Category Archives: Events

by loukit | October 2, 2026 · 11:17

West London Orbital Railway: Wood Lane Level Crossing and other matters

Wood Lane Level Crossing

Tomorrow, Saturday 3 October 2026 from 11:00 am to 2.00 pm

Drop In at Old Isleworthians Sports Ground

22A Wood Lane, Isleworth, TW7 5ED

With numerous advantages of increased passenger rail services being offered on the Hounslow Loop in the Mid 2030s, one drawback could be how to then cross the track at Wood Lane.

The promoter, in their recent letter to residents tells us,

“We would potentially need to make changes to how some level crossings operate, including the crossing on Wood Lane in Isleworth. This is due to possible safety concerns caused by increased barrier down time, if the additional WLO services were to use the crossing. We are looking at ways to keep the crossings open, and if they did need to close, we would ensure that pedestrians and cyclists were still able to cross the railway safely and conveniently.”

The West London Orbital people do acknowledge numerous challenges and a section of the WLO website on all three level crossing locations can be found here.

Should it turn out that, after vigorous examination, it may not be a viable to maintain a surface crossing here, OSG Ward councillors will insist on a safe and convenient crossing route for pedestrians. In ten years, nothing less a passenger lift for those wanting to reach London Road from the roads of Northumberland Estate and those in east Spring Grove and Osterley would be acceptable.

West London Orbital: Indicative timescale 2026 to 2035

It’s very early to surmise. Residents’ comments on this very important aspect of the not fully worked up ideas for the WLO will be very much expected. Much more information is contained behind this link

The West London Orbital Team will be holding a “Drop In” for all to attend to discuss any aspect of the current proposals at the Old Isleworthians Sports Ground, details above, at the start if this item.

Subsequent and similar events will events also occur on,

Thursday 22 October 2026, 16.00 to 19.00 London Museum of Water and Steam, Green Dragon Lane, Brentford, TW8 0EN and

Saturday 7 November 2026, 11.00 to 14.00, Hounslow Library, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB.

TfL’s West London Orbital have shared the following very interesting briefs on how the two OSG Ward Stations would fare as part of its proposal, not least staffed stations, something many of us have long time missed:

Isleworth Station

Syon Lane Station;

Elsewhere: Hounslow; Brentford; Lionel Road

You can contact the Transport for London West London Orbital Team about the proposals in the following ways:
• Email: WestLondonOrbital@tfl.gov.uk
• Phone: 020 3054 6037 (call back service) – please leave a message stating you want to discuss the West London Orbital proposals
• Write to: FREEPOST, TfL Have Your Say (West London Orbital).

TL 2.10.2026

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Filed under Brentford, College Road, Events, H28 bus, London Road, Middlesex, Neighbourhoods, Northumberland Estate, Osterley, Public transport, Roads, Spring Grove, TfL, Traffic, West Middlesex Hospital

Tagged as Bus route H28, Great West Road, Hounslow Council, Hounslow Highways, Isleworth Station, Osterley & Spring Grove, Ruth Cadbury, Spring Grove, SWT, Syon Lane, TfL, Wood Lane

by loukit | April 11, 2023 · 08:54

Syon Lane: Seccombes, Scaffolding and Signals

Since the incident of 6 February 2023, enquiries have been made on behalf of residents and updates received from the company, Hounslow Highways and the Police as to when repairs will start on the damaged building and consequential traffic delays between Great West Road and Tentelow Lane ended.

Seccombes: Intensive and robust scaffolding

Last week, the company’s Managing Director, Mr John Seccombe, advised,

“Despite repeated pleas to them [the insurers] to move as quickly as possible, the insurance process has been painfully slow and methodical, frustrating a quick resolution. Our contractor has finally been given go ahead to start peeling back the damage on Tuesday 11 April in order to access hidden parts of our 200+ years old building. This will ensure the structural engineers have a full understanding of the task ahead.

Seccombes: Up close building damage

“These ‘enabling works’ are critical but will lead to ultimately having the scaffolding removed. It is still unclear as to how long this stage will take but we are sure we will finally be seeing some visible progress. We will update you all again when the Engineers have completed these final tests and we have a working timescale.

