Pavement width to be reduced by 2.45m, forcing pedestrians onto the road on a very busy bit of Edgware Rd

TfL are not happy with just selling off Shepherds Bush market to developers and quite possibly all ticket offices on the tube system but even the pavement used as public highway in highly dense locations like the Edgware Rd are up for sale, in the sale of the century.

The block along Edgware Rd which is affected is between Nutford Place and George St which has an extremely high footfall particularly at the end Ramadan. So much so that barriers have to be put along the Edgware Rd to stop people walking onto the busy road. Its clear that narrowing the pavements will put people’s lives at risk as local Traders like Pharmacist Mahmoud Abdul have suggested with petitions and appeals to the local council.

Which makes me wonder why are TfL selling off public highways that belong to the public so readily to developers like the Portman Estates?

Obstensively l am being told by TfL when l have enquired thate there was no overriding reason to prevent this being built on when the Great Portman Estate made the approach. This after an impact assessment by WSP suggests an overall improvement in the area of footway which is stands in sharp contrast to how traders and many users of the Rd will tell you. Indeed its not clear whether any public consultation has undertaken and indeed how much the land was sold for in the first place. So much so you have to wonder what regard TfL must have for pedestrians? Not very much is the clear measure from this instance. This all the while as it getting grateful publicity in the Economist for being pedestrian friendly.

It is time the Mayor got involved. After all this is being done under his mayoralty!

No stopping this Piccadilly line train at Turnham Green?

I welcome the consultation that TfL will begin on the 27th of August and l am sure residents of Chiswick will use this opportunity to state the case for the Piccadilly line to stop somewhere in Chiswick ( as it goes through 3 stations covering 4.5 miles without stopping ) ideally Turnham Green. Also let us not forget the case for also stopping the Piccadilly trains in Ravenscourt Park tube station as well, before the Piccadilly line gets to Hammersmith.

In the meantime, we have a fierce debate locally between partners of the coalition government the Tories and Lib Dem claiming to have got the consultation undertaken by London Underground in the first place. All l have to say is while there have been talking to TfL, l have been raising the issue direct with the Mayor. Only last month l put in a written question on the basis of my discussions with the Mayor, with a written commitment that he would start a consultation during the summer. And it should not go without notice that the response was given before TfL officials meet the local MP and others about the matter. So l hope this closes the matter of who got the consultation commitment out of TfL once and for all.

Such operational changes have been successfully implemented by the London Underground with the Circle line now going to Hammersmith. But lets not also forget the upgrade programme and the eventual impact of Crossrail on the Piccadilly line going to Heathrow. Indeed on the first l have been regularly asking about the upgrade of the Piccadilly line at City Hall, as another written MQT last month shows quite clearly.

And finally the impact of Crossrail could well be quite profound on the Piccadilly line going to Heathrow in West London, as it may become the preferred route into Central London for economy flyers on flights subject to ticket prices.

Colleagues Cllr Barrie Taylor & Cllr Nilavra Mukerji with our hosts for the day Cllr Tudor Evans & Cllr Chris Penberthy from Plymouth Council

During the August recess, l managed to pay a visit to Plymouth Council to see first-hand their efforts in running a Co-operative Council. My colleague, Councillor Barrie Taylor from Westminster made the arrangements following his commentary that “….political agendas in today’s world are dictated to by consumerist approach to decision making”.  So we set off to see how an alternative co-operative and collaborative set up would work.

Politicians know that it’s vital to obtain good value when spending public money, but merely focusing on efficiency ignores the need to include effectiveness (quality) in order to achieve a balanced judgement and decision. After all, local authorities are not corporate supermarket chains and it would be unwise to make this comparison, as many in the media continue to do, for example, in referring to Barnet council’s effort to cut services to the bone as “Easy” council. This clearly over looks the rationale behind the establishment of local authorities in the first place.

Plymouth City Council has a cabinet member, Councillor Chris Pemberthy.  His remit is Co-operatives & Community Development. The council does not pretend to have the answers to all issues but they do test their policies and contracts within arrangements that provide give back to the community. One of their initiatives is the Plymouth Energy Community.  This is an independent member organisation designed to save money for local people using face-to-face contact about the best energy deals. At the same time, it seeks to reinvest surpluses back into the membership company. Previously it was known as a mutual, worthy of inclusion as an added alternative to the directly consumerist model of decision making.  After visiting the Brixton Energy Co-operative in Lambeth earlier on the year, l was particularly glad to see that the council with Plymouth Energy Community has much less of a hurdle to jump in order to achieve its goals.

