Thameslink - will we pay an Olympic price?

In the rush to get the Thameslink project completed ahead of the 2012 Olympics there are concerns that West Hampstead residents may get left in the slow lane. The priority for Network Rail is clearly the timely completion of this highly delayed project it is clear that there is a risk that residents could pay a price in terms of disruption to our travel and daily lives.


The station is to be totally refurbished and some of that work is already underway with the installation of the new bridge.  Last week I met with representatives of Network Rail with Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn Chris Philp.  I sought and was granted assurances that the north entrance to the station will remain open when the new southern station complex is completed.

The good news is that the higher frequency of the new 12 car trains will clearly mean far better train services from the station. However, there will be little improvement to the congestion along West End Lane and the larger trains will likely mean even more passengers trying to switch trains.


The rush to upgrade train services which pass through West Hampstead stations coupled with the replacement of water mains by Thames Water is in danger of creating a “perfect storm” of transport disruption for us all. Surely it should not be beyond the wit of London’s transport planners to make sure that not all train services are suspended at the same time as happened over the summer?

This was another issue raised with Network Rail – that there should be some co-ordination so that when work is taking place on the Jubilee line the north London line and trains to Euston from Kilburn High Road over ground remain available.


The “interchange” drop in session at West Hampstead Library on the 21 October between 2pm and 8pm will give us another chance to question representatives from Network Rail.  It is vital that residents get assurances on noise and disruption now before it is too late. It will also be interesting to get more information on the “green roof” of the new Iverson Road entrance.

The Thameslink scheme could provide a major improvement to transport links to West Hampstead, however the concern remains that it does nothing to solve the underlying congestion problems along West End Lane.

Havard Hughes

Camden's third annual parking report - a fair deal for residents?

We would like to have your views on parking following Camden's latest efforts.



Little is more controversial in our area than parking. Conservative campaigners frequently pick up parking issues on the doorsteps.

Andrew Marshall on our sister blog: http://www.swisscottagecourier.blogspot.com/ recomments Camden's Third Annual Parking Report, passed by Camden's Environment Committee this week. It outlines the continuing progress Conservatives on Camden are making on resident -friendly parking policies.

The highlights are as follows:

· Traffic movements in Camden in 2008 were 2.8% up on the previous year, but still 14.6% down on 2001


· Road deaths/seriously injured were 123 in 2008, up from 105 the previous year but noticeably down on 192 in 2003


· Parking tickets have dropped from 463,944 in 2004/5 to 320,304 in 2008/9


· vehicles clamped have reduced from 26,070 in 2004/5 to just SEVEN in 2008/9, following our change of policy


· Car club members have doubled in two years to 4,050, with a target of 6,500 by 2010/11


· On motorcycles in bus lanes Camden is waiting for the results of a TfL study into this before considering whether to introduce in Camden roads, which would need a decision by all inner London boroughs for consistency


· Coming up Conservative Campaigners have more progress on on-street electric charging bays, pay by phone parking, waiting and loading reviews and a rolling programme of review of Controlled Parking Zones in response to residents' views


· Conservatives are pushing for reducing costs in the parking service while continuing to enhance the offer to residents, such as website information and text alerts on suspensions etc


· The surplus income in the parking account has dropped from £21m in 2007/8 to just £14m in 2008/9. This goes to fund the Freedom Pass for older residents and the Taxicard scheme for the disabled, plus highway improvements and safety schemes.