Category: Democracy & Council

From 6pm on Thursday 16 November to Monday 20 November, essential maintenance will be carried out to the Planning, Building Control and Local Land Charges IT system.  There will be no access to any records held within the system and the following tasks will be unavailable on the council’s website:

*   research planning, planning appeals, planning enforcement and building control history

*   view planning applications and plans

*   submit planning application comments

*   submit building control applications

*   book building control inspections

*   request land charge searches and receive search results.

Proposals have been developed for Uxbridge Library to undergo a modernised and climate-friendly transformation and relocate to Hillingdon’s Civic Centre in spring 2024.

Where many local authorities have closed local libraries as a way to reduce cost pressures, Hillingdon Council has committed to maintaining its 16 across the borough through its Library Strategy, and further investing in buildings and facilities to ensure they are of the highest quality, efficient and meet residents’ needs now and in the future.

The council’s plans for an upgraded central library, which are set to be considered by Cabinet in December, include facilities not currently provided in its existing building, such as study pods, hireable meeting space and a dedicated space for the popular Tovertafel (interactive tabletop projections).

The plans preserve exhibition and event spaces, a learning centre with public computers, charging points for laptops, a dedicated children’s library and of course, a large book collection.

The council is bringing the service ‘in house’ as part of its mission to continue delivering outstanding services in more efficient and innovative ways as a result of the ongoing budget pressures being experienced by all local authorities, and as part of the organisation’s commitment to being more sustainable to meet its carbon reduction target of net zero by 2030.

While the library’s current location in Uxbridge High Street remains popular, the building itself is one of the council’s assets with the highest carbon footprint and with underused spaces.

Work is already underway on renovating the borough’s Civic Centre as part of the Uxbridge Masterplan to revitalise the town centre and the southern end of the High Street.

The new facility will also be more accessible with a bus stop outside and disability access, in comparison to the current location which is split across six floors and can be difficult for disabled people to navigate and can prove especially challenging for older people, people with dementia and those with special educational needs.

Cllr Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, said: “Uxbridge Library would remain one of our flagship facilities and a genuine community hub. Its relocation would deliver a fantastic new amenity for residents and visitors.

“We’re committed to creating a green and sustainable borough and making sound decisions about using taxpayers’ money. So, it makes little sense to keep open a building which is energy inefficient and where the space is underutilised, when we can move the library just a very short walk away into a building which will be modernised to the highest standards while offering enhanced facilities.

“The move would also help centralise the facility alongside other services which have also recently been brought into the Civic Centre, including Uxbridge Family Hub and Learn Hillingdon, our adult education service.”

Plans for the new library are set to go on display for residents to view and find out more in the current library building on Friday 10 November. For more information, visit www.hillingdon.gov.uk/uxbridge-library-relocation<http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/uxbridge-library-relocation

As of from today until further notice, our office will be closed to the public for refurbishment. However, our service continues to be operational and we will continue to meet all clients who have upcoming advice appointments with us.

We plan to deliver new community drop-in advice sessions across the borough and will keep you updated on this.

For updates, please visit our website: www.hillingdoncab.org.uk

How to contact us: Request a Telephone Call Back -our online form can be accessed here https://tinyurl.com/bdhfbdeb

For urgent advice – call Adviceline on: 0808 278 7893, or leave a message for our team Voicemail Box: 07498 482 130

Hillingdon Council is marking Recycle Week (16 to 22 October) with the launch of new small electrical recycling points in libraries across the borough in a bid to increase the number of electrical products being recycled instead of being thrown away.

New pink collection bins have been rolled out to offer residents another convenient way to recycle their small electrical items in nine libraries: Botwell Green, Ickenham, Manor Farm, Northwood Hills, Ruislip Manor, Uxbridge, Yeading, Yiewsley and Oak Farm.  PLEASE NOTE THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE EASTCOTE LIBRARY.

The council, working in partnership with Material Focus, a not-for-profit organisation which has funded the scheme, will collect items including broken kettles, hair styling appliances and electric children’s toys. Small electricals can still also be donated alongside clothes as part of the council’s home clothing collection scheme with the charity TRAID. Larger items continue to be accepted at Harefield Civic Amenity Site and at the West Drayton waste weekends.

The theme for this year’s national Recycle Week initiative, The Big Recycling Hunt, focuses on items that can be recycled but are most commonly missed in the home. The council is building on this by also shining a light on items that don’t belong in household recycling but can be recycled by other means. When items that are not recyclable are included in a recycling bags this could lead to a whole batch of recycling being rejected and disposed of as general waste.

