While Paddington Bear the Movie is busily putting Paddington onto the map globally, Westminster City Council is busily expanding the West End into Paddington as it poses the question if employment is to grow significantly in the West End, where should this growth go?

The consultation on this matter began just before the christmas break with the above diagram illustrating well what is intended, if you look at the top-left hand corner of map marked ” West End Fringe potential”. So it is clear that Westminster City Council want to expand the West End into Paddington and in particular Wards like Church Street. Taking a strategic London perspective, expansion into the City of London would make better sense as you will not have the conflict with a residential community in the evening and weekend over issues like licensing and rubbish collection with the dining, entertainment and the evening and night-time economy.

Any growth needs to respect the existing communities and support them, tackling deprivation and inequalities. These needs particularly need to be taken on board with floorspace demands for creative and digital industries which is anticipated would need to be accommodated in this expansion of the West End.

What local residents in Church Street Ward will certainly do not want when getting absorbed into the West End, is West End prices for food and accommodation!



Violent crime in Westminster has risen by 22 per cent over the last year according to figures published by Metropolitan Police. The rise means an additional 1550 violent crimes in Westminster over the last twelve months rising from 6912 in 2012/13 to 8462 in 2013/14.

Across London, violent crime is up by 24% with 35,330 additional crimes Londonwide and rises in every borough.

The spike in violent crime comes after years of cuts to police resources with the latest figures showing the number of uniformed police and PCSOs in Westminster has fallen by 729 since the last General Election in May 2010.

The Met has previously said increased reporting of domestic violence and reclassification of crimes may account for the rise yet the increase in Domestic Violence reports in the last 12 months accounts for only a third of the overall violent crime rise across London.

Murad Qureshi AM, Labour London Wide London Assembly Member, said: 

“The 22 per cent rise in violent crime in Westminster over the past year is extremely disturbing, it means an extra 1550 violent crimes compared with the year before. Equally as worrying is the fact Boris Johnson doesn’t seem to have a real handle on why violent crime is rising.

“If this had been a dramatic change in recording we would expect to see a one off spike. Instead what we are seeing is a worrying trend developing with overall violent crime across most categories on the up.

“Violent crime includes some of the most serious and worrying offences and people in Westminster are right to be concerned. The Mayor of London needs to see the jump in violent crime for what is, not a statistical anomaly but a growing problem they should be actively addressing.”

Metropolitan Police crime figures can be found here: http://maps.met.police.uk/tables.htm

• 17,000 A&E patients across London wait more than 4 hours
• 15 of 19 Trusts miss the target to see 95% of patients within 4 hour target

New NHS A&E waiting time figures have revealed that 1,067 A&E patients were left waiting longer than 4 hours in Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust A&Es this Christmas. In the week before and week of Christmas 1,067 patients missed the 4 hour target. That meant that across the two weeks 25 per cent of patients were left waiting longer than 4 hours.

Labour London Wide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi AM said A&Es services across London had seen a “Christmas of crisis” and called on the Government to take urgent action to improve the situation. Across the capital only 4 of the 19 NHS Trusts with A&E departments managed to meet the Government target to see 95% of patients within 4 hours, with 17,000 patients waiting longer than the 4 hour target.

The Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust includes the A&E unit at St Mary’s Hospital serving residents in Westminster.

Responding to the new Christmas A&E waiting time figures, London Assembly Labour Member Murad Qureshi AM said:

“With 1,067 patients waiting longer than 4 hours its clear Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust A&E services have faced a Christmas of crisis as a result of the strain they are operating under. Whilst Boris and colleagues in Parliament are sitting idly by demand for A&E services is rocketing. We must of course urge patients only to resort to A&E in genuine emergencies, but with GP surgeries also being stretched it is clear we need action rather than more empty words from the Government.

“With A&E departments like St Mary’s rapidly approaching breaking point, it is lunacy that the Government is set to close more A&Es this year. Last year’s closures have resulted in 17,000 patients in London waiting longer than 4 hours over Christmas.

“Patients in Westminster are paying for years of costly reorganisation and health service closures. The Government must change course before the NHS crisis we are experiencing in Westminster becomes permanent fixture.”

