Category Archives: Issues

Belsize Society Newsletter August 2024

Welcome to the August Newsletter of the Belsize Society.

This Newsletter also advertises the next Society local history walk, led by Averil Nottage. 

Averil has also written an article about the Victorians that shaped Belsize, the topic for her walk, and exploring how much of Belsize looks as it does today because of decisions made in Victorian times.  On the walk and in her articles, we’re introduced to three builders, each favouring different styles. You’ll also find out about the Vicar who contributed substantially to the cost of St Peter’s Church and preached powerful and passionate sermons there until he was 92. Do book your place now on eventbrite.

Last Newsletter, we described how the Society honoured David Percy, local historian, for his considerable work featuring the area. In this Newsletter, we interview him and he describes both his career and the background to his latest book.

The architectural heritage of the area was celebrated at the Isokon’s 90 birthday event. This iconic building is one of only two Grade 1 listed apartment blocks in the country and we have an article about the celebrations as it ends its ninth decade.

The Newsletter includes some updates about Society business. We are also updating the website and plans for this are described. At the last AGM, we decided to raise membership fees and the next steps on this are outlined. We would really appreciate members taking a few minutes to update their standing orders with the Society for next year. There is also an update from Camden Council about their residential air quality monitoring initiatives.

Enjoy this Newsletter.

Local History Walk, 29 September: Victorians who shaped Belsize

BOOK YOUR PLACE!

To book your place for Averil’ Nottage’s walk “Victorians who shaped Belsize as we know it today” register on Eventbrite or through contacting us (back page).

For 11am, 29 Sept: https://belsize-society-local-walk2024-1.eventbrite.co.uk

For 2.30pm, on the same day, the link is: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/belsize-society-local-history-walk-tickets-951863408077

Monitoring air quality in your own home

Camden Council’s Clean Air team writes:

Would you like to know what the air quality is like in your home? We now spend 80-90% of our time indoors and certain indoor environments can be even more polluted than outside. Because of this, it is becoming increasingly important to understand our indoor air quality and to take simple steps to breathe cleaner air indoors. We are offering residents the opportunity to borrow a free indoor air quality monitor for 4 weeks that measures and displays some of the common types of air pollution. 

If you are interested, please email AirQuality@Camden.gov.uk or speak to a member of the team by calling 020 7974 8896.  

WISH Plus: Improving Access to Services

WISH Plus is a Camden Council referral service covering Warmth, Income, Safety and Health.  You can refer yourself or someone else to get access to a range of services.  You don’t need to know all the services available through WISH Plus to refer, just that the person you are referring might need some support to improve their health and wellbeing.

WISH Plus puts people in touch with the services they need after discussing these with them first.  They are not emergency call out services and some services do have eligibility criteria so they are not available to all.

Services include a well and warm home energy efficiency improvements visit; a telephone energy advice service; home security check and free provision and installation of measures such as door locks, spy holes and window restrictors; a free fire safety visit, including installation and the provision of a smoke detector; free provision and installation of stair gates for those with a child aged four and under; and carers’ support.

Find out more about what is offered by going to www.camden.gov.uk/wish-plus#eojt or phoning 020 7974 3012.

Consultations about planning applications

There are two live local planning applications which are of interest. The Society is conveying its concerns about the exterior changes planned as Leyland Paint Store take over a shop on Haverstock Hill. BelSoc’s planning committee member, Alan Selwyn, highlighted to the Ham & High the tackiness of the six illuminated cold white LED signs and vinyl stickers blanking out windows for the area. He has also objected to the Council for the Society.

Development at the 100 Avenue Road site stalled after planning was approved with the site remaining a building site for the past few years. Regal London have outlined their future plans at local events. These informal consultations usually precede a formal planning application.

BelSoc’s online presence: time for a refresh

Websites need refreshing every so often and now is the time to review and update the BelSoc site. It needs to be a more dynamic portal for interacting with users and attracting new members. We need to be able to join, pay our subscriptions, book events, learn about local issues and find information more easily. The membership details need to be held on a secure database linked to the site. The Committee needs an area for their business. 

We want to keep the site simple, elegant and gimmick-free and also to use some of the wonderful images from the existing site. We also want to keep costs down and will probably use an open-source platform such as WordPress with its wide choice of easy-to-use themes and plugins. We have been well-served by the present provider which has considerable experience providing charity sites very economically. They understand our needs and sticking to an existing provider is usually the most efficient way to get what is needed when good relations already exist. 

We also need a social media presence and will first set up a Facebook page and look into other options. 

Alan Selwyn and Heather Harte have recently joined the committee and are leading this review and are keen to hear members’ views and suggestions. Send them to info@belsize.org.uk.

Belsize Society Newsletter May 2024

Welcome to the May Newsletter of the Belsize Society.

