Category: General News

Many thanks to all who attended the open forum; we hope you found it useful and enjoyed meeting your neighbors.  Please email us with any questions or thoughts arising from the meeting

Trafalgar Theatres has U-turned during last-ditch negotiations with Hillingdon Council which aimed to secure a deal for residents for the ongoing management of the Beck Theatre.
Until last night (Thursday 10 October), the council had been seeking to negotiate terms with Trafalgar for a three-year contract to continue the Beck Theatre operation without the council making an annual payment to them. These negotiations had continued despite Trafalgar’s unexpected announcement on 15 September to terminate their management arrangement on 13 January 2025.

Since that announcement, the council has sought to work closely with Trafalgar to find terms which would enable them to reconsider their position. Whilst Trafalgar publicly accepted the ending of the annual payment, they also sought compensatory terms beyond the council’s offer of the lease of the Beck on a peppercorn rent with the council continuing to be responsible for essential repairs and maintenance.

Last Friday, terms were discussed that seemed mutually agreeable that would ensure the continuation of the Beck’s operation for a further three-and-a-half years, whilst also discussing longer term investment aspirations for a new theatre in the future. However, late on Tuesday evening (8 October), Trafalgar changed their demands and the deal has subsequently fallen through.

In addition to the rent-free use of the Beck which had already been agreed, Trafalgar were now also asking for a considerable subsidy. They were also seeking the ability to walk away from a three-year deal, with rolling break clauses, despite originally wanting more certainty of continued operation. Fundamentally, this would not have ensured any long-term stability for the running of the facility which is the council’s main priority.

Cllr Ian Edwards, Leader of Hillingdon Council, said: “It was with both surprise and regret that we learned that Trafalgar had again reneged on their position at the last-minute and our agreed terms had fallen through.
“Whilst we know this will be hugely disappointing for the residents and supporters of our Beck Theatre to learn, the council cannot be held to a position which continually moves further away from the demands Trafalgar originally negotiated and which would not secure the longer-term future of the Beck.
“I can assure residents that council officers and elected councillors worked tirelessly to reach an agreement with Trafalgar to secure their continued operation, doing everything reasonably possible to keep the theatre operating and open.
“It was immensely frustrating to hear Trafalgar’s demands changed for a second time and as such, the council can no longer move forward while a commercial entity continues to hold taxpayers to ransom, exploiting public funds when essential services for our residents have to take precedence.”

The council will continue to seek an alternative provider to run the council-owned facility to secure its future and the continued enrichment of our community.

LBH Network Operations Manager has advised that Affinity Water have had to close Breakspear Rd South this afternoon near Grays Cottages (area shown in Red on Map) due to a burst Water Main.

There is no timescale for this work to be completed but LBH are expecting the works to be expedited as quickly as possible.

This should not affect HS2 lorries using the Approved Lorry Route on Breakspear Rd South as the Road Closure is further north than the HS2 Site (with the Approved Route only going as far north as the HS2 Site). There will however be increased traffic around the Ruislip and Ickenham areas as displaced traffic moves around the LBH Road Network.

Our last update on Short Term Letting (STL) was in June 2022, where we reported on measures being taken to STL in other countries (including Scotland!) and being contemplated by government in England and Wales (ie the  Departments for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) – which covers tourism).  Since then, progress has been glacial.

A year ago, NORA held a meeting with the Short Term Accommodation Association (STAA), one of the principal trade bodies involved. Both parties agreed on the current housing crisis, and on the Parliamentary Committee’s two recent recommendations to the government:

1. to “recommit to delivering the affordable homes the country needs, particularly the 90,000 social rent homes needed every year,” and
2. to introduce a “tourist accommodation registration scheme and [asked it to] report back on whether the scheme could be used to allow Local Authorities to protect their communities from the holiday-let market.”  Both parties were in favour (a) of such a scheme, (b) of its being compulsory, and (c) of online booking agencies (eg AirBnb) being required to display the venue’s registration code on all advertisements or listings.  In this way, Local Authorities would be aware of the venues in their areas and thus be able to take other actions which were legal.  However, STAA saw there being difficulties in enforcement: so wanted such registration to be at no charge to the venue.

NORA later exchanged correspondence with STAA to add its conviction that, additionally, a new Planning Use Category would probably be needed for STL, allowing Local Authorities (LA) to require Planning Approval to be sought for change of use, if the LA so decided (though not in cases where the landlord is also resident).

