Still Fizzing with Ideas After a Month of Firsts

Brentford West councillor Craig Owen reports back

Brentford West councillor Craig Owen

August 14, 2026

July was a month of firsts for me... first proper Borough Council meeting, first Planning Committee meeting, and my first break away since the start of the election campaign! I came back fizzing with ideas as to how I can best help residents and make Brentford West the best it can be.

So, first proper Borough Council meeting (May didn’t count as that was mostly ceremony)... Two of my petitions were presented to the Council. The first petition was for a skate park to be built in Boston Manor Park under the M4. It’s a great location – within walking distance for a lot of young people, near a tube station and on a bus route – but there is a feasibility element, given the area under the Bridge is used for live music events during the summer. I am working with officers to find a way through and hope to have an update by the time of the next Area Forum. The second petition I organised on behalf of York Road residents who want event day parking restrictions on their road to ease pressure on parking. Not everybody will be in favour, so it’s important the Council consults all residents on the road, which will happen soon. With potential live music events at the Gtech stadium in the summer (subject to planning permission) this may prove to be a smart move - more on that further down.

We also debated the Corporate Plan – A Fairer Future – at Borough Council, which sets out how we’ll fulfil the manifesto commitments we were elected on. Brentford will play a critical role in delivering our borough-wide objectives, as well as being a beneficiary. By facilitating economic growth and community investment through new housing, employment and investment opportunities along the Golden Mile; we stand to win more homes, a strengthened community hub at Brentford Library, investment in the town centre, and new transport links. It’s a great time to be a Councillor in Brentford and I look forward to playing whatever part I can.

Meetings and events this month included a public meeting on the proposal by Brentford FC to hold six live music events at the Gtech between football seasons. I have to mind what I say here, given it will come to Planning Committee; but as you can expect, I raised the issues of noise, parking/public transport, anti-social behaviour and coordinating with events at Gunnersbury and Boston Manor parks with the Brentford FC team.

I also went on a walkabout around the event space at Boston Manor Park with the licensing team and other colleagues ahead of the two weekends of live music that have just passed. I also walked around Boston Manor Road and Swyncombe Avenue on Friday night around 22:00 and whilst it wasn’t hellish, I did have some concerns with the organisation of the egress and raised it with organisers, as did Cllr. Lambert. We will work with the Council and organisers to ensure future events are managed as well as they can be, and I have had mixed reviews from residents living on BMR/Swyncombe Avenue about comparisons with previous years.

I also attended a meeting of the Thomas Layton Collection as a Trustee. I feel very privileged to offer what support I can to fellow Trustees. I would love for even part of the collection to be available to be viewed in Brentford or even exhibited, perhaps at Brentford Library given Thomas Layton’s connection to our town. This is something I’ll be pursuing, but there are lots of limitations around storage conditions, space for exhibiting etc. - but we can dare to try!

Regarding Brentford Library, there has been some concern over proposed improvements to Community Hubs and Library Services and thanks to those who have got in touch with me. My understanding of proposals as they stand is that technology will be used to expand the service offering, not reduce it; meaning we will still have our core, staffed hours with extended hours wrapped around, facilitated by self-access. It would mean more people being able to access library services at times that are more convenient for them, and community groups having the opportunity to hold more meetings and activities, not bound by core hours. There will be a consultation this summer.

In the interim, there is more we can do – including the notice board outside of the library! It has been tidied up, and the library team will be displaying additional, useful information. I would welcome thoughts on what you’d like to see! You can email me at Craig.Owen@hounslow.gov.uk with any thoughts on this and anything else I’ve covered in this update.

Finally, casework wins for the month – getting a horrendously cracked stone fixed on Enfield Road, getting an abandoned car removed on Brook Lane North, getting the Brook Lane North end of Windmill Road properly cleaned up (including the removal of a trolley!), helping a resident access SEND services, and clocking up 37 FixMyStreet reports (the most of any month in my life?!). Just a flavour. If you ever need any help that is Council-related, please shout.

Until next month!

Cllr Craig Owen

Brentford West