Update from Camden officers, please note the Council's winter weather pages link below, and please get in touch if there are significant problems on gritting and pavement clearing over next few days, obviously the Council will need to prioritise.
The weather forecast for this evening is potential heavy snow showers of between 1-3cm until at least midnight. The temperature will remain sub-zero. Untreated pavements and roads will potentially be a hazard.
Cleaning in the north of the borough has been suspended.
Tonight we are gritting our priority roads and pavements and replenishing our 150 grit bins.
We will be monitoring the weather closely and will update our winter web pages tomorrow morning if any of our services are affected.
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Sunday, 28 November 2010
Adelaide Rd UCL Academy - first meeting of Community Construction Working Group
Roger Freeman attended last Thursday's November 25 inaugural meeting of the Community Working Group to cover the impact that the Construction of the Adelaide Road School site will have on local residents.
The Head of the Swiss Cottage Special School explained some of the features of the new School when built. Important to note that the School will be relocating to Brondesbury when the construction takes place, which will make the construction process much simpler.
BAM - the Contractors - outlined the Construction Management Plan; that together with the first quarterly newsletter can be accessed here.
Preparatory work has already began on the site where the Academy will be built; the most intensive construction activity will take place in the second half of 2011. The completion date for the Specialist School is April 2012 and for the Academy September 2012 (but with only one year group starting at a time).
The Community Working Group will be meeting monthly with a quarterly public engagement meeting. If you were unable to be at the meeting but would like to take part in the Community Working Group, contact Roger Freeman and he will point you in the right direction.
It was confirmed that Construction Traffic will be using Adelaide Road and not be using Winchester Road, Harley Road or King Henry's Road
The Head of the Swiss Cottage Special School explained some of the features of the new School when built. Important to note that the School will be relocating to Brondesbury when the construction takes place, which will make the construction process much simpler.
BAM - the Contractors - outlined the Construction Management Plan; that together with the first quarterly newsletter can be accessed here.
Preparatory work has already began on the site where the Academy will be built; the most intensive construction activity will take place in the second half of 2011. The completion date for the Specialist School is April 2012 and for the Academy September 2012 (but with only one year group starting at a time).
The Community Working Group will be meeting monthly with a quarterly public engagement meeting. If you were unable to be at the meeting but would like to take part in the Community Working Group, contact Roger Freeman and he will point you in the right direction.
It was confirmed that Construction Traffic will be using Adelaide Road and not be using Winchester Road, Harley Road or King Henry's Road
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
TfL gives more detail on Jubilee and Northern line progress
Roger Freeman met Senior TfL management along with other local councillors at a meeting arranged by Brian Coleman as GLA member for Camden to discuss Jubilee and Northern upgrades following TfL purchasing Tube Lines last June.
He was assured that the vast bulk of Jubilee line closures have taken place, although there will be more by year end. Remember to find out future planned tube closures here. By year end the stretch of the Jubilee line between Stratford and Dollis Hill will have been moved from the fixed block to moving block signalling system and this will mean that trains frequencies can be increased from the current 24 TBH (Trains per Hour) to the projected 30. The next job will be to install the new signalling system in the Dollis Hill/Stanmore tranche which will be done next Spring. This will mean weekend closures of the Jubilee north of West Hampstead Station, where trains will stop.
For the Northern Line TfL are very confident that the closures will be very much less than what had been suggested by Tube Lines, before they were bought out by TfL in June 2010. TfL will make sure that they have learnt all lessons from the Jubilee line signalling upgrade and anticipates announcing the Northern Line closure programme in early Spring 2011.
He was assured that the vast bulk of Jubilee line closures have taken place, although there will be more by year end. Remember to find out future planned tube closures here. By year end the stretch of the Jubilee line between Stratford and Dollis Hill will have been moved from the fixed block to moving block signalling system and this will mean that trains frequencies can be increased from the current 24 TBH (Trains per Hour) to the projected 30. The next job will be to install the new signalling system in the Dollis Hill/Stanmore tranche which will be done next Spring. This will mean weekend closures of the Jubilee north of West Hampstead Station, where trains will stop.
