And like that, the summer is over. For some of us, it doesn’t really feel like it ever began.
In true British form I could lament about the weather, or the scuppered summer holidays, or the back-to-school rush. Looking over my past blogs, they have coincidentally coincided with the start of something - the new year, a new school term, the holidays – but, for some reason, this time it doesn’t feel like the start of anything new, just a continuation of what has come before.
Sounds a bit depressing right? I suppose it is a little, but it’s not all been doom and gloom!
New Running-Mates for Riverside
My current ward councillors Sam Hearn and Michael Denniss will be stepping down in May 2022, so Gavin Morrison and Seb Wallace have been selected as my running-mates. I’m very much looking forward to working with both of them and, if the last couple of months (and a photo shoot earlier this week) are anything to go by, it’s going to be a lot of fun, which will be a relief in some of those longer meetings we have as councillors.
The Last Nine Weeks
Before I launch into the details of what has filled my inbox this week, I’d like to update you on what I’ve been up to over the last nine weeks:
- Brentford FC’s ascent to the Premier League has meant that local councillors including me have been party to regular briefings, calls and meetings about how crowds will be managed, and residents protected, on game days. I was fortunate to attend the opening of the stadium by purchasing tickets through the Mayor of Hounslow and was impressed by the management of the crowd both before and after the game. There has been an extension to the CPZ operational hours on Strand-on-the-Green, and other surrounding streets, which was received with some concern from local businesses and residents who were surprised at the blanket approach used rather than relying on match days only.
- South West Rail is currently consulting on proposed changes to services due to an expected decline in commuter traffic. I had a meeting with South West Rail and Network Rail to see how these changes would affect services through Chiswick and Kew Bridge. Good news is that we won’t be losing any of the services on the Waterloo - Weybridge or the Hounslow Loop routes. There will however be changes to the Hounslow Loop route, this will only go to Twickenham and back. This means it won’t really be a loop through Hounslow, but it’s reassuring to know we won’t be losing services on which many rely to get in and out of town.
- Planning is not one of my areas of speciality, so I was grateful that Cllrs Sam Hearn and Michael Denniss were able to join me for a very informative meeting with residents of Chiswick Quay regarding a planning application on Hartington Road. I’m always impressed by our local residents, and this cohort was no exception. Well-informed and worried about many aspects of a development to introduce new properties into the riverside garden of a neighbouring property; the lack of sustainable planning in the development and of course the fact that many trees would need to be removed along the floodplain to construct these houses was a consistent concern. With thoughts of climate change, the impact of the river is huge. Apart from the fact we live in the London floodplain, the river is an incredible de-carboniser, so it was really fantastic to meet with so many residents who have such a respect for the natural environment around us.
- Talking of riverbanks, I attended a meeting with residents of Strand-on-the-Green, officers of Hounslow Council, Hounslow Highways and Cllr Guy Lambert to walk along the Strand-on-the-Green Towpath. This wasn’t any ordinary walk, but one with a purpose - to highlight the gaps in the river wall that have expanded over recent months. We are waiting for the details of an inspection report and have asked for a full survey to ensure that this vital access route and Instagramable landmark is still here for many years to come.
- I’m delighted that the Seal Signs that Mary Tester and I have managed to secure for Seal Watch were finally installed in Chiswick Riverside. These are only temporary, and we have secured agreement from both DEFRA and officers at Hounslow Council that we can make them permanent.
- Keeping with the River, Chiswick Pier Trust’s Party on the Pier took place this year after a brief hiatus and, despite the rain, it was great to see so many people out and about, not to forget the Sea Cadets who were on super form in keeping us all behaving while enjoying boat rides on the Golden Salamander.
- I’ve been working with the Thames Landscape Strategy to facilitate a project on the River Longford after they were struggling to get a response from the council (sounds familiar, right?), and I’m excited to see this project kick-off and bring focus to this forgotten river.
- A collection of clothes, toiletries and toys for Afghan Refugees organised by residents of Chiswick Village on Saturday was a great success, and we loaded up a van that went off to the Afghan and Central Asia Association. If anyone would like to help, the organisation is now looking for people’s time, not donations of clothes etc, and Cllr Ranjit Gill included the contact details in his most recent blog, so do check that.
