Committee Meeting 22nd February 2011

Present
Carol Stone (Host, Chair)
Graham Tigg (Treasurer, Minutes)
Jackie Aust-Lean
Richard Palmer

Apologies
Marise Lee

Matters arising from the AGM

The Snickett seems have been regularly cleaned for the past few months.

Recycling collection calendars have been delivered to residents. The resident who complained at the AGM about kitchen waste not being collected reliably now leaves the green bin in a more obvious place (but still behind a low wall) and no longer has problems.

Rubbish in the road on collection day continues to be an issue. The majority of this is kitchen waste and it seems some residents still leave this in general waste (plastic sacks) that animals break into.

Nobody has expressed interest in joining the committee.

Parking and CPZ

The committee has been sent the Thornton-Mayfield Residents’ Association February Newsletter. This states that a parking proposal will be taken to the Chiswick Area Committee (Monitoring) in March* and that the nature of this proposal is for a separate CPZ (Controlled Parking Zone) for Thornton and Mayfield Avenues plus Upham Park Road. The agenda will be published on the Council website link here the week before.
* Subsequent to the meeting we know from the Council this will be the May meeting.

The background to this includes: -

• There was a review of the East Chiswick CPZ in 2008/9 that included a survey/questionnaire of all residents in the zone - results of the review are linked to this page (PDF files)
• The review report noted that “Thornton Avenue, Mayfield Avenue and Upham Park Road form a smaller inclusive area supporting retention of the existing operational times. The Thornton/Mayfield Residents’ Association has requested a standalone zone, which Members may wish to consider especially in view of the consultation responses”
• The review concluded “The decision on Mayfield Avenue, Thornton Avenue and Upham Park Road be deferred until the outcome of the Mid-Chiswick CPZ review is reported”
• The Mid-Chiswick CPZ report is expected to be presented in May 2011.
• The report states that for the whole of the East Chiswick CPZ there are 100 more parking bays than issued permits.

From the Thornton/Mayfield perspective the main concern appears to be residents of other streets in the East Chiswick CPZ parking on their patch – presumable to commute from the station or visit shops etc. The newsletter states that the Council have made two surveys and found that 25% of permits are indeed from other streets in the zone. How many of these are from UPR is not known but this information has apparently been requested. The newsletter also conveys surprise that Upham Park Road is being included in the Council’s thinking (the survey did not include UPR).

From the Upham Park Road perspective concerns around this include: -

• Council consultation with UPR residents over any changes
• No information on the likely impact of any changes on UPR parking pressures
• A three street zone (with UPR) seems too restrictive and parking elsewhere in the current zone when the road is full (typically Sunday and other evenings) would presumably not be an option.
• A Mayfield/Thornton two street zone may displace out-of-street permit holders into UPR.

The newsletter seems to convey that Thornton/Mayfield residents desire a two street zone without UPR.

Actions:

Carol will contact Councillor Todd to establish how UPR becomes involved with any proposals.
Graham will monitor the agenda for the May meeting
Graham will draft a communication to residents


Dates of next meeting

To be arranged by email.

Annual Genaral Meeting 25th November 2010 Minutes

Present
Graham Tigg (Treasurer, Chair)
Jackie Aust-Lean (Committee member)
Marise Lee (Committee member)
Carol Stone (Committee member, Minutes)

10 Residents

Apologies
Richard Palmer (Committee member)

1. The Chairman welcomed those present and introduced members of the Committee. A special thank you was given to Jackie for hosting the AGM and Carol for her work in progressing most of the actions over the past year.

Overview of the year 2009-2010
2. The Chairman provided a brief resume of the Committee’s work during the past year.

Street maintenance and road markings
In response to repeated requests by the Committee, the residents’ parking road markings had been repainted in late spring/early summer. This work had been necessary following pipe replacement work undertaken by Thames Water several years ago.
In cases where paving stones had been lifted by tree roots the Council’s remedy was to resurface the area with tar macadam, which was unsightly.

Trees/leaf clearance
Extensive pruning of the trees in the road had taken place in December 2008 on a regular three-yearly cycle. The growth at the foot of the trees tended to be removed by the Council on request, with some residents dealing with those trees directly outside their premises. Leaf clearance had recently taken place, unfortunately before most of the leaves had fallen (subsequent to the AGM full street cleaning took place in December).
Residents thought that it would be helpful to have a timetable. The Chairman observed that, because it was not possible to close the road for street cleaning, individual residents with vehicles had some responsibility to facilitate cleaning access.

