July 2010 Archives

An impromptu tea party was thrown for about 80 pensioners in Ladbroke Grove last week.

Age Concern Kensington and Chelsea transformed the empty Ion Bar into a dance hall for the afternoon on Thursday July 22.

Westway Development Trust, the landlords of the empty premises, allowed the charity to use the building free of charge for the event.

The older people then enjoyed tea and cakes, and two hours of dancing to reggae, rock and roll, salsa and country, performed by George and His Friends.

Lak Gill, of Age Concern Kensington and Chelsea, said: "It was a great afternoon. Dancing lifts the spirits and tones the muscles all at the same time."

A bus driver has been disciplined following a road rage incident in which he intimidated and verbally abused a taxi driver.

A passer-by captured the incident on video, just before 1pm on Sunday July 25, when the driver of a number 430 bus was forced to slow down behind a taxi travelling slowly to look for a passenger.

Then as he went to overtake the taxi, in Thurlow Place, South Kensington, he drove slowly alongside it on the wrong side of the road, opened the door and began shouting obscenities, before stopping the bus in the taxi's path, getting out, and continuing to abuse the other driver.

The number of children going to school by car has dropped, while those walking or cycling has increased - a success for the council's school travel plan.

Between the school years 2008/9 and 2009/10, car usage on the school run dropped from 24% of pupils to 20%, equating to 228,000 fewer car journeys a year. This in turn means 57 tonnes less of carbon dioxide.

At the same time, children travelling to school either by foot or by bicycle, rose from 46% to 54%, which works out at more than three million journeys a year.

Kensington and Chelsea Council introduced school travel plans for every school in the borough, alongside walking promotions, cycle and scooter training, parking campaigns and theatre workshops in the schools.

A man who hid several bank accounts while claiming benefits was ordered to do 140 hours community service, and pay more than £8,000 costs.

Ayad Elbedri, formerly of Chatsworth Court, Penbroke Road, North Kensington, admitted seven charges of benefit fraud, totalling £19,000 of deception, at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday July 23.

Kensington and Chelsea Council was alerted to Elbedri's scam when his post was returned from the Chatsworth Court address, and being redirected to Marlborough Hill in Harrow.

Neighbours of the new Chelsea Academy have hit out at plans to hire the building out for community use out of school hours.

They say that the huge windows in the Lots Road building, and the closeness of it to their homes, cause a lack of privacy and out-of-hours use would create extra noise and light pollution.

The £32m academy building is expected to open in time for the new school term in September, but residents say there are aspects of its use that have not been considered, and that it will be a blight on their neighbourhood.

A conman moved into luxury homes in Kensington and Chelsea as a tenant, stole the owners' identities, then sold their properties to net a fortune.

Steven Rice, 43, from Basingstoke, used false names to rent two houses worth a combined total of £5.5m.

He took the identities of his landlords, sold one of the properties for £1.47m and obtained a loan for £500,000 on the other.

Rice was only caught when he tried to transfer the proceeds of the sale into an account in Dubai, and bank staff spotted that he was using a fake driving licence in the name of the 83-year-old owner.

A benefits fraudster was electronically tagged and given an eight-hour curfew after admitting falsely claiming £12,000 in benefits.

Mary Connors of St Charles Square, Notting Hill, appeared at West London Magistrates Court on Tuesday July 27, after claiming the housing and council tax benefits.

Ms Connors had told Kensington and Chelsea Council that her home was overcrowded because her daughter lived there, and demanded they rehouse her.

But after checking her file, officers found that her daughter, who was employed, had never been declared as living in the family home, and that Ms Connors was falsely claiming for benefits which she was not entitled to.

Spend a day making art and craft pieces inspired by Chelsea Physic Garden, including printing, dyeing, painting and model-making.

The art session, for children aged seven and over, is being held in the garden in Royal Hospital Road, on Sunday August 8, at 10.30am.

It costs £5.50 to take part, and pre-booking is recommended.

For more information, call 020 7352 5646 or visit www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk.

The annual canvass to update the Register of Electors will begin in August, with forms delivered to each house to check for eligible voters.

Forms will be going through letterboxes between August 13 and 23, and the information provided by residents will be used to put together a revised register, which will be published in December.

The forms are pre-printed with the details of those already registered at the address, and come with a pre-paid envelope for return.

Any households who have not returned forms by the end of September will receive a personal visit from the council.

The children's services teams for children with disabilities and behaviour family support are moving offices on Monday August 2.

The services are moving from Kensington Town Hall to the Isaac Newton Centre in Lancaster Road, just off Ladbroke Grove.

The teams can be contacted by phoning 020 7361 3013.