Policing and Groundhog Day on Chiswick's Roads
Chiswick Gunnersbury councillor Ranjit Gill reports back
Cllr Ranjit Gill
April 8, 2023
The Metropolitan Police and our local ward teams
The Dame Louise Casey Report into the Metropolitan Police is not being allowed to gather dust on a shelf or prop open doors. It feels to me, as the Conservative Group spokesman on policing and crime, that it is the first report into policing that is being taken seriously. There seems to be a real wish to act to change, not just a hope that some media coverage will put a lid on it and be enough to keep the public quiet. Locally, the west area basic command unit (BCU) responded fast with online briefings for councillors describing what was needed including, of course, increased staffing. The changes will be extensive and can’t be achieved overnight but I am hopeful that not only will Chiswick wards soon be at full strength with two PCs and a PCSO in each ward but that the fast turnover of officers leaving will be supported by fast recruitment of their replacements. Life on the beat seems to have become a brief steppingstone to something better, rather than a valued and important role in itself. I’d like to see that changed. We have strong relationships with our ward police team and want to build on that, encouraging them to stay here.
More generally, we have been working with our area’s sergeant to strengthen the Chiswick Gunnersbury ward police panel (which includes the ward police team and key group representatives in the ward) and increasing its effectiveness. Membership of each ward panel is very different, reflecting each ward’s character. Communications between ward panels and ward police teams are two-way, in a respectfully equal relationship, and both are responsible for passing information on to residents and listening to them. We are also contributing to suggestions for a format for police reports for all wards so there is consistency between them, and continuity from report to report within each ward and across all wards in the borough. Residents want to see if their experience of crime is reflected in the reports and are interested in crime stats locally. We expect the first iteration to be adapted and developed including by having feedback from residents.
Grove Park and Strand on the Green – dividing Chiswick into more than two
There is a distinctly strong feeling locally that, having not been listened to during the 2018-2022 council term, there’s little point in trying to be heard now. The new council leader, Cllr Shantanu Rajawat, declared that he wants Hounslow to be a listening council. Tell that to residents of Grove Park and Strand on the Green who have had a low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) imposed on them that fails in many respects, and now has been told of changes recommended by the lead officer for transport. In an unusual move, Cllr Katherine Dunne, cabinet member for climate, environment and transport, has referred this recommendation by the lead officer (known as a chief officer’s decision, or COD) to the overview and scrutiny committee before it goes to cabinet. The more usual process is for a COD to go to cabinet first then for the decision to be called-in for review by the overview and scrutiny committee, if residents are not happy with the decision and if there are grounds for a call-in. Residents are briefing scrutiny committee members ahead of its meeting on Tuesday, 11th April which you can attend or watch live on the council’s YouTube channel.
C9 Have Your Say consultation
There is a distinctly strong feeling locally that, having not been listened to during the first rounds of consultations, there’s … I’ve said it in the section above. In this case, C9, there wasn’t little point in trying to be heard; there was no point. Despite the comment on the TfL Have Your Say site “we expect your views and experiences could change over time”, implying that you could send in additional comments if your views changed, many residents found that they could not in fact submit a new comment or revise what they had said before. Given that changes have only recently been made, at junctions along Chiswick High Road, residents have had things to say. TfL gave the impression it would be listening. As we’ve found before, it wasn’t. Several of us have written to TfL to query the validity of the outcome. Nothing new, I know.
Looking at the easterly junction of Linden Gardens and Chiswick High Road, two of my councillor colleagues – Cllr Gabriella Giles of Chiswick Riverside ward and Cllr Joanna Biddolph of Chiswick Gunnersbury ward – have asked for a review of signage there. During a catch-up meeting, they saw many drivers of cars and motorbikes moving across and blocking the cycle lane when trying to merge into the High Road, seemingly unaware that they were in the wrong place. Drivers leaving the car park aren’t necessarily residents, as we know from Jo’s recent survey of the value of parking there. The distance from the car park exit and the junction is very short and there isn’t necessarily enough time for visitors to look ahead before straying too far. If you aren’t familiar with the layout of the two-way cycle lane, the sign saying “Cycle Lanes” isn’t informative. Yes, there are give way lines but it could be so much clearer. The first response they received from the transport team was the usual council No Can Do so they are trying again. The need for persistence that we all learned in our first term as councillors hasn’t been forgotten.
Easter and Ramadan
I write this in the middle of Easter with its traditional religious celebrations, and a lot of chocolate indulgence, and in the middle of Ramadan with its traditional religious rituals, including the daily fast starting just before dawn and ending when the sun sets. The contrast between the two faiths is rather stark. We councillors have all been invited to a community iftar (the fast-breaking meal held at the end of each day of Ramadan) at the Hounslow Jamia Masjid. It is always a warm-hearted and generous occasion, welcoming guests of whatever faith or none. As a Sikh, I celebrate Vaisakhi a celebration of spring harvest on April 13.
Councillor Ranjit Gill
Chiswick Gunnersbury ward
07976 702956
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Tuesday 11th April at 7:00pm: Overview and Scrutiny
Tuesday, 18th April at 7:00pm: Cabinet
Tuesday 9th May at 7:00pm: Overview and Scrutiny
Tuesday, 23rd May at 7.30pm Borough Council AGM
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 (was Turnham Green) 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 Peter Thompson peter.thompson@hounslow.gov.uk 07977 395810
Cllr Gabriella Giles gabriella.giles@hounslow.gov.uk 07966 270823
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