Current Newsletter

WORCESTER PARK RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION

KT4   NEWSLETTER - JUNE 2015

Extraordinary Police Ward Panel meeting:

Earlier in the year it was being reported in the press that due to police budget cuts we might be losing our local Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and other parts of our local neighbourhood policing. We would not want to see any reduction in our local policing and our chairman, Simon Densley called an extraordinary Police Ward Panel public meeting, both to quiz our politicians on the truth behind the situation and to decide how to oppose any reduction in our local police.

The meeting (held on Friday 30th October) was well attended by local residents and also by Steve O'Connell AM, Cllr Paul Wingfield and Paul Scully MP - representing all levels of government between them.

Steve O'Connell, our representative to the London Mayor, said that "Boris would never simply sit back and allow the successful neighbourhood policing in London to simply be taken away." he also said that this was effectively a negotiation in public with all the options on the table, even the unpalatable ones. He didn't believe that something as successful as the neighbourhood policing program would actually be cut but would ensure the mayor was aware of our concerns.

Paul Scully promised to talk to the chancellor George Osborne about the issue and do all he could to safeguard our local police here in Worcester Park.

The meeting resolved with everyone in agreement that Simon Densley, as chair should write to Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe to express the views of the meeting and ask that the existing policing situation in Worcester Park be retained. That letter was made public on the WPRA website here: wpra.org.uk.

We were all very pleased a month later when it was announced by the chancellor that there would be no cuts to the police budget and our local neighbourhood policing system was safe. The WPRA will continue to be vigilant however and be ready to fight for our local police where necessary.

Local Police and Crime:

Over the last several months the incidents of most crimes have gone down in comparison with the same time period last year. Burglary however has increased and the police are asking residents to be vigilant when it come to closing and locking premises and not leaving valuable on display in cars etc. Burglary is almost always an opportunistic crime and burglars will choose places that look easy to get in to and out of with a low risk of being spotted. So a home with an open window concealed from the road by a hedge will be a much more likely target than a locked home with security lights that can be seen by neighbours. Always double lock doors so they can't be opened from the inside without a key and also keep garages and sheds well locked up too.

The police would also encourage members of the public to look out for each other. If you see a neighbour's car with the window down or something of value clearly visible, just given them a knock on the door and let them know. You might save them from being a theft victim.

The good news is that after several months of being closed, the police office at 154 Central Road is open to the public again, at least for a few hours per week. Some new volunteers have enabled the office to open from 10 until 2pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays again and sometimes on Thursdays. They are looking for more volunteers who can enable the office to open for even more hours so if you or anybody you know would be interested in helping out, please contact Sergeant Andrew De'Voreaux by email on Andrew.S.De'Voreaux@met.pnn.police.uk or by telephone on 020 8649 3590.

Victoria House:

Home Group, the company that now owns Victoria House gave a presentation to members of CHAPRA (Church Hill, Abbots, Priory Residents' Association) in November in which they outlined their revised plans for the site at the North Cheam crossroads.

The revisions came after a public consolation last year. The main changes they have made to their plan are:

• Reduction in height at the tallest point from 12 to 10 storeys.
• Reduction in the number of residential units from 93 to 90.
• Increased car parking provision from 50 to 55 spaces.
• Changes in the materials, colours and façade design to improve the building aesthetics.

Ladbrokes, which was holding up the development  have now vacated the site after negotiations with Sutton Council and the developers, meaning that demolition works are now able to take place.

Home Group are looking to submit plans to Sutton Council shortly after which there will be a public consultation period followed by a decision from the council. If permission is granted, Home Group have said they want to demolish Victoria House around May/June and then build their development over the two years after that.

2-4 Green Lane Development

The biggest issue the WPRA has had to deal with over the last few years has been the planning application to turn 2-4 Green Lane into a place of worship. Previous WPRA Chair, Arthur Hookway, now a local councillor has taken on the position of lead councillor on this issue in order to keep a close eye on things.

Members will remember that twelve conditions were placed on the applicants as part of the granted planning permission. Five of these required detailed plans to be submitted to the local authority. Over seven months on from the permission being granted, Arthur reported that not a single one of these has yet been submitted to the council, leading to questions about what will actually be happening at the site and when.

Paul Scully MP is in contact with the owners of the building and trying to still help them find somewhere more suitable for the development and also negotiating to help further mitigate the effects on local people with regard to parking and traffic.

The Old Worcester Park Tavern

Holiday Inn are in the process of submitting plans to Kingston Council to turn the Old Worcester Park Tavern into a 4 story, 90 bedroom hotel. The plans may have already been submitted by the time you are reading this. At our last AGM this possibility was discussed and members of the WPRA agreed that this would be a good use of the site, and helpful to the local economy. Being directly adjacent the bus stop for the X26 bus to and from Heathrow, and the station with trains to and from London, it is ideally suited to business travellers. The development will be a major hotel, not just a Holiday Inn Express and have a restaurant and bar as well. Many of the guests are likely to want to spend money in our local restaurants, bars and other shops and with the transport links ideally suited to these longer distance travellers, hopefully there will be far fewer parking and traffic issues than alternative plans for the site may create.

WPRA Updates

20 Year Celebrations:

On the 18th of April the WPRA will be officially 20 years old. The committee felt this was indeed a special occasion worth celebrating and plans are being drawn up for an event shortly after this (when the weather is warmer) to celebrate - most likely on Saturday 2nd July. We would like to include past chairs and committee members as well as current members in the celebration.

Terms Of Reference:

At our last committee meeting in December 2015, it was agreed that the WPRA mandate would be defined by the following Terms Of Reference:

• To be a lobbying group to the three local Worcester Park councils.
• To improve amenities for Worcester Park residents.
• To promote community consultation in planning decisions.
• To raise awareness of the WPRA.
• To be the voice of the local area.

The committee felt that to have our terms of reference set out would help the WPRA to focus better on what we should be doing to help the local community.

Expanded Borders:

Those who attended our last AGM will be aware that the WPRA now represents all parts of KT4. Simon, our newly elected Chair proposed a change to the constitution which had previously favoured Worcester Park residents in the London Borough of Sutton. It was proposed that this be changed so include residents in all parts of KT4 meaning that people in Old Malden ward in the Royal Borough of Kingston and in Cuddington ward in the borough of Epsom and Ewell are also welcome to join. The full constitution is available on the WPRA Website here: www.wpra.org.uk/p/about-us.html.

Future Meetings (For your diary):

There will be a WPRA public committee meeting on Tuesday 23rd February at Maple Lodge in the Hamptons. This will begin at 7:30pm. The Maple Lodge management would like to remind people that there is no public parking at Maple Lodge so people who are driving will need to park their vehicles outside the Hamptons and walk.

Our next AGM will be on Thursday the 7th July at 7:30pm. This will be held at Christ Church With St Philip. Please come along to help elect the next committee (or volunteer to join it!)

See our chairman's update here.