Oliver writes to Sadiq Khan to try to save Swiss Cottage
The proposed 24-storey skyscraper at 100 Avenue Road has loomed over Swiss Cottage and overshadowed the community for several years. It was granted permission by the Planning Inspectorate a few years ago, but that doesn’t mean that Camden’s job is done. Indeed, the Planning Committee, on which I sit, still has a say. In July, we voted not to agree the proposed Construction Management Plan, which details how the building will be built. After that rejection, it came back unamended to the Planning Committee last week. I was...
read moreFull Council Meeting: 12 November 2018
There was a meeting of Camden Council on Monday, 12th November. As part of my accountability to residents, below are the actions I took at the meeting. In the themed debate on rough sleeping, I noted that despite the claims from Labour councillors that rough sleeping was caused by the government, Camden had the largest increases in rough sleeping nationally this year and since 2010, suggesting something was going specifically wrong in Camden, not nationally. I asked the Leader, who claimed that she wanted to influence the government, whether...
read moreLabour in Camden is failing our schools
The Camden New Journal published the below letter following up on my previous letter on Camden’s falling school standards, in response to a letter by the Cabinet member for Best Start in Life (i.e. children, schools, and families). As noted before, standardised exam results have fallen in Camden relative to other London boroughs. Yet Camden’s Cabinet member responded to me mentioning this by saying I was ‘badmouthing’ Camden. Nothing could be further from the truth – she is letting down Camden by not caring about...
read moreThe end of austerity: running a bath is not the same as flooding the house
The Camden New Journal published the below op-ed from me on the Budget and what it means for our ability to spend on our priorities.* I’m perplexed by Labour’s claims that saying that government spending will now rise – the ‘end to austerity’, as announced by Theresa May – means that all restraints are off. The only reason we have a declining deficit is because of careful stewardship, which would be jeopardised by overspending again. Labour’s “It’s all water, so let’s splash as much...
read moreOliver proposes Camden adopts an Animal Welfare Charter
As council colleagues, you’d expect me to have much in common with Maria Higson, but there’ll always be at least one sticking point between us: I’m a cat person and she’s a dog person. But whether our best friend prefers to go for walks or for naps, we share the view that promoting animal welfare is a vital role of local councils. Britain is a nation of animal-lovers, and Camden is a borough of one, too. We want Camden Council to follow the lead of dozens of other councils and adopt an Animal Welfare Charter that spells out...
read moreIt’s high time Camden tackled its low school standards
The Camden New Journal published the below letter from me on Camden’s increasingly dire performance on school standards. Standardised test results have come out recently showing Camden in the bottom quarter of London boroughs at 3 of the 4 age groups, with children falling a whole grade behind similar children in Barnet between 11 and 18. This is not acceptable, and it’s vital that Camden debates the issue immediately. Ensuring children get the best possible start in life is a moral imperative for local councillors. It’s also one...
read moreOliver writes joint letter backing Camden ending glyphosate usage
Following on from the presentation of a petition to stop using glyphosate weedkillers at Camden’s last full council meeting, I’ve written a joint letter to the newspapers with the petition author. This was a pledge in the Conservative manifesto in May, and I’m committed to ensuring that it’s delivered, even while we’re out of power. We write as representatives of both the Camden Green Party and Camden Conservatives about our shared concerns about Camden Council continuing to use glyphosate-based weedkillers,...
read moreFull Council Meeting: 8 October 2018
There was a meeting of Camden Council on Monday, 8th October. As part of my accountability to residents, below are the actions I took at the meeting. I paid tribute to the sadly recently-deceased Sir Alan Greengross, one of my predecessors as Leader of Camden Conservatives and councillor for Hampstead Town, and also formerly Leader of the Conservatives on the Greater London Council. Lib Dem leader Flick Rea helpfully pointed out in her tribute speech that local councils shouldn’t waste their time talking about foreign policy, e.g....
read moreAIR Studios gets new investment
I’m pleased that AIR Studios’ new owner Maxim Demin has pledged to invest money in the studios on Lyndhurst Road and keep the studios open as a going concern for years to come. The studios were put up for sale earlier this year after its survival was ensured by the withdrawal in November of an application to build a basement next door. I had asked both Camden and the Secretary of State for Culture to do whatever it could do to save it from having to be closed. Maxim Demin has a record of investing real money into concerns of...
read morePutting stopping HS2 back on Camden’s agenda
I am one of the most outspoken opponents of HS2 in the Conservative Party. Sometimes, that’s meant ploughing a pretty lone furrow. But over time, it’s been noticeable how opposition to it has risen: and none more so than at this year’s party conference. I continually lobby for HS2 to be scrapped, both publicly and privately, as I did at party conference. And I am more convinced than ever that HS2 will be stopped. As you would expect, the Camden New Journal has given this proper coverage, including this week’s front...
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