Proposed Hogarth Roundabout and Grove Park CPZ Changes
Chiswick Riverside councillor Gabriella Giles reports back
Cllr Gabriella Giles
May 25, 2024
At the beginning of this week, as I contemplated what I should include in this blog, I had intended to share my experience as a new member of the council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Especially about the disappointment I had in the lack of questioning from some of my fellow councillors as part of the Scrutiny in a Day exercise we undertook a couple of weeks ago. Then the General Election was called, and it seemed that this may no longer be a hot topic. I had also written about this in the Hounslow Herald, so I don’t think I’ll repeat myself here.
Since the London elections, it’s been a busy couple of weeks, aside from casework, I’ve sat on two licensing panels, with another one next week, had meetings with residents, and local businesses, meetings to plan the now-cancelled Chiswick Area Forum, held my local surgery at Chiswick Library and managed a lot of emails about upcoming consultations.
While I could use this blog from some political campaigning (and we do have excellent candidates in Chiswick), it’s still pretty much business as usual, and there’s a variety of different projects that need to be highlighted before we get too distracted by what may or may not happen on the 4th of July.
Hogarth Roundabout
The Chiswick councillors have all been invited to join a call with TfL about modifications to Hogarth Roundabout. We have been told that in the 36 months leading up to June 2023, there were 20 collisions here, including three serious casualties. I have asked for further details on these collisions, as it was not provided. We have been told that the following proposals have been suggested:
Changes to the roundabout -
· Widen the carriageway of the roundabout to provide a new, dedicated slip lane from the A4 (westbound) onto the A316
· Reduce the exit arm from the roundabout to the A316 from two lanes to one
· Close the Church Street arm of the roundabout (access to Church Street will be maintained via Burlington Lane and Chiswick Mall)
· Close the slip road outside Fuller’s brewery after the entrance gate by Mawson’s Lane
· Resurface the carriageway with a high-friction material to provide additional skid resistance
· Reduce the speed limit from 40mph to 30mph
· Install sustainable urban drainage (SuDs) to reduce surface water run-off towards the Thames
· We may also remove one parking space on Church street, the bay closest to the junction with Burlington Lane.”
As someone who has attended St Nicholas’ Church since they were a child, I immediately contacted the vicar there who hadn’t heard of these plans. This was despite the fact we were told that TfL have had engagement with Hounslow officers and councillors (but not the local ones), as well as the Old Chiswick Protection Society. It’s just another reminder that often, those who are impacted most by these changes are often the last to be included in discussions, or too far down the journey to make any substantive changes. Forgive me if I’m a bit cynical, but after the last five years of discussions around the South Chiswick Liveable Neighbourhood, it’s hard to go into this process with an open mind. This may also be as some of the proposals above don’t seem to have taken into consideration potential changes to Burlington Lane.
Your Neighbourhood Grant and the Strand on the Green Association’s Annual Photo Competition Exhibition
Following the hard work of SOGA and my predecessors in opening up the Platinum Jubilee Arch in 2022, SOGA had been looking for a solution to fill the very white walls of the arch, and hopefully deter any Brentford away-fans from choosing to spoil the look.
As councillors, we get a grant of £1000 pounds towards a local project that we want to support. This has been in place since 2022, and in the first year, the funding went to support the Friends of Harvard Hill in creating some planters .
This year, following discussion with SOGA, my grant went to provide some frames which would be placed under the arch and used to showcase a selection of the fantastic submissions from their 2023 competition. These have now gone up, and I’m looking forward to the official unveiling.
Picture: Ann Collins
It’s great to see this money go to use in a way that benefits the local community, and while I’ve already got an idea of where this money may go in the next municipal year, I’m always open to further suggestions.
What’s also fantastic, is that the money goes towards projects that are part of longer-impact projects. For example, the planters were built by local volunteers last year, back in January, I joined the team to plant some bulbs, and while we had some beautiful tulips and other flowers blooming earlier in the year, I know that this won’t be a one-off. I’m just gutted I didn’t take any photos!
Fauconberg Road
A couple of weeks ago, we received information requesting a pavement licence for Niki’s Thai. While I have no objections as to a business requesting a licence to increase its potential, I’ve struggled to find a copy of this application online and have requested this information from the council. Normally, pending applications can be found here , but it would appear that the pavement licence page is somewhat hidden.
It’s really important that information is easy to find and having sat on a number of licensing panels over the years, I’ve found that residents often use these as a way of expressing their frustration with the council, whether it be lack of response from their local councillors, poor planning guidelines, or even just feeling like they aren’t listened to. Transparency is vital, and I will be raising this with the licensing officers in due course.
Upcoming Consultation on Grove Park CPZ
In Grove Park, we’ve got yet another consultation headed our way from the Traffic and Transport team. Letters will be going out this week, and we have been informed:
“The statutory consultation stage commences from 31 May 2024 and any comments in relation to the proposals should be received by no later than 21 June 2024.
The consultation process will include notices being posted on-street, on the council’s website and in The London Gazette advising of the council’s proposals. During the 21-day consultation period, any person can submit comments in relation to the proposals and these can be submitted in writing, via the details shown at the top of this letter, or email, via trafficorders@hounslow.gov.uk
Notices relating to the formal (statutory) consultation and associated plans can be viewed on the council’s website from 31 May 2024.
I have copies of the plans, but they are too detailed to come out clearly here, but the information will all be included on the site when live. What I find interesting is that there’s no differentiation between EV bays or car club bays, while this isn’t too important for this project, I have a sneaking suspicion that this could be in the future. I’ve asked the council for an audit following a request to suspend parking on Thames Road / Strand on the Green in relation to another project, and have found the response I received somewhat lacking. Perhaps this is down to the software used, and the fact this isn’t detailed.
Going back to my experience of Overview and Scrutiny, apart from the importance of questioning, it’s interesting to see what gets monitored and recorded. Too often I’ve found that while what gets measured gets managed, there’s more telling information to be found by what is not recorded or told.
Looking to the week ahead, we’ve got the AGM of the council on Tuesday evening, which will be more or less ceremonial, but it will be interesting to see my Labour colleagues following the news of their Group AGM. Thursday evening will mean I’m back on Licensing Panel duties, and Friday will tail off the week with a wardabout with officers and local volunteer groups.
Wishing you all a safe and happy long weekend,
Councillor Gabriella Giles
gabriella.giles@hounslow.gov.uk
07966 270823
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 2024/25
Tuesday 28 May 7.30pm - (The Annual Statutory General Meeting of the Borough Council)
6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB
Open to the Public
During weekends, residents can still access council services on-line or via emergency numbers:
To inform the council of an emergency, call 020 8583 2222
CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLOR SURGERIES
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).
CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS and CONTACTS
Chiswick Gunnersbury (was Turnham Green) ward
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 Gabriella Giles gabriella.giles@hounslow.gov.uk 07966 270823
Cllr Peter Thompson peter.thompson@hounslow.gov.uk 07977 395810
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