27th September 2024

Reminder of AGM
Tuesday 1st October at 6:30pm (doors open from 6:00pm)

 

Dear Members and Supporters,
 
This is to remind you of our AGM next week at the Essex Unitarian Church, as in our 15th September newsflash; perhaps a welcome distraction from the ballyhoo around the US Vice Presidential debate some 8 hours later. 
 
We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible, and hope to be joined by representatives from our fellow Residents' Associations – Campden Hill and the Pembridge Association. Wine will be available (£5) and this is a great opportunity to meet old friends and new neighbours.  
 
The batting order for the hour will be:    

  • Sophie Massey Cook will briefly review HVRA’s activities since Covid, focusing mainly on Newcombe House and Beltane.

  • Sam Dunkley will provide a very brief Treasurer's report, followed by the election of the new committee. 

  • Following the formal business, Sandrine Westcott will outline our agenda for the next year, with a short Q&A session. We expect to discuss Newcombe, the Holland Park roundabout consultation and the Notting Hill Gate “draft action plan”.


Sandrine Westcott has kindly agreed to take over as Chair, following Sophie’s dedicated service since taking over from Peter Thompson in 2019. The committee is delighted that Sandrine has agreed to step up, and that Sophie has agreed to remain as vice chair on a transitional basis.

For those wishing to familiarise themselves with some of these topics before the meeting:

Holland Park roundabout: https://sos10.co.uk/
 

Notting Hill Gate draft Action Plan: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/1d082d58f8ce41339681d411cee10a9a

Use it or Lose it....


We understand (from conversations at the local tennis club) that the Gate Cinema and Coronet Theatre are struggling. They are listed buildings, but it would be a shame if the lack of custom for these unique community assets were to lead them to go the same way as the Odeon Kensington.
 
And this is part of a wider pattern: all High Streets are combating shoplifting, exorbitant business rates, and competition from e-commerce such as Amazon, Deliveroo and Ocado.
 
We would suggest that old-fashioned entertainment, and in-person shopping should be preferred, if our members and supporters wish to see Notting Hill Gate remaining viable as a local shopping centre.

Local history resources and blog


Members & supporters interested in conservation are also likely to be interested in local history...
 
While Kensington Central Library is not under threat, we would like to remind you of its unique local history section, which also sells some worthwhile publications such as “Ordinary Heroes - the Home Front in Kensington & Chelsea in WW2” by Dave Walker (former Local Studies and Archives Manager), and “The Story of Notting  Dale – from Potteries and Piggeries to present times.” by Sharon Whetlor. Another useful text they have for reference is “Portobello Road – Lives of a Neighbourhood” by Julian Mash.
 
Dave Walker (now retired) and his colleagues also wrote some excellent blogs entitled “The Library Time Machine”. Here is a good example on the Kensington Odeon, with links to others:

https://rbkclocalstudies.wordpress.com/2019/03/21/the-kensington-a-high-street-cinema/

15th September 2024

Notice of Annual General Meeting:

Tuesday 1st October at 6:30pm


Dear Members and Supporters

Further to our printed leaflet currently being distributed in the Village, this is our formal notice for our AGM at the Essex Unitarian Church at 112 Palace Gardens Terrace (same venue as before).

Doors open at 6 pm, meeting will commence at 6:30pm and end by 7:30pm. We will be serving wine (£5/glass) - this is a great opportunity to meet up with others in Hillgate Village!  We will send a reminder in a further newsletter shortly before the event, but please diarise now.

If any members have nominations for membership of the management committee, please submit these by email to hillgatevillage@outlook.com

We also encourage you to subscribe or renew your membership:

https://www.hillgatevillage.com/membership

Regards,

The Committee. 

May 2024

May 2024 Update


Dear Members and Supporters – in this update we cover:
 
1) Permanent Farmers’ Market application
 
2) Notting Hill Gate draft action plan (NOTE: Public exhibition/meeting Thursday, May 23, 4.30-7.30 pm, Essex Church)
 
3) Holland Park roundabout/cycling/SOS issues

Farmers' Market  - Application for permanent use of Fox School playgrounds on Saturday morning

 
The Farmers' Market has been running in Notting Hill for 25 years in September.  It used to be on the car park behind Newcombe House and the Waterstones Bookshop and moved eighteen months ago to Fox Primary School.
 
