We have expanded our Streetscape action group recently due to the great interest in LTNs and Brent’s plans to introduce them in the QPARA area.
Marina Cantacuzino, a member of the expanded group, has been compiling a dossier of reports and studies into LTNs. Here is a link to the latest version of the dossier updated today containing links and extracts from over 70 reports.
A call out for food donations – a few of the local initiatives are short of donations over the next two weeks, partly because schools have broken up and collections are no longer possible. They are very keen to collect as much pasta, rice, tuna, tinned tomatoes, fruit and veg as possible over the weekend both for parcels on Monday and to share with the Granville for their midweek deliveries. Home pick-up of donations is possible and we will also be around the Farmers Market and 22 Lonsdale Rd on Sunday. More info at bit.ly/helpourhungry
London moves into Tier 3: Very High Alert
From December 16, London has been placed in Tier 3: Very High Alert to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Most of the facilities can continue to operate with strict measures in place to reduce the risk of virus transmission.
This includes:
We have had to close the Children’s Farm at Queen’s Park and the Peggy Jay Centre on Hampstead Heath. Keat’s House will also be temporarily closed until further notice.
The public toilets remain open as will the playgrounds and car parks. We will continue to empty litter bins, although we do still ask that visitors take their rubbish and waste away with them wherever possible.
Queen’s Park, Highgate Wood and Golders Hill Park (including the Hill Garden & Pergola) opening hours will remain as advertised.
We expect to be busy during this next phase of the Coronavirus restrictions as people continue to socialise outdoors and we will continue to use our social
media channels to remind visitors to follow the Government advice, the byelaws and to be considerate towards staff and other visitors.
Please share this update with your contacts and thank you for your support during this time.
For more information follow us online:
Twitter: @CityCorpHeath, @CoLQueensPark
Facebook: Hampstead Heath Official, Queen’s Park Official
website: www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/hampsteadheath www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/queenspark www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/highgatewood
Anne Fairweather
Hampstead Heath, Highgate Wood & Queen’s Park Committee
Bob Warnock
Superintendent of Hampstead Heath
Click on the link to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIocOqvrTMpGdyqPWF-0yUzNVetEhKcqxWa
We were delighted to welcome Paul Scott and Andrew Lowe from the Friends of Paddington Old Cemetery, as guest speakers at QPARA’s online AGM on 12th November. They gave a fascinating talk about the history of Paddington Old Cemetery, the challenges it faces, the achievements of the friends and plans for the future, in particular their Biodiversity Management Plan.
For more information and to get involved with the Friends of Paddington Old Cemetery contact: paddingtoncemetery@gmail.com.
The closure is between 23rd Octoberuntil mid-December.
Bus routes 28, 52, 316 and 452 will be diverted. All these serve Chamberlayne Road and the 316 also serves Queen’s Park by Premier Corner. See below for further details.
Queen’s Park News will be distributed to all households and businesses in the QPARA area over the next couple of weeks. It is full of informative articles on many topics of local interest.
If you can’t wait for yours to arrive or you live outside the area, you can read it here. The Newsletter section of the website has editions going back to September 2009.
A special item at QPARA’s monthly meeting on 8th October discussed Brent’s proposals for LTN19 Queen’s Park / Brondesbury Park and LTN20 Kilburn (which includes some streets east of Salusbury Road). Some 90 members and other residents who attended heard updates on the latest position and expressed continued strong concern at the lack of consultation on the proposed scheme (see News article 30 Sept explaining QPARA’s stance).
Members of QPARA’s Streetscape Group had taken part in a Brent Council briefing for residents’ groups on 22 September. This revealed that LT19 would now be phased, with only the closure of Tiverton Road at the Chevening bridge junction being implemented first and other changes placed on hold unless ‘needed’ in future. In contrast, all the planned closures in LT20 would proceed as planned originally. Maps of these two updated proposals were shown.
