Flood Risk, Waste, Happy Birthday to the Repair Café, Plus Christmas is Coming

This year, I’m a member of the council’s overview and scrutiny committee’s housing and environment panel. I’ve served on this panel before and been frustrated by the lip-service (as I see it) paid to the panel’s recommendations. The protocol is that these panels shouldn’t be prescriptive about the remedies needed but should highlight the need for remedies, leaving it to the cabinet member to direct any policy changes he or she deems necessary. In a previous year, the panel’s suggestions for tackling fly tipping were … perhaps I should just say misunderstood. The cost of what was called Tidy Town, but is now called bulky waste collection, was the problem. The charge for up to five items was seen as a high price to pay if you only have one or two to get rid of. Instead of introducing a price per item (the panel’s preference, hinted at because we couldn’t be precise), the cost for five items was reduced slightly – making little difference to the person with fewer to dispose of, and not recognising that many residents don’t have space to store bulky items until they have five of them.

How does this relate to this year’s policy topic – flood risk? Leaving aside the fact that I feel strongly that prescriptive is what we need to be, it’s the continuing lip-service approach that bothers me. Discussion about what we should consider and who we should invite to inform our deliberations was frustrated by what was clearly a decision already made; others’ views were not welcome. Yes, we should hear from the Environment Agency (responsible for the Thames Barrier and embankment defences); Thames Water (why is it pouring money into rain gardens instead of replacing crumbling infrastructure?); TfL (also tinkering with rain gardens) and Hounslow Highways (complaints about blocked drain covers tell a story). What about the Thames Landscape Strategy, a well-respected local organisation with Sir David Attenborough as its patron and many volunteers enthusiastically focused on restoring lost floodplain along our very local banks of the Thames? Wouldn’t you expect the panel to take advantage of the fact that its new chairman is Cllr Gabriella Giles of Chiswick Riverside ward (a highly relevant ward)? I won’t give up on trying to add detailed local intelligence to our deliberations, despite the frustrations.

Another point of lip-service? Panel membership is small – just nine councillors. Syon & Brentford Lock councillor Balraj Sarai, representing a ward at high risk of flooding, is famous for not turning up to meetings. He remained true to himself – and didn’t send his apologies, either. With decisions already made, perhaps it doesn’t matter.

The council’s overall approach to scrutiny was reviewed late last year and into this year by the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS) and its report has just been published. It’s an interesting read, with nine main recommendations that will be discussed at the next overview and scrutiny committee meeting this Thursday, 24th October.

Waste wizardry

The launch of the council’s new Waste Wizard app really raised my recycling-obsession excitement levels. So, inevitably, I gave it a go. With a carrier bag in the cupboard under the stairs capturing plastic film I can walk down to the Co-Op’s recycling container, this was my first test subject, hoping it would recommend what I already do. Nope. The “Best Option” was to put it in the rubbish bin. Below that was a “Special Instruction” about recycling it at supermarkets. Surely, if reducing waste is the point, the special instruction should be the best option? Next, olive oil. With two partly filled bottles of very stale oil creating clutter, I hoped for an easy fix. Nope. This takes me back to the start of this blog: the best option is the bulky waste collection – a £41 fee for up to 25 litres in a sealed container: more than the oil cost when I bought it and, surely, most of us will not have it in industrial quantities. Other options are to put it in the waste bin or take it to a waste/recycling centre. Special instructions are not to pour it down the drain or sink. The outcome? With no car to drive it to Mortlake, it continues to lurk under my stairs.

I sent feedback to the relevant cabinet member whose response was that a section would be added to the app allowing for comments to be made. What I’d hoped for was that, for soft plastics, the website would be changed; and, for EVOO, arrangements would be made so it could be put in the recycling bin, in a separate carrier bag, just as we can do with small electricals or clothes. I shouldn’t be so picky. Overall, anything that encourages less waste is a good idea so do check out the Waste Wizard app.

Closed

You know what happens. You click into the Hounslow Fix My Street app to report fly tipping, graffiti or a dodgy pavement slab and, after the satisfying acknowledgement, logged and action scheduled emails, next comes the message “Closed” but the problem you reported has not been dealt with. This “Closed” message is a source of huge frustration, generating passionate emails, and it’s one I’ve raised before, asking for it to be adapted to include an explanation. With Hounslow Highways at the Chiswick Area Forum last month, I took the chance to try again direct with the team. It was written down and action was pledged!

I followed up with some examples, in case it wasn’t clear, including: Closed - Referred to the landowner as this is on private land. Closed – Referred to TfL which is responsible for this alley/bridge/pavement/railing/road/underpass. Closed – Does not meet the threshold level, as assessed by a network steward. For threshold levels, please see here.

There might be too many options to allow for this level of detail but there might also be a way of showing “Closed” doesn’t mean ignored. Let’s see what happens.

Chiswick Repair Café moves into its third year

I’ve been a fan of this marvellous initiative since it started and have taken several small items to be repaired (all done successfully) so it was lovely to be invited to its second birthday celebration on Saturday. If it hadn’t threatened heavy rain, I’d have taken a small Kashmiri table with wobbly legs. I know, I know … I could scrape off the old glue and just get on with it but … well, that’s why the repair café has been such a success. It does what we just don’t have the inclination, skills, time or tools to do. I took an umbrella instead: one of the canopy panels had become detached from a rib and needed to be stitched with stronger thread than I have at home. There’s one more this year – Saturday, 16th November – so put the date in your diary and the repair by the door, ready to stroll down to Christ Church on Turnham Green four weeks from now. Check here that the team can mend what you would like to be fixed. There’s a lovely community feel there, too – chatting over coffee/tea and home-made cake while waiting for the repair to be done is part of the joy of it.

Christmas fun starts on 19th November

For some, Christmas shouldn’t be mentioned until after Halloween. Others say wait till after Bonfire Night. Meanwhile, Christmas cards have been in some shops since July. A group of residents is organising Christmas in Chiswick this year and, for us, the important date is Tuesday, 19th November when the lights will be switched on. It is also the starting date for the family scavenger hunt they are organising. I’m told the prizes have already started rolling in. Please shop locally this Christmas; our shops badly need your support.

Councillor Joanna Biddolph

Chiswick Gunnersbury ward

07976 703446

COUNCIL DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Thursday, 24 October : Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Thursday, 7 November : Planning committee

Tuesday, 12 November : Cabinet

Tuesday, 26 November : Borough Council

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 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 Gabriella Giles gabriella.giles@hounslow.gov.uk 07966 270823

Cllr Peter Thompson peter.thompson@hounslow.gov.uk 07977 395810

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