Fighting dog poo

Well done  to Gill Hutchison on this piece of work.  I know how much time she put into it and innovation she showed.  Well done also to everyone else involved, especially the pupils at Sparrow Farm.

Fingers crossed that this will deliver the intended benefits!

Thank you Feltham North

I, along with Allan and Gill, have been returned to represent the wonderful people of Feltham North on the Council for the next four years.  Here is the result.  Generally,  Labour are doing very well.

Thank you Feltham North!

Update: Labour have regained control of the Council.  Conservatives have 25 Councillors and Labour have 35.

Complaints Panel

I chaired a Complaints Panel last night and it is almost certainly the last one I will be involved in before the elections.  Subject to what others decide over the next couple of months it could be my last one?

It is always a good idea to look back briefly and consider what has gone well and not so well.  If I was to produce a list of the best and most important five things I have done as a Lead Member since 2006, the creation of this panel would most certainly feature.  I wrote a piece about it on Conservative Home – here.

Whilst I was angry at the terrible legacy that my predecessor left me and the bad reasons the previous adminstration gave against this panel being set up (I first suggested it when in opposition), credit is due to the Labour Group for being part of this, especially the likes of Councillor Vaught who have made a great contribution to the success.  Others have also done really well, amongst them Councillors Gill Hutchison, Barbara Harris, Peter Hills, Shirley Fisher, Sam Hearn, Councillor Andy Morgan-Watts, Linda Nakamura and Paul Lynch

This goes to prove that implementation is sometimes more important than the idea and execution is more important than the strategy.

Another example of a brilliant turnaround!

West Area Planning Meeting last night

Yesterday evening, we had a short agenda which turned out to be a good thing as item 4 – ASI House, Raleigh Road – needed a lengthy consideration.  In all my time as a Councillor, I have never seen so many residents attend the Area Committee.  Feelings among the residents were clearly running high.  That being said, as Councillors we needed to consider the matter with an open mind.  With one exception, the Committee was unable to support Officers Recommendations (to approve) as it had serious concerns about numbers and parking.

The meeting was a tough one to Chair and I thought that Gill Hutchison was first class.  One of the best performances I have seen from anyone in the Chair and I am someone who always praises how impressive former Feltham North Councillor, Mick Hunt, was as a previous Chairman of the West Area Committee.  Likewise for Feltham & Heston Conservative Association President, and former LBH Councillor, Tony Gurrin.  Not everyone can Chair meetings and very few do it brilliantly.  Gill knows how proud of her I was last night.

Neither Feltham or Freddie were forgotten

Yesterday was a day I will not forget for a very long time.  I think that a number of fellow Feltham residents will feel the same for yesterday we met in Feltham Town Centre to pay tribute to the memory of Freddie Mercury and to welcome back his family and Brian May to Feltham.

The event surpassed expectations and everyone seemed to enjoy.  Great to see Feltham also getting such positive coverage on the box.  The day was really well organised and the weather behaved also!

This was the brainchild of Councillor Peter Hills and all of the acknowledgements that he has received are well deserved.  Councillor Paul Jabbal gave a really good speech when he welcomed everyone.  Freddie’s mother, aswell as Brian, gave a very moving tribute to their son and friend respectively.

Here are some pictures:

Here is the tribute band playing (they are really good):

Before the unveiling:

Here is Freddie’s mother preparing to speak, alongside her daughter and Paul Jabbal:

This was taken at the beginning of Brian May’s speech.  He turned to Freddie’s mother and made reference to what a lovely speech she made (one of so many nice touches on the day):

After the unveiling – this is something to be really proud of:

The Lead Singer of the tribute band with me.  He and his fellow Members had come down from Nottingham tp participate:

My ward colleague, Councillor Gill Hutchison getting her Queen Calendar signed by Brian May:

Me with other members of the tribute band:

I was thrilled to see residents I know – who lived near the family in Gladstone Avenue – at the event:

Freddie’s mother and I:

Karline (my wife) and Freddie’s mother:

Brian May and the Mayor, Councillor Paul Lynch:

Neither Feltham or Freddie were forgotten yesterday!

Last night’s Borough Council Meeting

Here was the agenda.

I answered the question in item 11 as Councillor Reid was away.   It was a highly appropriate question from my ward colleague, Gill Hutchison.  The property in Bedfont Lane is in our ward and I was truly horrified at the decision of the Planning Inspector so was only too willing to answer the question. I know that residents in the area will be horrified – I just hope that they know that it is not down to the Local Planning Authority.

Items 13 & 14 were motions proposed by members of the Conservative Group. The other motion was withdrawn as an appeal to the decision taken by the Magistrates Court has been made. With regards to item 13, if ever was an appropriate time to lose ones temper that was it.  What we exposed was clearly false and those accused expressed no shame, they did not even try to justify the comments and preferred to focus on red herrings.  On agenda item 14, the Labour Group had no interest in making a coherent argument, not that I expected one!

Nice evening for deliveries

Out and about in Harlington Road West, Becketts Close, Lansbury Avenue, Field Road, Staines Road & The Vale with my friend and ward colleague, Gill Hutchison.

Here are some pics I took on my travels.  First one in Harlington Road West – near junction with Burns Avenue:

Second one of a tree in Burns Avenue.  I am told that when wet the branches hit pedestrians:

Third one is in the alley in the middle of the parade of shops in Harlington Road West (even side):

Fourth one is a dumped bag on the corner of Harlington Road West and Staines Road:

Fifth one is a picture of the grass verges in Staines Road – they could do with a cut:

Sixth one is of the Crown & Sceptre Pub.  Whilst it has been a while since I had a pint in there, I would be interested to know why it is boarded up:

And, finally, here is some graffiti on the wall at the side of the bungalows in Gardner Place – can just about see it on this photograph.  Access is from an alley in Lansbury Avenue (not far from junction with Harlington Road West):

It was lovely weather for it!

Very hopeful on Feltham Park

Councillors Hutchison, Wilson and I attended an inspection of Feltham Park and Poets Corner on Tuesday.  With regards to the latter, we have lift off (well, some maintenance):

 With regards to Feltham Park, my views are as follows:

• I have already seen a big improvement with the level of litter picking.  I take this view because I always see less litter (and broken glass) than before;
• Some defects in the childrens’ play area (that I recently reported) have been made safe;
• The tagging on the equipment (that I recently reported) in the childrens’ play area has been removed;
• Some paths in the park are not ideal (but I expect that there are worst examples in other parks- the worst in Feltham Park was removed a few years ago);
• There are still bits of overgrowth in and around the park that are untidy;
• The pond, whilst not quite as bad as before, remains the Achilles heal of the park

With regards to the last three, I accept that these need time and my expectation is that there will be big improvements 12 months from now.  There is a real opportunity with the Winter Maintenance Programme!

Here is the picture of the pond on Tuesday:

It is the green surface that bothers post people.  It is clearly not as great or thick as before but I really hope that this will be maintained weekly and we will eventually have a clear pond.  The lifebuoy and other appartaus being in the pond remains a problem.

It will take time but as far as Feltham North goes, there has been a decent start on the part of Laing and Continental.  I am very optimistic about the future of the parks and open spaces in Feltham North.

Update on rubbish

Councillor Gill Hutchison has informed me this morning that the rubbish in Bedfont Lane was cleared early this morning.