West Hampstead Life

Author: James Earl

  • Fordwych Residents and Green Gym improve the area, and you can join them.

    Fordwych Residents and Green Gym improve the area, and you can join them.

    One of the many things that make West Hampstead a great place to live is the number of local groups and associations that take an interest in the area and give people the chance to volunteer – as well as play their part in improving the community. Such groups are always looking for new members to help out and to replace those who move on. This coming Saturday, 20th May, three local groups are putting on an event that gives people the chance to go along, find out more – and get involved.

    Fordwych RA and Garden Friends NW2
    Fordwych RA and Garden Friends NW2

    For a number of years, the Fordwych Residents Association (FRA) has, as part of its work to represent the area, organised social events to bring residents together. Following on from the success of its Green Fair last year, it is again working with the Garden Friends NW2 group to put on the Fordwych Spring Fair – on Saturday 20th May, 10am-1pm at St Cuthbert’s Church and gardens, 59 Fordwych Road.

    All are welcome to come along – for tea and cake; to buy plants; and to find out more about our groups and how you can get involved.

    A little further up the road the West Hampstead Green Gym is also holding an event at the same time at the recently created Minster Road Nature Reserve. There will be information about its work and how people can volunteer. Previously this was part of the  Camden Green Gym but West Hampstead Green Gym is splitting off and setting up on its own. The group will be working weekly, on a rotating basis, in the Minster Road Natural Reserve, the Westbere Copse and the Mill Lane Open Space. The Camden Green Gym will continue its monthly visits to Hampstead Cemetery.

    Email:

    Green gym - we are ready for lift off!
    Green gym – we are ready for lift off!

    The Fordwych RA has a track record over the past 40 years in representing people living on Fordwych Road and adjoining streets. It takes up issues such as traffic, planning, rubbish, crime, the environment and local developments – and works with our councillors, Camden Council and others to make this part of the West Hampstead area a better place. We have regular meetings and are active online. We’re looking for new members and people willing to contribute a small amount of time to assist in the running of the group. You can get in touch and find out more:

    Twitter: @FordwychRA
    Website: fordwychra.wordpress.com
    Email:

    The Garden Friends NW2 group has done amazing work to plant the tree pits on Fordwych Road, which have had an incredibly positive affect on our local area. Where once people dumped mattresses and other household waste, beautiful flowers now bloom! Volunteers working with the group have also created a community garden in the grounds of St Cuthbert’s Church. The group has regular weekly sessions and is keen for more people to be involved:

    Twitter: @GFriendsNW2
    Email:

    So do come along on Saturday 20th for a cup of tea, to meet your neighbours – and to find out more…

    James Earl is (outgoing) chair of the Fordwych Residents Association

  • Have your say on the future of West Hampstead

    Have your say on the future of West Hampstead

    You can’t have failed to notice that a large amount of development is going on in the area of West Hampstead around the three stations.

    Since it was set up in early 2012, the Fortune Green & West Hampstead Neighbourhood Development Forum (NDF) has been lobbying for a ‘masterplan’ to be drawn up for the area – to set out how the area could be developed in future and how the needs of the area (particularly the increasing pressure on local infrastructure) are taken into account.

    Camden Council has now agreed to work with the NDF to begin this work.

    Good masterplanning creates better places and requires expertise in urban design, strategic planning, architecture, landscape architecture and community engagement.

    The first step is a workshop (organised jointly by the NDF & Camden Council) on Saturday 12th November from 10am-4pm at Emmanuel School Hall on Mill Lane (includes a free lunch and tea/coffee). Everyone is welcome, so come and have your say.

    What is your opinion? Have your say.
    What is your opinion? Have your say.

    We will be joined by Camden Council officers, local councillors, and planning professionals to assist in our work. Local residents with knowledge of planning/architectural issues are particularly welcome to advise and give their input on these issues.

    The area has been classified as a ‘Growth Area’ by the Mayor of London – and while lots of development has already happened, more will come. The London Plan sets a target of a minimum of 800 new homes and 100 jobs between 2010 and 2031.

    The area contains three main sites for development. The first (West Hampstead Square aka Ballymore) is due to be completed by the end of this year with 198 new homes. The second (156 West End Lane aka Travis Perkins site) is being sold by Camden Council to a developer and a re-consultation on the planning application is currently underway for a scheme with 164 new homes. The third remaining site is the 02 Centre car park, which is owned by the large property and development company, Land Securities.

    While there are no plans for the third site at the moment, it’s clear something will happen here in the future and it won’t be a small development. There’s also the suggestion that the car park site could encompass Homebase and the neighbouring car showrooms. Such a development would also have an impact on Blackburn Road, which has a number of smaller development sites.

    The Neighbourhood Plan (which was approved in a local referendum last year) sets out policy for the West Hampstead Growth Area (Policy 4) and also includes Recommendation C, which calls on Camden Council to draw up a masterplan for this area.