Save the Best for Last
Now that I’ve got Vanessa Williams in your heads (too 90s a reference?) I'd like to share a little about what’s been keeping me extremely busy this last week. I have joked this past year that I could have written a book on remote management back in 2017 and made a fortune, but it would appear that, like a bad fairytale, I’m destined to forever write about the bad project management of the South Chiswick Liveable Neighbourhood.
In June 2020, I referred to it as a rose by any other name, now it feels more like it’s all thorns and no roses. The latest announcement by the London Borough of Hounslow, made via press release at 5pm on the Friday before bank holiday weekend, was pure shambles.
Regardless of the fact that the official decision wasn’t published until Tuesday at 12.00, so the press release was premature, the decision was published as an Officer Delegated Decision (item 11). Without getting into too much detail on procedure, officers of the council can sign off on decisions, but cannot sign off on key decisions.
Over the course of the long weekend, Cllr John Todd and I spoke multiple times about this decision and what we could do. On Monday, we both separately arrived at the conclusion that we should call in this decision.
Therein lay the rub. According to the council constitution, you can’t call in an officer delegated decision, unless it’s a key decision. So we, your Conservative Councillors in Chiswick, had to persuade Rachel McKoy, the council's assistant director of governance and monitoring officer (aka the head lawyer) that the decision was truly a key decision.
There are various forms of criteria that form a key decision – the number of wards impacted, budgetary limits, and a few other factors. Given that the closure of Burlington Lane would be a hard closure, access to Staveley Road from the A316 would only be possible for those who live within two specific CPZs; and the access to Hartington Road from the A316 would only be available to residents who live in a different set of CPZs, we had identified that this would effectively cut off residents of Staveley Gardens, Edensor Road and the surrounding areas north of the A316 in Chiswick Homefields ward, to local amenities such as GP practices, schools, public transport links and shops in Chiswick Riverside.
Well, with these grounds, we were able to prove to Rachel McKoy that the decision made was a key decision and that we can now call this in - success!!!
Or is it? In January, I questioned whether the communications and consultations for the South Chiswick Liveable Neighbourhood were the result of Incompetence or Obfuscation and, to be honest, I’m not too sure if I’m any closer to having an answer.
At least we’ll now have an opportunity to bring this decision to the overview and scrutiny committee so that some sort of due diligence can be undertaken.
Time and time again, we have engaged with officers about this project. Barely three weeks ago Cllr Sam Hearn and I took Jefferson Nwokeoma, the assistant director of traffic, transport & parking (and the officer who signed off the decision) on a walk around the ward to show him what the measures meant for residents. We have been working closely with the local residents’ groups to find solutions that will work for all, without discrimination or creating division in the neighbourhood.
Plans were presented both to cabinet members and to officers involved, and at no stage were any of us advised of alternative plans. On that walk with Jefferson on 12th August, I asked what his alternatives were given that, personally, I have never been a fan of 24/7 hard closures on the roads. He had none.
However, now it would appear that to stop the traffic going down Burlington Lane, he’s going to stop it at the source - the A316. We’ll still have the diagonal barrier at Staveley Road/Park Road, the no right turn sign at Lawford Road and the barrier at Harvard Hill . These changes are an indication of a poor initial plan.
A former hooker, I’ve used the analogy that you would never build a try-scoring rugby team around your full back. This is what was done with Harvard Hill back in July 2020. It was cheap to install, so was considered an easy win. It was made redundant with the installation of the school street at Chiswick School and the measure at Hartington Road (30,000+ PCNs issued to 31st August) yet it’s still there.
We were told that the measures for the South Chiswick Liveable Neighbourhood scheme would work in concert together, to stop the through traffic. I wish I could say that is the case. Looking at my inbox, the confusion I’m seeing from residents from all over Hounslow about what is happening in our quiet patch of Chiswick, and the staggered introduction of each individual measure, demonstrate to me that this is no harmonious symphony, but an out of tune orchestra with no conductor.
