The fight continues to keep open the Royal Free's emergency stroke unit. Closure is currently scheduled for the early part of 2010 and local campaigners have tried to have to persuade the bureaucrats to change their mind.

Local residents have reacted with anger as Camden Lib Dems have voted in support of the closure programme.

The closure will mean increased journey times for stroke patients in our area and the loss of a facility which is rated the second highest in the country (out of 216). For emergency strokes, every minute makes a difference.

As part of the campaign to save the Stroke Unit Chris has raised the issue at full council and was joined by Conservatives, Greens and Labour councillors in opposing the closure. Chris has also collected over 3,000 thousand signatures across the borough calling for the Stroke unit to be kept open.

If you would like to help with the campaign to protect our hospital's vital service then please get in touch.

To ensure Hampstead and Kilburn keeps moving Chris Philp and the local Conservative team have campaigned to improve and maintain our neighbourhood's transport network.

The West Hampstead Transport Forum

West Hampstead is an area which is often at the centre of transport problems. To help local residents and traders get answers to their questions Chris Philp organised the West Hampstead Transport Forum. Representatives from TfL, Tube Lines and Network Rail were there, as well as London Assembly Member Brian Coleman. To find out more click here or watch the video below.

Jubilee Line & Northern Line Closures

The seemingly endless weekend closures of the Jubilee line and the imminent closures on the Northern Line are a huge issue in Hampstead and Kilburn. The closure of tubelines has the potential to cut off areas and have a disastrous impact on residents and businesses alike. While closures are necessary to maintaining and improving London's transport network Chris has campaigned to make sure they are managed effectively and disruption minimized.

Chris invited Boris Johnson to visit West Hampstead to hear the concerns of local residents and traders. During the visit they meet with Jitendra Thakorlal the chairman of the West Hampstead Traders' Association to discuss how closures have a profound impact on trade. Boris later spoke about the Jubilee Line during a public meeting and assured people that action was being taken to get the works completed.

Chris spoken with Boris about how under the PFI contract inherited from Ken Livingstone it is difficult to control a private contractor and urged Boris to impose massive fines on the private contractor and to ensure that the jubilee line is not closed the same weekend as the Bakerloo, Metropolitan and Overground lines. Boris agreed with these points and added that coordination and a strict schedule will be a priority when work begins on the Northern Line upgrade this year.

Chris has also meet with London Assembely Member Brian Coleman and with Jikendra Thakoral gave him a petition of over 2,000 names in opposition to the closures.

Congestion

Congestion caused by Tesco lorries has become a major issue for many residents in West End Lane, England's Lane and Heath Street. The reckless parking of lorries is not only an inconvenience but a danger to motorists and pedestrians. Chris Philp is leading a campaign to get Tesco to rethink its delivery practices so that deliveries are not made during rush hour, dangerous parking is avoided and alternative entrances to the store are used when possible. To encourage this rethink Camden Council should introduce stricter parking rules for repeat offenders and HGV lorries; a £1,000 fine would be a much more effective deterrent.

Making Hampstead Heath Zone 2

Until 2007 Hampstead Heath Overground Station was in Zone 3 despite the stations either side of it being in Zone 2. This meant passengers were unfairly charged more than passengers who took similar journeys on the North London Line.
Chris Philp and Conservative activists successfully campaigned to have the station's moved to Zone 2 by collecting local signatures and contacting TfL to being the issue to their attention.

In 2009 Chris Philp set up the ‘Kilburn Dragons' Den. The programme aims to help local young people prepare for work and inspire them about business and entrepreneurship. In some areas of Hampstead & Kilburn over 30% of 16-24 year olds are not in employment, education or training and often they are not receiving the help and support they need. The Kilburn Dragons' Den was set up to help our neighbourhood's young people develop skills and an understanding of business, which can help them as they start to consider employment and their futures.

Working with experienced mentors from a variety of business backgrounds the young participants, aged 16 to 18, developed business ideas that could be started for under £1,000. They developed their business plans from scratch and produced some fantastic ideas. While expanding their plans the teams explored the world of business, developed valuable skills and gained a new enthusiasm for entrepreneurship.

On 15th October the final was held at the Tricycle Theatre where the teams worked with professional actors to improve their confidence and put the finishing touches to their pitch before they presented to the dragons. The competition was fierce, and eventually ‘Student Corner', a proposed recruitment company specialising in finding sixth form students part-time and holiday work, were declared the winners.

Chris Philp is thrilled with the outcome of the competition and feels it has been a huge success; "I've met some of the next generation of entrepreneurs. We must do everything we can to encourage and help them achieve their goals. Because by achieving their goals they help not just themselves, but our local society and our nation as a whole. "
As well as the Dragons' Den competition, the programme has incorporated running a CV Workshop at the Kilburn Youth Centre. Here, experienced recruiters work with individuals to create and improve their CV and interview technique to help them successfully search for work. And now the programme is working with local schools to provide students with work placements locally and in the city.

If you'd like to get involved in the Kilburn Dragons' Den in the future, either by participating in an event, or lending your expertise to others, then please get in touch.

A long campaign to restore the protection of the views of St Paul's from Parliament Hill and Primrose has finally been successful.

Local campaigners Cllr Chris Philp and Assembly Member Brian Coleman have been campaigning since July 2007 to over-turn Ken Livingstone's decision to allow tall buildings to be erected near St Paul's - ruining the view from Hampstead's Parliament Hill.

Their campaign has finally been successful, as new Conservative Mayor Boris Johnson has announced that he will restore the historic protection.

Local residents are delighted that Chris and Brian's campaign has been a success. Chris Philp said, "I'm pleased that Boris has listened to what Brian and I have been saying on behalf of local residents."

Conservative Leader David Cameron has joined with Chris Philp and local Conservatives to spearhead the campaign to save up to ten GP surgeries in Camden and Brent from closure.

The Government plans to impose Polyclinics on Camden and Brent - meaning the closure of up to ten GP surgeries here. Doctors will be forced to move to impersonal units in large hospitals, such as UCH near Kings Cross.

This will mean that elderly and vulnerable patients may no longer be able to see GPs in their immediate neighbourhood, but will have to travel an average of three times further.

David Cameron has met with local GPs (pictured) to discuss their concerns about the Government plans. After the meeting, David said, "The Polyclinic service will be remote and impersonal. Rather than having a GP who has known patients and their conditions for many years, there will be a pool of doctors who won't really know the patients they are treating. The personal link between a GP and their patients will be broken."

Conservatives will oppose the Government's forced closures of GPs. Local Conservative Councillor Martin Davies said, "We believe that healthcare providers - including GPs and hospitals - should be given the freedom to provide healthcare services to meet local needs. Patient choice, not Government diktat, should then determine which services expand and which do not."