Road Safety Schemes – Keeping our residents safe
We are pushing to see if improvements can be made to the crossing on Sutherland Avenue that is adjacent to St Joseph's School. This is a busy area within the Little Venice Ward and is used by many pedestrians as well as many cars travelling to and from St John’s Wood and using the busy petrol station. Your Conservative councillors have managed to gain agreement for a safety survey to be done to see if the crossing and junction can be improved.
We have also asked for the Warwick Avenue/Clifton Villas Junction to be reviewed to see if this can also be improved. The number of people that use Warwick Avenue tube station makes this is a very busy area. It is also used by a number of bus routes and so it is a key junction in the area and one which we have asked to be reviewed to see if the layout can be changed to help pedestrians and to avoid accidents.
Little Venice Conservative Councillor Melvyn Caplan commented that the 'safety of our residents is a key priority for us and we will do all we can to ensure this is achieved’.
Ward Budgets – Have your say!
As we have previously reported and as can be seen from the streets in the area, we have installed a significant number of hanging baskets in the ward. If you think there is a street within the ward where we can add an additional hanging basket, please let us know and if there is an available lamppost and it can take the weight we will seek to get another hanging basket installed. We have put in a number of benches in the area which are used by many residents going to and from local shops or simply taking a few minutes rest whilst walking around the area. If you think there is a location where we could install another bench, please let us know. If there are any other small projects that you think we should consider for the use of our ward budget, please let us know.
Little Venice Conservative Councillor Ian Adams commented that ‘we have always been keen to use the ward budget to support small local projects and to respond to requests from local residents.'
Education Update
Your Councillors in Little Venice continue to work with local schools in a variety of important ways. Within Little Venice there are three primary schools and City of Westminster College. In September 2016 Paddington Green Primary School reopens as an Ark Academy. Ark incorporates King Solomon Academy and boasts the best GCSE results for a non-selective school in England.
Applications to Marylebone Secondary School for Boys can be made on behalf of pupils attending the three Little Venice primary schools. The school is expected to move nearby next year.
For adults, English for non-native learners and IT classes are available at Westminster Adult Education Service. See http://www.waes.ac.uk/
Little Venice Conservative Councillor Barbara Arzymanow commented that ‘we are proud of our local schools and are delighted to see the continued improvement and choice that is available for our local residents.'
Your Councillors have also held extensive discussions with the Little Venice Safer Neighbourhood Team and City of Westminster College, which has 7,000 students, in order to ensure that local residents continue to feel safe and well protected.
Silver Sunday and Tea Dance coming up
For older residents in the area, there are a number of annual events held as part of Silver Sunday. See http://silversunday.org.uk/calendar/. Tickets are still available for the Tea Dance at the Grosvenor House Hotel https://www.westminster.gov.uk/tea-dance.
