The latest issues raised by the Southall Broadway residents, yesterday, at the Southall Broadway Ward Forum meeting.
The general consensus of the Southall Broadway Ward Forum meeting was that elected officials/leaders are not willing to stand up for the residents of Southall. The only time you see them is when they want your vote.
A prime example of that is that the roads around Southall Broadway are full of holes. As fast as Ealing Council is repairing them, (only recently), more holes keep appearing all the time. The quality of the work is also shoddy and roads have always been full of holes to this day.
Mr Asif Khwaja said that there is no community centre where young people can hang out. So, it is no surprise that they loiter about picking up bad habits. Sergeant Shahid Malik pointed out that the old B&Q store site nearly would be an ideal location for such a place.
Nothing being done to address the issue was due to "a problem of finance" according to Cllr Jagdish Gupta. "Where is the money being spent then?" was the attendees’ question.
"Ealing Broadway", where there are no such problems was the attendees’ response.
The £40K ward budget is not enough. The Regeneration budget is for cosmetic affects like nice paving and lighting only. Ealing Council is unlikely to spend any money to address the issue. The only other option left is to apply for Lottery money, according to Sergeant Shahid Malik.
Ealing Council has always wanted to promote Southall as a tourist attraction but has totally neglected the town. Planning for the next Olympics is happening now. Mr Dalawar Chaudhry has been talking to the "West London Alliance" about basing the India and Pakistan teams in West London.
What practice facilities can Southall offer them?
Southall Park?
Ealing Council needs to take an active part and invite the business to participate.
Traffic congestion
Another problem in Southall is the Beaconsfield Road junction, where it is extremely difficult and dangerous to turn right towards the Railway Station. People from the other side carry on driving even through red lights.
Some silly individuals use the left hand line to turn right, carving up every one else in the process as well as well as holding up the unsuspecting cars behind them. Others do u turns after going straight or turning left.
A long overdue simple request like allow people "time" to turn right has not been addressed because parties other than Ealing Council are involved, we are informed.
Parking Times
There is general confusion as to whether you can park in front of the Chaudhry’s TKC on Southall Broadway after 4 pm. The sign says that bays can be used for "pay & display" parking between 9.30 am and 4 pm.
Chaudhry’s TKC were reliably informed by Ealing Council officials that although the sign say no stopping between 4 pm and 7 pm, this was no longer the case and it was OK to park there.
But since the sign says no parking, wardens are booking unsuspecting motorist. More confusing signs further along the Broadway have been reported. The matter will be raised with Parking Services.
Southall Regeneration
Ms Carol Sams, a senior Economic Regeneration Manager, said that £1.9 was available for Southall regeneration over 3 years. £1 million of that will go towards providing nice street paving and lighting.
She said that due to insufficient public toilet facilities the Council is considering "Community toilets". This is where any business will be paid £600 pa if they allow the public to use their facilities. The other reason cited by Cllr Gupta was lack of any space to locate the toilet facilities which was strongly disputed.
Parking in Southall is a well known problem. The timing of the CPZ is not in line with the rest of London. Under used CPZ streets during the week and weekends will be considered for dual usage i.e. pay and display parking as well.
The car park of the Conservative club, next to the old Town Hall, is hardly used over the weekend. Ms Sams said that a trial is being run whereby 50 spaces are available to the public over the weekend, at a charge of £1 for the day, to be posted via the letter box. This is not widely publicised.
Crime
Sergeant Shahid Malik stated that having CCTV cameras on Southall Broadway has moved the problem of drugs, drinking and related crime onto the side streets. The attendees wanted more Police presence on the streets.
A lot of elderly people have been victims of cash point machine crime. No one is around when they look. But after they have entered their pin, the victim is distracted by a friendly face "Aunty Jee, ...". When the victim turns back to the Cash point machine, the transaction is over/cancelled and no card is being returned.
The friendly face advises them to join the queue (for 10 minutes) to report that the cash point machine has swallowed their card. By which time the friendly face has made several withdrawals using the victim’s card.
Several of the attendees had been victims of crime and were not happy the way the Police dealt with the matter. One such person was on his way to the bank when sauce was thrown on his jacket. A nice lady offered to assist but when the victim removed his jacket, the lady ran off with the jacket (containing the money).
After a long chase, luckily the jacket and money was recovered. The criminal was arrested by the Police in Acton, who wanted to know if the victim wanted to press charges. The victim said yes.
What he heard next was shocking. "Why do you want to press charges when the money has been recovered?" Is that the standard "Report all crime to the Police" policy?
The Green is a place where too many cars used to be parked on the pavements causing a nuisance and a danger to the public. Bollards were added to prevent such parking. But still there are too many people just loitering around. Although not covered by the Southall Broadway area, Sergeant Shahid Malik suggested that perhaps a dispersal order was required.
Other matters
Railings are to be placed near the junction of Hambrough Road and the Broadway for safety reasons. Officers will examine the area and then decide on the precise location. They will be placed where there is a lot of congestion on the pavement and there is danger of the public inadvertently walking onto the road.
Over 300 children attend the Abu Bakr Mosque on the Broadway. It has requested for some time now that a pelican crossing be placed near West End Road to protect the children and to make the drivers aware of the children. Cost of the scheme will be researched by the local councillors.
