Weekly Update From Councillor Guy Lambert

Good turnout and full agenda at a lively Isleworth and Brentford Area Forum

Saturday morning was spent door-knocking at Fraser House

On Thursday I had another crack at the over-60 Oystercard with my young resident (only 59 – practically a babe in arms) with what appeared to be a successful outcome. A few days later my WhatsApp sported a picture of the card with her name and a picture of her fizzog on it so our efforts were successful in the end. To be honest, I couldn’t really criticise the process, but it does bring home to you that these online applications, which are straightforward to those of us who spend (too much of) our time in front of a screen have lots of challenges for those who don’t. It’s easy for me to access email, upload a photo etc etc but learning to do that is not so easy, especially if you’re coming to it late in life.

In the evening, the Isleworth and Brentford Area Forum at the Free Church. There was a pretty good turnout and we heard about new initiatives to improve community safety, particularly around housing estates. Also useful input from our friends in the police including our very active and responsive Sergeant, Jim Cope. Whatever problems might exist in the wider Met, I have nothing but admiration for the local Safer Neighbourhood Team who do their level best for the ward despite still meagre resources (though resources are half way back to where they were before the cuts started in 2015).

There was a discussion about Cycleway9, which is out for consultation at present, linking Brentford and Hounslow along the High Street and London Road. The consultation was supposed to close yesterday but is still there this morning (Thursday)! . There was a lively moment as former Conservative candidate and Tommy Robinson (aka Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) fan Philippa Auton asked a question and proceeded to make a speech. After about 4 attempts to dissuade her from making a speech (and actually get her question answered) chair Louki intervened and persuaded her to hand over the microphone, following which she left the hall.

We then heard from Thames Water, who aren’t responsible for any of the problems we experience with dumping sewage in the rivers and flooding people’s basements. Then from representatives of the Mighty Bees, about what an impact they are providing for the town, and what they are doing to support us all.

Then we had the council’s culture manager about the Summer of Culture, coming soon to a Brentford near you.

I then repaired to Holy Spice for some comestibles, and having got my schnozzle around a pint of Cobra I rang my companions to ask them where they were. Obviously they were in Albany Spice, so I repositioned myself there for the usual excellent dinner, making a mental note that I really want to try out Holy Spice soon – menu looks fab.

On Saturday morning a small but perfectly-formed team assaulted the North Face of Fraser House (one of the Brentford Towers) for a bit of door-knocking. One woman burst from her flat with family in tow and asked how she could join the Labour Party. She is heartily fed up with Johnson and his shenanigans and wants to play some part in his downfall. That aside, we had started a bit early to miss a clash with Brentford v Palace and a lot of people were out, but we had plenty of contact as we proceeded down the tower. As ever, I accrued one or two bits of casework, which I’m always happy to take on.

On Monday morning the three stooges – Councillors Lambert, Collins and Smart – met in the Watermans café to decide how to spend our £3000 of neighbourhood grants. So we will be supporting a defibrillator for Brentford Free Church (though available to anybody via the National Defibrillator Network) and a ‘party in the St Paul’s Rec park’ in aid of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and Hounslow Community FoodBox. We want this to be a really inclusive event so will sponsor ‘invitations’ to all corners of the ward.

In the evening, some further discussions about what we will be committing to in the next council term (assuming we are in a position to deliver it – this depends on the voters on May 5th). We have successfully delivered the vast majority of what we committed last time, despite all the unforeseen challenges of the pandemic. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved, with the best roads and third best parks in London, and being chosen as Council of the Year for 2021.

On Tuesday, a slightly bedraggled councillor was in Hounslow House to meet with people from the Cranford Action Group, Crane Valley Partnership, Hounslow Highways, TfL and others to talk about the fringes of the A312 out on the border with Hillingdon. We are working together to fix a pile of historical problems that manifest there, making for real environmental damage and impacting the river. We are making good progress here with fantastic volunteers and some heavy lifting from both TfL and Hounslow Highways. Still loads to do but we have a plan.

Later there’s a budget Zooting © for Labour party members, quite well attended and very supportive. I missed the first part due to my rebedraggling return trip from Hounslow.

Wednesday evening another Zooting©, this time an update from our colleagues in housing on a major department restructuring which is intended to improve responsiveness to tenants and leaseholders on our estates. The changes look very sensible to me but will involve a lot of staff working in a different way and will take a number of months to roll out and become embedded.

Today, Thursday, I have a long list of meetings so I have started the blog early. I have already had a Zooting© with the Chair of Lampton group, who is fresh from the ski slopes with all limbs intact and raring to go.

Next is a Zooting© with West London Waste and somebody from Richmond Council, about how we are going to collectively approach the Extended Producer Responsibility provisions in last year’s Environment Act. In very sketchy summary, companies who produce waste will be called upon to contribute to the cost of its collection, disposal or recycling, with Local Authorities having to change the way in which they handle recycling in ways yet to be clarified (but likely to be nearer the Hounslow model of kerbside separation than the mixed recycling favoured by some other boroughs).

Finally I have the Cleaner, Greener Community Reference Group. Hope we get a decent turn out from the community representatives – they’ve been a bit backward coming forward recently.

So that’ll have to do for today. No pics this week but I saved a couple from before, to do with Lampton360 and what a force it’s becoming

Of course, that’s Lampton marking its own homework, and things like ‘top 3 parks’ are as much down to LBH as Lampton, but I’m so pleased with the progress we have made.

Cllr Guy Lambert

February 18, 2022