New Planters arrive in Fitzrovia

New Planters arrive in Fitzrovia

We are delighted to announce that the long talked about and frequently delayed planters have finally been installed on Hanson street, Great Titchfield Street, and Gosfield Street at the junctions with New Cavendish Street.

Great Titchfield Street Planting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These planters are funded by Neighbourhood CIL  and the Tesco Bags of Help scheme.

Rebecca Heard of Fine Line Garden Design has done a wonderful job of sourcing hardy and attractive British plants and creating a very appealing  planting design. It is designed to look great now, but also to grow and fill in as the months go by.

Lots of volunteers worked hard to get the planting done – including planting  lots of bulbs  which will come up in the spring.   

We are very conscious that maintenance of these planters is incredibly important to keep them looking as good as they do now  and we have a whole roster of volunteers who are watering , clearing rubbish that might appear and doing any other maintenance.

Children from All Souls School will be helping as well and it’s great to see all ages keen to be involved.

If you would like to help out and volunteer, then please do email us: info@fitzwest.org

The various locations for the planters were chosen after a public consultation. They needed to be in places where there was space away from utilities and that  didn’t get in the way of passersby.  It was also hoped they will serve an additional purpose of discouraging on-street dumping. We are aware this may take a little while to settle in but hope that residents and businesses will help by only putting their rubbish out at the time and in the place stipulated by WCC. The times are available here.

Hanson Street Planter

 

Thanks again to the many people who have helped and supported this project.

 

Well-attended AGM hears from Westminster Council and local police

Well-attended AGM hears from Westminster Council and local police

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

The AGM minutes are available here.

AGM next week – 18th May – come in person or join on Zoom

AGM next week – 18th May – come in person or join on Zoom

We want to have as many people as possible so please share this with your neighbours and local businesses.

Find out about the changes to Oxford Circus traffic flow, hear about the exciting CIL funded projects,  and meet your local  police officers, part of the  Safer Neighbourhood Team. They will update us on issues of local drug dealing and anti social behaviour.

Email info@fitzwest.org for the Zoom link.

Annual General Meeting on Thursday 18th May at 6pm at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, 25 Howland Street, W1T 4JG which will also feature:

We look forward to welcoming you and for you to have a chance to meet your neighbours over a glass of wine.

AGENDA

1. Welcome, Introductions and Apologies
2. Minutes of the last meeting. Available on Fitzwest website: https://www.fitzwest.org/
3. Election and re-election of Executive members. Any member can stand for election. Please let us know via email if would like to stand.  Candidates should be prepared to say briefly why they should be elected. If you can’t attend please send a few lines about who you are and why you should be elected.
4. Amending the constitution. Proposal: to amend the constitution so as to reduce the AGM quorum from 20 to 10 and the Executive quorum from 6 to 5. These changes would require a 75% majority of those voting. 10% of members can always call a general meeting to reverse such a decision.
5. Presentation of accounts
6. Proposed changes to traffic flow at Oxford Circus – Oxford Street Team, Westminster Council
7. Dealing with anti-social behaviour and drug dealing in FitzWest – Safer Neighbourhood Team
8. Updates on current CIL projects
9. Any other business

CIL News and AGM date

Successful CIL application for funding

Fitzrovia Community Centre has been awarded £22,583 to fund further developments and refurbishments. The project will cover the laying of new flooring, increased security and health and safety measures, and small furnishings. This project is part of a wider programme to make the community centre more accessible and welcoming, to meet the growing need for community centres and programmes in the local area. The cabinet member report also highlighted that community uses such as a community centre is identified as a priority infrastructure type in local CIL policy.

You can read the full Cabinet Report that includes all Westminster applications here.

Update on other CIL projects

New Cavendish Street planters

This project has been extremely slow to come to fruition due to the lengthy road safety assessments and access plans which are being done by Conways on behalf of WCC. Rest assured, the Forum is constantly asking for information as we are keen to get the planters in position as soon as we can.

AGM – Thursday 18th May 2023

Our AGM will be at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre on Howland Street at 6pm on Thursday 18th May 2023.

Full details to follow, but the focus will be on the new WCC plans for Oxford Street. Come and find out plans to change traffic flow and pavement size at Oxford Circus and how this will affect Fitzrovia. Have your say about the plans. There will also be updates on CIL applications for funding plans for our area.

 

Have a say in how CIL money is spent

Have a say in how CIL money is spent

As this long, hot summer draws to an end we wanted to update you on the progress of various CIL  (Community Infrastructure Levy) applications and awards.

We also wanted to tell you a bit more about CIL and how important it is for as many people as possible to have a say in how it is spent.

What is CIL?

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a charge paid by developers (not householders) when beginning a new development. FitzWest has access to 25% of CIL generated in our area and this means the Forum can submit projects it wishes to see implemented as well as endorsing projects submitted by other charitable organisations based in the area. Projects should meet the following criteria:

  • They should provide infrastructure which benefits those living and working in the area;
  • They should provide additional infrastructure for defined sections of the population where facilities and services are insufficient or lacking;
  • They should be non-discriminatory and meet all other legal requirements in the way they are delivered and operate;
  • They should meet policy objectives as set out in the Council’s City Plan 2019 – 40 and the Neighbourhood Plan 2020;
  • They should conform to guidance provided by the Council as set out on the website above.

A few projects have already been successfully applied for and accepted by Westminster Council for CIL funding. However, there is a constant supply of cash form new developments and it is really important that as many people as possible – residents, businesses and organisations – have a say in how this money is allocated.

This is your chance to be involved in making these decisions! We are looking for volunteers to be on our CIL Committee. This committee meets every couple of months and members also receive emails and applications to look at and comment on. It is up to you how much you would like to be involved and this is an important way to really influence and contribute how projects are funded.

If you would just like a simple admin role then we also need a secretary for the committee This would involve organising meetings and creating the agendas and minutes.

If you, or anyone you know would like to help make sure this funding goes to the right places, then please get in touch on info@fitzwest.org

Successfully funded CIL projects:

Greening Around New Cavendish Street – together with funding from Tesco, a selection of planters will be positioned in areas to deter rubbish dumping and will be maintained by local residents and businesses.

Soho Poly

University of Westminster Archive

Soho Poly Theatre – a contribution to funding the renovation of the theatre on Riding House Street.

Greening  Carburton Street – a resident-led project for funding to continue planting around this street and the planting will be maintained by local residents.

 

Full details of all CIL projects are available on Fitzwest Forum website 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Public CIL meeting – Fitzrovia West

First Public CIL meeting – Fitzrovia West

Meeting photograph

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:

  • Cycle racks modelled on Banja Luka
  • Planters with cycle racks attached
  • Planting around the tree on Carburton Street
  • Replacing the planters near Holcroft court.
  • Upgrading the cycle racks near the Almost Saturday cafe.
  • A children’s playground (if a location could be found)
  • Green walls
  • Benches with green walls built into them (solar powered)
  • Small on-street waste bins
  • Rain gardens
  • Trees on build outs
  • Cultivation of tree pits
  • Opening up the school for the benefit of the community
  • A corridor through the Fitzrovia Centre to the garden behind
  • Refurbish the old swimming pool behind the Fitzrovia Centre (expensive)
  • Notices on bollards giving the times of collection of rubbish
  • A study for a low traffic neighbourhood
  • An air quality survey
  • Refurbishing local benches
  • Road bollards.
  • Pop ups of various kinds

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:

https://www.westminster.gov.uk/planning-building-and-environmental-regulations/neighbourhood-community-infrastructure-fund/applying-neighbourhood-cil

Any comments or suggestions then please email us on info@fitzwest.org  or leave a comment here.