No Nine Elms Bridge: local people have their say
First, a very BIG thanks to all residents who went to the Nine Elms Bridge promoters’ exhibition at St Saviour’s Church Hall and Pimlico Academy to tell the promoters what the people of Pimlico think about a bridge landing on one of our few riverside spaces. We hope that the promoters have gone away knowing that the majority of Pimlico people do not want a bridge.
However, we need to make sure, through using the Council’s own power of Scrutiny as well as the expertise of our officers, that their proposals are scrupulously examined. At the Full Council Meeting in July, Cllr Angela Harvey got a renewed commitment from the Leader of the Council, Cllr Nickie Aiken, (shown above holding the banner with Cllr Angela Harvey and other local people) that the Council will continue to the next stage of the Public Enquiry as soon as the promoters of the bridge deliver their Technical & Environmental assessment. Your Conservative councillors have been fighting this proposal since it was first mooted in 2012. The first meeting of the Public Enquiry took place in January last year at Westminster City Hall when hundreds of local people were in the public gallery to show how the overwhelming number of Pimlico’s residents do NOT want the bridge. Two examples of the key facts uncovered when taking evidence included Transport for London telling us that a). the bridge promoters had not asked for any work to be done to see where people coming across the bridge would actually go to and b). that it would improve cyclists’ time by at most under a minute and possibly as little as 8 seconds.
We had expected the technical assessment to be delivered during the first part of 2016, but we are still waiting. Now the bridge exhibition has taken place we think this may come forward soon. When it is received the next stage of the public enquiry may go forward, and may last several months, as the Council tests and scrutinises the various documents, including environmental and technical assessments, and the planning application itself, all of which the sponsors of the bridge Wandsworth Council are legally required to produce.
Opposition to the proposed Nine-Elms Bridge enjoys cross-party support and the keen support of local residents associations. Thanks too to the many individuals who have signed our petition to say No Bridge! Click below to sign up!
No Nine Elms Bridge - sign the petition now!
Family Activity Days at the Westminster Boating Base Sunday 6th to Tuesday 8th August
One of the jewels of Tachbrook Ward is the charity the Westminster Boating Base just on Pimlico Gardens. Your Conservative Councillors, Peter, Nick and Angela, have been supporting the Base for many years now, and a highlight of the year is the fun for all the family days coming up this month.
This is a great opportunity for families of all ages to have fun together, or on different activities if they prefer. We are pleased to work with the Base to secure funding from the council and this is your chance to try all activities for free. But you must book up early to ensure you’re able to enjoy some of the terrific activities available, as everything is on a first come first served basis...
Activities available include Kayaking / canoeing, sailing, powerboating, Safari Pete, bouncy castle, Football, Tennis, Fencing, RNLI boat, Vauxhall City Farm and Indoor rowing and fitness. Please note minimum age limits apply to some activities but there is plenty to do for everyone on the water and on land.
Find out more about the Family Activity Summer Festival
Bins and other rubbish
We hope you’ve noticed and used the new suite of bins just outside Pimlico Tube Station. This is one of the most important recycling stations we have in Pimlico and we were keen to make it easier for people who have to use black bins (see article below on household collections).
- First, we’d received complaints that the tall bins were too high and blocked a public view of the door to the public loo leading to anti-social behaviour.
- Secondly, for general waste, people who are a little shorter in height found the high-level openings to the bins hard to reach, leaving a lot of rubbish around the bins.
- Likewise, others found the large and heavy lids too difficult to raise and these have been replaced with smaller and lighter openings
- Fourthly, it will now be easier to put your recycling into the new bins, as the lids have wider slots, handy for all those Amazon and other delivery cardboard. Local residents have told us they are much happier with the new bins, especially as the area has become much tidier as a result.
Household Waste collection - did you know?
86% of UK local authorities now provide a household waste collection service only once per fortnight. This collection frequency is also becoming increasingly common in London with Camden being the latest authority to switch from weekly to fortnightly waste collections for residents. Only three boroughs including Westminster City Council provide household waste collections multiple times per week. We have high density levels, with 90% of our residents living in flats and we believe this is the best way to help keep our homes healthy.
In Westminster, the minimum service for residents is two waste collections and one recycling collection per week. The frequency of waste collections is however tailored to the needs of individual streets and properties so most residents will receive between two and seven waste collections per week (average is 4 per week). The City Council also provides up to three waste collections per day in commercial streets so, in theory, residents living above or next to business addresses have access to 21 waste collections per week!
To keep streets clean for as long as possible, the times when waste can be placed out for collection are also strictly regulated with many streets having a one or two hour ‘time-band’ for collections (as opposed to the common system of having a ‘collection day’). The collection times for each street are clearly shown on new graphic signs attached to lamp-posts.
Unless you’re living on an estate where different arrangements apply, don’t forget that in Tachbrook Ward, the main location for collection of waste and recycling is from your doorstep. The black bins are provided for those in flats who do not have a front door onto the street. We are aware that many residents, who do have direct access onto the street, use the black bins instead of leaving out their waste and recycling for the on-street collection. The result is that the black bins often get overloaded unnecessarily!