    If you would like to know more (and/or be added to the NDF mailing list), please contact:

    You can find out more about the NDF on our website and follow our work on Twitter

  • Local planning initiative seeks strong mandate in referendum

    Local planning initiative seeks strong mandate in referendum

    It’s now more than three years since the Fortune Green & West Hampstead Neighbourhood Development Forum (NDF) was set up to draw up a Neighbourhood Plan for our area.

    The work of the NDF has been covered frequently by WHL in that time, but if you’re new to the concept of neighbourhood planning, it was introduced by the last government in the Localism Act. There’s a short explanation here.

    The Fortune Green & West Hampstead Neighbourhood Plan has been drawn up by local people (all volunteers) and is a result of a great deal work – as well as extensive consultation and engagement. The plan is a long document, but the “Vision” on page 12 gives a good overview of its aims.

    The Plan was approved by an independent examiner in January, and is now at the final stage: a referendum of all those living in the area.

    It’s the first Neighbourhood Plan in Camden to get to the referendum stage – and only the second in London.

    In advance of the referendum, we’ve delivered an information leaflet to every household in the area. This gives people the chance to see the Neighbourhood Plan and related documents on our website and to get in touch with us to answer any questions.

    We’ve also had numerous campaign events in the past few weeks – and will be having more in the final few days of the campaign.

    The YES campaign is being backed by nearly all the local groups in the area and has cross-party support. Our referendum campaign was launched by our new MP, Tulip Siddiq, who lives in the area covered by the Plan and is backing the YES campaign.

    We are urging people to vote YES to the Fortune Green & West Hampstead Neighbourhood Plan on Thursday 9th July to:

    • Promote good design & protect the distinct character of the area
    • Improve public transport facilities
    • Support local businesses & jobs
    • Provide the services our community needs
    • Protect green & open spaces
    • Get funding for local projects from developer contributions

    If you have any questions, want to be involved in the work of the NDF, and/or want to be added to our mailing list, please email:

    You can also follow us on twitter @WHampsteadNDF and use the hashtag #WhampVoteYes for the referendum.

    We do hope as many people as possible can join us in voting YES on Thursday 9th July – to make sure the Neighbourhood Plan is approved and comes into force a legally enforceable document.
    (If there’s a NO vote the Plan doesn’t come into force and Camden Council can disregard it).

    Where to vote
    Thanks to those who’ve already voted YES using their postal votes. For those voting on Thursday, the polling stations are open 7am to 10pm and are at these locations:

    Fortune Green ward: Emmanuel School, West Hampstead Community Centre (opposite Beckford School) & Templar House social hall.
    West Hampstead ward: WH Library, St James’ Church Hall & 19 Wedgewood Walk, Lymington Road.

    The referendum is being run by Camden Council. All the information about the vote, including contact details for the electoral services department, can be found here.

    Thanks very much to everyone for their support so far. Please do turn out to vote YES on Thursday, so we can demonstrate that there’s strong support across our community for people to have a say in the future development of our area.

    James Earl
    (Chair, Fortune Green & West Hampstead NDF)

  • “Vote Yes”: Neighbourhood Plan referendum campaign gets started

    “Vote Yes”: Neighbourhood Plan referendum campaign gets started

    It’s now more than three years since we started work on the Fortune Green & West Hampstead Neighbourhood Plan. It’s been through eight drafts and numerous rounds of consultation.

    The Plan successfully passed its independent examination in January – an important step. The examiner recommended a number of changes to the Plan, which have now been agreed between the Neighbourhood Development Forum (NDF) and Camden Council, as the local planning authority. The final version of Neighbourhood Plan has now been published and can be seen here.

    The last stage of the process is a referendum on whether to adopt the Plan. All those on the electoral register in the area covered by the Plan, which is the two wards of West Hampstead and Fortune Green, will be able to vote. The referendum date has now been set for Thursday 9th July and the NDF committee is starting work on planning for the referendum campaign.

    We’ve already agreed the designs for our referendum publicity, which you can see below. Thanks to our local graphic designer, Purni Gupta, for her work on this.

    NDF_Referendum_poster

    We’re now looking for help with the ‘Yes’ campaign, so if you would like to be involved in any way, please let us know.

    We’re also looking for sponsorship for events and the cost of the campaign. If you are a business or individual who would like to help out financially, please get in touch!

    We plan to hold several events in the run up to the campaign, including the next NDF meeting on Tuesday 12th May; a workshop on how to promote the Plan on Saturday 30th May; and a launch event to start the campaign (early June, date tbc). If you would like to be kept up to date about our work, please ask to be added to our mailing list. Our various contact details are below.

    NDF_Referendum_sticker

    Thanks to everyone for your support so far; we do hope you can join us in campaigning for a YES vote on 9th July!

    James Earl
    (Chair, Fortune Green & West Hampstead NDF)


    www.ndpwesthampstead.org.uk
    @WHampsteadNDF

  • Should parking revenue be spent on Fordwych road safety?

    Should parking revenue be spent on Fordwych road safety?

