Proof of the intangible value of the arts and culture

Here is one piece of evidence for the value of the creative industries:

'Figures ... from a report produced by BOP Consulting for the City of London Corporation show that the City’s world-leading arts and culture cluster had a total economic impact of £247 million in 2013/14. Measured in terms of job creation, this is equivalent to supporting between 6,600 and 7,060 full time equivalent jobs. The cluster organisations together brought in an estimated 8.5 million visitors in 2013/14, an uplift of 9.9% from the 2011/12 baseline figure, and the value of ticket sales for these organisations rose by 11% to £55.5 million.

The City arts and culture cluster includes St Paul’s Cathedral, the Barbican Centre, the London Symphony Orchestra, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Museum of London, Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London among others.

As part of the report, the impact of Crossrail was examined. The authors found this could translate into an additional 991,000 visitors to the City each year when combined with public realm improvements and the development of the wider leisure and retail offer in the City.

Commenting on the launch of the report Mark Boleat, Policy Chairman for the City of London Corporation, said: “While we have all been long aware of the intangible value of the arts and culture to the City’s role as a world-leading financial centre, this report provides proof of their value beyond their obvious cultural merit. The cultural cluster supports jobs and growth in both the City of London and outside, and provides a huge variety of cultural opportunities for Londoners to enjoy.”

The full report is available here: http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/economic-research-and-information/research-publications/Pages/City-arts-and-culture-cluster.aspx.

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Ed Sheeran - The City.

Progress on step-free access to local stations

Seven Kings & Newbury Park Resident's Association, along with other community and lobby groups, has been campaigning for step-free access at Newbury Park and Seven Kings stations.

It is great news, then, that an announcement has been made that Seven Kings station will have step-free access as part of the Crossrail development. Click here to read the story of this announcement in the Ilford Recorder.

TfL have also, in a separate press release, said that Newbury Park station 'could be made step-free with third party contributions and the LU fund.' While this is a long way from being a firm commitment on step-free access at Newbury Park, it is a public acknowledgement of intent on TfL's part which should be publicised and on which they should be regularly questioned and asked for updates on progress.

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Show of Hands - Are We Alright?

Continuing fight for step-free access at Seven Kings and Newbury Park stations

'After learning Crossrail is still searching for ways to fund step-free access at Seven Kings, campaigner Ron Jeffries, 80, said he feared he would never see lifts at the station in his lifetime.

Mr Jeffries, of Aldborough Hatch, said: “Redbridge will miss out on step-free access and I think that is wrong - I do believe that Seven Kings should be step-free.”

Mr Jeffries, chairman of residents’ community group Aldborough Hatch Defence Association, has campaigned tirelessly, with all three political parties, for Crossrail to rethink its plans for Seven Kings.

“I was not put at ease by Matthew White,” added Mr Jeffries. “I am not at all satisfied.
“We will keep the campaign going and we will not be giving up.”

Mark Kennedy, a committee member on the Seven Kings and Newbury Park Residents’ Association, echoed Mr Jeffries’ words and insisted the groups would “fight on”.'

Read the full story in the Ilford Recorder by clicking here.

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Over The Rhine - Meet Me At The Edge Of The World.

We've started - but we won't finish!

Here is some of the local coverage in the Ilford Recorder and Yellow Advertiser of last Saturday's photo-call at Newbury Park Station organised by Seven Kings and Newbury Park Residents Association (SKNPRA). My letter to the Mayor of London based on our campaign is below: 

Dear Boris,

You have a reputation for candour and non nonsense talk. I am writing to ask you to use some of your famous candour with planners on the transport system in London who have been consistently promising step-free access to residents in Newbury Park and Seven Kings at our local stations and then failing to deliver.

Transport planners have been playing cruel tricks on local residents over step-free access at local stations. First, at Newbury Park where work started and then stopped, later at Seven Kings where Crossrail promises were made, then broken. As Chair of the local Resident's Association, I call on you to ensure London's transport planners make good on these broken promises and deliver the step-free access that has repeatedly been promised to local residents.

Extensive preparatory work for step-free access at Newbury Park Station was carried out in 2009/10 as detailed at http://daps-ltd.co.uk/portfolio_item/newbury-park-station-step-free-access-design-and-build/. This work cost £3.5m, public money which will have been utterly wasted unless TfL complete what they began and deliver step-free access at this Station. 

