Dear Paul,

I hope I am not normally seen as a pessimistic sort of character, but at the Mayoral election on May 3rd I am afraid I see real risks for this city.

The election comes at a critical time for London. Londoners are going through one of the most difficult periods in recent memory. Despite this, we’re making progress. Progress that would be put at risk if we were to take the wrong turn now.

When I was elected the whole budget was out of control. My determination to end the waste and mismanagement of the previous Mayor has freed up the money to pay for a strong plan for our future. We are putting that money where Londoners want to see it spent in spite of the very difficult financial circumstances.

I feel like a man who has built half a bridge. I can see the other side. I can see what needs to be done.

That is why this weekend I launched my 9 point plan that will secure Greater London’s future. It’s a plan that protects the investment we need to create jobs and will help Londoners get through these tough times.

My plan is:

• Cutting waste at City Hall – freeing up £3.5 billion for services
• Putting £445 back in your pocket by freezing the Mayoral share of council tax
• Creating 200,000 new jobs over the next four years
• Making our streets and homes safer with 1,000 more police on the beat
• Restoring 300 acres of green space and planting 20,000 street trees
• Investing £221 million to transform local high streets, supporting small businesses
• Ensuring a true Olympic legacy – 11,000 new homes and 10,000 new jobs
• Reducing Tube delays 30% by 2015. Building Crossrail and orbital rail to link our suburbs. Extending the Bike Hire scheme
• Securing a better deal for London from No 10

That is the choice for Londoners on 3rd May. To go forward with a programme of investment and modernisation or go back to the irresponsible and unaffordable approach of Ken Livingstone.

Help me secure Greater London’s future by pledging your support: www.backboris2012.com/pledge

Best,

Boris Johnson

P.S. This really is a critical election and Londoners cannot afford to go back to Ken Livingstone. Please help us ensure Greater London continues on the right track by donating to my campaign: www.backboris2012.com/donate

The most controversial issue was the question of the relocation of the bus stop on Ewell Road by the hospital site. It currently fronts the Casa Viva restaurant and the Londis store, where the pavement is very narrow, and TfL want to move it 60m north to outside Mellish Court, where the pavement is much wider. The ‘bus cage’ also needs to be long enough to take two double deckers simultaneously, and it appears that TfL are working on possible bus lengths of up to 29 metres. Now that’s 9 metres longer than a cricket pitch, but I didn’t get the chance to query it and none of the elected members bothered to.

The residents of Mellish Court are, understandably, highly upset at this possibility and spoke very eloquently on it. They cite anti-social behaviour by bus users, such as dropping litter and human detritus over the wall into their garden as well as attendant noise from the myriad of buses stopping and starting. The number of buses is likely to increase with the impending diversion of the K4 to pass the site on its way into Kingston – I suspect this will impact on Ditton Road as well. All of this is part of the ‘green travel plan’ which is an essential part of the planning permission granted for the health centre and 461-pupil primary school being built on the hospital site. Residents were also concerned about overlooking into their lounges and bedrooms from the upper decks of buses. I will just say in passing that the shelters that accompany bus stops are frequently used as assembly points by young people hanging out with nothing much to do and nowhere to go – something Nick Kilby commented on in his post on the ‘Youth Matters’ page two years ago, and a problem we had ideas on addressing, had we been re-elected in 2010. As it is I wonder if the Mellish Court residents have taken up their problem with the Police.

Mellish Court residents want the bus stop to stay where it is, outside the businesses and closer to the hospital site entrance. It was alleged that this would make life easier for disabled people, especially wheelchair users. In fact it won’t. Wheelchair users (especially powered ones) are likely to need the wider pavement to be able to manoeuvre on and off a bus and make a 90 degree turn immediately after alighting or while in the act of boarding. The businesses want it moved, partly for the same reason the MC residents don’t want it moved. TfL stated categorically in late material that they couldn’t support leaving the stop where it is because of lack of space between crossovers and the narrowness of the pavement.

All sides had their facts and their facts were true. In the end I wasn’t altogether surprised that the decision went in favour of the MC residents and against TfL by 5 votes to 2 with one apparent abstention.