The ‘snickett’
In 2009 the possible installation of CCTV cameras, for security purposes, at the UPR end of the footpath beside the railway embankment to Turnham Green Terrace (the snickett), had been raised with the Council. Following a number of reminders, one of our Homefields councillors eventually advised this would be a matter for Transport for London (TfL). Those present at the meeting agreed that the matter should not be pursued further: there was no history of incidents in the snickett and the overhead lighting had been improved. There continued to be a problem, however, during the summer months from overhanging trees in the back gardens of the houses along the north side of Thornton Avenue. A group of UPR residents had cut back some of the overhanging branches (subsequent to the AGM overhanging foliage had been cut back again). The committee appreciates this independent action by residents.
TfL contract the Council to clean the snickett and the Committee reminds the Council of this as necessary.


Refuse/recycling collection
On the whole the new arrangements for the weekly collection of refuse and recycling appeared to be working well although there continued to be some confusion about the fortnightly alternating collections of garden waste and plastics. It was noted that residents had not received up-to-date collection date calendars from the Council. Also noted was that pavements and the road were often strewn with litter following collections. One resident complained that, despite having contacted the Council on numerous occasions, her food waste container was not collected from the boundary of her property. The Committee undertook to raise the foregoing matters with the Council (subsequent to the AGM the Council have sent residents new collection calendars as requested).

LMC planning application
3. Residents had been informed of revised proposals for the redevelopment of the site at 104-108 Chiswick High Road. They are substantially similar to those approved in April 2010 but no longer retain the existing front elevation of the building – it will be rebuilt in the same style instead. The Committee did not wish to make any further comments on this application. Residents could view the plans and follow progress online here http://planning.hounslow.gov.uk/Planning_CaseNo.aspx?strCASENO=P/2010/3115
(note that the library provides online facilities for this).

Mice
4. In response to a comment by a new resident at the 2009 AGM about the presence of mice in their house, the meeting noted that this was a common problem in the road, exacerbated by the long terraces of houses. The Chairman advised that the Committee had discussed a request for a coordinated eradication programme involving a number of properties and rejected it as being logistically too complicated. The Council operates a pest control service for which a charge was normally made.

Treasurer’s report
5. In his capacity as Treasurer, the Chairman reported that there was £547.75 in the Association’s account, compared with £570.02 in November 2009. £15 had been received in donations and £0.45 in interest. £30.50 expenses had been incurred for the 2009 AGM plus £7.22 for photocopying of the 2010 AGM flyer.


UPRRA Website
6. The Chairman mentioned the Website which he had established for the UPRRA at www.uprra.blogspot.com. At present it included information about the Residents’ Association, including its genesis, terms of reference and achievements.

7. The site can be used to communicate with residents with internet access and readers can comment on entries.
The Chairman asked attendees to include their email addresses on the attendance list. Resident’s names and email addresses would not be published on the website.


Committee membership
8. There were currently five members of the Committee. The Chairman invited any resident who was interested in serving on the Committee to contact one of the existing members. It was desirable that potential members should have easy access to email as this was the preferred method of communication between members and with Council officials.

Street party
9. The possibility of holding a street party in 2011 was discussed briefly. Such a party had been held in 1977 to mark the Queen’s silver jubilee. It was agreed that the views of residents should be canvassed before any approach to the Council should be made regarding the necessary permissions. The Chairman was asked to explore the possibility of seeking residents’ views via email and the website.

Dates of future meetings
10. The next AGM would be held in November 2011, on a date to be notified.

11. A Committee meeting would take place early in 2011 in order to take forward issues raised at this meeting.

12. The meeting ended at 9.50pm.

UPRRA AGM 2010 Notice

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

THURSDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2010 AT 7.30 pm
33 Upham Park Road

Come and meet your neighbours over drinks and nibbles - all residents are cordially invited to attend.

The aim is also to meet the people who live in our street so this year the meeting will be kept as informal as possible. Matters of local interest will be discussed, such as: -

• tree maintenance
• street cleaning
• refuse/recycling collection

Members of the UPRRA Committee are: -
Jackie Aust-Lean (No. 33)
Marise Lee (No. 10B)
Richard Palmer (No. 19)
Carol Stone (No. 56)
Graham Tigg, treasurer (No. 22).

If you have an item which you would like us to discuss, please contact a member of the Committee before 23 November.

PLEASE COME - WE HAVE PROVED OVER THE YEARS THAT COLLECTIVE ACTION CAN ACHIEVE RESULTS!

