Neighbourhood Governance Note of Acton Central Ward Forum Meeting Wednesday 2 July 2014 at 7.30pm at St Mary s Church, The Mount, Acton W3 9NW Present: Councillors: Abdullah Gulaid (Chair), Daniel Crawford and Patricia Walker. Attendance: 36 residents attended the meeting. Kofi Nyamah Neighbourhood Coordinator Acting Sergeant James Clarke and PCSO Sarah Kearney Acton Central Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) DC Bob Boodhrun Licensing Officer, Acton Jamie Passmore LBE Parks Ranger Maurice Rohan and Joseph Lee Lazone LBE Safer Communities Team 1. Welcome and introductions Cllr Gulaid welcomed residents to the meeting and introduced Cllr Crawford, Cllr Walker and the attending officers. 2. Notes of the last ward forum held on 5 February 2014 2.1) The notes of the previous forum were reviewed for accuracy and 2.1) The notes were agreed as accurate. matters arising. Matters arising 2.2) Item 5.1 Licensing issues in Acton 2.2) Cllr Crawford the Tune Inn had lost its appeal against the loss of its premises license. 2.3) Item 8.3 Footbridge connecting Perryn Road & St Dunstan s Avenue 2.3) Cllr Crawford Safer Communities officers will be meeting with Network Rail officers at the footbridge on 7 th July. Local residents are welcomed to be involved in this meeting. 3. Requests for Any Other Business 3.1) Cllr Gulaid invited residents to provide items of concern to be discussed later in the meeting. These items are noted in item 8. 3.1) 1
4. Officers reports: 4.1) Local policing update from the Safer Neighbourhoods team Sgt Clarke provided the report. - The current ward policing priorities are: burglary and theft from motor vehicles. - Following thefts from vehicles in Churchfield Road. A warrant was issued and the suspect has since left the area. - The SNT are aware of complaints about suspected drug dealing from Grove Road. The team is involved in an operation to catch the suspect. - The SNT were made aware of problems in Springfield Park and dealt with up to six people in the park. A problem-solving approach has led to the nightly locking of the park s gates. 4.2) Jamie Passmore (JP) complaints have been received about drug use, loud music and drinking in Springfield Park at night. - Ealing Council has a contracted Parkguard service and they have been tasked to patrol the park during the night. - Springfield Park will be included in the council s schedule for gate closures until at least September. Previously, the park was considered as low-risk and the gates were not closed. - The ward forum may consider providing further funding for longer term gate locking. 4.3) A request was made that the drug dealing in Grove Road being dealt with by the SNT as a priority. 4.4) Residents living Springfield Park thanked the councillors and the SNT in their work for resolving the park s issues. 4.1) Acton Central Safer Neighbourhood Team Provident House, 23-31 King Street, Acton W3 9LA Tel: (020) 8721 2921 and 07879 694811 Email: ActonCentral.snt@met.police.uk Website: www.met.police.uk/saferneighbourhoods 4.2) Cllr Walker longer term planning to deal with the issues in the park is now taking place between all parties. 4.3) 4.4) JP to arrange site meetings in the park with residents and the ward councillors. 5. Crossrail at Acton Mainline Station 5.1) Nick O Donnell (N OD) gave a presentation on plans for Acton Mainline Station. 5.1) 2
- Network Rail (NR) is delivering the Crosrail project. - NR follows the Governance for Railway Investment Projects (GRIP) design process for their project delivery. They are currently at GRIP stage 3 options for station layouts. - It is proposed to extend the stations platforms 2-4 to accommodate larger trains and meet expected passenger demand forecasted for 2026. - NR early designs for the station were less then inspiring. Following a review, the Council had concerns about the plans and as result improved designs were worked up. The new designs widened the areas of improvements to include bus connections and cycle routes. - The next steps of the GRIP process will lead to the design plans being submitted for funding. - Different angles of the station s entrance are being reviewed to include possible opportunities for retail development. - In 2012, 30million was announced to smarten up the immediate areas outside Crossrail stations. There is a fouryear window to make these improvements. 2million is currently earmarked for Acton Mainline. - Churchfield Community Association was asked to provide feedback on the initial design visuals. - NR is starting to think up of its own design ideas and the Council will continue engaging with the community. 5.2) Residents would like to see step free access and clearing the mess on the land either side of the railway lines. 5.3) Will local housing providers such as housing associations be involved in the community engagement? 5.4) Who is responsible for enforcing against weight restricted heavy goods vehicles travelling over Horn Lane Bridge? 5.2) N OD NR has clauses about re-instating the area on the northern work site of Crosrail. In 2017, the Council will have an input into the re-instatement 5.3) N OD relevant housing associations will be involved. 5.4) N OD the police have enforcement responsibilities. The weight restriction over the bridge is actually 23 tonnes, but the available signage for display shows 3
