Flooding on A312 Uxbridge Road

I know that the following is not in Feltham North but it will be of interest to some.  I know that Hanworth Park Councillors have lobbied hard to get something done about this ongoing problem.  West Area Committee Members received the following today:

“Following our attendance at the recent West Area Committee meeting, I am writing to advise on the outcome of our site meeting with TfL on the A312 Uxbridge Road.

This meeting (with Phil Hurst from TfL) took place on Friday 30 September and after some primary investigations, Thames Water has agreed to undertake the following.

   Complete a descale from No 56 through to No 154 (500 metres). Followingthe descale a CCTV will be carried out to look for any structuraldefects in the sewer. Although a CCTV was carried out by TfL the resultsof this further examination would be more accurate following the removal of any debris as it may be at present hiding any faults.
   Should any faults be shown up following this closer investigation Thames Water will move to rectify them.

During Friday’s investigations it was identified that certain sections of the highway will require resurfacing due to depressions which are causing ponding. The volume of water has been overloading the gullies and more gullies are required to allow the water to pass through.

With this in mind, following the works by Thames Water, TfL will resurface areas of the highway where depressions are compounding the drainage problem and drainage improvement work will be carried out to include additional gullies. Work by TfL will also be carried out to clear existing debris which are blocking the gullies.

What I have been unable to ascertain is exactly when Thames Water will be undertaking this work. I realise this is important as TfL will be unable to start any resurfacing work until our sewer is checked and any necessary repairs undertaken. However, I am confident this will be carried out in good time.”

Boris Johnson comes to Feltham

Most politicians cross the road to meet the people.  With Boris, people cross the road to meet him.  This is the second time that I have seen Boris walking around this Borough and it is just incredible how many people – of all ages and backgrounds – want to meet him.  There is truly no exaggeration here!

We walked around The Centre and the High Street.  The visit ended with a quick walk through the Moon on the Square.  Here are a few pictures and with so many others with cameras, there maybe more?

Hanworth Park this morning

I took a look around the open space in Hanworth Park on Thursday and returned this morning (this time without leaflets).  I am thrilled to bits by what I see as it is yet another demonstration of turnaround.  The West Area, especially open spaces in the Hanworth Park ward, suffered the greatest from maintenance cuts imposed by the previous administration.  It was always going to take a while to turn things around.  Item 10 (question) of this was tabled towards the end of 2007.  All of the Conservative Councillors in Feltham have been pushing for improvements and I really believe that these have been delivered – with more improvements on the way.

Here are some pictures from this morning:

The biggest complaint in the past was regarding the lack of grass cutting.  I have not seen such complaints or problems for quite some time – well done Cllrs Lee, Stewart, Jabbal & Williams on the political front and to the team who have delivered the improvements on the ground.  The extra £2 million in increased maintenance would not have been possible had the administration not introduced a more commercial approach towards managing finance & resources.

I got talking to one lady who was walking her dogs and we agreed how great things were.  She was from Sunbury and I was glad that she has made such a great choice to visit Hanworth Park so regularly.  It is a stunning open space.

Official Opening of Heart of Hounslow

I attended this earlier this afternoon.  I would say around 30 to 40 people were present, including Councillors Pam Fisher, John Todd, Brad Fisher, Paul Jabbal, Peta Vaught & Jagdish Sharma.

We received a number of presentations, a Q&A session and Ann Keen MP finished the event with a few words.  I enjoyed her speech.

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 West Area Monitoring Committee

I think that it is reasonably well known that I have probably been the least enthusiastic about Area Committees since becoming a Councillor.   It is also known that I am in a very small minority.

However, last night’s meeting was very interesting.  I expected it to finish quite early because the agenda appeared small.  It went on until 10pm.

The briefing from the Chief Executive of the Air Accident Investigation Bureau went down very well.  An extremely technical matter but explained very well.  Most of my colleagues had a much better grasp of the technical issues than me.  Here is a write up from the Chronicle.

The discussion we had with the police was one of the best I have seen, where Members raised some very serious issues of ASB in their wards.  Fortunately, for us in Feltham North, we are not currently having the amount of ASB as is the case in other wards, though Bedfont Lane and Frank Towell Court remains a concern.  I am also concerned about the amount of young people hanging about around Hounslow Road and Feltham Park late at night.

The Borough Fire Commander was unable to attend.

The Small Grant Applications did not deliver a consensus on every application.  I voted against two and abstained on one (lack of information for me).  I voted against two because, on balance, my longstanding concern about focussing on racial groups (I am passionate about integration, good race relations and making it clear to all that *everybody matters*) overrode my respect for those making the applications, one of whom was a constituent.  I thought that Cllr Paul Jabbal spoke very well during the discussion and made some points that would typically be made by a relatively newer Councillor (what a brilliant first year he has had).