Karen Buck MP

Our longstanding MP, Karen Buck, has announced she won’t be seeking re-election at the next General Election. Karen has served the local community so diligently over the years and set the standard for integrity in politics. She will be sorely missed as our MP, but we know she’ll still play an active role locally, including campaigning for the election of Joe Powell in the new constituency of Kensington and Bayswater (see below).

Kensington and Bayswater Parliamentary Constituency

By now you have hopefully received a letter explaining the boundary changes that mean Bayswater and Lancaster Gate will be part of a new Kensington & Bayswater parliamentary constituency at the General Election later this year. This is one of the most marginal Conservative-Labour seats in the country, and will help decide if we have a change of government. Labour’s parliamentary candidate is Joe Powell, and he has already been out and about in Bayswater and Lancaster Gate talking with residents about their priorities. You can find out more about Joe’s campaign at http://www.joepowell.org.uk and get in touch with him via his website or his survey https://www.joepowell.org.uk/survey.

Deep Cleaning Schedule

Since Labour took control of the council high streets and high footfall areas are being hot washed every 3 months, up from just once per year. Here are some of the local streets receiving deep cleaning between February and April

• Queensway

• Porchester Road

• Moscow Road

• Westbourne Grove

• Eastbourne Terrace

• Praed Street

Surgery Date Change

As a reminder, your Labour Lancaster Gate surgery times for 2024 will be changing. There will still be the same number of surgeries, but the Hallfield Estate surgery will move from the 1st Saturday of the month to the 1st Thursday of the month. The new days and times will now be:

• Every 1st Thursday of the month 5:30pm-7pm – Pickering House, Hallfield Estate

• Every 3rd Saturday of the month 11am-12:30am – Italian Gardens Cafe, Kensington Gardens

IT Support Session on the Hallfield 

Massive thanks to Paddington Partnership and their volunteers from Vodafone for agreeing to extend our provision of free IT support sessions. They will be held on the following dates 2-4pm in Pickering Hall on the Hallfield Estate.

• Thursday 29 February

• Thursday 25 April

• Thursday 20 June

• Thursday 29 August

• Thursday 31 October

Hallfield Major Works x115

We met with residents on the 6th February for an emergency meeting to discuss the disappointing Section 20 responses issued by the council in relation to the X115. We will be robustly supporting residents with the next steps they seek to take. Please do reach out directly if you’ve been impacted.

Basement Collections Trail

Following a number of incidents with waste collection staff either slipping on wet/poorly maintained basement steps or cutting their legs from sharp objects inside bags as they carry them up the steps, WCC are proposing a trial whereby they will ask residents of basement flats to present their bags of waste at ground level (in the same way as ground level and above ground flats do currently). An ‘assisted’ basement collection will still be available for any residents who are elderly, disabled or otherwise unable to bring their bag of waste up the steps from the basement. WCC are proposing to commence the trial from Monday 4th March and you should receive notification of this in the post.

South Carriage Drive, Hyde Park Consultation 

There is a six-week public consultation on whether South Carriage Drive in Hyde Park should be permanently closed to motor traffic on weekdays, in addition to existing weekend closures.

The consultation will run from 5 February to 17 March to gather the views of local residents, park visitors and any groups who may be affected. We would encourage you to contribute your views. You can access the online survey through this link: www.royalparks.org.uk/SouthCarriageDrive.

Broken Lifts – Pembroke House, Hallfield 

We were disappointed again to hear reports of broken lifts in Pembroke House on the Hallfield Estate. Engineers attended shortly after we raised the alarm on behalf of residents, and engineers found the lifts back in working order. We’ve been making enquiries to understand what further preventative maintenance works may be required.

Hallfield Rough Sleeping

We were alerted to individuals bedding down and rough sleeping under the stairwell in Pickering House. Officers attended to engage with the rough sleepers and remove bedding and possessions. We welcome the upcoming works on Pickering House to improve security and limit access to the stairwell.

Praed St Works

We previously reported there would be works on Praed St to widen the footpath and pavement. Unfortunately these works have been delayed due to dependencies on other works being completed prior. The works that WCC will be carrying out to widen the footway of Praed Street outside the Hiton Hotel will happen mid-late April. Final resurfacing will follow completion of all works, and this is planned for early May. We welcome these works and look forward to their completion.

Craven Hill Gardens

We have been working with British Land, the owners, and council officers to work through a new proposal to enable access to the communal gardens at a lower rate than previously. This has been a long time coming and appreciate resident engagement to date. We are awaiting communication to residents from British Land.

Filming in Lancaster Gate 

We were alarmed to hear of reports of parking suspension and the installation of a generator, with very limited prior resident warning, around the Royal Lancaster Hotel to allow for filming. We raised the alarm to ensure some parking suspensions were limited, reduced operational hours for filming and ensured staff were briefed to keep noise to a minimum so as not to disturb residents.