Camden Council Launch New Data Website

Camden Council have launched a new data website where you can find information, statistics and key documents about the London Borough of Camden.

Camden Data brings together in one place information from across the public sector, including our NHS and Police partners.

You can use it to search for local information about your area, or for information and statistics about the whole of the borough of Camden.

The information covers every aspect of the borough, from school admissions, recycling and social care, to parks, libraries and highways.

The website has been created as part of our commitment to being an open and transparent organisation. It will make it easier for you to find information and statistics about the services we provide, how we spend money and how well we are performing.

Visit Camden Data

Camden’s housing strategy 2011-2016

Camden Council have announced the housing strategy for 2011-2016 and are interested in the Views of Camden Residents. To assess and plan for the current and future housing needs of Camden residents, the council have agreed th following;

• make the best use of existing housing in the borough,
• increase the supply of new housing where possible,
• deliver housing support services to those most in need,
• effectively manage our neighbourhoods and housing environments.

You can fill in the questionnaire for Camden’s housing strategy 2011-2016 online.

Camden and Islington Councils Share Plans Shelved

A cost-cutting plan that would have seen Camden and Islington councils share a single chief executive has been dropped – amid rumours of a “personality clash”, reports the Camden Gazette.

Both councils need to make cuts of up to £100million each over the three years from 2011 to 2014 and it had been hoped that this groundbreaking plan would have helped them save vital funds.

Islington’s current chief executive, John Foster, is already due to retire next year and Camden’s chief executive, Moira Gibb, had been poised to take on the extra responsibility.

But now it has emerged that the plan to share a single chief executive and senior management team has been shelved.

In a joint statement, Camden and Islington councils said the plan would not have delivered savings quickly enough.

They said: “While it is clear that both Camden and Islington face an unprecedented challenge to plug large budget deficits, actual savings would not be delivered until years three and four or later.

Camden Music Month

On 1 October Camden’s libraries, parks, museums, and famous live venues came alive with the sound of music as the Mayor launches his month of music.

In every neighbourhood a range of musical activities will be on offer to excite and inspire local residents, old and young. Highlights include a Cavatina family music concert at Swiss Cottage library, jazz favourite Sarah Moule at Lauderdale House, the legendary Shirley Collins at Cecil Sharp House, and hip hop act Lyrical Alliance at the Roundhouse.

In total, Camden hosts 15% of Inner London, and 10% of greater London’s music and visual, performing arts sector. Music and visual performing arts is a key sub-sector for the borough with just under 1000 businesses, making up 27% of the borough’s businesses. Creative and cultural industries in Camden provide about 40,600 direct employment opportunities.

Camden Council Conservation of London’s Historic Areas

Camden Council has today introduced tighter measures to protect 9,500 properties in three of its most historic conservation areas.

Belsize, Hampstead and Swiss Cottage are unique and attractive conservation areas but their historic appearance is being gradually eroded by unsympathetic alterations. Ornate boundary walls, cast iron railings and green front gardens are the features most commonly lost, followed by timber sash windows, panelled front doors and decorative work.

Tighter planning controls now require residents in these areas to make a planning application if they want to replace or remove historic features on the front of their property. Like-for-like repair and replacement is allowed without an application, to encourage residents to retain these special elements.

Detailed guidance has been prepared to help builders, architects and developers undertake sensitive repair and reinstatement.

Camden Council Budget Cuts

Camden Council plans aimed at easing the crisis include the possible resource-sharing plan with other boroughs and Labour leaders of Islington, Haringey and Hackney met up with the Camden leadership to discuss their options.

Camden will also try to save cash by encouraging people to cross what Labour members are calling the “digital divide”, asking residents to deal with the council wherever possible over the internet to save the labour and administrative costs of face to face transactions. There are plans to make help available for people to get more web-savvy and funding for open-to-all UK Online computer centres will be reviewed.

Other measures include scrutinising the use of consultants and a possible attempt to raise money by reviewing its £1billion property portfolio. Council homes are not for sale under the new adminstration but commercial buildings and unwanted offices could be. Twice weekly rubbish collections will be cut to one.

Council tax, however, will remain frozen.

