Not much time left to reply to TfL consultation on extension of 223 route along Harrow View and Kodak site - ends June 4th

 From TFL website LINK

The affected section of the 223 route

Route 223 extension to Eastman Village

We are proposing to extend route 223, so that it terminates at the new Eastman Village Kodak housing development on Harrow View in the London Borough of Harrow. We want to hear your views on our proposals. Our public consultation is open, and you have from 24 April to 4 June 2023 to have your say on the suggested extension.

Your views are important to us. On this page you can find out more about our proposals, how these may impact you, and how you can have your say.

 

 

Overview

London’s bus network is our most affordable, accessible and available form of public transport and offers the main sustainable alternative to cars for those journeys that can’t easily be walked or cycled. It is also London’s most flexible mode of public transport, and we continuously review and adapt the bus network to ensure that services reflect changing customer needs.

Following the Mayor’s announcement that the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) will be expanded London-wide in August, we are undertaking a number of bus consultations across outer London to strengthen alternatives to private cars and maximise the benefits of expanding the ULEZ.

This includes proposing adjustments to existing bus routes to ensure services are operating in areas where our customers need them most and considering where else the network should serve, and in areas where emerging redevelopment is bringing new homes and building new communities.

These proposals relate to route 223 in the Harrow and Wealdstone Opportunity Area.

What is proposed

Route 223 currently operates between Wembley Central and Harrow Bus Station. We are proposing to extend the route, so that it no longer terminates at Harrow Bus Station, but instead continues its route along Harrow View, terminating next to the new Eastman Village development on the former Kodak factory site.

The proposed extension would serve over 3,200 new homes, as well as homes and businesses along Harrow View. The extended route would create new journey opportunities to locations such as Pinner and Hatch End and would create new interchange opportunities. We believe that the proposals will help to make the Eastman Village development, employment, health care and the wider community more accessible, as well as improving journey times. You can find our Equalities Impact Assessment (EqIA) in the Documents Library, which explains the potential impacts in more detail.

How you can find out more

We have provided more information to help you respond, and we want this consultation to be accessible for everyone. Visit the Document Library for:

• A map of the proposed extension section only
• An overview map of route 223 with proposed extension
• Our initial Equalities Impact Assessment document
• A copy of our consultation survey in case you would prefer to respond in writing
• An Easy Read version of our proposals
• An Easy Read version of our survey
• A copy of our bus stop poster with QR code
• A copy of our consultation flyer

We also have a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section which we will keep updated throughout the consultation.

If you need to translate this page into another language, please use the ‘select language’ button in the bottom-left hand corner of this page.

Connecting with London’s deaf community on our consultations

To enhance how we engage and consult with London’s deaf community, we are trialling a British Sign Language (BSL) consultation conversation service for this consultation. This service will allow the TfL consultation lead to have a two-way BSL translated discussion on any aspect of this consultation with a BSL speaker.

To request a BSL consultation conversation, please contact us at haveyoursay@tfl.gov.uk and we will be in contact to arrange this at a convenient time. Following this trial we will evaluate the service to determine if this is something we are able to offer on other consultations in the future.

What happens next

The proposals are subject to the outcome of our consultation. Once the consultation ends on Sunday 4 June 2023, we will spend time considering all the responses we received and will prepare a consultation report.

The consultation report will help us reach a decision about whether we extend route 223 to the Eastman Village. A copy of the report will be published later this year. It will be available to everyone that takes part in the consultation and a copy will be published on our website.

 LINK TO SURVEY

Don't terminate our 223 Harrow bus at Northwick Park Hospital - residents respond to 'sham' consultation

 Thanks to Linda Green for this guest post outlining how the changes to the 223 bus route  will affect residents' and school children's public transport.
 

Last year TFL decided that it would change a large number of bus services throughout London, because of 'The Elizabeth Line', which will not come to Brent.  This included cutting the 223 bus that goes from Wembley to Harrow via the Preston Park area.  Instead of going to Harrow it will terminate outside Northwick Park hospital.

As I heard a rumour about it I tried searching TFL's website, but couldn't find anything until a friend sent me a link.

I asked on the bus, and the driver said 'they plan something this week then next week they change it'.  At Harrow bus station I asked for information but they didn't have any.  I wrote to TFL and asked for copies of the consultation documents to be sent to the library, as lots of the 223 users don't have the internet and don't have any information.  They did not reply.

Apparently there was a note about this in Metro.  There was no information put in buses, and nothing put in Harrow bus station and nothing put up in bus stops.  If you live in the Preston area, and your main use of public transport is the 223 or other local buses, you do not see Metro and hence have no way of knowing that the consultation was taking place.

The issues affecting local people are:

·      Many residents of Wembley, Preston and Kenton see Harrow as their main shopping area, and use the 223 to get there.  They also go to Harrow for entertainment, such as cinemas and restaurants.  They do not want to change at Northwick Park.

·      It is the only bus service at all for many residents, and for many it is too far to either walk to the tube station, or to manage the large number of steps at the stations, especially if they have heavy bags of shopping or babies in pushchairs. 

·      It would be especially stressful and difficult for elderly and disabled people and parents to have to get themselves and their shopping off the bus to wait for another one at Northwick Park, where there are no facilities, shelter from the weather or proper seats.

·      It would be unpleasant to wait at Northwick Park in the dark.  It is very creepy at night and people would feel vulnerable. All there is are two bus stops and a grassy area with trees.

·      Many children and young people use the route to go to and from school in Harrow.  They get on at Harrow bus station and get off all through from Woodcock Hill, Kenton, Preston and later stops through to Wembley and Wembley Park.  Many Brent sixth-formers get the 223 to Harrow bus station then change to other buses to go to Harrow Weald College and other Harrow high schools. In future they would need to get three buses. I doubt if the pupils and students know that their transport to school and college is about to be cut.

·      Young people go to pubs and clubs in Harrow then get the last 223 back to the Preston Park area as well as to the Avenue and Wembley Park.  They would risk missing another last bus from Northwick Park hospital and be vulnerable waiting there or having to walk back.

·      A whole range of people goes to Harrow to visit the cinema and restaurants, and will have similar problems to the young people mentioned above.

·      The 223 is hail and ride for much of the route, so that people can get off near their homes.  For this reason people who have disabilities or who feel vulnerable like to use this bus.  It means that it is easier than using the tube.

·      The bus is also the cheaper option compared with the tube.

·      Many of Preston Community Library's volunteers and members use this bus to visit the library.

Personally, I would stop going to the cinema and restaurants at Harrow if there were no bus home at night. I would not feel safe waiting in the dark, rain or snow by the hospital. Also, after I have walked around shopping etc I seldom have the strength left to climb the steps into Harrow tube station or the steps inside Preston Road station.

Residents can make a complaint via London Travel Watch: http://www.londontravelwatch.org.uk/complaints/

They could also write to Navin Shah, the London Assembly member for Brent and Harrow, or to their MP or the London Mayor. Copy in your local councillors.

When complaining do emphasize that the consultation was a sham, and that users of the bus mostly knew nothing about the proposals at all. 'Tell them how it affects you personally.

 Other bus routes will be affected also, so it is worth contacting TFL to see if there are other cuts which affect you.

TfL consultation response HERE