Primary Admissions Working Group UPDATE

The Primary Admissions Working Group held first meeting on Wednesday 20th May at the Hampstead Town Hall Centre.

It would be inappropriate to "blog" the discussions of this meeting even before the official minute is produced and circulated to the group. This is just to say that as a active member of this "working group" that this important meeting has now taken place and that the process has started.

I hope together with other members of the "group" that we will bring about the required change to provide short-term solutions to the 133 children currently without placement and in the mid-term for the September 2010 admissions. The longer-term objective of developing a "new" primary school in the Belsize and Swiss Cottage area remains the "ultimate" aim. I certainly will focus my efforts in the order of priorities for short, mid and long-term.

The "working group" will meet again on Wednesday 10th June at 7pm, venue TBC, but I together with others have suggested that it should alternate with the Swiss Cottage Community Centre and the Hampstead Town Hall Centre so as to be seen to cover both the Hampstead and Swiss Cottage borders of Belsize.

Author: Nigel Rumble 22nd May 2009

UPDATE for the Public Meeting on Local Primary School Provision 14th May 2009

First impressions, having attended this important public debate at Swiss Cottage School.
Camden officers have together with Cllr Andrew Mennear, Executive of Schools agreed to explore the short-term options of additional temporary classrooms on the spare grounds of Fitzjohn's as suggested by Cllr Chris Philp and other local schools having sufficient grounds to accommodate extra temporary classrooms.

I managed to get some of my ideas heard, the first of using "Portacabins" style classrooms which can be assembled during the summer as a fast track "pragmatic" approach to meeting the immediate needs of the 133. The second of using parts of the large "green" spaces of the Chalcots in Belsize to build a “new” primary school. Naturally, any such scheme would require the active cooperation and consultation of all residents on the estate. This would be a more long-term solution, since consultation, planning permissions are time consuming processes.

The other very significant agreement to come out of the public meeting was that a “Working Group” would be set up to allow volunteer parents wishing to actively engage in working together with senior Camden officers to find and develop a short, mid and long term solutions at a regular “focus” group meeting to be set-up shortly.

As a parent myself amongst the 133. I know first hand how incredibly frustrating this problem is, being 31st in the waiting list for one of our preference schools!
Clearly, emotions were running high at the public meeting, for example, the one question I heard time and time again from the floor was “what are you ‘Camden’ going to do about this problem?” but everyone managed to stay well mannered and focused on the key issues.

Camden has stated that a summary of all questions asked will be circulated shortly to all attendees of this key meeting.

Author: Nigel Rumble 15th May 2009

Something to cheer all my readers and followers up

I do not normally Blog news stories unless there is some local community connection here in Belsize or Camden. But having just read an absolute corker of a story from Germany this lunchtime, I like to share this with you all!

BBC News: German motorway strewn with notes

Public Meeting on Local Primary School Provision 14th May 2009

Camden Council will be holding a public meeting on Thursday 14th May 2009 at 6.30pm at Swiss Cottage School (please note this has changed from Belsize Library).

The purpose of this vitally important meeting is to discuss ways forward in the provision of primary schools in the area, notably Belsize ward does not currently have an LEA Community school, neighbouring Swiss Cottage having only one, which is a voluntary aided CE school.

From what I have been able to find out there would appear to be around 133 "Camden" parents who have not so far been able to obtain a School offer. The waiting list for nearby schools is increasing daily; waiting lists within 2km from Belsize are around 30 and up.

I have been told by Camden School Admissions that the situation this year is very concerning and appears to be worse than previous years.

In discussions and research that I have done both as a community activist and parent I can say that the deep "credit crunch" recession and worsening economy has had a marked effect. Many of the middle to higher income families that in the past would have selected private or independent schools are now electing to apply for a Community or Voluntary Aided schools. This unplanned "shift" adding to the local placement problem.

Author: Nigel Rumble 12th May 2009

Break or Make News for many Belsize parents this week

For many Belsize parents this week will be a "Make or Break" time of anguish to discover that the "four" choices for LEA Primary School will be turned down with a letter like the extract below taken from many Belsize parents today!

"Reception Coordination September 2009/January 2010.

I am sorry that we were unable to offer a place for childs name at any of the preferred schools listed on your application form."

Parents are being offered only shorter waiting lists for schools miles away from Belsize at Brecknock in N1, Carlton in NW5, Netley in NW1 and so on.

This is a real problem affecting more and more parents in the inner London region and most specifically here in Belsize, which like many other wards in the local area such as Swiss Cottage, does not have a LEA Primary School.