It was granted temporary planning permission at Fox School playgrounds and has now applied for a full planning permission to use Fox School playgrounds every Saturday between 10am and 2pm. The deadline for comments was the 10th May but residents can comment up to when the decision is taken - likely to be on 5 June 2024.
 
The HVRA encourages all local residents and customers to support the Farmers' Market application in order to ensure the market can continue for another 25 years.
 
We strongly believe it contributes to local residents' well-being and health and creates a real sense of a vibrant village community.  It has a lovely atmosphere and brings a wide variety of high quality fruits, vegetables, meat and fish, eggs and milk and cheese etc… We believe the Farmers' Market is a major plus for the locals which should be supported
 
We encourage you to go to the RBKC planning application website (https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/planning/searches/) to support the Notting Hill Farmers' Market planning application 
 
Search for application PP/24/02161 or Farmers' Market

Notting Hill Gate “Draft action plan”

 
This is a second attempt at the NHG improvements which RBKC floated in late 2022.The materials will be exhibited at Essex Church on Thursday May 23 from 4:30pm – 7:30 pm.You can also see them any time (though not so easily) on the interactive website below. 
 
We recommend that any of you interested in the future of Notting Hill Gate take a look at the website and/or visit the exhibition on Thursday. We do NOT recommend responding to the slanted online feedback form on the “interactive website”, at least until after the exhibition.
 
Below is the email (which some of you may already have) from the GrowthAndDeliveryTeam: RBKC <GrowthAndDeliveryTeam@rbkc.gov.uk>:
 
Dear Notting Hill Gate community,
 
The Notting Hill Gate Draft Action Plan consultation is now open and will run for six weeks until Sunday 23 June 2024.
 
Please visit the draft action plan interactive website for more information.
 
You can share your views via this online feedback form. Please ensure that you have read the draft action plan before commenting. Your feedback will help to refine the draft action plan vision, objectives and the proposed interventions.

Exhibition
When: Thursday 23rd May 2024 16:30-19:30
Where: Essex Church (Kensington Unitarians), 112 Palace Gardens Terrace, W8 4RT
Drop in to see exhibition boards about the draft proposals and speak to the project team.There is no need to register in advance and everyone is welcome. Just turn up anytime between 16:30 and 19:30 on 23 May.
 
Contact us If you have any queries or require support to participate in the consultation, please get in touch by replying to this email or call 020 7361 3012 (Planning Line). Thank you for your continued interest in the Notting Hill Gate Draft Action Plan.
Kind regards,
Felipe Villela
Senior Planning Engagement Officer, Growth and Delivery Team, Planning and Place

Holland Park roundabout; Save Our Streets (SOS)

 
During the recent consultation on this £6m project for a cycle lane across the roundabout, SOS carried out a good deal of analysis including the commissioning of an independent consultant study on the GLA’s accident Statistics. SOS believes the proposals would significantly increase traffic congestion and would not materially improve cyclist safety.  A meeting is being requested with TfL.

More information can be found here: https://sos10.co.uk/

March 2024

"The Slab"


Dear Members and Supporters,
 
Before updating you on Newcombe House we would like to draw your attention to a very worthy cause on the South Bank, which we hope you will consider supporting personally (but does not qualify for support from HVRA funds.)
 
It is 72 Upper Ground - aka “The Slab” - described in this article by Simon Jenkins:
 
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/06/london-planning-river-developments-thames-south-bank-block
 
Save Our South Bank - a current campaign supported by the very long established Waterloo Community Development Group (WCDG)  - has filed for a judicial review (JR) of Michael Gove’s decision to approve this oversized and hugely prominent proposal, opposite Somerset House. 
 
We have spoken with WCDG (wcdg.org.uk) who shared the JR grounds drafted by their Counsel. Their campaign is running two crowdfunding operations: 
 
1) Save Our South Bank | Give as you Live Donate <https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/campaign/save-our-south-bank> which was set up to fund the public inquiry on the Slab, collects GiftAid (since it is running via WCDG, a registered charity 1114299).
 
