News and Events

Our Summer Garden Party took place on Thursday 5 July, and this year we celebrated 70 years of the National Health Service, born on 5 July 1948. A cheque for £5,000 was presented to The Friends of St Mary’s Hospital, which was accepted on behalf of the charity by Lady Jane Fellowes. You can read a report and view a photo gallery by following this link.

A report and a few words about the 2017 AGM will be here shortly.

The 2017 SEBRA Summer Garden Party took place on Thursday 29 June in Cleveland Square. This year we celebrated Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s “Blue Sapphire” Anniversary marking 65 years on the throne.

We’ve had some very positive feedback and you can view photos and read more by following this link.

The 2016 AGM was held at The Porchester Hall on 23 November. Minutes meeting can be viewed by clicking here or following the link provided below.

To gain admittance to the AGM, SEBRA subscriptions must have been renewed – the Notice of the AGM and Subscription Renewal Invitation is sent by post to all members in late September/early October each year.

The summer garden party was a roaring success, with the rain staying away and many guests enjoying great food and drink. The cocktail bar provided by Lancaster London was especially popular and over £200 was raised on the day for the St Mary’s Hospital “More Smiles” appeal.

For photos from the day please follow this link to our gallery page, and look our for a full report in the Autumn edition of SEBRA NEWS W2

SEBRA’s AGM is held in November each year.

The Minutes of the meetings held in recent years may be downloaded by following these links:

• 2012 AGM Minutes
• 2013 AGM Minutes
• 2014 AGM Minutes
• 2015 AGM Minutes
• 2016 AGM Minutes

Eastbourne Terrace was reopened for buses only in February 2014. It will reopen to all traffic in 2018, when Crossrail services begin.

While Crossrail work continues at Paddington Station, Eastbourne Terrace may be closed again for short periods. During any period of closure buses will again need to be diverted along Craven Road and Westbourne Terrace, as they were for two years from 2012.

Bayswater traffic problems – the end is in sight

Our magazine SEBRA NEWS featured many articles about the serious affects on traffic in Bayswater of the closure of Eastbourne Terrace for two years from 12 February 2012, to enable the main excavations for the new Crossrail station below. We are delighted that the road reopened on time for buses only, on 14 February 2014. At a stroke this much reduced the serious effects on the traffic in many of the surrounding streets. Once all Crossrail works in our area are complete Eastbourne Terrace will reopen to all types of vehicle – we do not yet have a date for this, but it should be before the Crossrail scheme is finally completed in late 2018.

We remain very critical of the extraordinary failure of Crossrail and Transport for London—and some of those they work with—to have anticipated and prepared for the traffic problems which inevitably followed closure of Eastbourne Terrace in 2012, a major reduction in local highway capacity; their prior planning for the transition was woefully inadequate. They did eventually accept many of SEBRA’s problem-solving ideas. Some of the major changes for which SEBRA had to fight very hard were:

• Abandonment of the Council’s heavy-handed enforcement of an unnecessary banned left turn
• Removal of redundant bus stop and bus stand box markings
• Additional double yellow lines and controls in Westbourne Terrace to prevent loading and off-peak parking reducing traffic lanes from two to one during the period of congestion
• Easing of tight corners where kerbstones were being damaged by heavy vehicles on diversion
• Adjustment to traffic light phasing to deal with very different traffic flows.

One of the most significant changes—moving a traffic light back just a few yards at the Craven Road/Westbourne Terrace crossroads—was finally done in June 2013. It took us many months of argument and persuasion to get this simple task completed – it transformed the congestion problems at this junction.

The Council announced late in 2015 that it was now going to hold a new style of public meeting entitled an ‘Open Forum‘. This is part of the Council’s ‘Community Engagement’ programme.

The meetings may still be attended in person, but anyone registered for them can also ‘attend’ on-line from home, using a computer and the Internet.

The Council requests anyone interested to:

1. Register online at: www.openforum.westminster.gov.uk
2. Write to the Council at: Open Forum, FREEPOST LON 17563, 19th Floor, Westminster City Hall, London;
3. E-mail to: openforum@westminster.gov.uk