW8. Both men have been bailed to return to a Central London Police Station on 19th October 2010.
A third man, aged 19, was arrested at an address in Shoot Up Hill, NW2 and later charged with possession of cannabis. He will appear at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on 3rd September 2010.
All three men were given bail conditions preventing them from attending this year’s Notting Hill Carnival.
PC Phil Meatyard from Swiss Cottage Safer Neighbourhoods Team, said: "We hope that news of this warrant will reassure residents that the team are doing everything we can to tackle drugs misuse in the area.
Timetable for UCL Academy and Swiss Cottage Special School construction
I was away on holiday but Development Control Committee last week approved the construction of portakabins on the Adelaide Road site as temporary classrooms, following the main planning approval some weeks ago.
The application included an update on the phasing of the construction of the two new schools on the site, which we thought it would be useful to log here:
The redevelopment of the site would be undertaken in 2 primary phases, with works intended to commence first on the Academy element, with the special educational needs element commencing later, but overlapping with a significant proportion of the time allocated for construction of the Academy. The phasing schedule is as follows:
Phase One – UCL Academy
1) site set-up/enabling – August-October 2010
2) demolition – November 2010-January 2011
3) construction – November 2010-January 2014
Phase Two – Swiss Cottage SEN school
4) temporary accommodation/decanting – July-September 2012
5) demolition - September 2012-November 2013
6) construction – October 2012-January 2014
PRACTICAL COMPLETION – 24 January 2014
We are picking up with planning officers the need to flesh out the way community consultation on construction and transport/traffic impacts will be developed, and will keep local residents updated on this.
The application included an update on the phasing of the construction of the two new schools on the site, which we thought it would be useful to log here:
The redevelopment of the site would be undertaken in 2 primary phases, with works intended to commence first on the Academy element, with the special educational needs element commencing later, but overlapping with a significant proportion of the time allocated for construction of the Academy. The phasing schedule is as follows:
Phase One – UCL Academy
1) site set-up/enabling – August-October 2010
2) demolition – November 2010-January 2011
3) construction – November 2010-January 2014
Phase Two – Swiss Cottage SEN school
4) temporary accommodation/decanting – July-September 2012
5) demolition - September 2012-November 2013
6) construction – October 2012-January 2014
PRACTICAL COMPLETION – 24 January 2014
We are picking up with planning officers the need to flesh out the way community consultation on construction and transport/traffic impacts will be developed, and will keep local residents updated on this.
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