School Closures Due to Heat Raise Questions on Net Zero Priorities
Chiswick Riverside councillor Gabriella Giles reports back
Cllr Gabriella Giles
June 28, 2026
In a week that’s seen record-breaking heats across the UK, I hope that you’ve all managed to keep safe and cool. What might sound like a flippant comment, is really a key reminder that when we have body heat fluctuations, don’t stay hydrated, or stay out of the sun, the impact to our health can be detrimental. I’m not a medical professional, so I can’t provide any advice, and I hope you’ve been able to find some innovative ideas to keep you cool. The online resource Heatwave Toolkit has some cheap and effective ways to keep your homes cool - which even include painting your windows with yoghurt. Not too sure I’ll be trying that anytime soon!
Away from our homes, two schools in Chiswick Riverside had to close and send pupils home this week. I’ve spoken with parents, governors and the Head Teacher from Grove Park Primary, and time and time again, the same topic comes up - our climate and the sustainability of our school’s infrastructure.
Back on the 18th June 2019, Hounslow Council declared a climate emergency. The original motion put forward by the then administration had made a serious omission - a target date for their ambitions. I spotted this, and suggested that we work towards a realistic target of 2038 to become a net-zero local authority, and match Manchester City Council in that target. The Administration then doubled-down and came up with an extremely ambitious target of 2030, and swiftly set about putting its plans together to achieve this.
The focus of these plans were very much on energy efficiency and reducing the carbon footprint of the council’s assets. Hounslow was a very successful recipient of the Conservative Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisaton Scheme, receiving £7.6 million in phase 1. Buildings such as Brentford Fountain Leisure Centre were identified as suitable locations for the installation of Solar panels, as well as 33 schools around Hounslow.
Grove Park Primary School was not eligible for additional funding at this time, as they had already gained funding under the Greater London Authority’s RE:FIT Scheme. The works were completed in mid-2019, and included the installation of solar panels, new lighting, the lowering of ceilings and more efficient insulation. All very laudable when our winters are getting colder, but what happens when we experience the heatwaves that we have this week?
Well, after the school was the only school in Hounslow to close in 2025, parents generously delved into their pockets to support the school in purchasing air conditioning units. However, it leads me to ask the question - why were these buildings only retrofitted for cold weather, and not warm? I emailed senior officers on Tuesday to investigate further, and was subsequently sent a list of all schools that were going to close early on Wednesday, but there have been no updates since.
In the meantime, headteachers across Hounslow have had to make difficult decisions: to keep schools open, to ensure their workstaff are safe, or to send thousands of pupils home, many to homes that may not be cooler than their schools. Parents have had to arrange emergency childcare or stop working themselves. Do I think there will be a resolution for this in the future? Probably not in the next two weeks, but I will definitely be pushing for a longer-term solution alongside teachers, parents and school governors.
Other challenges of climate change include temperamental weather, tree health and rising water levels.. In early June, a lightning strike hit a chimney stack on Stile Hall Parade, in Monday night’s storm a tree on Gordon Road lost a couple of branches. Thankfully in both situations nobody was hurt, but trees losing branches due to heavy rain should not happen to healthy trees.
Tree hit by lightning on Gordon Road
As for rising water levels, I’ve written a fair bit over the last few years about the work I’ve been doing with the Joint Thames Strategy Refresh. At a meeting in early June, we heard from the EA about the changes to Thames Barrier, and the upcoming consultation and how this could impact our riverside environments. Next week, I’ll be at the opening of the new Emanuel Hollow site in my role as board member of the Thames Strategy: Kew to Chelsea, to see how the site has been designed knowing that this area will be under water at high tides.
This year commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Thames Path, and a relay walk has been taking place to walk a baton from the source of the Thames to the sea. Due to work and family commitments, I was hoping to join at points as the baton went alongside the Thames Landscape Strategy and the Thames Strategy: Kew to Chelsea as it travelled from Hampton Court to Battersea. However, these were called off as there was too much of a risk due to the heat.
As I said seven years ago at the Borough Council meeting where we declared a climate emergency: “By 2050, more than two thirds of the global population are expected to be living in cities, many of them, like London, megacities of more than 10 million people. We need a plan from Hounslow Council to support this growth in a sustainable, environmentally considerate manner.” I just hope that in all of the plans to become net-zero ensure that we don’t just focus on the cold weather, but make sure we’re able to survive our summers too.
I hope you have a good week, and enjoy the cooler weather before it starts to heat up again over the next couple of weeks.
Cllr Gabriella Giles
gabriella.giles@hounslow.gov.uk
07966 270823
DEMOCRACY: DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Anyone can attend public meetings of the council. Hounslow House is fully accessible. Hounslow Central tube station is not step-free. The 237 bus stops nearby. Parking in local roads is limited.
Principal meetings are broadcast live on the Council’s YouTube channel
Planning Committee : 11 July at 7pm
Planning Committee : 25 July at 7pm
Overview and Scrutiny Committee : 2 July at 7pm
Planning Committee : 9 July at 7pm
Cabinet : 14 July
Borough Council : 21 July at 7.30pm
CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLOR SURGERIES
Chiswick: Every Saturday from 9.30am to 10.30am at Chiswick Library (Conservative councillors take this surgery in turn).
Gunnersbury: First Saturday of the month from 10am to 11am at The Gunnersbury Triangle Club, Triangle Way, W3 8LU (at least one of the Chiswick Gunnersbury ward councillors takes this surgery).
CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS CONTACT INFO
Chiswick Gunnersbury ward
Cllr Joanna Biddolph joanna.biddolph@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 703446
Cllr Vickram Grewal vickram.grewal@hounslow.gov.uk 07904 184099
Cllr Ron Mushiso ron.mushiso@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 702887
Chiswick Homefields ward
Cllr Michael Denniss Michael.Denniss@hounslow.gov.uk
Cllr Jack Emsley jack.emsley@hounslow.gov.uk 07977 396017
Cllr Linden Grigg Linden.Grigg@hounslow.gov.uk 07779 436258
Chiswick Riverside ward
Cllr Gabriella Giles gabriella.giles@hounslow.gov.uk 07966 270823
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