Hanwell Police Station consultation

Please take a moment to respond to this important police consultation on the future of Ealing Borough's police stations. Of particular interest to Hanwell residents will be the future of Hanwell Police Station on the Uxbridge Rd, which looks likely to be judged to be 'surplus to requirements' if a suitable case is not made for it to be retained. It is currently being used to house 18 PCSOs and is not open to members of the public. However this reappraisal offers an opportunity to bring a visible and interactive police presence to Hanwell. Its position on the Uxbridge Rd and centre of Hanwell would appear to make it an ideal location, in terms of visibility and accessibility, for the Elthorne and/or Hobbayne Safer Neighbourhood Teams, both of which are currently located less than ideally outside Hanwell. Both have indicated that they would be happy to work out of Hanwell Police Station and that this would be an improvement on their current locations behind Sainsburys in West Ealing (Elthorne SNT) and in the Gurnell Grove Leisure Centre (Hobbayne SNT). The Metropolitan Police are inviting us to comment. They say our comments will be given consideration. If enough of us ask to keep our station, return its front desk and bring it back into use for the benefit of our community we might be able to influence their decision. Please take the time to make your comments known to the police. You can submit them via the link below. http://www.met.police.uk/boroughs/ealing/ealing_comment.doc The closing date for comments is on 18th February You can find out more information about Ealing Met Police's asset management plan via this link http://www.met.police.uk/docs/SO14act.pdf

Labour providing decent homes for all

The Labour Government has implemented a Decent Homes initiative which aims to bring all social housing into a decent condition by 2010 and requires that councils make them warm, weatherproof and have reasonably modern facilities. Many local residents have benefitted as a result of the scheme which has seen lots of homes refitted with modern kitchen and bathroom facilities. However, Labour councillor, Phil Greenhead is concerned that the Conservative Council in Ealing is not doing enough to monitor the work properly and that this has resulted in shoddy workmanship in many cases. The Council currently only checks the quality of work in 5 per cent of cases, but Cllr. Greenhead insists it should be much more thorough in view of the large sums of public money involved and the distress caused to residents when the renovation work is sub-standard. If you are experiencing problems with the work being carried out on your home under this initiative please let Cllr Greenhead know by emailing her on phil.greenhead@ealing.gov.uk

Tories cut Hanwell's Park Rangers

Over recent months the Tory Council has made stealth cuts to the Borough’s frontline Park Rangers. They are also closing the Ranger Base in Brent Lodge (Bunny) Park. This is bound to have a negative effect on the amount of patrols and conservation work in Hanwell’s parks and open spaces. Despite a strong campaign by residents and a petition of 552 signatures, Hobbayne’s Tory councillors demonstrated a marked lack of sympathy for local concern and actively supported the cuts which they labelled ‘efficiency savings’. Once again they have shown themselves to be out of touch and unwilling to represent the views or act in the best interests of the local people they serve.

Labour delivers Crossrail

Gordon Brown has given the go ahead for the £16 billion Crossrail Project. This is fantastic news for Hanwell, which will benefit from a direct train service from Hanwell station into the heart of London and beyond with vastly reduced journey times and double the capacity.
A twice hourly service between Heathrow and central London will also stop at Ealing Broadway, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon and Liverpool Street among other stations.
Working with the local residents Hanwell Labour will continue to press for a Sunday service on the Greenford branch, Sunday opening of Hanwell and West Ealing stations as well as lift installations at both.
We will also be pressing the Council to deliver improvements in access to the station in terms of local connections to all forms of transportation.

Labour's Police Safer Neighbourhood Team a great success in Hobbayne

The total number of crimes in Hobbayne ward for the first 6 months of this year is down by 21% compared to the same time period last year. Real benefits are now being felt from the Labour initiative which has installed a dedicated local police team in each ward. Teams are able to build up a wealth of local knowledge and use this on a daily basis to help reduce crime and identify offenders. In Hobbayne the news that robberies are down by 82% and snatches down by 20% will be very welcome. Labour has given police new powers to direct groups of two or more people who are acting anti-socially to disperse and a six month dispersal area was recently put in place covering the Pilgrim Estate and Poets Corner area.
Labour has also delivered record numbers of police and given communities new powers to get tough with the louts who make life misery for their neighbours.
And because we believe in the rights of the decent majority before those of the mindless minority, Labour has given councils new powers to improve their local environment by tackling graffiti, noise pollution and abandoned cars, again all opposed by the Tories.

HANWELL STREET PARTY

THE STREET PARTY WAS A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS!

Well done to all the residents who worked so hard to organise the event.

HANWELL STREET PARTY

Please come along to the Hanwell Street Party this Saturday (22nd September) from 10.am-5pm in Station Rd. The focus of the day will be promoting greener, sustainable forms of transport and there will be a Dr Bike stall providing free bicycle repairs and information about cycling as well as a Car Club providing cheap and accesible car hire for households which might otherwise be tempted to buy a second car.

This community event has now grown to involve three of Hanwell’s residents’ groups directly and several others indirectly. It has all been planned and organised by local residents who have the community’s interests at heart. There will be a local history/issues stall, advice on how to stop smoking, bat groups, bedding plants, ceramics stall, zoofari, Brent Lodge Rangers, chip pan fire demonstrations and lots, lots more!

It promises to be a great day, and the planning has been first class, so please come to support the many stalls, bands, bar and BBQ, face painting, fancy dress (children), exotic animals, beat the goalie and lots more.

HANWELL COMMUNITY CENTRE -LATEST

As you may be aware, Hanwell Community Centre was rescued from being sold at auction by Ealing Council approximately three years ago because the previous Hobbayne Labour councillors argued strongly that an independent investigation ought take place before any final decision by the Council could be taken. The previous Labour Council then commissioned an 'options appraisal' study which it jointly funded with Hanwell Community Centre's Management Committee. This study was conducted during 2006 and a report compiled last February, which the new Conservative Council has, so far, not released to the public.

This delay in publication fuelled concern that the building might be threatened with demolition and our leaflet revealed that the police believed this to be the likely outcome. Although the Conservative leader subsequently denied that this was likely he has still not said what will be happening to Hanwell Community Centre nor published the long-awaited results of the study.

Your Labour Action Team feels very strongly that local residents must be kept well-informed and be given ample opportunity to be fully involved in any decision about their community centre's future. To this end we have been chasing the Council for information regarding their intended action and process for involving residents. We have now been informed that Hanwell Community Centre's Management Committee has requested that a further option be explored. This would involve turning the centre into a 'community trust' which would allow the committee to take over the building from the Council. This proposal will necessitate further meetings and is therefore likely to take several weeks/months. However, the fact that the lease expires in March 2008 means that the matter cannot drift and a consultation is expected to take place during late autumn. We would strongly urge you to take part in this consultation and will advise you as soon as we know when it is to be and what form it will take.

It is very apparent from the many comments we continue to receive on our petition that local residents remain as strongly committed as ever to preserving the centre as a resource for the community, as well as deeply attached to the current historic building. We will continue to keep the pressure on the Council and will keep you as fully informed as we possibly can. Please do feel free to contact us with your comments/suggestions or if you require more information - email hanwell.labour@hotmail.co.uk

SOUTHALL LABOUR DEFECTORS SHOULD RESIGN THEIR SEATS!

Do you think the ex-Labour councillors in Southall who betrayed the Labour movement and defected to the Tories should resign their seats?

IF YOU AGREE PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION ON NO.10 DOWNING STREET'S WEBSITE BY CLICKING HERE