Category Archives: Neighbourhoods

by | April 5, 2016 · 14:30

Wardabout with Hounslow Highways – Tuesday 5 April 2016 at 11.00 am to 12.15 pm

A productive little mooch around the neighbourhood north of Great West Road between Wood Lane and Syon Lane.

160405 Wardabout

Attending: Satbir and Ali from Hounslow Highways; Joyce from Hounslow Council Contracts Team; Gerry S from Syon Park Gardens; Ian T from Wyke Close; Basil M from Syon Lane; OSG Ward Councillors Tony Louki and Sheila OReilly

Following the Wardabout, Hounslow Highways have undertaken to:

  • Provide a list of actions raised within 3 working days
  • Send an updated list of full actions and outcomes of any investigations within 28 days.

These are what I noted, not all are the responsibility of Hounslow Highways, some are Transport for London which is accountable for Great West Road; matters of flytipping on private land are the locus of Hounslow Council’s Enforcement Service:

Require litter bin near entrance to 120 Wood Lane – heavy footfall to schools and the Osterley Sports Centre and Athletics Track;

Seek solution to westbound vehicle access to Syon Park Gardens from Great West Road;

Deep clean by refuges at junction of Wood Lane and Great West Road;
160405 GWRd Wood Lane detritus

Ask TfL to fix the refuge barriers damaged during recent road traffic incident;

Complete lighting works on Wyke Estate footpath from Wood Lane to opposite 141 Syon Lane;

Advise on responsibility for maintaining play area along this footpath;

Advise on sweeping and litter pick frequency for this footpath;

Unblock gulley outside 143 Syon Lane;

Unblock gulley at 141 Syon Lane/Macfarlane Lane;

Deep clean of laybys from 141 to 211 Syon Lane;

Complete lighting works reinstatement outside 145 Syon Lane;

Address ponding and flooding on to pavement from verges between 141 and 211 Syon Lane;

Upgrade road name sign at Stags Way/Syon Lane to show “leading to Crowntree Close and Wyke Close;

Report Braybourne Drive ditch flytips to LBH Enforcement, serve EPA s81 notice to owners of the ditch (Wates) and diarise regular monitoring;
160405 Braybourne ditch 01

Unblock gullies at eastern end of Braybourne Drive by fire access barrier;

Unblock gulley in courtyard of 8-20 Wyke Close;

Remove corrugated asbestos from footpath to Syon Park Gardens at side of 786 Great WestRoad;

Address pothole by the gulley outside 40 Syon Park Gardens;
160405 Pothole os 40 Syon Pk Gdns

Examine level of crossover infringement and footway parking at various addresses in Syon Park Gardens;

Place litter bin(s) by Syon Park Gardens amenity area to reduce littering;

Advise on frequency of litter picking at this location;

Remove flytip outside 830 Great West Road;
160405 Flytip os 830 GWRd

Contact TfL to encourage maintenance and protection of grass verges on Great West Road – another of Mayor Boris Johnson’s failures.

160405 GWRd verges

Ali and Joyce also made notes so this list is not exhaustive.

A range of other issues e mailed to councillors by residents unable to make the event will be forwarded to the appropriates for follow up.

TL 5.4.2016

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by | March 16, 2016 · 11:49

St Johns Road, Isleworth hotel development

Open evening Thursday 17 March 2016 from 5.00 pm to 7.30 pm at Coomb House, 7 St Johns Road, Isleworth, Middlesex, TW7 6NH

Coomb House already has planning permission for a 59 room budget hotel

Coomb House already has planning permission for a 59 room budget hotel

Currently an office block next to Network Rail’s graffiti bridge, Coomb House, 7 St Johns Road, Isleworth was awarded planning permission for a 59 room budget hotel on 30 May 2014, see details here and here.

Kentish Town based Architects Network Ltd, have been engaged to draw up new plans for the site and increase the number of rooms to 90, a building extension, public facilities as well as other proposals.

A new planning application is yet to be submitted to Hounslow Council but the design team have invited neighbours to a pre planning consultation to explain details of the scheme, to talk through proposed plans and layouts prior to a new planning application.

The event takes place tomorrow, Thursday 17 March 2016 from 5.00 pm to 7.30 pm at Coomb House, 7 St Johns Road, Isleworth, Middlesex, TW7 6NH

TL 16.3.2016

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by | March 5, 2016 · 10:52

Moore’s no more?

Development proposal consultation for Moore’s Cycles, St Johns Road

Thursday 10 March 2016 from 3.00 pm to 7.00 pm at St John the Baptist Church, St Johns Road, Isleworth

Moore's Cycles at 3-5 St Johns Road, Isleworth as at 3 March 2016

Moore’s Cycles at 3-5 St Johns Road, Isleworth as at 3.3.2016

Network Housing Group will be holding a public exhibition at St John the Baptist Church, St Johns Road, Isleworth, Middlesex, TW7 6NY on a drop in basis between 3.00 pm and 7.00 pm on 10 March 2016.

They will be displaying images of proposals to provide 36 new homes within a part 3, part 5 storey building comprising of a mix of affordable and private sale residential units, as well on site car parking and cycle parking. A copy of the flyer for this event can be found here.

