New Malden Centre

Get Involved and Have Your Say!

Wednesday 1 February 2012

7pm-8.30pm

Venue Malden Centre

You are warmly invited to attend the next meeting of the Neighbourhood

Community Panel. This is your opportunity to influence local decision-making

and give your views on topics being discussed by the Neighbourhood

Committee.

If you are unable to attend the meeting or would prefer to give your views

electronically, please see the topics being discussed via this link, and send your

Neighbourhood Manager an email with your ideas and opinions

(hannah.rees@rbk.kingston.gov.uk). Please note the

Neighbourhood Committee reports will be available to view online from Tuesday

31 January 2012. A few hard copies will also be available at the meeting.

www.kingston.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/committeeminutes/moderngov.ht

m?mgl=ieListMeetings.aspx&CommitteeId=178

For more information, please contact Hannah Rees, Neighbourhood Manager

Police Meeting

Your Local Councilors Howard Jones and Myself attended a Police meeting the afternoon. all ward were represented on behalf of the Police and a contingent of shopkeepers from Burlington Road were also in attendance.

There was some really good news about how the Police are dealing with any problems and the shopkeepers reported that there efforts had paid off.

next meeting at the end of March.

Council Tax Freeze

Councils could be financially protected in the future if they freeze council tax this year, communities secretary Eric Pickles has hinted.

Addressing a New Local Government Network conference in London today, Mr Pickles said extra grant support for councils which sign up to a further freeze extending to 2012/13 would be ‘a key consideration in funding for local government at the next spending review’.

Mr Pickles praised councils already agreeing to a freeze - particularly West Oxfordshire and Hammersmith and Fulham which are preparing for a council tax cut.

But the move will leave councils which have announced plans increase council tax by a small amount – including Surrey County Council - out in the cold, as it will negate the argument that they face a ‘cliff edge’ to their funding when the incentive cash dries up.

Many councils have expressed their fears that the Government’s cash incentive to freeze the levy will disappear, and they will face a huge hike in taxes later to claw back their tax base.

Mr Pickles accused councils that have put forward an increase as giving ‘an almighty kick in the teeth’ to working families who are struggling to pay their bills. He suggested that low increases are being levied in a bid to avoid local referendums.

Mr Pickles told delegates: ‘Councils who take our offer and freeze tax are protecting their residents, and cutting some slack to hard-working families. Those who don’t are piling up the bills and the stress and the pressure at a time when people could really do without it. They’re giving their residents an almighty kick in the teeth.

‘Councils who go for the biggest rise they can, without triggering a local vote, deserve everything they get next time residents do get a chance to have a say where it really counts: the ballot box.’

New Nuring Home Coombe Lane West

I attended the Development Control Committee last night and apart from my best efforts was unable to stop this matter going through, I give it my best shot, but lost the vote 5 to 3.

Once more local residents have seen there wishes dashed, local Councillors who spoke so passionately against this application on the grounds of a to massive development and traffic issues at the MCPC see their objections turn to nothing.

A named vote was called for, most unusual at DCC but at least the local public cab see who voted for and against.

Full Council

Attended full Council meeting last night. good maiden speech by Cllr Julie Pickering and a good question from Cllr Lynne Finnerty.

Group

Attended a Group meeting last night, topics of interests were talked about so that members have a better understanding of each others local problems and how best to resolve them.

The old saying Two heads are better than one comes to mind.

George Road

I will be in George Road today delivering letters to residents re work in the area to Roads and Crossovers.

Mayors Charity Night at the Rose

We attended the Mayors Charity night at a near full Rose Theatre, A great night and for two very worthy Charities, The Born to Soon and the Shooting Star.

Well done the St James players, you did Kingston proud. (and St James Ward New Malden)

The photo shows the Mayor Cllr Codd thanking everyone who attended , with a special well done to the cast.

AGM today Home Zone

I attended the AGM of the Home zone today, some 50 residents were in attendance this was up on last year, the RA now number around 120 and growing.

I was given the opportunity to update the Residents on the action both the committee and Councillors are taking, I read out a list of things that we were working on and explained quite a lot of it would be down to funding or the lack of it.

I answered Questions from the floor and at the end was thanked by the Chairman for attending.

At the end of the Meeting I give out a card with the Call Centre number, but added that if there was any issue to contact on of the Councillors.

It was nice to see so many familiar faces and to be able to chat to many after the meeting .

I look forward to attending the General Meeting shortly along with officer to answer more question in Depth , then to have the follow up meeting with the Committee to look at action that needs to be taken.

Next week

Monday I will be attending a licensing Committee at the Guildhall or other venue 10.00 am until around 1.30 pm,

Then I will be in the Office at the Guildhall meeting with officers.

