Notting Hill Carnival
Notting Hill Carnival is taking place Sunday 27 and Monday 28 August 2023. Resident information booklets have begun to arrive. The same information, including details of road closures and rubbish collections is also available online here. If you live inside the carnival route and your garden, stairs or basement is directly accessible from the street you can register for a free cleaning service. Signup by Thursday 24 August for a guaranteed date by visiting this website or calling 020 7641 2000 (6am to 6pm Mon to Fri).
Win-win for residents as Council unveil UK’s largest electric waste collection fleet
Labour-led Westminster Council have invested £20m in the 45 new zero emission trucks which will benefit residents by reducing vehicle noise, cutting air pollution and drastically reducing the council’s carbon emissions. The electric vehicles will charge their batteries by drawing electric power from an energy recovery facility which uses the waste collected from homes and businesses in Westminster. Find out more here.
Tackling Badly Parked eBikes
Labour-led Westminster Council has announced proposals for a network of bays to effectively manage dockless ebikes on our streets, which the Council will begin rolling out later this summer. Badly parked ebikes can be a hazard to pedestrians. 149 proposed new ‘micro-mobility bays’ will be combined with 67 existing e-scooter rental bays for a total of 216 bays. More here.
Restoring Pride in Oxford Street
Small businesses are being offered the chance to take over a shop on Oxford Street, rent-free, as part of a new project launched today by Westminster City Council, in partnership with New West End Company.
The Council is inviting applications from innovative, cutting-edge and up-and-coming brands who will offer something exciting and new to one of the world’s most iconic shopping streets.
The small businesses will occupy units previously taken up by low quality occupiers such as American candy stores.
Westminster Completes Its First Ever Citizens’ Climate Assembly
Your Lancaster Gate and Bayswater councillors were delighted to see the Citizens’ Climate Assembly, a key climate manifesto pledge from Westminster Labour, run so successfully over the summer. The feedback from the attendees was very positive, and the conclusions they have reached will be presented to the Council Cabinet later this year. Cllr Ryan Jude attended on the final day alongside other Councillors, to have the findings and overarching recommendations presented to them, and provided immediate feedback. See more from the attendees and Ryan here: Citizens’ Climate Assembly Weekend 2 Summary – YouTube
Met Police Community Conversation Event
The Metropolitan Police will be hosting a Community Conversation Event locally to discuss ‘A New Met for London’.Formerly known as the Turnaround plan and updated following feedback from over 10,000 Londoners, key partners and our people, a New Met for London aims to change and improve our service to local communities, and build confidence that the Met can and is listening and changing. See details here: New Met for London Tickets, Tue 15 Aug 2023 at 18:00 | Eventbrite
Summer Community Events
The council is offering free events to explore Westminster’s vibrant art and culture scene this summer. The events range from walking tours covering ‘Women and Power in Westminster’ to Youth Dance Festivals. Find out more about these events and the many others on offer here: https://www.westminster.gov.uk/insideout
SEBRA Garden Party
We were delighted to attend the SEBRA (South East Bayswater Residents’ Association) Garden Party in July. The association does a great job in supporting residents across the ward and highlighting planning and licensing issues. While disappointed not to win in the raffle (!), it was wonderful to catch-up with so many familiar faces.
BAYSWATER
Porchester Leisure & Library
We have requested another update on the program of repairs which will bring the studio and basement of the library back into use.
Bridstow Place Traffic Calming
After meeting with residents and NHENF, and traffic monitoring by the Highways team, we asked officers to install signage as an initial step to deter through-traffic and vehicle speed on Bridstow Place. The map below indicates where new signage has been installed. Traffic monitoring will be undertaken again in mid-September to see if the new signage has helped.
Bark Place traffic calming
Following concerns raised by a number of residents about speeding cars and vans, officers have ordered a traffic count for the street to gather data on the nature of the problem.