• Murad Qureshi AM calls for Mayor to scrap 2.5% fare rise to save the average commuter £56 a year on a 1-6 Annual Travelcard
• Fare freeze can be funded without cuts to other areas through use of £98m of expected underspends and additional TfL fares income
• Since 2008 fares have risen over 40% with 76% of Londoners now saying fares are ‘too high’

With the majority of Londoners returning to work this week, Labour London Assembly Member Murad Qureshi has called on the Mayor of London to scrap his latest fares hike after a new report found that 76% of Londoners now believe fares are “too high”. The report, ‘The case for a Fare Freeze’ found that the 40% increase in fares under Boris Johnson has left many Londoners struggling to cope with the cost of commuting. Murad Qureshi has urged the Mayor to use expected TfL underspends and additional income to reverse this year’s 2.5% fare increase and freeze fares at 2014 levels.

The call comes as Londoners returning to work after the holiday season face an average 2.5% increase in their commuting costs. Murad Qureshi said that after seven years of increases under Boris Johnson and with fare growth outstripping wages the Mayor would be failing Londoners who are struggling to cope with the cost of commuting if he did not reverse the rise and cap fares at 2014 levels. The move could be funded, Murad Qureshi said, by utilising £98m of the £309m in better-than-expected fare income and TfL underspends estimated to be accumulated in 2015/16. In the Mayor’s first five budgets, TfL underestimated fares income and overestimated operating costs; expenditure was £1,069m (3.69%) less than expected and income from fares £235m (1.36%) more than expected. Assuming this trend continues there would be more than enough unallocated funding in 2015/16 to freeze fares at 2014 levels.

A survey of 1,219 Londoners carried out for the report found that 76% of Londoners now think the cost of travel in the capital is too high. One woman from Westminster who responded to the survey said that “even with my student discount, I pay £21 per week to get around Zones 1 and 2. That’s about a quarter of my weekly wages”.

Murad Qureshi AM, Labour London Wide Assembly Member, said: 

“For seven years under Boris Johnson fare increases have outstripped wage growth forcing commuters to spend more of their pay-cheque travelling to work.

“The Mayor’s decision to raise fares for the seventh year running will put even more pressure on Westminster residents struggling to cope with the cost of commuting. With 76% of Londoners believing fares are too high, a freeze for 2015 would give them a much needed break from the annual rise in fares.

“Whilst money is tight, I do not believe the answer is to take more from Londoners’ pockets – especially when TfL is expected to be sitting on millions in underspends and additional fares income.

“In 2016 London will elect a new Mayor who will have the opportunity to map out a four year plan for their fares strategy for their term of office. Until then a fares freeze this year would give Londoners some much needed respite from rising travel costs without harming the network’s upgrade and expansion plans.”

ENDS

Notes

–       Since 2008, when the current Mayor came to power, tube passengers have seen fares rise by 37%; bus passengers by 47%. On average fares are up 40% since 2008.

–         Freezing Fares at 2014 levels would cost TfL £98 million in forgone revenue. This could be paid for by utilising £98m of the £309m expected to accumulate from better-than-expected fares income and TfL underspends in 2015/16. TfL consistently overestimates its operating expenditure and underestimates its income from fares. In the Mayor’s first five budgets, expenditure has been £1,069m (3.69%) less than expected & income from fares has been £235m (1.36%) more than expected. On this basis we calculate that TfL will underspend by up to 246m this year with additional fares income of up to £63m. This would leave up to £309m which could be used to pay for a year-long fare freeze that will help Londoners, particularly those on lower incomes, make ends meet in 2015, without hitting its capital expenditure or reserves.

–     For the report 1,219 Londoners were surveyed asking whether they thought fares were ‘too high’, ‘about right’ or ‘too low’. 924 (76%) said too high, 289 (24%) said about right and only 6 (0.5%) said too low.

–       The full report, The case for a Fares Freeze, is available here.

• Murad Qureshi is a Labour London Wide Assembly Member

The Romna Restaurant has been a long established Indian restaurant in Marylebone since 1969 frequented by many local residents & many black cab drivers. When l went to visit the restaurant myself one friday evening in early November, l was shocked to find it was completely empty on what is supposed to be one of the busiest evenings in the week for restaurants. The staff immediately pointed out the very large hire bike docking stations immediately outside the premises which l use myself, as having a devastating effect on business. It has not only left no room for diners to stop outside if travelling by car but has also had a detrimental effect on suppliers ability to deliver at all.