Speaking to one of the officers afterwards we both agreed that it was a very difficult decision to have to make. However there was one moment of comic relief when Elmbridge resident Cllr. Neil Houston suggested having two bus stops not one, with one extra one somewhere south of the present one, probably outside Shan Pharmacy! There was no support for this suggestion.

Other issues were quickly despatched. The scheme for a CPZ east of Ewell Road was not proceeded with, though some street corner treatments should be introduced for safety reasons (see references to Mayfair Close in this blog).

Arlington Road residents will remain in parking zone S and not transfer to zone T. So Jane Smith and I got something right 10 or so years ago when we worked with Arlington Road residents to bring this about.

Last Friday was the ‘seven hour’ licensing hearing for the Old Gala Bingo Hall site “Kingston Arena”. We will know the outcome later this week and whoever loses will appeal through the courts. That very evening, an appalling attack occurred on the corner of Richmond Road and Canbury Park Road involving multiple youths who had left Oceana’s nightclub and a larger group followed 3 men and a fight broke out. The attack  left one of the victims with serious head injuries and a broken jaw.

Our police force are being seriously stretched each weekend in the town centre and on that evening the officers who attended the scene were from Wimbledon and had been drafted in to help support the Kingston police officers.

I have been campaigning hard, alongside local residents, with the full backing of the police force here in Kingston for a Cumulative Impact Policy to be put in place in the town centre. The policy would strengthen the council’s licensing policies, which currently are not nearly robust enough. In Canbury, Tudor and several other wards we feel the direct effects of this lack of policy, with antisocial behaviour and violence spilling onto the streets after the night clubs shut, vandalism to vehicles but also many people tell me they don’t go out in Kingston late at night any more as it has become so unpleasant to do so. Even local students are saying that enough is enough.

This policy will give the council the ability to refuse a license application on the basis of its cumulative effect on the area rather than the four licensing objectives that currently are considered.

Please, please sign the residents petition below and forward this on to your family and friends in the area so we see a positive reduction in the Crime and Disorder in the town centre and to help protect ourselves, our friends and families and also other visitors to the town centre.

http://epetition.kingston.public-i.tv/epetition_core/community/petition/1586

This incident didn’t happen in Surbiton, however it could. So please support this initiative.

He has published a ‘Focus’ leaflet in which

John Ayles explains “The Conservative candidate in this by-election was a leading opponent of the new school and backer of their own nonsensical plans. Why on earth did he want to stop a new school in his own ward, or want to kick elderly people out of a home and see a valuable community asset sold off.”

This statement is untrue and defamatory. Further Mr. Ayles is now implicated with him as the author of this untrue and defamatory statement.

Nick Kilby has never been opposed to a new school in this area.  In fact he was one of the local representatives who at the time led demands that the Liberal Democrat Council recognise the need for primary school places across the Borough, and provide a new school in this area.  He has consistently been in favour of this provision.  He has also never articulated his support in word or print for any proposal to sell off any community asset or old people’s home, and to assert that he was willing to “kick elderly people out of their home” is a blatant lie. What is more Nick was at great pains to point this out the first time Mr. Ayles uttered this statement.

This is not, as the Comet has it, ‘a spat’. It is a serious matter, as our further advice tells us

‘the issues that you have raised may require investigation by the Police because the making of false statements, and a failure to display the required details on an election publication, are both election related criminal offences under the Representation of the People Act, 1983.’ 

The other issue by the way is the widespread issue of another ‘Focus’ leaflet in the ward during the election campaign, which does not bear the identifying marks which election law requires. Mr. Hayes is responsible in law for the conduct of his candidate’s campaign.

The Liberal Democrats of all people should be aware of how seriously the Law now takes the uttering of false statements about rival candidates. It was on their petition that Phil Woolas (Lab. Oldham East and Saddleworth) was recently deprived of his parliamentary seat for just such an offence as that allegedly committed by Mr. Ayles and his agent.

The electors of Surbiton Hill should be aware of this. If you vote Liberal Democrat, this is the kind of thing you’re voting for.