For the Northern Line TfL are very confident that the closures will be very much less than what had been suggested by Tube Lines, before they were bought out by TfL in June 2010. TfL will make sure that they have learnt all lessons from the Jubilee line signalling upgrade and anticipates announcing the Northern Line closure programme in early Spring 2011.
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Abbey area regeneration proposals exhibition
The exhibition on the Abbey Area masterplan - ie regeneration of this immediate area with a focus on the publicly owned housing and public realm - will be open 22-27th November in the Abbey Hive, 86 Abbey Road. Opening times are weekdays: 2.00-6.00pm, with late opening until 8.30pm on Thursday evening, and Saturday 10.00am-4.00pm.
The opening of the masterplan exhibition which will be held on the evening of 23rd November in the Abbey Community Centre from 6.30-8.30 - local residents are invited, please rsvp to petra.clarke@camden.gov.uk
We'll be going along as Swiss Cottage ward councillors. We are very aware of the considerable controversy locally around these various regeneration options, and the impact residents very close by in Swiss Cottage ward, for whom we have a particular responsibility, would feel.
There are lessons for the council from this project in how to engage with the wider local community, though it's important to recognise that the main consultation for any redevelopment would come with the planning application, and we're not at that point yet.
We will of course represent local concerns, most particularly in relation to planning applications, while of course Roger Freeman and Andrew Marshall as members of the Development Control Committee need to avoid expressing opinions in public that would mean they were unable to vote on the applications (due to the need to avoid "predetermination").
We look forward to working with the West Hampstead and Kilburn councillors on this, perhaps especially with Kilburn Labour Cllr Mike Katz who is one of the sharpest minds on the new council and who struck a very considered position at the community meeting on this in the summer.
The opening of the masterplan exhibition which will be held on the evening of 23rd November in the Abbey Community Centre from 6.30-8.30 - local residents are invited, please rsvp to petra.clarke@camden.gov.uk
We'll be going along as Swiss Cottage ward councillors. We are very aware of the considerable controversy locally around these various regeneration options, and the impact residents very close by in Swiss Cottage ward, for whom we have a particular responsibility, would feel.
There are lessons for the council from this project in how to engage with the wider local community, though it's important to recognise that the main consultation for any redevelopment would come with the planning application, and we're not at that point yet.
We will of course represent local concerns, most particularly in relation to planning applications, while of course Roger Freeman and Andrew Marshall as members of the Development Control Committee need to avoid expressing opinions in public that would mean they were unable to vote on the applications (due to the need to avoid "predetermination").
We look forward to working with the West Hampstead and Kilburn councillors on this, perhaps especially with Kilburn Labour Cllr Mike Katz who is one of the sharpest minds on the new council and who struck a very considered position at the community meeting on this in the summer.
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Put up or shut up Cllr Siddiq on your libraries allegations
Cllr Tulip Siddiq told the Ham and High this week: "As soon as I got the portfolio the officers recommended to cut down to four libraries but I disregarded that immediately. I think the reason it was put forward was because it was something the previous administration was planning."
That will be news to the Conservative and Liberal Democrat members of the previous council executive, it's not true and there is no evidence to suppport Cllr Siddiq's allegation. I suggest she comes up with some evidence to back up her claims, or thinks again before making unfounded allegations. As she well knows, the LibDem-Con administration increased library hours by 7%. In her speech to full council this week she singularly failed to recognise the considerable achievements of her precedessor in the culture portfolio Cllr Flick Rea, an omission that was noted on all sides of the council chamber.
There's certainly, as a result of the deteriorating national fiscal position, got to be a debate about the priorities for the council across all its services, and mindless opposition to any service changes is not something I would support. But just making things up about the previous council does not show much maturity from Cllr Siddiq. But we'll judge her on her actions.
That will be news to the Conservative and Liberal Democrat members of the previous council executive, it's not true and there is no evidence to suppport Cllr Siddiq's allegation. I suggest she comes up with some evidence to back up her claims, or thinks again before making unfounded allegations. As she well knows, the LibDem-Con administration increased library hours by 7%. In her speech to full council this week she singularly failed to recognise the considerable achievements of her precedessor in the culture portfolio Cllr Flick Rea, an omission that was noted on all sides of the council chamber.
