Former Crown & Sceptre Pub

A couple of residents have contacted me about a planning application submitted about this building.  Here is a link to the application.  You can submit comments about this if you wish via the link.

Technology and Channel Shift an opportunity (being missed by LBH)

Here is my most recent column in the Chronicle.  It is mainly based on a contribution I made at last week’s Borough Council Meeting.  I have commented about it before on the blog.

The column outlines my basic position.  Despite the response from one Labour Councillor in the Chamber to my constructive remarks, this is not a partisan or party political matter.

Labour controlled Ealing seem to have a decent idea of what I mean.  This is on their Council Building:

They clearly understand that it is in the interests of everyone for those who have internet access to use the most modern form of technology when dealing with the Council, unless this is not possible.  If we applied Hounslow’s more recent approach (and assumed that Hounslow also had a Town Hall on the High Street), it would have put up signage with lots of phone numbers and the general website.

I genuinely hope that Hounslow will change its ways here.  It saddened me that there were people who signed off the page in Hounslow Matters that I consider so out of date in its approach.

Feltham Park Pond

Take this morning:

I will make a complaint about this later today.

Called out

I have been requested to post either on this blog or the Feltham, Hanworth & Bedfont facebook group about some tents at the Glebelands.

I was contacted by a constituent and then raised a reference number with the relevant department (it is 006621).  I received the following response on  28 March:

“Further to your recent request concerning Glebelands Open Space and the old Feltham Running Track, Feltham Arena I can confirm the following :-

Illegal Occupation
There are a group of 3 small tents in the corner of Gleblands OS situated in the woodland planting strip behind the old baseball cage (plan and photos attached). We spoke to one of the people in residence, who with very broken English, indicated they had been there for approximately 2 weeks and had regularly been visited by the Police. They did not indicate how long they expected to be in occupation. JLIS have checked their site inspection records and stated that CLL last formally inspected the site on 12th Sept 2011 (with their next formal inspection due on or about 9th April 2012). Meanwhile JLIS inspected on 31st Oct 2011. The occupation was not noted on either of these inspections. The tents are not highly visible from the main part of the field (photo attached illustrates) so it is understandable why the tents were not spotted by the CLL litter patrol.

As you are aware JLIS have no enforcement power under the existing contract and while they will monitor the occupation they have no power to enforce an eviction.

That being said we (LBH) shall start proceedings to get the illegal occupiers removed from the land. The overall timescale for proceedings is difficult to predict, however, as a rough guide I have been advised that we can expect undefended proceedings to be of at least two months duration.

If the proceedings are defended the timescale will depend on any number of factors such as the complexity of the matter, the defendant’s conduct and overall approach to the proceedings and the availability of Court resources. Accordingly, the timescale for defended proceedings may range anywhere from two months to five years.

Rubbish and Dumped Material
At the time of JLIS visit to Glebelands OS there was a small amount of windblown litter / rubbish etc in evidence which they have instructed CLL to clear this as a matter of urgency. The area of the old running track has a large volume of dumped rubbish (despite inspection of the bags JLIS were unable to confirm from where the waste had come from), litter etc in evidence which requires clearing, unfortunately this area is not covered under the current JLIS contract but we will arrange for JLIS to clear this within the next few weeks.”

I do not think that there is anything to add to the above.