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18 May 2013 08:18

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In this edition:
Greg Hands M.P.s Diary Website of the Week: The University of London Air Squadron Greg Hands M.P. seeks the views of Fulham and Chelsea residents of the proposed new footbridge from Battersea Photo news: Jeremy Hunt in H&F News from Greg Hands M.P.s surgery Photo news: Hands meets German Finance Minister Free Wifi set for large parts of Hammersmith & Fulham RBK&C announces new Council Cabinet K&C Council runs series of gardening events to coincide with the Chelsea Flower Show Time to bury Hammersmith flyover, say residents How to contact Greg Hands M.P.

Issue 371 Saturday 18th May 2013

Since the last edition, Greg:

Was a guest at the Engagements evening of the University of London Air Squadron (ULAS) in their headquarters on Brompton Road, South Kensington. For more, see website of the week below. Joined Health Secretary Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt M.P. at the launch of Hammersmith & Fulham Conservatives campaign to retain control of the Council at the elections next May. Over 100 local people attended the launch. Attended a Foreign Office reception for the various UK ambassadors in European capitals to meet parliamentarians. Attended a production of My First Cinderella as a guest of the Chelsea-based English National Ballet school. Welcomed owners and regulars from the Lazy Fox pub in Fulham for drinks on the House of Commons terrace, and to celebrate the Chancellors recent cut in beer duty. Held a weekly surgery for Chelsea and Fulham residents at the Methodist Church, Fulham Broadway. Gregs surgeries are held generally every Monday at Fulham Methodist Church, or at Peter Jones, Sloane Square. To make an appointment, email [email protected] or call 020 7219 5448. Had a full schedule of activity as a Governments Treasury Whip in and around the chamber of the House of Commons, ministerial meetings and organising votes and standing committees, including the 2013 Finance Bill.

Website of the Week:

www.ulas.org.uk

The website of the University of London Air Squadron, which is based on Brompton Road. Greg visited their Engagements Evening this week, meeting the Commanding Officer and cadets, and learning more about the good work of ULAS. Greg was himself a member of the Cambridge University Air Squadron in the 1980s.

Greg Hands M.P. seeks the views of Fulham and Chelsea residents of the proposed new footbridge from Battersea

Greg Hands M.P. today announced that he is seeking the views of Fulham and Chelsea residents of the mooted new foot and cycle bridge over the Thames to go alongside the existing rail bridge linking Imperial Wharf station with Clapham Junction. More information about the possible new link can be seen in this article in the Evening Standard late last year. Greg said: "This link is being proposed from the Battersea side, and I would be interested to hear the views of Fulham and Chelsea residents. I am personally open-minded on the issue, and welcome local views."

Photo news:

Jeremy Hunt in H&F

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt addresses the Hammersmith & Fulham Conservatives. L-R Paul Bristow (Chairman), Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt M.P., Greg Hands M.P., Cllr Nicholas Botterill (Council Leader).

News from Greg Hands M.P.s surgery

On Monday, Greg Hands held his surgery at Fulham Broadway Methodist Church. He met with eight constituents to discuss their various concerns from proposed building developments to pest control. Recently a number of constituents, including one Fulham resident who attended surgery on Monday, have raised concerns about HM Revenue & Customs. From tax calculations to the status of charities Greg has consistently brought constituents points to the attention of the Agencys Chief Executive, Lin Homer. Greg recently wrote to HMRC on behalf of one Fulham pensioner who had received a demand for over 1,300 in unpaid tax. Despite insisting that the Department had made the demand in error it was only after Gregs intervention that they dropped their request and apologised for the inconvenience caused. If constituents believe their Member of Parliament can assist with their problem Greg is keen to hear from them. Greg said: I hold my surgeries almost every week of the year and I aim to solve the problem, or at least get my constituents an answer. To make an appointment contact me on [email protected] or call 0207 219 5448.

Photo news:

Hands meets German Finance Minister

Greg Hands M.P. exchanges views with German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble over lunch in the House of Commons last week.

