Gosh, what a whirlwind the last nine weeks has been, two Chiswick Area Fora, one Borough Council, one public meeting, one lunch with Nick Rogers (our GLA member) and residents about the South Chiswick Liveable Neighbourhood, my first councillor surgery since before the pandemic, one Seal Talk at the Chiswick Pier Trust , one Conservative Party conference and one mayor’s inaugural reception! Of course, we’re not quite at the festive season yet, so I’ll refrain from putting this to music.
I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit sick and tired of being told what to do by people who wouldn’t even consider taking their own advice. Last week, ahead of the Mayor’s reception, an email went out to all councillors that parking would be limited at Hounslow House (no surprise there - limited parking was part of the original design). Personally, I was surprised that this message had to be sent especially as we are all being encouraged to get out of our cars and cycle and walk. Considering this event was to be a celebration of the new mayor, I had already decided I would take public transport, as I had found out the hard way that cycling in the outfit I had chosen to wear that evening was simply not going to work (voluminous trousers are liable to catch in the derailleur). What I found all the more surprising was that a member of the cabinet told me later that same evening that she wouldn’t be able to drive home, but that she could always walk as she lived just round the corner. Which led me to think, why did she drive in the first place?
In the three years that I’ve been a councillor, I’ve unfortunately become used to experiencing this sort of blindness from the administration at Hounslow Council. This “Do as I say, not as I do” mentality is frustrating to see, but when the Cabinet are so convinced that they’re making the right decisions despite recommendations from their own Overview and Scrutiny committee , or even criticisms from the Local Government Ombudsman that the proof of decision making process was not robust enough, I do have to wonder if the current administration really understands good decision making and governance, despite the recent training we councillors have all undertaken in both subjects. I would certainly argue that they don’t really understand the psychology of how people make long-lasting changes in their lives. Unless you consider forcing people to make changes a guiding principle of your project execution.
I would argue that forcing people to do anything only breeds resentment, and while it may drive compliance for a while, it reduces humans to numbers and statistics rather than sentient individuals with the freedom of choice.
And we all have a choice over how we want to live our lives.
Education to influence decision making
As the Conservative group's environment spokesperson, I have been keeping a keen eye on the continual flow of news from Glasgow and COP26. Claims that this conference was just “blah, blah, blah”, and that there would be no real outputs, but I would argue that this has definitely put climate change and the environment front and centre. The announcements on Saturday morning that the five major supermarkets in the UK have committed to halve the environmental impact of our weekly shops by 2030 is just one decision that has come out of this conference.
Since the start of the pandemic, I have been worried by the increase in plastic packaging of our food, so the fact that this will be addressed is welcome. Food security is another factor. A couple of years back I made a choice not to buy avocados. So what? Well, this was a result of learning more about how avocados are grown , the quantity of water that’s needed to grow this crop and the correlation between deforestation and drought. I remember having seen avocados growing in El Salvador on a trip to see the family, these were native and growing in mangroves, and while this fruit is very much a staple of the local diet, one that I grew up with in Casa de los Giles, it was very much seen as a special treat, not part of my everyday diet. Obviously, there’s no perfect solution. Eating quinoa has resulted in indigenous people being priced out of their key staple. The water used to grow almonds for almond milk has been linked with drought in California. To think that there’s no link between farming practices and recent wildfires is to be either very naive or in need of education.
To some, this may read like I’m advocating against a plant-based diet, or railing against farmers. This is in no-way true. Some of my family in Ireland are farmers, and farming has a real part to play in how we look after our natural environments. Many see themselves as custodians of the land and I know that there were many farmers at COP26 to demonstrate how they have changed their practices to ensure a better future. It will be interesting to see how the new Global Methane Pledge will have an impact on meat and dairy farming. We have certainly become extremely privileged in our access to meat in our diet. Once a luxury, for many a meal is not a meal if there isn’t any meat in it.
So why am I talking about this? We live in London, not a typical farming community? Well, yes, that’s true but I believe that if we educate people to be aware of the consequences of their choices they will make better decisions. There’s a lot to be said for eating locally sourced seasonal foods, and I wonder if we’ve just become slaves to convenience. After all, one way we make decisions is because they’re easy to make.
Bringing it back to the SCLN
That is also the rationale of the argument for the streetspace changes in Chiswick. Make it hard and complicated for people to drive in and around Chiswick Riverside ward and they’ll be less likely just to pop into their car. That is a fair argument, I won’t deny that. My issue with what has been imposed in the ward hasn’t changed since June 2020 .
At the public meeting held on 21st October, with Grove Park Group and the Strand-on-the-Green Residents' Association, it was apparent that there is still a lot of confusion around the Council’s decisions. The chief officer decision I mentioned in my last blog (no change) has done very little to clarify the information either.
Part of the argument for the measures in Riverside is due to climate change and making the air quality better. Well, let’s look at the facts. We can’t measure this locally because we don’t have any readings from the area. We don’t have a benchmark to measure against. If we look at the impact of COVID on carbon emissions, then the data doesn’t look too reassuring. According to an article on Nature.com , reductions in 2020 amounted to 6.4%. We would need 4% year on year reduction to reach net-zero in the UK by 2050. The maths doesn’t work.
While every little helps, and we can sometimes feel like our choices are futile when countries such as China and Russia don’t even attend COP26, I truly believe that it's only the bigger decisions that governments make that will deliver the change we need.
Housing and Heat Efficiencies to help the Net-Zero target
So why is it that I’m still meeting residents who live in council properties that are cold, damp and draughty? The Housing Strategy (downloadable pdf) makes a reference to how it will make sure new builds are energy efficient, but what about the existing stock? In that same strategy, the council admits that it “has an ageing housing stock, some of which were built with poor design and quality standard as well as poor energy performance levels”. As we enter into a winter where energy costs will be high, surely we should be looking to help the most vulnerable in our communities keep warm by ensuring that their homes are well-insulated, windows are able to fully close, while looking at cleaner, greener forms of energy?
I understand the cost of decarbonising our housing stock in the UK is about £250 billion pounds. How that scales to Hounslow, I am yet to find out, but I’ve asked the question. I’m hoping that the government’s new £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme announced in October’s Heat and Buildings Strategy will help the council to advance this plan. After all, we know how good the London Borough of Hounslow is at spending Government money and then passing it off as one of their own initiative. It has certainly said as much in the housing strategy!
Back to the ward
As for actions, case work continues, mostly housing and anti-social behaviour. The next Police Ward Panel will be on 23rd November, and I'm excited that St Michael's Players' annual pantomime will be on 9th December, you can get your tickets online now. If last year's panto is anything go by, it will be a great laugh!
On Tuesday the 2nd of November, 14 year old activist Vinisha Umashankar addressed world leaders at COP26. In her inspirational words... “We have every reason to be angry. But I have no time for anger. I want to act… Today I ask, with all due respect, that we stop talking and start doing.”
I for one couldn't agree more.
Councillor Gabriella Giles
Chiswick Riverside
07966 270823
