Creeping Apartheid for Chiswick from Hounslow House and City Hall

Homefields Ward and Leader of the Opposition Gerald McGregor on his week


Councillor Gerald McGregor

What is happening in Hounslow Affecting Chiswick

Chiswick residents are daily becoming more and more of a form of creeping apartheid, preventing people travelling, placing inconvenient barriers on through roads and becoming enraged by more and more impositions from an authoritarian council in City Hall and a local council based in Hounslow House.

The costs to residents are huge with penalty charge notices of £120.00 a pop, and the abandonment of Chiswick to the ULEZ regime of Sadiq Khan at £12.50 a day. The sheer craziness of these schemes is shown by the map of Chiswick.

The ULEZ scheme does not affect the Hogarth Roundabout, provided you use it to turn round having come off the M4 and go back to Chiswick Roundabout. Two primary schools sit close to the A4 at that point. The traffic engineers have yet again shown scant regard for the conditions being imposed on Chiswick residents.

New Traffic Orders

The Hounslow Cabinet (Leader Steve Curran and nine other councillors none of whom appear to have great knowledge of Chiswick) have decided to make permanent the experimental schemes imposed as part of the Covid 19 emergency response.

They have completely disregarded the Ombudsman, who slated the council for its’ inadequate and contradictory approach to the views of residents and the maintenance of agreed policy and have left the Chair of the Hounslow Borough Council Overview and Scrutiny panel (Councillor Daanesh Saeeda) unable to address them about the agreed call in, and not listening to the panel decision urging the council to delay any implementation. It did not meet the appropriate standards of consultation and had meaningful discrepancies in notice periods, time barred activities and general chaos in the way things are being managed. The constitution of the authority is, in the view of senior officers whom I talk to, being trashed by an authoritarian bunch of people who show no signs of listening.

This is a new form of apartheid pass law with residents of Chiswick requiring a permit to go about their ordinary business if they wish to leave their zone. The surveillance society is here with a vengeance. More cameras equals fewer police officers in neighbourhoods and communities and without out any human agency involved people are found guilty of traffic and transport offences through artificial intelligence. This is not where we should be. A right of appeal is not the same as avoiding summary justice.

We shall see some interesting outcomes next May. The argument is not Chiswick versus Hounslow. It is wider than that, and the next council elections will show some stunning changes when people understand that a vote for progress and removing the dead weight of needless expenditure will deliver a more secure and prosperous community, lower taxation and lower fees and charges across the board.

Housing and Chiswick: The world of Riverside ward councillor Michael Denniss

Arguments about housing continue, and the latest concerns are about the failure of Hounslow Housing to meet its statutory obligations to tenants. Chiswick Councillors are receiving more and more calls about repairs and domestic maintenance. Leaseholders are paying management charges for non-existent services. Some leaseholders have been chased out of their homes by the Council and by its’ developers causing such havoc that their apartments and properties have become uninhabitable.

The number of residents of Hounslow who are putting up with Hounslow Council massively overbuilding in close proximity to existing flats and private homes is a growing phenomenon. All of these developments are subject to planning approval, but the planning committee panels appear not to have great consideration for the rights and values of residents who are objecting.

As an opposition councillor Michael has the portfolio for Housing and Homelessness and he recognises, as does the Conservative Group, the need for affordable housing in the borough and support planning applications provided that they are sensible, attractive in the long term, allowing for a time when there might be a low demand for housing, and meet the council’s requirements on issues such as wheelchair accessibility, amenity space and land accessible to the public. The 1968 Ronan Point disaster, where poor design and construction caused a residential block to collapse just two months after it opened, and the more recent fire at Grenfell Tower, where the outside cladding was not fit for purpose, serve as stark reminders for sensible development.

Unfortunately one very recent case in Hounslow serves as a recent case in point. United Living Group, in partnership with the Council, is in the process of constructing an additional storey at 63-67 Whitton Road. However many residents have not been offered alternative accommodation and where this has been offered it is unsatisfactory, unfurnished and lacking WiFi.

Furthermore structural issues such as water ingress, electrical fittings becoming live, the failure of a temporary roof and the emergence of hairline cracks have caused great distress to residents. One resident even spoke of being able to see his neighbour through a bedroom wall! I challenged the Council Leader (who is also Head of Housing Strategy) on these and other issues at last month’s Borough Council and I will continue to monitor the situation.