Tuesday I will be at the Full Council meeting at the Guildhall 7.30 till late

Wednesday Again at the Guildhall for a Development Control Meeting 6.30 pm until late

Thursday Pre Agenda meeting at the Guildhall 10.00 until midday. then at 4.30 Community meeting at the Fountain PH

Friday New Malden Business forum at 8.am until 9,00am

PM meeting with officers

Home Zone update

Working with the Home zone to ensure its residents maintain the promises given when it was first developed takes up quite a bit of time, trying to ensure that contractors carry out the work according to schedule, and that repairs are done in good time.

We Councillors are fortunate to have an RA Group called CAHZCA who keep us updated on whats happening, But I do have friends who live there so most weeks I cycle around the area seeing for myself what needs to be done.

That said along with Officer we meet up with committee members of CAHZCA and work out what needs to be done to maintain the home zone, Action plans are drawn up and the contractor or officer responsible give updates, if any work needs to be done.

Like all council areas we are in need of funds, and where they cannot be provided by the Authority officers will seek outside funding.

Some of the action taken are as follows.

Football pitch goals to be removed summer 2011 to carry out renovation work, this will go ahead in spring 2012.

Investigate ways of Deterring foxes, CAHZCA told residents not to feed foxes.

Fencing required for play area, hogging path, costing supplied by officers indicating around 19k and tarmac around 28k funding may not be available until 2013 and that would be outside funding. CAHZCA to draw up business case for funding.

Find out who owns Fence , officer to investigate.

This report goes on in some detail, but shows that Councillors and Residents are working together to resolve issues effecting the home Zone.

The report will be looked at again when we have our next meeting, we are just waiting for the date from CAHZCA that more than lightly be after the CAHZCA AGM this Saturday.

I will be in attendance and looking forward to meeting the residents once again.

London and the EU

European Social Fund (ESF) 2007-2013
The European Social Fund (ESF) was set up to improve employment opportunities in the EU, and it aims to help people fulfill their potential by giving them better skills and better jobs prospects.

London has been awarded an allocation of £420 million as part of the England and Gibraltar ESF 2007–2013 Programme. The ESF programme will contribute to sustainable economic growth and social inclusion by extending employment opportunities and by developing a skilled and adaptable workforce

Government Support for adult care

Dear CLLR Ken Smith,

To help support the vital work of adult care services across the UK, the government has just allocated an additional £2 billion to the care budget with a reformed focus on local priorities and requirements, bringing the total annual spending on adult social care to £14.5 billion by 2014.

In order to distribute the additional funding, the government has launched ‘Caring for our Future: Shared Ambitions for Care and Support.’ This engagement exercise with local councils and designated adult care providers has been designed to establish key priorities for improving adult care services, and in doing so giving a voice to local services to raise the issues that they feel are important to the future of adult social care.

With this in mind, Inside Government is inviting you to attend ‘The Future Outlook for Adult Social Care Services,’

Mayor helps with Apprenticeships

The Mayor agrees to the investment totals £300,000 for the financial years 2011/12 – 2013/14, on activity to support the delivery of the Mayor’s target of 100,000 apprenticeships starts in London by December 2012, and to increase the number of apprenticeships in London between 2011/12 and 2013/14.

Mayor awards Kingston funds

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson have awarded Kingston just over two million pounds from his outer london fund to help with the asprations of Kingston residents .
This was announced at a meeting I attended this morning , so once more Boris have come up trumps for Kingston, the money will be put to good use and is on top of other funding already giving by the Mayor to Kingston

London mayor gains powers over the Metropolitan Police

London's mayor is now responsible for the Metropolitan Police's priorities and performance, as part of government plans for elected commissioners.
The Metropolitan Police Authority was disbanded at midnight and replaced by the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPC).
MOPC will be monitored by the London Assembly's Police and Crime Panel.
Operational matters will still be the responsibility of Metropolitan Police commissioner.
The mayor will also set the annual force budget for the Metropolitan Police in consultation with the commissioner.
But the mayor does not have the power to appoint or dismiss the commissioner, or the deputy commissioner.
Safe city
Mayor Boris Johnson said his priorities will include serious youth violence, knife crime, getting more officers on the streets, tackling gangs, robbery, burglary and cutting reoffending rates.
He said: "Londoners rightly expect to live in a safe city and I'll now be keeping an even closer eye on every aspect of policing, ensuring more than ever that the crimes that most concern Londoners are addressed."
The change is part of the police reform and social responsibility bill which aims to give people a say in how they are policed.
London is the first police body to launch as it already has a directly elected mayor. The rest of the country will follow in November 2012 after local elections are held.

New Malden News

One of our Residents was honoured by being awarded the Secretaries Cup, this is the cup given annually to the best Secretary in the County of Surrey. Mary Gillett was surprised by the award that's only announced at the Delegates conference on the day that was held at the Worcester Park RBL and presented by The Lord- Lieutenant of Surrey Dame Sara Goad J.P. a big well done from all in MCN

New Malden Royal British Legion

I have been asked to express the thanks of the New Malden Royal British Legion to members of the public, this year saw a record amount of money given by you to help the veterans of so many conflicts, of course this includes the Family's, Mothers, Children, Etc who have also needed the support. so a big thank you to all, including the Managers of the Royal Oak, and Woodies and all those other businesses who give support.

