| Last Updated 12/12/2004 | |||
| News Items | The following news items
are covered below: Untaxed Vehicles 30 Ledbury Road Pembridge Road Junction with Notting Hill Gate Residents Bays Parking Control Hours Ward Web Site General Internet Use Street Drinking Byelaws Pavement Washing Chepstow Villas Traffic Westbourne Hotel Highways and Traffic Schemes Population Increase Car Ownership Kensington Park Road Crossing Pembridge Library |
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| Library Event 18/11/2004 |
LIFE IN THE LAW Local lawyer, Noel Ing gave a talk about life in the law at Notting Hill Gate Library on Thursday 18 November 2004. Noel was called to the Bar, by Lincoln's Inn, in 1958. Subsequently he had a varied legal career including taking part in what was, up to then (1975), the longest trial in English legal history. While he did not intend to emulate this with the longest talk in the Library's history, he did say a little about his own experiences, but more about the legal profession generally, with plenty of anecdotes about life in, and out of, the courts. Questions - and argument - were welcome. Tickets for this event please contact: Carole-Ann Barnett, Notting Hill Gate Library, 1 Pembridge Square, London W2 4EW Tel: 020 7229 8574 Email: Carole-Ann.Barnett@rbkc.gov.uk |
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| Fireworks 22/10/2004 |
Fireworks Regulations With 5th November fast approaching a reminder of the law is now as follows: *It is illegal to possess excessively loud fireworks such as large rockets and air bombs. *It is illegal for people below the age of 18 to possess fireworks in public. *It is illegal for fireworks to be supplied to under 18s. *It is illegal to set fireworks off between 11pm and 7am but the Fireworks Regulations 2004 allow some variations. *On Bonfire Night, fireworks can be set off until midnight. They can also be used until 1am the following day at Chinese New Year, New Year's Eve and Diwali. |
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Untaxed Vehicles 13/09/2004 |
Kensington and Chelsea
Council's Enforcement Officers stepped up the battle against motorists
with untaxed vehicles when they launched a new initiative on 13 September.
Under the scheme untaxed vehicles will be towed away within minutes of the
Council's Enforcement Officers reporting the offence to the Driver and
Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). The introduction of the initiative means that as soon as vehicles are removed from the street, the costs start to spiral. To reclaim vehicles, owners will have to pay an initial fee of £160, plus £15 for every day the car is stored at the pound. Owners will have seven days to reclaim their vehicle, before it ends up in the crusher, although some vehicles will be held for 15 days before the DVLA sends them for auction to recover its expenses. The costs do not stop there either. A surety of £120 is payable unless a valid tax disc can be produced when reclaiming the vehicle. It is retained by the DVLA unless claimed back. It is not all zero-tolerance however. Owners do have a month after their last tax disc expires to replace it. This latest exercise is part of the Association of London Government's (ALG's) Operation Scrap-it. The ALG funded the first phase earlier this year, when 60 abandoned vehicles were removed from the borough's streets. Back to Top |
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30 Ledbury Road 01/09/2004 |
The Council is considering
a planning application to demolish the existing 2-storey office building,
constructed in the 1960s, and replacing it with a 2-storey and basement
building to be used as a retail shop. There is considerable local
objection to the construction of a glass clad building, which is out of
character with the other buildings in Ledbury Road, and particularly to
the use of the first floor for retail purposes when all the other
buildings adjacent have residential accommodation on the first floor. The
Pembridge Association has objected to this application as have a number of
other local residents. Back to Top |
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Pembridge Road Junction with Notting Hill
Gate 05/06/2004 |
The scheme to
improve the traffic flow at the junction of Pembridge Road and Notting
Hill Gate is now in operation. The objective of the scheme is to provide
a lane on the East side of Pembridge Road, where the buses stop, and in
addition two lanes outside that to cater for both left and right turning
traffic at the junction with Notting Hill Gate. Up until now there has
been a problem in that left turning traffic is obstructed by buses
stopping and causing a tailback down Pembridge Road to Pembridge Square
where the traffic waiting to turn right prevents vehicles wishing to turn
right passing stationary buses. One downside of this new scheme is that
the previous much used cycle bay in the middle of Pembridge Road has had
to be removed and there is no obvious alternative location for this to be
relocated other than the existing provision in front of Campden Hill
Towers. Back to Top |
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Residents Bays Parking Control
Hours 08/08/2001 |
The Council, following extensive public
consultation, took the decision to extend the parking control hours for
resident's bays in the Ward until 10pm Monday to Friday. It is therefore
possible for both residents with parking permits and residents and
visitors without parking permits to park in Pay & Display
bays and on single yellow lines after 6:30pm on Mondays to Fridays and
after 1:30pm on Saturdays; in fact, residents with parking permits can
also legitimately park in Pay & Display Bays until 9:30am and after 5:30pm.
