A Small Victory in Getting a Home for a Local Family

Brentford West councillor Guy Lambert reports back

Brentford West councillor Guy Lambert

October 25, 2024

Last Thursday feels like it was a year ago. As I anticipated, I had a Friday of keys.

But before all that excitement I went to Elvis and Ivy in Isleworth – run by one of the guys who used to run the Verdict – to move forward our plan to build a memorial to recently passed cyclist heroine Eileen Sheridan.

This idea has lots pf support, but not from everybody – that’s politics for you. We had rather a scratchy discussion over a cup of coffee. The poor Brian, our chair, had another call from the business prevention department from the Metro Bank. We used to have one of those in the IT industry (actually I had a spell as a professional business preventer before I saw the light). No doubt they are driving the operational bankers bonkers (more poetry, I can’t stop it). Brian was back to Hounslow and back to me over the weekend for me to sign another meaningless form. I have heard no more, which I take as a good omen, though he may be wandering aimlessly around Heston Park wondering whether it’s worth being alive.

A car key man, who was perfectly charming, arrived late on Friday afternoon. He had come from Southend, where he had had a tricky Jaguar i-Pace where the owner had no keys at all. This was a challenge for him and for his son and apprentice, who assisted him. He buried himself in the bowels of my car (nowhere near any lock or ignition switch) and emerged with an unlikely plastic box. They spent some time in their van doing coding (I think) then popped the box where he found it behind the back seat. He offered me a brand new case for my old key, which in the circumstances was a bargain for £30. So now I have 2 shiny keys. He got back in his van, ready to drive around the M25 to somewhere in Essex than down through the Dartmouth crossing to his home in Kent. That’s what I call industry and it all softened the blow. I got all my keys sorted by finding duplicates or ordering them. It ended with the key to my mailbox. I was worried they’d send it in the post and pop it in my mailbox. I put threatening notices on the box saying ‘don’t use it’ and then got an email from the concierge saying he had a letter for me. Phew.

The key man nearly broke his ankle in this hole in Town Meadow which was worse than it looks in the picture (even if it wasn’t blurred!). Hounslow Highways came out the next day and put barriers around it, then fixed it properly the next day. I think – I haven’t inspected but they are good when they get to it.

On Monday I was up Boston Manor Road trying to solve the alley behind some of the houses. This is border country and the heathens from Ealing are growing creepers in their allotments. These are hardly Hezbollah rockets or IDF drones but they come across the alley and are busily destroying the fences and sheds on our side. This causes a great deal of anxiety for the people who live there. Ealing Council is very helpful but both sides are unwilling or unable to find a compromise. This time I was accompanied by some Hounslow Enforcement people so we’ll see if that does the trick. It is really a trivial issue which could probably be fixed by a crew of 3 gardeners in a morning with the right tools and chemicals.

There was one of those warts on the landscape that are far too common. A crashed moped with no registration plate, no doubt used for something unsavoury. Not straightforward for Hounslow Highways to legally remove it but I hope they will this week.

Tuesday, ah Tuesday. I was idling as I often do over a coffee in the Potting Shed. Pleasant weather if autumny, then I got a call. This call was from a man who first called me on 19th October 2023. He explained he was living with his wife and little son in one room on the A4, in the shadow of the M4. His landlord, who is supposedly a Housing Association based in Chiswick had given him notice of eviction. I went to see him and was appalled by how he had to live. The room was the size of my spare bedroom and the 3 of them were there with all their belongings. There was damp all around, the kitchen, shared with 4 other tenants, was filthy due to what he told me was rat droppings. The toilet had a broken pan. Our officers reacted quickly but had limited powers because the owner is a ‘Housing Association’. There was an uninhabited fetid basement at the foot of a staircase outside his door. A year and 3 days later, the bailiffs were on his door, ready to evict them. I was nearby so I decided to go and see them and see if I could help. The council approach in these circumstances, when they have accepted a duty to house this family, tell them to wait for the eviction and present themselves at Hounslow House. I decided to get my car and give them a lift there, because the challenge of getting his 3 year old and all his gear to Hounslow on the bus was too difficult. We arrived at about 11 and I went into the offices because I had a Zoom call scheduled with the team of a new MP which was looking for advice how to deal with housing matters. This followed an email I wrote to the MP after he had himself done an article for On London, a blog I follow. That’s another story, but very topical!

I left at about 3, wishing them luck, telling them I was sure the housing people would help them, but they should stay patient. I had a text at about 5, saying they had been temporarily housed in a B&B in Hounslow. This is a long way from Shangri-La, but both the family and I were elated. They had escaped from that living hell and I felt we were finally on the way to a decent outcome. Of course, a B&B is far from ideal, is temporary and inadequate for a family and very expensive for the council, but it’s an important step in the right direction. They are all three very charming and friendly, the man very dignified despite the pressure on him and I will be very happy if they can get on their feet here. I believe his wife was previously a doctor, so will be an asset when she is up to speed.

In the evening I attended a Brentford Voice update with Ballymore. I have my own concerns with Ballymore and it is clear they are working hard to get the development finished and fully in use, both residential and commercial. Not easy, but they are getting there. They expect the cinema in the early part of 2025 and have deals completed for most of the retail units. I probably inappropriately had a dispute with one of the attendees about anti-social cycling. I know it happens, and I don’t like it, but I’m afraid there’s a culture war in progress that helps nobody. I should keep calm about it! Difficult, because discovering cycling has been such a treasure for me.

On Wednesday I had the executive of the London Road Safety Committee. It is in a bit of a difficult position because it has little support from TfL or the boroughs which supported it in the past. I only became involved in this in the summer. I can see the point of it but I’m arguing that the Committee needs to get crystal clear about what its role is, and how it works alongside other road safety gurus. Fortunately, I seem to be getting a good hearing from colleagues and we’ll see how that progresses.

Today, Thursday, I cycled to Ealing Broadway to catch the Lizzy Line to Liverpool Street. This was a Homeless Families Conference, hosted by a charity called the Shared Health Foundation which is working to minimise the effect of poverty on health. It was very interesting and would have been better still if my hearing was really up to it. I can read the writing and get the gist of the conversation but I lose a lot of the detail. Frustrating.

It's definitely not just Hounslow. But people get over it in the end but there has been damage for homeless people, especially children’

There were some impressive people talking to us. Whether they made sense I can’t really confirm!

Councillor Guy Lambert