There will be a LINk in each local authority area and they will be run by local people. It is envisioned that the LINk will bring together individuals, voluntary organisations and community groups in order to give the community a stronger voice.

 LINks will have statutory powers to assist them with their work. For example, entering and viewing certain premises where services and care are provided, requesting information from service providers, and making recommendations and receiving a response within a specific timescale.

Although the Westminster LINk will not be fully established until September 2008, it has already begun to build a membership database. LINks will be made up of volunteers from the local community who are passionate about improving health and social care.

Anyone can join the LINk, no experience working in health or social care necessary. Membership is flexible; levels of involvement could range from attending meetings in public and giving your views to taking in part in an inspection of a hospital ward or GP surgery.

The Westminster LINk is in the early stages of planning. No decisions have been made yet regarding the LINk and its agenda. There will be two consultation events to allow people in Westminster an opportunity to shape what the Westminster LINk will look like, to ensure that the LINK reflects what local people want.

   245 Old Marylebone Road                        34 Great Smith Street

   London, NW1 5QT                                      London, SW1P 3BU

If you would like to book a place at either event please contact Gayle Muers on 020 7535 0499 or gmuers@vawcvs.org or Jill Mulelly on 020 7535 0487 or jmulelly@vawcvs.org

Westminster City Council is to give ward councillors access to their own budgets to recommend spend on local projects, including Bayswater.

The £2million initiative is part of the authority’s plan to take local democracy to the next level and through its One City programme the council now wants to give a greater voice to local communities by creating a new constitutional settlement aimed at empowering ward councillors to act as champions for their area.

Westminster Council will give each ward an annual budget of £100,000 for local initiatives. The plans, which were agreed by cabinet last night (Monday, 12 November) also include the introduction of an annual "state of the neighbourhood" forum, which would take the form of a local public meeting for councillors, residents and local businesses to set out their priorities for the area.

To make the programme work efficiently, each of Westminster’s 20 wards would be allocated one of the council’s top officers to “unblock” local issues by brokering action with departments across the authority.

There will also be a new development package for councillors to equip them with the skills and knowledge to handle their new frontline role.

Cllr Daniel Astaire, Westminster City Council’s Cabinet Member for Customer and Community Services, said:

"The successful councils of the 21st Century will be built around strong neighbourhoods and communities. And strong communities can only emerge if councils are responsive to their needs.

An Interview with John Zamit
The interview is also published on www.whiteleys.com

John Zamit, Chairman of the South East Bayswater Residents Association (SEBRA), once worked for Wonderbra and he still holds to the salesman’s mantra: “We care about the shape you’re in.”

I imagine they say ‘It’s bloody John Zamit again,
but unfortunately he’s right!’

Which is why the area he calls “the Kingdom of Bayswater” has no graffiti, fly posters or huge advertising hoardings. Signage, shop fronts and road markings are in good condition. Disability access is excellent and lighting has improved 99.5% thanks to SEBRA, he reckons.

Oh, and the area is full of foliage. “We are big in tree planting,” says Zamit. “You’ll find a tree everywhere a tree will go.”

He describes himself as solidly against solid roller shutters because, aesthetically, they are ‘dead’ frontage and they attract graffiti attacks. He is anti low-level satellite dishes, challenging engineers (quite often button-holing them in person!) not to take the easier option but to get them up and out of sight on the roofs. He believes his domain started practising the so-called “broken windows theory” (whereby you pay attention to fixing the smallest broken window to prevent a contagious atmosphere of petty crime and neglect) long before it was so famously espoused by Rudy Giuliano, when he was Mayor of New York.

Zamit, whose background is in property, joined the SEBRA committee 15 years ago. Two years ago he became chairman. With his robust presence – he claims he used to send 5,000 complaints to Westminster City Council a year, but it’s “a bit better now” – the amenity group have scored some significant victories on behalf of the 1,000-plus residents they represent.

A decade or so ago, they saw off a rock venue mooted for the currently dormant TGI Fridays building. They raised £8,000 for a barrister, and with the Council and the police, won a major battle. The family-friendly TGI Fridays moved in instead.

They also saved Porchester Hall and leisure centre from being sold off to a developer. SEBRA campaigned. The result? “Now they’ve spent £5million on the centre, mostly on the spa and swimming pools, and £400,000 in the library. We consider it our mini town hall,” says Zamit.

He has also seen Queensway become a conservation area, which means a higher standard is expected in shop fronts and shop design, and contributed volubly to the movement to get the old Bishops Bridge replaced.

SEBRA’s members communicate their views and gripes to a committee of 16, which meets three times a year but are otherwise “in constant touch”, says Zamit, with his trusty mobile phone in hand. The work, voluntary and unpaid, amounts almost to a full-time job. Not only does Zamit (with his colleagues) scrutinize every planning and licensing application in the area, he also publishes a full-colour newsletter three times a year, chairs an impressive AGM, hosts a big summer party every June in Cleveland Square, patrols the streets and is in regular contact with a host of individuals at the council.

“They think I’m a pain in the neck but for a good cause. I imagine they say ‘It’s bloody John Zamit again, but unfortunately he’s right!’” Now he’s hooked up to email, and set up an audit trail of messages sent where and when, he’s really got the council on their toes.

Who belongs to SEBRA? “Predominantly grammar school educated, white, retired residents with a couple of kids, not the new rich,” says Zamit. “The type of person who votes in local elections, cares about the community, recycles and has a bit of spare time.”
During his tenure, the group as become more organized and professional. “We’re more militant with a small m and more political with a small p. We’re also more pushy and demanding, but we don’t get involved in social issues.”

The primary objective is to go through all planning and traffic issues – including the implications of congestion charging. Zamit estimates they rigorously scrutinize a good 300 planning applications per year ranging from small extensions to socking great new office blocks. Concerns of the moment include the new licensing laws, Crossrail, the smoking ban and how that will affect the pavements outside the many pubs, restaurants and cafes in the area.

People too often live anonymously in central London. Zamit is keen for more active community integration, so look out for the new SEBRA website, and consider becoming a member. It’s all about improving the environment for everyone’s benefits. “This corner of Bayswater is never going to be Chelsea, but we’ve raised the bar in terms of standards,” he says.

“I like my role as chairman of SEBRA. I also sit on the committee of Bayswater Residential Association (BRA). It’s very satisfying putting something back into society and it is a power thing too!” It is no false compliment to say every community needs a John Zamit