Changes to traffic direction, news on new docks for hire bikes and CIL application information
There is lots happening in Fitzrovia and opportunities for you to have your say on various consultations.
First of all, a big thank you to over 40 local residents and businesses and all the West End Ward councillors (Cllrs Toale, Fisher and Lilley) who attended our AGM on 18th May at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre on Howland Street. The high tech facilities meant we were also able to have people attend virtually.
As well as the usual AGM business, Cllr. Geoff Barraclough and some of the Westminster Council Oxford Street team presented initial plans to change the traffic flow at Oxford Circus. There were plenty of questions and comments and an undertaking by the Council that this would be fully consulted on before implementation. There was particular concern about suggestions of changes to traffic flow on Great Titchfield Street and the potential for increased traffic.
Our local police officer from the Safer Neighbourhood teams then gave a presentation about crime and anti social behaviour. This also generated lots of questions and gave residents a chance to chat afterwards.
Finally, there were some updates on projects that have received CIL funding. Donna Yay from Fitzrovia Community Centre explained how the works to improve the accessibility and floor covering would not have otherwise been possible. Gwilym Harbottle told us that the New Cavendish Planters will be installed this summer – and asked for volunteers to be on the planters committee – so if anyone is interested please get in touch with Gwilym at info@fitzwest.org
Rubbish dumping and problems with waste are big problems for us all in Fitzrovia – and are certainly issues that come up with regularity at all of our meetings.
So we are pleased to share with you some of the steps that are being taken by Westminster Council to deal with this issue.
Here is a communication from Rob McCrae, the Senior City Inspector at Westminster Council about what is happening this week:
I would like to update you on the upcoming plans for a Waste Action Squad to tackle the challenge of dumped waste and littering. The Waste Action Squad will be a multi-agency team working with the community to identify effective solutions to address dumping hotspots through a trial programme, across Westminster.
This will start on Monday 24th October 2022 with a week of action focused on hotspots within the Fitzrovia ward area.
The key objectives for the team are:
· To provide a highly visible operation that shows this is an area of focus and that we are acting against persistent problems.
· To engage residents in a meaningful conversation about waste problems in their neighbourhood. To gather insight into how these could be tackled together and educate on the best ways of disposing of their waste to keep their streets clean and tidy.
· To create an action plan following the engagement to tackle these issues.
Below is a timeline for the week of engagement, the Waste Action Squad will be available at various different times on different days throughout the week, from 11am through to 9pm around the area providing education and enforcement on street and engaging with our residents and businesses.
Day & Time |
Area |
Monday PM: 14:00 – 16:00 Nightime: 19:00 – 21:00 |
AM: James Street j/w Oxford Street Gazebo PM: Bird Street/Barratt Street
|
Tuesday PM: 11:00 – 13:00 Nightime: 15:30 – 17:30 |
AM: Great Portland Street Gazebo PM: Great Titchfield Street
|
Wednesday AM: 10:00 – 12:00 PM: 15:00- 17:00 |
AM: Wells Street
PM: Market Place (South) Gazebo
|
Thursday AM: 12:00 – 14:00 PM: 16:00 – 18:00 |
AM: Langham Street
PM: Foley Street
|
Friday AM: 12:00 – 14:00 PM: 16:00 – 18:00
|
AM: Hanson Street
PM: New Cavendish Street
|
The Fitzwest Forum AGM last week was a great chance to hear about ongoing and future projects funded by the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and to hear Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg speaking about the Fitzrovia environment and how the Council are dealing with environmental issues.
You can read the minutes here.
We were treated to interesting presentations on the following CIL projects:
More details are available on our website: CIL Projects
For those who couldn’t attend or didn’t get a chance to leave their ideas, we would very much like to hear from you. These further ideas will be added to the suggestions from the AGM and the public meeting earlier in the year.
Ideas for funding should align to the Fitzwest Neighbourhood Plan and the recently amended priorities of Westminster Council which are:
Please email us with your ideas on info@fitzwest.org
Thanks to everyone who attended the public meeting on 15th February 2022 at the Fitzrovia Community Centre.
The purpose of the meeting was to hear ideas and to inform residents and local organisations about the Community Infrastructure Levy and how it works.
We were delighted to see lots of people there and to hear many ideas of how to improve the infrastructure of Fitzrovia West using the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).
Amit Mistry, Principal Policy Officer from Westminster Council addressed the meeting and took questions about CIL, the kind of projects it funds and how it works.
There were lots of suggestions for projects from people at the meeting and via email beforehand. A summary of the subjects is here:
The full minutes of the meeting are available here – CIL Public Meeting 15.2.22
The time scale to come up with a project and apply for CIL funding is ongoing. The Westminster Council CIL committee meets every 3 months to assess the applications, so there are plenty of opportunities for people to create an application. All details are here:
Any comments or suggestions then please email us on info@fitzwest.org or leave a comment here.
All residents, businesses and community groups in Fitzrovia West are invited to come along and share ideas for projects that will improve the infrastructure of Fitzrovia. We will collect all the suggestions together and then a selection will be put forward for funding application from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). There will be more information about CIL at the meeting. To give you an idea, here are the kind of projects that have been funded by CIL in other areas:
If you are not able to attend but have a project you want to suggest then email us at info@fitzwest.org
We will look forward to seeing you then.