As a Church Street resident l have patiently waited for ballot papers to arrive on estate regeneration plans but have still not had them in the post even with the extended deadline. As the extended deadline passes l have been deprived of my vote in this matter.
It was rumoured that Ballot papers have not arrived at the homes of many Church Street residents three days after voting started on Westminster City Council’s Church Street estate regeneration proposals. That is voting started on Wednesday 8th May, and was open for a week till Tuesday 14th May. Over the weekend l had heard ballot papers have not arrived at Loddon, Cherwell, Wytham and Wey Houses, Old Church St Estate and other residents at Eastlake House and Lisson Green report not having received theirs either even though the vote has started.
It really is a great shame that things could not have been done to time, especially given the publicity beforehand. It does cast a shadow and raises questions over the whole voting process.
As Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg has said
“If the Council can’t even organise a simple Yes/No vote, how do they expect us to believe they can deliver a complicated regeneration project? After all the hard work and effort put into this project by so many Church Street residents it is scandalous that the Council has failed to get ballot papers to residents in time for the vote.”
I was most concerned about the loss of the Cosway St site. It had an existing educational use which would have been very helpful in accommodating the much needed additional primary school places need for the growing population of the ward. Both Gateway & Christ Church Primary Schools in the ward have expanded into their playgrounds to accommodate the new bigger intakes but we still more space is needed.
Moreover l think there were other more important estate regeneration priorities in the neighbourhood like getting rid of the 200 flats of slum housing in Miles Building, just off the Edgware Rd inside the Ward. This has been allowed to continue for far too long and has long been forgotten by the council. It is surprising that such housing still exists at the beginning of the 21st century.
But alas l have been deprived of my vote to register such concerns.