Mr C. is 54 years old and had a history of working in retail, although it was not a job role he enjoyed much. However his working life was disrupted when he needed to care for his ailing mother and this involved a long trip to the Caribbean. On his return he found it hard to get a job. He was not eligible for Job Seeker’s Allowance because his wife is working. My C. started to become quite despondent about the prospect of work.

Fortunately Open Age, an organisation within the Westminster Works partnership, was able to help. Using their professional networks, Open Age staff got to hear of a possible role as a courrier for an agency that needed a responsible person to carry passports and visas to and fro to the Passport Office. Rather than wait for the job to be advertised, Mary at Open Age constructed a possible ‘person spec’ for the role and sent it to the potential employers asking: ‘Is this what you are looking for? If so, I have a suitable person.’

This bold initiative paid off and Mr C. is now in his second week of full time work with the agency.

This is the first job for the new Westminster Works, a project funded by ESF and Westminster Council to help people who live in the Council’s Neighbourhood Renewal estates to find work. The project plans to place over 400 people into work over the next year.

For more information, please contact Jessica Pickard.  07960672629 or jessica@pdt.org.uk

The programme is funded through Westminster City Council and the European Social Fund

To find out more about Westminster Works drop into the Church Street Neighbourhood Office at 88 Church Street or  email Jessica Pickard or call  020 3214 3113

Starting in January Westminster Works will be open for business, providing advice, access to skills and job opportunities for local people.

Watch this space for further news!

Each four hour session is a masterclass on how to make your favourite Ida pastas and sugos. You will then sit down and enjoy together to eat the pasta you have just made! The classes are open both to beginners and more experienced cooks, and will be run by Avi and Ida’s chef, Giacomo Matera. You will also leave with a recipe sheet and certificate.

Workshops are 4 Time Credits per person with a limited number of places available per class. Contact harriet@justaddspice.org for workshop details.

Crossrail’s First TBM Reaches Paddington

Crossrail’s first tunnel boring machine (TBM), Phyllis, has successfully reached Paddington, having travelled 750 metres from Royal Oak.

A second, TBM, Ada, has broken ground at Royal Oak Portal and commenced tunnelling towards Paddington.

Keith Sibley, Crossrail Area Director West said: “Our first TBM, Phyllis, has now successfully reached Paddington having carefully navigated under London Underground’s Hammersmith & City line and the Great Western Main Line. A second TBM, Ada, has now commenced tunnelling. Once Ada has made sufficient progress, Phyllis will move forward through the Paddington station box onwards to Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road and then Farringdon. The tunnels between Royal Oak and Farringdon will be completed in late 2013.”

Over 12,000 segments have now been produced at the Old Oak Common concrete segment plant for the western tunnels. A total of 3,680 segments have been used to construct the western tunnels to-date.

Work to install the major conveyor system behind the TBMs will complete once Ada is fully below ground. A total of 24 kilometres of conveyer belt will be used to remove excavated material from the western tunnels.

Rail sidings have been constructed to allow freight trains operated by GB Railfreight to access Westbourne Park to transport the excavated material to Northfleet, Kent from where it will be shipped to Wallasea Island in Essex to create a RSPB nature reserve. A total of 66,000 tonnes of excavated material has been transported to Northfleet so far.

Two kilometres of 900mm narrow gauge tunnel railway has been also laid from Westbourne Park to enable tunnel locomotives to transport materials and supplies into and out of the tunnel.

Eight tunnel boring machine will be used to construct 21 kilometres (13 miles) of Crossrail’s twin bore tunnels running between Royal Oak in west London and Pudding Mill Lane and Plumstead in east London.

A further two tunnel boring machines, Elizabeth and Victoria, are currently being assembled at Limmo Peninsula beside Canning Town station for the eastern tunnels between Docklands and Farringdon. Tunnelling is due to commence at Limmo Peninsula this winter.

A fifth TBM, Sophia has recently completed factory testing. Early next year Sophia will begin constructing the 2.6km Thames Tunnel between Plumstead and North Woolwich. ]]> http://www.pdt.org.uk/2012/09/local-tunnel-boring-with-phyllis/feed/ 0 http://www.pdt.org.uk/2012/05/yes-historic-result-for-queens-park/ http://www.pdt.org.uk/2012/05/yes-historic-result-for-queens-park/#comments Tue, 29 May 2012 11:36:37 +0000 Fabian Third Avenue http://www.pdt.org.uk/?p=883

Queen’s Park residents in north Westminster have voted ‘yes’ in a referendum to decide whether to establish a Community Council, better known as a Parish Council. The new council will be London’s first parish council since 1963, when parishes were abolished to make way for the Greater London Council.

