South Chiswick, South Chiswick, and a Bit More...
Chiswick Riverside Councillor Gabriella Giles reports back on her week
Cllr Gabriella Giles
Oh What a Week!
From the week that saw England’s women finally bring it home (insert joke about needing a woman to do a man’s job), a very busy Saturday morning Surgery, to lots of confusion around what is actually going to happen in Chiswick over the next five months, it has been a busy week.
As I write this, I’m sitting on a train to Scotland and left with a couple of moments to reflect over what has been going on in Chiswick Riverside since the election. In many ways, it’s a bit like the start of anything new; an induction programme, getting to know the people you’ll be working with, and learning how best to work with them. At the same time, there’s also a sense of familiarity and renewed confidence in my ability to support residents knowing that a lot of the problems and issues I was working on didn’t go away simply because it’s the start of a new council term.
In reference to ongoing sagas, I suppose the first item of business should be the closure of the A4 and the impact to residents in South Chiswick.
Closure of the A4
No doubt you will have seen the news that there are going to be some works on the A4 over the next five months. A variety of lane closures, over a variety of different time periods. The confusion in communication from TfL, resulted in a flurry of emails, phone calls and meetings to try to understand what would be the implication would be to traffic in Grove Park and Strand-on-the-Green, and indeed beyond.
Of course, my first point of call was to the council. In the early days of discussions on the South Chiswick Liveable Neighbourhood, I had asked what would happen to traffic when the time came for major works on the A4. The answer was we’ll wait and see. As such, I contacted the council to ask what had been decided. This didn’t result in much more clarity, so I chose to go straight to the source - TfL - and I’m pleased that I can now report back on the details of the work on the A4.
I met with the Assistant Project Manager for these works on Wednesday, and the time spent with her and TfL’s Engagement Officer was well spent. Discussions were wide-ranging, but focussed on what is going to happen and why.
Turns out that these are major works that were first started in 2015/2016, with the repairs to the underside of the bridge that goes over the railway at Gunnersbury, and supports the traffic flowing into London via the M4/A4. With these works, the road is going to be completely resurfaced and waterproofed. The work done earlier had been a higher priority due to concrete spores found on the path and railway that leads south from Gunnersbury station.
While the closures to the carriageway will start at Hogarth Roundabout to allow for traffic to divert via tha A316 and the South Circular. The diversions from the west are going to signpost people to the A406, up to Hangar Lane, the A40 east and then the A3220 south back to Hogarth Roundabout. For ease, please see the key items discussed below:
- Traffic will not be diverted down Chiswick High Road due to the “traffic calming measures” installed.
- There will be no additional services on public transport
- Milnthorpe Road will be closed to A4, but residents will be able to enter from the A4 as there will be a manned gate.
- TfL has contacted the various wayfinder apps to ensure that they are aware of the closures.
- The representatives at TfL were not aware that Hounslow Council had decided to lift the measures on days when the A4 is closed for 24-hour periods.
As for pedestrians, the footpath that leads from the Harvard Hill to Oxford Road South will be closed. The reason why there was no reference to cyclists, is that this is not a shared footpath for cyclists and pedestrians, much to the surprise of all of us on the call. I have requested that this be looked into for the future. Pedestrians will be asked to walk the long way round via Harvard Road, Wellesley Road and Brooks Road.
As you can see, there are a number of concerns that spring to mind immediately, but the main takeaway I can share at this time is that it’s going to take longer for everyone to get around, so please plan accordingly.
Amalgamation of the Whitelists to Hartington Road and Staveley Road
The second piece of news this week has been the Chief Officer Decision to merge the two whitelists and allow residents of Strand-on-the-Green to access Grove Park via the A316. This was great news to hear, but personally, I find it bittersweet as it’s been something that Sam Hearn and I have been advocating for since 2020. The council said that they needed the data to justify their decisions, but I can’t help but feel that they could have saved themselves a lot of trouble had they considered the residents of this area equally rather than sub-dividing them across arbitrary lines.
Opening of Kew Bridge Arch - Strand on the Green Association Platinum Jubilee Arch
A couple of weeks ago, Peter Thompson and I attended the opening of the new step-free access under Kew Bridge. The result of over 12 years’ work with our predecessors Paul Lynch and Sam Hearn, alongside our former GLA representative Tony Arbour. The day started with a meeting of the new Deputy-Lieutenant to the borough, Rosi Prescott where we shared our interests and find out how we can work together in the future.
We then proceeded to the Arch for the formalities. Speeches and praise were showered, and having spoken to both Sam and Paul earlier in the week, was surprised at where the direction of this praise went. At times like these I always try to remind myself that if doesn’t matter who gets the praise if the work gets done and benefits many. However, It’s not always easy to be magnanimous!
Seal Sightings
Finally, I know there’s been some excitement at the sight of another young seal in Chiswick, and would like to remind you all to…
If you want to know more about any of the topics I’ve outlined above, please do get in touch:
Councillor Gabriella Giles
Chiswick Riverside
Gabriella.giles@hounslow.gov.uk
07966 270823
SURGERIES IN CHISWICK AND GUNNERSBURY
We are back to our usual routine of holding face-to-face surgeries in Chiswick and in Gunnersbury.
Chiswick: Every Saturday from 9.30am to 10.30am at Chiswick Library (the eight Conservative councillors take this surgery in turn).
Gunnersbury: First Saturday of the month from 10am to 11am at The Gunnersbury Triangle Club, Triangle Way, off The Ridgeway, W3 8LU (at least one of the Chiswick Gunnersbury ward councillors take this surgery).
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Tuesday, 1st September at 7pm: Overview and scrutiny committee
Tuesday, 13th September at 7pm: Chiswick Area Forum
CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS
Chiswick Homefields ward
Cllr Jack Emsley jack.emsley@hounslow.gov.uk 07977 396017
Cllr Gerald McGregor gerald.mcgregor@hounslow.gov.uk 07866 784821
Cllr John Todd john.todd@hounslow.gov.uk 07866 784651
Chiswick Riverside ward
Cllr Peter Thompson peter.thompson@hounslow.gov.uk 07977 395810
Cllr Gabriella Giles gabriella.giles@hounslow.gov.uk 07966 270823
Chiswick Gunnersbury (was Turnham Green) ward
Cllr Joanna Biddolph joanna.biddolph@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 703446
Cllr Ranjit Gill ranjit.gill@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 702956
Cllr Ron Mushiso ron.mushiso@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 702887
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August 7, 2022