Adelaide Rd schools development - community liaison group meeting

Roger Freeman was at last Thursday's Swiss Cottage Community Liaison Group between BAM - the building contractors for the Swiss Cottage Academy - and local residents to review how construction issues are affecting local residents.

Basic message is so far so good, but early days of course. Works are on schedule and BAM's on site team have a good working relationship with people nearby.
BAM are keen that if any local residents have issues with the construction process that they be contacted immediately.

The next meeting will be on Thursday May 26.

Legacy Club new licensing application decision

Roger Freeman spoke at last Thursday's Licensing Hearing for the Legacy Night Club. They were seeking authorization to open on Mondays till midnight; this was agreed once they had complied with Camden's requirements for acoustic controls in the Club.

Their request to extend their Sunday opening hours from 1030 till Midnight was not granted.

The Councillors on the Licensing Panel stressed very firmly the need for the Club to ensure that their clients leave the premises without causing disturbance to local residents. We will be continuing to monitor problems very closely. In the meantime if there are disturbances, and on the basis that it is not a 999 situation, it is good if you phone the non emergency contact number of the Met - 0300 123 1212 so that it gets reported to the Met Police Licensing Team. We also suggest that you email the Camden enforcement team at john.newcombe@camden.gov.uk (copy Roger Freeman in at roger.freeman@camden.gov.uk) so that the Camden Officers have got the fullest knowledge of the extent of the problem.

New planning application for Barrow Hill, St Edmunds Terrace

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As your local councillors we wanted you to know that a new planning application has been submitted for Barrow Hill for 3 5/6 story blocks of flats. We know that this site is important for many of you.

You may remember that an application was submitted just over a couple of years ago in February 2009 and withdrawn after considerable opposition, not least from your councillor team, and officers declined to recommend it.

To see the proposal go to www.camden.gov.uk/planning and follow the links to search for planning application and then type in the number: 2011/0919/P.
Note that comments are due in by April 7 2011.
Feel free to contact Roger Freeman as per the communication details above but note that as Vice Chairman of the Development Control Committee he can only discuss the mechanics of the application with you.
Alternatively contact Andrew Marshall who, while a member of the Development Control Committee, will not be voting on this application given his past involvement on the site and will thus be able to discuss the merits of the site.

HS2 Public meeting this Wednesday

There is a Public Meeting arranged by the HS2 Reference Group on Wednesday 16th March 7.30pm, at St Mary’s Church on the corner of King Henry’s Rd and Primrose Hill Rd. We encourage anyone living on or close to the new route to get along if they can, we'll also make sure as a councillor group we are represented.

Primrose Hill HS2 Reference Group: http://www.phhs2referencegroup.org

Quintin Kynaston rebuild: consultation on detailed designs

Roger Freeman visited Quintin Kynaston for the consultation session held for the school design. A reminder that outline planning permission has been granted for the Boundary Road end of the site and there is now a consultation for the more detailed designs. For more information go to www.westminster.gov.uk/marlborough-hill-campus and any comments should be submitted as soon as possible.
Building work at the southern end is due to start in the next month or so; work at the Boundary Road end will start at the end of 2012/start 2013.

High Speed 2 Consultation begins - Swiss Cottage exhibition on 28th March

The route consultation on High Speed 2 has now commenced. Lots of detail here.

First thing to note is that the deadline is quite long - 29th July. But of course this is a huge proposal and it's vital we get as much out of the consultation as possible.

There is a mobile exhibition which will move up the route over this period. It starts at Euston on March 24 and 25, then Queens Park on 26th, then in Swiss Cottage on the 28th March, from 8am to 8pm on the farmers market space. Then it's back in Euston on the 2nd April and Castlehaven on the 4th before moving north.

While the hours at Swiss Cottage are decently long, doing this on a Monday is not ideal, and we will make this point to Department for Transport. We hope as well that Camden Council will doing all it can to ensure this consultation is fully publicised locally and gets the support it needs to work well. More soon, once we've done some reading... We'll make sure we're there on the 28th.

National Grid gas works on Finchley Rd - update on side streets

Further to previous post - checked with National Grid, the side streets which will be getting work are:
Cannon Hill, Lymington Road, Dresden Close, Frognal, Frognal Close and Alvanley Gardens.

So West Hampstead and Frognal wards rather than Swiss Cottage ward, but clearly the Finchley Rd work will affect us all.

Major gas works on Finchley Rd - public exhibition at 02 Centre on 17th March

We've just been informed by National Grid about their plan to replace 6.5km of old metallic gas mains in Finchley Road, Camden. This work will take two years, which is pretty depressing. On the other hand, it's encouraging that National Grid is at least trying to brief people properly through a public exhibition. We'll make sure we're at the meeting, here are the details of the works:

"This essential work will involve replacing the ageing gas mains with new hard wearing plastic pipes, which will last for many years if left undisturbed.
Gas mains will be replaced in Finchley Road between Hendon Way and Swiss Cottage and in a number of side roads.

"The project will also include upgrades to businesses and domestic gas service pipes. Engineers will need access to properties to carry out this work and we will contact those affected in advance to arrange this. We are reminding people that they should always ask to see official identification before letting anyone into their property and that they can get more advice on this by calling 0845 605 6677.

"It is anticipated that this work will take around two years to complete.

"We are using high-tech tools to ensure that any disruption associated with the work is minimised.
Ground penetrating radar has been used to survey the existing mains and ensure the best possible work route is selected.

"We will also be inserting the new mains into the old pipes wherever possible, which will reduce the need for large scale excavations.

"We have also planned the work in consultation with local stakeholders including Transport for London (TFL) to ensure that it is carried out with a minimum of disruption. To enable people to find out more about the work we will be holding a public exhibition about the work at O2 Centre in Finchley Road on Thursday 17th March between 2pm and 9pm.

"We also have a helpline which members of the local community can call if they have any questions about the work or require more information (0845 605 6677).
The work will be carried out the North London Gas Alliance, a partnership between National Grid and Skanska.

"This scheme forms part of National Grid’s nationwide mains replacement programme, agreed with the Health and Safety Executive, which involves the replacement of all iron gas mains within 30 metres of buildings. Our project will leave a great legacy for the area by helping to ensure people in the area continue to enjoy safe, reliable and secure gas supplies in future years."

We will ask before the meeting which side streets are going to be involved here.