How to Guarantee Good Weather for Your Barbeque

Chiswick Homefields councillor Jack Emsley reports back

Cllr Jack Emsley

July 13, 2025

This is the second ChiswickW4 blog in a row I’ve written that has coincided with a heatwave - I think my next slot on the rota is towards the end of August if you’re planning ahead for a barbecue.

Apart from trying to stay cool, it’s been another busy week as a Chiswick Councillor!

Weeds

I had the pleasure of chairing the Chiswick Area Forum at the beginning of July, with the topic of weeds hotly debated. At that meeting, we heard from Hounslow Council that they would be revoking the ban on glyphosate, a weedkiller, in order to get to grips with the jungle growing out of our pavements.

It’s a big issue here in Chiswick, with some roads so bad that Cllr Ron Mushiso and I took to some guerilla weeding a few weeks ago. Whilst it’s true that glyphosate will be a much more effective way of dealing with the Chiswick Jungle, it is also true that many residents are uneasy about their streets being sprayed with chemicals.

In a recent email from Sabeel Khan, Acting Assistant Director for Traffic, Transport and Parking, it was agreed that for those who do not wish for their roads to be sprayed, there will be an alternative. Hounslow Highways is offering an option for residents to manually remove weeds on their streets themselves, and then inform the council so that their street can be taken off of the list of roads to be sprayed. To facilitate this, residents can send an email to businessmanagement@hounslowhighways.org.

This is a sensible alternative, and I know a number of community groups are ready to help if a street decides it would like to clear their patch of the Chiswick Jungle themselves. If you’re a resident interested in getting a group together to weed your local area, please do drop me an email and I’d be happy to support.

The bottom line is that Chiswick’s pavements are a mess following years of neglect. It’s good that Hounslow Council has finally recognised that it needs to be proactive on the issue of weeds, but there is also a real opportunity for all of us to play a part in making our area the best it can be.

Cafe Together

On Wednesday I met with the team at Cafe Together, a borough-wide charity which provides warm meals, company and advice to those who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or are otherwise socially isolated. The charity does fantastic work, with St Michael’s Church on Elmwood Road the current Chiswick venue for the project - it is open the first Wednesday of every month between 12:30 and 2pm.

Dukes Meadows Hedge

On Thursday I visited Dukes Meadows along with WildChiswick founder Jo Gilbert to see the damage done to the boundary between Chertsey Road Allotments and what will become new playing grounds opposite the Rugby Club.

Extensive undergrowth was ripped out last month without notice being given to local community groups or councillors. I’m thankful to the many allotment holders and local groups including WildChiswick, Abundance London, and the Dukes Meadows Trust for taking the time to discuss the issue with me. There have been further meetings between groups and the school this week and, whilst it is impossible to replace a mature hedge in a like for like way, I’m hopeful that a positive solution will be found to make good the damage.

Grove Park Group

On Friday I popped across to the Grove Park Group summer drinks event at the Pavilion School Kitchen on Hartington Road. It was great to share a drink with over 60 residents from across the area - a turnout that reflects the excellent work the Grove Park Group does to engage the local community.

The event was also an opportunity to hear about the group’s latest survey results from across the area, highlighting key issues of concern for Grove Park. These included crime, speeding vehicles and the local environment, all of which I had the opportunity to discuss with attendees before and after the survey presentation.

A huge thanks to the group’s committee for putting on an excellent event, and for their continued work within the Grove Park community. The group’s newsletter roundup of the event on Saturday came into my inbox just as I was writing this blog, and finished on a point too good not to include here: “communities don’t create themselves, they have to be built”.

In Chiswick, we’re exceptionally lucky (and rare, in London!) to have so many fantastic community builders!

Cllr Jack Emsley

jack.emsley@hounslow.gov.uk

07977 396017

DATES FOR YOR DIARY

Tuesday, 15 July: Audit and Governance Committee

Tuesday, 22 July: Borough Council

Tuesday 16 September: Borough Council

Monday 13 October: Chiswick Area Forum

Anyone can attend public meetings of the council. Most meetings take place on the 6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, TW3 3EB. Hounslow House is fully accessible. The nearest tube is Hounslow Central which does not have step-free access. Parking in local roads is limited.

Emergencies

You can report emergencies outside office hours by ringing the council on: 020 8583 2222.

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 ward

Cllr Joanna Biddolph joanna.biddolph@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 703446

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 Gabriella Giles gabriella.giles@hounslow.gov.uk 07966 270823

Cllr Peter Thompson peter.thompson@hounslow.gov.uk 07977 395810  

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