HAVE YOUR SAY ON THE FUTURE OF CHISWICK
I recently attended the meeting in Chiswick Town Hall regarding Hounslow's 'vision' of Chiswick. What a sham their half baked attempts at consultation are.
The meeting was attended by various officials including Kate Hall. Enclosed below a letter from her to a friend and my response. Note in the letter from Kate there are links to subscribe to their mailing list as well as comment on the online consultation (another sham that doesn't really explain very much). Please have your say.
Dear Kate, I recently attended your event with a friend at Chiswick Town Hall and just wanted to respond to your e mail below.
I am sorry to say I find your letter empty and insincere. We discovered last week that Hounslow's Vision is based on a ‘consultation’ which none of us received or completed, on which we were not leafleted, although you as Head of Economic Recovery and Regeneration claimed we were, and the ‘results’ and vision are based on 1,600 responses. Dubious at the very least. When you were questioned regarding the leafleting you insisted it had happened … how would you know anyway … were you omnipresent in every residence in Chiswick and saw the leaflet drop on the doormat?
No you weren’t and I repeat the residents of Chiswick were not informed, and yet you press ahead insisting that it’s all about what ‘we’ want. A very healthy dose of B/S I would say. Regarding your comments in your letter:
Thank you for the reminder but you’re just ticking boxes. You haven’t checked back with the Chiswick community, you have merely spoken to a handful of people who miraculously found out you were meeting at the town hall. Furthermore what real relevance does your 2021 engagement have? I think you mentioned around 1,600 respondents. This is not checking back with the community, it is a sham just so you can say you have, but you have not. You have failed to reach out to the community you claim to represent, you have not bothered to make sure you reach out to us - you pretend you have and make wild claims such as taking into account the community’s view when the reality is it’s just a mere fraction of the community.
You didn’t even put me on the mailing list for this letter, I saw it through the grapevine! Evidence again or your appalling due diligence.
You say you want to understand the community’s views but if you really wanted to do this you would make sure you engaged with us properly. It is merely an empty comment that ticks your boxes.
You say you want to ensure residents, visitors and local businesses all have the opportunity to review the vision document and the proposals. Honestly Kate this is truly pathetic and an emtpy comment with no value. If you really wanted to make sure all residents, visitors and businesses have an opportunity to respond you would therefore MAKE SURE it happens. This is called accountability Kate. I’m not sure you understand the concept of accountability but If you want to make sure something happens then you create e mechanism that MAKES SURE it happens. It really is that simple … but instead all you do is employ empty phrases with no action behind it.
Kind regards, Anthony Letterese
From: Tom Brooks <Tom.Brooks@hounslow.gov.uk>
Sent: 11 November 2022 17:26
To: Town Centre Management <TownCentre.Management@hounslow.gov.uk>
Subject: Re-imagining our town centres - Chiswick Vision - Autumn 2022
Hello
Thank you for your time at the in-person conversation on the Chiswick Town Centre Vision last week at the Town Hall and for leaving your contact details so we can keep you updated and involved. We were really pleased to see so many people passionate about the future of their town centre.
As a reminder the purpose of this phase of engagement is to check back with the Chiswick communities on the Chiswick Town Centre Vision document and the proposals put forward during the 2021 engagement and which are compiled in it under the themes that were important to the community. We want to understand the community’s views on which of the proposals are the most important and could be the most impactful for Chiswick and delivering the vision. From this we will compile a delivery plan based on those priorities, and identify partners to work with on the proposals.
An online survey is now available HERE. This survey takes you through the same prioritisation process carried out at the in-person event so you do not need to complete again if you responded on paper. However please do pass on the link to friends, neighbours and colleagues, we want to ensure residents, visitors and local businesses all have the opportunity to review the vision document and the proposals within it. We will be promoting it via all our usual channels.
Many of you were not aware of the weekly council e-newsletter that goes out. This link allows you to sign up for that, as well as any other e-bulletins that interest you - Sign up for email updates | Get Connected | London Borough of Hounslow . Once you click through the link, you will be asked for your email address and then you can choose which topics of interest you want to select.
Next steps: all the in-person and online responses will be compiled over the next couple of months into a draft vision delivery plan. This will take into account the Chiswick communities’views on the prioritisation of the proposals and put them into a phased plan to secure investment.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch
Kind Regards
Kate
Kate Bull
Head of Economic Recovery and Regeneration
Housing, Planning and Economic Regeneration
London Borough of Hounslow
3rd Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow, TW3 3EB
Tel: 020 8583 3729
Anthony Letterese ● 530d46 Comments