There's certainly, as a result of the deteriorating national fiscal position, got to be a debate about the priorities for the council across all its services, and mindless opposition to any service changes is not something I would support. But just making things up about the previous council does not show much maturity from Cllr Siddiq. But we'll judge her on her actions.
Saturday, 6 November 2010
Cutbacks at Royal Parks
Mark Camley the Chief Executive of Royal Parks has written to stakeholders to outline the level of cuts Royal Parks is facing and the likely impact of services. Royal Parks runs Regents Park and Primrose Hill, which are enjoyed by many of our constituents. Recent years have seen a lively debate about acceptable levels of commercial activity in Regents Park. So I though it would be useful to post this letter which follows below, obviously we will continue to monitor how this affects our local parks:
The Department of Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) has advised The Royal Parks agency of the funding settlement for the next four years. The headline is a cut of 25 per cent of grant in aid to The Royal Parks. However, this is combined with a 10 per cent cut this year to give a c36 per cent cut over five years, the equivalent of £5.5m. You will appreciate that this is a serious reduction in our resources. Our capital budget is also cut with immediate effect by about 45 per cent.
Goals and priorities
Our priority remains preserving the parks as high quality open spaces for the public, and maintaining them for future generations. However, we are going to have to prioritise from many competing demands, and reduce some services. We are fully committed to delivering our contribution to providing the backdrop for a successful Olympics and Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
The proportion of self-generated income in our budget has almost doubled in five years to £14.4m, and last year funded 46 per cent of total expenditure.
We will seek to continue to raise funds to mitigate cuts in services. However, extra income generation will not bridge the financial gap.
In responding to the challenge of the budget cut, we are focussing our efforts in the following areas:
• Maintaining as far as possible core park services (although maintenance will be reduced and the existing works backlog of £56m will inevitably increase);
• Reducing, cutting or outsourcing non-core activities;
• Streamlining and targeting specialist park services in areas of most need and impact;
• Preserving and marshalling capacity in income generating areas (like events, retail and catering);
• Seeking economies of scale by increased centralisation of some admin functions.
Most park services, like grass cutting, are delivered by third party contractors. Our own workforce across the eight parks is currently 129, and by 2014/15 we plan to reduce staff numbers to around 100.
Next steps
We are in the process of consulting staff about the changes ahead and working out the detail of the adjustments to services.
We are already making cost savings – for example by significantly reducing the vehicle fleet and the use of specialist consultants. We have also closed three admin posts this year in HQ. With regards to income generation we have recently announced that the Magazine building in Kensington Gardens will become a new public art gallery – this initiative will increase our offer to park visitors and raise significant funds at the same time.
These are challenging times for public service organisations and we are not alone in facing the need to cut costs and manage services in a much tougher financial climate. The support and continued good will of the many millions of park users, stakeholders and partners such as yourself, will help the organisation make a difficult transition while maintaining our commitment to preserving the parks.
Going forward we will provide updated information on The Royal Parks’ website. We will send you the link to the appropriate page later this month.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Camley
Chief Executive of The Royal Parks
The Department of Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) has advised The Royal Parks agency of the funding settlement for the next four years. The headline is a cut of 25 per cent of grant in aid to The Royal Parks. However, this is combined with a 10 per cent cut this year to give a c36 per cent cut over five years, the equivalent of £5.5m. You will appreciate that this is a serious reduction in our resources. Our capital budget is also cut with immediate effect by about 45 per cent.
Goals and priorities
Our priority remains preserving the parks as high quality open spaces for the public, and maintaining them for future generations. However, we are going to have to prioritise from many competing demands, and reduce some services. We are fully committed to delivering our contribution to providing the backdrop for a successful Olympics and Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
The proportion of self-generated income in our budget has almost doubled in five years to £14.4m, and last year funded 46 per cent of total expenditure.
We will seek to continue to raise funds to mitigate cuts in services. However, extra income generation will not bridge the financial gap.
In responding to the challenge of the budget cut, we are focussing our efforts in the following areas:
• Maintaining as far as possible core park services (although maintenance will be reduced and the existing works backlog of £56m will inevitably increase);
• Reducing, cutting or outsourcing non-core activities;
• Streamlining and targeting specialist park services in areas of most need and impact;
• Preserving and marshalling capacity in income generating areas (like events, retail and catering);
• Seeking economies of scale by increased centralisation of some admin functions.
