Canal Oil Spill

We’ve been angry and upset by the deliberate industrial scale cooking oil pollution on the Grand Union Canal Paddington Arm which has been there for several weeks. It was rated as a Category 3 incident by the Environment Agency. I have been in regular communication with the Canals and Rivers Trust (CRT) and have spoken the Environment Agency (EA). I’ve sent a letter to the Secretary for Environment Steve Barclay lamenting the fact that funding cuts to both the CRT and EA have hollowed out their capacity to respond. It took them ten days to respond to the incident. The CRT are now paying the 10,000 per day bill for the clean up which is funding they currently do not have. I organised a walk with WCC staff and our new cabinet member for Climate Action, Ecology, Cllr Ryan Jude. I’m looking to encourage more coordination with WCC and I am looking to set up a local pressure group( if there is sufficient interest) and a newsletter focused on issues related to the canal to try and facilitate early response to problems on the canal as they arise. If you are interested in being part of a ‘friends of the canal group’ please get in touch via shassan@westminster.gov.uk

Improvements to the Area by Warwick Avenue Station

Stakeholder engagement meetings focused on the area outside of Warwick Avenue Tube station got off to a good start in February.  Westminster Council held three engagement walks in February (including a night walk see below) and an engagement workshop on the 7th of March to discuss with residents what they would like to see improved in the area by Warwick Avenue Tube station. All of these discussions were well attended. They received over 2000 responses so far (including via online surveys and email) During these sessions, the WCC team captured a wide range of views which will help shape proposals for the area which will be subject to another round of consultation. The catalyst for the proposed changes was a wonderful set of designs initially brought forward by our local amenities society, the Paddington Waterways and Maida Vale Society. Further public engagement on the designs will happen this summer. Little Venice residents will be notified of further details by mail, flyers and their website: Warwick Avenue public realm project | Westminster City Council, social media, and by email, for those who have signed up using their mailing list.

City of Westminster College/Paddington Green

I attended a number of meetings focused on security in the area outside of City of Westminster College and Paddington Green to work on solutions to the ongoing problems. A new monthly coordination meeting has been set up between the College and Westminster City Council. The inaugural meeting included the Integrated Gangs Unit (IGXU). The unit is run by experts from Family and Children’s Services, the Police, Community Safety and Westminster Employment Service. It was  agreed that there would be a regular IGXU presence within the College. The College has also said that they will be looking into upgrading the lighting and installing new cameras outside of the college. There are cameras already installed outside of the college, but these alone have not acted as a sufficient deterrent.

Westminster Council Acquires 45 New Homes in West End Gate For Local People

Westminster City Council has bought 45 properties in the West End Gate complex on the Edgware Road in line with the Labour manifesto’s commitment to make more homes available for social rent. The 45 homes comprise of three studios, twenty-two 1 beds, eighteen 2 beds and two 3 beds. The Council had a first right of refusal to acquire these homes and identified them as a good opportunity to provide additional homes in the area to tackle waiting lists. Residents have been concerned that the West End Gate developers have not given enough back to the community and would like to see them provide more benefits and opportunities to local people.

New Housing Units Near Completion in Little Venice

At the end of January, we were pleased to celebrate the reaching the highest point in the construction of the new Adpar development on Hall Place. The Adpar development is a single block containing 20 community supportive homes. Community supportive homes are self-contained flats for residents aged 60+ which have communal facilities, offer social activities, and have guest rooms for visitors.

Wallacea Living Project/West End Gate

I was glad to be part of the topping out ceremony at the Wallacea Living Project with fellow Labour councillor Judith Southern. The development will be providing 104 new apartments for the over 65s and will be marketed primarily to residents within Westminster.

Baltic Wharf Proposed Development Survey

Residents are strongly advised to provide comment on plans for developing the Travis Perkins site. I have voiced objections about the scale of the development proposed for the site and have said the building is too high.

Road Closures/Digging Outside of Warwick Avenue Tube Station

This area was closed after emergency works by Cadent Gas took place to fix a gas leak. During the works Cadent Gas discovered that there were further gas leaks in another part of the same road requiring more digging and for the road to be closed for longer. The problem has now been resolved.

Hero of Maida

The pub will be reopening in April under the same owner as the much-loved Pelican on All Saints Road. We all hope the new Hero of Maida will be as successful as the original Truscott Arms.

Fly-Tipping on Warwick Place

There was an accumulation of boxes obstructing the public highway outside Warwick Place. The City Inspectors attended and carried out an investigation of this waste and were able to ascertain that the waste emanated from outside the borough, the offender has been contacted as part of the investigation. Inspectors are now in the process of deciding which appropriate enforcement action to

Fly Tipping – Edgware Road Multi-Recycling Centre (MRC)

Local City Inspectors have now been asked carry out daily monitoring of this busy site after I raise complaints about it being untidy. On one occasion a large number of dumped items such as bed bases etc reported to our contractor for removal. The Housing team have now also accepted that it needs to be responsible for ensuring this problematic area is kept tidy.

Illegal Parking e-Bikes Warwick Avenue by Warwick Station

Whilst conducting ward inspection City Inspectors attended to multiple illegally parked e-Bikes by public bike stands causing a nuisance. Both Lime and Tier were contacted to further remind them of the bikes being parked irresponsibly. Both companies warned their riders and have removed bikes from the area.

Graffiti Removal by Amilcar Cabral Court and other parts of Little Venice

Our City Inspectors engaged with the Head of Housing and ASB at Ahrag Housing and arranged for the graffiti to be removed. Our inspectors will continue to monitor this same site to ensure any graffiti is removed on time. Graffiti was also removed from several other sites especially to south of the ward.

Lamppost Outside 84 Warwick Avenue

After multiple complaints and an investigation, the Westminster City Council Highways team deemed the lights on the lamppost outside 84 Warwick Avenue were too bright therefore arranged for a contractor to come and reduce the brightness.

Edgware Road Commercial Waste

I’m pleased to report that WCC is continuing its crackdown on shops and restaurants which repeatedly leaving commercial waste on the pavement on the Edgware Road (outside of collection time).  The council issued legal proceedings against another premises, this time Hawler Restaurant, which now could face fines up hundreds of pounds.