The Newsletter includes updates from the Retrofitting Group, who recently visited a Council-managed refurb project in Belsize and who report on the improvements being made at 5-7 Belsize Grove. These homes will have solar, insulation, double glazing and enhanced thermal performance.

We are also supporting the Council in a bid for a retrofit accelerator. Securing funding will mean a series of workshops that would bring together residents with planners, retrofitting experts and other organisations to understand how to reduce the hurdles for those seeking to make old buildings more sustainable. This all occurs as the local Pears Building of the Royal Free wins an award citing its contribution to sustainability.

It was a pleasure to present David Percy with an award on behalf of the Society for his contribution to local history. Over the last decades we have seen Belsize through his lens, and his writing. The Newsletter also covers his most recent, remarkable, contribution: a book covering 100 houses in Belsize and neighbouring areas.

We held our AGM in March, and a new committee was put in place. This issue covers the discussion at the meeting. We have begun to follow up a request from members that we allow them to choose not to receive a paper Newsletter. There was also a desire to change the name of our popular Traders You Can Trust. This is the new name of TYCT,  replacing Tradesmen, and you’ll have received the 2024 edition with this Newsletter.

There is a piece about what’s on at the Hampstead Theatre and the exhibition at the Isokon. We also provide an update on the Council’s removal of paper visitor permits for general use by residents.

Details of the venue of the summer party are in the Newsletter. We will confirm the date electronically. 

Enjoy this Newsletter.

The LARA Project 

Chris Langdon, Retrofit Group Member, writes:

Are you considering improving your home to cut fuel costs or reduce draughts, but not sure how to find the right suppliers? Are you are concerned about contradictory messages from Camden about what you are allowed to do in a Conservation Area like Belsize? 

If so, join the club! 

That’s why the Belsize Society has recently set up an informal group of members who plan to retrofit their homes.  The group met on 30 April in the Washington pub. We discussed Camden Council’s call for support for its bid to join a new project designed to overcome some of the blockages making domestic retrofit so hard.   Camden is applying to be one of three Councils to pilot the new Local Area Retrofit Accelerator. It’s called LARA for short. 

The LARA pilot project will also aim to set up local delivery groups, which will aim to turn the plan into substantive action, working with local supply chains, businesses, colleges and installers.

For the LARA pilot, the initial funding would go to Camden – if they are successful. Camden’s bid would, they say, “allow residents and local groups to work together to develop an action plan to accelerate domestic retrofit in Camden.”  A main plank of Camden’s bid are a series of workshops in the autumn.  They ask organisations like Belsize Society to commit to engage seriously with the co-designing and participating in the workshops. 

Having offered our support to Camden in principle, we will wait to see if Camden’s bid to join the LARA pilot is successful.

PARKING SCRATCHCARD UPDATE 

Camden Council’s decision to scrap visitor parking scratchcards for general use has not changed. However, there remain ways to obtain cards for residents that find using the online options impossible, by calling Camden Council on 020 7974 4646. Members have reported that once any difficulties accessing visitor parking permits have been explained, permits can be ordered.

In the next months, the Council is monitoring how the “digital first” policy on visitor parking permits is operating. We continue to collect observations from members on how they are finding the new systems. Comments on the convenience of the scratchcards, and their importance to local businesses, have been made to BelSoc. 

So far, comments have indicated frustrations with the Camden online system – “going to my Camden Council account…  Sadly, I got nowhere”. The difficulty with accessing services through the internet more generally has also arisen: “(we) are over 78, …(and) I use email but find it very difficult to use any online system to scan or log on”.

At the recent Camden Cabinet meeting on parking policy, the Council parking team undertook to work with resident organisations to make sure the new policy operates without imposing a digital divide on accessing visitor parking permits. We continue to seek your views on this matter.

BelSoc Annual General Meeting

This year’s AGM was held at Belsize Square Synagogue on Sunday 12 March, with about 50 members attending.

The Chair reported on the year, noting the sad loss of our Treasurer at the start of 2023, and the steps that had to be taken to fill the substantial gap for the Society. Eva Papadopoulou was welcomed as the new treasurer.

The year saw a successful historic walk and a well-attended carol singing event. The Society was also able to co-host a talk with the Friends of the Belsize Community Library, also contributing to the Library’s refurbishment. The Society had also continued its initiative supporting retrofits. 

The Society’s finances remain healthy, and there were donations to local charities. In the context of rising costs, discussion about raising the annual subscription fee to £20 led to a resolution enabling the committee to raise 2025 subs. There was also the suggestion that the committee consider how printing costs may be reduced through electronic publications. 

A new committee was agreed, and – soon after this year’s AGM – the committee has been joined by two further co-opted members, Heather Harte and Alan Selwyn.