There is currently no parking control on Sundays. The extension of parking control hours in this area came into force w.e.f. Monday 16th July 2001. Telephone queries should be made to the parking Helpline on 020-7361 3682 or on E-mail at parking@rbkc.gov.uk (This extended control does not apply to the west of Ladbroke Grove) (08/08/2001) Back to Top |
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| Ward Web Site | This Web Site has been
designed by Councillor David Campion, in consultation with Councillor
Barbara Campbell and Councillor Doreen Weatherhead, specifically to
provide information and contacts for residents of Pembridge Ward in the
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is also an attempt to use Internet technology to provide better communication between councillors and their local residents and business community over a relatively small and local geographical area. It could well set a precedent for other Wards within the Royal Borough to follow. The Web Site is subject to a continuous process of evolution and updating in order to reflect comments made by residents and requests for further information. If you wish to comment or respond you can do so by clicking on the E-mail item on bottom of the blue menu on the left hand side of the page. Back to Top |
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| General Internet Use | The Government has set a
target for all possible Central and Local Government transactions to be
carried out electronically by 2005. The speed at which people are getting access to the internet is phenomenal. 9m people now have access at home. A fifth more people are connected every six months. This development has the potential to transform public services, making it far easier to provide out of hours access to information and services. Electronic service delivery also has the potential to: * speed up transactions between residents and their council; * give people more influence over the services they use and the way they access them. The speed of change is illustrated by developments with council websites. 86% of councils in the UK now have websites – 13% more than a year ago. Of those sites: * around half are purely promotional, with no interactive element; but * a fifth of the sites reviewed a year earlier had improved and * 7% had substantive interactive content. Key issues councils are addressing in developing their websites include: * allowing transactions to be carried out on them; * establishing better links and help facilities. The Council of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has recently set up a new committee, the "Computer and Communications Committee" (colloquially referred to as 3.com), chaired by Cllr David Campion, to monitor and report to the Policy & Resources Committee on the development and use of IT resources including the Council's Internet Web Site:http://www.rbkc.gov.uk Back to Top |
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| Street Drinking Byelaws | The Council, following
discussion with the Police, has now taken the decision to introduce model
byelaws prohibiting "street drinking" (the consumption of intoxicating
liquor) in the Earl's Court area followed by Notting Hill Gate including
the first parts of Pembridge Road and Kensington Church Street. Even
though the Council will be following the "fast track" procedure prescribed
by the Home Office, it could still take 12-18 months before the byelaws
are approved and come into force. (19/07/2000) The Byelaw will make it an offence to drink alcohol in the designated area only after that person has been warned not to do so by a Police officer. Subsequently, at its meeting on 18th October 2000, the Council formally determined to introduce the Byelaw covering Notting Hill Gate. As far as Pembridge Ward is concerned the area covered runs from Ladbroke Terrace in the west to Clanricarde Gardens in the east and also takes in Pembridge Gardens, Pembridge Square (South side), Linden Gardens, Linden Mews and garden Mews, Pembridge Road from its junction with Pembridge Crescent to its junction with Notting Hill Gate, Kensington Park Road from its junction with Ladbroke Square to its junction with Pembridge Road, Ladbroke Terrace, Ladbroke Road from Kensington Park Road to its junction with Ladbroke Terrace, Ladbroke Square from its junction with Ladbroke Terrace to Kensington Park Road, Horbury Mews, Horbury Crescent, and Victoria Gardens. (18/10/2000) As a result of work by both the Council and the local police the problem has now reduced in Notting Hill Gate such that it is now unlikely that the government would allow us to proceed with this Byelaw. (08/08/2001) Back to Top |
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| Pavement Washing | The Council's
Environmental Services Committee has agreed to a one year trial for a
footway washing service. This will, among other areas, cover the pavements
along Notting Hill Gate. Back to Top |
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| Chepstow Villas Traffic | As a result of an
investigation of the traffic conditions in Chepstow Villas, following
receipt of a letter signed by 51 residents, the Highways & Traffic
Committee agreed proposals for the introduction of painted
mini-roundabouts at the junctions with Pembridge Crescent and Chepstow
Crescent. These were installed earlier in the year and have only been
partially successful in reducing the speed of vehicles along Chepstow
Villas; some drivers still go at fast speed straight across the white
painted roundabout without slowing or stopping. The Council has now constructed a raised circular section in granite sets so as to try to force vehicles to go round the central section rather than over the top; even this has not proved to be totally successful as quite a number of vehicles fail to slow down and some either go over the top or the wrong side of the roundabout. The police do not appear to have the resources to monitor this or to take action. (See Hot News 05/11/2001) Back to Top |
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| Westbourne Hotel | The new Westbourne Hotel
has opened at 163-165 Westbourne Grove. A number of retrospecitve planning
applications, covering what has already been constructed, have been lodged
with the Council and are being processed in accordance with normal
planning procedures. Considerable concern has been expressed by residents
in the adjacent Rosehart Mews and also those whose properties in Pembridge
Villas back on to the new development; the main objections relate to
possible noise and disturbance from the rooms on the ground floor that are