Traffic queueing: Jersey Road at Wyke Green

Seccombes: Remnants of the boy racer’s smashed motor

Syon Lane northbound towards the Three Bridges

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Filed under Events, Great West Road, Hounslow Highways, Middlesex, Neighbourhoods, Osterley, Road works, Roads, Traffic, Wyke Green

Tagged as Great West Road, Hounslow Council, Hounslow Highways, Osterley & Spring Grove, OWGRA, Syon Lane, Tony Louki, Wood Lane

by loukit | March 20, 2023 · 01:55

Spring Grove Conservation Area Demolition: Part II

The builder attempted, by pleading guilty, to take the entire rap for last year’s jungli style demolition at 18 Grove Road, when he and the owner appeared before Uxbridge Magistrates Court last November. Not only did he and his firm, UK Landmark Construction Limited, cop over £8,000 in fines, costs and victim surcharge, building company director, Mr Sayeed Naveed Akhtar, acquired a criminal record as a result.

18 Grove Road: Inside the hoardings April 2022

The property owner, Mr Mohammed Ali Khan, of Thornbury Road, had pleaded not guilty on 18 November 2022 so waited until 3 February 2023 to return to the Uxbridge court to be tried for his part in the illegal demolition of 18 Grove Road. Hounslow Council was represented by lawyers with ready to participate witnesses from its Building Control Services and a neighbour impacted by the demolition.

The defence decided not to call any witnesses. However, it is felt that the presence of a number of individuals ready to testify for the council resulted in the defence changing their tactics by agreeing to Hounslow’s evidence as full facts.

18 Grove Road: Impacts on the streetscene February 2022

After a long deliberation, the magistrates returned to find Mr Khan guilty of demolishing a building without notifying the local authority. They adjudged that Mr Khan had instructed his contractor to demolish the building and was, therefore, ultimately responsible for failing to notify the council of the demolition as required by section 80(2) of the Building Act 1984.

Proceeding to sentence Mr Khan, the magistrates imposed a £3,360 fine for the offence, £2,493.34 prosecution costs and victim surcharge of £190, a total of £6,043.34. A collection order was made in the event that he defaults on these payments.

18 Grove Road: Remaining original features February 2022

It is the Department of Justice that sets the fines tariffs per type of crime that courts dispense. What was meted appears chicken feed but, as a result of being found guilty, Mr Khan is now a criminal as well as his builder.

Whilst this concludes the demolition prosecution, it does not resolve the issues on site. There is still a dangerous structure notice in place and this will remain until the front façade is allowed to be removed or the house is rebuilt.

18 Grove Road: Residents meeting Hounslow Council Planning, Planning Enforcement and Building Control Officers March 2023

A new application needs to be approved for the construction of a new house (in the style of the previous). Neighbours and Ward Councillors are keen to see this happen but, based on their thus far experiences with the owner, are seeking maximum legislative and planning policy safeguards. Hounslow Council Planning, Planning Enforcement and Building Control are aware of this through recent meetings following the submission of new planning application, P/2022/3149. Residents are keen for protection via planning conditions.

TL 19.3.2023

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Filed under Events, Middlesex, Neighbourhoods, Planning, Reports

Tagged as Hounslow Council, Osterley & Spring Grove, Planning, Spring Grove, Tony Louki

by loukit | March 16, 2023 · 09:34

Borough Road War Memorial: Two new additions

Borough Road War Memorial College Plaque 3.3.2023

A new plaque was unveiled at Borough Road War Memorial on 3 March 2023 by the 57th Mayor of the London Borough of Hounslow, Councillor Raghwinder Siddhu. He was accompanied by residents, pupils (including talented bugler, Max), staff and trustees of Isleworth and Syon School, former Borough Road College lecturer, John Hunter, and Osterley and Spring Grove Ward Councillors Tony Louki, Unsa Chaudri and Aftab Siddiqui.

The Mayor and locals at the Borough Road War Memorial Plaque unveiling 3.3.2023

It records the names of former Borough Road College staff and students who gave up their jobs and education to take part in World War I and World War II, killed and never returned.

The installation features an engraving and faces Lancaster House, the main college building vacated in 2006, nine years after its takeover by Brunel University, and crest of the college.

