Silos, Roads, Leaves and a Load of Old Bollards
Chiswick Gunnersbury councillor Jo Biddolph reports back on her week
Cllr Jo Biddolph
Anyone who has been in the centre of Chiswick since Wednesday, cannot have missed the fact that the junction of Chiswick High Road with Devonshire Road is closed. That trips off the finger tips very neatly which is not what can be said about the plan. It’s been another masterclass in silo working and ignoring common sense.
How not to win friends (except in the anti-car lobby)
Chiswick councillors have for months been commenting in regular briefings with Hounslow Council officers about the changes to C9. I lost count of the number of times I asked for advance notice of works to be given to shops - because some shops order seasonally, and all need to plan staffing and stocking carefully around expected trade. I also lost count of the number of times I explained why work on junctions of shopping roads must not be done in the run-up to Christmas - most businesses expect to do around 70 per cent of their annual trade in this last quarter of the year. One very graphic example, in Chiswick Homefields ward, was the effect the closure of the junction of Cranbrook Road had on Parle Pantry, a lovely independent vegan cafe; its business dropped by 70 per cent. Devonshire Road traders cannot afford this (nor could any trader) now while still trying to recover from reduced trade during the pandemic. My requests for the junctions of Dukes Avenue and/or Duke Road to be done first, and Devonshire Road and Linden Gardens to be done in January, were rebutted. I was told it must be done in sequence to release the cycle lane. That sounds like jobsworthyness to me. What about the future of business ratepayers?
The first sign of work starting was a weak letter, to traders and residents, that lacked detail beyond dates. The council’s plan was to make Devonshire Road two-way, with access from the south, and suspend some parking bays to allow large HGVs through and to turn round. Which parking bays? Where and how would HGVs or any driver turn round? How would vehicles pass on such a narrow road? Why wasn’t there a map showing routes and directions of travel? My strong comments about the letter and the lack of a map were met with answers such as “we don’t provide maps for transport projects" (with no hint that it would be sensible to start doing so) and in one notable case the reason given by a senior officer for the absence of essential information was “we treat people as adults”. One response from an adult resident was “how arrogant”. Chiswick adults must be extremely stupid as neither they, nor I, could guess what the plans were and how they would work in practice. I know that at least one other adult also hadn’t understood as that adult had Tweeted with gloating glee that the road would be car-free. That was never in the plan, however vaguely explained.
The council’s team leader on the project got involved. Although he defended the lack of information, and in particular the lack of a map, he was clearly keen to listen and offered a meeting. On Tuesday, owners and workers from 18 businesses piled into Vinoteca to get out of the wind and rain and have their say. Cllr John Todd joined us (the eastern side of Devonshire Road is in Chiswick Homefields ward). It was heated. It was chaotic with several conversations happening at the same time (inevitably, with so many feeling they had been denied a voice). Important points were made including that s ome traders have 10 deliveries a day, made by HGVs which could not have negotiated corners including into Devonshire Road from the south; passing and turning round would have been impossible as would delivering by reversing in or out; traffic movement modelling hadn’t been based on reality. The removal of significant parking spaces was also likely to be devastating to trade. The team leader didn’t give up; was unfailingly polite; but didn’t quite reach total acquiescence. Some traders walked out, feeling there was no point if they weren’t being heard. The team leader suggested that a meeting planned for the following morning could be adjusted to give traders a chance to talk direct to the officer managing the works.
So we met again on Wednesday morning. This was while the junction was being blocked and the reality of the scheme became visibly and starkly clear. During that meeting, traders took calls from delivery vans stuck along the route wanting to know how they could get through, and from others who said they were turning round and going back without delivering as it was too complex and too slow. Commercial waste collection vans also could not reach the bins they had to empty. This was clearly hugely unsatisfactory. It was even clearer that the two-way scheme would not work even though Vinoteca had generously offered to give up its outdoor licensed space to create a passing area. Traders on-the-spot then suggested alternatives and that resulted in the changed scheme. The team leader said he would bring in more resources, to speed up the project, and it seems possible that the work will end before the current deadline of 2nd December. The officer also agreed to produce a map. Hooray!
Thursday was spent taking reports from traders about complications, failed journeys, undelivered deliveries, uncollected waste, delivery vans being stuck in Annandale Road for 45 minutes, customers unable to reach service businesses because signage was so confusing and the risk of fines so off-putting. New, revised and additional signage was requested and commissioned.
Friday brought in more problems with reports from hospitality traders that Deliveroo and Uber Eats were refusing to attempt the journey; orders were cancelled. Customers of other businesses turned round, refusing to visit. More signage was commissioned and you should see this early this week - including Business as Usual signs which I hope residents and other readers of this blog will note. Please do support Devonshire Road traders and those along the slip road from Annandale Road to Linden Gardens. This work should not be happening now; these traders need and value your custom.
Surely anyone in event management, or project management, or anything involving third parties who would be directly affected, should automatically know that early communications and maximum communications are essential. When I have time to think, I will contact the cabinet members responsible highlighting a long list of inadequacies and failures, adding a strong comment that such appalling planning (in reality, lack of planning) must never happen again anywhere in the borough.
