Neighbourhood Governance Notes of Greenford Broadway Ward Forum Meeting

Transcription

1 Neighbourhood Governance Notes of Greenford Broadway Ward Forum Meeting Wednesday 28 July 2014, 7pm Greenford Hall, Ruislip Road, Greenford UB6 9QN Present: Cllr Julian Bell, Cllr Tim Murtagh, Apologies: Cllr Harbhajan Kaur-Dheer, Evelyn Gloyn (EG) Neighbourhood Co-ordinator, Attendees: Harnak Dhindsa (HD) Neighbourhood Governance Apprentice, Greenford Broadway Safer Neighbourhoods Team Jackie O Reilly (JOR) Note Taker No Note Action Point/Information 1 Cllr Bell informed the meeting that Cllr Kaur had sent her apologies and that Cllr Murtagh was running late because of the major traffic issues in the area. Cllr Murtagh arrived at 7.06 and the meeting commenced. He firstly apologised for being a little late and thanked everyone for making the effort to attend despite the major traffic problems. 2 0BNotes of the last Greenford Broadway Ward Forum, 28 February 2014 Cllr Murtagh went through the notes of the last meeting. All agreed they were accurate. If you have any suggestions for projects for 2013/2014 please contact Evelyn Gloyn Neighbourhood Governance Co-ordinator (North) by telephone on or mobile or via at gloyne@ealing.gov.uk. 3 1BSafer Communities and Safer Neighbourhood Team Paul Murphy of the Safer Communities Team attended He had been asked to provide yearly figures at a previous meeting Type Total crime 1,415 1,689 Burglary Progress had been made and this was done to the work being carried out in partnership with the police. The Safer Communities Report is published separately. Contact the Safer Communities Team (Duty Line: 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday or by safercommunities@ealing.gov.uk To contact the SNT Call or go to For all non emergencies to the SNT call 101 For emergencies call 999 1

2 New initiatives being run by the SCT and SNT include Simple to Start Burglary Prevention during February and March. Properties in the Ferrymead area were targeted by both teams for security audits. A key issue in Greenford is street drinking. The borough is now subject to a designated controlled drinking zone, which means that any drinking alcohol in public can have their drinks taken away from them. The SCT encourage other professional groups to get involved; public heath, licensing, and mental health teams have all signed up. Recent successes include getting a premises closed and two well-known street drinkers being in rehabilitation, and three known street drinkers in custody. The plan was to now roll out this approach borough wide. Residents should report any issues - although there is a lot of street drinking in the area, there has been very few reports. Tel 101 if residents see anti-social behaviour. To book a free home security audit or report anything to SCT, call on or safercommunities@ealing.gov.uk Residents reported - piles of beer cans around the memorial in Greenford, drinking taking place at night, the evidence is visible in the morning, people seen with paper bags too -don t think to dial expect the police to be out there enforcing the no drinking ban - thanked all for improvements but noted a problem when the pubs close at am, when people leave they are very noisy and there isn t a police presence. PM advised that the SNT and Parkguard are out enforcing The police respond to complaints and they are aware of these areas at night. Problems need to be reported so they can enforce. The police in Greenford are there until 2am If it s a specific pub please give details so they can go and speak to them. They will definitely look at weekends and give updates at future meetings -the Safer Ealing partnership, what is done about domestic violence, can there be some statistics for the next meeting PM advised that there is strategy on domestic violence and domestic violence in Greenford is down 24%. Action: statistics on DV to be included in the next meeting Resident commented that at the last meeting there had been 5 burglaries, it is very important to report incidents because if the police know about issues in the area then they can police them -complaints about problems outside the restaurant in Locarno/Greenford Road, when it closes there is a lot of noise which they have reported to the neighbourhood watch coordinator. PM reminded residents that the incidents need to be reported to the SCT or SNT. 2