To day I have been invited to attend the Surrey County Conference, Hopefully I will be able to say how much the residents of New Malden have contributed to the poppy appeal, so a big thank you on behalf of the RBL

Site Visits

Two areas I visited yesterday, George Road and Hatton Close, both have complained ether about Parking or the state of the Road, Hatton Close was resolved , and I received the following E-mail

Ken - you are brilliant!! Had 3 men from Veolia this morning - all rubbish cleared. I did thank them but full credit goes to you. godbless ys&f

The George road issue will be resolved by repairing the road by Hot Boxing, that will be followed by a deep clean of the whole road, every resident will get a letter from RBK officers explaining how this will be done.

It was nice to meet up with residents and for them to know I am available to help them.

Remember if you have a problem please contact me, and whilst I cannot guarantee due mainly to funding that I can fully resolve every issue I will do my best.

Planning Application Comments

Planning Application Comments

If you submitted comments on a planning application using the online form between 12 and 21 December 2011, we might need you to resend your comments.

We experienced some technical difficulties with the online planning comments form for planning applications, however, your views are important to us and so the consultation period has been extended by a further 21 days for those applications affected.

If you submitted comments about a planning application using the online form:

• between 12 and 21 December 2011
• and you were still within the initial 21 day consultation period as set out in your letter or on the relevant site or press notice

then you are invited to resubmit your comments by the 24 January 2012. Please re-send these comments to the following e-mail address:

• development.management@rbk.kingston.gov.uk
• or alternatively call 0208 547 5002 for more information

We are working hard to ensure that these technical difficulties do not happen again and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Please see our Planning Applications page for further information on the application process.

Update

Yesterday I had attended the award ceremony of some of our local hero's who helped raise fund during the poppy appeal run by the New Malden Branch of the RBL, the photo shows the Manager of the Royal Oak receiving his award from the Mayor of Kingston.

In the morning I visited George road with officers, and agreed a program of maintenance, letters will shortly be delivered to residents giving details of the work to be done.

Last night I chaired the Planning committee of MCNC minutes can be found on RBK website.

Today I will be attending meetings at the Guildhall and tomorrow visiting residents who have approached me with issues of concern .

Site Visits

I have been making site visits to areas within the ward where I have had complaints about, the matters have been passed on the officers and I will be following them up to ensure that they are correctly dealt with.

Today at 11.00am I will be visiting George, Albert , and Queens Road, potholes and Fly tipping signage being the issues

This afternoon at 2.30pm I will be attending a ceremony of thanks to local resident's for work they did during the poppy appeal. The Mayor Cllr Codd will present certificates.

At 7.30 pm this evening I will be chairing the MCNC Planning sub Committee

Help for Sports Clubs

10 January 2012

London 2012: Funds for school-site sport clubs

Funding for a community sports club at every secondary school in England has been announced by the government.

Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said it was part of a £1bn strategy to encourage young people to take up sport - as pledged in the 2012 Games bid.

Mr Hunt said despite huge investment of public funds since winning the right to host the Games, participation by young people in sport has been falling.

He said a "radical change" in policy was needed to address the problem.

Under the five-year, youth and community sport strategy, Sport England will help set up some 4,000 clubs where expert coaches will run sessions to create ties between schools and existing local sports clubs.

Already, 2,000 football clubs have pledged to be linked to secondary schools by 2017, in rugby union 1,300 clubs, cricket, 1,250 clubs and rugby league and tennis 1,000 clubs each, according to the government.

Payments-by-results

In an attempt to give greater public access to school sports facilities - three-quarters of sports halls and artificial pitches and a third of swimming pools in England are located on school sites - £10m of funding will be available.

A further £100m will be invested in creating the clubs and tackling the decline in sports participation when people leave school.

Of this, £50m will be invested to boost sport provision at further education colleges and universities with funding for a full-time sports professional at at least 150 further education colleges.

Between 2013 and 2017 around £450m will go to sports governing bodies to help develop their sport plans but their funding will be allocated on a "payments-by-results" basis.

Mr Hunt said: "Our bold approach will see money going to organisations that deliver on youth participation, but also withdrawn quickly from those which fail to meet agreed objectives."

Sport England Chief Executive Jennie Price said: "Changing the sporting behaviour of a generation is a major challenge, which has not been achieved by any other Olympic host nation.

"With a new focus on young people and an even tougher, Government-backed regime of payment by results, Sport England and its partners are determined to deliver."

The money comes from the Lottery and government funding through Sport England - £200m of which was from the current Spending Review settlement.

Help

Well the New Year has started out really cold, and I do hope that we all remember to ensure that our elderly are being checked on to ensure that they can cope with the extremes of the weather.

A good why would to call and see if they need any shopping, or if it snows to see that he can get access safely from their homes. most of you will have my number 07752152829. If you think someone needs assistance and you are unable to help, please let me know.

I would also like to wish you all healthy and happy New Year.