I have supported all efforts to promote cycling in central London, however there is a balance to be struck in this particular instance.  In this case l would suggest half the docking station moved to another location along Seymour Street. Clearly the Romna business and probably residents had not been consulted about the location in the first place and its not good enough to be in touch with the local borough as the TfL responded to me when l asked.  So l can see a bit of a local campaign starting here to help the Romma Restaurant business.

Labour London wide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi has condemned the Mayor of London’s announcement that tube station ticket offices in Westminster would close from February 2015 alongside huge cuts to staffing levels. Despite Boris Johnson’s election pledge not to close any of the tube network’s ticket offices, it was announced last week that all of Westminster’s ticket offices will be closed by December resulting in hundreds fewer tube staff in stations. 

The closures timeline announced by TfL means that the process for closing the ticket offices in 31 stations in the borough will start in February next year. The closures will also see almost 900 staff cut from the tube stations. Murad Qureshi has expressed particular concern about the impact the staff cuts will have on disabled and elderly passengers.

Despite the reduced staff service planned for tube stations, fares are once again due to go up just a month before the closures start, this will mean fares have risen 40% since Boris Johnson became Mayor.

Murad Qureshi AM, Labour London wide Assembly Member, said: 

“More people than ever are using the tube network yet Boris Johnson’s cuts will mean hundreds fewer staff there to help passengers. It is outrageous that just a month after Londoners face another round of fare rises, Boris Johnson plans to cut the service they are offered. It’s a real case of the Mayor asking Londoners to pay more and get less in return.

“This fight isn’t about whether staff are based in ticket offices or on platforms, it’s about whether there are enough staff overall to provide customers with a good service, particularly the elderly and disabled.

“Before he was elected Boris Johnson promised voters that he would not close any of the capital’s ticket offices, now he is set to axe them all. Londoners will have to ask how much the Mayor’s word is really worth.”

ENDS 

Notes

The full timetable for ticket office closures is available here. Murad Qureshi is a Labour London wide Assembly Member.

London wide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi AM has accused the Mayor of leaving renters “at the mercy of landlords” after new Shelter figures revealed that 1 in 47 private renters in Westminster face eviction each year. Murad Qureshi’s comments come six months after Boris Johnson launched his voluntary London Rental Standard (LRS) which, despite aims to get 100,000 of London’s 300,000 landlords signed up to better protections for tenants, has only 13,499 landlords on board according to the most recent City Hall figures. 

The new research shows that in total 1460 privately renting households in Westminster faced claims of eviction last year, Shelter found this meant 1 in 47 Westminster households facing eviction.

The report from housing charity Shelter found that the high cost and volatile nature of the London house rental market meant that “it can take just one thing, like losing your job or falling ill, to put your home at risk.” Since 2011 private sector rents in London have soared by 21% and recent estimates found that 39% of private rented sector tenants now live in poverty – a larger share than in either the social or owner-occupying tenures.

Murad Qureshi said the number of people facing dramatic rent rises and evictions showed that the capitals rental market wasn’t working for many Londoners. He criticised the Mayor of London’s voluntary approach to landlord regulation and called for stronger statutory protection for private renters.

Murad Qureshi AM, Labour London wide Assembly Member, said: 

“The fact that 1 in 47 renters in Westminster have faced eviction in the last year shows how challenging it can be to rent in the capital. Boris Johnson pledged to get 100,000 landlords signed up to his minimum standards scheme yet to date only 13,500 landlords have joined.

“With 40% of private sector renters living in poverty, rents rising and complaints soaring, Boris’ soft touch approach does little to help the majority of London’s renters. Without proper statutory protection, many renters are left at the mercy of landlords.

“Instead of another empty voluntary initiative we need to see real action to ensure decent standards and fair treatment in the private rented sector. Things like longer tenancies and caps on rent increases would make a real difference to Westminster’s renters.

“Whilst most landlords treat their tenants properly these figures suggest that renters have very little protections and too easily face the threat of eviction.”

ENDS

Notes 

• The latest Shelter report, Repossession and Eviction Hotspots, including borough by borough breakdowns is available here.
• The numbers of accredited landlords are available on the GLA’s London Rental Standard web page.
  • The London Poverty Profile 2013 (p.7) found that 39% of private renters now live in poverty.
• The Valuation Office Agency states that between June 2011 and June 2014 private rents in London rose 21%
• Shelter reports a 47 per cent increase in private sector tenant complaints in London in the last five years (to 18,700) (p20)
• Murad Qureshi is a Labour London wide Assembly Member

London Assembly Member Murad Qureshi today called for new London-wide restrictions on basement developments. The call came as a west London council got to go-ahead for a policy that limits subterranean development to a proportion of the garden size and to one storey, and prohibits all such development under listing buildings.