The general consensus of the Southall Broadway Ward Forum meeting was that elected officials/leaders are not willing to stand up for the residents of Southall. The only time you see them is when they want your vote.
A prime example of that is that the roads around Southall Broadway are full of holes. As fast as Ealing Council is repairing them, (only recently), more holes keep appearing all the time. The quality of the work is also shoddy and roads have always been full of holes to this day.
Mr Asif Khwaja said that there is no community centre where young people can hang out. So, it is no surprise that they loiter about picking up bad habits. Sergeant Shahid Malik pointed out that the old B&Q store site nearly would be an ideal location for such a place.
Nothing being done to address the issue was due to "a problem of finance" according to Cllr Jagdish Gupta. "Where is the money being spent then?" was the attendees’ question.
"Ealing Broadway", where there are no such problems was the attendees’ response.
The £40K ward budget is not enough. The Regeneration budget is for cosmetic affects like nice paving and lighting only. Ealing Council is unlikely to spend any money to address the issue. The only other option left is to apply for Lottery money, according to Sergeant Shahid Malik.
Ealing Council has always wanted to promote Southall as a tourist attraction but has totally neglected the town. Planning for the next Olympics is happening now. Mr Dalawar Chaudhry has been talking to the "West London Alliance" about basing the India and Pakistan teams in West London.
What practice facilities can Southall offer them?
Southall Park?
Ealing Council needs to take an active part and invite the business to participate.
Traffic congestion
Another problem in Southall is the Beaconsfield Road junction, where it is extremely difficult and dangerous to turn right towards the Railway Station. People from the other side carry on driving even through red lights.
Some silly individuals use the left hand line to turn right, carving up every one else in the process as well as well as holding up the unsuspecting cars behind them. Others do u turns after going straight or turning left.
A long overdue simple request like allow people "time" to turn right has not been addressed because parties other than Ealing Council are involved, we are informed.
Parking Times
There is general confusion as to whether you can park in front of the Chaudhry’s TKC on Southall Broadway after 4 pm. The sign says that bays can be used for "pay & display" parking between 9.30 am and 4 pm.
Chaudhry’s TKC were reliably informed by Ealing Council officials that although the sign say no stopping between 4 pm and 7 pm, this was no longer the case and it was OK to park there.
But since the sign says no parking, wardens are booking unsuspecting motorist. More confusing signs further along the Broadway have been reported. The matter will be raised with Parking Services.
Southall Regeneration
Ms Carol Sams, a senior Economic Regeneration Manager, said that £1.9 was available for Southall regeneration over 3 years. £1 million of that will go towards providing nice street paving and lighting.
She said that due to insufficient public toilet facilities the Council is considering "Community toilets". This is where any business will be paid £600 pa if they allow the public to use their facilities. The other reason cited by Cllr Gupta was lack of any space to locate the toilet facilities which was strongly disputed.
Parking in Southall is a well known problem. The timing of the CPZ is not in line with the rest of London. Under used CPZ streets during the week and weekends will be considered for dual usage i.e. pay and display parking as well.
The car park of the Conservative club, next to the old Town Hall, is hardly used over the weekend. Ms Sams said that a trial is being run whereby 50 spaces are available to the public over the weekend, at a charge of £1 for the day, to be posted via the letter box. This is not widely publicised.
Crime
Sergeant Shahid Malik stated that having CCTV cameras on Southall Broadway has moved the problem of drugs, drinking and related crime onto the side streets. The attendees wanted more Police presence on the streets.
A lot of elderly people have been victims of cash point machine crime. No one is around when they look. But after they have entered their pin, the victim is distracted by a friendly face "Aunty Jee, ...". When the victim turns back to the Cash point machine, the transaction is over/cancelled and no card is being returned.
The friendly face advises them to join the queue (for 10 minutes) to report that the cash point machine has swallowed their card. By which time the friendly face has made several withdrawals using the victim’s card.
Several of the attendees had been victims of crime and were not happy the way the Police dealt with the matter. One such person was on his way to the bank when sauce was thrown on his jacket. A nice lady offered to assist but when the victim removed his jacket, the lady ran off with the jacket (containing the money).
After a long chase, luckily the jacket and money was recovered. The criminal was arrested by the Police in Acton, who wanted to know if the victim wanted to press charges. The victim said yes.
What he heard next was shocking. "Why do you want to press charges when the money has been recovered?" Is that the standard "Report all crime to the Police" policy?
The Green is a place where too many cars used to be parked on the pavements causing a nuisance and a danger to the public. Bollards were added to prevent such parking. But still there are too many people just loitering around. Although not covered by the Southall Broadway area, Sergeant Shahid Malik suggested that perhaps a dispersal order was required.
Other matters
Railings are to be placed near the junction of Hambrough Road and the Broadway for safety reasons. Officers will examine the area and then decide on the precise location. They will be placed where there is a lot of congestion on the pavement and there is danger of the public inadvertently walking onto the road.
Over 300 children attend the Abu Bakr Mosque on the Broadway. It has requested for some time now that a pelican crossing be placed near West End Road to protect the children and to make the drivers aware of the children. Cost of the scheme will be researched by the local councillors.