April/May 2007 - London Borough of Hillingdon

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community Hillingdon is... Following a successful pilot in Townfield, a new initiative aimed at improving local areas is being rolled out across the borough. Focussing on engagement, education and enforcement the Streets Ahead initiative is being led by the council and involves a range of partners – including the Metropolitan Police, Safer Neighbourhoods Teams, London Fire Brigade, Hillingdon Homes, Driver and Vehicle Operator Services agency (VOSA), Probation Service, Department of Work and Pensions, and the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency). Over 30 council teams took part in the activities completed as part of the Townfield pilot, which included truancy sweeps, graffiti removal, community litter picks, car park and street cleansing, bulky waste removal, advice on claiming benefits, how to fireproof your home and safer neighbourhood teams advice surgeries.There were also vehicle inspections, food outlet and health and safety inspections, highways and utilities enforcement, park patrols and much much more. Cllr Sandra Jenkins, Cabinet member for environment, said: “The day was a huge success and I would like to thank everyone who took part. I was very impressed with the way a wide range of agencies worked closely together to improve the quality of life for residents in Townfield.This is an excellent initiative and will make Hillingdon a cleaner, greener and safer place for people to live.” Some of the actions that took place in Townfield on the first Streets Ahead day: • Large scale graffiti removed from 42 locations • Over 300 tonnes of waste removed, 95% of which was bulky household waste. • 3 untaxed and 1 abandoned vehicles removed. • The council’s environmental health team visited 29 premises on the day. One catering food business closed down and one retail food business volunteered to close due to the discovery of heavy infestation of pests. • Trading standards visited 17 premises and all 17 were served with corrective notices to make improvements in relation to weighing equipment and pricing. • During truancy checks eight children thought to be truants were stopped by school welfare officers. Letters will be sent to schools and parents informed – which the council will be following up. • Three dog owners were giving dog fouling warnings and two other owners were asked to put their dogs on leads. • The DVLA stopped approximately 46 untaxed vehicles. Contacts For more information on Streets Ahead visit www.hillingdon.gov.uk/ streetsahead or email streetsahead@hillingdon.gov.uk 14 • April/May 2007
Getting to grips with graffiti feature Most view graffiti tags as eyesores that blight communities. This view is reflected in the sheer volume of reports that the council’s graffiti removal team receives from residents. But Hillingdon is a step closer to winning the battle against this unsightly criminal damage following the appointment of dedicated anti-graffiti officer, PC Barry Cilia. PC Cilia will coordinate the borough’s graffiti action plan, working with local residents and the council, who fund his post.The council is determined to crack down on prolific taggers and hopes PC Cilia’s appointment will mean better use of intelligence and more prosecutions. He will also develop a database of graffiti hotspots, help to secure warrants for more arrests of taggers and their ‘crews’, and work with schools as a preventative approach. PC Cilia has worked for the metropolitan police for 12 years, and was most recently on the Uxbridge Safer Neighbourhoods team.“I’m thoroughly committed to tackling the problem of graffiti in the borough, so am very much looking forward to starting my new role”, he says.“There is already a lot of information and intelligence on the problem – what is needed now is somebody to convert it into hard evidence, and this is where I come in.” Cllr Sandra Jenkins, Cabinet member for environment, is just as PC Cilia’s first day at work coincided with the first ever Streets Ahead in Townfield, where he spent the day handing out the council’s new free graffiti removal kits. optimistic. “Dealing with graffiti is a high priority for the council, as removing it costs us a huge amount of money,” she says. “The police’s safer neighbourhoods initiative has made a noticeable difference in many parts of the borough, but we really want to toughen up on enforcement now and are looking forward to what PC Cilia will help us to achieve.” What can you do? The council is offering free graffiti removal kits to Neighbourhood Watch groups and street champions. They are designed to deal with small areas of graffiti that don’t need highpressure washing. If you have use for one of the kits, call the council on 01895 556 247 and enquire about becoming a street champion. PC Cilia’s top tips for keeping areas graffiti-free: • Plant a hedge or a hanging or climbing plant in front of the fence or wall. • Install a trellis to create an uneven surface. • Increase visibility at night by installing a light – ones with sensors are good as they only activate if somebody approaches. • Protect exposed walls and fences with a graffiti protection product. Check the Yellow Pages for suppliers. • Paint walls or fences in dark colours such as brown or green. Any graffiti will be much easier to cover using just one coat of paint than if the surface is a lighter colour than the graffiti. • If you have a brick wall that is being tagged, consider painting it. A painted wall will be easier to keep graffiti-free because tags can simply be painted over. • Always remove or report graffiti as soon as possible, preferably within 24 hours, because one tag often attracts others. April/May 2007 • 15
Page 1 and 2: Council magazine of the year www.hi
Page 3 and 4: April/May contents cover stories 7
Page 5 and 6: New agreement for Uxbridge town cen
Page 7 and 8: Council services improving Environm
Page 9 and 10: Fight against Heathrow expansion co
Page 11 and 12: Hillingdon feature And with England
Page 13: Get set - go! leisure PE lessons ha
Page 17 and 18: Could you be a school governor? Wit
Page 19 and 20: environment A breath of fresh air A
Page 21 and 22: ingdon’s green spaces Green Space
Page 23 and 24: Hillingdon’s young people get inv
Page 25 and 26: Spring is in the air events A packe
Page 27 and 28: Time on your hands? volunteers Temp
Page 29 and 30: Useful information Contacting the c
Page 31: arts events in Hillingdon children

April/May 2007 - London Borough of Hillingdon

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