IN THIS ISSUE
· Crime and disorder
· Planning and licensing matters
· Other local news and issues
· Councillor advice surgeries
Crime and disorder
The anniversary of last summer's disorder is approaching (6-10 August). The police have told the Council that they currently do not have any intelligence to suggest any sort of recurrence. Council services and the police are obviously keeping a close eye for signs of community tension.
Roger has been working with the local police team around various antisocial behaviour around the Tesco’s and bottom end of Fairhazel Gardens.
Unauthorised doorstep fundraisers for The Winch - - some people are going around fund raising for The Winch on the basis that it is in danger. Any such people are not working for the Winch and that the Winch is not in danger of closing down.
Planning and licensing matters
Some of the current issues we’re involved with for residents include:
50 Canfield Gardens (2012/2812/P) – this basement application is possibly coming to DC Committee on 23rd August. Andrew Marshall has objected to this application on the basis of non-compliance with the Council’s basement policies (DP27) and flood risks.
St Christina’s School, St Edmunds Terrace – this application for an extra floor on the school has been withdrawn. As ward councillors we had objected to Westminster Council (this is a ‘border road’).
51 Fairfax change of use – this was approved by DC Committee, but only on the basis that the conditions (including closure at 9pm) were put into a Section 106 agreement, which makes enforcement much more effective. The applicant may or may not appeal against this change.
1 Norfolk Rd (2012/2720/P) – this significant application has been registered but no officer decision as yet. Don Williams and Andrew Marshall have objected as ward councillors.
64 Fairhazel planning enforcement – we continue to monitor this closely.
29 Aberdare Gardens (2012/2689/P) – this has been withdrawn. Don Williams and Andrew Marshall have objected to this.
Possible extension of Article Four Directions to rears of properties in the Gardens area. We have been asked about this, given the views many people have over the various communal gardens to neighbouring rears. The answer is that the Council has no plans to extend this, and the prospects for such an extension are not in our honest view promising. We’re happy to provide further info on this.
Mia restaurant – licensing officers have been very active, but this very unacceptable situation in terms of noise is not resolved. We are willing to back a review of the licence.
Legacy Nightclub – licensing officers have been on site at the weekend recently and established there was noise nuisance and little responsible action by management. One side shutter apparently is left open under fire safety rules as demanded by the Fire Brigade. A second meeting with officers to sound check the premises was cancelled by the establishment, which we have complained about. Officers reconfirmed this is a priority site and are monitoring and if there is significant evidence, additional controls through a licence review are a possibility. We have also asked for Camden to put up a “no dumping” notice by the green bin outside to ensure there is no confusion between domestic and trade waste here.
Camden Eruv (2012/3240/P) this application has been received, with consultation until 9th August, though comments received shortly after that will no doubt be taken into account. Andrew and Roger as DC members will vote on this application, so need to avoid taking any public position until it comes to the committee. Details can be seen at www.camdeneruv.org.
Planning appeals:
Flat 4, 70 Aberdare Gardens (2011/5650/P) – this appeal against council refusal, for alterations at roof level/roof terrace, was allowed.
Flat 1, 44 Goldhurst Terrace (2011/6115/P) – this appeal against council refusal, for a single storey rear extension, was dismissed.
Camden Local List – councils are encouraged by the Government and English Heritage to maintain a local list of so-called non-designated heritage assets – in other words buildings or structures people care a lot about locally, but which aren’t listed. The Council is now going ahead with preparing this, and will be leaning on residents groups and CAACs in preparing this. Comments on the selection criteria are due by 30th September. Then over the winter there will be decisions on which buildings are going to get included. See link below, and we will be talking more about this as we get to fully understand the process.
Other issues and local news
These include:
· Council residents parking zones consultation – nothing new on this at present, we’ll keep everyone posted.
· Finchley Rd bus stop opposite Waitrose – we’re trying to ensure TfL is a bit more sensible on this on both a temporary and permanent basis.
· Overhanging trees at 51 Canfield – the Council has got the owner to cut this back. There are a few other places where we’ve also asked officers to seek pruning.
· Roger Freeman joined Billy O'Keefe, the new council streets officer for our patch (and Belsize) for a walk around recently. Obviously we hope we’ve seen an end to the high turnover in this role for now.
· The Camden Advice Partnership has launched a new website www.camdenadvicepartnership.org.uk detailing free independent legal and other advice services for people who live, work or study in Camden.
· The next Adelaide Road Contractor-Community Liaison Group will be at 6.30pm, Thursday 16 August, in the BAM site office.
· Fairfax Road carriageway condition – after residents expressed concern, we have got officers to get the council’s contractors to carry out some localised patching, taking out any unevenness in the carriageway surface. It is not yet bad enough in the council’s categorisation to need full resurfacing. The Council says it will closely monitor the carriageway condition and should the vibration problems persist we will undertake further investigations.
· Fairfax Road pedestrian crossing – Thank you to those who have already registered your support. If you want to sign the petition, email us marked “Fairfax Road pedestrian crossing”, indicate your support, and we’ll print it out and add to the petition.
The Olympics
We hope you are enjoying them as much as we are! We’ve not heard any too-terrible tales of disruption so far. It won’t surprise anyone that we don’t have huge influence on all this, but if anyone has a specific concern, we can probably get an answer from a relevant Camden officer. For an overview go to www.camden.gov.uk/2012.
Councillor advice surgeries:
Monday August 6th 7-8pm - Crossfield Centre, Fairhazel Gardens
Saturday August 18th 10-11am - at the Swiss Cottage Community Centre
In addition we’re always happy to come around and arrange to meet residents at other times.
Cllr Roger Freeman (Conservative)
[email protected] 0208 348 7626
Cllr Don Williams (Conservative)
[email protected] 07775 658091
Cllr Andrew Marshall (Conservative)
[email protected] 07808 579563