Street Improvements Proposals Don't Result In Any 'Fireworks'

A week in the life of a local councillor as told by Sam Hearn

Cllr Sam Hearn who represents the Riverside ward in Chiswick, is chairman of the Chiswick Area Forum. He has written this account of his week as a busy local councillor

Friday 6th November: Early morning start at Strand on the Green Junior School for the Governors’ Finance Pay and Staffing meeting. Good to have an LBH Officer with us this time to go through the financial monitoring report and discuss prospects for the next financial year. Then a quick dash into the Civic Centre to hand back my redundant lap top and my I-Pad (it needs a major software upgrade). No access to my council emails until Tuesday evening!

Sunday 8th November: At St Paul’s Grove Park for the annual Remembrance service. This is always a time for personal reflection. My thoughts this year have been coloured by reading the book Danubia. We all know that WWI began with the assassination of a Hapsburg Arch Duke but I really had no idea of the scale of the slaughter and the social and political dislocation as the Hapsburg Empire slowly imploded. Back to St Paul’s in the evening with my HI-Vis jacket in order to “work the gate” at the fireworks and bonfire event. We reached our safe numbers limit quite quickly and I felt rotten turning away so many people who had not pre-booked.

Monday 9th November: In the evening at the Autumn meeting of the Governors of Strand on the Green Junior School. A heavy agenda and some serious discussions prompted by the imminent departure of Mark Newton the hugely respected Head Teacher of the Infants School based in the same site.

Tuesday 10th November ;Pick up my updated council I-Pad and a new I-Phone. The Housing and Environment Scrutiny Committee once again had a huge agenda. Encouraging to see the implementation of plans to merge the Council’s various enforcement teams. A good example of how the reduction in available resources has led to some innovative thinking. The report on Housing however was far from encouraging. Some success in dealing with voids, empty properties and moving people out of B & B accommodation looks set to be overshadowed by a rising tide of homelessness.

Wednesday 11th November: Sue and I volunteered to act as ambassadors for that excellent Chiswick based charity the Micro Loan Foundation and help “work the floor” at the annual dinner of the Association of Corporate Treasurers at the Grosvenor House Hotel. The 1,500 guests proved extremely generous and it was quite an experience running around picking up donation envelopes . Great to hear Deborah Meaden thanking the audience and explaining why she supports the MLF. Karren Brady, the after dinner speaker, has also been actively supporting the MLF for nearly ten years.

Thursday 12th November : With Councillor John Todd at the Civic Centre reviewing the Council’s current financial situation and forecast, and the plans for the 2016/17 Budget. Discussing the street improvement proposals for Grove Park Road with interested parties – see below. Why has no one responded to the consultation?

Note:
The consultation on the Street Improvement Fund proposals for the Grove Park Road Public Realm ends on 16th November. You can still see the plans in the Consultations Section of the Hounslow Council Website. Work on Phase 1 is scheduled to begin early in 2016.

November 16, 2015