Borough Road War Memorial unveiled 14 May 1921

I raised the idea for this new plaque in 2018 because the names of those who perished were not visible locally as Brunel University had previously removed an indoor memorial to its Uxbridge campus. During 2015, Brunel had made approaches to Hounslow Council to completely relocate the whole, almost 100 years old stone memorial too but this failed as it was strongly resisted by all Ward councillors at the time.

At Borough Road War Memorial: Restored Heston and Isleworth Borough Council light column

This memorial project also coincides with the installation of a rediscovered and then refurbished lamppost of the former Heston and Isleworth Borough Council, restored and recently installed by Hounslow Highways.

The names of the dead were shared by the Brunel University London Archives whose 2014 research is available via a QR code present on the plaque allowing access of detailed biographies of those named.

I am grateful to Miss Helen Bowman, Conservation Officer at the War Memorials Trust, whose sound advice helped us bat away Brunel’s cheeky claim; Vanessa Bevilacqua and colleagues from the Hounslow Council Transport Team for procuring the plaque; Sabeel Khan of the Hounslow Council Highways PFI Team for overseeing Hounslow Highways’ renewal and connecting of the light column; Hounslow Council Communications Team’s Mr Yagnesh Nakaraja for sharing pictures.

TL 16.3.2023

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Filed under College Road, Events, Hounslow Highways, Neighbourhoods, Schools, Spring Grove, Traffic

Tagged as Aftab Siddiqui, Hounslow Council, Hounslow Highways, Isleworth and Syon School, Osterley & Spring Grove, Spring Grove, Tony Louki, Unsa Chaudri

by loukit | August 18, 2022 · 08:23

Gillette Building Tour

Bonnington Gillette Corner Hotel 2006 unrealised proposal

When Gillette owners, Proctor and Gamble, shifted the last of the Syon Lane production line to Łodz in 2006, the 42,000 square metre site was sold to Bonnington, the Ireland based international hotel and leisure firm. It had ambitions for an office park and a 500 bed hotel, later reduced to 300 beds then eventually none when the system of capital tanked in the late noughties and loans from the Allied Irish Bank could not be repaid.

More modern manufacturing plant used for film production

The site, is much more extensive than the three Grade II Listed elements of the Bannister Fletcher 1936 factory and office building, WFC Holden’s 1935 bank and the four separate cheeky cherubs lamp standards fronting Syon Lane. It extends beyond Syon Lane to include the former Pernod House on its corner with Great West Road and Harlequin Avenue making up the rear where later manufacturing buildings are now used for film production.

Extensive and uninterrupted space within the Grade II listed main building

After Bonnington, the whole site was bought after 2013 by the firm involved with the former EMI plant at Hayes, the Vinyl Factory Limited. They now say that applications to develop, extend and enhance existing film production and associated activities on the whole site are soon to be submitted to Hounslow Council, preserving the integrity of the listed elements there.

A chance discussion with Mr Matthew Rees, Hounslow Council’s Head of Planning Development, whilst visiting the former Williams Dye Works site recently, satisfied an eight year quest and yielded contact details for the Gillette Building owners. Arrangements for a tour for Isleworth and Brentford Area Forum (IBAF) Councillors followed, made for 5 August 2022; people from Osterley and Wyke Green Residents Association and Brentford Voice were invited too.

Main staircase to be restored subject to planning

The last time I went inside Gillette’s was in 1992 on a tour with my Acton College tutor group which also coincided with the planning application for building a Tesco store on the United Biscuits factory site. The event was an opportunity to nose, more than anything else, interesting to see the unfinished en suites on the first floor facing Syon Lane.

West facing ground floor former manufacturing hall

Planning applications are awaited but the developer has agreed to run a series of pre planning exhibitions and meetings on site in the run up to formal submission, perhaps later this year. As a member of the Hounslow Council Planning Committee, I shall be unable to make comment once proposals are lodged.

Main building, Listed south facing elevation towards th Bank

I do know, however, that my Ward colleagues Councillors Aftab Siddiqui and Unsa Chaudri are keen that any film production enhancement at Gillette opens up valuable work and training opportunities for the people of Osterley and Spring Grove as well as other parts of our borough. The owners are now briefed on the quality, practical learning delivered at West Thames College associated with digital film making, make up, hair and construction and we have put them in touch with college Principal Tracey Aust.