Weekly Update From Councillor Guy Lambert

The elephant on an Elephant becomes a giant on a Giant

A small but perfectly-formed team descended on Braemar Road, New Road and Ealing Road on Thursday afternoon to extol the virtues of the Labour party in general and our specific candidates Sadiq Khan and Candice Atterton in particular. As ever, some people agreed and others didn’t but it was good to be out chatting to people again, after a whole year when we couldn’t.

Later we had the Lampton Finance etc committee and the Health and Safety committee. There was a report from the internal auditors with nothing major identified but we are very cautious given the problems that have beset some other local authority companies. Same with Health and Safety – we are involved in hazardous activities involving big lorries in small streets, chainsaws, electrical work and swimming pools so it’s important to be very careful, and fortunately this caution is embedded in the company culture and Lampton mean to keep it that way (with nudges from the council and auditors available if there’s any slippage!)

On Friday afternoon I decided to see how central London was looking, so me and my Elephant braved the now cycle lane free Kensington High Street – so important that they have reprovided the space for illegal parking - and reached the Strand and Waterloo Bridge without serious mishap. Coming back the Elephant got all wobbly at its rear end and at first I thought we had a puncture. That wasn’t it but it felt very weird. Fortunately Dr Winston was lurking inside the BikeHub, diagnosed a perished rear tyre wall and admitted it to hospital. Even more fortunately, I had mentioned looking for a different bike and they had one to loan me so the elephant on an Elephant is currently a giant on a Giant.

Later on I met (via Zoom) Seema Malhotra and some chums of hers from Feltham to discuss concerns they have with the local environment. I’m very pleased to be engaging with this and there is an increasing band of concerned residents who are really committed to making Feltham lovelier. I’m trying to get this blog over early this Thursday morning because yesterday was the fortnightly clean of Feltham North ward and I want to get on my loaned bike and go do an inspect later in the morning.

Monday I was free until the evening, where I was booked for a talk organised by the Local History Society where council Heritage officer David Stockdale was running through the history of Boston Manor and its park. It’s been there for a while as this map by Rocque, dating from 1746, demonstrates. I hated history when I was a schoolboy because it seemed all about memorising dates, but these days I find it fascinating and David and the Local History Society people are always an excellent listen.

Tuesday morning our regular West London Waste meeting. They have asked each of us Borough representatives to take on a specific strategic workstream, working with an environment director from another council. I volunteered to lead on the plans for ‘extended producer responsibility’ which are coming down the track from the government and will have a significant impact on local recycling services. Of course at this stage of the electoral cycle, ‘strategic’ is a big word. In just over 12 months I will have to decide whether to stand as a councillor again, which ward, get approved as a candidate, get selected, win the election, get a place on cabinet and continue with the recycling brief otherwise someone else will have to pick up a half-developed (and possibly half-baked) strategy. And this of course is true for every one of the politicians on the call.

I’m immediately on my bike, and off with a friend of mine to cycle to Bushy Park and have a general explore. I confess I hadn’t realised how big it was. We discovered (well, this was hardly Captain Cook, but you know what I mean) the Water Gardens, which were a bit more of that history and rather fine.

Back for the Boston Manor Park steering group, very much dominated by the Friends group. I specifically wanted to clear up the matter of the community café. There has been a petition about this saying roughly ‘save our community café’ which I found a bit puzzling as there was never any plan to threaten it. It is currently run by the Friends and the council is very keen for that to continue, albeit after a pause whilst the building is improved. The Friends are a little unsure whether they will want to resume and I really hope they will – it’s a most valuable asset and should be even better after the park changes are complete.

After that we had our member briefing session on COVID. The situation in Hounslow is steadily but slowly improving, though infection hotspots persist in one or two areas in the middle of the borough. There is some concern about new variants, though nobody is quite sure how concerned they need to be.

Then it’s cabinet, mainly about housing and the 30-year business plan, and the recently agreed (by residents) regeneration plans for Charlton House. Residents were overwhelmingly positive about the plans and I was able to thank the team from housing for what seemed to me to have been an impeccable consultation process and really pleasing proposals. Of course, there are some businesses in there which in due course will have to relocate and I put in a good word for Albany Spice, where one day I hope to be able to dine again – their takeaway is excellent, but it’s not the same!

Wednesday a free day and I actually go to the gym, for the first time in about a year. I didn’t fancy it last summer when it was allowed. Anyway, it was OK and very quiet so I felt pretty safe. All that wiping down of machines takes on a new urgency. After that, reward in the shape of various strong ales in the garden of the Black Dog, soaked up by a bit of health food. Well, my hamburger and chips did have a slice of lettuce, so that’s OK then.

It’s sunny out there, and Feltham beckons me. I have to be back here for a Teams meeting at 1 so signing off now.

Cllr Guy Lambert

April 22, 2021