Safer Neighbourhood Team – public meeting

The Met Police’s Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) for Weaver’s Ward is holding a public meeting on Thursday 2nd February 2012 starting at 19:00.

 

The meeting is being held at the TAB Centre – http://tabcentre.com/contact/

 

The meeting is a chance for local people who live, work, study or socialise in the area to hear about the work of the SNT and their policing priorities for the future.

 

Come join other JAG members at this meeting!

Redchurch Street pedestrian proposal

Tower Hamlets Council are consulting on proposals for improved pedestrian access in and around the neighbourhood.

A consultation is open until 14 December 2011 for proposals to build a raised pedestrian crossing point at the junction of Bethnal Green Road and Redchurch Street and repaving the junction with yorkstone.

Views can be expressed to Sarah Finn by email at sarah.finn@towerhamlets.gov.uk by 14 December 2011.

Jago Action Gro…

Jago Action Group (JAG) learnt earlier today that proposals for the 25-storey building on the Huntingdon Estate have been withdrawn. JAG has lobbied against the proposals over a three-year period, arguing that it was the wrong site for a building of such a scale.

 

At this stage few details are available about the reasons for the withdrawal, but we will post further information when known. Meanwhile, JAG members will keep an eagle eye on any future plans for the site and Blog details about them here. We hope that the developers will now engage with the community in a constructive way, to come up with a realistic plan for the site.

 

JAG acknowledges that there were mixed views about the proposals: many residents didn’t relish the idea of living in the shadow of such a huge tower, while some businesses looked forward to the potential extra income from a new residential tower block in the neighbourhood. 

 

Whatever your views, JAG welcomes debate and discussion on any future planning applications in the area.

Dumped!

Earlier this month we celebrated moves by Tower Hamlets Council to deal with rubbish and littering along Redchurch Street.

JAG’s attention has now turned to the surrounding streets where fly tipping and rubbish dumping continues unabated.

To report fly tipping or rubbish in our neighbourhood call the Council’s Streetline on 020 7364 5004 or report online at:
http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgnl/environment_and_planning/recycling_and_waste.aspx

Local residents can arrange free collection of bulk rubbish through the Council’s website.

Local action works!

After action and activity from local JAG members there’s finally movement on street littering and dumping of waste in the area.

Tower Hamlets Council’s Waste Improvement Scheme kicks off on 19 September 2001 for the whole of Redchurch Street. Under the scheme, businesses will only be allowed to put out waste in authorised sacks provided by their waste collector in marked or coloured sacks – and only at certain times of the day. Waste containers – such as large wheely bins – will no longer be allowed on the street. Residents in Redchurch Street will still be able to put out black sacks but only at stipulated times.

This should dramatically improve the street scene as there will be no containers present and sack waste will only be out for collection for a short period of time before collection.

The Council report that this scheme has worked well in Brick Lane, Whitechapel Street and Commercial Street since its introduction and has resulted in the amount of litter being dropped to reduce dramatically as well. 

Once the scheme has been established, the Council will move on to enforcing littering and rubbish dumping on the streets in neighbouring streets including Old Nichol Street and Chance Street.

Local Development Framework – Consultation

Local Development Framework: Draft Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document Consultation

The Council’s Local Development Framework Core Strategy was adopted in September 2010 and sets out the spatial vision for the development of Tower Hamlets over the next fifteen years. 

As a part of the next phase in delivering the Core Strategy, the Council has prepared a draft Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) and wishes to hear from the local community, businesses, developers and landowners to help shape this Document.

The draft Planning Obligations SPD explains the Council’s approach to planning obligations. It will be used to ensure that the impacts of new development are properly mitigated and to support the delivery of important services such as new schools, health facilities and affordable housing. It aims to clarify the types of planning obligations that may be sought and the methodology for calculating the amount of these obligations.

Tower Hamlets Council will be carrying out consultation on the Planning Obligations SPD between:

8th August 2011 to 16th September 2011

The document will be made available for viewing at Tower Hamlets’ Idea Stores, Libraries, Tower Hamlets Town Hall (5 Clove Crescent, 5^th Floor, Anchorage House) and on the website at www.towerhamlets.gov.uk from Monday 8th August 2011

The Strategic Planning Team would welcome your comments on the document and are available to provide assistance if you have any questions.