Hi

I thought you might be interested to know that the Police Station on the Ewell Road near me is going to be turned into a Study Centre open 10-6 for 80 students (50% from overseas) with 17 car spaces (How many are being allocated to the hospital site for teachers?) It goes to committee on 7th Sep with a recommendation for approval. No doubt Kingston would have said that the site was too small for a school!! It started life as a school before being a police station and they must  have known it was being sold before they settled on the hospital site. As the site is of Townscape merit it will not be altered just added to.

Hope you are all well

Bridget Walker

Addressing a special session of Parliament, the Prime Minister described the events as “criminality pure and simple” and stressed there was no excuse for such behaviour. He made clear, “We will not put up with this in our country. We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets. And we will do whatever it takes to restore law and order and to rebuild our communities.”

He set out the three key priorities on which the Government’s response is focussed:

1. Restoring order, with a series of measures to help ensure more robust and effective policing, such as allowing the police to remove face coverings where there is reasonable suspicion that they are related to criminal activity;
2. Supporting the victims, with, for example, a new £20 million high street support scheme to help affected businesses get back up and running quickly, and making compensation available under the Riot Damages Act; and
3. Tackling the deeper problems, taking the action necessary to fix our broken society.

David Cameron concluded by saying:

“This is a time for our country to pull together. To the law abiding people who play by the rules, and who are the overwhelming majority in this country, I say the fightback has begun, we will protect you, if you’ve had your livelihood and property damaged, we will compensate you. We are on your side.”

“And to the lawless minority, the criminals who’ve taken what they can get, I say: we will track you down, we will find you, we will charge you, we will punish you. You will pay for what you have done.”

Read David Cameron’s full statement to the House

It is not clear at the moment whether or how far local councillors were consulted. I was at a meeting of one of our ward residents’ associations when this was first raised with me. Cllr. Self was also present but maintained his usual discreet silence, certainly proferring no view or indicating agreement or disagreement with what is proposed.

So far as we can tell, Surbiton Hill SNT is to be broken up, with School Lane being hived off into Tolworth and Hook Rise, while the rest of the ward combines with most of Berrylands.

The idea behind it, officially, is to police ‘natural neighbourhoods’. At present SNT boundaries are the same as electoral ward boundaries. This means that there are 16 of them in Kingston at present. We understand that this number will be cut to 10. While a case can be made that the current wards are not ‘natural neighbourhoods’ (indeed, as councillors, we reckoned that this ward had at least seven such!) we cannot see how reducing the total number of SNTs is going to make neighbourhoods more – rather than less – natural than the wards.

At our public meetings we are asking you to tell us about the issues of crime and anti-social behaviour in your neighbourhood that matter to you. We will tell you what we are doing with our partners to make your neighbourhood safer and how you can help to decide our local priorities. We will also give you information about crime and people brought to justice. These meetings may include street briefings, drop-in surgeries or mobile police station visits.

• What: Street briefing
  When: 14/05/2011 – 14:00 – 16:00
  Where: Walpole Road
• What: Street briefing
  When: 02/06/2011 – 19:00 – 20:00
  Where: Malcolm Drive
• What: Street briefing
  When: 23/06/2011 – 16:00 – 18:00
  Where: Southborough Close
• What: Street briefing
  When: 13/07/2011 – 16:00 – 18:00
  Where: Ellerton Road

Please find attached a copy of the latest edition of Surbiton Neighbourhood Matters. Please feel free to pass this on to any of your contacts.

While writing, I would like to also draw your attention to Energyshare, a new initiative which gives you the opportunity to be involved in sourcing, using and -if you’re ready- even generating your own renewable energy. Energyshare is a community which brings people together in person and online, to challenge the status quo and get more control over

• Where your energy comes from
• How much you use
• · How much you pay for it

The Energyshare fund is open now, with £500k available in the first round.

For more information, please see www.energyshare.com

We hope you find the bulletin of interest and welcome your comments.

Rumour has it that Surbiton Hill’ Safer Neighbourhood Team is about to lose one of its PCSOs (Police Community Support Officers). I heard this during the DC meeting last night.