proposed to be used for members of the public attending functions at the
hotel. The Licencing Justices have already deferred the application for a
licence as it was thought to be premature in that no planning permission
has been granted by the Council. A new application for a licence was heard
by the Justices on 27th September but this was again deferred until the
planning application has been considered by the Council's Planning
Services Committee. However, a licence was issued for serving alcohol to
residents of the hotel. Back to Top |
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| Highways and Traffic Schemes | The Council's previous
Environmental Services Committee took the view that all highways and
traffic schemes that had not already been put in hand should now be
deferred while consideration is being given to the overall design of the
streetscape as set out in the English Heritage publication "Streets for
All". The intention is that the Council will give much more consideration
to the detailed design of items such as pavements and crossovers so as to
make them more attractive and so that they complement the architecture in
Conservation Areas. (08/08/2001) Back to Top |
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| Population Increase | Estimates of population
are difficult to make. Using the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and
the Greater London Authority (GLA) figures it is estimated that the
population of Pembridge Ward has increased by 893 (11%) between 1996 and
1999; this compares with an average of 13% over the borough as a whole. Back to Top |
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| Car Ownership etc | The percentage of
households within Pembridge Ward that have at least one vehicle are
estimated to be: 1981 (36.2%) 1991 (48.3%) where the estimate of the total
number of cars in 1991 was 1,930. The next set of information is not due
until next year. Within the Borough as a whole there are currently 42,729
resident permits that have been issued and there are 6,102 Pay & Display
Bays for use by non-permit holders of which 299 are in Pembridge Ward. Back to Top |
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| Kensington Park Road Crossing | In July 1999, the Council
received a Petition requesting the installation of a Zebra Crossing in
Kensington Park Road, near the Chepstow Villas/Kensington Park Gardens
junction, with particular emphasis on the danger to young children from
St. Peter's Nursery School walking to Ladbroke Square from St. Peter's
Church Hall in Portobello Road. This was received after the last Council
Meeting before the long summer break and it was therefore decided that
Officers should look into the matter without waiting for the Petition to
be formally presented to the Council at its October Meeting. Following the Petition and a considerable number of letters written to the Chairman of the Highways and Traffic Committee, a Report was considered by that Committee, at its meeting on 6th February 2001, and it agreed that that the accepted criteria in terms of the volume of pedestrian traffic and vehicular traffic, and the relatively few recorded accidents that had involved pedestrians over the last five years, did not justify the cost of installing a Zebra Crossing. The Ward Councillors were consulted and had a meeting on site with Officers from the Council's Department of Transportation and Highways to look at the more general problem of traffic speeds and traffic accidents in this part of Kensington Park Road. Following this meeting it was decided that the Officers would report back to a subsequent meeting of the Highways and Traffic Committee on what other measures could be taken, such as an additional central reservation to slow down the traffice and make it safer for all pedestrians to cross the road. The Highways & Traffic Committee finally agreed to a central refuge being constructed in the middle of Kensington Park Road at the junction with Kensington Park Gardens (08/08/2001) Back to Top |
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| Pembridge Library |
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| As part of the overall Council £3
million package of savings that were proposed by the Policy & Resources
Committee of the Council for 2001, the Education & Libraries Committee put
forward the closure of the Library in Pembridge Square to save £158,000
towards its own target of £1 million. The Council will not finally know what savings it needs to make to set its own Council tax demand until the Government has announced the local government settlement for this year during January 2001. The Leader of the Council, Cllr Merrick Cockell, is expecting shortly to have a meeting with the Hilary Armstrong, the Government Minister concerned, the stress that the government proposal to reduce the Councils expected grant by £4 million, and to transfer this to other Councils, is inequitable and contrary to previous Government promises. The Pembridge Ward Councillors are against this proposed closure and are actively working to try to ensure that the Library stays open as it is a valuable local community resource in Pembridge Ward. Apparently the 77,000 book issues at Pembridge per year only represent 5.5% of the total book issues in the Borough and these are not thought to be significant enough to justify the cost of keeping the Library open. Councillor Christopher Buckmaster, Chairman of the Education and Libraries Committee, has said that his first priority is to protect the Schools budgets; it is debateable whether many of the residents in Pembridge Ward and the immediate surroundings who use the Pembridge Library will agree with this priority. The view put forward to the Education and Libraries Committee was that residents in Pembridge Ward are only within a relatively short walking distance of the North Kensington Library in Ladbroke Grove and the Central Library next to the Town Hall in Hornton Street. Many elderly or disabled residents are likely profoundly to disagree with this view some of whom even a walk to Pembridge Square presents difficulties. Cllr Buckmaster has indicated that he hopes to be able to open the Central Library in Phillimore Walk on Sundays to provide a better service to all residents in the Borough. The question local residents will certainly ask is "Is the saving being made in the proposal to close the Pembridge Library really a saving to meet budget costs or is it the local residents losing one of their local amenities to fund an improvement for Borough-wide residents?". 07/01/2001 |