Camden Council Announce Re Opening of Kentish Town Baths

Camden Council announce that after major refurbishment, Kentish Town sports centre will officially re-open for operation on Monday 26 July, 2010.

To coincide with two years until the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we are holding a free open weekend Saturday 24 – Sunday 25 July. Everybody is invited to come and tour the impressive centre before it re-opens.

Book your free tour today

Saturday 24 July 12 noon – 4pm
Sunday 25 July 10am – 4pm

As places are limited we advise that you book your tour in advance

London Council Tax 0.1% Rise

Council Tax in England will rise this year by the smallest amount since the tax was introduced in 1993, according to the country’s most authoritative survey, released today by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).

The CIPFA survey shows that England will see a rise in the 2010/11 Band D average bill of 1.8% to £1,438.72. The rise in 2009/10 was 3.0% (£1,413.84) which was itself the lowest rise for 15 years.

London councils are recording the lowest rises of any region with many councils, particularly those in inner London, freezing or reducing their Council Tax levels. Overall, households in the capital can expect to see a small 0.1% increase.

English regions outside London will be subject to higher rises, with the South West expected to see the highest increase of 2.5%. The average increase outside London is 2.1%.

The survey predicts that Welsh Council Tax payers will have a rise in the Band D average bill of 3.6%, the highest in the UK. This will mean an average Band D payment of £1,125.77, which is still £312.95 lower than the average in England.

Most Scottish councils are expected to maintain a freeze on Council Tax levels for 2010.

The CIPFA survey, carried out in conjunction with the BBC, analysed the Council Tax settlements of more than half of English and Welsh local authorities, in what is the most comprehensive and accurate examination of town hall finances for the coming year.

Ian Carruthers, CIPFA’s Head of Policy said:

‘This 1.8% rise demonstrates that local politicians have generally heeded Government calls to avoid large increases. However, councils will be facing increasing financial pressures in the coming years, which could result in cuts in some services.’

London Councils Lose Money Selling Homes Through Auctions

London councils are losing £10million a year by selling properties through auctions rather than estate agents, new figures show.

Cash-strapped boroughs want to get money quickly to plough back into redeveloping other, cheaper homes to ease overcrowding.

A total of 400 homes were sold at auction in the past three years, generating nearly £160million for boroughs. But experts estimate that is about £32million less than if the sales had gone through estate agents.

The most active boroughs were Camden, Wandsworth and Lambeth. Last year alone, Lambeth – which is facing a fraud inquiry into a £22million overspend on housing budgets – sold 56 homes at an average of £135,000.

Wandsworth sold 88 homes over three years, making £37.8 million. Camden, where more than 18,000 people are waiting for a council house, raised £33.8million from 56 homes.

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London Schools

The scramble for school places every September is always a fairly desperate affair, as parents jump through hoops to secure a place for their child at the school of their choice. Around one in 10 faces disappointment, and in some parts of the country, as many as one in five fail to get into one of their preferred schools.

This year the situation has deteriorated even further. The increased pressure is a result of a a rise in birth rates combined with the pressure on household budgets, meaning that fewer parents can afford to send their child to private school. In the London Borough of Richmond, for example, there has been an 8% drop in the number of children going to private school.

Some councils are short of places overall. A report by London Councils reveals a shortfall of 2,250 places in this financial year. The government has announced extra funding, but as there are unlikely to be any simple solutions in the short term, the pressure for schools will be greater than ever.

The best schools, of course, are even harder to get into. A Guardian survey in March this year into secondary-school choice found that roughly 100,000 children don’t get into their first choice of school. But this varies across the country: in Suffolk, for example, 99% of pupils go to their first-choice school, while in Wandsworth it’s only 53.3%.

Primary schools can be difficult too. A 2009 Press Association survey shows that more than 16,800 children failed to get a reception class place at their parents’ preferred school.

So how can you find the best school for your child? The fight starts with research. The government has a website where you can feed in your postcode, and it will tell you which schools are closest. It will also have a link to their Ofsted report and the school website, where you can find out more about the school’s ethos, and its strengths and weaknesses, as well as its academic results.

Camden Primary Schools