Weekly Update From Councillor Guy Lambert

Heidelberg site design, parking, a disappearing tree and Lampton Group finances

Guy and Lara campaigning in Brentford West

The architect from Fairview (well he is doing the design for them on the Heidelberg site) ran me through the designs they have come up with. I hadn’t managed to get to either of the exhibitions they held so it was pretty new to me. I thought the designs were OK at a glance, though of course the devil will be in the detail and inevitably there will be a view (which I may share, not sure yet) that the development will be too tall.

I thought they had made some sensible provisions to deal with the proximity to the MSO Marine boatyard. I discussed the local problem of a lack of affordable space for creative/artisanal businesses and encouraged them to provide some of this in the development. It would fit well with the locality and help animate the residential development, avoiding empty units on the ground floor. I was able to share some of the data which had been compiled by the local Creative Workspaces Group. I am firmly of the opinion that providing some space for our cottage industries will be a win/win/win for the artists, developers and the town.

Then Lara and I were out in Glenhurst Road, parking issues again but generally happy campers apart from that.

Friday was a big day for bins. Up to the Harrow Civic Centre for a formal West London Waste meeting – maybe my last – then a short walk down to the council’s new conference facility, Victoria Hall, for a structured workshop looking at how the recycling and waste services need to evolve over the next few years. This was all the environment directors from the 6 boroughs, their recycling lead officers and the 6 lead councillors, plus all the key West London Waste officers. There is a new Environment Act which will change a lot of the rules about packaging and about how waste is managed by manufacturers, retailers and local authorities and it’s important we plan together to get the best solutions. I thought it was a very productive session, though of course many of the councillors (me included) may not be back after May 5 th.

We had presentations from someone called John Blakey of Trustedexecutive.com aka Blakey Foundation. He asked us what was the new feature in this picture.

Hope you had a good think. The answer is the Himalayas. They had been invisible from this village due to smog for about 20 years until North India had its first lockdown. Not exactly relevant to bins but a fascinating insight, I thought.

I also liked this slide from a gentleman from waste company Suez. An interesting take on reducing our impact – recycling is important but it’s quite a small part of a very big story.

Monday afternoon we had a Lampton finance meeting. Operationally the businesses are doing well, but they are still negotiating support for various COVID impacts – from the enforced closure of leisure centres and membership fee suspension to the equally necessary use of temporary staff to backfill Lampton people sick or isolating – with the council. I hear later that most of this is now resolved. Then a session on Health and Safety. I’ve been lucky to work in industries where there is little danger most of my life. I remember, when I was leading facilities for Honeywell, we kept winning awards from the British Safety Council but I solemnly reviewed the accident reports that came in. My favourite was “grazed shin by getting up from my desk chair with a drawer in the desk pedestal still open”. Remedial action: “take care to close drawers before rising from desk in future”. But it’s a very different story in Lampton, where there are dozens of bin lorries and Greenspace trucks navigating often narrow streets, plus people up ladders with sharp knives and massive waste baling machines with many tonnes of pressure applied so you have to take safety very seriously indeed. Lampton has a good record but needs constant attention and continuous improvement.

Early evening I took a quick bike-hop to Chiswick. The anti-cycling conspiracy theorists in Chiswick had decided a tree that had been felled by Hounslow Highways (because it was likely to fall on someone’s head, or worse, on a Range Rover) was removed to make way for the cycle lane. I decided to go and check if there was any evidence of this and found it here.

I suppose we are now going to have to rip up the newly-built cycle lane and add a new zig zag to make sure it takes advantage of the space vacated by the former tree. Though since Hounslow Highways will be planting a new London Plane in the same place we would then have to divert the cycle lane again. Life gets very complicated.

Bleary eyed and blinking, on Tuesday morning I go to the one way street Boston Park Road to witness the mayhem at Our Lady and St John’s School drop off time. Lots of cars parking haphazardly, children crossing the road with visibility obstructed. Not helped by a nursery and a car hire place a few yards away. I’m told people often turn right coming out of the car hire place despite a huge sign saying turn left: I didn’t see this but I did see a car going the wrong way out of Burden Close, a block of flats where you might think people would know better! As we’re on health and safety, this is really unsafe! They have requested a school street here, something I whole-heartedly agree with, and I write to the traffic team to try and get this progressed quickly. I also ask for a deep clean of this road and of Whitestile Road, where Hounslow Highways don’t do a great job clearing the gutter areas, not helped by parked cars everywhere.

Talking of parked cars everywhere – seems to be this week’s theme – my next stop is a Zoominar© about parking organised by the Urban Design Group and CPRE London. This is an informative event and it reinforces my view that we need to find a different solution to parking in suburban areas like Brentford. People tell me they pay a lot of money to park their cars on the street, but it’s really not a lot of money – I pay several times more just in service charges for the car parking space I bought with my flat – and the costs of providing parking are considerable – from building and maintaining roads in the first place to the near-impossibility of keeping streets clean when they are full of parked cars. Of course, many of us rely on cars and some need them for their jobs but estimates vary between cars being left in ‘storage’ on the streets for between 96% and 99% of the time. I think our approach will change over time and more people will go either for active travel or the use of car clubs. Doesn’t help the current problems around Orchard Road though, which we’re working on.

In the evening we have a session with the Brentford Towers Residents Association. This is slightly mangled because we end up in two separate Zootings© and there is no phone number for The Melvinator to join the one we eventually use. Exec Director of Housing Peter Matthew is there as is the new Assistant Director of resident services and it seems positive changes are coming to the way council housing is managed. I have to start saying goodbye to the BTRA people, as I am not standing in Brentford East ward where the towers are located. This is quite a wrench for me as I have greatly enjoyed working with these powerful women and I feel there has been a great partnership between them, the other residents, councillors and the council to make enormous improvements to the estate. I’m sure we’ll keep in touch.

Then it’s Brentford Voice’s ‘Local Conversation’ at the Free Church. Quite a good turnout (though I doubt there was a single person from Brentford East there) and lively debate.

On Wednesday it’s Lampton Group board. Everything is now in place for the next stage of development and our relatively new group chair is asking the team to revisit strategy for future years, which is exactly what a group board should be concerning itself with.

Later, Lara and I visit York Road, and make a start on Baltic Avenue. Lots of good conversations – not always comfortable, but I like talking to people one to one and really understanding what floats their boat (or sinks it). Was nice to remember the tree and plaque I helped arrange for the residents to commemorate Eric Dicker. Someone I never met but who was a long-term local legend, helping I think with Scouts and all sorts of local initiatives, and clearly well-loved. ‘His’ tree coming into blossom in the picture. Reminds me, must try and find out whether anything has happened re the Baltic Centre since Hyundai abandoned plans to turn it into a car showroom a couple of years ago. I’m afraid it’s still a terrible eyesore.

Thursday morning a brief Zooting© with the Lampton Group chair, then it’s been nose to the blogstone. The Melvinator calls and wants me to accompany him on the arduous trek from outside McDonalds to Watermans Park this afternoon.

Another thrilling instalment next week…

Cllr Guy Lambert

April 1, 2022