Image of proposed development to replace Moore's Cycles, St Johns Road, Isleworth

Image of proposed housing development to replace Moore’s Cycles, St Johns Road, Isleworth

The flyer states that, “The site currently comprises vacant commercial buildings” but residents will be familiar with its still open and long term operation as local family firm, Moore’s Cycles.

Network Housing Group advise that it hopes to submit a planning application by 18 March 2016.

TL 5.3.2016

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by | March 5, 2016 · 10:07

Some cream for Jersey Gardens

The late and great Richard M Nixon often spouted the etymological fallacy that the Mandarin word for crisis was interchangeable with the word for opportunity.

JG Sign

One of my first trips out after the council elections in May 2014 was being shown around Jersey Gardens by one of its Friends. Tales of some neglect, past failed ambitions and thieving of the ornate. Crisis? Perhaps, for some but never insurmountable.

Another alert at that time was from Councillor Theo Dennison, the council’s cabinet member for finance and other things, announcing that bids were being sought for the large pot of S106 developer planning contributions in the council’s account. Opportunity? For sure.

From my eighteen bids made on behalf Osterley & Spring Grove Ward and other parts of Isleworth in November 2014, one made it on to the May 2015 cabinet report. Theo saw the merit and £76,600 was allocated for, “Improvements, restorations and repairs to boundaries at Jersey Gardens. Sustained practical support for Friends of Jersey Gardens and other groups interested in its improvements.” Met with a little scepticism, it took a couple of emails to convince the FOJG Chairman that the cash was real before he was prepared to pow wow.

Stolen gate on St Mary's Crescent to be securely replaced

Stolen gate on St Mary’s Crescent to be securely replaced

We met on site before Christmas with Gaye from the council’s parks team, Jim and Unsa from parks contractor Carillion and John Love from Thistleworth Tennis Club, the latter to see whether there was scope to combine some joint fence works. Notes from that meeting can be found here.

Reconvening at Osterley Library in February 2016, Carillion came back with a scheme for this phase of works which was agreed by the Friends and includes:

Wood Lane to Ridgeway Road North fencing to be replaced

Wood Lane to Ridgeway Road North fencing to be replaced

  • Replacement and renovation of the most deteriorated pathways within Jersey Gardens and a cleaner and flatter ramp up to the playground area
  • Refurbishment of unused original gates currently facing Great West Road securely relocated to St Mary’s Crescent and the Ridgeway Road North access New double gates by the tennis court
  • Improved access points to the play area
  • Replacement and repair to low fencing along the Ridgeway Road North footpath and along the footpath towards Wood Lane.

These works are due to start later this month, March 2016 and other Friends and residents have also been advised via the latest newsletter which can be found here.

Jersey Gardens south eastern view with Osterley Hotel on skyline, 1932 photo courtesy of Hounslow Libraries Local Studies Section

Jersey Gardens south eastern view with Osterley Hotel on skyline, 1932 photo courtesy of Hounslow Libraries Local Studies Section

There is certainly plenty more to do to realise the long standing ambitions to restore Jersey Gardens, a unique and beautiful by product of the construction of the Great West Road in the 1920s.

Following a call for the next round of S106 bids, a request for funding of a potential second phase was made in January 2016 for,

  • Footpath illumination from Wood Lane to Ridgeway Road North
  • Improvement of paving to the playground
  • Horticulture and landscape apprentice project in conjunction with LBH Skills and Employment Team, Carillion, Hounslow Highways, National Trust, Capel Manor College and others to restore the Sunken Garden.

The outcome of this and another 16 bids (see my responses for both calls for bids here) will be shared when known later in the Spring 2016. Should there be similar success in securing funds, I shall continue to work with the Friends and others help progress further works in Jersey Gardens.

As always, happy to discuss but in the meantime, if not already a supporter, please make contact with the Friends of Jersey Gardens either by e mail to its Chairman, colinhume131@gmail.com or leave letters c/o Friends of Jersey Gardens at Osterley Library, St Mary’s Crescent, Isleworth, Middlesex, TW7 4NB.

TL 5.3.2016

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by | January 28, 2016 · 13:09

South Western Rail Franchise: Good meeting, get your responses in, pronto

Attendance and participation at last night’s meeting where we learnt more about the way our local train service works and how important it is to different users was a pleasure to be a part of.

Train at Syon Lane

Train at Syon Lane

Local resident, Michael Peacock, at very short notice was put on the spot to present but was asked to because of his in depth knowledge of the workings of our local railway and its context within the national network.

Many participants shared their views and also offered a range of proposals for the Department of Transport’s stakeholder consultation for the South Western Rail Franchise.  Notes from the meeting can be found here and should  be useful when preparing a response to the DfT before the 9 February 2016 deadline.

A copy of the consultation document can be found here and ways of responding to it here.

London_Overground_logo.svg

You wait for one consultation then two turn up at the same time.

Last week, the Department of Transport and Transport for London published another document, A new approach to rail passenger services in London and the South East, this describes a longer than recent ambition to incorporate suburban rail services (including ours) into the London Overground network.  This is also worth responding to (in a similar way to the SWRF) and can be downloaded from here, the closing date for this one is 18 March 2016.

Happy to recieve copies of your responses.

 

TL  28.1.2016

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