A new school is badly needed here in Belsize as I have campaigned already in the past and blogged before in November 2008. A new school for Belsize was a "key" feature of the Belsize By-election from both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Lets hope that the campaign will become a plan and progress swiftly so that a "new" school in Belsize will be built here soon in the future.

As a School Governor and a parent I understand only too well how difficult a time this is for parents on middle to lower income with no option to send your children to a private school especially here in Belsize where a large number of independent schools are ideally located, but with annual fees of around £12,000 it simply is out of reach of many parents.

Stop Press.. 7th May

Contacted the Camden School Admissions team to discuss this developing trauma for parents. They admit the situation is difficult and that this year the worst on record with the need for primary school access far overstretching demand. It would appear that yet again Belsize is very badly hit with parents requesting places in faith school doing better, especially if application to local school had received a letter from a priest of the local parish.

It would appear that parents are so keen to get a place for their children that apparent spontaneous religious conversions are taking place.

Author: Nigel Rumble

"The Chalcots estate super-saver makeover" Says the Times Newspaper!

"Flats in these four tower blocks get a whole new look for just £30,000 by United House"

I have just stumbled on this incredible story in Times Online, so as to be even handed I present the piece whole (everything in quotes is by the Times Author Kasia Maciejowska).

This piece reads almost like a glossy advertisement by United House as a PR exercise.


"Picture the upheaval involved in refurbishing one kitchen. Then multiply this by 439 and add in bathrooms, central heating, floors and windows that must also be modernised, everything being carried out to a strict budget. In this cost-conscious process, the price of a kitchen can be no more than about £3,000, a fraction of the typical six-figure outlay in a deluxe project such as the Rigby & Rigby house in Eccleston Street, Belgravia."

The Chalcots has 717 properties and even if you subtract the 110 leaseholder properties this gives 607 properties so where does Kasia Maciejowska get 439 from and what happened to the fifth tower block?

"You will then have some idea of the vast and challenging task undertaken every day by United House , the construction group that specialises in the regeneration of tower blocks and other council and social housing."

"You should also bear in mind that one prime objective of the work is the improvement of the energy efficiency of the homes - these have often not been modernised since the 1960s. Note too that only a few elderly or particularly vulnerable tenants will be moved into temporary accommodation for the period of the makeover, which can last for months. The rest remain in their homes and have a say in the proceedings: they are entitled to choose which colour schemes and finishes they prefer, for example. You may then be even more amazed at the good-natured enthusiasm of United House's staff. My impression from a day spent on site at the overhaul of the Chalcots estate in Swiss Cottage, North London, is that these workers always put the tenant first."

This is another incredible PR statement; there has been more complaints from residents in this project than any other comparable PFI project in recent years. The complaints run into the many hundreds, Estate blocks Tenant Representatives are busy chasing all the issues. Yes there have been some successful outcomes for some residents, but a substantial number have outstanding problems, which United House have yet to resolve.

"The £66 million Chalcots project involves recladding four 1960s tower blocks, each 22 storeys high, using weatherproof insulating aluminium and installing new bathrooms, kitchens, heating systems, windows and flooring and completely redecorating 439 out of the 660 flats. The work began in May 2006 and United House is on schedule to complete the project, part of the Government's Decent Homes programme for the improvement of social and housing assocation homes, by January 2010."

Here again we have complete story fabrication, the Chalcots comprises four tower blocks of same design and another of entirely different design. The buildings were completed during the period 1967 - 1968. The true cost of this PFI makeover "contract" is £150 million not £66 million as the Times article makes out. Also the project is not completing to "decent homes" standards but an entirely different protocol. In most cases much of the internals of the properties remain unchanged and undecorated from there 1968 appearance! Furthermore, on three buildings the "new" cladding system is de-laminating after only weeks of being erected by the PFIC. One building has so far been completely re-cladded and another two buildings are awaiting the same re-cladding exercise that will take two months each causing misery for residents.

"Given that the majority of United House's projects are ultimately publicly funded, financial efficiency is paramount. “There's no room for the bad weather excuses that are common in construction,” says Colin Dixon, United House's managing director. The company aims to complete the work on four flats every week (each flat takes 12 days to revamp)."

Complete rubbish, some flats have taken nearly two months to complete, some flats still have not been completed after one year of work.

"So how does United House meet its deadline and cost targets? To provide vast numbers of new kitchens and bathrooms with minimal errors and in a short space of time, it has a warehouse where the items required by each home - some bought in, others manufactured by the company itself - are packed together into individual units for each home. This enables the workmen to assemble the parts swiftly, minimising disruption to the tenants."

