November 2009

Welcome to the November email from Brentford councillor Matt Harmer. You are getting this because we have communicated on local issues - if you would prefer not to get these monthly emails, you can click to unsubscribe at the foot of this email.

* Worryingly wrong *

It’s been a busy month, and this email is overdue. I’m typing this on Sunday evening having just returned from seeing one of the more spectacular examples of incompetence it’s been my displeasure to see. It’s resulted in households in one of Brentford Towers losing their gas central heating and cooking facilities.

I’ll explain. After the Camberwell fire, the flats were examined to see that there were sufficient things in place to stop fire and smoke spreading from within flats to the central lobbies. It was noted that the way gas meters were set up was potentially a risk. Basically, the gas meters are in a cupboard and can be examined from outside the property – it means that meters can be read without going into the properties. From inside the property, the gas can be turned off at the meter, which you might do if going on holiday. Very sensible, but this meant that there was a space through which smoke or fire could pass through.

So, last week, Hounslow Homes contractors sealed up the cupboard. Safer from a fire/smoke point of view. But now, you can’t see the front of the meter. Not only can no-one read how much gas is being used but residents who need to re-charge the payment on the gas meter, using a pre-payment card, can’t get the card in the meter. So you can imagine how happy the tenants are about having no gas on a cold Sunday evening and no prospect of charging up the meter in order to get more gas.

Mistakes happen, and I’ll be calling the relevant people in the morning, but if this is the level of competence on a reasonably simple job, can we trust them to do the hard things properly?

* Keep it coming *

This is just one of the many areas that you have asked me to try and help with recently. Additionally, your emails and phone calls are really useful in keeping me up to date on what is going right, what could be better and how it could be fixed. One example – an increase in emails and calls from roads off Windmill Rd on the north side of the A4 has got an assurance that the refuse and recycling service will improve.

Whether it does, of course, remains to be seen, and again your help there is welcome. I live pretty much in the middle of the ward and try to get about as much as possible, but it’s your experiences that really help. After three and a half years of being a councillor I think that we probably spend longer than we need to in the Civic Centre and if there’s something you think we need to know about, please do get in touch.

On the subject of waste and recycling, there is a meeting (yes, in the Civic Centre) next week between councillors and the people responsible for the new service. I’m pleased that the amount sent to be recycled has increased but there are still unanswered questions about how our Hounslow Homes-managed estates seem to have been left out of the discussions on how to implement the new service, about how the service is monitored and whether or not complaints are being addressed in the most efficient manner.

* Help for vulnerable households *

I’ve congratulated local police before on these mails and I’m going to do so again, this time for their co-ordination of a scheme to help vulnerable households stay safer. We probably all know examples of homes that show, from the outside, that the resident or residents may be vulnerable. Broken fences, windows that don’t close properly and so on.

For people aged 65 and over, the disabled, single parents and other residents who are particularly vulnerable officers from the Metropolitan Police Brentford Safer Neighbourhoods Team will visit homes to discuss home security and if necessary arrange for the fitting of new door/window locks and install security chains to doors. All work undertaken would be carried out by a member of the Metropolitan Police Brentford Safer Neighbourhoods Team with no cost to resident(s).

In addition, under the ‘Justice Seen Justice Done - Community Payback Scheme’the Metropolitan Police Brentford Safer Neighbourhoods Team, working in partnership with The Probation Service and Local Government, will arrange for residents to have their garden fences repainted, attend to unmaintained and/or overgrown gardens and if necessary fit security spikes to the top of walls to deter unwelcome visitors. All work undertaken under the Community Pay Back Scheme is closely supervised, and again, there would be no cost to resident(s),

Should you wish to find out more about the schemes, or know a household that could benefit, please let me know and I will pass the details on.

* Inventive adverts *

Anyone who travels down Ealing Road, just south of the A4, will have noticed that some of the advertisement hoardings have been removed. At the same time, it looks as though the Lucozade site given planning permission in 2005 is going ahead. This is on one of the buildings near the Texaco garage and I’m told it will be up and running in the new year.

Another kind of advert appeared on the scene recently, and I think we have to give some credit to whoever thought of it. A couple of weeks ago my colleague Cllr Ruth Cadbury and I were coming out of a meeting with local residents at Our Lady and St Johns School when Ruth noticed a new and very large advert on the side of the new Paragon building (that’s the TVU teaching facility and student housing by the A4).

The strange thing was, it wasn’t a conventional advert but, rather, it was being projected. We looked around and saw the source – a transit van parked on the verge of the A4, with the side door open and a very powerful projector pointed at the Paragon. Some work had seemingly gone into this because the ad fitted the building perfectly. There are some very low-quality pictures at www.mattharmer.com

Wrong, of course, but inventive. And I’m not giving the company being advertised a free plug…


* Christmas is coming…*

A brief What’s On notice. St Faith’s Church will be holding a Christmas Fair on Tues 24th November from 6pm to 9pm. Mulled wine from The Lord Nelson pub, gifts from local suppliers, preparation of Christmas food, carols and lots of other good stuff. More details at http://www.parishofbrentford.org.uk/fayrestallholders.htm

St Faiths is on Windmill Rd on the northern side of the A4, just after The Globe pub. Unfortunately I have to go to a council meeting at 7 but if you’re there before that time, come over and say hallo.