Free Wifi set for large parts of Hammersmith & Fulham

Vast swathes of Hammersmith & Fulham are to undergo a digital revolution and receive free wifi coverage. Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council is set to sign a contract with communications company Arqiva to provide an H&F-branded wifi service. Registered users will get 30 minutes of free wifi a day and unlimited access to the Council's website at zero cost to the taxpayer. The agreement will see Arqiva pay the Council 500,000 for the use of the lampposts to install the network. The Council will also get a share of any income generated. The first part of the borough to benefit from the scheme will be Shepherds Bush which will receive free wifi by the end of 2013. Hammersmith will receive wifi soon after and Fulham by mid 2014. The deal will mean that anyone living of visiting the borough will be able to access wifi for free from a wifi enabled device, such as a smartphone, tablet or PC. They will also gain unlimited free access to H&F branded 'landing pages', guiding users to the H&F website where they will be able to access council services. In addition, people in range of the network will be able to access all other internet sites for free for the first 30 minutes of use each day. There will be a flexible pay-as-you-go model without any commitment from users to spend after the first 30 minutes free has finished. The wifi contract is part of the council's attempts to encourage residents to access and pay for its services via the council website, www.lbhf.gov.uk. By doing its business online, the council is able to reduce its back office costs which is one of the reasons that it has been able to cut council tax by at least three per cent for six out of the last seven years. Cllr Greg Smith, H&F Council Deputy Leader said: "This is a fantastic deal for taxpayers and the council. We know that many of our residents still do not have online access, so this deal will open up a new digital world to them. "This will make it easier than ever for our residents to get online. It will also make it easier for people to access council services online wherever they are and they will help us keep reducing council tax bills." Many services are already online, including applying for parking permits, paying penalty charge notices, managing council tax and housing accounts and library services. The new wifi will not work in residents' homes. This means that residents should not cancel their contracts with their current internet providers.

RBK&C announces new Council Cabinet

Councillor Nicholas Paget-Brown, who will formally take up the reins as Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea at the Council's Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 22nd May, has announced his first Cabinet. Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing, Property and Regeneration - Cllr Rock Feilding-Mellen Cabinet Member for Planning Policy, Transport and Arts - Cllr Timothy Coleridge Cabinet Member for Environment, Environmental Health and Leisure - Cllr Tim Ahern Cabinet Member for Families and Children - Cllr Elizabeth Campbell Cabinet Member for Education and Libraries - Cllr Emma Will Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health - Cllr Mary Weale Cabinet Member for Community Safety, IT and Corporate Services - Cllr Hon. Joanna Gardner Cabinet Member for Voluntary Organisations and Resident Engagement - Cllr Gerard Hargreaves Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategy - Cllr Warwick Lightfoot Three appointments were also made to key committees: Chairman of Planning - Cllr Paul Warrick Chairman of Licensing - Cllr Julie Mills Regulation and Enforcement Committee - Cllr Miss Doreen Weatherhead Speaking about the new Cabinet Councillor Paget-Brown said: "I am very fortunate to have an enormous range of talented and experienced colleagues that I have been able to call upon to take up specific Cabinet responsibilities. Every member of the new team is as committed as I am to serving the borough and its residents in what will undoubtedly be challenging times."