18 tonnes. - Sgt Clarke to liaise with the Police Traffic Unit for further information. 6. Horn Lane pollution 6.1) Cllr Gulaid provided the update: - Pollution is a problem in and around Horn Lane due to the many industrial operators based there. - Monitoring is ongoing from regulators including the Environment Agency and the Council. - The Environment Agency has extrapolated data on pollution provided by Kings College University, who are studying the levels of pollution in this area in real-time. - Ward councillors feel that more work needs to be done. 6.2) It is the trucks driving in and out of the industrial sites which are depositing the majority of the dust. 6.3) The PM10 monitor has been in place since 2005, but in its last report, the Environment Agency said they could not identify the polluters. The Horn Lane monitoring station now reports directly to Europe. 6.4) The granting of Hanson s retrospective planning agreement has been a travesty. There is no limit on their hours of operation or construction. 6.5) Parents of schoolchildren attending St Vincent s Primary School are concerned about the rise in the area of asthma cases. 6.6) Even though Gowing & Pursey has moved from Horn Lane. In practice the license has just been transferred to another waste operator. 6.1) 6.2) 6.3) 6.4) 6.5) 6.6) Cllr Crawford this site is designated as a site of maximum opportunity in the London Plan. But, ward councillors will again contact the Environment Agency regarding a change of designation. 4
7. Acton Central Ward Budget 7.1) KN invited the meeting to review the ward budget summary and then invited proposals for the new 2014-15 ward budget community 7.2) Planting of street trees along Acton High Street Nancy Duin a request for 10,000 to plant trees in twenty sites identified in the High Street is jointly proposed by Churchfield Community Association and Mill Hill Park Residents Association. 7.3) Horn Lane pollution A request was made by the Council s pollution officers to support environmental improvements in Horn Lane, including trialling a high-efficiency road sweeper and the removal of part of the central reservation in Horn Lane to facilitate road sweeping. 7.4) Acton Arts Gallery Rachel Pepper the Arts Gallery in the High Street is run by volunteers. 3,500 is requested from the budget to match fund a contribution from Acton Arts Forum to cover its ongoing costs. 7.5) Music Education Language (MEL) Productions Michael Francis and Pauline Paul of MEL Productions explained the training, information and advice that they provided to increase work opportunities for local young people and requested the ward forum s support to assist with its ICT training courses intended to start in July. 7.6) Can more detail be provided regarding the output of young people successfully gaining employment as a result of MEL Productions courses? 7.1) A list of new proposals for the 2014-15 budget and a summary of the budget spend from 2008-2014 was available to the meeting. 7.1) To be considered. 7.2) The meeting did not agree to these proposals and felt that funding should come directly from the Environmental Agency or from the industrial companies in Horn Lane. 7.3) To be considered. Councillors suggested match funds could also be sought from the neighbouring South Acton ward. 7.4) To be considered. 7.5) Local residents were invited to visit the MEL Productions office at 26 Churchfield Road and see the services they provided to both younger and older Acton residents or visit their web site: http://www.melproductions.co.uk. 5
7.7) Diabetic UK A request was made by the chair of Diabetic UKs Ealing branch for the ward forum s support to help raise awareness of the condition in Acton. 7.8) St Vincent s School A petition signed by more than 100 people was put forward to the Council regarding the safety of children travelling to St Vincent's Primary School. - The council failed to address the issue from the perspective of the children, who are at risk when they have to step into the road and peer around large parked cars before crossing. The council should not wait for an accident to happen before they address it. - A zebra crossing is requested for the east side of Creswick Road near Pierrepoint Road. 8. Any Other Business 7.6) Councillors requested a written proposal to be provided. 7.7) A feasibility study to be considered. 8.1) Resurfacing Grove Road Julie Graham - what is the situation regarding the state of the road in Grove Road? 8.2) The Oaks Shopping Centre Doug Carnegie the community did not agree with the way the count was made by the Planning Committee, when it decided to proceed with the plans for the Oaks centre. The local community will continue to fight the decision. 8.3) Legal advice leaflet Martin Cain questioned why a leaflet produced by a local law firm suggested that they were supported by the Council to provide legal advice. 8.1) Cllr Crawford a request for the road to be resurfaced was put forward for last year s Council annual resurfacing programme. But, the road did not score sufficiently highly for renewal work to be required. A new request will be made this year. 8.2) Cllr Walker a High Court judge determined there was no irregularity made by the Council regarding its decision on the Oaks centre plans. 8.3) To be investigated. 6
8.4) Listed buildings Mr Farrell two buildings: West Haven and Peace Haven have disappeared of the list of locally listed buildings? 8.5) Members training for Planning Committee Marie Lowe what is the training provided to members of the Council on planning duties? Is there standard training? 8.6) Styne Road roundabout Don Kelly can a filter lane be added by the roundabout in Styne Road for vehicles driving towards Gunnersbury Lane? 9. Dates of future meetings 8.4) Cllr Crawford councillors have written to Planning officers to ask why the buildings have been removed from the list. 8.5) Cllr Walker both in-house and external training is provided in the form of briefings and workshops. 8.6) Sgt Clarke the police are aware of reports of dangerous driving and will enforce when necessary. The next ward forum is on Wednesday, 22 October 2014 in St Mary s Church, The Mount. The meeting ended at 9.25pm. 7