Friends of Odessa and Palermo Road

The poster says it all.

Held at St Mathews Church Hall All Souls Avenue NW10
On Tuesday 8th June 2010 At 8pm

Attended By :Adrian, Carole, Raymond, Sarah, Claudia, Janice, Trevor, Shaile, D, Hannah, E, Ferranda, Beatric

Guests Councillor Bobby Thomas, Carol LB Brent

Apologies For Absence Councillor Claudia Hector

1- Neighbourhood Watch Signage
New signage had been put up but we are awaiting delivery and installation of the last one. Carol Allen said that this was in hand

2-Harlesden Area Consultative Meeting
Volunteers were invited to attend the HACM meeting to be held at All Souls Church on the 30th June.
Hannah Augustus offered to go ,one other place is still left open.

3-Harlesden Project Workshop
Sarah reported on the Harlesden Project workshop she attended on behalf of the group on the 19th and 20th March. Transport for London are heavily involved in researching the area as there are serious public transport and traffic management issues which they want to address. Local shopkeepers are concerned about rising rents and the potential risk of gentrification forcing them out. The off street parking in Manor Park Road is privately own and managed. Concerns were expressed at the workshop that it was expensive to park there and that it was charged 24/7. One proposal was to develop the current parking lot in Wendover Road next to the Post Office into a multistorey car park.

4-Willesden Junction Station Redevelopment
There was a general discussion on the works taking place under the current station redevelopment. Whilst the group thought it was desirable to have easier access and better security to the station from the footpath in the Harrow Road Michael said that the authorities in the past had considered any proposals too expensive and that they regarded they had already met their statutory obligations.

5-Pedestrian Safety Furness and Harrow Road Junction Traffic Lights
Concerns were strongly expressed by the group that crossing the road at this junction was stressful and potentially dangerous. Motor vehicles persistently jumped the lights and there was insufficient time for less mobile residents to cross the road before traffic began moving off when the lights changed in their favour. The layout of the junction was also criticised. There is an uncontrolled filter lane from Furness Road on to the Harrow Road heading East which at peak hours is dangerous for pedestrians to cross as they do not have right of way(There is no zebra crossing). The group however had been told in an email from Brent Council that all aspects of the junction complied with current legislation

6-Furness Road Pocket Park Development
The group learnt that Planning Permission to build on the site had been refused. Issues regarding the use by the general public and dog owners appear not to be fully resolved. Carol Allen told the group that the rubbish left by the builders as part of recent improvements to the park will be removed shortly

7-The Big Lunch
Arrangements for the Big Lunch on the 18th July at Furness Road Primary School are underway. Carole Jarvis called for more helpers on the day to set up. Michael kindly volunteered (Although that still leaves the way open for others to step in as well). Carole suggested that Raymond Glendinning might wish to take photographs of the event. Raymond accepted the honour of the invitation and went further by saying that to raise funds for the group we could charge a nominal amount for portraits or family photographs. He would donate any time or materials necessary for the cause. This turned out to be a timely proposal as Councillor Bobby Thomas said that Brent Council funding the event was in doubt but that he would do his best to get their support for this year. It was however becoming Council policy for local groups to be self supporting

8-Respect Festival Roundwood Park 4th July
Members of the group were encouraged to attend this years festival as (apart from having a good day out) representatives of the Harlesden Project will be there with more detail about proposals for the area.

9-Date of Next Meeting 8th September

To download these minutes click here

Odessa and Palermo Big Lunch Street Party
Date:  18th July
Time:  1300 – 1600
Furness Road Primary School

All residents of Palermo and Odessa Road welcome!

A reminder that the next meeting is 8th june at 8pm in st mark’s church hall

Please join us for the next Harlesden Town Team meeting, to be held on 07 June at 6.30pm at the Salvation Army Hall (32 Manor Park Road, Harlesden NW10 4JJ).
At the last meeting, we began a discussion on the formation of the Town Team and introduced the key themes for the draft Harlesden Charter. At this upcoming meeting, we would like to:

• Update you on the Harlesden Charter
• Discuss the organisation and involvement of Harlesden Town Team with the soon-to-be published charter
• Introduce a few possible early win projects.

