Guarding against knife crime
With the ongoing proactive work by the police to cut knife crime Councillor Susie Burbridge joined our very own weapons search with the The Safer Neighberhoods Police on Hallfield Estate which was a helpful initiative ahead of Notting Hill Carnival that we all found most interesting.
We learnt how to keep a watchful eye open and where to look for any potential hidden weapons. Several residents turned out, so did some members of the Police Panel. No weapons found were found we are glad to report but we did find lots of bottles and refuse hidden in the bushes! A big thank you to those who turned out. Cllr Andrew Smith continues to join the regular Safer Neighbourhood team meetings.
Dealing with the problem of short term lets
The short Term letting (STL) of properties can to bring with it disruption and disturbance for neighbouring residents. While we cannot prevent property owners from letting out their properties we are able to act on reports of anti-social behaviour or any suspected breach of the regulations that govern STL.
Before a change in the law in 2015, planning permission was needed for every short-term let of a property. Now short-term letting of a residential house or flat is now permitted, subject to two conditions:
- the total number of nights that a property is used for short term letting in a calendar year must not exceed 90.
- at least one of the people providing the accommodation for short-term letting is liable to pay Council Tax at the property where the accommodation is provided.
Councillor Davis advises residents who suspect these conditions are being breached to get in touch with us or our dedicated Short Term Let Officer, Nicole Norman ([email protected]), who we jointly fund through our ward budget with neighbouring wards.
Ending scooter delivery blight
Residents in Kensington Garden’s Square have complained about noise and disturbance caused by delivery scooters picking up orders from Nando’s on Westbourne Grove. The premises has planning permission as a restaurant. Our view is that the growth of pick ups from take away apps means that it needs planning permission to also be a takeaway. Thanks to the help of local residents the council has taken planning enforcement action against them.
The notice will take effect in September we are working with our planning team to do whatever we can to enforce planning rules and reduce the blight of noisy scooters and anti-social behaviour in the area. Councillors Smith and Burbridge have been keeping a close eye on things and pushing this forward.
Noisy deliveries on Queensway
Residents have been in touch about noisy deliveries on Queensway. There have been reports of some units taking deliveries at 2 or 3am in the morning!
Responding to concerns we asked our noise team to investigate. The noise team have made it clear that noisy deliveries are not allowed between 11pm and 7pm and have made this clear to store managers. Some units have planning restrictions that have even stricter restrictions on the hours of deliveries. If you are been disturbed by noisy deliveries let us know and we will ensure that action is taken.
Tackling refuse dumping
Councillor Burbridge joined in a further Lancaster Gate walkabout looking at any issues to do with our highways particularly waste. This was a most enlightening few hours and very worthwhile. With the information we gathered we decided to put in place an intensive action plan for tackling refuse dumped on certain roads in the ward where we feel there are real issues with duming. This will mean a real surge of intensive action by several inspectors and others which will include knocking on doors advising those in charge of hostels or short term lets etc. where their guests should leave their rubbish and when. All these hostels, short term lets should have a place to store their refuse onsite but often these days the storeroom gets changed or replaced leaving nowhere and hence guests leve them on the street at any time of the day or night.
Tackling the begging business
This week saw one of our most persistent long term beggars removed from our streets. They were wanted by the police and will be deported.
The evidence suggests that criminal gangs manage a lot of beggars in the area. Cllr Andrew Smith urges residents and visitors to donate money to homeless charities rather than helping to fund criminal gangs by giving to beggars.
Proms in the Park road closures
There will be some road closures for the Proms in the Park. We thought it would be helpful for our residents to know them:
- West Carriage Drive will be closed from 11am on Saturday 9th September and 9.30am on Sunday 10th September
- South Carriage Drive will be closed from 11am on Saturday 9th September until 5am on Monday 11th September, taking into consideration normal Sunday road closures
- Normal and advanced agreed road closures will be in place on North Carriage Drive from Monday 28th August until Friday 15th September
- The Royal Parks are suspending all on-road parking on event days, and Serpentine and Triangle Car Park will be closed from 11.00 on Saturday 9th September and from 9.30am on Sunday 10th September
Always here to help
Your Lancaster Gate Councillors team want to hear from the local people we represent. We are contactable via email, or phone and hold regular surgery sessions, usually on the last Saturday of the month (except August and December) 10am-11am in the Residents’ Hall in Pickering House on the Hallfield Estate.