ST JOHN’S WOOD LABOUR ACTION REPORT – October 2021
News from the St John’s Wood Labour Action Teams in Abbey Road and Regent’s Park Wards
Abbey Road
We have asked the Council to ensure that the recycling bins on Abbey Road are emptied regularly and that action is taken by the parking wardens against cars that double park outside local restaurants and take-aways.
We have asked the police to investigate the cars racing up and down Abbey Road. Residents say: “This is becoming increasingly regular, as if some motorists have just discovered an easy road to speed up and down.”
We have also been urging the Council to speed up the urgent highways works on Abbey Road so that regular bus services can resume. The work has now been completed and residents say, “Just to let you know, the buses on Abbey Rd are back up and running again. Many thanks for your help.”
Grove End Road
We have taken up this issue with Transport for London:
“The 139/189 bus at stops in Grove End Road north and south of the Hall Road/Circus Road junction is crazy. The southbound stop has been out of action for a long time, without any indication — only flagged a day or two ago.
Suddenly the other day the northbound stop was also out of action, without any warning. I had to get off at Lord’s and walk up to the stop, where I found about 5 people waiting for normal service. The TfL website is useless, and gave information for the opposite direction when I first consulted it.They must make clear (a) the bus stops affected, and (b) for how long!”
TfL says:
“Abbey Road was recently closed in both directions as an emergency measure due to a void being found. Unfortunately, this has meant there has not been the typical lead in time to inform bus passengers and place notices in closed stops in advance of the closure.”
113 bus route
We are making enquiries with Transport for London about the 113 bus route after residents asked:
“Why has the 113 bus route destination been changed without consultation? Or did I miss it? Last week on a 113, when it reached Selfridges, the driver informed the passengers that the bus was ending its journey at Marble Arch. The route has been permanently changed and will no longer travel to Oxford Circus. This is a bore if you are coming from the Finchley Road/St John’s Wood area. It will mean changing on to another bus to continue travel to Oxford Circus”
Transport for London say:
“The change to the route was consulted on in 2018 as part of the Oxford Street Transformation Project. For those customers who now need to change buses, can I recommend they consider downloading the free TfL Go app which can assist with this.”
St John’s Wood High Street
We have asked the Council to improve street sweeping services after receiving this message from residents:
“Litter in the streets around High Street in St John’s Wood is at a much higher level since more eating places have opened up. Please more bins are needed and perhaps some prominent notices asking for pigeons not to be fed around the area of the old Post Office could be helpful?”
Oslo Court restaurant, Prince Albert Road
You can read a profile of Neil Heshmat, London’s oldest waiter at the Oslo Court restaurant
Marylebone Station
We have called for clean hybrid trains to replace the dirty, polluting diesel trains currently operating from Marylebone to Birmingham. We have written to Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris calling for the new contract from Marylebone to stipulate that all diesel coaches are converted to diesel/battery bi-mode hybrids as quickly as possible and certainly within a short time period.
Blandford Estate
We have urged the Council to take action to deal with problems with rats on the Blandford Estate. Residents say:
“We informed the council of how we have rats running all over the estate all day. They sent the rat people and he told me that we will never be rid of the rat problem until they repair all the bin cupboards by putting a steel protector across the bottom of all the bin cupboards and repair the holes at the bottom of the doors. The rat man told me that a job would be put out. That was two months ago and nothing has been done.”
Council leaseholders face higher charges
In their latest example of overspending and failing to deliver what they promised, Westminster Council has admitted their costs have gone massively over budget for their day-to-day services for leaseholders, leading service charges to hit an average cost of £1,631.41 per household. This is a massive 8.6% over the Council’s original estimates to leaseholders for 2020/21.
£6 Million Marble Arch Mound
Westminster Council has released its internal review of the £6 Million Marble Arch fiasco which saw costs escalate from £2 million to £6.6 million in a matter of months. As the report finds, “despite clear and repeated warnings”, the Mound was left unfinished and plans to recoup costs with entry charges had to be scrapped. The review has found:
“There was a breakdown of project management of the Mound which, amongst other issues, led to confusion over roles and responsibilities, a lack of communication between staff and contractors working on different elements of the Marble Arch Mound project and a basic lack of project coordination and documentation.”
