Agenda item

Decisions of the Finchley and Golders Green Resident Forum 10^th January 2022

 

Virtual Meeting

 

Forum Members:

Councillor Jennifer Grocock (Chairman)

Councillor John Marshall (Vice-Chairman)

 

The Vice-Chairman opened the meeting as Councillor Grocock was experiencing technical issues at the start of the meeting. Councillor Marshall dealt with item one of the agenda and the Chairman dealt with the remaining items.

 

1. Issue: Schools parents parking in Heatherdene Close, N12 0JQ.

Submitted by: Hani Mohammed

 

Mr Mohammed presented the issue.

 

M Hoare, Assistant Director, Parking, advised the forum that Heatherdene Close was to be included within the CPZ review for 2022/23. The outcome of the consultation would then be communicated to residents.

 

The Vice-Chairman recommended that the resident submit a petition in relation to the issue, to add further weight. The resident advised that a petition had been submitted alongside the issue. The Governance Officer in attendance asked that the petition be forwarded to the Resident Forum email address for review.

 

Following the meeting, the Governance Officer clarified with the resident that the number of signatures did not yet meet the minimum requirement for a petition to be taken to the forum. However, advice was given on petitions and the options available.

 

The Vice-Chairman resolved to take no further action.

 

2. Petition: Extend Cherry Tree Wood

Lead Petitioner: Roger Chapman.

 

Mr Chapman presented the petition and advised the forum that additional signatures had been collected by hand in relation to the petition.

 

The Chairman recommended that officers provide a more detailed response on the next steps that would be taken and include relevant officers from regeneration and planning to provide views. The Chairman also recommended that the resident continued to engage with local Ward Councillors to assist with progressing the matter.

 

The Chairman resolved to refer the matter to officers for a response within 20 working days.

 

3: Petition: Scrap A1000 Traffic Scheme

Lead Petitioner: Barry White

 

Mr White presented the petition and re-iterated the significant points detailed within the petition. Mr White also raised that he was still awaiting responses from Highways Officers on several queries.

 

The Chairman advised that a report was being presented to the Environment Committee on the 13^th January under item 9 of the agenda, which outlined steps which would be taken. The Chairman asked that Mr White be sent the link to the report.

 

The Chairman requested that officers provide a more detailed response to Mr White following the Environment Committee.

 

The Chairman resolved to refer the matter to an officer to request a response within 20 working days.

 

4. Petition: Road Safety around Friary Park, N12 to protect pedestrians and cyclists.

Lead Petitioner: Sarah Taggart

 

Ms Taggart presented the petition. Ms Taggart explained that a group of residents had been calling for improved safety for several years due to the high number of traffic incidents taking place. Ms Taggart asked that the speed limit be reduced from 30mph to 20mph and that some form of physical reduction measure be put in place.

 

The Chairman recommended that the resident engage with local Ward Councillors who would be able to assist with scheduling meetings with officers to further investigate the issue. If subsequently any funding were required a Councillor could bring this forward via a Members Road Safety and Parking issue.

 

The Chairman resolved to refer the matter to an officer to request a response within 20 working days.

 

5. Petition: Help us kill speed on Dollis Road, N3

Lead Petitioner: Lisle Alden

 

Ms Alden presented her petition. Ms Alden presented photographic evidence of the traffic incidences that had taken place on Dollis Road and explained the impact of these on both safety and traffic.

 

Officers advised that a speed survey would need to be undertaken and results would then need to be analysed. Ms Staples, Member Liaison Officer, advised that once a timeline for the survey had been agreed she would update residents and Ward Councillors.

 

The Chairman, noted that the Council did not have the powers to install speed cameras, however the Council could work with the Police to raise areas of concern. The Chairman also recommended that Ward Councillors and the resident contact the Police to arrange for a speeding event to be held.

 

Ward Councillor, Ross Houston, explained that there had been problems on the road for some time, which was why traffic calming measures had been put in place, however these had not helped, and the situation had continued to worsen. Councillor Houston felt the only resolution was to lower the speed limit. He also asked that the request for an additional bollard be progressed as quickly as possible, without having to wait for the results of the speed survey.

 

The Chairman requested that relevant action be considered once the speed survey results had been reviewed. Ward Councillors would then be able to submit a road safety and parking issue if appropriate.

 

The Chairman requested that Ms Staples, Member Liaison Officer,  take the bollard item away and update the resident and Members as to when this could be implemented.

 

The Chairman resolved to take no action, until the results of the speed survey were reviewed.

 

6. Petition: Clean up Lambert Way:

Submitted by: David Hollinworth

 

Mr Hollinworth presented the petition. Mr Hollinworth thanked the Council for having removed the commercial rubbish bins from Lambert Way, however the rat and crime issues remained.

 

The Chairman advised the resident that the Metropolitan Police were running a Street Safe initiative until March. Residents could identify roads across London with specific problems via the MET website. The information would then be reviewed by the Police who would identify areas that required additional monitoring.

 

Mr Hoare. Assistant Director, Parking advised that officers were actively addressing the pest control issue, but that this would not be resolved overnight. The situation would continue to be carefully monitored. He further advised that he would liaise with the Community Safety team, as they had yet to input into the response.

 

Ward Councillor, Alan Schneiderman, invited Mr Holinworth to attend a Ward panel meeting as the issue was also being discussed there.

 

The Chairman resolved to refer the matter to an officer to request a response within 20 working days.

 

7. Issue: Car Converter thefts

Submitted by: Ajantha Tennakoon

 

Ms Tennakoon presented the issue.

 

The Chairman advised that she had been in contact with the resident in relation to the issue. The Chairman advised the resident to contact her local Ward Councillors, who could raise the concerns with the Safer Neighbourhood teams. The Chairman stressed that all incidences should be reported to the Police, to ensure they were aware of the scale of the problem.

 

The Chairman recommended that a further response be requested from the Community Safety Team for any additional suggestions.

 

The Chairman resolved to refer the matter to an officer to request a response within 20 working days.