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

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

Invitation to AGM including Oxford Circus information session

Dear Members

All members of the Forum are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting on Thursday 18th May at 6pm at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, 25 Howland Street, W1T 4JG which will also feature:

  1. a presentation from Westminster Council and discussion about the changes to Oxford Circus traffic flow and how this will impact Fitzrovia
  2. a chance to hear about how the police are dealing with increased drug dealing on our streets

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

If you are not able to attend in person, then a zoom link will be available for you to join virtually.  Please click here to request the link by email.

 

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
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.

 

Waste Action Squad this week in Fitzrovia

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