Working in silos
Councillors are still being cajoled, corralled and called to training courses, some of which are repeats that are followed by inaction. Mostly, they are driven by whitewashing - describing an ideal while ignoring the grim realities underneath, often taken in unquestioningly by new councillors who haven’t yet had the casework to prove otherwise. Occasionally, there are snippets of useful information and, sometimes, there is a genuinely helpful and accurate fact. And so it was when I attended the briefing on understanding the council’s budget setting process. At the bottom of a Powerpoint slide, from the finance department which is known for its professionalism, was this statement about the role of the council and councillors which is to:
“Promote and champion local economic growth in the borough so we can retain more business rates locally."
Strangely, Devonshire Road came to mind (and, of course, the work of the Chiswick Shops Task Force which promotes and champions Chiswick’s local economy). How could transport officers be so unaware of this policy and the potential impact on the council’s business rates income of badly-planned schemes? Clearly, working in their silo, they are unaware of this corporate responsibility and just plough on with their narrow transport perspective. C9, the South Chiswick Liveable Neighbourhood, the closure of Fishers Lane, the partial closure of Devonshire Road, the closure of Turnham Green Terrace (reversed, thankfully, but still a threat if the council’s town centre vision is fulfilled) and now roadworks blocking shopping streets just before Christmas trade - all link directly to threatening business rates income. A staggering increase in income from fines is their focus - creating and enhancing the department’s circular and self-fulfilling economy as traffic fines must go towards traffic schemes. Implement one road closure, rake in the fines to … implement another road closure and rake in more fines to ... Remember there is a cabinet-approved plan to turn the entire borough into a network of LTNs and the money is flowing in.
We did this because you said …
Meanwhile, the main overview and scrutiny committee met on Tuesday (with three pre-meetings setting questions to ask, leaving not much time for sponteneity when responding to comments made by those presenting to us). It was during the session about establishing a single management team across the Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare Trust (HRCH) and Kingston Hospital that this excellent approach was mentioned. We did it because you said … was the HRCH response to feedback from staff, patients and others. I reflected on the phrase saying that this approach should run through any organisation that serves others - but I’m not sure the many cabinet members in the room were listening.
A load of old bollards in Gunnersbury
In the Gunnersbury Park Garden Estate, grass verges are lined with short squat wooden bollards to prevent parking on both sides of its narrow roads. The design of these bollards was hard fought for years ago by the residents’ association. The bollards are slowly rotting and need to be renewed. Seeking to replace them was one of our election pledges, knowing how important they are to the aesthetics of the area and noting that replacements are different making this pretty conservation look scruffy. I sent off a photo illustrating the problem, asking for each road’s bollards to be replaced, perhaps one road at a time. Disappointingly, the response was that only those visible in the photo that have collapsed from rot will be replaced.
Leaves
It’s a rotten time of year for our street sweepers - drenched leaves are very hard to sweep up and can’t easily be loaded into sacks because they are so heavy. My request for C9 to be swept more frequently, by mechanical sweeper, was acted on very fast; it is not safe to cycle in when full of leaves, or water, and worse currently with both. Watching the mechanical sweeper’s essential two steps forward, one step back method was captivating; even with mechanical help it requires two people ahead scraping stuck leaves into the path of the sweeper. Whenever I see one of our regular human street sweepers I thank them - it’s an endless task and there aren’t enough of them for the area yet still they tread along the same roads day after day. I was greeted by a new face when walking up Princes Avenue and stopped to say thanks. He looked up and said, with no idea that I was anything other than a passer-by, and said, “Hounslow’s a sh*t hole.” He explained that he usually worked in other boroughs but had been brought in to Hounslow exceptionally. A day or so earlier he had collected 17 sacks of litter (not leaves) in one road in the west of the borough. Princes Avenue wasn’t as bad but it wasn’t good, either.
A beautiful, thought-provoking mural
Can I sneak in a mention of this lovely event from two weeks ago - the unveiling of a mural, titled Imago Mundi, to brighten up the courtyard of the Hogarth Youth and Community Centre. Designed by local artist Gala Bell it was created by students at the centre who were given a free hand to interpret the overall plan, painting each tile with their personal perspective. The more I looked, the more moved I was.
Picking up on problems
The four cases of homophobic attack I’ve mentioned before are still not resolved. Sadly, so far responses have been woefully inadequate. One from a council officer was “what more could I reasonably do?” and another was to point out that the obvious course of action was to call the police. Well, yes - in some cases. And, yes - I’ve thought of that and done it as have the people experiencing homophobia. I’ll carry on, of course, but this defending of the status quo policy, not looking further, not acting further, not considering what might work better, runs through so much of the council’s work. It’s extremely frustrating. Just like my week.
Councillor Joanna Biddolph
Chiswick Gunnersbury ward
07976 703446
CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLOR SURGERIES
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 takes this surgery).
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Monday, 14 November at 7.00pm: Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel
Tuesday 15 November at 7:00 pm: Cabinet
Wednesday, 16 November at 7.00pm: Health and Adults Care Scrutiny Panel
Tuesday 22 November at 7:00 pm: Chiswick Area Forum
Tuesday 29 November at 7:30 pm: Borough Council
Our Current Service Support to Chiswick
CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS and CONTACTS
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
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
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
November 13, 2022