Temporary No Parking notices being posted across Osterley and Spring Grove Ward of late
Following weeks of numerous enquiries as to when the streets of Osterley and Spring Grove Ward would be liberated from weeds, Hounslow Highways sent me this list.
On checking the schedule, it was noted that a fair amount of roads and footpaths in the borough’s largest Ward were omitted so I shared this sheet with the missing third of locations and still await an update, hoping for the best.
About to take the Loukimousine to the football yesterday, I spotted a parking ticket under one of the wipers placed on the day the first side of the road got swept.
Yes, it has been paid; no councillor privilege expected nor sought. Rinsed as well as cleansed.
Would that the council’s parking contractor was as enthusiastic in enforcing the CPZs off the London Road School Streets Scheme during term time mornings and afternoons.
Local, low level, offenders have been carrying out unpaid work to tidy up some space in Osterley and Spring Grove Ward as part of the Community Payback Scheme.
Located at St Mary’s Tennis Club since Autumn 2020, they cleared rubbish on the nearby sports ground, trimmed overgrown bushes, painted boundary walls, the inside and outside of the pavilion, mown grass, undertaken planting and have currently been sweeping recent leaf fall.
Cut lawn, planting and tidying at St Mary’s Tennis Club, Musgrave Road
Before and after the Community Payback deep weed on Musgrave Road, October 2021
Not confined to within the boundary of St Mary’s, the participants, with equipment and bag supplies from Hounslow Highways, also litter pick locally. They have, this October, done a smashing job weeding the rather special crazy paved edge of the Musgrave Road footway between Wood Lane and College Road receiving compliments from neighbours.
At St Mary’s, offenders are supervised (by Trish of the London Community Rehabilitation Company) and must wear orange high-vis jackets, allowing them to be easily identified by the public; recognisable as doing work to improve local communities.
The Community Payback Scheme is a nationwide programme run by the National Probation Service and sentences of between 40 – 300 hours can be issued to individuals by courts, depending on the severity of their crime and previous offences.
When an offender starts on a project, they are also offered online education, training and employment courses if there is a need and these contribute towards their unpaid work hours by up to 30%.
In general, and it’s nothing new, this initiative has offered visible improvements to local areas, helps to reduce fear of crime, and also equips offenders with essential life skills which aim to prevent them reoffending.
Meeting with council officers and the London Community Rehabilitation Company, December 2020
Following my encounter with the offenders and Trish at Musgrave Road, last year, I arranged, as Mayor, a meeting between the service and senior officers of the London Borough of Hounslow with a view of offering more opportunities in similar settings and understand that a partnership is developing.
Also working at Gunnersbury Park, St Richards School, Hounslow Youth Centre and Hounslow Allotments and at various charity shops, Oxfam, Cancer Research and Sue Ryder; Community Payback completed 1132 hours of unpaid work within projects on the borough during the month of November 2020.
I have visited a couple of times since and remain impressed with the contribution to improving the Ward environment.
TL 30.10.2021
Comments Off on Offenders and St Mary’s Tennis Club: the Community Payback Scheme
The London Borough of Hounslow Contingency Planning Unit has shared details of a London Fire Brigade exercise scheduled for Thursday 21 October 2021 at the University of West London site close to where the A4 and M4 meet Boston Manor Road in Brentford.
The Paragon, Brentford
Under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004), Category 1 organisations such as the council and fire service have a statutory duty to “test the effectiveness of their emergency plans by carrying out exercises”.
This exercise planned for from 1.00 pm, tomorrow 21 October 2021, will last approximately three hours and involve 12 or more LFB appliances as well as smoke machines to practise high rise fire and evacuation procedures. A briefing may be found here.
The event will therefore be very visible to the public, potentially from some distance away, including people of Osterley and Spring Grove Ward. Residents should be reassured but, obviously, if in any doubt the advice is to still call 999 who will appropriately field calls.
The organisers have worked with the council’s traffic team and Transport for London to put in place arrangements to minimise any traffic disruption with the large number of Fire Brigade appliances taking part.
The LBH Contingency Planning team will be at the exercise with LFB on the day assisting with coordination of some volunteer students from West Thames College who have kindly agreed to be ‘evacuated’ from the building and testing some of the council response arrangements on site.
TL 20.10.2021
Comments Off on Smoke without fire. Contingency planning exercise at The Paragon Thursday 21.10.2021
Hounslow's streets and street services are having a major make-over. If you have problems or questions concerning any aspect of this work then please contact <a href="https://fms.hounslowhighways.org/.
Tony Louki's Report Back 