2) For the purposes of this legal action they have just set up another crowdfunder, where the funds go directly to the legal team: Save London’s South Bank from a monstrous new office block! (crowdjustice.com)<https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/save-our-south-bank/>  but it doesn't collect GiftAid, unfortunately.
 
We are told that contributions to the first of these (plus the GiftAid) is restricted to supporting the Judicial Review; but if one uses the second website one can pledge a donation subject to their target of £15k being reached, rather than donating immediately. 

Newcombe House updates:


 1) Our ward Councillors and Felicity Buchan MP have undertaken to negotiate concessions from the developers with the aim of improving privacy for Hillgate Village residents.  We still await their update.   
 
2) Committee members will attend a meeting on 9th April with the developers and their contractors to discuss the demolition and proposed Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP).

We wish all our Members and supporters a Happy Easter and a relaxing break over the Bank Holiday Weekend.

The HVRA Committee

26th February 2024

Holland Park Roundabout


Dear members and supporters,
 
Some of you will already have the email from Danny Lidgate, reproduced below.

The TfL Holland Park roundabout cycle route proposals are clearly a springboard (or “Trojan horse”) for the revival of the “CS10” cycleway.  The 2019 Holland Park Avenue cycle route proposals were overwhelmingly rejected by local residents due to concerns over congestion, pollution, access to bus services for disabled and less mobile residents and the loss of mature plane trees.
 
As the Holland Park Avenue cycle route (CS10) would impact Notting Hill Gate as well as Holland Park Avenue, HVRA is strongly supporting the SOS objections.  See their website here: SOS10.co.uk
 
The deadline for your responses is effectively March 2, so please take action as soon as possible. 
 
Please email your response to the consultation to haveyoursay@tfl.gov.uk, cc. hillgatevillage@outlook.com  - if objecting please make that very clear. 
 
Felicity Buchan has also set up her own petition: 
https://www.felicitybuchan.com/campaigns/stop-tfls-proposed-holland-park-roundabout-cycle-lane
 
We will issue another newsletter next month regarding the AGM.  There is no further news on Newcombe house at the moment.

 
Regards,
 
The Committee 

OBJECT TO TfL’s PLANS TO RESTRICT TRAFFIC FLOW ON HOLLAND PARK ROUNDABOUT BY 3rd MARCH 2024


 TfL is running a consultation on whether to introduce a new cycle lane on Holland Park Roundabout – and we have until 3rd MARCH 2024 to respond. 
 
Whilst we applaud TfL’s aim to encourage walking, cycling and public transport to make London greener and healthier, we don’t believe that the new proposal will achieve these aims.
 
Holland Park roundabout already gets very congested as it’s a major arterial route to Westfield and out of London to M40, A316 and M4, as well as the Oxford Tube. Based on TfL’s modelling and feedback from other London cycle superhighways, these changes will most likely result in a similar level of traffic on fewer lanes causing:

  • Increased congestion on the roundabout, Holland Road, Holland Park Avenue, Notting Hill Gate, Shepherd’s Bush Green and the West Cross Route

  • Increased pollution and noise from idling traffic

  • Increased traffic using residential side streets as short cuts

  • Longer bus journey times

  • Slower response times by emergency vehicles

  • Damage to local businesses due to customers staying away to avoid congestion 

 
OTHER CONCERNS

  • We have not seen any evidence that:

    • This scheme will reduce cycling and pedestrian accidents.

    • Other options have been considered including ones using the existing roundabout cycleways

  • If approved, we believe TfL will want to extend the cycle way up Holland Park Avenue and Notting Hill Gate, a plan that was strongly opposed by local residents in 2019

  • TfL's resources should benefit all road users and not just the 4.5% of London journeys made on bicycles at the expense of the 12%+ made on buses as well as people needing emergency services

 
Consequently, WE DO NOT SUPPORT TfL’s proposal and we urge you to OBJECT TODAY (before 3rdMarch 2024 deadline) by

  • Felicity Buchan is running a petition:

 https://www.felicitybuchan.com/campaigns/stop-tfls-proposed-holland-park-roundabout-cycle-lane

  • Emailing TfL at haveyoursay@tfl.gov.uk  Remember, any comments that are not 100% negative will be counted bt TfL as a positive respose so please be clear in your objections.