In April 23, the Levelling Up Secretary of State announced that a scheme along the above lines would be introduced, and opened a consultation phase, to last to June.  However, little more was heard until February 24, when the proposals were confirmed, with changes “being introduced from this summer”; so don’t hold your breath!

Robin Kerr – meetings secretary
National Organisation of Residents Associations
www.nora-uk.com

Hillingdon residents have raised £50,000 for Harlington Hospice by giving unwanted household items a new lease of life.  Since January 2020, the Council’s waste weekend events have provided residents with the opportunity to donate and re-use items left by others if they make a charitable donation. The funds raised support the hospice to provide invaluable care for people and their families living with serious or terminal illness .

Operated by Powerday on behalf of the council, the waste weekends create a pop-up civic amenity site in West Drayton, which is a free facility for residents to use every weekend, 9am to 4pm, to dispose of household rubbish and recycling.

The Mayor of Hillingdon, Cllr Shehryar Ahmad-Wallana, Cllr Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, and Powerday staff, presented representatives of Harlington Hospice with a cheque at a special celebration event on Saturday 20 January.

Wendy Whyte, Community Fundraiser at Harlington Hospice, said: “The incredible support we’ve received from the waste weekend charity shop over the last four years means so much to our hospice.
“At Harlington Hospice, we’re here to support people living with serious or terminal illness in Hillingdon and the surrounding areas. We believe that everybody living in our community should be able to access the care and support they need to be able to live each of their days in their own way, to the fullest.
“Through the generosity of our community, we’re able to provide this support through our inpatient unit at Michael Sobell House, Hospice at Home, Wellbeing, Psychological and Emotional Support (including our Child and Adolescent Bereavement Service), Harlington Care and education and information services.
“On behalf of the whole team at Harlington Hospice, we are so grateful to everyone who has donated and purchased items from the shop over the last four years, and a big thank you to the waste weekend team for choosing to support our charity.”

Cllr Lavery, said: “This is a fantastic achievement by our residents and shows an ongoing commitment to reduce waste, recycle and re-use items. I’d like to thank them for their efforts, every single donation makes a huge difference to the lives of other residents in need of additional care and support.  “Our waste weekends provide residents with the opportunity to recycle items they no longer need while making a positive contribution to a local charity. This helps to reduce the environmental impact and supports our commitment to create a green and more sustainable borough for future generations.”

To find out more about the council’s waste and recycling centres, including the waste weekends, visit www.hillingdon.gov.uk/waste-and-recycling-centres

Aldi’s in Eastcote is being refurbished and will be closed until 8.00 am on 23rd November when it will re-open with a new layout.

Note: On the morning of the 21^st Nov Air Traffic instrument approaches will be undergoing calibration. To that end a light aircraft will be conducting several flights over the airfield up until 0330.

What is flight calibration:

Flight Calibration is the term used to cover a wide range of flight calibration, inspection and validation services. Flight calibration can include everything from checking navigation systems and ensuring radar systems are working to ensuring an aircraft passes an inspection and its equipment is up to date.

National Organisation of Residents Association September 2023 Nwsletter

Members of Eastcote Residents Association are undertaking a series of surveys about the accessibility of local destinations from the point of people using electric mobility scooters, wheelchairs and other personal mobility aids. Our reviews consider both disabled car-parking and arrival by walking and wheeling from local streets.

Our first accessibility report was about Cavendish Recreation Ground. We are now putting it on the website so that residents can discus the issues raised in the report, which was previously circulated only to the committee and our ward councillors.

ERA hopes that the Council will respond positively, and take on board the need to improve access to various public amenities. We don’t have the skills to design improvements, but hopefully the council will have.
Click here to read the report

Bell Farm Christian Centre have been asked to compile a strategic report for the Greater London Authority on how advice and wrap around support can be better linked to food aid in Hillingdon.

To enable us to do so I would be grateful if you could circulate this survey to your networks. It is open to all organisations, businesses and residents in Hillingdon. We would be grateful if the survey could be completed by 12th July.

The survey link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScq8mxKa7MN8YMhDHS3t9fRb2lp-xmeIDmmG_oYSMaCyktXLg/viewform

Many thanks,

Stuart

Stuart Mathers
CEO
Bell Farm Christian Centre
South Road, West Drayton UB7 9LW
01895 444406