Category: Democracy & Council

Find out what’s on in the borough this summer:  Hillingdon Culture and Heritage

Hillingdon Council has begun a two-week trial of a new vehicle fitted with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to help clamp down on unauthorised parking.
During the trial anyone parked in the council’s parking management schemes without the correct permits or exemptions will face enhanced enforcement.
Currently, Civil Enforcement Officers (CEO) carry out inspections across the borough on foot and individually check parked vehicles using handheld devices. However, the new vehicle’s technology allows CEOs to carry out more checks across a wider area in less time.
The ANPR cameras, linked to the council’s parking permit database, will highlight potential parking contraventions to the CEOs, who will follow up with a manual verification and check for valid parking approvals such as visitor permits and blue badges. Not all alerts will result in a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN).
Cllr Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services said:
“We’re committed to being a digital-enabled, modern council, while putting our residents first. The trial is a fantastic way to maximise officer time in cracking down on those who fail to follow our parking restrictions and ensure that parking remains accessible and fair to residents with valid permits within their neighbourhoods.”
The results of the trial will be analysed before the council makes a final decision on further implementation of the vehicle across the borough.
For more information about parking in Hillingdon visit www.hillingdon.gov.uk/parking.

Please respond to the survey:  https://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/recycling-survey

Hillingdon Council are producing a new Local Plan which will set out the vision for
development in the borough.  It will help to create new homes, businesses and services in a
sustainable way, as well as protecting our environment and rich heritage.

They want to hear what you think it should include.

Find out more and have your say by Monday 17 June at
www.hillingdon.gov.uk/local-plan

The residents associations of Eastcote and Ruislip have requested extra time to respond to Hillingdon Council’s new Cycling Strategy consultation. The council has agreed to extend the consultation by two weeks, until 18^th June 2024.

This will allow suitable time to update the document to create a final version which they will hopefully be able to launch not long after the general election.  Click Here http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/article/12781/Cycle-Strategy

The council has published its draft Cycling Strategy – a 10-year vision outlining its ambitions to enable more people to make trips in the borough safely and easily and improve infrastructure.

Residents, businesses and visitors are being asked to have their say on the draft strategy ahead of a final version being launched later this summer.

Among the proposals is the delivery of eight new dedicated cycle routes. A key element of the consultation will be looking to understand which of those routes residents favour most, which will enable the council to prioritise delivery.

The council has already overseen the installation of many kilometres of dedicated cycle network, and helped thousands of young people get free cycle training, but there remain obstacles to getting more residents out pedalling.

The strategy sets out how the council will seek to address those, in particular by utilising the borough’s green spaces and towpaths to help residents traverse the borough without having to use busy roads, which can be hostile to new or inexperienced cyclists.

Cllr Jonathan Bianco, Hillingdon Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Property, Highways and Transport, said: “We’re committed to creating a green and sustainable borough with thriving healthy households.

“By facilitating more safe, car-free travel options for residents it will remove non-essential and polluting journeys from borough roads, while helping residents to lead active, healthy lifestyles.

“We want to hear from residents and other stakeholders to ensure our ambitions align with residents’ needs, so that what we deliver will be well-used and also represent good value for money for everyone.”

Have your say on the draft strategy before the deadline on Tuesday 4 June

Please read and have your say at : https://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/flood-strategy-consultation
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CLOSING DATE FOR RESPONSES HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO 24th MARCH

Safety-conscious schoolchildren competed in a ‘Dragons’ Den’ style event hosted by Hillingdon Council for the chance to win their school funding for road safety and sustainable travel improvements.

Teams of pupils aged between 11 and 18 from Oak Wood School, in Uxbridge, Park Academy West London, also in Uxbridge, Queensmead School in Ruislip, Guru Nanak Sikh Academy, Hayes and Vyners School, Ickenham, took part in the Hillingdon Pioneers’ Challenge, on Wednesday 31 January in the lecture theatre of the Battle of Britain Bunker Exhibition and Visitor Centre in Uxbridge.

Each team of ‘Travel Pioneer Ambassadors’ pitched their road safety idea to a panel of ‘Dragons’ including members of Hillingdon Council’s school travel and road safety education team and representatives from Transport for London (TfL) and the transport industry, in efforts to bid for funding towards promoting school road safety and sustainable transport initiatives.

Around 50 students took part in the event, with ideas ranging from incentivised walking and cycling groups, to creating banners and holding coffee mornings to encourage their wider school community to travel more sustainably. The event was a great success with all schools achieving a share of the £3,356 funding for their proposed projects, along with actionable guidance from the Dragons to support their initiatives.