We look forward to seeing you on Monday, 07 June. Please do invite friends and colleagues to attend!
Kind regards,
Scott Adams

Hi, Rucklidge Avenue Residents Association (RARA NW10 on facebook)is having a Clean Up Day on Saturday 10 April. This event is organised with Streetcare. A collection point outside “The Design Works” will operate between 9am and 1pm for residents of Rucklidge Avenue. The Streetcare team will be on hand to answer any queries with regard to rubbish , graffiti etc. Other locals welcome to come and talk with the team and maybe discuss how to organise their own Clean Up Day!!! See http://www.rucklidgeavenue.co.uk for more info. Thanks

moved from the comments page. Thanks Julia

There has been a burglary in Odessa road (the odd numbered side). At about 11pm Saturday night. The occupants of the flat were in at the time but had no contact with the burglar who got away with credit cards and mobile phones, small items easily carried off. Access was made through the back door.

This coincides with a brief sighting, by chance, of someone in the back gardens by a neighbour a few doors further on. The police were called and searched the area. It is probable that this was the same incident and if so the burglar was either hiding or looking for new opportunities when spotted.

Several points arise from this:

• Be vigilant! The officers responding to the call out said there had been a rise in this sort of crime in the area and they have been tasked to crack down on these types of calls and respond quickly (which they did – within minutes).
• Even if you are in keep back doors locked.
• It’s easy to think that the gardens are safe and enclosed but access may be possible through a number of side alleyways and once through (and in the dark) a burglar can go unnoticed.
• If you see ANYTHING suspicious call 999 immediately.

As a result I know of at least one neighbour installing a motion activated light at the back.

Please comment if you have any other handy suggestions of what can be done to drive this type of crime away.

Dear All

Please join us for a two-day workshop on Friday, 19 March and Saturday, 20 March to help us plan how Harlesden will change in the coming years. The work developed during the two-day workshop will form the basis for a vision document for the area: Harlesden Town Charter.

Venue:
Salvation Army Hall,
32 Manor Park Road,
Harlesden NW10 4JJ

any time from 10am on both days.

Workshop 1: the BIG picture

Friday 19th March from 10am – 5pm

Workshop 2: key themes

Saturday 20th March from 10am – 4pm

Summary presentation

Saturday 20th March from 6 – 7pm

Your input will help develop BIG plans for the area which will cover a range of topics, including a new heart for Harlesden town centre, traffic and congestion, safer streets and quality of public spaces. Topics will also include how to make the town centre greener for a variety of usage.

Please encourage your friends, family, concerned residents, service users and business owners to get involved and help create a plan for Harlesden.

The format of the two-day workshop has been developed following two previous community meetings (notes of these meetings can be found at http://harlesdentown.blogspot.com). The event is being organised by Urban Design Skills, on behalf of Brent Council and Transport for London.

Please feel free to contact Urban Design Skills (details below) if you have any questions in the meantime.

Scott Elliott Adams (Director)

Urban Design Skills

5 Vigo Street

London W1S 3HB

United Kingdom

Tel: 020 7287 4269

www.urbandesignskills.com

Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you there.

OK so I apologise for the following rant… BUT.

First the gas people dig up the road and then just leave it for how many weeks?
Then when the boxes turn up (were we warned about the boxes?) they are being installed without much care!!!

I post 2 images of what has happend to the property downstairs. There are 2 main issues:
1) why did they install the box on the side bay leaving no room for a second when the know there is a second to be installed? It means it’s going to look even more of a hotch potch.

2) the pipe into the flat comes out from the wall runs along the step and then in through the step!!! Obviously this is because their drill wouldn’t fit and the couldn’t be bothered to find a neater solution!!

These changes are being imposed on the street with very little notice and with the looming threat of being cut off. It’s bad enough that we have to have these boxes taking up room in our already tiny front gardens (how are we supposed to cope with recycle bins now!!).

The fact that the work is being rushed through with little care for the appearance of the properties both inside and out, that we are expected to take a day off to have the work carried out (I bet there will be another to connect the pipes) and the amount of physical disruption (street dug up, floorboards up, holes in walls) are a huge insult to injury.

And for what benefit? Surely it’s mainly for the convenience of the gas board that the meters are on the streets. If I was to ask a favour of someone else I would show far more consideration than what we are being shown here.

Please be warned and make sure your installation suits what you want!