Then and Now: A Review
A review of the progress made in cleaning up Bloomsbury. Continue reading Then and Now: A Review
Author: Owen Ward
I have lived on Judd Street in Bloomsbury / King's Cross since 2017.
I am chair of the Bloomsbury Conservation Areas Advisory Committee and director of Ward Conservation & Design. I am a full member of the IHBC and hold an MSc in Sustainable Heritage.
My articles have been published in the Independent and Planning in London and attract interest locally and worldwide.
Members Briefing Panel Controversy
Elected councillors being overruled by faceless civil servants sets a dangerous precedent for the future. Part 1 of 4 of a series of investigative articles into the controversy. Continue reading Members Briefing Panel Controversy
The People of Bloomsbury are Irrelevant to Camden
In speaking to people about local affairs, the one theme that crops up time and time again is that Camden simply do not listen to the needs or wants of residents and businesses, pandering instead to institutions, investors, and flimsy ideologies. Continue reading The People of Bloomsbury are Irrelevant to Camden
Read our Report on Cleanliness in Bloomsbury
We have published a report on the state of cleanliness in Bloomsbury, and how it can be improved. Continue reading Read our Report on Cleanliness in Bloomsbury
Help to tidy your Area
We have been walking around WC1 removing the profusion of planning documents and road closure notifications attached to posts. These contribute negatively to the appearance of an area and are classed as ‘flyposting’ by Keep Britain Tidy. As is well known they are often left for years and become degraded. Camden are legally obliged to put up these documents in an area when there is a planning application or road closure. They are unfortunately not legally obliged to remove them. We have found documents from as far back as 2013. We considered applying to Historic England to have them listed … Continue reading Help to tidy your Area
Veolia have never met their Targets
Freedom of Information response reveals that Veolia have never met their cleanliness targets, but have faced only a 0.5% deduction from their £16,000/day payment. Continue reading Veolia have never met their Targets
‘Streets Paved with Rubbish’
Press coverage of Camden’s filth problem ramps up. Continue reading ‘Streets Paved with Rubbish’
The Clean Camden Controversy
Experiments and an FOI request reveal Veolia are falsely marking requests for work as complete Borough-wide, avoiding deductions from their payment schedule while ensuring litter builds up. But Camden aren’t interested in fully investigating the situation. Continue reading The Clean Camden Controversy
Investigation Begins into Alleged Clean Camden Software Error
Thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money lost over two weeks due to alleged software error. Following reports that Veolia have been falsely marking Clean Camden reports as completed, Camden have asked Veolia to conduct an investigation. Issues with reports being falsely marked as complete have already been commonly reported throughout Camden. Veolia have claimed that it was an ‘error’ with the software used to run the Clean Camden app, called ‘Echo’, which is used by Veolia throughout the country. These issues have led to people being reluctant to use the Clean Camden app, some calling it a ‘black hole’. After … Continue reading Investigation Begins into Alleged Clean Camden Software Error
Why you need to use Clean Camden.
If Veolia don’t respond to your reports, they get fined. Most of you will not have read the entire length of the analysis of Veolia’s Payments and Performance Schedule. However those that did picked up time and time again on the power of using Clean Camden. What is Clean Camden? It is an app available for your mobile phone, and is also available online. You set up an account, and the gist of it is essentially you take photos of litter and upload them, with some geolocation and description. These reports are uploaded to a website which all can access, … Continue reading Why you need to use Clean Camden.
Save Bloomsbury 