Please find enclosed a copy of the application form and information pack including a checklist explaining the Safer Communities Alley Gating Scheme.

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1 Ealing Council Perceval House Uxbridge Rd London W5 2HL Tel: Fax: Dear Owner/Occupier, RE: Alley-Gating Scheme Application for funding Please find enclosed a copy of the application form and information pack including a checklist explaining the Safer Communities Alley Gating Scheme. WHEN SUBMITTING THE APPLICATION, YOU WILL NEED HAVE WRITTEN CONSENT FROM ALL THE RESIDENTS WITH OWNERSHIP AND ACCESS RIGHTS TO THE ALLEYWAY OR YOUR APPLICATION WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Under this scheme the council gifts lockable gates to private alleyways vulnerable to criminal activity and Antisocial Behaviour such as graffiti, fly-tipping and burglary. As the lead resident part of the process is to coordinate the project and consult with your neighbours to provide evidence in support of the application. On receipt of your application we will check the status of the alleyway, i.e. Private Right of Way or Public Highway. If the alleyway is a Public Highway, it cannot be gated under this scheme. Applications that are successful for Conservation Areas require Planning permission. It is your responsibility to contact the Planning Department You may be charged for this service. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions or queries. Yours sincerely, Gating Team Safer Communities Team 1

2 Gating Protocol If full consent is not received, Safer Communities will not consider your application. Safer Communities will accept applications during April, August and November. Once we have received all applications, Safer Communities will assess them. For successful applicants there will be a 21 day window for residents to raise concerns/objections. If we do not hear from residents we will proceed to manufacture the gates. Should any concerns arise and are not resolvable the scheme will not go ahead and residents will be informed why. The gates will then be ordered for successful schemes in July, November and February. Once the Council has installed the gates and the keys have been distributed, the gates become the resident s responsibility for maintenance and ensuring that copies of keys are kept amongst themselves. WE WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY RESPONSIBILTY FOR LOST KEYS OR DAMAGED GATES. The cleanliness of the alleyway/service road is the responsibility of the residents. Ealing Council will not remove fly tips or accumulations of waste prior to or after the successful installation of gates. This also applies to overgrown vegetation. If you choose to use a contractor to clear waste from the land please ensure that they hold a current waste carriers licence issued by the Environment Agency. 2

3 Land Registry Search If the alleyway in question is adjacent to another property you will need to carry out a Land Registry search. On confirmation of access rights, all residents will need to sign the consent form. Please follow instructions below: Please visit You will need to create an account to access the service. 1. From the homepage select Information Services. 2. Select Enquiry by property description-title plan view 3. Enter your user name in customer reference box. 4. Enter flat number in Flat or enter house number in House 5. Enter street name in Street 6. Enter area in Town, Please note, on occasions the Ealing area may not appear on the Land registry search. You might need to change this to London. 7. Enter postcode in Postcode 8. Click Next 9. Then click on register available, e Tenure: FREEHOLD Price Paid/Value stated data: No Register available 10. In the text it will say whether the house has a right of way of the alleyway and the name of the freeholder. 11. After this you will be asked whether you would like to see the title plan view which is a map outlining the boundaries of the property (there will be a separate charge for this). 12. After this you will be told of the charges for the service 3

4 Application Period Residents submit their completed application forms with full consent from all affected residents. Scoring Period Resident s applications are assessed on statistics to select which schemes are installed. All schemes are given a score that is based on the level of reported crime in the area such as Burglary and Anti-Social Behaviour. Successful Lead resident will be notified. There is a 21 day window for concerns/objections to be raised. Unsuccessful Residents will be notified that there application is unsuccessful and will be advised to re-apply in the next round of applications. If there are no objections, the scheme will go ahead. If objections are not resolvable in the three weeks residents can re-apply in the next round of applications. 4

5 Alleyway Gating Application Form If full consent is not received, Safer Communities will not consider your application. Please note that if gates are damaged or tampered with the council is not liable. The council does not issue keys to residents and does not maintain gates. Name and address of applicant. Telephone number Description of the area you would like gated. Is the alley wide enough for vehicles? Yes No Is the alleyway in a Conservation Area? Yes No Is the alleyway privately owned? Yes No You can check this by referring to the deeds of your property or by doing a Land Registry search online at or by contacting them on This service costs 8.00 for an official copy ordered over the telephone or 4.00 for information supplied over the internet. 5

6 How many households/houses does this alleyway affect? Is there a lean resident or group of residents willing to accept responsibility for distributing keys and holding on to a master key should replacements be needed? If YES please give details Is there a lead resident or group of resident willing to set up and administer a maintenance fund for the gates? If YES please give details Your application will stand a better chance if you enclose any evidence of Anti- Social Behaviour or criminal activity such as crime reports and photos, e.g. flytipping: Please continue on a separate sheet if necessary 6

7 IMPORTANT INFORMATION All residents are reminded that the consent form that is included with this application pack must be signed by the landlord of any property that has access rights or ownership of the affected alleyway. By reading this you must ensure that the signatures that you provide are those of the landlord and not the tenant/tenants that are currently living there. Spot checks will be made through the land registry to ensure that ownership and consent is correct. 7

8 Consent Form In order for the gates to be legally installed, all property owners will need to give their written consent and agree for them to be fitted permanently. If you are not the property owner or the person whose name is on the deeds then please give this letter to the person who owns your home or supply contact details for them. I am the property owner of no. and I AGREE to the gating of the alleyway(s) that run(s) parallel and/ or behind my property. (Please tick this box if you agree with the proposed gating) Or I am the property owner of no. and I OPPOSE the gating of the alleyway(s) that run(s) parallel and/or behind my property. (Please tick this box if you agree to oppose the proposed gating) I am able/unable to offer help towards the maintenance and insurance of these gates (please delete as appropriate). I understand that I will be given a key for all gates to allow me to enjoy full access to the alleyway(s) if I have a legal right of way. I am able/unable to assist in the distribution of keys to the gates once installed (please delete as appropriate) Name Signature Telephone Date PLEASE RETURN COMPLETED FORMS ALONG WITH YOUR APPLICATION. 8

9 Checklist I have checked whether the alley is a conservation area I have done a Land Registry search to see which residents have access rights or ownership of the alley I have full consent from all the residents that have right of way I have checked the ownership of the alley I have checked the status of an alleyway and whether it is a private right off way or a public highway. I have made sure that all the consent forms I have provided are signed by the landlord or owners of the property 9

10 THE SAFER COMMUNITIES PARTNERSHIP WILL EVALUATE THIS FORM USING CRIME STATISTICS TO SEE WHETHER THE APPLICATION FITS THE CRITERIA FOR ALLEY GATING. YOUR APPLICATION WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED IF YOU DO NOT HAVE WRITTEN CONSENT FROM ALL RESIDENTS WHO HAVE OWNERSHIP OR ACCESS RIGHTS TO THE ALLEYWAY. PLEASE FILL IN THE CHECKLIST TO ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE MET THE REQUIREMENTS PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM TO: Gating Team Safer Communities Team 4 th Floor Perceval House Uxbridge Road Ealing W5 2HL Or send application to Gating@ealing.gov.uk 10

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