Thank you to everyone who attended the AGM on 8th July.

We received an update on the Neighbourhood Plan with the reminder that the referendum on the plan is fixed for September 2nd and all residents and business owners in the FitzWest area get a vote.

Application forms for postal votes can be downloaded here and the deadline for registering for a postal vote is August 17th :

https://www.westminster.gov.uk/about-council/democracy/postal-and-proxy-voting

and should be returned to electoralservices@westminster.gov.uk

There were two other short presentations –  one about greening ideas for the area and another one by Jace Tyrell from the New West End Company about how businesses are thriving and surviving post-pandemic.

There were also questions and contributions from members which led to interesting discussions and it was apparent how committed everyone is to making Fitzrovia a great place to live and work.

You can read the full minutes here: AGM Minutes 8.7.21

Your time has come to vote in a referendum on the Neighbourhood Plan on 2nd September 2021. Everyone registered to vote will be able to say whether they want the plan to influence planning decisions and create an improved environment for all those living in, working in and visiting the area. All businesses in the neighbourhood which pay business rates will also get a vote. The Fitzrovia Centre in Foley Street will be the polling station but you can also apply for a postal vote through this link:

https://www.westminster.gov.uk/about-council/democracy/postal-and-proxy-voting

One of the main functions of the Forum is to prepare a neighbourhood plan. This sets out a series of policies explaining how we’d like to see the area develop over the next 20 years. The plan has been based on extensive consultation and we work closely with community groups, statutory bodies and business organisations such as the New West End Company. The draft plan has been approved by an independent Examiner who has agreed it fits with other plans prepared by Westminster City Council and the Mayor of London.

We have had two very positive endorsements from Jace Tyrrell and Griff Rhys Jones:

It is only through working in partnership we will deliver improved cleaner air and a high quality street environment, with a vibrant mix of business and residential uses enhancing the built form and heritage of the area.‎ We encourage all local businesses to support the Neighbourhood Plan.

Jace Tyrrell, Chief Executive, New West End Company

Please do have a look at the plan; It’s important to your future. Both businesses and residents have the opportunity to assesses it, to vote for it, and to make it happen.  If you do, it can make a real difference to what happens, because by law it must be taken into account.

Griff Rhys Jones, President, Civic Voice

The final stage is the referendum of residents and businesses. If the majority vote in favour, the plan becomes an important statutory document which the Council has to take into account when considering planning applications. It also sets out other priorities and opportunities to influence the way budgets are spent to benefit the community and local environment.

You will receive further information about the referendum on 2nd September 2021 nearer the time but please have a look at the plan on our website (www.fitzwest.org/neighbourhood-plan) and please vote ‘YES’!

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.

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