4th February 2024

 Newcombe House update

HVRA is sorry to confirm that Beltane Asset Management’s proposal was approved in full by the Planning Committee on 18th January. No concessions were granted on the 4 issues raised in our further objection lodged on 14th December:
https://planningsearch.rbkc.gov.uk/publisher/docs/F2EE5C049F126351869FF4B804A49C94/Document-F2EE5C049F126351869FF4B804A49C94.pdf
 
The Council had received over 50 objections, including '3RA' (all the Notting Hill Gate residents’ associations) and an excellent objection from the Kensington Society – together representing hundreds if not thousands of residents, but to no avail.
 
Only 7 working days’ notice (just over the statutory minimum) was given for us to study the 260 page committee report, and prepare for the meeting. Our request for a postponement was denied. This was very disappointing, but is not a ground for appeal. 
 
The meeting was addressed by Amanda Frame (Kensington Society), Sophie Massey Cook (HVRA Chair), Fiona Fleming Brown (the Pembridge Association Chair) and a local resident.  As of 4th February the minutes are not available, but the meeting was live-streamed - watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9UxvBj5pfA

The pre-meeting documents and reports are available here: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/Committees/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=147&MId=3572&Ver=4
 
We renewed our objection to the height and massing of the buildings and especially of the planned Newcombe House, “a behemoth which will loom over low-rise Hillgate Village”; and the so-called “refurbishment” of the Newcombe House tower - actually an expansion of the tower by over 50% - which will dominate Notting Hill Gate and harm the views from all the surrounding Conservation Areas vastly more than the current building. 
 
We argued that this large development (over three times the existing floorspace) will harm the character and charm of the Village, but the committee concluded that “less than significant harm” would result. We and our fellow speakers reiterated our objections, and we proposed the following conditionsbe added to any planning consent:
 
1) The Tower’s “column of light“ all the way up the western end of Newcombe house was raised as a major problem, especially at night as it overlooks Hillgate Village, causing light pollution, reflection of the setting sun and overlooking of the local houses and invading their privacy. A condition was proposed to install non-reflective obscured glass and blinds at night to preserve the privacy of Hillgate Village residents, reduce glare and avoid excess light pollution.
 
2) We requested gates at both ends of the Uxbridge St walkway (between David Game House and the blank wall of the station opposite) which could be closed during hours of darkness to deter antisocial behaviour and excessive footfall at night – consistent with RBKC’s designing out crime SPD referenced in the officer's report: https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy/designing-out-crime
 
The developer’s promises of security guards and CCTV are no substitute, and provide no long-term guarantee. Their architect told the committee that such gates would be too difficult to install due to the levels by the “undercroft” under the extended Newcombe House frontage. We disagree.    
 
3) We also fear the wide colonnades under the extended north frontage of Newcombe House and the Kensington Church Street frontage will attract rough sleeping & antisocial behaviour, and proposed these should also be closed off by railings in hours of darkness. These could be neatly recessed during the day. If omitted in the development and then retrofitted when problems arise, these will be more unsightly (and costly).
 
Residents of Hillgate Village are concerned about the potential impact on this quiet residential area if further large numbers of visitors are encouraged to enter and leave the village via the east end of Uxbridge Street. As a result of social media promotions we already suffer disruption from tourists taking photos and selfies.
 
4) Another condition requested was to guarantee the long term maintenance of greenery on the scheme, especially the west facing terraces preventing people from overlooking houses in Hillgate Village, as well as of trees, etc. at ground level. 
 
We continue to request more effective advocacy from our ward councillor representatives as the draft conditions at the end of the planning report are finalised.  We hope that the final legal agreement may still be negotiated to afford some protection for residents from light pollution and overlooking from the tower.  Our ward councillors have now undertaken to represent residents more forcefully with council officers and the developers. We shall report on their progress in our next newsletter.
 
An AGM of the HVRA is overdue; more news on this to follow.