HYDE PARK WARD LABOUR ACTION REPORT – August 2024
News from your Hyde Park Labour Councillors Judith Southern, Md Shamsed Chowdhury and Paul Dimoldenberg
Dear Resident,
We hope that all is well. It has been another very busy month right across the ward.
We attended the opening of the new Premier Inn on Eastbourne Terrace on 5th August. The new hotel has created 78 jobs and includes public art outside.
Moco Museum at 1-4 Marble Arch is now open. Moco exhibits a wide range of modern, contemporary and digital immersive art https://mocomuseum.com/locations/london#
As part of the High Streets programme, the Council will be investing in public realm improvements on Praed Street and London Street to provide additional greening, spaces to sit and safer pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. Also, there will be shopfront improvements in Edgware Road and Praed Street to enhance shopfronts and improve their look.
The Council is asking for comments on five options for a walking and cycling route from Marylebone to the West End. The consultation runs until 30th September. https://marylebonewestend.commonplace.is/
Rachel Blake MP made her maiden speech in Parliament recently https://www.rachelblake.org.uk/
We hold a regular advice surgery at St John’s Parish Hall, Hyde Park Crescent, on the first Thursday of the month from 6-7pm. The next advice surgery will be on Thursday 6th September, 6pm-7pm.
Please let us know if we can be of help or assistance on any local issues.
NEWS AND ACTION
The Hyde Park Estate area, bounded by Edgware Road, Bayswater Road and Sussex Gardens
Titchborne Row/Oxford Square
At the request of residents, the bin at the corner of Titchborne Row and Oxford Square has been removed and ‘No Dumping’ signs installed. Residents say the bin was used “to dump black bag waste which smells, fills up the bin so normal waste cannot be disposed, and is savaged by foxes overnight – this has recently caused mice to fest there.”
Residents say, “Super impressed with your reply and response time” and “Totally happy about the removal of this bin. Thank you for organising. For years, this bin has been a real eyesore.”
Oxford Square
We are continuing to urge the Church Commissioners to stop the illegal short-term letting at a house in Oxford Square where the cleaners regularly dump rubbish by the lamppost at Titchborne Row. The Church Commissioners say, “We have issued proceedings against the leaseholder and our solicitors are in touch with the firm acting for the leaseholder.”
Bathurst Street
We asked the City Inspectors to take action to stop the return of rubbish dumping by the street at the junction of Bathurst and Westbourne Streets.
Kendal Street
We again asked the Highways Team to investigate regular ‘ponding’ outside 43 Kendal Street after heavy rainfall.
Stanhope Place/Connaught Square
We asked the Highways Team to investigate this issue raised by a resident, “The road at the junction of Stanhope Place and Connaught Square is very uneven and, as an elderly resident, I fear that I might lose my balance when crossing it.”
Connaught Square
We told Lime to remove wrongly parked e-bikes from Connaught Square and to fine the riders as this is not a designated parking location for e-bikes.
We again asked the City Inspectors to remove a bike cart tied to the bike stand and accumulating dumped rubbish in Connaught Square.
Connaught Village Green
Work is planned to start on Connaught Village Green in early October.
Portsea Place
We asked the Council to locate a CCTV camera at the south end pf Portsea Place, covering Connaught Street and Connaught Square.
Norfolk Crescent
We asked the Highways Team to repair the area around a drain in Norfolk Crescent which had a created a pedestrian hazard. The area has now been repaired.
We also asked the Planning Enforcement Team to investigate a house in Norfolk Crescent being used as a short-term let and another house where there is a large builders’ advertising sign draped over the frontage of the house.
Porchester Place
Following residents’ complaints about the smoke coming from the chimney of a Porchester Place restaurant, the Environmental Health Team say, “The restaurant has employed a company that specialises in extraction and ventilation, to design and plan an upgrade to their extraction system to deal with the excess smoke. The quote has been accepted and the parts required for the upgrade are on order. They have an expected install date for September.” We will monitor the situation closely.