* Keep drinking *

As you may have seen, the Magpie and Crown pub in the High Street has closed, at least for the time being. As a very occasional customer it’s bad news, as the pub always did the right thing in promoting beer from smaller, independent brewers. This may have part of the problem, as it seems to be the chain pubs with the mass-produced chemical concoctions that they pass off as beer making the money at the moment.

Pub fans – of which our area has quite a few – should try and get to the Six Bells in the next few days before it closes for its refit. It’s pretty much unchanged since about 1965 and worth a visit to see what a pub looked like before man walked on the moon. You’ll get a good welcome from Joyce, who has worked really hard in difficult times and deserves a peaceful retirement.

* Game on *

A quick football update. Because of their 2-2 FA Cup draw at Gateshead, there’ll be an extra game at Griffin Park on Tuesday 17th Nov at 7.45pm. If Brentford are successful they will pay Walsall at home on Saturday 28th November, making three home Saturday games in a row.

* Can I help? *

As a councillor, my first task is to try and assist residents with problems. Please get in touch if you think I can help, either by replying to this mail or calling 020 8560 7033.

In the meantime, thanks for reading.

October 2009

Welcome to the October newsletter from Brentford councillor Matt Harmer. You're getting this because we have been in contact on local issues. If you prefer not to get these emails then please click the 'Unsubscribe' link at the foot of the mail.

* Towers fire concern *

Research by BBC London has revealed some very disturbing news about the fire and gas hazards in the six blocks that make up Brentford Towers.

In July, following the fire in Camberwell that killed six residents, I requested reassurance from Hounslow Council and Hounslow Homes, who manage the Towers, that the Towers had been recently inspected and everything was generally in order, that tenants would receive information on what to do in the event of a fire and that regular risk assessments were being carried out. (I've put the question I asked and the answer I received at the foot of this mail).

Those of you who watched the BBC London News on Monday evening or are able to go to the BBC London website will read that this is not quite the case. (If you are reading this before 1300 on Tuesday 6th, go to http://tinyurl.com/TowersNews and scroll down to 9.06 to see the BBC News TV bulletin). Award-wining journalist Kurt Barling took a surveyor around the Towers. The verdict? Not good. Some examples:

* Too many places where common areas and flats aren't separated properly (including many flats without proper fire doors, making it easy for a fire to spread from the lobby into a flat and from a flat into a lobby)
* Gaps between floors that can allow fire and smoke to spread from one flat to another - including where cables have been installed for digital TV.
* Poorly designed fire exits.
* No signage or emergency lighting on escape stairs
* Gas meters surrounded by timber framing, increasing the chance of fire reaching a gas meter or pipe, with obvious implications.
* A lack of information on what to do in the event of fire.
* Storage areas containing combustible materials.
* An absence of fire alarms.

Now, I don't want to start undue alarm. Fires are, thankfully, rare, and a lot of good work has been done to prevent fires happening in the first place. The use of gas is being phased out of the Towers. But our tenants and leaseholders deserve better. The Towers are high-risk buildings because of the manner of their construction and, it seems, they do not have up-to-date fire risk assessments.

I hope that Hounslow Homes will carry out a full programme of engagement with residents to demonstrate that
all procedures are being followed properly - something which doesn't appear to be the case at present.

* Parking survey underway *

Consultation is now under way on whether or not residents in the roads around Griffin Park are interested in having a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ). A response form should be with all residents by now (mine arrived last Monday). If you haven’t had one or it’s gone astray please let me know and I’ll arrange for you to be sent one.

At the same time, the CPZ north of the A4 is going live and I would be very interested to hear the reactions of residents of those roads. Is it any easier to park? Are the hours that the scheme operates right? Please let me know as the information may help any decision we have to make on whether or not to progress with a scheme around Griffin Park.

* Still a mess *

Many thanks to all of you who wrote to me regarding the problem of dog owners who let their dogs foul our pavements and parks. I always thought that parking issues were the most likely to get a response, but I was wrong – the electronic postbag has been full as never before with emails on this subject.

As you may have come to expect, the council have yet to come to a decision on whether or not they will let the local police issue fines to owners who don’t behave responsibly. I’ve passed on details of how other boroughs do it, and hope to hear back soon. (Whilst other councillors at our party conference in Brighton were debating items of national and international importance, I found myself asking colleagues about this very subject. And you know what, they pretty much all feel the same as you do).

One thing. I have secured S106 planning gain money for new signs for St Pauls Recreation Ground. There’s only one sign, on Albany Road, and it’s in a terrible state. (Take a look at www.mattharmer.com if you want to see it). However it turns out that the time allowed to spend the money has elapsed. Happily our officials think that this won’t be a problem, but this issue of expired planning gain agreements is one that we are still struggling to overcome.

Also in St Pauls Rec Ground, there’s concern that some of the playground equipment has been removed. None of us want play equipment that is a potential danger but I’m concerned that queries over when the equipment will be replaced have gone unanswered. Watch this space.

* Thanks to local police *

I want to put a word of congratulation out to our local Safer Neighbourhood Team. As you may know, the SNT is a team of 6 officers who remain within our ward boundaries tackling things that residents have identified as problems.

One of those areas is drug use and sale on the Haverfield Estate. Now, the Haverfield is a good place to live but has had a problem with this for a number of years. Our SNT has spent time on and around the Estate to win the trust of residents and last week alone made three arrests for supplying controlled drugs on the Estate.