Subterranean development is a growing issue in some parts of London, notably Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Camden, Hammersmith & Fulham, and Wandsworth. The super-rich are digging deeper and wider in an effort to cram swimming pools, cinemas, and gyms into often historic buildings, creating so called ‘iceberg’ homes. These developments can cause flooding, sink holes and structural damage to neighbouring buildings, and construction is often severely disruptive to the neighbourhood.

A number of London boroughs are bringing forward policies to limit inappropriate basement development, but without the backing of a strong policy in the London Plan they will find it difficult to enforce and can see their decisions overturned by inspectors.

In March, Mr Qureshi introduced a motion to the London Assembly calling on the Mayor to establish planning policies to prevent inappropriate basement development. Despite receiving unanimous cross-party support, the Mayor informed the Assembly that he did not consider it necessary to introduce new rules in the London Plan.

Londonwide Assembly Member, Murad Qureshi AM, said:

“London urgently needs a city-wide policy to stop neighbours being disrupted by massive building works to create iceburg homes.

“It is right for councils to take steps to limit this inappropriate development, but without backing from the Mayor of London they may find it difficult to enforce and can see their decisions overturned by inspectors. It is astonishing that the Mayor has flatly refused to tackle the growing problem of subterranean development in the capital, we really need to see action before the problem gets out of hand.” 

ENDS 

Notes 

1. Murad Qureshi AM is a London-wide Labour member of the London Assembly.
2. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has for the past two years been developing a policy to place restrictions on subterranean development. A planning inspector earlier this week gave final approval to the policy. The draft policy is available here: http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/pdf/Basements%20Publication%20Second%20v5.pdf.
3. The full text of March’s amended motion is available here: http://www.london.gov.uk/media/assembly-press-releases/2014/03/assembly-calls-on-mayor-to-limit-excessive-basement-developments.

London wide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi has hit out at the Mayor of London’s “truly appalling record on tackling air pollution” after new research from Clean Air London estimated that by 2020 the number of Londoners dying prematurely as a result air pollution will rise to 6,851 per year. Clean Air London also suggested that the number of people currently dying as a result of air pollution could be as high as 7,500 a year in London. Commenting on the research Murad Qureshi described the figures as ‘catastrophic’ saying they revealed just how bad the silent killer of air pollution had got. The data which was released this week by Simon Birkett of Clean Air London is drawn from a study commissioned by the Mayor as part of the Health Impact Assessment for the proposed Ultra Low Emission Zone and states that current estimates suggest 6,851 Londoners could die each year by 2020 as a consequence of the capital’s air pollution problem. Prior to this study, it was believed that 4,300 lives were prematurely lost in the capital each year as a result of air pollution. The new figures include analysis of the impact of additional categories of pollutants which are known to be detrimental to public health.

In the summer the Mayor provided more details on an Ultra-Low Emission Zone but the scheme would only cover a small area of London and won’t come into effect until after 2020. Murad Qureshi has welcomed the scheme but said it doesn’t go far enough. Murad Qureshi AM, Labour London wide Assembly Member, said:

“For years we have known air pollution is the capital’s silent killer, now we know just how bad the situation has got. For 4,300 Londoners to prematurely die as a consequence of air pollution was shocking enough. The fact that the real figure is nearer 7,500 it is truly catastrophic. “Boris Johnson has a truly appalling record on tackling air pollution. It has taken six years for him to wake up to the scale of the capital’s air quality crisis. His proposals for an Ultra-Low Emission Zone are not only unambitious but are designed to leave the problem for his successor to grapple with. “Londoners want to see the proposed Ultra Low Emission Zone made bigger, stronger and more effective. Quite frankly, if these new figures don’t cause the Mayor to wake up and take action, nothing will”. ENDS Notes

– The latest Clean Air London research, published this week, is available at : http://cleanair.london/sources/mayor-publishes-health-study-revealing-deaths-attributable-to-no2/

– Murad Qureshi is a Labour London wide Assembly Member and is also the environment spokesperson for the London Assembly Labour Group.