Many residents have had to have work re-scheduled multiple times because of unavailability of parts, making there internal disruption extend out to 6 or 8 weeks of work.

"It is a refurbishment production line that has been honed to near-perfection over the 44 years since United House began providing heating for council homes as Harp Heating."

The business of making money. It may be said has been honed out to perfection!

"Tower blocks are relatively easy to refurbish because the flats follow a regular pattern and the buildings are recent. However, in the 1960s, there was little concern for insulation. As a result of the refurbishment, the gas bill of one resident went down by £46 in the most recent quarter."

It is on record at official meetings, which I have attended virtually every one that these flats are a nightmare to work on as there was no thought given during there construction to a infrastructure re-fit. For the first one year of this PFI project hundreds of flats were converted into a virtual submarine by having visible 6 copper pipes for the central heating systems exposed all round the properties. After much protest this has been tidied up to a degree.

On the matter of improved insulation that it is reported by Times Author Kasia Maciejowska one resident's GAS bill is down £46 in the most recent quarter. This is complete hogwash since all residents in the "four" blocks pay for gas as a bulk gas supply from the Council and therefore pay a fixed "unmetered" charge. Only Blashford the "fifth" block that Kasia Maciejowska omitted previously have metered GAS. Yet again a tottaly misleading piece of information being reported!

In point of fact heating costs will be increased substantially by Camden over the next couple of years!

"Doing up period homes in Islington, which house many of the borough's council tenants, is considerably less predictable. United House has revamped 2,350 Victorian homes in Islington so far; each property has to be individually surveyed and its exterior preserved in an appropriate style."

Once again this is far from the truth, PFI Islington known as PFI 1 was beset with even worse problems than the Chalcots. The project reached such a low point that the entire PFI team of managers had to be replaced.

"Some local authorities employ United House directly and others fund the refurbishments through Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs). With PFIs, a bank or private lender funds the project and the Treasury repays the bank as the work is completed. Local authorities bid for PFI funding from the Treasury and companies, such as United House, then bid to the local authorities for contracts."

This at least is an entirely correct statement.

"Winning the contracts for these schemes is a slow process - it took three years to negotiate the Chalcots and the Islington contracts, but these were two of the initial six pilot schemes set up in 2003."

"While many developers struggle through the downturn, United House continues to grow. And as demand for social housing soars, it looks well placed to continue."

I have no reason to doubt that this is true, but at a high cost (stress) to the residents often getting sub-standard works with considerable disruption brought about by poor planning and management.

"Fact Box

Tenants can pick from five colour schemes; men like advice, women know what shades they want

The kitchens are designed around tenants' own appliances

The makeover process is democratic. At Chalcots, tenants voted for the large sitting room windows to be retained to keep the great views"

"Details: www.unitedhouse.net"

The author clearly says it all here.

I have felt it vital to set the record straight having read this piece written by the "Times", clearly its journalistic standard has dropped to a new low point. I will be more than happy to publish a reply from the Times editor, should it be sent to me here.


Written and edited by Nigel Rumble 27th April 2009

Article extracts originaly published in The Times. By Kasia Maciejowska February 6, 2009

DNA pioneer concerned about national database

The pioneer of genetic fingerprinting, Professor Sir Alec Jeffries, has said that the Government is risking public support for the national DNA database by holding innocent people’s records.

Professor Jeffries told the Guardian,

“I have significant concerns there [about the size of the database]. That database is currently populated by an unknown number of entirely innocent people. It is not possible to get an accurate number but it appears to be hundreds of thousands.

“My view is very clear that if you have been convicted of a crime then you owe it to society to be retained on that database for catching in the future should you reoffend. But the retention of entirely innocent people is a whole different issue. There is a sort of presumption here that if they haven’t committed any crime now, then they will in the future.”

Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary said,

“It demonstrates how out of touch the Government is with public opinion when the inventor of genetic fingerprinting has to tell them how unfair the DNA database is.

“It is unacceptable for the state to store the DNA of innocent people. The European Court agrees, Professor Jeffreys agrees and the public agrees. The Government must bring forward concrete proposals to remove the DNA of those that have done nothing wrong.

“Professor Jeffreys is also right to point out that the DNA database is not the flawless crime-fighting tool ministers would have us believe.”

Please help the campaign to protect innocent people’s DNA by signing this petition at: http://ourcampaign.org.uk/dna

Produced by Home Office Watch Friday, April 17th, 2009