Last Thursday night l was happy to join a panel discussion at Coin St, Neighbourhood Centre,SE1 hosted by TSSA to campaign for better London Transport.  This was with Sadiq Khan MP for Tooting; Manuel Cortes General Secretary of TSSA; Zara Todd  of Sisters of Frida & Christian Wolmar, the Transport commentator and aspiring Labour candidate for Mayor in 2016.

This was a timely event as it fell in the same week as we heard about TfL management plans to sell-off all 268 ticket offices and the latest planned inflation busting increase in fares on the railways and almost certainly the tube & buses in London. The day before, we had the launch of the #Great Train Robbery campaign.  This launched a petition from Sadiq Khan’s office in response to this double whammy for the users of public transport in London this week.

Another main points which was raised when the discussion was opened out to the floor was about accessibility of transport infrastructure in London. This issue is a chronic one because it’s not just the disabled who require accessibility but also mothers with prams and even tourists with their heavy luggage.

For me it was a great way to end the summer political season with such a lively and topical public meeting.  It was also a reminder about the importance of public transport in London to its resident’s cost of life especially as we are finding inflation busting fare increases along reduction in qulaity of service  with the furture loss of ticket offices. 

Last weeks meeting also brought together organisations and individuals to start building a vision of a better London transport, so, why not join TSSA in telling us your vision of a Better London Transport. Spread the word via http://www.tssa.org.uk/en/campaigns/blt/index.cfm

London wide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi AM has today repeated calls for the Mayor of London to freeze Transport for London fares and not to put an “extra tax on workers”. The Mayor is due to decide what level fares will be from January later this year, he is currently committed to an RPI+1% increase. In addition, season tickets for train services travelling in and out of London could rise by up to 9.1% this January, it was announced yesterday.  

Train providers including South West will be raising their fares in 2014 by RPI + 1 per cent. This means fares will rise by an average of 4.1 per cent, but the maximum individual fares can be increased is by up to 9.1 per cent. 

London wide Labour Assembly member Murad Qureshi AM, said:

“The Mayor must ease financial pressure on Londoners and freeze Transport for London fares at inflation this year. Boris needs to listen and not make life harder for Londoners who are struggling with the ever increasing cost of living. Residents living in Zone 4 have already seen a 17% per cent increase in TfL fares since Boris became Mayor in 2008 and those living in Zone 6, an 18.8% increase. 

“Wages are flat-lining and these inflation-busting fare rises amount to a tax on work. Commuters travelling into London will be clobbered with fare rises of up to 9 per cent at a time when utility bills, food and rents are all increasing. The government should be encouraging people to use public transport, but instead people are going to have to seriously consider whether they can afford to commute into London. 

“Figures obtained this week from the House of Commons library show average hourly wages have fallen 5.5% since mid-2010 when adjusted for inflation. That is the fourth-worst decline among the 27 EU nations. Since 2008, fares have risen three times faster than wages. That is appalling and unsustainable, unless the plan is to make train travel a luxury for the wealthiest in this country.” 

Ends 

Notes 

1. Murad Qureshi AM is a Labour London wide Assembly Member.

Above is a video clip of Anjem Choudhury’s mob causing public disorder along the Edgware Road.   This is nothing new but this time it’s taken a very sinister anti-Shia form and my view is that there may be grounds for the police to bring charges of religiously aggravated harassment or sorts.

I am no Assad et al defender in the context of the present appalling situation in Syria but the language, messages displayed by the banners and the timing of the protest along the Edgware Rd conveys a very anti-Shia sentiment.

Quite honestly we can do without such intra-faith tensions on the streets of London particularly one as diverse as the Edgware Rd, where we have Sunni Arabs at the Marble Arch end and by the time you get to Kilburn it becomes Shia Iranian. The Edgware Rd has been home to a wide Muslim diaspora where different denominations of Islam live side by side in peace.  Long shall this remain without trouble makers like Anjem Choudhury’s lot stirring up religiously aggravated sentiments towards Shias.

Have you ever wondered while speeding through Chiswick on the Piccadilly line, why it doesn’t stop at Turnham Green tube except at very specific times?   It zips past 3 tube stops in Chiswick; Chiswick Park, Turnham Green & Stamford Brook- before reaching Hammersmith and beyond but more often than not misses out Turnham Green.  I’m sure many Chiswick folk have had these same thoughts, so I thought it was about time l got a response from the Mayor about the matter. So here it is.