The most common items that can be recycled as part of the council’s dry mixed recycling collections (and may sometimes be forgotten about), include:

• • plastic pots, tubs and trays
  • plastic detergent/cleaning bottles and their triggers
  • shampoo/conditioner bottles
  • empty aerosols
  • drinks and food cans/tins
  • kitchen foil and aluminium trays
  • books, paper, magazines and cardboard
  • Tetra Paks and cartons
  • lids from bottles and jars.

The most common household items that cannot be recycled as part of the council’s dry mixed recycling collections, include:

• • clothes and textiles
  • batteries and electrical items
  • food and liquids.

Hillingdon’s waste and recycling team will also be hosting three recycling roadshows in Uxbridge, Ickenham and Ruislip this week to celebrate Recycle Week. They will be on hand to answer questions and help residents improve their recycling habits, find out more about how to bin less and recycle more, and share tips on how to reduce contamination.

The council is committed to recycling as much waste as possible by providing residents with free, weekly and easy-to-use recycling collections for mixed dry recyclables, food and garden waste. The council also offers free textile collections.

Hillingdon is seeing a steady increase in recycling rates. Food waste collections rose by 17 per cent between 2021/22 and 2022/23 as more people in kerbside properties signed up for the council’s free weekly food waste collections. Residents have also booked more than 8,000 free household clothing and textile collections via TRAID since September 2021, which is more than any other London borough, resulting in approximately 135 tonnes of textiles being reused and recycled.

West Drayton resident Rachel Rizzo and her sons, Enzo, aged 11, and Theo, aged eight are keen recyclers. Rachel said: “The boys love to get involved with sorting the recycling while I make sure that it’s all clean and dry. Weekly collections help us to stay on top of everything and the council website is great for checking anything we’re not quite sure about.”

Cllr Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, said: “We are committed to creating a green and more sustainable borough for future generations and our new small electricals recycling scheme in libraries provides another opportunity for residents to recycle and reduce the environmental impact of disposing of general waste.

“Thank you to all Hillingdon residents for their ongoing recycling efforts. We’re seeing more households recycling year on year which is fantastic.
We can all play our part in driving recycling rates up even further, so please do take the time to check that you are recycling correctly and doing all you can – every little helps.”

More information about the council’s recycling initiatives, collections and events is available at www.hillingdon.gov.uk/recycling.

Many of you may be aware of the proposed move of Uxbridge Central Library from the High Street to the Civic Centre. This has many implications for access, the number of local groups using the library and the available space for exhibitions. If you want to register your views you can contact your local councillor or sign the online petition. (see details below)

I should stress that I have been assured by Susan Dalloe ( Head of Museums and Archives) that the Local History Room and Department is not going to move to the Civic Centre. However no plans have been finalised yet for suitable alternative premises elsewhere in Uxbridge to house the Local History Department. The Society will continue to keep an eye on the situation.

https://www.change.org/p/save-our-central-library-in-uxbridge

The Council for the Independent Scrutiny of Heathrow Airport (CISHA) is carrying out a project to understand how local communities perceive air quality, and what changes they would like to see in their area. The findings of the project will lead to a set of recommendations on how the airport can make improvements to their work and funding on air quality.

@CISHA wants to know your views on air quality, if you live or work around Heathrow Airport. Take part in their online survey which is open until the end of September: https://tinyurl.com/heathrow-air-quality-survey  or join in their online webinar on Wednesday 20th September by registering here https://shorturl.at/quNP2

For more information on their project visit https://www.cisha.org/air-quality

Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet (14 September) approved recommendations to maintain childcare provision in its three early years centres and roll out family hubs boroughwide to provide enhanced support for families within their local communities.

Both decisions follow an extensive 12-week consultation where more than 690 families, carers, partners, providers and community organisations shared their views on draft proposals.

The council considered responses from local parents which highlighted how strongly valued its early years nurseries (Nestles Avenue, South Ruislip and Uxbridge) are to them. This shaped the decision to maintain childcare services at these locations, as well as sourcing a provider to deliver the service.

Additionally, respondents positively received the council’s Family Hubs Strategy, with 71 per cent of residents and 79 per cent of community partners in agreement with the proposals. Eighty-two per cent of respondents also agreed or strongly agreed with the range of proposed services, welcoming the introduction of one system to provide all the support families might need from pregnancy through to adulthood.

The council’s Family Hub Strategy reflects the government’s national programme of providing more integrated services to whole families, parents, carers and children aged 0 to 19 and up to 25 years of age for those with special educational needs (SEND).

Hillingdon opened its first family hub in Uxbridge in December 2021, and the council’s ambition is to now expand this model boroughwide, building on existing services, such as children’s centres, to offer more joined up support to older children and young people.

Six family hubs and additional delivery points will be in the heart of local communities in existing children’s centres, libraries, community spaces and leisure centres. These will be within 1.5 miles or 30 minutes’ walk from residents’ homes.

