4 votes on 6 May!

Gordon Brown has called the general election for 6 May. This means that voters in North End will have four votes in two separate elections on that day--for their three local councillors and for their new member of parliament.

As your area's Labour candidates for the Council, we (Daryl Brown, Max Schmid and Matt Turmaine) are delighted that the General Election has been called. While we have been actively talking to residents in North End for well over a year, the national election will now mean that many more people are paying closer attention to what’s going on in their neighbourhood.

The Tory council’s plans for social housing will bring devastation to residents in those estates affected and chaos to the streets and services that everyone else in the area depends on. The Council's failure on crime has seen an increase in North End and Hammersmith despite crime falling in London and the rest of the country.

We are committed to being excellent Councillors – we want to win the Council back for Labour and, more importantly, we want to represent you! That’s why we have signed up to the Labour Group’s Safer Neighbourhood Police Pledge and why we’ve developed ideas on, for example, Match Day Parking that we’ve been talking to you about locally.

We will be updating this blog on a regular basis over the next month, setting out the local issues and explaining how our manifesto promises will deal with these issues.

kind regards,

Daryl, Matt and Max

Stairway to injury

On a recent canvassing session, we came across another example of the falling standards in H&F’s social housing. Dan Power, a Labour candidate in Avonmore and Brook Green ward, is pictured in an estate just north of Talgarth Road, pointing out a deteriorating staircase. It was one of several such crumbling staircases across the estate. Local residents informed us that they have repeatedly raised this problem with the Council, but nothing has been repaired—instead, they say, it is slowly getting worse. Even more worryingly, the estate contains a number of residents with limited mobility who depend on the staircases to get in and out of their homes. Dan has raised the issue with Andy Slaughter MP, whose office is contacting relevant Council officers on the behalf of local residents.

This situation is a timely opportunity to reiterate one of our central campaign promises. If we regain control of the Council, Labour’s councillors will focus on improving the condition of H&F's estates rather than trying to flog them off to developers.

Small success on Aisgill Avenue

It is always good to be able to report good news. In the winter, we spoke to residents on Aisgill Avenue, and several complained that a gate next to a basketball court was unlocked. Youths were using this as an access point to go behind residents' homes into their gardens--sometimes just to collect stray balls but occasionally leaving behind rubbish and causing damage. Residents reported that they had long raised the issue with the Council but nothing had been done.

We rose the issue with Andy Slaughter MP, and he wrote a letter to the Council on residents' behalf. When we returned in early March, the gate's lock was fixed, and residents were pleased. Prospective Labour candidate Max Schmid is pictured to the left next to the newly-secured gate. A small victory for local residents, but not one that has gone unnoticed on Aisgill Avenue.

Fulham Chronicle successful conversion to free format

A growing number of residents are telling us during our weekend canvassing trips how pleased they are with the quality of the now free Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle. The newspaper is now delivered free to residents on a weekly basis since mid-January, after a 120 history as a paid-for newspaper, and every indication is that the change has been a big success.

There have been a number of local scoops in the past few months that would have gone previously unnoticed but are now regular talking points for local residents. We suggest not shoving the paper straight into the recycling bin along with pizza leaflets and speculative letters from estate agents-- it is well worth a weekly glance. Alternatively, you can read the paper online at: http://www.fulhamchronicle.co.uk/

Match Day Parking Mayhem

Over the past few days, the North End Labour team wrote and delivered the following letter to residents in the south-east of the ward. It sums up the type of local campaigns we are running now and we will continue to run once elected:

Match Day Parking Mayhem

Over the past year, we have been talking to residents in your area about local concerns and issues. We are writing to highlight one problem that you raised and that we want to solve.

What you said:

On Bramber Road, Chesson Road, Archel Road and Turneville Road, you have told us that the volume of cars on Chelsea match days causes a major local headache. Parking restrictions closer to Stamford Bridge are forcing cars further north, which is still only a brisk ten minute walk from the ground.

Residents tell us they have been complaining about this issue for years but nothing has improved, despite a public consultation held almost two years ago. Chesson Road resident Elaine Blagrove told us, "As a Blue Badge holder, I am extremely angry and deeply upset at not being able to park on our road or the surrounding roads due the the influx of football fans on Chelsea match days".

What we have done:

The Labour Action Team raised this issue with other Labour supporters, and it has now been included in the local party manifesto. If elected, we promise to launch a review of parking regulations on Chelsea match days with the specific aim of helping local residents. This will consider how to implement targeted parking restrictions that will make it easier for you and your visitors to park on match days and evenings. The three of us see this as a matter of urgency and not one that should be allowed to drag on for years.

We feel that this is exactly the type of issue your councillors should be tackling if they truly want to ‘put residents first’. We hope you will give us the chance to turn this promise into reality by supporting Labour in the local elections on 6 May.

Kind regards,

Max, Matt and Daryl

Neglect in Cheeseman's Terrace

The North End Labour Action Team came across this sight when conducting a street surgery recently on Cheeseman's Terrace.

What is supposed to be a communal park, children's playground and recreational area is more like a dumping ground. Rubbish remains uncollected and the drains are blocked, leading to stinking water collecting and covering a large area.

Residents say that the problem is caused by both broken security gates, which are meant to restrict access to the park to residents, and by the service gate being left open by refuse collection vehicles. Perhaps most inconsiderately of all, vehicles also appear to have simply driven onto and ruined the grass, which is supposed to be an area for kids to play in!

The playground facilities also remain in a state of distress. Local residents told the Labour Action Team they were disgusted and did not feel safe letting their children play there.

What is the Tory Council playing at? We know they have plans to demolish estates across the borough, but there is no reason to treat properties that they are responsible for so poorly.

Talgarth Parking Ban Continues

A number of residents of Talgarth Road have recently expressed their anger to us regarding the Council's failure to convince TfL to lift the street's parking ban.

Since April 2008, parking along the south of Talgarth Road has been severely restricted due to TfL concerns over the integrity of the road . When the ban was first introduced, the Tory Councillor responsible for streets in the borough, Nick Botterill, feigned outrage and said the Council would be "doing everything we can to put pressure on TfL to reconsider this course of action." Almost two years later, the problem remains.

In fact, after Boris won control of TfL in May 2008, the Tory council went strangely quiet on the issue. A H&F news story in May 2009 found Mr Botterill much calmer, saying the Tory Council "understand TfL’s concerns over the parking bays on Talgarth Road and are calling for them to reach a solution to the problem as quickly as possible." Yet, again, another year after this, the problem remains and TfL has not even yet launched a long-promised public consultation.

The local Labour Action Team is worried that the Tory Council is unwilling to effectively challenge Boris' TFL over an important local issue. If elected, North End Labour councillors are committed to standing up for local residents to the Council, the London Mayor and the Government, no matter what party is in power.