Of course, the individuals concerned have not been convicted. However their arrest will help send out a signal that the community will not accept this sort of activity. I say community because much useful information is received from residents. The intelligence remains anonymous and as a councillor I hope that more and more people are able to feel confident about passing on useful information to the local police team.

The SNT can be contacted on 07881723891 or brentford.snt@met.police.uk. In an emergency, always call 999.

* Look out Stephen Fry *

I’m very gratified by the number of replies I get to these emails – please feel free to let me have any information that might be useful or let me know if there’s anything I can try to help with. Equally, please feel free to forward it to friends or neighbours who may be interested.

I’m going to try another form of contact to see how it goes. As I’ve said in the past, I was a rubbish blogger (www.mattharmer.com now contains just an archive of these mails). For the next month, I’m going to try this Twitter thing. For those who understand any of that, you can, er, follow me on CllrHarmerTW8. So now you know.

*****************************************************************************************
Here’s the question I asked re fire safety in the Towers, as reported in Council minutes.

Councillor Matt Harmer asked Councillor Jon Hardy, Executive Member for Housing and Services Improvement the following question:

“Bearing in mind the awful tragedy in Camberwell, when a fire took the lives, and homes, of residents in a Council owned block of flats, how reassured can we be that a similar tragedy could not happen in Hounslow?”

In response, Councillor Hardy advised that the cause of the fire in Camberwell was currently unknown and so this compelled the Council to look at every possible cause and to try to counter any likely problems. All advise and actions were being undertaken in conjunction with the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. Some of the actions being carried out in the borough included:

• Improvement in communication and the circulation of a leaflet to all residents and posters in lifts and other highly visible places giving safety advice on what to do in a fire

• Maintenance of hardware

• Training for workers on the estate (such as estate managers, concierges and caretakers) on ways to prevent fire including spotting defects in fire doors, etc

• The continuation of the regular risk assessments being carried out.

Councillor Hardy advised that he had personally visited every tower block in the Brentford Area with officers in order to inspect them and in so doing a small number of deficiencies were found in fire doors which were now being rectified. He also advised that residents’ behaviour was a key factor and he was looking to ensure that they understood the need to be careful, and quoted examples where residents had set fire to items such as sofas near buildings, which he hoped to eradicated by re-education and training on fire prevention. He concluded by stating that the Council took the matter seriously and was happy to consider ideas from others on ways to improve the situation still further.

Councillor Harmer then asked a supplementary question, namely:

“The Public Decent Homes Standard requires the installation of fire alarms in tower blocks. Most of ours do have them but some do not so can we get this done?”

Councillor Hardy responded that there was at least one smoke alarm on every level and that the Council was speaking to the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority on advice on other alarms.
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September 2009

Welcome to the September email from Brentford councillor Matt Harmer. You are getting this because we have communicated on local issues - if you would prefer not to get these monthly emails, you can click to unsubscribe at the foot of this email.

* A foul subject *

Just to show that summer is over I wanted to bring us all down to earth by talking about dog mess.

Hope that got your attention. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I received an email from one of our excellent Safer Neighbourhood Team (our local police). They wanted to do something about people who let their dogs off the lead to foul in the parts of St Paul’s Recreation Ground where dogs are supposed to be kept on the leash. (That’s most of the park, for those who don’t know the Rec).

The SNT were contacting me regarding an administrative matter – basically, did I know where they could get the tickets they needed to hand out the Fixed Penalty Notices – fines, to you and I – for owners not taking responsibility and not taking away and disposing of their pets’ waste product. (£50 a time, I understand).

Now, I know that some readers will grimace at this, and say that here is another example of councils and councillors jumping at the chance to take more money out of people’s pockets. If you haven’t trodden in the stuff lately then you may think that way, too. If you’re still not sure, I’ll introduce you to the man who told me how he has to scrape the stuff out of the tyres of his motability scooter.

Anyway, it turned out to be a bit more complicated than just ordering up tickets. It seems that a decision had been taken to not fine people as this might be seen as ‘heavy handed’. Now, I can see that it might be difficult to identify who should give these fines out. We don’t have animal wardens, and we’ve all seen how angry people can get when they get a parking ticket, so I don’t think I’d want to be the one handing out fines to dog owners. But I think the Police can handle it.

So, the policy is being reviewed as we speak. I’d be keen to know what you think. Heavy handed punishment or just desserts for a really antisocial lack of responsibility?

One other thing. After discussing this in The Griffin we decided that more signage was needed to show where fouling was and wasn’t allowed. One idea was to encourage local primary schools to design signs that ask for their parks to be kept clean of dog mess. Will cost a bit, but if we’re fining people it would be good to spend the money on something relevant. Again, let me know what you think.

Finally, if you think that these fines could be handed out anywhere, not just in the park, I’d agree with you.

* See you at the Festival *

A quick reminder of a couple of local events worthy of support. This Sunday, the Brentford Festival in Boston Manor Park. All sorts of good things, including a labour party stall – we are near the putting green, I’m told, so please do stop by and say hallo if you get this mail in time. On Saturday 19th Sept at 10am the dedication ceremony for the St Lawrence Church memorial for those who died in the First World War. The memorial has now moved to the library, alongside other memorials. Afterwards, in the Inverness Club.