Following the event, Cllr Jonathan Bianco, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet Member for Property, Highways and Transport, said: “It was brilliant to hear about the range of thoughtful pitches from the Travel Pioneer Ambassadors, who clearly share the council’s passion and commitment to creating safer roads that in turn help protect road-users.
“My congratulations to all five schools for putting forward some compelling suggestions that help address how we could reduce the dangers of air pollution from car journeys while promoting healthy, sustainable alternatives.”
The Dragons’ Den event complements TfL’s Pioneer Challenge programme that is being delivered to participating secondary schools in the borough and aims to equip students with skills and confidence to raise issues of traffic safety with peers and parents to try and bring about change.
The funding was provided by the council and TfL from money ring-fenced for education, training and publicity of road safety and sustainable travel.

A similar event for ‘Junior Travel Ambassadors’ – pupils aged eight to 11, will take place on Thursday 29 February at the same venue.
Secondary schools wishing to find out more about the Pioneer Challenge programme can email stars@hillingdon.gov.uk

The recommendation to relocate Uxbridge Library to the borough’s Civic Centre was approved by Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet on Thursday (15 February) evening, subject to planning approval being granted.

The report presented to Cabinet advised that the Borough Solicitor was of the opinion that the current building is not compliant with equalities or health and safety at work legislation. It is spaced across six floors and because there are no fire evacuation lifts it can be particularly difficult for people with disabilities to safely evacuate. It also notes that significant capital investment would be required to improve the energy efficiency of the building and bring it up to modern standards.

Hillingdon Council has an enviable record of library investment, and whilst many local authorities have closed their facilities the council is committed to retaining 16 sites across the borough, further investing in buildings and facilities to ensure they are of the highest quality, maximum efficiency and continue to meet residents’ requirements now and into the future.

The relocation would ensure the library continues to occupy a prominent position in Uxbridge (only 300 metres away from the existing site) and improve accessibility by sharing the Civic Centre’s main entrance, offering step-free access to a new one-floor library space. There is also a bus stop opposite making it convenient to get to by public transport.

The new facility would be within easy reach of other council services, such as Learn Hillingdon Adult Community Education and Uxbridge Family Hub, as well as the range of other services available on-site, ensuring all the services that matter most to residents are easily accessible in one building. Work is already underway on renovating the Civic Centre as part of plans to revitalise the town centre and southern end of the High Street.

The new enhanced Uxbridge Library would remain the borough’s largest library and offer facilities not currently provided in its existing building, such as study booths, dedicated laptop/device charging bars, hireable meeting room space and a dedicated space for the popular Tovertafel (interactive tabletop projection) facility.

The plans also include space for exhibitions and events, a learning centre, dedicated children’s  library, a large book collection and use of the wider Civic Centre space for events and activities.

The relocated library is expected to save the council £412,000 per year from business rates, utilities, cleaning and staffing costs, delivering better value for money to residents. It will also help to deliver the council’s climate change pledge as the new library would save 165 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year. The council has recently received government funding to decarbonise the Civic Centre whereas decarbonisation of the current library building, which also has a high carbon footprint, is estimated to cost a minimum of £1.6 million and may not even be viable as there isn’t the space to accommodate the size of air source heat pump it would require.

Cllr Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, said: “We’re committed to creating safe and strong communities, thriving healthy households and a green and sustainable borough while continuing to ensure maximum efficiency in the use of council buildings and resources, delivering the very best value when using taxpayers’ money.

“The current Uxbridge Library building is no longer fit for purpose; if the proposal to relocate it had not been made now, one would have needed to be produced to protect the safety of all library users and to comply with the council’s legal obligations sometime in the near future. We will not shy away from making difficult decisions when they are in the best interests of all our communities.

“The new library will deliver a more modern, enhanced, accessible library, with a reduced environmental impact and running cost, housed alongside a wealth of other services to help us further build on our ambition to deliver more joined up public services to meet our residents’ needs.”

For more information and updates on the relocation of the library, visit www.hillingdon.gov.uk/uxbridge-library-relocation.

Hillingdon’s updated Local Flood Risk Management Strategy outlines how the Council will manage and reduce flooding risk. They welcome residents’ input, information and participation to ensure they fully understand where there are existing flood problems and that the approach best reflects the needs of Hillingdon’s communities.  Find out more at https://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/flood-strategy-consultation

Home-Start Hillingdon was established at the beginning of 1999, and is based in Hillingdon. This family support service for families in Hillingdon and the surrounding area was set up to offer a service, free at the point of access that would be available to all and completely independent of statutory agencies.
The scheme has 5 members of staff who work closely with a network of around 30 trained volunteers who carry out home-visiting support to families.

Home-Start Hillingdon recruits and trains local volunteers and carefully matches a volunteer to visit a family in their own home for a couple of hours a week. All of the families we support must have at least one child under five.

Find out more at www.homestart-hillingdon.org.uk