The last Council Meeting…Michael Denniss Taking the Labour leadership to task on the building fiasco at 63-67 Whitton Road
The last Council Meeting…Michael Denniss Taking the Labour leadership to task on the building fiasco at 63-67 Whitton Road

Hounslow Council and the government have respective housing targets of 5,000 homes in Hounslow by 2022 and 300,000 homes annually nationwide respectively, their success relies on free market competition and the performance of property developers of all sizes. As a delegate to the Conservative Party Conference Michael heard from Thakeham Ltd on the market challenges that it and similarly sized property developers have faced recently.

These challenges include an aging workforce, an increasing pattern of construction workers reducing their working week from five days to four and a general labour shortage. The three largest developers are perceived by the industry as “going slow” and the take home point was that the role of other developers to fill this void was key to meeting the government’s target.  

Homelessness and its Effect on Chiswick

Michael holds another portfolio in homelessness and its causes. At the Conservative Conference the Rt Hon Stephen Dorrell, a former Conservative Health Minister and now Director of Public Policy Projects, hosted a talk on Are Britain’s Children Going Hungry where Jack Monroe, a journalist and anti-poverty campaigner, spoke on the struggle of living on just £10 a day with a young child.

At September’s Chiswick Area Forum the Hogarth Trust presented on the work that that organisation is doing in the borough and how it uses its community centre to support young people. Of particular note was that Brentford Ward had the highest level of child poverty in the borough. In the context of rising living costs and rents Michael fears a rise in homelessness and will work closely with council officers and organisations like the Hogarth Trust to address this issue.

 Canvassing in the soon to be Brentford West ward with fellow Conservative Candidate Zoe Nixon
Canvassing in the soon to be Brentford West ward with fellow Conservative Candidate Zoe Nixon

Mayors Reception

The Mayor of Hounslow, Councillor Bishnu Bahadur Gurung who is a member for the marginal Hanworth Park ward held his inaugural reception at the new town hall (the £64million Hounslow House Development). The Mayor, an ex-British Army Professional Soldier was very pleased to announce that his chosen charity was SSAFA - the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association, which is a UK charity that provides lifelong support to serving men and women and veterans from the British Armed Forces and their families or dependents.

Given our recent adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan there will be doubtless a growing requirement for their services to new cohorts of ex-services personnel. I urge all right- thinking people who honour our armed forces to put SSAFA on your Christmas charity list.

When the Conservatives ran the council, we gave the Royal Fusiliers the Freedom of the Borough to mark our respect for their service in Afghanistan. Since that time our physical connections with the armed forces have diminished as the Army has gradually closed posts and barracks, and also removed units from Hounslow to other locations, but our loyalty to our Defenders and Protectors should always be maintained.

Public Order – A commentary

The evening described above was somewhat marred by some of the speakers at the reception telling their invited guests to keep quiet and in one instance to shut up. This behaviour and an inability to command an audience appropriately or to set about a task effectively is a sad commentary on a public event that was designed to show off the best of Hounslow.

Senior members of the administration did not always comport themselves well, turning a civic event into a political jamboree and using inappropriate language in front of female guests. Nonetheless, despite all the provocations that occurred, Conservative councillors wholeheartedly wish the Mayor a successful year in office.

SURGERIES ARE SUSPENDED PENDING SECURITY REVIEW!

We normally hold face-to-face surgeries at Chiswick Library. We hope that this will return as before, and will be available in Chiswick and also in Gunnersbury in the near future.

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

Chiswick Homefields Ward, Leader of the Opposition

London Borough of Hounslow

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Most council meetings are now taking place in person at Hounslow House though a few, such as licensing panel meetings, continue to be held virtually. Even if they are held in person, you can watch them live (or later) on  the council's YouTube channel . Please check for each committee by looking at the agenda reports pack for each committee.

The key council meetings coming up are:  

• 9th November: Overview and Scrutiny Committee
• 11th November: Planning Committee
• 16th November: Cabinet
• 30th November: Borough Council

Chiswick Homefields ward

Cllr Patrick Barr
patrick.barr@hounslow.gov.uk
07976 703263

Cllr Gerald McGregor
gerald.mcgregor@hounslow.gov.uk
07866 784821

Cllr John Todd
john.todd@hounslow.gov.uk
07866 784651

Chiswick Riverside ward

Cllr Michael Denniss
michael.denniss@hounslow.gov.uk
07976 703274

Cllr Gabriella Giles
gabriella.giles@hounslow.gov.uk
07966 270823

Cllr Sam Hearn
sam.hearn@hounslow.gov.uk
07833 376222

Turnham Green ward

Cllr Joanna Biddolph
joanna.biddolph@hounslow.gov.uk
07976 703446

Cllr Ranjit Gill
ranjit.gill@hounslow.gov.uk
07976 702956

Cllr Ron Mushiso
ron.mushiso@hounslow.gov.uk
07976 702887

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October 31, 2021