* In the money? *

The saga of the S106 payments understandably attracted a lot of attention last month. The good news is that negotiations have opened to extend the deadlines. No news for sure just yet but we are hopeful that our officers can extend the deadlines and not have to spend the money in a hurry rather than see it returned.
It’s been interesting to see the various ideas for where to spend these payments (I’m not sure we can satisfy the person who points out that Brentford FC need a centre-half). Plenty of good ideas to reflect on – new heritage street lamps for Kew Bridge, anyone?

* Planning for the future *

A couple of interesting planning things taking place at the moment. Next week, local councillors will be discussing the latest application for the Alfa Lavel site, which now involve retaining the tower. I was told that it would be very expensive to demolish as some of the building consists of lead, dating from when some of the rooms were used as laboratories.

It’s at this point that you might expect me to say what I thought of the proposals, which include two hotels and 206 homes. For all sorts of reasons we are discouraged from doing so, partly because we might end up having to sit on the committee that decides whether it should get permission. Anyway, the report we read in advance of our meetings is available for all to see at http://tinyurl.com/alfalavel. If nothing else, there’s a short history lesson at the start. I don’t think I knew the site used to be a cricket pitch.

There haven't been any major planning decisions taken in the area lately. St Georges Church, the former home of the Musical Museum, was given permission to be turned into flats last month, a decision which should ensure the future of the building, and the Kew Bridge site application will be determined later this month.

* Can I help? *

As a councillor, my first task is to try and assist residents with problems. Please get in touch if you think I can help, either by replying to this mail or calling 020 8560 7033. Happy to arrange a personal visit, unless my Charlton Athletic lose badly to Brentford, in which case I shall be spending some time indoors...

August 2009

Welcome to the August email from Brentford councillor Matt Harmer. You are getting this because we have communicated on local issues - if you would prefer not to get these monthly emails, you can click to unsubscribe at the foot of this email.

* Money troubles *

I know it’s August and we are supposed to be taking it a little easier, but a potentially problematic issue has come up and I think it’s worth discussing. It starts a little drily, but stick with it if you can.

Here’s the background. When a developer has a major planning application approved, it makes an arrangement with the council and other interested parties in order to make financial amends for the impact that the building and its uses will have. If the development includes housing, there’ll be a need to pay some money to the council’s education department to pay for the costs of providing extra school places. If it’s a hotel, there may be road improvements to pay for.

These payments have a name – Section 106 payments, after the part of the relevant Act. They are quite targeted – they have to result directly from the building, and there’s a time limit to spend them. If the council don’t spend the money, the developer can say that the money isn’t/wasn’t needed and can ask for it back.

As local councillors, we’ve made an effort to make sure all this money is spent. For example, the new street lights in Boston Park Gardens came about after I identified some unspent funds from a nearby building and the zebra crossing in Windmill Rd came about by Ruth asking officers to add together contributions from around five different schemes.

To do this, we need to know that the money is available and this information has not always been forthcoming to us as councillors. There used to be a member of staff devoted to this task but he moved on and hasn’t been replaced. So you can imagine how surprised we were when we discovered, last week, about funding from the GSK development that hadn’t been spent - a little over £213,000 unspent.

The trouble is, the legal agreement says that the money needs to be spent by Sept 14th. Not allocated, but spent, with receipts. After this date, GSK can claim it back. So our job now is to ask council officials to renegotiate with GSK.

The importance of doing this becomes clear when we think what the money could be spent on. My first thought was that there was scope to do some work on the A4 crossings – make the crossings and central reservations safer and better-lit, for example. Other councillors have suggested other ideas – cycle lanes elsewhere in Brentford, for example.

In time, we need to find out why councillors didn’t know about these funds. But first, we need to pull together and try and renegotiate the deadline. I’m pleased to say that we have cross party agreement on this. I’ll let you know how we get on.

* Blogging rethink *

As you may know, I set up a blog site earlier this year at www.mattharmer.com. It’s taught me one thing. I’m rubbish at blogging. So I’ve changed the site into a place to store these bulletins.

I’m gratified by the response I get to these emails. Many readers reply and the views and questions make interesting reading. Please do continue to send them. However, it occurs to me that you can leave comments on the web site and other subscribers will also be able to read them. You don’t need to register and don’t have to leave your name.

To try this out, go to www.mattharmer.com and go to the foot of the copy of this email, click ‘Comments’ and away you go…

* Gunnersbury goings-on *

A couple of dates for your diary if I may. In reverse order, there’s the dedication ceremony for the war memorial formerly outside St Lawrences Church at its new home alongside other memorials outside Brentford Library on Saturday 19th Sept at 10am. Afterwards, join us in the Inverness Club.

Before that there’s the Brentford Festival in Boston Manor Park. If you’ve been before you won’t need me to tell you that this has become a top day out, with the added bonus of being able to meet Cllr Ruth Cadbury and I on our stall. Sunday 6th September from 12 noon. If you’d like to take a stall I’m sure the organisers would like to hear from you: http://www.brentfordfestival.org.uk for all the details.

This Sunday, it’s the Mela in Gunnersbury Park. I know that this view isn’t universally popular around the park but I’m a big fan of the Mela (http://www.londonmela.org) and I’m glad that we host it. Local residents have done well to bring to our attention problems in organisation and execution but on balance I’d say the event comes out on top. For one thing, it brings people into the park from across Hounslow and Ealing boroughs. All residents of both boroughs pay for this park’s upkeep and it’s right that there’s an event to bring people in.

But this is an important time for Gunnersbury Park. Built as a plaything for the Rothschild family it’s been run - many would say run-down - on a municipal budget for years and something has to give.