3 TM assured residents that action would be taken to tackle ASB around the memorial 4 Envirocrime Report Envirocrime report published separately Cllr Murtagh reminded residents that they are the eyes and ears in the ward, if there are any envirocrime issues to report, then contact the councillors or the council. He reminded all that Ricky Wright was very good and tackling a lot of issues in the area. Residents reported: - fly tipping and requested CCTV on known areas, that it was challenging but there don t seem to be any sanctions. -Windmill Lane has loose water pipes that were a trip hazard to passers-by -Windmill Lane outside the cemetery the pavement surfacing has multiple stones and small pot holes and is also a trip hazard. Action: to be referred to officers to investigate - does the council have to fix paving when it sticks up by a certain amount and when does it get redone? JB: explained that criteria are used to assess the condition - roads and footpaths that are the worst get resurfaced. Action: need further details. - are the heights over a manhole cover sorted by the council? Action: to be checked - Ealing Bye-Laws being blatantly ignored; BBQ s used in the parks, including Northala Fields particularly the area in front of Dolphin Road, mostly at weekends and dependent on the weather - ASB from park users urinating behind trees when goal posts are set up for a football match and the toilets are over the other side JB: reminded residents to call the out of hour s team, park rangers will take action if incidents with sufficient details are reported Steve Pound MP noted that Northala suffers from its own success - parking problems as well as BBQ s which are potentially lethal and offered to liaise with the London Fire Brigade and do a walkabout of the park on a Saturday or Sunday - better signage needed - although signs have been taken down and burned suggested one sign at the main gate Action: If a fire starts dial 999, for other incidents please call 3

4 101 as the incident will then be recorded and response teams can be tasked to investigate. Other concerns to be referred to officers to investigate - the fire hydrant at the end of Dolphin Road (on Kensington Road) not working. JB: advised he had reported it and will chase a response NB Fire hydrants in this area are maintained by Affinity Water and members of the public are reminded that they are not permitted to use fire hydrants. The inspector was unable to find the location reported as Dolphin Court, Dolphin Rd please provide further detail - request for parking attendants at Northala - request for additional toilets in Greenford is it possible to use the betting office toilets in the Broadway? NB Greenford Library has been extended, using S106 funding, to provide a toilet facility for library visitors and members of the public. This was completed and the library reopened with toilet facilities available since 22nd May. The library is now part of the Community Toilet Scheme along with XXL Restaurant and Blue Star Internet Café. All should be displaying a community toilet sticker on the front - an alleyway that does not belong to the council is now being used by builders who have blocked it off and there are now rats, but despite going to the council no one has responded (rear of Windmill Lane) JB advised that in general ownership has to be established, and if the allegations are substantiated then the council can issue letters. If these are ignored then the council can clean up and charge the costs to the landowner. Action: to be referred to officers to investigate 5 Local Updates a) Greenford Car Park Residents reported: -most people are ignoring the humps and Stop signs and fly over 4

5 Cllr Murtagh updated residents on the improvements: - road humps at the entrance/exit to Oldfield Lane South and the exit at the side of Greggs onto The Broadway. - the service road (from the Tesco site onto the exit at the side of Greggs) is now one way - direction arrows and No Entry signs facing the road. - pedestrian footway marked on this part of the service road - double yellow lines re-marked in the rest of the service road, - 5mph signs on the ground, and 5 mph signs on posts. He noted that some people are still ignoring the one way system b) Canal Bridge to Grand Union Village Cllr Bell advised that planning permission had now been granted for the bridge it will be a pleasant cut through from Lady Margaret Road into Grand Union Village to go to the health centre. c) Community First Panel the humps - request for a rail to replace the bike rack as pedestrians cut through the gap by the bike rack into the car park - no change in the speed of traffic - fireworks in the park difficult to enforce unless it is a regular occurrence - lack of police in the park - youngsters driving around in scooters - Chinese lanterns landing on animals that get badly burned, can they be banned from being sold across the borough Action: to be referred to officers to investigate Cllr Murtagh advised the funding opportunities had been advertised on the panel s website, the Gazette and word of mouth to community groups. There were a committee of 5-6 residents. EG has done alot of publicity on this. It was a great fund for the area. For more information go to website d) Kensington Road Crossing Cllr Bell reminded residents of the problems with the amount and speed of traffic travelling along Kensington Road. There had been a request for a zebra crossing which seems a Resident requested an update on the car park extension at Northala Fields JB: Advised that during the elections residents talked and the 5

