A Positive Move for Southall?

Ealing Gazette recently (3 December 2010) reported that Council leader Julian Bell had an “eye-opening” experience while out on patrol with Southall Police. and called for business, faith and community leaders to get together to address the prostitution and drug use in Southall.

Bell went on to say “I would like to hold a meeting that brings together community leaders, business leaders, faith leaders and the council so we can develop a strategy for the next three or four years. No one group can tackle this alone and expect to be successful. It’s only by working together that we would make any sort of impact.”

Although we do not have any details yet, our sources tell us that a public meeting has been set up to take place at the Dominion Centre, Southall on 10 March 2011 where Mr Bell and Chief Superintendent Andy Rowell are billed to address the audience.

Let’s hope that this is the start of something positive for Southall, and does not just turn into just another talking shop.

It might just be worthwhile keeping an eye on this…

Ealing Council Hikes Parking Charges by up to 500%

Cabinet member for Transport and Environment, Councillor Bassam Mahfouz recently confirmed that the Council was increasing the price of permits, and below is a list of the price hikes that came into effect on 1st January 2011 (can also be viewed as a pdf file here):

	Current Price	New Price	Increase
Resident Permits	£25	£40	60%
Resident Permits	£45	£75	67%
Springbridge Road Season Permit	£500	£600	20%
Business Permits	£250	£600	140%
Doctors Permits	£250	£600	140%
Veterinary Permits	£250	£600	140%
Religious Permits	£5	£30	500%
Allotment Permits	£5	£30	500%
Resident Visitor Vouchers	£0.40 per hour	£0.50 per hour capped at an all day rate of £3.50	25%
CPZ Business Vouchers/ Service Vouchers	1 per hour	1.20 per hour	20%
Temporary Resident Permits (New resident/Change of Vehicle)	£5 for 2 weeks	£5 per week	100%
Temporary Resident Permits (Courtesy Car)	£10 for six weeks	£5 per week	200%
Dispensations (Contractors/Builders)	£10 for two weeks	10 per day	1300%
Suspensions	£30 for 3 residential bays for 3 days	30 for the first bay for the first day then 10 per bay per day thereafter	200%
Pay and Display Rates	60p per hour	1.20 per hour	100%
Pay and Display Rates	£1.20 per hour	1.60 per hour	33%
Pay and Display Rates	£1.80 per hour	2 per hour	11%
Herbert Road Car Park Rates	£1 per hour weekdays and 1 per hour for the first hour and £1.50 for each additional hour on weekends	£1.50 per hour Mon-Fri £2 per hour Sat-Sun	50%

Norwood Green Police Station

The Norwood Green Police Station was closed in late 2008 and remains boarded up and empty. The Metropolitan Police Authority is now carrying out a consultation exercise to determine what is to be done with the building. One of the options being considered is to sell off the building. The MPA is of the opinion that Norwood Green Station is not fit for purpose, and point out that any proceeds from the sale of the building could be used for the improvement of police buildings in the borough.

If you wish to take part in the consultation please send your response / comments to the questions below to Peter Sadler PC 654Xb, Norwood Green Safer Neighbourhoods Team, Unit 4, The Arches Business Centre, Merrick Road, Southall, UB2 4AU, or email to Pete.Sadler@met.pnn.police.uk or to Ian.Jenkins@met.police.uk

Comments must be received by Monday, 5th July 2010.

[A] Do you have any comments and views about the provision of Safer Neighbourhoods bases?

[B] Is the current SN base in the Arches meeting the community needs? (if yes/no please say why)

[C] Do you have any comments about the sale of Norwood Green Police Station?

[D] If the sale of the Police Station in Norwood Green meant that the proceeds could be used to improve local police buildings, would this change your view?

[E] Do you have any comments about the provision of a Patrol Base in the borough?

[F] Do you agree with the splitting of front counter facilities to provide dedicated space for reception, enforcement and victim-focused functions?

[G] Do you agree with the grouping of command, management and support functions into a single office building in the borough?

[H] Do you have any comments about the future of Ealing, Hanwell, Norwood Green and Greenford police stations, bearing in mind the re-provision of services elsewhere?

Upcoming Ward Meetings

Norwood Green	wed, 7 July 2010	St Mary’s Church, Norwood Green Road, Southall UB2 4LA
Southall Green	Thu, 22 July 2010	Featherstone Primary School (main hall), Western Road, Southall UB2 5JT

Minutes of previous Ward Forum Meetings can be viewed here

Ealing Council Elections 6 May 2010

Dormers Wells: Tej Bagha, Tejinder Singh Dhami, Ranjit Lal Dheer
Lady Margaret: Mohinder Kaur Midha, Karam Chand Mohan, Swaran Singh Padda
Norwood Green: Mohammad Aslam, Gurmit Mann, Rajinder Mann
Southall Broadway: M.Shahid Kausar, Zahida Abbas Noori, Surinder Nath Varma
Southall Green: Jasbir Kaur Anand, Kamaljit Singh Dhindsa, Swarn Singh Kang

All elected councillors in Southall are Labour Party candidates, and overall Ealing now has a Labour majority of 11 seats.

Prospective Southall Candidates Show Their True Colours

All prospective candidates for Southall in this election were asked a number of questions on local and national issued some time ago. You may not be surprised to learn most have failed to respond.  The response from Nigel Bakhai Liberal Democrats) and Suneil Basu (Green Party) can be viewed here.

Southall Story

This free event currently on at the SouthBank Centre sounds interesting: ‘A time tunnel of photography, music, film that celebrates the vibrant heritage and culture of Southall from 1950s to the present day.’
Ends on Tue 11 May 2010 [Free Entry]