QPARA pressed Brent for the official notes of the meeting and the maps for over three weeks since the 22nd. The notes finally arrived on 14th October (but no maps) confirming the ‘Tiverton only’ proposal for LT19, for the present, but also now showing that point closures on Victoria and Donaldson roads in LT20 were now on hold. Other point closures in LT19 outside QPARA’s area would proceed (for example Brondesbury Villas, causing concern to QPARA members in Brondesbury Road due to displaced traffic). No firm dates were given for any closures. The notes also showed that closures would now be reviewed at 2 and 4 months rather than at only 6 months intervals as envisaged before. There were still no plans to consult on schemes in advance, as this was to follow once implemented, running in parallel. Without updated maps yet provided by Brent, out website can show only the out of date originals .
Hearing news of the changes and also that many members had collected figures on the mass of vehicles entering Queen’s Park area in the morning peak, the meeting on 8 October agreed immediate actions. Again putting on record strong concerns about the lack of prior consultation, it was agreed to fund Traffic Engineer expertise to advise QPARA if needed, and in addition to make a submission to an upcoming Extraordinary Meeting of Brent Council 16 September.
The Council had given no real notice of this special meeting, and certainly none to interested parties including residents’ associations, even when these were actively engaged in LTN issues. On 14 October QPARA’s Chair Virginia Brand therefore submitted a formal letter to the Meeting on behalf of the association. It was circulated to all Brent councillors, and complained about the inadequate consultation process, the lack of data or projections to show how the schemes would impact, the absence of assessment on consequences for disabled people and the lack of consultation about the Meeting itself (live streamed at http://democracy.brent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=180&MId=6345&Ver=4 ).
The Meeting approved a motion endorsing going ahead with LTNs but QPARA awaits clarification on its full meaning.
The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) have reached an agreement to take over the lease of the former Corrib Rest and have applied to Brent Council to approve a change of use from A4 (a pub) to D1 (Education and Health).
QPARA members may be interested to see and comment on the planning application which can be found here: https://pa.brent.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=DCAPR_151666&activeTab=summary
Plans for use of this site, the renewed ACV and the Section 106 provision are kept under active consideration by our Corrib action group and discussed extensively at QPARA’s monthly meetings.
First of all a personal thanks from me to all of the almost 60 people who took the trouble to provide our Streetscape team with your feedback on the plans. You expressed a wide range of views sometimes cogently and often with passion!
A lot has been going on since then and our Chair and the Streetscape team have provided the following update in advance of the next QPARA monthly zoom meeting on Thursday 8th October. Members will get their invitation in the next day or so. Anyone wishing to join QPARA and have your say, can do so here: qpark.org.uk/join-us.
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QPARA supports efforts to reduce pollution stemming from through traffic and congestion in its area and around (i.e. on so-called through roads which are also heavily residential). The Association has long campaigned for action on these issues but does not regard Brent’s current Low Traffic Neighbourhood approach as the answer. On Tuesday 22 September Cllr Shama Tatler, Highways lead for Brent Council, and Tony Kennedy, Head of Highways, held an online meeting with some 15 representatives of local residents’ associations and other groups. She showed maps of the two Traffic Order schemes being proposed for Queen’s Park and Kilburn. These were the same as those circulated unofficially, except that all road closures and ‘no turns’ etc in the Queens Park proposal were shown in green with a legend stating that they are ‘Potential Future Closure if Needs Be’ or ‘Potential Future Banned Turn if Needs Be. The one exception was Tiverton Road at the bridge into Queen’s Park, still shown as a red ‘Proposed Street Closure’. She emphasized that she was keen to have dialogue with QPARA and other residents’ groups from hereon. The Kilburn TO map still had all changes in red – the same as seen already. – Cllr Tatler explained that this would now proceed, subject to full clearance from the relevant emergency services and letters to all residents. Tony Kennedy said actual implementation of both schemes would be at least two weeks away. Of the many questions and comments which followed several centred on asking what traffic and air quality data had been available for scheme design and could it be shared. Tony Kennedy said there was little data available but that some monitoring strips had been installed in the last few days. While waiting for the promised official note of this meeting QPARA has been busy collecting its own data on vehicle movements during the morning rush hour and assessing the likely impact of the revised scheme. Fundamentally QPARA seeks proper consultation, supported by data, and is ready to give positive consideration to any scheme which improves air quality and reduces congestion both inside the planned LTN area and on the roads which surround it such as Salusbury and Chamberlayne. |
Our exclusive china mugs and environmentally friendly bags are on sale at QPARA events and our monthly meetings