At the time this work was cancelled, London Underground said: "The status of the Undergrounds step-free plans is very disappointing to us - after years of planning and development work." They also stated that "the enabling works which had taken place will as far as possible ensure future SFA routes can be preserved" in order that "These projects could be restarted in the future" (http://www.transportforall.org.uk/news/-64-million-cost-of-abandoned-step-free-tube).

These have proved to be weasel words because this project has not been restarted and, although work is happening to make certain stations step-free, this does not include Newbury Park.

This is not the first occasion that TfL have agreed to action in our local area only to later change criteria in order to, in effect, renege on earlier promises. Through our Residents' Association, local people are saying that we have had enough of this practice. The reasons why Newbury Park Station warranted step-free access in 2009/10 still stand and we call on you to ensure that TfL finish what they started. 

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Luxury - When Those That Are Not Do Become Those That Are.

Lack of step-free access at Newbury Park and Seven Kings stations

The Seven Kings & Newbury Park Resident's Association (SKNPRA) has recently written to the Mayor of London about the lack of step-free access at Newbury Park and Seven Kings stations.

It is our understanding that Newbury Park Station, amongst others, were designated to have lifts installed some time ago. However, as confirmed by a poster at the station in November 2009, these plans were dropped due to financial problems which TfL were experiencing at the time. The Yellow Advertiser reported in December 2009 that “workmen at Newbury Park station have begun filling in lift shafts after cash for disabled access ran out”. The reported £4.6 million already spent on the project appears to have been wasted.

Our members believe that this would be a good time to revive the plans for Newbury Park Station and have identified numerous reasons for this:

1. The financial situation of TfL is now much improved. This being augmented by income from the Olympic Games sale of tickets, both from the IOC directly and the general public.

2. The improved facilities at Stratford particularly the lift installations on all platforms have been of great assistance to disabled people. In many cases enabling them to attend the Olympics and the Stratford Westfield shopping centre.

3. The installation of two lifts at Newbury Park Station, we understand would be a simple and cheap operation (perhaps the reason it was selected in the first place) as comparable to some other stations.

4. It is also worth noting that Newbury Park station is the first point of entry to the underground system for people living in Romford and further along the A12.

5. It is one of the few underground stations in the area with significant car parking facilities, 456 spaces, including 6 disabled bays.

6. The district has an ageing population and hence a large number of people who are disabled. Unlike many other stations which have either lifts and/or escalators for part of movement from platform to street Newbury Park has neither. Therefore many are prohibited from using the station altogether for this reason.

We believe that the cancellation of this work and the changes to the Crossrail plans for Seven Kings station mean that local residents have moved from a position where step-free access was promised for both stations to the current position of many continuing being denied access to the public transport system in the area. We believe this to be unacceptable in the 21st Century. We believe too that there is considerable support in our approach from local MPs, MEPs, Councillors and Transport Unions as well as the general public and we will be sharing our correspondence with them.

SKNPRA will hold its AGM at St John's Seven Kings on Monday 17th June at 8.00pm.

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The Dream Academy - Power To Believe.

Review of SKNPRA's year

It has been another active and engaged year for the Seven Kings & Newbury Park Resident’s Association.

We held two successful walkabouts this year. The first was in Newbury Park and resulted in a number of immediate repairs followed by a fuller inspection of the roads covered by the Council. The second walkabout was a community audit of Aldborough Road South carried out with the Fitter for Walking project run by Living Streets. This has resulted in a report which has been sent to Council officials and which will be discussed by the Area 5 & 7 Committees and Downshall Primary School. Some of the initiatives which are supported by or beginning as a result of this report include: St John’s community garden project; SKNPRA’s offer of a new bench at both the Aldborough Road South shops and Seven Kings Park; and the creation of an Art Trail involving the local churches.

Issues we have specifically raised this year have included: the path from Seven Kings Park to the Eastern Avenue (which is now complete); opening of the park toilets on Sundays; a range of streetscape issues (including graffiti, road signs, and potholes); the reopening of Downshall Avenue (which was unsuccessful); together with issues and ideas relating to the Crossrail Corridor Area Action Plan.

We have supported the establishment of the Friends of Seven Kings Park group and the St John’s Neighbourhood Watch through the active involvement of Resident’s Association members in these groups.

We have also supported community campaigns led by the Aldborough Hatch Defence Association, Oaks Lane residents, Seven Kings & Goodmayes Allotment Society, Take Action for Seven Kings and Vicarage Lane Play Park. The campaign for a new library in Seven Kings has been successful. It is hoped that the new library on the High Road will open in July and SKNPRA has contributed to the community group with which the Council has consulted in planning for the new library.

