Minutes of the council meeting 10th April

SAVE THE ASKEW ROAD (STAR) CAMPAIGN MEETING - HELD ON 10/4/08 at 4.30pm

In Attendance

Cllr. Stephen Greenhalgh, Leader of the Council.

Nigel Pallace, Director of Environment

Andrew Slaughter, MP.

Graeme Swinburne, AD – Highways & Engineering

Emily Phillips – STAR.

Annabel Clarke – Cathnor Park Area Action Group.

Lyn Garner, AD – Housing & Community

Richard Scott – H&F Historic Buildings Support Group.

Cllr. Lisa Homan - Askew

Kim Dero, Head of Regeneration

Cllr. Gill Dickenson – Askew

Apologies:

Annabelle May – Hammersmith Society

John Griggs – Wendell Park Community Group

Stephen chaired the meeting.

Gill took the minutes.

1) Overview

The decision by Post Office Ltd (POL) to close two POs in Askew Road had focused the need to address the long-standing commercial decline of the road. The local campaign had gained broad support and Stephen had spoken at Andrew’s public meeting. Stephen opened this meeting by saying that he had inspected conditions in the road and as a result, had offered to host a meeting to look at what we could do. He then invited Emily, who had helped to spearhead the current campaign, to outline her priorities for urgent action. She highlighted parking issues, the CCTV camera, shabby shop fronts & street furniture and modernising the library as the key issues. Emily also said that the general climate of the road around crime and anti-social behaviour was not conducive to a good community spirit. In view of the wide range of issues to be tackled Stephen said he had designated an Officer to act as our Project Champion. The Officer was Orin Miller, Principal Business Support Manager, and it would be his task to co-ordinate the initiatives for rejuvenating Askew Road. We welcomed this initiative.

2) The Issues

Parking strategies

Meeting with Stephen Greenhalgh at the council

Following the public meeting on the Askew Road a few weeks ago about the Post Office and all the other issues concerning the regeneration of the Askew Road, there will be a meeting at the council with Stephen Greenhalgh (Head councillor), Andrew Slaughter MP and myself, Emily Phillips (STAR). Also other representatives of the council and local resident groups will attend. We will be discussing and planning the best way forward for the regeneration of the Askew Road.

Please add your concerns on this site so that all points will be covered at the meeting.

Click the “Comment” link below right to write your comments.

What Can You Do?

It was clear from what the Post Office Limited representative said at the Public Meeting this evening, that they would only be swayed by convincing accounts of specific difficulties caused by closure of the Post Offices – for example the reliability of public transport, hazards on the route to the new Post Office, etc. which are submitted as part of the consultation process before April 2nd. So the most important thing to do is to send detailed representations about the impact of the closure of the Post Offices to Anita Turner, Network Development Manager, Post Office Limited at consultation@postoffice.co.uk
or by post to c/o National Consultation Team, FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM

Please also sign the petition against the post office closures online at www.andyslaughter.com.

Issues for the council can be sent to the Leader of the Council, Stephen Greenhalgh, Hammersmith Town Hall, London W6 0QU – stephen.greenhalgh@lbhf.gov.uk

Please copy your letters and emails to Andy Slaughter MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA or andy@andyslaughter.com

Public Meeting, Thurs March 6th, Askew Church Hall

We held a public meeting at the Askew Road Church Hall, this evening, Thursday 6th March.

We had a fantastic turnout – thank you to everyone who attended.

Speaking were:

Emily Phillips, Chair of meeting – local resident

Andy Slaughter, MP for Shepherds Bush

Stephen Greenhalgh, council leader

Lisa Homan, Askew Ward councillor

and Melanie Corfield from Post Office Limited.

Many residents were very vocal about their dismay at the closure of the Post Offices.  Melanie Corfield presented the Post Office’s case and explained the requirements of the consultation process.   A good portion of time was also spent discussing the wider issues that affect the Askew Road, including parking, shops closing, rents and rates and the area’s general air of neglect.  Too much was said to summarize here. I’ll be posting some videos shortly – in the meantime, feel free to leave comments here.