Council Committee Highly Critical of Grove Park Streetspace Decisions
Measures on hold as Labour councillors blast lack of consultation and evidence
Cllr Sam Hearn in celebratory mood. Picture: Peter Hogan
A series of decisions on traffic measures in Chiswick are on hold after a council committee referred them back to the borough cabinet this Thursday evening (23 September).
The Overview and Scrutiny Committee was asked to review a decision by a senior council officer to make a number of road closures in the Grove Park area permanent and to introduce a number of new measures in the area including the extension of restricted hours on Staveley Road and the closing of access to Burlington Lane from the A316.
A contingent of around 150 Chiswick residents had travelled to Hounslow House to picket the meeting and they were able to celebrate after the committee were highly critical of the way in which the decisions have been made and sent them back for consideration by the Hounslow Borough cabinet. It was recommended that the council consults residents and other stakeholders ‘properly’ on these schemes and improve the level and quality of data collected to justify any decision. This means that the implementation of the changes is delayed until they have been reviewed at a cabinet meeting.
Cllrs John Todd and Sam Hearn made the case for the decision being unconstitutional and detailed the significant impact the measures already implemented were having and that the planned measures would have. They emphasised the problems that restricting access to Grove Park would have on residents in the area to the east of the A316. Shortly before the meeting the council had announced further amendments to the scheme which would allow residents of this area exemption from the restrictions on Staveley Road.
Committee chair Daanish Saeed, who is a Labour councillor (Labour) said that in recent weeks she had spent many trips to Chiswick as a passenger when asked for their opinions of the people who were driving she said, “Unfortunately, many of them I can’t repeat here today”. She added, “We definitely need to have more consultation.”
Her colleague Cllr Gurmail Lal said of the justifications in the report recommending the changes, “The answer we have at the moment in no way addresses the concerns given to me by residents.
“This project has caused a lot of stress and anxiety and misery for the residents, It has caused too much grief.”
About 150 protestors from Chiswick came to Hounslow House. Picture: Peter Hogan
Only around 40 of the residents who had come to Hounslow House to protest were able to attend the meeting and they greeted a claim by Cllr Katherine Dunne, the Cabinet Member for Communities and Climate Emergency, that there was general support for these kind of measures with derision. Opponents of the scheme pointed out that the report produced by independent traffic consultants Steer had indicated levels of opposition above 80% for measures which the council were planning to make permanent.
In making recommendations for Cllr Dunne and Cllr Hanif Khan (Cabinet Member for Transport) to consider, not only was the consultation process criticised, but the committee concluded that the cabinet members had inadequate evidence to make the decision and human rights of residents might also be challenged.
Message from protestors was unambiguous. Picture: Peter Hogan
Deputy Chair of the Committee, Cllr. Richard Foote said, “They need to design a scheme where individuals are part of the solution, not just part of the problem.” Addressing the Chiswick residents attending the meeting, Cllr Saeed said the committee “unanimously support you all”.
Chiswick Riverside Councillor, and Conservative Spokesperson for Traffic and Transport, Sam Hearn said, “We’re pleased that the committee accepted our arguments against the ill-thought through decision to make several controversial Streetspace schemes permanent. The changes imposed by Hounslow’s Labour council will have had a ruinous effect on local businesses if they are made permanent, as well as discriminating against vulnerable residents who rely on fettered access by road to receive deliveries, essential care services and visitors.”
A spokesperson for the Park Road Neighbours group said, “We are grateful to Cllr Saeed and all of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for their careful consideration of this decision, and for the tireless work of our local councillors, especially John Todd and Sam Hearn.
“Hounslow Council, and particularly Cabinet members Hanif Kahn and Katherine Dunne, have made a big play that they have listened to local residents. The committee could clearly see tonight that they hadn’t.
“We hope that they will now listen, but we were disappointed to see that Cllrs Khan and Dunne, and Jefferson Nwokeoma (Assistant Director of Traffic & Transport), all left the meeting this evening before the Committee’s recommendations were heard. I’m afraid we still need to see a sea-change in the way Hounslow’s Cabinet treats the residents of Chiswick.”
We asked Hounslow Council for a comment on the criticisms made by the Committee but have not received a response.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
September 26, 2021