Any comments should be sent to the following address by Friday 16^th September 2011:

FREEPOST RRBK – TZER – UTAU

LDF SPD Consultation

D&R Strategic Planning

London Borough of Tower Hamlets,

PO BOX 55739

London

E14 1BY

Electronic responses should be sent to ldf@towerhamlets.gov.uk

 

Virginia School Bowling Party

The Virginia Primary School hosted a bowling party on Monday 18th July for local junior school kids. The even was held at Shoreditch House from 6 – 8 pm. The night was complete with pizza for the kids as well. Here are a few pictures from the night:

Q & A About Jago Action Group

Q: The blog is new but JAG isn’t. What was the motivation to set JAG up in 2008?

A: A small group of long-standing residents who live/work in the area were concerned about over development. Not just buildings… the number of licenses being issued to promote the nighttime economy, for example, without any further policing or management of licensed premises and late-night revellers.

Q: JAG has most recently been best known for its opposition to the proposed tower block on the Huntington Estate – but that’s not its only focus. What else does JAG do?

A: Any residents’ association is about individuals who are motivated to do something useful. People contribute different things, depending on their circumstances and skillsets. Our chair sat on the Local Area Partnership, which Tower Hamlets hoped would involve the community in Council decision making. Another member chaired the bi-monthly Ward Panel meetings, where the Safer Neighbourhood Team meets community members to discuss policing priorities.

Q: So, the work of JAG isn’t just about being in opposition to things?

A: We try to be more pro-active. We aim to influence policy, rather than oppose decisions based on policy that we don’t think is right. For example, JAG members worked with other neighbourhood groups via the OPEN Shoreditch coalition to review and give evidence on the London Plan (GLC) and the Local Development Framework (Tower Hamlets). If the policies are right, we’re more likely to be happy with the decisions that follow. Another JAG member worked with Tower Hamlets to secure Conservation Area status for our neighbourhood. That means more considered planning decisions and more resources to maintain the public realm.

Q: Tenant’s and resident’s associations can appear to be elitist and not necessarily representative. What does JAG do to try to get round that?

A: Any one who lives, works or runs a business in the neighbourhood is welcome to join, as stated in the JAG Constitution. But people aren’t that keen on meetings, so the Blog will hopefully get more people involved as and when they have the time and inclination.

Q: So, what kind of people are involved in JAG?

A: People tend to get involved when there are specific issues that bother them. People with kids get upset when the bars turn out their empties in the wee hours. Cubic metres of glass bottles emptied into a bin at 2am sounds a bit like the end of the world. These things have to be managed, for residents and businesses to co-exist.

Q: You’ve talked about some of the very local issues – what about some of the wider neighbourhood issues?

A: The Local Area Partnership has been replaced by local Residents’ Agreements, which aim to define rights and responsibilities between residents and the Council. The scheme was piloted on the Boundary Estate and a JAG member was on the steering group and will now develop a similar agreement for the JAG neighbourhood. We also help local charities that work with young people on issues such as knife crime and substance abuse.

Q: What do you think are the biggest challenges that the area is going to face in the coming few years?

A: The biggest threat and biggest opportunity is undoubtedly the Bishopsgate Goodsyard site, around Shoreditch Overground Station. It’s the second biggest brownfield site in London (after Kings Cross) and could transform our neighbourhood for better or worse. Our ward of Tower Hamlets has some of the worst socio-economic indicators in the country (employment and income, educational achievement, open space per head of population), so bringing Mammon to our doorstep could create a sort of ‘frontline’. We aim to work with the developers on a community based masterplan, that will   establish the win/win. A night-time economy balanced with the needs of local people; significant open space balanced with the volume of new development that will be required to fund it.

Q: So, how can someone get more involved in JAG and its activities?

A: Best to attend a meeting to get to know a few faces, and then stay in touch via the Blog.