K&C Council runs series of gardening events to coincide with the Chelsea Flower Show
The popularity of gardens and garden-related activities, evidenced by the appreciation of the Chelsea Flower Show, is spreading throughout the Royal Borough with a month-long series of garden-themed community events. The exciting programme of activities kicks off at World's End Estate, SW10 on Saturday 18th May. Younger children can enjoy a messy art workshop which starts at 11am, while young and old can create wildflower seed bombs to take home, or to a suitable spot, for planting. The Royal Borough's community gardeners Will and Lisa will be on hand to offer gardening advice. While those residents that prefer relaxing out of doors rather than actually grafting and weeding can sit back and enjoy the Garden Cabaret which includes music, poetry and stand-up comedy (performance starts at 1.30pm). On Sunday 19th May from 1pm the community garden road show continues with an environment-themed show performed by the Green and Pleasant Land Theatre at the World's End Plaza and is repeated at DoveHouse Green, King's Road on Saturday 25th May at 1pm. Other events planned later in May and early June include a plant swap stall in Earl's Court, tour of the borough's community gardens and a Green Man Tea Party at Wornington Green. For more information go to www.rbkc.gov.uk/chelseafringe or email [email protected]. The community activities are part of the Chelsea Fringe festival, which promotes a love of gardens and gardening. The Chelsea Fringe coincides and overlaps with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Chelsea Flower Show but is completely independent of it and run mainly by volunteers. In 2009 the Royal Borough started developing underused plots of land as community gardens and creating `aplotments' for residents to grow vegetables, fruit and herbs. There are now 40 community gardens with 700 residents working on their own plots. The Royal Borough's Cabinet Member for the Environment and Council leader elect, Cllr Nick Paget-Brown, said: "Gardening is one of the most popular pastimes and something that young and old can enjoy together. "These events offer residents a chance to enjoy the community aspects of gardening and the arts, whether that is getting stuck in and planting flowers or sitting back and enjoying music and poetry."

Time to bury Hammersmith flyover, say residents

West London residents are overwhelmingly backing the ambitious plans to bury Hammersmith flyover as Lord Rogers throws his weight behind Londons first major road tunnel for 20 years. Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council has been inundated with waves of positive comments after it was suggested that Hammersmiths eyesore flyover should be replaced with a flyunder. Since its emergency closure in December 2011, which caused traffic gridlock across west London, serious questions have been asked about the long-term viability of the 50 year old structure given the escalating costs of maintenance and increased risk of failure. Earlier this month a group of west London architects, West London Link, presented their ideas of how Transport for London (TfL) could replace the crumbling flyover at a packed meeting at Hammersmith town hall. The architects, who are backed by engineers Halcrow, showed how the land above a tunnel could be transformed by building new homes, creating more green space and reconnecting Hammersmith town centre with the river. Local resident Nick Bastin represented the view of many local residents who posted on council message boards. He wrote: This is an absolute no brainer - it would repair the criminal damage done to the borough in the 60's, reunite residents with the river, create more useable living space and deliver tremendous regeneration potential. Go for it! Lord Rogers has now also lent the support of his practice Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners, which has its headquarters on the banks of the Thames a few hundred yards from the flyover. Senior partner Mike Davies said: The removal of the space-gobbling, light-blocking, community-dividing flyover would offer opportunities for new public space in the form of light and air and with hugely reduced pollution. The plans could eventually see a tunnel from the Hogarth roundabout in Chiswick to the Earls Court end of the current flyover. Burying the A4 would restore links between Hammersmith and Chiswick town centres and the Thames and could be achieved without disruption to the highway network, according to West London Link. Construction costs could be financed by the prime land that would be released for development. The council has vowed to commission a study to ascertain the benefits and challenges related to various options. Cllr Nicholas Botterill, H&F Council Leader, said: H&F is uniting behind the flyunder idea as it would dramatically improve the quality of life for thousands of west Londoners and be a game changer for Hammersmith town centre. The hard work now needs to begin with TfL to explore further the various options. Garrett Emmerson, Chief Operating Officer for Surface Transport at TfL said: We understand that H&F Council is keen to look at proposals to replace the Hammersmith flyover in more detail. We have discussed this with the borough recently and offered support to them in putting their case together for this project. Any plan to replace the flyover would need to be fully assessed, justified and funded through the wider redevelopment of the area.

5 ways to contact Greg Hands M.P.:

By Phone: By email: By post: In person: 020 7219 5448 [email protected] Greg Hands M.P. House of Commons London SW1A 0AA Click here for details of how to book an appointment at Greg Hands M.P.s weekly surgery

www.greghands.com

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Greg Hands M.P. a strong voice for Chelsea & Fulham

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