Earlier this year, consultants were engaged to look for a forward plan. They are now consulting on their suggested outcome. At the start of the process, claims that this would involve building housing on part of the park were decried as political mischief-making. Anyway, the plan now out to early consultation involves reviving the mansions, providing a sports hub and…building housing on part of the park.

All local councillors are awaiting the outcome of this process with interest. It’s still unclear exactly how the numbers will add up and we are a long way from any building taking place. But I really hope that all readers of this email can take a moment to look at the consultation document and answer the questionnaire. The final decision will be taken by the leadership of both councils and you can be sure that I will be looking for evidence that all other options have been examined.

For more details, go to www.hounslow.gov.uk/gunnersbury where you will find the link to the survey about half way down the page. It will take a few minutes but will send a clear signal to the two councils as to what the local community want to see.

* Still around *

It may be summer but if you have an issue that I may be able to help with, please do get in touch. I’m still getting calls about the recycling service and I’m told that some more bags and crates have arrived so let me know if that would help. I can’t promise to do everything but I do promise to try.

To catch up on a couple of things we’ve talked about previously:

*The 65s are still not good and we’re looking for improvements once Ealing Rd re-opens. A correspondant on www.brentfordTW8.com reports that the new 65s have what might be a design flaw – a gap between the seats that could be designed for pickpocketing opportunities. As ever, keep belongings secure.

*We had a very helpful initial meeting regarding Watermans park moorings. Still a long way to go but ‘calling it in’ got all parties around the table for the first time ever.

*There are tiny signs of life in the High Street development saga, with the developer beginning to talk in terms of getting something together. However, many shops are still struggling and we know that there is still a lot to do. It looks as though some Section 106 money that is still safe may be spent on providing a Town Centre Manager, who can help develop the area and work with the traders.

As ever, please do get in touch if you think I can help, either by replying to this mail or calling 020 8560 7033. Thanks for reading!

July 2009 Newsletter

Welcome to the July email from Brentford councillor Matt Harmer. You are getting this because we have communicated on local issues - if you would prefer not to get these monthly emails, you can click to unsubscribe at the foot of this email.

Apologies for the slightly late arrival of this bulletin – I’ve been on holiday.

* Permission to park *

I hope that nobody minds me starting with one of the subjects that always seems to get a big response – parking. Last week, it was agreed that all the roads in and around the Griffin Park area would be consulted on whether or not they wanted to be part of a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ).

It wasn’t because councillors want to force one to be imposed – far from it. The emails and calls that were asking for a consultation came from meetings with residents and follow up leaflets. We’ll now see if the interest is widespread enough. This follows on a similar exercise last year when roads around Boston Manor Road, north of the A4, were consulted. Residents in 13 roads were consulted, four will become part of a CPZ once the lines and machines are installed, hopefully by September.

Inevitably there will be households who are unhappy, and one road in particular demonstrated that it’s just about impossible to find a solution that fits everyone. However I’m reassured that there is money in the budget to go back to residents a few months after the schemes go live. If we got it wrong, then we must put our hands up and modify or remove the CPZ.

* Transport tales *

Putting cars to one side, a couple of transport issues have arisen lately.

Firstly, the trains. I’m a regular SWT commuter. Usually the 8:09, always at the back of the train (come over and say hallo if you’re a fellow user). I think the service is generally good, but I’ve had some calls lately about the information (or lack of it) when something goes wrong. I think a number of people were delayed on two days a couple of weeks ago where trains pretty much stayed at other stations en route for a long time with very little, if any, information being given on the likely length of delays, alternative routes etc.

A good example of this happened when it snowed quite severely earlier this year. Understandably, services were delayed and cancelled. But it was very unfortunate that the SWT website could not cope with the extra number of people attempting to use it and went out of action for a few days.

I don’t want to over-exaggerate this and so I’d be interested to hear from other SWT users to see how you feel about services. I’ll contact SWT with any issues that seem to reoccur.

Buses have also been discussed. Residents who use the E2 will know that the service has become a double decker. Unfortunately no-one thought to tell residents along the route, who now have bigger noisier buses coming rather close to their upstairs windows. Councillors weren’t informed in advance so we couldn’t indicate where there might be problems. (I had a similar personal experience when the 65, which goes past my house, went all-night a couple of years ago).

Transport for London make decisions on buses and whilst they do a lot of good work, their accountability is far from perfect. Additionally, I’m unclear why the E2 has gone double decker before the H91, which in my experience is far busier.

The 65s are still suffering with the diversion down Boston Manor Road. A couple of weeks ago I spied 5 at various stages of Ealing Rd. I’ve asked if TfL are satisfied with the route’s performance lately. Let’s see if anything happens.

* Football time again *

Might be hard to believe but the football season is nearly upon us. We delivered around 1000 leaflets with the season’s home fixtures to local properties but if you didn’t get one, let me know and I cam email or post the fixtures to you.

The first friendly is Weds 15th July and the first ‘proper’ fixture is on Tues 11th August. High profile games include Millwall at Griffin Park on Sat 14th November, Leeds visiting on Sat 12th December and my own team Charlton Athletic on Mon 28th Dec. Well, the Charlton game is high profile to me, anyway. Strange to have an away game one minute’s walk away from the front door.

