Delays on advertising our application for a Neighbourhood Forum

Apologies for the delay in the start of the 6 week consultation period on the application that we (and Woodlands Area Residents) have submitted to our two local councils, for a new Neighbourhood Forum for the area.

It has become clear that Hammersmith and Fulham Council were not geared up for the start of the new powers under the Localism Act.  This part of the Act came into effect on April 6th 2012, but the council does not yet have arrangements or a staff team in place to handle applications for designation.

RB Kensington & Chelsea, on the other hand, were well prepared. They already have one such consultation exercise in progress (for the Norland Society) and were ready to advertise our applicatiion on their website (as the Act requires) within days of its submission.  But they wanted to wait for LBHF so that the 6 week periods could run concurrently.

We have now asked RBKC to go ahead, and for LBHF to follow when they are ready.  It is a month since the application was submitted, and the Act requires councils to advertise such proposals ‘as soon as possible’.  A delay of a month to carry out a simple task is not impressive.

There will be a stall at the Helens Festival on June 9th (in St Helens Gardens) at which the public will have the opportunity to suggest issues that should be covered in the Neighbourhood Plan.  We hope that by then both councils will have published our application and started the 6 week consultation period on the proposed new St Quintin and Woodlands Neighbourhood Forum.

A regular open meeting of the St Helens Residents Association, at 4pm on June 30th in the St Helens Church Hall, will then provide the next occasion to discuss ideas for the plan.

Details of the application, including a map of the neighbourhood plan area and the proposed constitution for the new Forum, can be accessed from the links in the posting below.

 

 

Neighbourhood Forum application submitted

We have now submitted our application for a St Quintin and Woodlands Neighbourhood Forum.  The two councils involved (RBKC and LBHF) are being a bit slow about posting it on their websites, but it should appear next week.  There will then be a 6 week consultation period before a decision on the application is issued.

The details are as in the post below, which gives links to documents that you can download.