I’m glad the Mayor agreed and has committed to a consultation because the issue has been around for decades, so I was pleasantly surprised that l managed to persuade him to take up the matter.  The Mayor is renowned for ignoring the finer detail of policy, but luckily, in this instance; it will be Transport for London (TfL) which will implement any change.   As far as l can see, if it can stop at Turnham Green at the beginning and end of the day, then operationally it must be possible to make stops during the day time also.

This said, TfL have not been great in Chiswick generally.  I recently had to write to them to get the subways under the A4 repaired and looked at over the summer after been approached by local residents with their concerns.  I also put in a petition to address pedestrian safety issues along the A4 raised by local residents around Barrowgate Rd at the last plenary for the political year 2012/13. So you expect a response from the Mayor and TfL in the Autumn.

So, if anyone else has any TFL related concerns in Chiswick, please don’t hesitate to contact me at murad.qureshi@london.gov.uk and I will do my very best to try and help move matters along.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson was today urged to properly fund the London Fire Brigade (LFB) and abandon his planned cuts. The call follows the Mayor’s decision to use his executive powers to force through the controversial closure of Westminster and Knightsbridge fire stations and eight others.  

On 18^th July the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) voted against the Mayor’s proposed cuts to 10 fire stations, 14 fire engines and 552 firefighters. 

Londonwide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi AM, said:

“We are now considering our next steps in light of the Mayor’s decision to force through fire stations closures, including Westminster and Knightsbridge fire stations. Londoners have been clear about their opposition to the Mayor’s closure of fire stations and we will continue to make the case to keep these stations open. The Mayor must reconsider his position, drop his plans to close 10 fire stations and fully fund the London Fire Brigade. 

“It is totally within Boris’ power to fully fund the London Fire Brigade. He is wrong to push through these fire station closures. If he is serious about ensuring the safety of Londoners he needs to put his money where his mouth is and provide adequate funding. While Boris continues to dither we have decided to take action and have instructed the Fire Authority to set up a working party to identify any further savings that will protect the frontline.” 

The stations that are due to close are: Belsize, Bow, Clerkenwell, Downham, Kingsland, Knightsbridge, Silvertown, Southwark, Westminster and Woolwich. 

The stations that will lose a fire engine are: Chingford, Hayes, Leyton, Leytonstone, Peckham and Whitechapel. 

Ends 

Notes 

1. Murad Qureshi AM is a Londonwide Assembly Member.

Londonwide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi AM today voted for a motion urging the Mayor of London to fully fund the London Fire Brigade to stop the closure of Westminster and Knightsbridge fire stations with the loss of 3 appliances across the two boroughs. The London Assembly voted to call on Boris to reconsider his proposals to close 10 fire stations and cut 14 fire engines and draw up measures that avoid the need for cuts to the fire service in London.  

Last week the Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) voted down the Mayor of London’s cuts agenda and put forward an amendment that the Mayor should fully fund the London Fire Brigade to keep the current provision of fire stations and engines. The Mayor is seeking advice as to whether he directs LFEPA to implement his cuts and disregard LFEPA’s decision. 

Local Labour Londonwide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi AM said:

“Boris has publicly said that more London Boroughs will meet the six minute average attendance time target, but this is not the case in Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea. At a local level, 38 wards will now miss the six minute average attendance time target as a result of the proposed cuts, while only 3 wards will move into the target time.

“Over 400,000 Londoners will now sit outside the target response time who previously lived in wards that met that time, while only 30,845 Londoners are now inside the target that previously were not.

“The Mayor must reconsider his position, drop his plans to close Westminster and Knightsbridge fire stations and fully fund the London Fire Brigade. We have seen an unprecedented level of engagement and response against Boris’s cuts to the London Fire Brigade. If he wants to, let the Mayor play with the fire but we are not prepared to sign up for this reckless plan.”

Ends

Notes

1. Murad Qureshi AM is a Labour London wide Assembly Member.
2. London Fire Brigade Cuts Motion, 24 July 2013:

Motion in the name of Fiona Twycross AM seconded by Valerie Shawcross AM:

This Assembly condemns the financial constraints being imposed on the London Fire Brigade by the Mayor that led to proposals to close fire stations and cut fire engines.

This Assembly therefore supports the decision by the London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority to reject the proposed cuts to the London Fire Brigade.  These cuts were rejected by:

• Over 1,300 Londoners who attended the 24 meetings
• The 21,770 Londoners who signed 13 petitions opposing the plans
• And 94% of the online consultation responses received by the London Fire Brigade

We call on the Mayor to provide the necessary funding to enable the London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority to maintain the front line response service that the population of this city demand.

Photo: Creative Commons License from Flickr – Exercise Forward Defensive 2012 (15) by kenjonbro, Taken on February 22, 2012