Labour’s five point plan for fairer parking in Westminster

Labour Councillors have unveiled their Five Point Plan for fairer parking in Westminster.

The Five Point Plan will:

* cut the cost of a Residents’ Parking Permit by £10 a year;
* scrap the loss-making motorbike parking charges which have been so controversial and divisive;
* end the practice of parking ticket targets for parking wardens;
* scrap the plans to charge residents to park on single yellow lines in the evening;
* use Westminster’s 100 wi-fi CCTV cameras to catch criminals as the top priority, rather than fine motorists.

The cost of a cutting the cost of Residents’ Parking Permit by £10 a year is £390,000 and Labour say that this will be paid for by using the £430,000 saved by scrapping the loss-making motorbike parking charges.

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Leader of the Labour Group, said: “Westminster residents deserve a better deal on parking. After the next election we will introduce policies to promote Fairer Parking right across Westminster, from Pimlico to Paddington.

5-star dinner as Westminster’s “Dinosaur” Conservatives axe hotlines

Conservatives axe the Community Intelligence Line and the Racial Incidents Hotline as menu for £23k Civic Dinner reveals Council extravagance.

Westminster Conservatives have axed the Community Intelligence Line and the Racial Incidents Hotline to save £13,788, just days after the menu for £23k Civic Dinner has revealed the true extent of the Council’s wasteful extravagance with public money.

The Council report recommending the axing of these phone lines reports a catalogue of bungling over recent years and says:

“Through the Community Intelligence Line residents are able to report anti-social behaviour 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and request a callback if necessary. All information is logged and is easily accessible…

Westminster Labour welcomes dog micro-chipping plan

Strong support for classes that teach responsible dog ownership.

Labour Councillors have welcomed the Government’s plans to toughen laws on dangerous dogs, in response to fears that animals are being used to ‘intimidate communities’. The proposed measures include extending dangerous dogs laws to cover private property, introducing compulsory micro chipping for all dogs, and giving police and councils more power to address the issue.

The Government initiative comes in a week when two dog socialising classes, to encourage responsible dog ownership, have started every week at:

* Tamplin Mews W9 (Harrow Road Ward) from 11.30am – 13.00pm;

* Westbourne Green W2 (Westbourne Ward) from 14.30pm – 16.00pm.

In these classes Dog Control Orders are explained and discussed, owners are taught how to walk their dog on lead and to socialise their dog with other dogs, not to jump up at members of the public and how to control excessive barking. Poop Bags are given out at every lesson and the importance of picking up after your dog explained.

Already Members of the Queens Park community are seeing more dogs on leads in public places and cleaner streets. For more information contact Crissie Chambers on 07949 523 710 or email her

Use CCTV cameras to catch criminals first say Westminster Labour

Fining motorists should be a lower priority.

Westminster’s 100 CCTV cameras should be targeted at catching criminals first and foremost, and using the cameras to give parking tickets to motorists should be relegated to a lesser priority, say Labour Councillors.

Following the re-switching on of Westminster’s 100 CCTV cameras after a Conservative bungle which cost ratepayers and £825,000 to put right, Labour Councillors say that the cameras should be located in areas where residents want more security – such as North Paddington, Pimlico, Church Street and the West End – rather than in St John’s Wood, Bayswater and Marylebone where the cameras rake in millions of pounds in parking fines for the Council.

Westminster Conservatives give ’slap in the face’ to voluntary groups

Westminster Conservatives have delivered another ’slap in the face’ to Westminster’s voluntary organisations by throwing them off the main board of the Westminster City Partnership and relegating them to a toothless ‘advisory board’.

The decision to end a decade of positive contributions from Westminster’s voluntary sector was taken at the WCP meeting on 4th March when Labour Councillor Guthrie McKie voted against the proposal but was outvoted by the Conservatives who forced through the proposals. Following the vote, voluntary sector representatives Drew Stevenson, Jackie Rosenberg and Voluntary Action Westminster Chief Executive Bernard Collier walked out of the meeting.

Prior to the meeting, Chair of the Paddington Development Trust, Drew Stevenson, wrote to WCP board members to say:

“My main concern is the proposal to destroy the cross sector partnership that the current WCP has been, and to replace it with a one-sector Board.