Most park services, like grass cutting, are delivered by third party contractors. Our own workforce across the eight parks is currently 129, and by 2014/15 we plan to reduce staff numbers to around 100.
Next steps
We are in the process of consulting staff about the changes ahead and working out the detail of the adjustments to services.
We are already making cost savings – for example by significantly reducing the vehicle fleet and the use of specialist consultants. We have also closed three admin posts this year in HQ. With regards to income generation we have recently announced that the Magazine building in Kensington Gardens will become a new public art gallery – this initiative will increase our offer to park visitors and raise significant funds at the same time.
These are challenging times for public service organisations and we are not alone in facing the need to cut costs and manage services in a much tougher financial climate. The support and continued good will of the many millions of park users, stakeholders and partners such as yourself, will help the organisation make a difficult transition while maintaining our commitment to preserving the parks.
Going forward we will provide updated information on The Royal Parks’ website. We will send you the link to the appropriate page later this month.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Camley
Chief Executive of The Royal Parks
Friday, 5 November 2010
Jubilee and Northern line upgrade programmes – update
Below is an update from TfL following their board meeting this week on the Jubilee and Northern line, for which we are grateful to our Assembly Member (and defiant non-blogger and twitterer) Brian Coleman.
Jubilee and Northern line upgrade programmes – update, 4 November 2010
Since taking control of Tube Lines in June this year LU has been working urgently to understand the status of the line upgrade programmes they were originally responsible for delivering under the PPP contract.
Their delayed upgrade of the Jubilee line has been our overriding priority and we have been carrying out intensive testing of the new signalling system at every opportunity over the last four months. As a result of this testing we now expect to complete the Jubilee line upgrade by spring next year. We also have increasing confidence that we will be able to run trains in passenger service under the new signalling system seven days a week across much of the line by Christmas. This follows the success over the last few months of operating trains in passenger service under the new system on parts of the line during weekends.
The Northern line upgrade, which was due to follow completion of the Jubilee line upgrade, was also already delayed when Tube Lines was acquired by TfL. One of the first steps we took was to cancel the programme of disruptive works Tube Lines planned during early evenings and weekends and since then we have been continuing to review the programme with a view to completely re-engineering how the work is carried out. Our aim is to deliver the upgrade with minimum disruption for Londoners and businesses and with far fewer closures than were originally planned by Tube Lines.
Although no confirmed delivery date for the Northern line upgrade has yet been set, our current forecast is that it will be completed before the end of 2014, which was confirmed as part the Government’s recent Spending Review announcement. We expect to have a clear programme in place by early 2011 following the conclusion of discussions with the signalling contractor.
Jubilee and Northern line upgrade programmes – update, 4 November 2010
Since taking control of Tube Lines in June this year LU has been working urgently to understand the status of the line upgrade programmes they were originally responsible for delivering under the PPP contract.
Their delayed upgrade of the Jubilee line has been our overriding priority and we have been carrying out intensive testing of the new signalling system at every opportunity over the last four months. As a result of this testing we now expect to complete the Jubilee line upgrade by spring next year. We also have increasing confidence that we will be able to run trains in passenger service under the new signalling system seven days a week across much of the line by Christmas. This follows the success over the last few months of operating trains in passenger service under the new system on parts of the line during weekends.
The Northern line upgrade, which was due to follow completion of the Jubilee line upgrade, was also already delayed when Tube Lines was acquired by TfL. One of the first steps we took was to cancel the programme of disruptive works Tube Lines planned during early evenings and weekends and since then we have been continuing to review the programme with a view to completely re-engineering how the work is carried out. Our aim is to deliver the upgrade with minimum disruption for Londoners and businesses and with far fewer closures than were originally planned by Tube Lines.
Although no confirmed delivery date for the Northern line upgrade has yet been set, our current forecast is that it will be completed before the end of 2014, which was confirmed as part the Government’s recent Spending Review announcement. We expect to have a clear programme in place by early 2011 following the conclusion of discussions with the signalling contractor.
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