Weekly Update From Councillor Guy Lambert

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Crosses borough boundary in search of better bin use

Thursday afternoon was Raj Bath’s funeral down at Hanworth Crematorium. He’d been part of the fabric of Hounslow for decades and it was not only standing room only, but there were more people outside the crem than in. Many short speeches from his family, in the main. I’m sure I said it before, but it bears repeating: he was a lovely colleague, full of wisdom and kindness, and I’ll miss him.

I had something planned for the evening – the Thames Landscape Strategy meeting - which caused me to turn down the Brentford Chamber of Commerce. As it turned out I’d messed up the times so I ended up staying at home and having a long phone conversation with my daughter which may have been better for my soul, much as I like the Thames landscape.

Talking of landscapes, Friday morning found me in one of NW London’s beauty spots, the Abbey Road recycling centre in Brent – well, I’d say Park Royal. The cycle route there was quite idyllic, involving a park where I think the Guinness cows used to roam, when Guinness had cows. Some say they have a better alternative to milk. The recycling centre may have been even more beautiful before a lot of it burnt down, which is a bit of a thing with recycling places. Anyway, it has been under new management for a year or so and processes are very professional. One of my random learnings is that oil goes off, like milk, so the previous system of bulk buying they had there was a mite daft, even if they saved a few quid on paper. A bit like what’s in my fridge. In a previous life I had a cat, which makes a very effective edible-ometer. Add that to 101 uses for a cat. Perhaps I could get a Boris Johnson for that purpose. Doesn’t have a lot of other uses but if it gets food poisoning… goodness that would be so sad. Anyway, back to the recycling. Most uncharacteristically I omitted to take any pictures, so you’ll have to imagine it for yourself. Think the Taj Mahal. The restaurant in Scunthorpe that was destroyed by fire in 1992 and hasn’t found a new tenant as yet.

On the way back to civilisation I wanted to take a look at Pitshanger Lane, which had been ‘sold’ to me as an example of a superb suburban high street last week. My route there involved cycling over the Hanger Lane Gyratory system, then doing a U-turn on the north circular. This is not for the faint hearted and next time I may make a detour, perhaps to Oxford. When I got there it was quite an inspiration to a litter-fancier like me. I found John Martin in his estate agent’s office and he gave me a quick tour. Basically, the whole street is pristine, because the retailers have realised what a difference it makes: they have their own brooms with which they sweep out the gutters and the pavements. They have worked with the people living above shops to get them proper bins and everybody seems to be bought in. My pictures really don’t tell the story – there are plenty of street bins and benches for folk to sit on, and there are bins for the flats tucked in to every nook and cranny. Of course, it’s a relatively easy street to get right – prosperous area, lots of nice trees, community spirit – but something to aspire to.

In the afternoon we have the long-awaited opening of concierges’ offices in two of the Brentford towers. There has been one concierge between 6 towers for too long which really didn’t work for residents so as part of the estate makeover we’re now one per 2 towers. Happy smiling people, samosas, selfies, what’s not to like?

Saturday morning is the first of our two ideas sessions for the Cleaner Greener Borough programme. We have an excellent turnout – about 50 residents I think from across the borough. The spirit is very good and it’s great to see the ideas and enthusiasm to take part in making our borough an even nicer place to live. Session 2 is in two weeks’ time when we turn the ideas that are practical into practical action plans.

Then I proceed by way of Isleworth Town school (residents want bins in the pedestrian alley) via Boston Manor Park (of which more anon) to the Hanwell carnival to say hello to FoodBox supporters MGR Removals. Really nice people.

Boston Manor has been badly damaged by the lorries taking down the Junction2 festival. There was a great downpour when the festival ended and some of the fields and pathways, which were pristine when I was there last Sunday on the last day of the festival, have become horribly churned up. I will be visiting there more or less daily whilst this is repaired, as local residents and park users are quite rightly very upset about it. Mind you, it is still a lovely park and large areas are unaffected. I notice at the Hanwell carnival there are lots of huge trucks parked all over the grass, but when I pass again during the week there is no visible damage. We were very unlucky with the timing of the downpour but we can’t let this happen ever again.

Sunday morning it’s our monthly litter pick. Bit of a miserable morning, but 5 people turn up and we perform a service for Syon ward (local councillors please note :-)) around the police station and the back of Morrisons. I litter picked round here a couple of months ago but there is no shortage of mess to keep us busy.

On Monday morning we have a Foodbox trustees meeting. With our new enthusiastic trustees we are reviewing various governance arrangements and continuing the epic journey of trying to persuade Lloyd’s Bank that we have a treasurer, that the treasurer is a he not a she, and he does not live as a lodger in the house of the previous treasurer. Banks – doncha just love ‘em?

In the evening it’s Labour group, preparing for a big Borough Council agenda on Tuesday. I resist the temptation to attend a meeting of people looking at ward boundaries. I am firmly of the belief that as I live in the middle of Brentford I should be in Brentford ward rather than the made up ward called Syon. Thus far I have failed to convince the commissioners, who say they have carefully considered this before ignoring it.

I spend Tuesday morning walking with a friend of mine round Gunnersbury Park, in all its glory. Sitting with a cup of coffee near the pond later, a chap in hi-vis apologises for being near us, which wasn’t actually a bother. We asked him what he was up to as he seemed to be talking to the trees. Turns out he is an Oak Processionary Moth hunter so spends his life looking at oak trees. He worked in a shipyard for 2 years (I detected a Mackem accent) and has been a tree man for 30. There are worse jobs in this world, on a sunny morning in Gunnersbury Park.

Midday the Melvinator and I attend a session with the housing supply and allocation people. They have embraced the challenges of the Homelessness Reduction Act and continued their progress on reducing the use of temporary accommodation and B&Bs, though with the massive increase in single people to whom we have a duty following the act, the B&B numbers have gone back up a bit. I am reassured that the service vets the B&Bs that we use: some of them are really studio flats rented by the day and none are subject to that horror story some of us remember of people being thrown out on the streets every morning with a couple of Weetabix. B&B residents can all stay in their rooms all day. I am actually very proud of Hounslow’s housing service: it’s amazing that they continue to bear down on temp accommodation with all the pressures they have (including the number of engagements with homeless/potentially homeless having literally doubled since the act came into force).

Borough council in the evening with the usual knockabout. Highlights for me were our unanimous backing of Katherine Dunne’s motion declaring a climate emergency and our ambition to be carbon neutral then zero carbon. The climate change agenda rather dominated the meeting. Good. Genghis Todd asked me a helpful question about the Pothole Pledge (I don’t think it was intended to be helpful). I believe officers have managed this programme very well and our first tranche of 20 roads will be done this year including Brentford’s worst road – Chestnut Avenue – and the cyclist’s nightmare – Manor House Way in Isleworth.

Wednesday morning, with the Melvinator to the Brentford Chamber of Commerce business breakfast. Then a catch up with my lead officer and a meeting with a resident about a licensing application in the evening. In a licensed premises, naturally, this time the ever-pleasing Griffin.

Today is a family day – I meet my two sisters in the middle of nowhere at a place allegedly equidistant between the 3 of us. The ridiculous car gets its first serious outing since its latest hospital episode. Let’s hope it doesn’t suffer a relapse.

Cllr Guy Lambert

June 21, 2019