Dog Buses

The other week I visited Burbage Primary School as part of Democracy Week. The idea is that Councillors go into schools and tell them about how the Council works and how they can get involved in the democratic process.

I met two classes - Amethyst and Crystal - and they were both really inspiring. Great teachers and lovely kids - very polite, full of ideas and very passionate about their local area. Most of them will be attending the new Bridge Academy on Laburnum Street and I was impressed by how much they knew about the new school and how excited they were about going.

We discussed all the things they wanted to see the Council do in their area to make it a better place. We then voted on a short list of issues to put in a letter to the Mayor so he can write back to them with a response.

All the kids were very concerned about security on estates and they had a number of ideas about how it could be improved. One idea was fingerprint recognition technology so only genuine residents and people like the postman could get in. They also wanted to see more proper sports facilities for kids in our parks as they felt some of the parks were a bit boring with not a lot to do.

Two of the other ideas were a bit more left field.

Dog Buses
As in buses for dogs so they don't annoy people on human buses.

Shoreditch Park Beach
A beach in the park each Summer so kids don't have to go "all the way to the countryside" to enjoy the beach.

We await the Mayor's response.


Cllr McShane

Become a Street Leader

Hackney Council have launched a new Street Leader Scheme.

Street Leaders are volunteers who report environmental or community safety problems in their local area in Hackney.

Street Leaders are fully supported by the Council, each person is provided with a pack of materials they need to carry out their role as effectively as possible. You can choose to represent any size of area you like - it could be your street, your block or an estate.

If you're interested, either contact us or download the form from here.

New Licensing Applications w/e 27 October

Here are the latest licensing applications for Haggerston Ward:

Zigfrid
11 Hoxton Square London N1 6NU

Application to vary existing premises licence to allow regulated entertainment comprising of films, live music, recorded music, performances of dance, facilities for making music, facilities for dancing and any entertainment/ entertainment facilities of a similar description from 09:00 until 01:00 Mon to Sat and 09:00 until 00:00 on Sun.

Closing date for representations: 23/11/06

Bahar Mini Market
149 Hackney Road London E2 8JL

Application to vary existing premises licence to allow supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises up to 24 hours per day.

If you have issues with either of these applications please let me know.

Crime Falling in Haggerston

The latest crime figures for Haggerston make encouraging reading. The trend for a number of serious offences is still downward in the ward with burglary, criminal damage and robbery all falling.

In the last year in Haggerston:

Burglary - DOWN 23%

Criminal Damage - DOWN 22%

Robbery - DOWN 21%

Across Hackney, burglary figures are at their lowest since 1998. There's still a lot of work to do but real progress is being made.

A lot of the credit for this has to go to our local Safer Neighbourhoods Team - every ward in Hackney now has a dedicated team who build up the sort of local knowledge the police need to keep on top of crime and anti-social behaviour.

Haggerston's Safer Neighbourhoods team is:

Sgt Brian Gordon

PC Frances Turner

PC Mark Charlick

PCSO David Simmons

PCSO Abby Peel

PCSO Howard Robinson

You can contact them on: 020 7161 9026 or 07748 320392 or email them at: Haggerston.snt@met.police.uk

Your local Councillors are due to meet Inspector Liam Harrington who is in charge of all the Safer Neighbourhoods Teams in Shoreditch to discuss how Councillors and the police can work together even more effectively in future.

Flyposting

Flyposting is a huge issue in Haggerston, especially around the Shoreditch Triangle. Councilllors have been working hard with the Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Alan Laing, to get on top of it.

Today we saw the Council's Graffiti Removal Service in action. It's an impressive operation. Of course the ultimate challenge is to stop the flyposters in the first place.

Cllr McShane is asking a question in Council next week about how we target people vandalising buildings and bus stops with posters advertising their meetings. At the weekend we spotted Socialist Worker Party posters pasted onto bus stops all the way down Kinglsland Road. Now some poor guy from Transport for London will have to scrub them off. Publicise your meetings by all means but please don't vandalise our neighbourhood in the process.

If you see flyposting contact us and we'll make sure something gets done.

London Fields Lido

The lido in London Fields opened on Sunday. It is stunning.

Go and see for yourself.

New Licensing Applications w/e 20 October

Licensing applications received in the week ending 20 October 2006

Costcutter
74 Great Eastern Street
London EC2A 3JL

Application to vary existing premises licence to allow supply of alcohol from 07:00 until 23:00 daily.

Closing date for representations: 13/11/2006

Night Shanghai
1E Great Eastern Street
London EC2A 3EJ

Application for a premises licence to allow the supply of alcohol from 12:00 until 23:00 Mon to Weds, 12:00 until 03:00 Thurs to Sat and from 10:00 until 17:00 on Sun and the provision of late night refreshment from 23:00 until 05:00 Thurs to Sat.

Closing date for representations: 13/11/2006

Get in touch if you have a problem with either of these applications.

Hello

It might take a while for this site to really get going whilst we find our way. Bear with us.

Ultimately we hope it can be a really useful source of information about the area and a great way for residents to alert us to issues and for us to tell residents what we're doing on their behalf.

We'll post regular bulletins on things like planning and licensing applications so you can make your views known.