The Council rejected Labour’s call for a full independent inquiry of how and why the costs had increased and why there was a basic lack of financial control. The subsequent ‘internal review’ has failed to ask key questions about the Council’s failure to apply basic financial controls on this high-profile project. The ‘internal review’, as expected, also fails to ask questions about the involvement of the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Members in making decisions regarding the cost increases.
Rubbish dumping
Westminster’s streets are littered with mounds of dumped rubbish from Pimlico to Paddington despite the Council spending £50 million a year with Veolia whose contract has just been extended for another three years. The time is long overdue for tough action against the regular rubbish dumpers who litter the streets of Westminster and who are currently getting away with this particularly selfish and nasty form of anti-social behaviour. We have put forward a 5-point plan to tackle the rubbish dumping menace.
North Paddington Foodbank
If you are in need of emergency support, please contact your support worker or Westminster CAB for a referral, you will then be contacted by the food bank to arrange a delivery or collection. If you are struggling to access a referral or are concerned for someone you know, please call the food bank directly on 07932 623443.
The Foodbank is on the frontline helping more people than ever before in a very difficult situation. Please donate here
The Food Bank is in need of volunteers of all ages across all roles. From lunch hour delivery drivers to evening packers and daytime support. If you would like to find out more please get in touch at volunteers@npfoodbank.org.uk
E-Scooter hire trial
Transport for London is holding an e-scooter hire trial over the coming months. If you have any comments on the trial, please contact TfL by email at haveyoursay@tfl.gov.uk.
Electric Car charging points
Charging points have been installed in lamp columns across the area and you can register your interest in having a lamp post charger installed near you by completing the form below. You can also register an interest in having stand-alone charging posts installed in your local area.
https://www.westminster.gov.uk/request-vehicle-charging-point
Voting by post
It is much easier, quicker and safer to vote by post. You can use this form to apply for a postal vote
https://www.westminster.gov.uk/sites/default/files/postal-vote-application-form.pdf
You can email your completed form to electoralservices@westminster.gov.uk or post it to Electoral Services, Westminster City Council, 14th Floor City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6QP.
‘Westminster Extra’
You can read the ‘Westminster Extra’ online https://edition.pagesuite.com/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&pubid=09649383-4dbb-4a3d-b164-9d26398578f3
Refuse collection and Recycling collection times
Recycling bags can be ordered from https://webforms.westminster.gov.uk/order-recycling-bags/. Bags will be delivered within approximately 10 days of order.
You can check when refuse and recycling is collected from your street here http://transact.westminster.gov.uk/env/streetsearch.aspx
The doorstep recycling service concentrates on the recyclable materials most commonly produced by houses so that these can be easily separated into the different material types. The link below summarises what can be put in recycling bags
https://www.westminster.gov.uk/what-can-i-recycle-home#can-recycle
Lots of other materials can be recycled but not through the doorstep collection service. The A-Z list below gives details of what and where items can be recycled or re-used:
https://www.westminster.gov.uk/a-z-recycling
You can listen to actress Olivia Williams’ recycling ‘Confessional’ on a recent BBC radio programme (11 minutes in) https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0010g03
Report It
You can report dumped rubbish, potholes, uneven pavements and other hazards to the Council’s ‘Report It’ service https://www.westminster.gov.uk/report-it
Coronavirus (Covid-19) UPDATE
Interactive Map
You can see the latest data for your area here
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/interactive-map
Westminster Connects COVID-19 phone line – 020 7641 1222
Beware the Coronavirus scammers
https://www.westminsterlabour.org.uk/westminster-news/2020/03/27/beware-the-coronavirus-scammers/
What you say
“Thanks again. Keep up the great work”
“Thanks for all you do”
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Keep well, take care and look after yourselves and your neighbours.
Regards
Your St John’s Wood Labour Action Team – Here to Help, All Year Round