Committee Meeting 18th October 2010

Present

Carol Stone

Jackie Austin-Lean

Richard Palmer

Marise Lee

Apologies

Graham Tigg

‘Snickett’ Cleaning

There was a recent clean-up, but it’s not frequent enough. It was noted that it tends to get cleaned just before the leaves fall (early Oct) and then not again till early Dec. The Council has a contract with London Transport to clean the snickett but as it is not on any maps in the area, perhaps it tends to get overlooked.

Fly Tipping

This comes and goes. At the moment, Carol telephones the Council and they send people to remove the items. It is possible that people from other Boroughs with less frequent rubbish collection may dump their items on our street.

Rubbish Collection/Recycling

Sometimes rubbish is left on the street especially if the foxes have broken into the bin bags. This reveals some food waste which attracts flies and creates mess on the street.  Carol will email the Council  to ask what instructions the rubbish collection men are given and to request that they clear all the rubbish properly, leaving nothing behind. It was also noted that we need a new card to let us know where we are with the alternate plastics/garden waste recycling.

Street Cleaning

This happens at odd times, about 3 times a year. Richard noted that it’s normally just before the lime trees flower. Carol will email the Council for a street cleaning timetable but keep it open ended. There was also a discussion on windows and the position of satellite dishes on the street, especially those on the front of houses which can be an eyesore. However, this is not a conservation area so there are no regulations governing any adjustments to the exterior of a property. There seems little point in getting this street designated as a conservation area.

CCTV for the ‘snickett’

No further action will be taken

Trees

A resident wants the Council to cut down the trees on the street and may turn up at the AGM to discuss this. This may not be beneficial for the street but perhaps cutting down alternate trees may be feasible. The trees are old and could benefit from being cut/topped. However this could incur more problems with heave in houses etc. This issue will be raised at the AGM to notify residents.

AGM

Jackie has kindly agreed to host the AGM again, but time will be limited. At the moment we’re looking at the 25^th Nov. It was agreed that it should be packaged as an ‘Opportunity to meet ones neighbours and raise any issues on the street’. It was also decided not to invite a Councillor this time but maybe to ask the local Police. The aim is to keep it informal to build community spirit and to keep the AGM ‘bit’ short.

Committee Meeting 12th May 2010

Present
Carol Stone (Host, Chair)
Graham Tigg (Treasurer, Minutes)
Jackie Aust-Lean
Marise Lee

Apologies
Richard Palmer
Phil Hullah

Committee Membership
Phil Hullah has joined the Committee. Unfortunately he had to pull out of attending at the last moment so the meeting welcomed him in his absence.

Snickett CCTV
Carol contacted Councillor Oulds for an update, but he was apparently unaware of the history and any progress so is finding out.
Carol will chase Councillor Oulds for an update.

Street Maintenance and Cleaning
The Snickett was cleaned before the meeting. Jackie conversed with the Council cleaning team who were not clear that it was their responsibility until they made a phone call to check.
Carol will email the Council to remind them that Metronet have contracted the Council to clean the Snickett.

Following Carol’s efforts the parking bay lines are due to be painted by the end of June 2010.

The large puddle that remains after rain by the Futon shop wall has been referred to the Council’s Drainage section.

Fly Tipping
Phil Hullah has asked the Council to look into putting up a tipping notice on the Futon shop wall opposite LMC. The meeting felt this would have little impact beyond creating yet more signage. CCTV was thought to be more effective.
Carol will progress CCTV covering the LMC end of the road with Councillor Oulds


LMC Planning Application
Planning permission was approved on 21st April subject to Legal Agreement. There is no information on when work will start.

Subsequent to the meeting Graham has read the Planning approval document. Of interest is that there is no approval for restaurant use, there will be underground parking space for 10 cars with access via a car lift and the existing upper frontage of the corner building be preserved.

Council Matters
The Homefields Councillors were re-elected in the May election.

Neighbourhood Policing
Sgt Jonathan Adcock has retired and has been replaced by Sgt Mick Rawling. The full team is now  Sgt Mick Rawling, PC Antony Murray, PC Kevin Howes, PCSO Kieran Leighton, PCSO Mark James, Ikechukwu Ebosie.
For more information see the Safer Neighbourhoods Team post.

Dates of future meetings
The meeting agreed to hold the AGM in November with a Committee meeting to proceed it in October.

With relatively few issues to progress the meeting agreed to review the need to meet before October over the summer via email.