We have actively publicised SKNPRA through the production of new flyers and posters, leaflet drops, and a stall at the Our Community Festival. As a result, we have seen our membership grow.

Our thanks go to: Mark Kennedy, our Membership Secretary, for overseeing this expansion of the Association; Audrey Shorer, our Secretary, for ably recording our meetings and taking forward much of our work; and all committee members for their continuing support and input to the Association.

Our thoughts are particularly with Audrey at this time when the funeral of her husband Peter, who was Vice-Chair of the Association, is to be held here at St John’s tomorrow. We record now our appreciation of and thanks for the contribution that Peter made to the Association, for the engaged and unfailingly polite manner in which Peter’s contribution was made, and, perhaps most of all, for the friendship that we enjoyed with Peter. Our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with Audrey and her family in their loss.

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Runrig - Protect And Survive.

Crossrail Corridor Area Action Plan Community Forum meeting

Next Wednesday, 21st October 2009 at 7.30pm, St Johns Seven Kings is hosting a Community Forum on the Crossrail Corridor Area Action Plan.

All are welcome at a meeting where the agenda will include:

• A joint Planning/Licensing Approach to Tackling the Concentration of Takeaways and Night Cafes in Seven Kings (with Alan Drake, Head of Licensing);
• Preferred Policy Options: Retail – Protection of local shops; Employment Opportunities – Floorspace for start-up; Businesses and protection of existing employment; Housing Target, Mix and Density; Building Heights and Design; Open Space and Greening the High Road; Community and Social Infrastructure (education, health, community and leisure facilities); Transport and Car parking; and Sustainability/Decentralised Energy; and
• Next Steps.

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Michael McDermott - I Wanna Know Why.

Crossrail Corridor Area Action Plan (2)

Here is a summary of the comments made during the recent consultation event at St Johns Seven Kings on the Crossrail Corridor Area Action Plan:

• The Council has consulted on several ‘Action Plans’. Although residents and community groups are committed to consultation, the creation of Action Plans that do not result in action and change does lead to cynicism amongst local residents;
• The High Road has been run down for the last few generations, the Area Action Plan is 15 years too late;
• The area looks generally run down and needs better street cleaning; trees/flower displays;
• Important to have evidence to support need for new community facilities, so not simply a wish list;
• Joined up working is crucial - Highways, TfL, Crossrail, the PCT, Education and Leisure Services need to be fully consulted at all stages of the plan preparation so that work is complementary and not contradictory;
• Improve pedestrian crossing points along High Road, making safer at key points such as outside Seven Kings station and Barley Lane junction;
• Seven Kings centre is dominated by too many take-aways, no traditional cafes or meeting places for local residents;
• Have specific policies for different town centres and different parts of High Road, e.g. for building height, retail use;
• On-street car parking often obstacle and difficult for cyclists to negotiate;
• Car parking should be delivered as part of new developments;
• Important to encourage walking and use of bikes, this would be best achieved if there were more local shops and community facilities in the immediate area;
• Only one realistic option for swimming pool - current site;
• Tree planting would improve the look and feel of High Road - can be in tubs rather than planted if easier to manage with utilities infrastructure;
• Lorry Park Planning Brief has many good points, but need to ensure development is of a high standard of design as location next to railway track may not be ideal;
• New developments should be a high quality design;
• Need for a library should be highlighted and made clear in Plan. Recent library petition is evidence that there is a need for library;
• Would like to see a policy in place to allow change use in some cases to enable community facilities and services to be delivered in vacant retail outlets;
• Also look at using existing community building, such as schools and faith buildings for the delivery of additional local community services/facilities;
• Ensure all comments and responses to consultation are published and made transparent;
• Landowners, such as Tesco’s, should be consulted and any representations received should be published and made transparent;
• Police should be consulted, as they may require a new police station in the area.

If you would like to make any comments please email jennifer.millard@redbridge.gov.uk.

Individual comments and feedback forms are also welcomed and can be returned to the Council using the following freepost address: Crossrail Corridor Area Action Plan London Borough of Redbridge Freepost RSLR - JACE - HSUG Ilford IG1 1DD. You can also email at dpd@redbridge.gov.uk or fax at 020 8708 2062.

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Ben Harper - Excuse me Mr !!!!!!