Bloomsbury Ward AGM

The AGM for the Bloomsbury Ward will be held on Monday 26th March at 6pm.

The AGM will take place at the HSPCA office.

Holborn & St Pancras Conservative Association,
1a Heath Hurst Rd,
London,
NW3 2RU

Fitzrovia Nursery on path to reopen following local Conservative action

The children’s nursery at Whitfield Street in Fitzrovia – closed by Camden’s Labour rulers in mid 2004 – is set to reopen following a decision by Camden’s Conservative-LD executive on 15^th January to lease the site to Fitzrovia Trust/Westminster Children’s Society for nursery use.

The Fitzrovia Trust and Westminster Children’s Society were invited by Camden’s new administration to submit a business plan setting out how this partnership would provide a nursery on the site and provide access to the open space for community use. They will adapt the building to provide for 27 0-5 year olds. In addition, the open space would be used out of hours by 8-12 year olds, for whom there is nowhere to play in the area.

There are 245 under-fives in Bloomsbury ward, but just two registered childminders providing 4 under-five places and a one-afternoon under-fours activity drop-in at the Drill Hall. In addition, a new housing development in the former outpatients’ building of the Middlesex Hospital will lead to new demand for nursery places within two years.

Local ward councillor Rebecca Hossack said:

“This is fantastic news. I know that one the main reasons I sought election as a Conservative Councillor in Bloomsbury, the ward where I live and work, was to try and restore the long-closed Fitzrovia Day Nursery in Whitfield Street. This was closed by Camden’s Labour Council in 2002 and this important local amenity was under threat of being sold-off for private commercial re-development.”

Local Bloomsbury Conservative campaigner Tim Barnes added: “The fact that this vital community building has been locked up for two years is a damning indictment of Labour around here. This decision really shows the positive impact Conservatives are having in power in Camden – the responsible Executive member Cllr Andrew Marshall grasped this issue at the outset and has worked steadily to get us to this decision. For years there has been no real opposition to a complacent Labour party south of the Euston Rd, but now people can see that local Conservatives in Bloomsbury, Holborn and Covent Garden are making a practical difference for the better.”

For further information:

Timothy Barnes, Bloomsbury Ward Conservative Assn: 07903 188 447

Cllr Rebecca Hossack, Bloomsbury Ward: 07747 482 148

Cllr Andrew Marshall, Camden Council Executive: 07808 579 563