Albion Street
A resident asked, “why the lamp posts have been replaced on Albion Street – to silver ones and very modern – as opposed to keeping the black ones and just changing the lamps and keeping the posts.” The Street Lighting Team say, “This is a temporary solar light to maintain lighting whilst the existing columns are being changed and will be removed once the new column is installed which will be a small grey wornum as per the previous lamp columns.”
Albion Street is currently having all the lighting replaced as the columns were at end of their useful life and to bring lighting levels up to current British Standards to improve the lighting levels.
We also asked the Short Term Lets Team to investigate a house in Albion Street which is suspected of being a short-term let.
Albion Mews
We asked the City Inspectors to investigate the rubbish dumping at the junction of Albion Mews and Albion Street.
Park Lane
The current situation with the Park Lane ‘encampment’ is not acceptable. The Council is working with TfL (who own the land) and the Council’s outreach teams visit regularly to offer accommodation, as well as other assistance. TfL is preparing a possession order and we are pressing for urgent action.
Marble Arch
Marble Arch BID has installed a temporary ‘Padel’ court at Marble Arch which is available for public with a 50% discount for Westminster residents via the City Save scheme. Padel is a newly emerging sport with numerous courts opening across London. The court is located on the hard standing area of Marble Arch and is open until 26th August. https://marble-arch.london/news/padel-marble-arch/
Two new sculptures are planned by the fountains at Marble Arch. The digital pieces, of British Olympic runners Bianca Williams and Nathaneel Mitchell-Blake, are by the artist Julian Opie who says these iconic British runners “reflect the vibrant community in the Hyde Park and Marble Arch areas, where running, exercising, and commuting are integral parts of daily life.”
Marble Arch Station
Next time you are on the platform at Marble Arch Station check out the 17 pieces of artwork by Annabel Grey which she created in the 1980s for the platform walls. https://marble-arch.london/culture-blog/track-down-17-colourful-versions-of-marble-arch/
Hyde Park Estate security
For residents living on the Hyde Park Estate, the Croma mobile security supervisor contact number is 07880 680257. The mobile team provides 2 patrols each evening between the hours of 19.00pm – 07.00am. This is paid for via the service charges at blocks managed by the Church Commissioners, who also pay for the patrol at Portsea Mews and around Connaught Village.
The Star Street area, between Sussex Gardens and Praed Street
Star Street
We asked the Short-Term Lets Team to investigate a property in Star Street suspected of being let at short-term holiday lets.
Praed Street, outside the Hilton Paddington
We continue to urge the Parking Marshals to issue parking tickets to taxis queuing outside the Hilton hotel on Praed Street, blocking the cycle lane.
Norfolk Square
We continue to tell Lime and Forest to remove excess e-bikes from the parking bays in Norfolk Square.
We asked the Parking Team to investigate the people living in a van parked in Norfolk Square and leaving rubbish on the roadway. The van is untaxed with no MOT, and witnesses report it is being used by multiple people for drug taking. The van has now been moved.
We have also received this message from Paddington Now BID, “Just to keep you updated in relation to the granting of ward budget for the Norfolk Square Community Defibrillator project, I’m pleased to say that we have taken delivery of the AED and the cabinet. We have also instructed Westminster Parks contractor to commence the installation of the steel plate which will house the cabinet.”
London Street
We continue to tell Lime and Forest to remove their e-bikes from the Santander parking bay on London Street.
Spring Street
We asked the Highways Team to adjust a traffic direction sign outside The Bear in Spring Street which is pointing in the wrong direction.
Bouverie Place
We are pleased to see that the long-vacant shop at the corner of Bouverie Place and Star Street has been refurbished as a computer repair shop and the outside forecourt has been resurfaced.
Edgware Road
Voug
We again asked the City Inspectors to investigate Voug for obstructing the pavement with their tables and chairs.
Feya
We have again asked the City Inspectors to investigate Feya for placing more tables and chairs on the pavement than their license allows.
Bursa
We asked for an enforcement update on the continued use of the Connaught Street area outside Bursa for tables and chairs despite their licensing application being refused.
Go Puff
We asked for an update on the situation outside Go Puff where riders and others have been congregating and obstructing the pavement.