6 sensible idea. Funding will be from S106 from the Grand Union Development. Consultation will be sent to residents councillors listened and after the election the concerns were collected and prioritised to identify what is most important. The and last for 4 weeks. If majority are in favour then the works first issue was fly tipping and then the car park at Northala. The should be relatively quickly. councillors also know there are problems in Hazlemere and Smiths Farm. Residents raised concerns about parking around Northala again: -they are now using the private garages -they just park anywhere -there is only one bus route, E10, the area should be more accessible to public transport. There is no easy solution and the council is aware of the problems. There will be a fifth mound and a bridge installed as part of the new development package. Steve Pound MP advised that a survey was conducted 3 years ago to see where everyone comes from. The majority of visitors come from the south. TfL were going to look at a shuttle bus. If south, then it could come up Lady Margaret Road or link Church Road. Action: The councillors will get an update on the timeframe for the 5 th mound development and seek action on the shuttle bus 6 Any other Topics Priorities for The budget summary report published separately Stephen Pound MP noted that there had been praise from the Royal Naval Association and the British Legion regarding the commemoration of the 1 st World War. The memorials had been cleaned up and names had been added which had not been on there previously of men who had lost their lives in this war. A large number of service men were very impressed with the works. Residents reported: -The exercise machines being used continuously and are a great success. Resident wanted confirmation that all memorials are being done and advised of a 100 year old lady in Southall who is going to speak at the memorial, and pleased that missing names will be added to the memorials, 22 people in the Southall area died in that war. Residents requested 6

7 Councillor Bell advised that Ealing commemorated the start of the 1st World War with parks planting a field of poppies in Perivale Park, but they are now almost out of bloom. The council is conducting an audit of all the war memorials in need of repair and if there are names missing. There will be articles in Around Ealing inviting residents to give stories about the history of the war and how it affected families in Ealing. This - a decent farmers market once a month in Greenford, perhaps outside the motorcycle museum - perhaps a French or Polish market or craft market similar to one by the duck pond in Ruislip -any market would need access to a toilet - could Tesco s enter the community toilet scheme? - could there be a Boris loo, cheap and cheerful? will be an ongoing project over the 4 year period. The council has a Leader s fund which can be allocated to good causes; this would be a very good use of funds. If anyone knows any history behind those connected to Greenford war memorial contact the councillors. Cllr Murtagh invited residents to submit their stories It was noted that the recent market was widely considered to not be successful; research showed people wanted quality, held less frequently and owned by the community. A market committee has been formed to ensure the council gets it right Community toilets need revenue to run them, Greenford Hall for example is only open when there is a booking. If it was open longer then the council would have to find the revenue to fund this, but the council has suffered massive budget cuts and over the next 4 years we have to find another saving of 96m. It was possible to find capital funding for the toilet in the library and the revenue costs are provided by the staff, but it is accepted this is not a perfect solution. Action: Councillors will speak to the businesses - hanging baskets for Greenford Action: Councillors to investigate Other concerns: -mould in Northolt Swimming Pool in the cubicles of the showers NB. Everyone Active has advised that a contractor has been appointed to remove the old silicone that needed replacing and replaced it with new silicone. Although unable to finish this job in the 1st week of July, the contractors returned during the rest of July to complete the work. For further information or feedback please contact the Duty Manager on site or leave a feedback form. 7

8 -request for a post on the grass verge down Oldfield Circus to stop people parking on it as the old ones have rotted away. NB this is in Greenford Green ward - signs to deter people from littering or fly tipping The council can look into being more proactive in issuing fines. Waltham Forest successfully used legislation for littering and spitting. -signs to deter people from cycling on the pavement. -resident bent down to pick up something then came up and nearly got knocked over and the handlebar nearly took out their eye as a cyclist went past - some money could go towards splitting pedestrians and bikes on Greenford Broadway. NB Signs are put up to indicate the end of a shared use area we have created; or where there is a particularly ambiguous/dangerous situation e.g. a footpath/alleyway which is unsuitable for cycling. We would not want to erect no cycling signs in other situations as this would encourage a proliferation of signs which is not in the best interest of the council (installation/maintenance costs/appearance of the borough) and is contrary to reducing street clutter. It could also be confusing as people may logically start to assume that cycling is allowed on footway unless it is specifically signed otherwise. Currently the default is that cycling is not allowed on the footway unless specifically signed as permitted. If there is a problem with people cycling in a dangerous manner on footways then this needs to be reported to the police. Ealing received funding for the mini Holland scheme - an initial 150k to draw up proposals to make Ealing Broadway a more cycle friendly area. During the election the councillors asked if they would get support for space for cycling in Greenford 8

9 Broadway and a cycle only lane on Greenford Road near Cardinal Wiseman. It was agreed that the councillors would support officers working up a grid across the 23 wards to make cycling safer. 2BMeeting Ended 8.53pm 3BDate of next meeting, 7 October 2014, venue TBA. -concern about grass cutting on Smiths Farm although the grass is being cut he is cutting private areas and the grass cutter was left running and could have disappeared. There was a problem on Hazlemere where patches of communal land had not been cut, in the past a public spirited resident had cut the grass out of goodwill. There may be some confusion about who actually owns the land. 9