Committee Meeting 28th January 2010

Present
Carol Stone (Host, Chair)
Graham Tigg (Treasurer, Minutes)
Richard Palmer

Apologies
Jackie Aust-Lean
Marise Lee

Note that a fuller background to the following items appears in the AGM 2009 minutes here.

The agenda of the meeting was the items raised at the AGM plus the letter from Phil Hullah on fly tipping.

Snickett CCTV
Following the absence of a Councillor at the AGM, Carol has subsequently established from Councillor McGregor that CCTV is now Councillor Oulds remit.
Carol will contact Councillor Oulds for an update.

Street Maintenance and Cleaning
The street was cleaned in December and this removed the last of the leaf fall that wasn’t hidden under parked vehicles. The snickett was cleaned on the day of the meeting.

The parking bay white lines still need re-painting. The AGM raised concern about the large puddles that formed near the driveway at the back of the Futon shop.
Carol will report the white lines and flooding to the Council.

Refuse and Recycling
Collections were disrupted by the weather the first week of January and a plastics collection was missed.
The meeting discussed a perceived increase in the mess left on the street on collection day (Wednesdays). Part of the problem is that animals break into bags because they smell food and the ensuing mess is not cleared by the collection teams. If all residents used the kitchen waste bins for food this should not be an issue.

Fly Tipping
Phil Hullah wrote to Carol about fly tipping opposite LMC (the wall by the Futon shop) and a lack of response from the Council on his reporting of the matter. Carol has discovered that LMC took it upon themselves to clear this up and this may have created some confusion with the Council.
Carol will contact Phil to discuss.
Graham will email Phil about adding him to the email circulation list.

LMC Planning Application
This is progressing with application details now available on the Hounslow website here. The next milestone is the Sustainable Committee meeting on 17th February 2010.
Apparently Thornton Avenue residents have objected to possible restaurant use of the retail units.

Mice
The AGM raised the issue of mice in houses – something many properties have suffered from for years. There was a perception that one household using a pest control service simply sent the mice to a neighbour temporarily. The idea that a number of adjacent households could co-ordinate a pest control service to solve the problem was suggested. Note that pest control of mice is a chargeable service from the council or elsewhere.

The meeting discussed this and felt that co-ordinating such an exercise was impractical with issues such as how many households to include, gaining agreement of all concerned, organising payment, visit appointments etc.

Next Meeting
Committee - 19:30 Wednesday 12th May 2010 at Carol's.

Graham Tigg

Annual Genaral Meeting 12th November 2009 Minutes

Present
Graham Tigg, Treasurer, in the Chair
Jackie Aust-Lean (Committee member)
Carol Stone (Committee member)

16 residents

In Attendance
Police Community Support Officer Ike Eboise

Chairman
1. The Chairman welcomed those present and introduced members of the Committee.

2. The Committee had hoped that one of the local councillors representing Homefields ward would be able to attend the meeting but, in the event, this had not been possible.

Community Support Officer PC Ebosie
3. PC Ebosie gave a brief description of the work undertaken by the Metropolitan Police Chiswick Homefields Team under the Safer Neighbourhoods initiative.

4. More details on the local team are here

5. PC Ebosie reported that crime statistics for Upham Park Road (UPR) from May to November 2009. There were no Burglaries, Thefts from motor vehicles, Thefts of pedal cycles or Antisocial behaviour. There were 3 incidents classified as “Other”.

6. Residents should make a note of the unique reference number (IMEI number) of their mobile telephone so that the telephone can be immobilised if stolen and the theft reported to the police. The identifier could be found behind the battery or by keying *#06# into the telephone.

7. PCSO Ebosie covered the Ringmaster Messaging System, giving up to date information about local crime. The service was available by telephone, email or fax. Further details were available from the Hounslow Ringmaster office on 020 8247 6443.