80 Edgware Road
We asked the Planning Enforcement Team to investigate the use of the land in front of the pharmacy at 80 Edgware Road which has tables and chairs outside.
Abandoned bike frame
We asked the City Inspectors to remove an abandoned bike frame tied to a bike stand outside 193 Edgware Road.
Damaged sign
We asked TfL to fix a damaged sign in the centre of Edgware Road, just south of Burwood Place.
Joe Strummer Rain Gardens
Work on creating the rain gardens at the former Joe Strummer subway on Edgware Road is almost finished. The subway network was closed in September 2018 due to anti-social behaviour and crime. Since then, work has been undertaken to create one of London’s biggest Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS).
TfL is utilising three of the four ramps and stairs within the former subway network as planted gardens to collect rainwater and prevent local surface flooding. The fourth set of ramps, next to M&S, will be kept by TfL for access and maintenance to the subway SUDS system.
Planting of the gardens is set for the end of September when it is slightly cooler. The gardens will host 11 new trees, over 1,700 shrubs, and more than 10,000 bulbs.
Chapel Street, Cabbell Street and Transept Street area
The Chapel pub
We asked the City Inspectors to investigate reports of squatters in the vacant Chapel pub on Chapel Street. The City Inspectors say, “my understanding in relation to commercial property is that responsibility lies with the owner and they seek action though the courts to take back possession of the property. I am making enquiries about the freeholder and will write to them about the situation.” Court action is currently underway to remove the squatters.
Meanwhile, the pub is up for sale for £8,750,000 https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/146997155#/media?channel=COM_BUY&id=media1
38-47a Chapel Street
We asked the City Inspectors to investigate rubbish dumping in Transept Street by builders working on a flat at 38-47a Chapel Street.
We asked the Housing Department to investigate the use of a former Council flat in this block as an Airbnb short-term letting in breach of the lease.
Paddington Basin/Sheldon Square area
Travis Perkins site, 149 Harrow Road, W2 6NA
Over 50 objections have been made to the planning application for the demolition of the existing Travis Perkins building and new buildings up to 20 storeys in height, comprising the reprovision of Travis Perkins builders’ merchant and 605 rooms of student accommodation above.
We have submitted our objections https://www.westminsterlabour.org.uk/issues/planning/2024/06/21/labour-supports-residents-objections-to-baltic-wharf-overdevelopment/
The application documents can be viewed online at www.westminster.gov.uk/planning where you can also make comments. Please use the reference number 24/03600/FULL as the primary search criteria.
Montgomery House
We again urged Peabody to complete the long-standing repairs to flats in Montgomery House.
5 Harbet Road
We again urged Octavia Housing to complete the long-standing repairs to the entrance lobby at 5 Harbet Road. Octavia say, “We were able to trace the source of the leak to one of the properties that we were previously unable to access, and this has now been resolved. The remedial works in the lobby are scheduled to begin now that the area has been left to dry out.”
Aster House
We asked Octavia Housing when the lifts at Aster House will be repaired and back in use. Octavia say the parts have arrived and the lifts are both back in working order.
Sheldon Square
We continue to support Network Homes residents in Sheldon Square who are suffering from excessive heat for almost 20 years and having been waiting for years to have an affordable air conditioning system fitted in their homes.
Dahlia House, Paddington Gardens
The City Council has now served 18 Planning Contravention Notices (PCNs) on the owners of Dahlia House where 55 flats (out of 80) are being used for short-term letting. Investigations are also continuing into the car park where residents say parking spaces are being let out commercially. Residents say that they pay nearly £1,000 a month service charges, yet the staff employed by the managing agents work primarily managing the short-term lets.
Paddington Station
London Underground has sent us this message, “We are planning to test the emergency alarm systems at Paddington station between the hours of around 01:00 and 03:00 on Thursday 22 and Friday 23 August while there are no customers using the station to prevent any unnecessary concern during the test. We will do everything we can, including muting parts of the system which don’t need testing, to minimise disruption to our neighbours.”
Westway tents
We have seen a number of tents under the Westway recently and the Council’s outreach teams are visiting regularly to offer accommodation, as well as other assistance.