* Tower block safety *

The fire in Camberwell earlier this month was terrible news. With six tall local-authority owned towers in the ward, I’m reassured to hear that studies are taking place to see if there are any implications for similar properties in Hounslow. Cllr Cadbury and I will pass on any relevant information in a future leaflet to local residents. Any concerned residents are, of course, welcome to contact me in the meantime on matt@mattharmer.com.

* Crime figures *

Some readers responded to June’s email with questions about crime statistics for the area. I’m glad to say that the Met Police have resumed the ward breakdown for these figures on their website. It’s at http://www.met.police.uk/crimefigures/datatable.php?ward=00atfz&borough=tx&period=year

* Squatters rights and wrongs *

I wanted to write something about the issues raised by the occupation of the MPs’ house in Brook Road South. However, given the reports in the press in the weekend and subsequently I think a period of silence might be best – though please do get in touch if there is anything that you would like to discuss privately.

* Can I help? *

As a councillor, my first task is to try and assist residents with problems. Please get in touch if you think I can help, either by replying to this mail or calling 020 8560 7033.

In the meantime, thanks for reading.

June 2009 Newsletter

Welcome to the June email from Brentford councillor Matt Harmer. You are getting this because we have communicated on local issues - if you would prefer not to get these monthly emails, you can click to unsubscribe at the foot of this email.

This month: return of the Lucozade sign?, concerns over crime, updates on the A4 and Watermans Park and info on changes to local buses.

*Lucozade sign*

Many readers will remember the old Lucozade advert along the A4. It disappeared when the building it was attached to was demolished to make way for the new Audi showroom. Even without this demolition its lifespan was limited because of the age of the technology tat made it work – hundreds of relays (ask your Dad) all clicking away.

Soon after, I joined a small working party to see if it could be reinstated somewhere else. In 2004, planning permission was given for an extension to a building near the Texaco garage. The extension would carry a new facsimile of the sign on one side and a standard advert on the other. However, the extension never happened and the permission has expired.

Earlier this year I was told that a new site had been found, very close to the Texaco garage, where a freestanding structure could be built. On one side, facing drivers heading to London on the M4 would be the Lucozade sign and drivers heading out of town would see whatever ad the hoarding’s owners wanted to display.

Since 2004, the number of advertising hoardings on the A4/M4 has increased and councillors and council officers have attempted to reduce the number of hoardings. Many go up without permission and are, frankly, eyesores. Because of this, Hounslow planning officers have recommended that the permission for the Lucozade hoarding be refused.

I have successfully requested that the matter be considered by councillors at Thursday 11th June’s Area Planning Committee. The old sign was a landmark which a number of people have said they would like to see returned. However the advertisement on the other side may not be as welcome. Either way, I think it’s a decision that elected members should make (though not me – my previous involvement means that I will declare an interest and take no part in the discussion or vote).

If you have any thoughts either way, I would be very interested to hear them. Reply to this mail and I will ensure that all replies are passed to the members of the committee.

*Updates: A4 and Watermans Park*

The petition calling for safer A4 crossings has successfully led to the junction with Windmill Road being added to the list of schemes being considered by Transport for London, so thanks to all who signed. There’s still a lot to do but we have support of all councillors and many residents and now we need to make that count. I hope to be meeting engineers on site again soon.

The scrutiny into the situation regarding unlicensed boats alongside Watermans Park has begun, and is gathering information from all the agencies involved. Too early to say what the process will recommend but it’s proving useful to get all the information onto the table.

*Crime concerns*

Readers may know that there have been two serious crimes in the ward in the past few days – an attack with a knife and a serious sexual assault. Whilst we shouldn’t allow fear of crime to take over, we need to ensure that our police are given the resources they need. I have written to the Borough Commander to ask his assurance that this is the case.

I have to say that the willingness of police locally to engage with councillors is first class. The introduction of Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) has helped very much and we are fortunate in Brentford ward to have an excellent team led by a Sergeant who is serious about making sure that he does all he can locally to tackle the issues that face the police.

If you see one of our PCs or PCSOs walking around, please say hallo. And please report any crime, no matter how low-level it may be, online at https://online.met.police.uk/ or by calling 0300 123 1212. The Safer Neighbourhood Teams can be contacted on 020 8721 2533 or 07881 723891. SNTs meet with a neighbourhood panel to decide priorities and if you have a local issue that you would like them to face please let me know.

*On the Buses*

Anyone using Route 65 may have to face a longer journey in June/July. Thames Water will be replacing the water mains on Ealing Road between the A4 and Popes Lane (north of the A4) and 65s from Ealing will be diverted via Swyncombe Av, Boston Manor Road and the A4 before rejoining Ealing Road.

*History Today*

Or, rather, this Saturday 6 June. There’ll be a Local History Day at Brentford library this Saturday between 11am and 4pm. The day will focus on the First World War and its impact locally, with particular reference to the war memorial outside St Lawrence’s Church on the High Street. We were pleased to hear that English Heritage has said that they have no objection to memorial being restored and relocated to join the other memorials outside the library.

If there are other local events that I can mention in future months, please let me know.

* Can I help? *

As a councillor, my first task is to try and assist residents with problems. Please get in touch if you think I can help, either by replying to this mail or calling 020 8560 7033.

In the meantime, thanks for reading and here’s hoping this good weather continues.

May 2009 Newsletter

May news from Councillor Matt Harmer

Welcome to the May email bulletin from Brentford ward councillor Matt Harmer. You’re getting it because we have communicated on local issues. If you would prefer not to receive these bulletins then you will find a link below that will unsubscribe you.