    The Fordwych Residents Association (FRA) has been calling for road safety improvements in our area for a number of years. Residents have raised a number of issues, and we’ve requested that Camden Council take action to:

    • Stop the rat-run through our area, which runs both ways along Westbere Road – Minster Road – Fordwych Road – Mill Lane
    • Stop HGVs – and especially skip lorries – using residential streets in our area as a short cut
    • Reduce the speed of traffic in our area and enforce the 20mph speed limit
    • Make road junctions and crossings safer – especially for children walking to and from Hampstead School and for the young children attending nurseries in our area.

    One of things we’ve been told by the council is that money is tight and they may not be able to afford to act on our suggestions.

    However, it’s been pointed out that the council receives large sums from the sale of parking permits. The money raised by the sale of permits is meant to be ring-fenced for transport and road safety spending.

    The FRA thought it would be interesting to find out how much is raised in the zones in our area: CA-P (Kilburn) & CA-Q (Fortune Green).

    You can see the PDF map of the council’s parking zones here

    We asked for the figures since the permit scheme was introduced (around ten years ago) – but were told the figures were only available from 2010/11. The figures include funds raised from the sale of all permits – residents, visitor, e-visitor, parking permission, business & doctors.

    • 2010/11   £774,463
    • 2011/12   £754,083
    • 2012/13   £820,251
    • 2013/14   £870,466
    • 2014/15   £807,090 (to date)

    These seem like significant sums to us. We also asked for a breakdown of how the money has been spent in our area. Unfortunately, we weren’t given this information – but instead were directed to the council’s annual parking reports, which can be seen here.

    Although the reports give some useful information, there is no breakdown of how the money is spent. We think the council could be a lot more open and transparent about what these funds are used for so that those paying for the various charges and permits can see where their money is going.

    James Earl
    Chair, Fordwych Residents Association
    www.fordwych.org.uk
    @FordwychRA

  • West Hampstead’s Neighbourhood Plan enters final phase

    West Hampstead’s Neighbourhood Plan enters final phase

    After two and half years work, the Fortune Green & West Hampstead Neighbourhood Development Forum has produced the final draft of the Neighbourhood Plan for our area – which has been formally submitted to Camden Council.

    The Plan is based on extensive consultation, engagement and research – as well as the previous seven drafts of the Plan drawn up before this version.

    The final document has been amended to reflect the comments submitted during the consultation period on the “pre-submission (7th) draft” during January and February, help from Camden Council planning officers and advice from independent planning consultants.

    The Neighbourhood Plan – and supporting documents – can be seen in full on our website: www.ndpwesthampstead.org.uk

    The Plan covers the two Camden Council wards of Fortune Green and West Hampstead (see Map 1 in the Plan). The main focus of the Plan is set out in the Vision and Objectives (see page 10). The objectives cover six areas: housing, design & character, transport, public & community facilities, economy, and natural environment.

    The Plan contains 18 policies (in blue boxes) on a range of issues from housing to business, from cycling to trees. If the Plan is adopted, these policies will be used in deciding planning applications in area – so could have a direct impact on your street, as well as the wider area.

    What happens next?

    • Camden Council will carry out a six week consultation on the Neighbourhood Plan from 18 September to 31 October – when further comments can be submitted.
    • The Plan, and comments received, will then be submitted to an independent examiner – who will write a report and decide if the Plan can proceed to a referendum.
    • If all goes well, the referendum on the Plan will take place in early 2015 – everyone on the electoral register in the area will get a vote.

    The NDF will keep people posted as to how things progress over the coming months:

    We’re also looking for people who can help with the referendum campaign – if you’re interested, please let us know.

    Finally – a big thank you to everyone who’s played a part in helping the NDF and the Plan reach this important stage.

    James Earl
    (Chair, Fortune Green & West Hampstead NDF)

    Neighbourhood Plan_final draft cover

  • Use your phone to comment on local issues

    Use your phone to comment on local issues

    As part of the public consultation on the proposed final draft of our Neighbourhood Plan, we’re offering everyone in the area a way to express their opinions and needs of the neighbourhood, using Commonplace West Hampstead – an online mapping project.

    Every comment is shown on a shared map of the area, and the data collected is part of the consultation process for the plan.

    Commonplace_map

    The beauty of Commonplace is that you can add comments whenever you think of them. From the comfort of your own home, or from your mobile phone when walking pass something you feel strongly about. It takes just a few seconds to add a comment.

    commonplacephone

    We would like to reach as many people as possible using Commonplace – so as well as commenting yourself, please do pass this link on to neighbours, friends and colleagues. We want to reach as diverse a group as possible, especially younger members of the community who may not have been involved in other meetings.

    Please do take advantage of this offer, as it is an important part of our consultation and helps provide an even better evidence base of public opinion in the area. Commonplace have just re-launched the platform – so its even easier to use, and works on all computers and smartphones.

    So please register now to take part! We look forward to your comments.

    James Earl,
    Chair
    West Hampstead & Fortune Green Neighbourhood Development Forum
    @WHampsteadNDF