The result was announced at 6pm this evening at Marylebone town hall. 1100 residents or 68% voted yes, 508 or 32% voted no. The turnout was around 20%, with 1608 votes cast (compared with 33% voting in Queen’s Park ward in the mayoral/GLA vote on May 3). The referendum was conducted by postal vote.

68.4% vote YES

Standing outside Marylebone town hall where Westminster City Council chief executive Mike More announced the result, Angela Singhate, who chairs the group of residents who have campaigned for the new council for two years, said “What a great result. The campaign group has been confident all along that a Community Council is the way forward for Queen’s Park and this result demonstrates that we have the backing of the wider community. The journey towards establishing a parish council here in north Westminster continues.”

Something very exciting is happening in Queen’s Park

Campaign vice-chair Emma Sweeney, who has five generations of her family living in the area, said “It’s been such hard work and now it’s all worth it. I’m looking forward to moving on to the next step and getting down to work.”

The community council campaign is not party political but has enjoyed support from local MP Karen Buck and ward councillors. Karen Buck said: “Something very exciting is happening in Queen’s Park.  I am incredibly proud of the community and of those who have thrown themselves with such enthusiasm into preparing for community self-government. I am looking forward to working with them for a safer, healthier and happier Queen’s Park.”

Ward councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, who leads the Labour minority group on Westminster City Council, said: “This is a great result for the Queen’s Park community and a well-deserved success for the campaign team. We look forward to working closely with the new Community Council so that together we can make Queen’s Park an even better place to live.”

Neil Johnson, chief executive of Paddington Development Trust, a social enterprise that has supported the campaign group throughout, said: “This is an exciting day for London. The Queen’s Park Community Council’s referendum success points to a long awaited reform of local government and transfer of fiscal power to local people. The commitment of Queen’s Park residents to the future of their neighbourhood will serve as a working example to others. Well done to the many people who have taken part.”

A formal decision will be taken at a special meeting of Westminster Council on 25th June. Deputy Leader for Westminster City Council, Cllr Robert Davis said: “I am delighted that the residents of Queen’s Park have given a clear endorsement to the proposal for the community council. For Westminster to have the first parish council in London for fifty years would be a fitting endorsement of the Government’s ambitions for localism and neighbourhood engagement.”

VOTE YES! Keep your eyes out for your voting slip in the post.

Campaigners will be going door to door and running information stalls throughout May explaining how a Community Council will work and why it is so important for our neighbourhood. For more information or to ask any questions please phone 020 8964 8024, email campaign4queenspark@gmail.com or drop in to Office 1 at the Beethoven Centre on Third Avenue.

HAVE YOUR SAY!

This VT was made by local photographer and lifetime chronicler of Paddington community action, Philip Wolmuth.  It captures Paddington residents’ feelings about social action in neighbourhoods where they live.

Making Localism Work from Philip Wolmuth on Vimeo.

The  conference highlighted:

Accountability – this was the term most referenced on flip-charts, and was clearly felt to be essential in any new ‘local’ model of delivery or engagement.

Support, Advice and Training – A recognition that local people will need support, advice and training in order to engage and involve themselves in co-designing services or in direct delivery.

Infrastructure, information and networking – A belief that this work needs infa-structure support to help ensure information sharing and networking.

Sustainability and Resources – A strong call for any new processes to have sustainability and for resources to be provided to ensure this can happen over the long-term.  Support for increased volunteering but with paid staff alongside.

Local people do know best – A strong sense that local people do know what it best and have ideas, passions and energies that should be harnessed.

Click here for the discussion and debate notes of the conference.  Also available are the agenda, biographies of the speakers and panelists, a background paper and speakers’ slides.  You can also listen to an edited audio recording of Jonathan Carr-West and Angela Singhate.

Click here for information on our 2009 Community Conference.

PDT WESTWORKS is working in partnership with Maximus, a successful US-based Work Programme Prime, and with Westminster Kingsway College providing jobs and training to people currently on the government’s Work Program, and others looking for training and employment.

The key to the Work Programme  will be businesses and employers across London turning increasingly to experienced local advisors, mentors and job brokers to help fill vacancies in all sectors.

WESTWORKS provides this experience to satisfied employers and is a trusted place for unemployed people to begin and share their journey.

for more information go to:http://www.pdt.org.uk/training-employment/

WESTWORKS

Helping London to Work