Boston Manor Park, Flytipping and the Brentford High Line

Brentford West councillor Guy Lambert reports back

Cllr Guy Lambert

January 13, 2023

Friday was largely meeting free, just a teams meeting with the Chair of Lampton – nothing terribly interesting to report as yet, but there has been a lot of changes and I think their progress will accelerate.

Saturday afternoon I was out in the rain, learning about the trees in Boston Manor Park from our resident park person Vanessa. I used to go on tree walks when I was about 5 but I wasn’t very interested, more in identifying the cars going by or finding and old Moorhouse’s Dandelion and Burdock bottle. I find it impossible to even find a picture these days and the factory which provided my favourite toddler tipple doesn’t even make them any more and even their factory has become the Birkenhead Tramway and Transport Museum (see below). What a scandal.

Anyway. looking at trees with Vanessa, Lara, and a couple of dozen of the more hardy Brentonians is a different story than being lectured by my infant school teacher. Vanessa is quite plainly in love with trees, Boston Manor Park, winter weather in Brentford and this comes out in her knowledgeable and really enthusiastic delivery of what could be a dull story. Don’t miss Vanessa’s talks and tours – follow her on Facebook here .

On Sunday all us Brentford Councillors were down at the Digital Dock for our monthly surgery. It is often pretty quiet, but this one was especially sepulchral, probably because there was no Brentford market this month. Anyway we could chat amongst ourselves and put the world right, as we do.

On Monday Lara and I had a teams meeting with our head of traffic about traffic management plans we are developing for Layton Road and thereabouts. This is one of those times, thankfully rare, when what we councillors and the residents have a different opinion about how to take it forward than what the traffic experts prefer, something I had to explain to the residents on Tuesday. This one has a way to run!

The Birkenhead Tramway and Transport Museum

Later on Monday I was off to Heston to talk to a councillor there about recycling, also a particularly splendid flytip in the shape of two leather sofas. I thought the residents were a bit over enthusiastic in setting out their garden furniture for the summer but they seemed to think somebody had dumped them. In the evening, a meeting in Hounslow House with labour comrades to talk about the especially difficult budget we are working on currently.

Tuesday morning, a quick update with the newish Lampton comms manager about what she should be telling various audiences and how to reach them, then up to Rada cafe to meet the Layton residents.

In the evening I was in the Holiday Inn for the Brentford Voice meeting about the work they have started and wanted to discuss with a wider audience about the former railway site that runs from what once was the bridge that took the rails down to Brentford Dock up to the Great West Road until somebody thoughtlessly built a GWR which interfered to the rails carrying on towards Southall. It was a lovely debate with a lot of concerns discussed, but there was a strong level of support to progress the idea to provide a new probably ecological facility there – lots of work needed to flesh out proposals.

On Wednesday we had a teams meeting involving Salman Shaheen and I with people from the council about some issues that had arisen about Lampton Leisure and how they work with community groups. It was heartening to hear (both from the group who raised it in the first place and from the council officers) that this matter had been resolved already by dialogue.

In the evening a dark cycle through Syon Park to our Labour party monthly branch meeting. It turned out to be a very exclusive event as only half a dozen councillors and party officials turned up (it was cold and wet!) but we had an excellent discussion about some important matters – how we treat refugees, and how we can improve how we provide supported accommodation.

So we’re round to Thursday again. I managed to begin a technology snafu as I tried to deal with some problems with my PC. I managed to create some new ones by spilling some water on it which seems to have made it extremely grumpy with the result of me creating my bloggy thingy on my phone as it seems the only tool I can write a blog on. This was rather turgid, but I can’t let my devoted fans down. Anyway, my teams meeting was to discuss with senior officers how we are going to improve aspects of how we make the streets something we will be bringing to Cabinet soon.

In the afternoon I’m off to Hounslow House for one of those rare meetings with people in real flesh and blood. This was the board of the Lampton Housing company, together with senior officers and three of us Cabinet members. It was a great meeting where we made a lot of progress about how Lampton and LBH housing will work together more productivity.

The evening was in the George pub in Chiswick, in for their annual event, which involved a certain amount of beer and excellent company This included Cllr John Todd, celebrating his 80 th birthday as he likes it, at a planning committee which fortunately ended early enough for him to make it there.

I want to add some pics to this but have no idea how to do it on a phone. Perhaps my editor will be able to help!

Councillor Guy Lambert