ACTON
GREEN RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL
GENERAL MEETING
19th
MARCH 2003
Attended by 52 residents. Apologies for absence from Harvey Rose and 4 others.
The Chairman thanked Mr. Andy Johnson for the use of the Acton Green Church and he also thanked the Neighbourhood Watch Street Co-ordinators who had distributed the notices for the meeting.
Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting
Approved and signed by the Chairman.
Secretary's Report
Chris Hill outlined the aims of AGRA to represent the views of residents and promote our interests with the London Borough of Ealing and other organisations.
Treasurer's Report
The Annual Accounts had been circulated to all residents and Valerie Walker explained that our expenditure was mainly related to printing of newsletters and communications to residents. These were done by Committee members to keep costs down and she expressed her thanks to Chris Hill and Anne Copp. Subscriptions included were to Chiswick Protection Group, HACAN Clear skies and Ealing Passenger Users Transport Group. Acceptance of the accounts was proposed by Mr. M. Hussein and seconded by Sonia Harrison. There was a vote of thanks to Anne Denton and Jonathan Wheatley (in place of Briony Wilman who was away) who examined the accounts.
Membership
Ann Williams reported that 119 residents had so far paid subscriptions for 2003. We ended last year with 240 members and we need to recruit more residents.
Neighbourhood Watch
Elizabeth Dendy reported that we should have had a general Neighbourhood Watch meeting for the AGRA area earlier this year, but that had been postponed because of the CPZ meetings and it would now take place in the summer. Our beat policeman Dave O'Grady has been rather hard to contact in recent months and the Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator appointed by London Borough of Ealing has also been unavailable. There have been incidents of burglary and car break-ins recently and residents are urged always to report these to the Police, however trivial, and tell your street co-ordinator. Welcome packs for new residents are being updated and members are urged to advise their street co-ordinators of any new neighbours.
Traffic and Parking
Brian Prior reported that two meetings of residents had been held in October and November to ensure that members had all the information they required to complete the Consultation Document. The result has been a majority in Acton Green for CPZ which will operate from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm Monday to Friday and will start in the summer. Acton Green CPZ covers a slightly larger area than AGRA. There were criticisms of the distribution of the Consultation Documents in Christmas week and also that the form contained some leading questions.
South Acton rejected CPZ and Southfields accepted it for some roads and not others.
Residents complained that the pedestrian crossing in Bollo Lane was too close to the roundabout and this and the one in Acton Lane were awkwardly placed for cyclists.
S106 money supplied by Stanhope Trafalgar at the time of the original plan for Chiswick Business Park:
Chris Hill and Brian Prior had a meeting with representatives from LEB and it was probable that this money would not be used for CPZ as this would be unfair on people without cars. At that meeting AGRA put forward suggestions for traffic calming and had a positive response. We have been promised a report by LEB of schemes and provisional costings. More ideas from residents would be welcomed. We have been pressing LBE to know the definite area which will benefit from S106 money, which should not include Bedford Park in spite of their best efforts.
Street
Cleaning
Susan Evans reported on research which she had carried out on street cleaning and related items.
Streets should be swept every other week.
Household refuse should not be put on pavement. If you
leave a dustbin in your front garden dustmen are obliged
to empty it.
Large items - special collection service. 1 - 8 items £5.
Refrigerators collected FREE.
Telephone Linda Corbishley 8825 7944 for large items and fridges
Rear Alleys affecting Kent, Bridgman and Weston Roads. Flytipping
will be prosecuted. The Council periodically call in contractors to
clear these alleys.
Ealing Passenger Transport Users Group & Traffic for London
Geoffrey Rippingale has attended regular meetings of EPTUG of which AGRA is an associate member. It is sponsored by LBE but acts independently to provide traffic expertise and formulate public transport policy for the Borough. Hotline for any public transport issues is 8998 0999.
Recent meetings had speakers from London buses and London Underground.
London Buses:
· Expect 40% increase in passengers over next 10 years
· 80% of buses must be red
· 300 additional buses in 2002
· 24 hour service on all main routes by 2004
· extra capacity on 94 to coincide with Congestion Charge
· constant fight against vandalism and graffiti
· Route 112 may be extended from Ealing Broadway down
Bollo Lane to Chiswick Business Park.
London Underground:
· new timetable end of last year on District line designed to
· provide fewer trains but improved flow, especially in Central London
· PPP is in process of being implemented
· LUG will become the responsibility of the Mayor in Sept/Oct 2003
as part of the integrated system for London
· New smart card ticketing system for buses and tubes will be
introduced soon
· lifts will be installed at Acton Town Station as part of the
impaired mobility requirements.
West London Tram Local Consultation Group:
· Mayor and 3 boroughs have decided to progress the design of of a tram route from Uxbridge to Shepherds Bush via Uxbridge Road
· Tram is preferred to bendy-bus or trolley bus
· TfL Project team is consulting with over 100 local groups via
regular meetings which AGRA attends
· Main concern is displaced traffic in areas adjacent to Uxbridge Road
AGRA'S main concerns to date are:
. lack of adequate public consultation
. apparent fait accompli of the scheme
. lack of investigation into consequences of scheme
. diverted traffic will be forced through narrow residential streets
. detrimental quality of life for areas forced to take extra traffic
. In our area this would impact on Bollo Lane and Acton Lane
Project timetable is:
. Feb 2003 - ongoing local consultation
. March 2003 first newsletter to residents
. April 2003 exhibitions in local libraries etc
. May 2003 public meetings
. July 2003 Mayor and TfL approval
. Autumn 2003 Transport & Works Order deposited
. Summer 2004 Public enquiry
. Winter 2005/6 contract awarded
. Summer 2009 Tram opens
Website
Ann Williams represents AGRA's views on the Chiswick website, although most of the people who use this website live in Hounslow. A W3 website has been formed and AW will develop our interests on both these sites and will investigate the possibility of starting an AGRA website.
Acton Green Common
Valerie Walker has been having meetings with the Park Ranger and her assistant regarding the state of the common following the work on the railway embankment for which TfL gave money to LEB.. In spite of some improvements in the condition of the Common there is still much to be done and AGRA will keep a close watch on progress.
The Playground:
Clare Cole reported that the Council have received £1.9 million to upgrade nine playgrounds and ours should be done next year and this will include a safety surface and new equipment.
Chiswick Protection Group
Valerie Walker attends regular meetings and reports back to AGRA committee.
Acton Area Meetings
Timothy Tyndall attends these monthly meetings organised by LBE.
Election of Officers
All the existing Committee, which included three members co-opted after the last AGM, and excluding Ian Ham who had retired because of business commitments, were re-elected unanimously and thanks were expressed by residents for the work carried out by Committee members.
AGRA COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Timothy Tyndall (Chairman)
Clare Cole
Anne Copp
Susan Evans
Elizabeth Dendy
Chris Hill
Brian Prior
Geoffrey Rippingale
Valerie Walker
Ann Williams