8. Overview of the year 2008-2009
The ‘snickett’
In 2008 a majority of residents had supported a proposal to install CCTV cameras, for security purposes, at the UPR end of the footpath which runs along the side of the railway embankment to Turnham Green Terrace (the snickett). Councillor Gerald McGregor had undertaken to raise the matter at an appropriate meeting of the Chiswick Area Committee. To date there appeared to have been no progress in this matter although it was understood that rolling out CCTV to improve security was a priority.
Overhead lighting in the snickett had been improved but there continued to be a problem in the summer months from overhanging trees in the back gardens of the houses along the north side of Thornton Avenue. A group of UPR residents had trimmed overhanging vegetation for which the road was grateful.
Parking
There had been insufficient support from residents for a proposal to introduce double yellow lines at the embankment end of the road to permit 24 hour turning, with the consequent loss of overnight parking places.
Traffic lights
The previously erratic operation of the traffic lights at the junction with Chiswick High Road (CHR) had given rise to problems. During the course of the year, as part of a review of traffic flow along CHR, UPR had been accorded its own dedicated phase at all times and the arrangement was now working well.
Trees/leaf clearance
Extensive pruning of the trees in the road took place in December 2008. Street cleaning and leaf clearance was undertaken just before leaf fall at the end of October 2009. It was assumed that there would be a further exercise before the end of the year.
Street maintenance and road markings
There were a number of outstanding issues which the Committee had previously raised with the Council but which had not yet been fully resolved. In particular, the residents’ parking road markings had not been repainted following work by Thames Water (but the more critical yellow lines had).
In response to complaints about the dangerous state of some of the paving stones which had been lifted by tree roots, the Chairman pointed out in such cases the Council’s remedy was to resurface the area with tar macadam which was unsightly.
On the other hand, a number of persistent puddles had been dealt with by the Council. One resident observed, however, that the road had apparently subsided in the driveway behind the Futon shop and that the depression was flooded whenever there was heavy rain.
The Committee undertook to pursue the foregoing matters with the Council.
Refuse/recycling collection
The new arrangements for the weekly collection of refuse and recycling material appeared to be working well although there was clearly some confusion about the fortnightly alternating collections of garden waste and plastics. Residents were recommended to consult the calendars which the Council had distributed giving full details of collection dates. There were a number of comments about the fact that bags and boxes were not always correctly replaced irrespective of whether they bore the appropriate house number.

LMC planning application
9. The Chairman invited Frank Grech of LMC to update the meeting on revised proposals for the redevelopment of the site at 104-108 Chiswick High Road. A previous planning application had been rejected by the Council on a number of grounds and a subsequent appeal had been unsuccessful. The architects now proposed a development retaining the existing front and side elevations of the building, plus it would be considerably smaller in overall size and bulk than the previous proposal. The roof would be reconstructed but would be similar in height to the existing roof. The ground floor would be allocated for commercial/retail purposes.

10. The plan envisaged the construction of two three-bedroom two-storey dwellings which would front on to UPR. The houses would be contemporary in design but would be similar in size and bulk to the existing dwellings in UPR. Underground car parking facilities would be provided for the residential units.

11. LMC hoped that these new proposals would meet the objections raised by some residents and by the Council in response to earlier proposals. A further application would shortly be submitted to the Council for consideration. Residents would be able to view the plans at the Chiswick library.

UPRRA Website
12. The Chairman introduced the Website (using www.blogspot.com) which he had established for the UPRRA at www.uprra.blogspot.com. At present it included information about the Residents’ Association, including its genesis, terms of reference and achievements.

13. The site could be used to communicate with residents who had internet access and there was a facility for everyone to comment on entries. The Chairman asked attendees to include their email addresses on the attendance list so that they could be contacted occasionally whenever the site was updated. The minutes of the meeting would be posted on the site.

Mice
14. A new resident drew attention to the presence of mice in his house. This seemed to be a common problem in the road, exacerbated by the long terraces of houses. The meeting noted that the Council operated a pest control service, for which a charge was normally made, but several residents pointed out that treatment of individual houses was unlikely to be effective and that a case could be made for the treatment of several houses as a single exercise. The Committee agreed to explore this with the Council.

Treasurer’s report
15. In his capacity as Treasurer, the Chairman reported that there was £562.80 in the Association’s account, compared with £592.41 in December 2008. Expenses were incurred for the 2008 AGM and for the photocopying of the 2009 AGM flyer.
The Committee was keen to keep the finances healthy to meet unexpected needs, for example a Solicitor’s letter, and the Treasurer stated that donations were welcome.

Committee membership
16. There were currently five members of the Committee. The Chairman invited any resident who was interested in serving on the Committee to contact one of the existing members. It was desirable that potential members should have easy access to email as this was the preferred method of communication between members and with Council officials.

Dates of future meetings
17. The next AGM would be held in November 2010, on a date to be notified.

18. A Committee meeting would take place early in 2010 in order to progress issues raised at this meeting.

19. The meeting ended at 8.45pm and the Chairman thanked Jackie for her generous hospitality in hosting the meeting.