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

Andrew raised a number of points about the impact of parking policies, and there was a discussion around parking bays and congestion caused by double parking. Andrew noted that the parking tariff had recently gone up from £1.60 to £1.80, a development that he thought was not helpful to the situation in Askew Road. He said that this extra revenue should be ploughed back into the community. Emily highlighted a scheme in Ealing and asked if we could have ’20 minutes free shopping bays’, but Stephen said there needed to be a minimum charge to prevent the system being abused. Emily said shopkeepers in Askew Road needed short term parking to help their businesses to thrive. Graeme said that a minimum charge had to be levied to carefully manage ‘length of stay’. He will draft a paper for the Cabinet Member suggesting five more bays and a range of minimum charges.

Richard mentioned parking at the eastern end and asked if we could be included in the consultation; Stephen replied that we would.

CCTV camera

Emily said the shopkeepers perceived that the camera was there solely to fine motorists using the shops. She added that commerce had declined in the road since the cameras were installed. There was a discussion about the purpose of the cameras, that they should be used to deter crime, etc. It was noted that they monitor at peak times only, i.e. 8 – 9.30am & 4.30 – 6.30pm. The cameras were additionally used to enforce parking in the bus stop lane which is a double length stop, arguably unnecessary as there is only one route on the Askew Road. The Council monitors the footage but the Police have ultimate control. There was a feeling that the cameras should be removed, however this remains an unresolved issue.

Street furniture / pavements

Emily mentioned the need to upgrade the pavements. Stephen confirmed that the tatty barriers would be removed. There was a discussion about the planters at the top of Hadyn Park, Cobbold and Gayford Roads. Gill said the planters were in a very bad state and officers said that they could be repaired. Gill said they were a magnet for litter, that drivers knocked into them and that a number of residents had made complaints. The consensus was that they should be removed and replaced by suitable tree planting. Annabel highlighted the difficulty in protecting street trees or plants, but it was agreed that tree planting was a good thing. Stephen emphasised the importance of greening our streets. It was noted that the existing rubbish bins would be upgraded and Richard suggested that we have the slim-line recycling and litter bins used in King Street; he also said that butt and gum containers should be installed.

The Shopkeepers Survey

Gill asked Kim about the results of the recent survey carried out by the Business Enterprise Centre. Kim said there had been 58 responses – 12 positive about trading conditions; 14 neutral. She added that less than one third currently take up the training courses on offer. Gill said the shopkeepers she had spoken to had come up with various ideas, such as small grants to smarten up shop fronts. One trader had suggested Christmas lights. There was some disagreement about grants; Stephen said the Council should not be in the business of giving hand-outs to shopkeepers. Lisa said that at a CGSC the business plan had indicated that the shopkeepers in Uxbridge Rd had failed to take up the grants offered to them for shop frontages.

Modernisation of the library

Emily said that the library needed to be refurbished; there seemed to be a lot of unused space around the computer section. Annabel added that there appeared to be very few books (particularly in the children’s section) and that there were limited periodicals, and the information leaflets were poorly displayed. Lisa said that when she had her advice surgery she noticed that the library (& computer section) was very well used by children and families. Stephen said he would pass this issue onto Cllr Paul Bristow, the Cabinet Member for Community Services, and ask him to visit the library.

Post Office closures

Both Stephen and Andrew were in dialogue with POL about the closure programme. Stephen said the Council was exploring the option of relocating POs to Askew Road and Baron’s Court Libraries, and would soon be holding another meeting with POL. There was discussion about whether we should defend the 7 King’s Parade PO or lobby POL to relocate a PO to the library. Annabel pointed out that the sub-post master of 7 King’s Parade was now very keen to retain his post office. Furthermore, should his PO be reprieved he intends to provide an additional serving position and this could be a better option than relocating to the Askew Rd Library. It was a difficult balancing act for the council to pursue relocation to the library prior to knowing if the 7 King’s Parade PO would be reprieved.

Annabel added that the film taken at the Council’s public meeting, featuring the two Askew Rd POs and the residents of Pocklington Lodge, would be shown on BBC1’s ‘Inside Out’ on 11.4.08 at 7.30pm.

Emily said that as ever there was a problem with the 266 bus – although the issue was not pursued further.

3) The Future

Stephen spoke about the need to increase footfall and said that the road needed an anchor store. It was noted that the development at 167-181 Askew Road had been approved by Planning. It was thought that Sainsbury’s was interested in the site. We also spoke about the Allied Carpets site (after the meeting Lyn Garner said she would try to ascertain what Sainsbury’s intentions were). We asked Stephen about the budget for the proposed measures. Various financial options were mentioned, such as Section 106 agreements and sponsorship of trees. We all agreed that it was vital to create a clean and pleasant environment, one in which traders could prosper, although there was some disagreement about the support that should be available to independent retailers.

Future Action

Stephen said that a report will be drafted that will consider options for commercial investment.

The report will focus on:- Park and shop; good environment; streetscape; cleanliness; increased footfall – with an anchor store. We will continue to look at Post Office services. We will be involved in the consultation process and have the opportunity to look at the draft report before final decisions are taken. Graeme’s draft paper should be ready in about three months. Visible improvements to Askew Rd could be expected in about six months.

4) Stephen was thanked for holding the meeting; it had been positive in deciding the actions that could to be taken.

The meeting closed.