by FitzWest admin | Aug 26, 2022 | CIL, Greening, Our Neighbourhood, Oxford Street, Public Space
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
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.
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
by FitzWest admin | Feb 23, 2022 | CIL, Consultations, Environment, Greening, Our Neighbourhood, Public Space
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.
by FitzWest admin | Jan 23, 2022 | CIL, Consultations, Our Neighbourhood
Tuesday 15th February 2022 – Fitzrovia Community Centre, Foley Street – 6pm
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:
- Prevention of crime and anti-social behaviour, such as CCTV installations;
- Public Realm enhancements;
- Transport/highways, such as junction improvements to improve pedestrian safety, electric charging rollout, cycle docking stations, bridge refurbishment /corrosion protection;
- Open Spaces, such as WCC parks, landscaping and play facilities and upgrades;
- Health facilities;
- Sports & Leisure facilities;
- Utilities/Waste, e.g. deep drainage improvements, Street Markets utilities and improvements.
- Feasibility studies and research to enable the identification of eligible infrastructure projects.
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.
by FitzWest admin | Mar 26, 2021 | Greening, Our Neighbourhood, Public Space
Thanks to everyone who has made suggestions and comments on the location of planting and greening as a means to improve the streetscape and to deter rubbish dumping. There are plenty of locations – we had 15 on the long list – so now we have a great resource to refer to and also to share with other organisations as we work on greening the area. Where we are at the moment:
-
- We are planning to apply for funding from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) which is a levy that local authorities can choose to charge on new developments in their area. The money is used to support development by funding infrastructure that the council, local community and neighbourhoods want.
- We have many suitable suggestions for locations, all over the FitzWest area.
- It is suggested the greening will have more impact – both visually and practically as a dumping deterrent if the greening areas are clustered together.
- We will keep all suggestions for a long term greening plan, but in the short term, for this initial CIL project we suggest the following which has the benefit of being relatively close together and therefore visible:
1. Langham Street/Gosfield St – 2 locations/ 4 or 5 planters A real and visible hot spot with lots of commercial and residential dumping.These three locations would create a real impact and are close enough together to be a noticeable improvement to the greening in the area.
2 & 3 Hanson Street /Foley Street – 2 locations /2 planters Two planters on Hanson Street/Foley Street corners. One of the corners by the bin is very prone to dumping, and there is plenty of space.
4 & 5 Candover Street – 4 locations/ 4 planters Four planters, one on each corner with Riding House Street and Foley Street. Prone to persistent dumping, would link to and echo existing planting outside local businesses on Foley Street.
These locations would create a real impact and are close enough together to be a noticeable improvement to the greening in the area and will be easy to monitor for rubbish dumping. Let us know your thoughts – by email info@fitzwest.org or by commenting on this post
Local business involvement We also plan to approach local businesses to see if they would like to be part of the application – we can apply for additional planters for businesses to display and care for on their forecourts (as some do already). If you are a local business with a forecourt or pavement space that is yours and would like to register an interest in acquiring planters then please get in touch at info@fitzwest.org
by FitzWest admin | Feb 1, 2021 | Consultations, Environment, Greening, Our Neighbourhood
We want your ideas
The problem of on-street rubbish dumping and the need for more greenery are frequently mentioned by our members as important issues for all of us living and working in Fitzrovia.
The FitzWest Forum has supported various schemes to improve waste collection and deal with fly tipping. There is still a lot of progress to be made in this area and discussions are on going with Westminster Council on ways to deal with this.
One way to combat dumping is by improving the street scape – and a relatively quick way to do this is by planting and greening. The hope is that this will both deter dumping and also bring some much needed greenery into the area. We are planning to apply for funding from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) which is a levy that local authorities can choose to charge on new developments in their area. The money is used to support development by funding infrastructure that the council, local community and neighbourhoods want.
We are very keen to for our members to suggest where potential planting could take place. With the help of the wider membership last year, we had previously identified various ‘dumping hot spots’ which you can see on the map. We have two questions for you.
- Which of these do you think would be best suited for adding planters and greening?
- Are there any other places you would suggest? Several sites have been identified in the central area of FitzWest – but what about the North and South?
Please comment on this page or email your ideas to us at info@fitzwest.org. We will collect all the suggestions together and select the most popular locations for our application.
by FitzWest admin | Nov 23, 2020 | Licensing, Our Neighbourhood, Planning
Your chance to be involved
We want an opportunity for the wider membership of the FitzWest Forum to have an input into the Council decisions around planning and licensing and we are aware it is difficult for residents and businesses to keep track of the many applications that affect Fitzrovia.
So we are creating a small committee of local residents to keep an eye on applications and draw attention to ones that are important. The committee will meet every 4-6 weeks, currently by Zoom, and discusses the implications of various applications. It’s an opportunity to have a real input and affect on Council decisions, and great for people who don’t have a lot of time but want to be involved. This committee will then influence and shape the response of the Forum to the applications.
If you would like to be on this committee please contact info@fitzwest.org
As part of our aim to include more members in important decisions, we have added a new page to our website
Planning and Licensing
Here you will find links to Westminster Council Planning and Licensing applications, a list of applications curated by Fitzrovia News and information about particular applications that affect the area and that you may want to comment on directly to the Council.