Subject to the usual scrutiny process, Hillingdon’s family hub services will include, children’s centre groups and sessions, outdoor space for play, youth services, birth registration, parenting programmes and workshops, SEND support, adult education opportunities, information and advice, pre and antenatal maternity support, health visiting and school nursing, mental health services, programmes to encourage healthy weight, and communication, speech and language support.

Cllr Susan O’Brien, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education, said: “Thank you to all the families and partners who took the time to respond to the consultation this summer.   Your views have really helped to inform our decision to maintain childcare in our early years centres and to go ahead with the expansion of the family hubs model boroughwide.  These services will help us to provide even more support to children, young people and families, when and where they need it most.”

Our bursary award scheme (in memory of Tashan Daniel) supports young residents to achieve their ambitions in sport, culture (theatre, dance, crafts, literature, multi-disciplinary arts, music, visual arts) and education.

Entries are now open for this year’s bursaries, which provide young people with up to £2,000 of support to pursue their dreams in sport, the arts and education. 

The deadline for applications is Monday 4 September. 

 

Please share with any young people you think might be interested. 

 

This is the link: www.hillingdon.gov.uk/tashan-daniel-award

Hillingdon Council is pioneering hybrid wind and solar-powered street lights to help reduce its carbon footprint while keeping people safe.

The council has trialled the new lights at six locations across the borough where there is a need for lighting, but no live source of electricity.

The new street lights use energy-efficient LED bulbs that use less power than traditional bulbs and can be powered by the sun via a solar panel, or via the wind using the turbine at the top of the column. An in-built battery retains enough power to keep the lights going through periods of low sun and wind.

The council had installed the lights at the Civic Centre and on the St Andrew’s Roundabout in Uxbridge, with two more at the Grainges car park in Uxbridge and one at each of two council housing estates in South Road, West Drayton and Melrose Close, Hayes.

The plan is now to roll the lights out further, with 10 more planned for the St Andrew’s housing estate in Uxbridge and a further 10 in the car park of Minet County Park, in Hayes. Each column has reduced CO2 levels and running costs compared to normal bulbs.

Hillingdon Council is the first in west London to take up the new technology as part of its commitment to ensuring residents stay safe, while addressing the climate emergency.

Cllr Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, said: “We’re committed to ensuring Hillingdon is a green and sustainable borough where residents feel safe.

“These new street lights solve the issue of installing good lighting where there’s no electricity source, which is ideal for a borough like ours where there’s lots of open space.

“They save the expense and environmental impact of having to connect remote locations to the electricity grid, and being self-powered, don’t cost the council anything to run.

“These are the kinds of emerging technologies we’re keen to embrace and champion as we push towards a greener and more sustainable Hillingdon.”

Hillingdon Council has launched a competition for local primary aged children, those who find the most creative and sustainable ways to store food waste indoors, will win a prize.

Primary school-aged children (4 to 11 years) are tasked with finding or repurposing a container in their home, such as an ice cream tub or old lunchbox, that could be used as a food waste caddy.

The initiative encourages children and their families to learn about food waste recycling and its benefits to the environment. It helps people reduce waste, save money and be more sustainable by reusing items in different ways.

The competition has three categories:

• Best recycled/reused food waste container
• Best food waste reduction idea
• Best waste less, spend less idea

The competition will run until 25 June, with students invited to submit photographs of their creations. There will be an entry form for each of the three categories, with a maximum limit of 100 words for any further explanation of the children’s ideas. Primary aged children can enter one, two or all three categories.

Hillingdon council offers food waste recycling to every school in Hillingdon and provides interactive sessions and posters for classrooms, to help children with their food waste recycling.

Cllr Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, said: “Recycling food waste is a small change to your household routine that can make a big difference in helping to protect the environment.  Food waste that is included within your general waste produces methane, a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more harmful than carbon dioxide, whereas by using our free, weekly, food waste recycling service it can be turned into green energy, such as biogas and fertiliser.
“I am delighted that so many households in Hillingdon are already signed up to this service, but we’d like to see even more residents recycling their food waste and helping us achieve our pledge to create a green, sustainable and carbon-neutral borough.
“I wish all the children good luck and can’t wait to see what they come up with!”

The winner will be selected by a judging panel comprising of the Mayor of Hillingdon, Cllr Shehryar Ahmad-Wallana, Cllr Eddie Lavery and waste and recycling service officers. The winning submission for each category will receive a sustainable baking kit and cookbook.

To enter the competition visit www.hillingdon.gov.uk/food-waste-competition

To find out more about recycling food waste and to sign up, visit www.hillingdon.gov.uk/food-waste