Notting Hill Genesis windows
We asked Notting Hill Genesis if they had any plans to upgrade the single glazed windows in Hereford Road. They replied:
Yes there are plans to improve the energy performance of our homes as part of planned cyclical works.
Depending on the condition of the existing windows and frames, NHG are either installing double glazing or internal secondary glazing to improve insulation
Hatfield House Coach Trip for Seniors
Your ward councillors funded a coach trip to Hatfield House for senior residents. Residents enjoyed visiting the House, Park and Gardens plus lunch at the Coach House. As we have been approached by some residents who missed out on this visit we are inviting suggestions for a winter/autumn event, maybe a Theatre visit?
Gloucester Terrace – rubbish thrown in basement
We received a request for help from the residents’ care worker:
Requesting help on behalf of my clients. They are living at street level and the bedroom is in the basement where they have a space outside. That space is full of rubbish; when people are crossing the road everyone is throwing rubbish and it is also full of leaves there. The house is full of mould too.Please help the elderly people.
We contacted Notting Hill Genesis who arranged a visit. The care worker wrote:
Let me say first, thanks so much for the help. I went to the house after my annual holiday. Everything is done and looking so clean and tidy. The family are very happy!
Westbourne Park Villas
We have received reports of alleged drug dealing from cars passing through Westbourne Park Villas. We have raised this with the local police and council’s ASB team. Registration plates have been passed on. The police said that they will patrol here more regularly, and Max has asked council officers to consider whether any design changes to the street could help.
New Street Trees
We are discussing possible locations for new street trees with council officers, including Needham and Talbot Roads.
Newton Road
We’ve recently taken up a number of issues for Notting Hill Genesis residents on Newton Road.
Northumberland Place Play Street
We have chased officers regarding when the two preferred design options for Northumberland Place will be ready to share with residents for consultation, and what the overall timeline for this project now is.
Porchester Square
After receiving a number of requests from residents concerned about speeding on Porchester Square we are pleased that traffic calming measures will be installed in October.
Dockless E-bikes
As mentioned at the top of the newsletter we are happy to announce that steps are being taken to ensure that dockless e-bikes are parked safely in Westminster. The bays in Bayswater will be introduced in October and will be located in the following streets:
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Westbourne Park Road
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Kensington Gardens Square
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Palace Court
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Moorhouse Road
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Shrewsbury Road
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Hereford Road
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Leinster Square
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Alexander Street
What You Say
“Thank you so much for all the time and effort that you have put in to helping us. You really are a fabulous Councillor and I mentioned to all the neighbours, who signed the Petition, that you supported our endeavours.”
“Thank you so much for listening and taking this on!”
“Thanks so much for your work on this.”
“You are a legend! Thank you so much.”
“Thank you very much for your email, clarifying my case. I greatly appreciate your assistance in this matter and am grateful because without your intervention I would still not understand exactly how the points are allocated.”
“Hi James, Thank you that’s great news.”
General Updates
Previous reports
To view previous versions of this enewsletter please visit the following pages:
Ward surgeries – no appointment necessary
Lancaster Gate
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Every 1st Saturday of the month 11am-12:30am – Pickering House, Hallfield Estate
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Every 3rd Saturday of the month 11am-12:30am – Italian Gardens Cafe, Kensington Gardens
Bayswater
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1st & 3rd Saturday each month
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2pm to 3.30pm
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Paddington Library,
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45 Porchester Road, W2 5DU
Ward Budget Applications
Applications remain open to organisations and clubs to apply for project funding which benefits local residents:
https://www.westminster.gov.uk/about-council/democracy/apply-ward-budget-funding
If you would like to apply for ward funding for a project but don’t know where to start, please get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to assist you with your application.
Whiteley’s Community Foundation
The developers behind the Whiteley’s are offering funding for organisations and individuals who want to make a difference in the area, with a focus on projects that benefit young people. For more information and an application form please contact Luke Tatton ltatton@conciliocomms.com