Labour calls for inquiry into Westbourne Terrace housing failures

Labour Councillors have called for an inquiry into the condition of 69-77 Westbourne Terrace after residents complained about the failure of City West Homes to carry out long-promised works.

Residents have told Labour Councillors that: “Balconies have deteriorated and need rendering. Major structural work has to be undertaken before they can carry out internal refurbishment. They ripped up floor coverings in Nos 69-77 Westbourne Terrace in January 2009. Apart from health and safety issues with the stairs, the main entrances and landings are so filthy. Apparently they can only sweep these areas as they say there is no point in steaming the dirt and muck.”

“We have had a cycle of men with clipboards, updates galore, and our 4th project manager in 3 years. There is going to be a general meeting in April but I am at my wits end now.”

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Leader of the Labour Group, said:

“This is a shocking story of incompetence and poor service by City West Homes. We demand a full inquiry in the failures at this block of flats.

Labour unveils a green agenda for Westminster

Speaking at the Council’s Budget meeting on 3rd March, Harrow Road Labour Councillor Ruth Bush outlined Labour’s ‘Green Agenda’ for the forthcoming elections, saying:

“At the local level, we would dramatically increase the number of micro-recycling centres. These would all have provision for tetrapak recycling and small electrical recycling – the pilots are welcome, but residents are asking for them to be standard provision.

“We would prioritise getting recycling to rise above the current dismal less than 23%, and get Westminster out of the bottom 10% of local authorities.

“As residents have asked us, we would actively promote, within the Council and elsewhere, the use of goods made from recycled materials; and we would monitor the disposal of electrical goods to be sure that this did not contribute to the exploitation of the very poor in other countries.

Labour to cut Council waste to help Westminster’s voluntary groups

Labour Councillors have pledged to restore almost £600,000 of cuts to voluntary sector groups by axing Council waste. Labour say that they will restore grants to voluntary groups by cutting the following waste:

* Staff bonuses for the highest paid senior Council officers – £360,000
* Council hospitality, including food and wine for Councillors – £210,000
* Civic Dinner – £23,000

Nearly 80 voluntary projects have been refused funding, despite the fact that many of them are recognised by the Council as delivering important services. Some of the projects that have been refused funding are:

* St John’s Wood Adventure Playground: £19,300
* Youth Project for Lillington and Longmore Gardens: £12,000
* Queens Park Bangladesh Society: £20,000
* Friends of St Anne’s, Soho: £30,000
* Cardinal Hume Centre in Victoria: £28,000

Conservative plan to ‘buy’ Westminster North exposed

Labour Councillors have accused of Westminster Conservatives of attempting to ‘buy’ victory at the next General Election after ‘The Independent’ revealed that the Conservatives in Westminster North have received donations of more than £300,000 in the past two years, three times more than Labour.

According to The Independent on 27th February:

“The Tories in Westminster North, recently beset by infighting over the selection of ‘Cameron cutie’ Joanne Cash as their candidate, collected £319,840. Labour, which is defending a precarious majority of 2,120, was more than £200,000 poorer than its challengers, receiving £110,871 in the two years.”

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Leader of the Labour Group, said:

“The Conservatives are obviously trying to ‘buy’ the next election because that is the only way they can win. This is an abuse of the democratic process.

Westminster Labour to cut cost of residents’ parking by £10 a year

Unpopular loss-making motorbike parking charges to be scrapped with Labour.

Labour Councillors are promising a £10 cut in the cost of an annual Residents’ Parking Permit as part of its election pledges, to be unveiled at the Council meeting on 3rd March when the budget for next financial year is set. The cost of an annual Residents’ Parking Permit is currently £120, making Labour’s £10 cut a reduction of 8.3%.

Labour say that the £390,000 cost of cutting the cost of a residents’ parking permit by £10 will be met by scrapping the hugely unpopular and loss-making motorbike parking charges which are costing Council Tax payers £430,000 this year.

Labour say that cutting the cost of a residents parking permit will go some way to compensating residents for the Council’s policy of suspending parking bays to allow contractors to use the road as building sites.