This month: a new school for Brentford, High Street update, come to the Brentford Fayre, more on the moorings at Watermans Park and congratulations to Brentford FC.

* New school? *

There’s been more interest in secondary education provision in Brentford. At a Green Dragon School governor’s meeting last week I was asked, jokingly, when I was going to provide a new school in the area. Well, I can’t do that single-handedly, but the night before at a council meeting I’d asked the same question of the councillor in charge of education.

Unfortunately, the answer was a lesson in being non-committal. There were loose plans to expand some existing schools but no guarantee that a new school would be built, despite earlier promises to the contrary.

What’s clearly needed is a mixed non-denominational school in Brentford. Too many children are travelling too far to go to school. We are told that, in the borough, 70% of families get the first choice but given that many parents don’t put the real first choice on the form because they know there’s no chance of getting it those sort of figures need to be treated with a great deal of caution.

Anyway, it’s something Councillor Ruth Cadbury and I intend to follow up. If it’s a campaign that you would like to be involved in, or have a story to tell about selection, please let me know.

* Brentford Town Centre *

So, Somerfield is gone and Morrison’s is on the way. In the meantime, I’m trying to do at least some of the shopping in the other shops in the High Street. Whilst the full redevelopment is plainly going to take some time (and I’m unconvinced that the council administration are doing all they can to move things along) it’s good to see that some of the shop units are to be re-let, as the hoarded shops send out an awful message.

I spent an interesting morning last week looking at some of the empty warehouses and offices just off the High Street. I was with another councillor, a letting agent and a very interesting man whose business is finding unused commercial property and renting the space at an affordable rate to artists. We looked at a couple of places that might have potential – it depends on what it will cost to make the spaces useable. When we were doing the Farmers Market we sold some art made by local residents at a couple of stalls and that went well so there may be scope to sell artwork on the High Street as well.

If this can be pulled off it’ll bring some life back to these empty spaces and get some interesting activities under way.

* Moorings Progress *

In March I wrote briefly about the unlicenced moorings on the Thames by Watermans park. Since then I’ve successfully sought a full report to be provided on this and gained multi-party support for as much progress as possible. Still a long way to go but I was getting tired of being told that things were moving along yet never seeing any progress.

* Diary Date *

If you’re in the area on Saturday 16th May, come down to St Paul’s Recreation Ground for the Brentford Fayre. All sorts of attractions including a beer tent, morris dancing and a cake competition, and we’ll be doing a Labour party stall, so drop by and say hallo. St Paul’s is on Lateward Road, behind Somerfield/Morrison’s, and the Fayre goes from midday to 4pm.

* Going Up *

Congratulations to Brentford FC for winning League Two. As a long-standing Charlton supporter I’m frequently told that ‘we’ll be playing you next season’. The first football match I ever attended was Charlton v Brentford in 1980 back in what used to be called Division Three, now League One.

It gives us a few issues to sort out in terms of how to manage some of the bigger crowds without disturbing residents and I’ll be meeting with the club in the next couple of weeks to discuss this. Please let me know if you live near the ground (as do I, on Ealing Road) and would like me to raise something at the meeting.

* Can I help? *

As a councillor, my first task is to try and assist residents with problems. Please get in touch if you think I can help, either by replying to this mail or calling 020 8560 7033.

In the meantime, thanks for reading and enjoy the (slightly) better weather.

March 2009 Newsletter

March news from Cllr Matt Harmer

Welcome to the March email bulletin from Brentford ward councillor Matt Harmer. You’re getting it because we have communicated on local issues. If you would prefer not to receive these bulletins then you will find a link below that will unsubscribe you.

This month: recycling, cuts to the Hounslow Language Service, the future of local parks and an A4 update.

Firstly, thanks to all of those who replied to my first email bulletin in January. It’s always useful to hear back from people about what is happening in our area.

* New recycling procedures *

Like me, you may have been surprised to find a number of new recycling containers left outside your front door. Whilst the new plastics service is welcome, I worry that the number of different containers, all for different products, may actually deter some people from recycling. Added to this is the need to remember which week it is – plastics week or garden waste week. And some roads, such as Mafeking Avenue, are telling me that they haven’t all received the various bags and containers.

The old ‘green box’ system worked because it was simple. The items to be recycled all went in the box and it was sorted by the kerb. The scheme became a victim of its own success sometimes, with collections delayed because the collecting van had to return to base because it was full.

Another problem has emerged for some Hounslow Homes properties, where the number of collections has fallen from twice weekly to once a week under a new contractual arrangement. This has led to overflowing bins and is absolutely unacceptable.

Your experiences of the new system will be very interesting – please let me know if it is working for you.

*Hounslow Language Service and the council budget*

Earlier this month the Labour group, of which I’m a member, put forward an alternative council budget that proposed a cut in council tax whilst avoiding cuts to various youth services including the Hounslow Language Service, a nationally-recognised service that provides English lessons and other support to children who don’t have English as a first language.

The budget cut to this service was announced with very little consultation and no assessment into its likely impact. I’m not sure that councillors have ever received the number of letters and petitions that we received in regard to this case. Cllr Ruth Cadbury and I received over 200 from Brentford ward alone.

We also suggested some new services. The council’s Money Advice Unit now can no longer guarantee personal interviews to people struggling with debt and so we proposed expanding the benefit/housing advice on offer. We know that our town centres are struggling and so we suggested that the council bring in a Town Centres manager to bring in more investment.

