Looking Ahead to Next Week's Borough Council Meeting
Chiswick Homefields councillor John Todd reports back
Cllr John Todd
September 13, 2025
Next Tuesday’s Borough Council meeting comes at a critical time for Hounslow. Two major reports will be debated, each highlighting pressures that residents in Chiswick know well.
The new State of the Borough report confirms what many already feel: housing is becoming unaffordable for too many people. Hounslow has added about 1,000 new homes per year over the past two decades yet demand far outstrips supply. The average house price now stands at £454,000, more than 13 times the average local salary, while private rents rose 12 % in 2025 to nearly £1,900 a month. Over half of all households now rent, and about 50 % of a typical household’s income goes on rent. These are borough-wide figures, but the effect is felt in Chiswick where young families and first-time buyers find it ever harder to stay close to their roots.
The Treasury Management Annual Report 2024/25 shows the council’s external debt climbed from £548 million to £608 million in a single year, largely to fund the capital programme. Meanwhile, the council’s wholly owned Lampton Group continues to present serious risks. My colleague Cllr Jack Emsley (Chiswick Homefields), drawing on the council’s own reports, highlighted how Lampton failed to repay scheduled interest on time and had to be bailed out by the council, with that bail-out money then immediately paid back to the council as “repayment.” Residents will wonder how this circular transaction can be called sound financial management. It is effectively the council lending to itself and then congratulating itself when the money comes back.
This episode sits alongside the fact that Lampton still owes the council around £226 million and has been late with quarterly interest payments three times in the past year. While penalty interest was charged, repeated delays and the need for bail-out point to cash-flow problems and weak financial discipline. Local Conservatives will continue to press for answers on how residents’ money is being safeguarded and when Lampton will finally stand on its own feet.
Two Chiswick petitions on next week’s agenda highlight how residents are taking practical action to improve daily life. The first calls for resurfacing Oxford Road South, where the road surface has deteriorated badly. The second requests a review of the controlled hours in the Stile Hall (‘SH’) Controlled Parking Zone, including the option of match-day only restrictions for Oxford Road South. Conservative councillors have been working with residents on both issues to press for a fair outcome, safer, better-maintained roads and parking rules that reflect how people actually use their streets.
The council will also debate Labour motions on the NHS and on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). These are important themes, but the focus must be on practical local outcomes and value for money. For example, Age UK Chiswick, which quietly supports many older residents every day, deserves to be properly consulted and involved in shaping services. Local Conservatives will continue to argue for that kind of grounded, resident-centred approach.
This meeting is more than procedure. It is a test of whether the council can get to grips with rising housing costs, growing debt and the need for better consultation with residents. Conservative councillors will keep working with the community to demand accountability, financial prudence and policies that genuinely help local people.
Cllr John Todd
07866 784651
DEMOCRACY: DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Monday 13 October: Chiswick Area Forum - Normally at Hogarth Hall, Chiswick Town Hall, Heathfield Terrace, Turnham, W4 4JN, but moveable around Chiswick (please check the website). Meetings are open from 6.30pm allowing residents to meet officers of Hounslow Council in Adult and Child care Social Welfare, Education, Housing and Services
Council Meetings
Borough Council
- Tuesday 16 September 7.30pm
- Tuesday 25 November 7:30 pm
Overview and Scrutiny Panel
There is public access for these meetings via a direct lift from the ground floor to the Council Meeting Room
6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB
Council Meetings – Overview and Scrutiny Committee
- Monday 18 September 2025 7.00pm
6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB
Council Meetings – Audit and Governance Committee
- Tuesday 4 November 7:00 pm
6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB
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 seven 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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