The Bedford Park Festival
The festival started on Saturday 12 June with a children’s fun day and the opening of the Art Exhibition. This year the exhibition was entitled “Art in a Time of Pandemic” and the works truly reflected the changes in our habits and values during the last few grisly months. As reported earlier the music part of the festival kicked off with well attended socially distanced audiences listening to romantic songs one evening and a lunchtime Elgar Organ Recital a couple of days later. The church, St Michael and All Angels in Bedford Park hosted these events.
Last Sunday the church held two separate renditions of “Mozart with Friends - the Juritz Concert” , with each audience spell bound by the two works played. The group of Judith Busbridge, Adrian Bradbury, and Paul Edmond Davies led by David Juritz received a warm welcome (matching the weather outside) and the applause at the end deservedly prolonged.
The festival is known for show casing talent and asking local residents to talk to an audience. This time Torin Douglas was in the hot seat on Monday talking about his long service at the BBC.
The original church fete that became the Bedford Park Festival was also reprised.
On Saturday 26 June, alongside the Church Flower Festival, the ground around the church hosted a range of stalls and attractions with all proceeds going to charities and the church fund.
The enthusiasm of stallholders was as strong as ever, participants were eager to offer tombola tickets, a champagne raffle, bric a brac and stalls set aside for home made cakes and charity appeals. The reduced scale of things made for a more homely and intimate event and the most noticeable element was the lack of the normal loudspeaker system.
The range of festival events in the second week is due to climax at the Festival Mass on Sunday 27 June in St Michael's’ Church
On Sunday 27 th Litter and Waste
The Chiswick councillors led by Councillor Ron Mushiso organise a litter picking activity centred on Turnham Green on the last Sunday of each month. It has been very well attended and all the Chiswick wards in Hounslow get a visit. This activity is a regular event at the end of each month assisted by equipment provided by Hounslow Highways and really makes a difference to the visual surroundings. If you would like to assist in the effort please make contact with Councillor Mushiso The meeting point is outside Christ Church Turnham Green on Town Hall Avenue at 2.30pm
On Friday 25th Traffic and Transport
Councillor Sam Hearn (Chairman Traffic and Transport Sub-Committee) and I had the pleasure of a meeting with the Assistant Director in Environmental Services with responsibility for Traffic. The subject was the current status of Covid-19 related schemes (particularly Devonshire Road in Chiswick) and the position of the multitude of policy frameworks and divisions of responsibility between Hounslow and TfL and who precisely is making decisions that threaten the livelihoods of Chiswick traders and limiting progress for businesses, not forgetting to mention that residents, (as pedestrians, cyclists and motorists), are fully aware of the increasing mortality rate for cyclists (it is now 40% greater than this time last year). We are regressing in terms of road safety back to the number of deaths on the roads last seen decades ago.
Future Council Business
The administrations in Ealing and in Hounslow are both having similar problems about implementing democracy and showing that they are accountable in debate and in public questioning at Council Meetings.
The Conservative group of Chiswick Councillors have been active in raising issues, in order to get answers, but the administration replies in a tardy and somewhat cursory manner and officers in both boroughs are often embarrassed by their own administrations.
The recent departure of the Ealing Council Leader has yet to yield an improvement. The increase in the number of allowances for backbenchers in Hounslow, and the overall increase of Senior Responsibility Allowances (backdated to April 2020) has cost council taxpayers £4 each on their council tax. But it keeps the administration muzzled with only a few brave “Speakhearts” to tell the Conservative Group what is actually going on (not a lot apparently)
Leaseholder Property Warning – Something nasty may be going on..
If you are a leaseholder in a property or building managed by Hounslow Housing you are potentially at risk of a change in your circumstances. I am currently dealing with a case where the roof of a building, jointly occupied by tenants and leaseholders (right to buy), has been taken off and will be replaced after a further storey has been added to the property.
This involves construction work turning the building into a construction site for at least a year! but not separating the builders from the residents either horizontally or vertically.
The residents are worried sick about their safety and the level of preparedness that Hounslow Housing has displayed. It also means that leaseholders will find it harder to sell their property.
Professional risk management, safety management and separation principles and Health and Safety at Work guiding principles are all at risk and the use of heavy equipment, the interruption of sleep for key workers on shift work, the safety of walkways underneath the construction, the eventual closure of the residents parking spaces have all led to great anxiety.
If you have any concerns or information about similar proposals in W4 please contact me, or the Shadow Spokesman on Housing, Councillor Michael Denniss. Complete confidentiality is assured
Contacting the Councillor Team
Please continue to contact your local councillor team in Chiswick directly, if you are getting no satisfaction from direct contact with the administration. (details are below)
The Opposition Conservative Party has an absolute certainty that in future we can do better than this.
We make it clear; The only way to properly deliver local government is to listen at all times and learn what people need, and understand residents’ cares, provide moderate and progressive responses and deliver changes not just promises, that are supported and delivered after proper consultation.
Gerald McGregor Councillor