As many of you have emailed and called about increases in fly-tipping, we suggested a new team we called ‘Grotbusters’, a mobile team to clear dumped rubbish and large items from households. Finally, we proposed re-introducing Park Rangers to major parks.

We showed that all this could be done whilst still cutting council tax by 1%. However, the Conservatives weren’t interested, the cuts are going ahead and the benefits won’t happen. If any readers have ideas for services that should be introduced please do let me know – contact details are below. I also want to know if any of the cutbacks are affecting you, your family, neighbours and friends.

* A4 update *

Thanks to everyone who signed our paper or electronic petition regarding the campaign to improve the A4 crossings. I have now been told that Transport for London is including the Windmill Road junction in their plans for the next financial year. This is good news, though it will be some while before the effects are seen. I arranged a site visit for TfL engineers who were rather taken aback at how traffic behaves.

There are still some things that can be done in the near future. I am still speaking with council officers about increasing the parking spaces down Windmill Road. Parked cars slow traffic down (and help residents park their cars). I have also been asked to help with putting in yellow zig zag markings outside Our Lady and St John school to deal with some of the inconsiderate parking that happens there, and Hounslow traffic officers are progressing this.

* Boat moorings at Watermans Park *

Many of you will know that Watermans Park has been greatly improved over recent years. If you haven’t been down there, it’s worth a visit, especially now that the weather’s improving. Some of the unlicensed moorings are a bit of an eyesore and along with other local councillors I’m keen to see what we can do.

Properly managed waterside moorings are not only good to look at but they reduce the opportunity for bad behaviour in the park. There are a number of hurdles to overcome but the outcome is worth it.

* One ward, two parks, lots of work *

There can be few complaints about the quality of the parks in Brentford, with both Gunnersbury and Boston Manor parks having loads to offer. But when they both include historic listed buildings there are particular challenges. In the past fortnight I’ve attended presentations on how Gunnersbury can repair and renew the historic buildings and how those repairs can be paid for, and I’ve also helped progress a similar initiative that will examine how to deal with the challenges facing the Jacobean Boston Manor House and the park that sits behind it. The latter will be guided by the excellent work of the Friends of Boston Manor, who continue to impress us with their dedication.

Once again, your suggestions for Boston Manor and Gunnersbury Parks are very welcome.

* Can I help? *

As a councillor, my first task is to try and assist residents with problems. Please get in touch if you think I can help, either by replying to this mail or calling 020 8560 7033. Many of you have contacted me concerning the new regime of service charges for Hounslow Homes tenants and I am continuing to investigate this.

In the meantime, thanks for reading!

January 2009 Newsletter

Hallo from Councillor Matt Harmer

You are reading the first email bulletin from Brentford ward councillor Matt Harmer. You’re getting it because we have communicated on local issues. If you would prefer not to receive these bulletins – which I hope to send every few weeks – then you will find a link that below that will unsubscribe you.

*A4 Safety*
In the Autumn, residents alerted my colleague Cllr Ruth Cadbury and myself to the dangerous nature of the crossings over the A4 in Brentford. Parents at Lionel and Our Lady & St John’s Schools kindly helped compile a petition calling for action on this problem. The petitions contained nearly 500 signatures.

I presented the petition to the Mayor at December’s meeting of the borough council. I have had written assurance that council officers will assist where they can and I intend to insist that they do. The A4 itself is operated by Transport for London. I met with TfL engineers just before Christmas and they acknowledged that the crossings are far from ideal. They tell me that accident figures for Brentford junctions are lower than elsewhere in the Borough.

After the petitions were started, a fatal accident occurred on one of the A4 cycle paths. This tragic event demonstrates that work needs to be done to make the A4 safer.

I have been asked to set up an online petition for A4 improvements by cycle groups and it can be found at http://www.gopetition.co.uk/online/24413.html. Please sign it if you have not already done so.

*Can I help?*
As a councillor, my first job is to do what I can to help residents. If you think that there is something I can assist with, let me know. Email me on matt@mattharmer.com or call 020 8560 7033. Please feel free to forward this to friends and neighbours who may need some help.

*Litter*
In November, a new contractor started collecting refuse and recycling. My colleague Ruth Cadbury and I have both had a number of complaints about the state of roads after the vehicles have visited. If you believe that the service has declined then let me know and, together, we can hold the council to account and ensure that residents get value for money for their council tax.

*Gunnersbury Park*
You may have read in the press about the possibility of building on parts of Gunnersbury Park. I sit on the Regeneration Board and am committed to ensuring that improvements to the Park do not come at the cost of destroying any of this vital resource.

*Brentford FC*
Plans for Brentford FC’s new community stadium at Lionel Road are progressing well. As a neighbour of Griffin Park I’ll miss having football on the doorstep but the club need a new home to keep them competitive. Things are going well this season and with family tickets (two adults and three children) for only £20, it’s a great time to follow BFC.

For ticket info call 0845 3456 442.

*Anything to report?*
I’m always keen to follow up any issues you may have. Let me know by replying to this mail or calling 020 8560 7033. You can also take a look at www.mattharmer.com. If you have a residents association or other society and would like me to pay a visit then please let me know.

*Thanks for reading!*
Email is a great way of staying in touch and I hope that this update has been interesting. Talk soon!

Matt

Councillor Matt Harmer
Brentford ward Labour councillor
London Borough of Hounslow