Green Councillors working hard for you:
Your five Green Councillors continue to push the Lib Dems to take stronger action on clean air, the climate crisis and affordable housing.
Former Green MP Caroline Lucas successfully campaigned to introduce a Natural History GCSE, which was meant to be brought in this September. The Labour Government has postponed it and this vital educational tool – supported by BBC nature broadcasters Mary Colwell and Chris Packham, and The Wildlife Trust, among others – is threatened with cancellation. Cllr Chas Warlow persuaded the Council to write to the Government urging it to implement the new Natural History GCSE this year.
As the Opposition, we submitted a response to the Council’s Draft Air Quality Action Plan.
Andrée says: “We are really concerned this Plan has very few measurable actions or specific targets, and is simply a list of items. Without objectives, the Council simply can’t measure its progress.”
In Mortlake, Green Cllr Niki Crookdake – along with local campaigners – pressured the developers of the Stag Brewery site to increase their offer of affordable housing from 7.5 per cent to 12 per cent.
Greens have also convinced the Council to reduce the amount of our waste it incinerates, given that burning it is just as polluting as using coal power.
Cllr Chas Warlow says: “I’m pleased to see the Council recognises the climate and health risks caused by emissions from incineration and is taking action to reduce them.”
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New sports facilities for young people
The Council consulted residents on installing a Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) on the football pitch by Beaufort Court last autumn. There wasn’t sufficient support for a MUGA, but Councillors proposed the site be upgraded to provide new basketball and better football facilities instead.
Andrée says: “Since the basketball hoops were removed from the Hawker Centre, young people in Ham have nowhere to play basketball free of charge. I am very happy to support plans to resurface the existing pitch and install mixed-use goals to allow both football and basketball to be played.”
Cllr Chas Warlow says: “Concerns were raised during the consultation about the impact on the nearby badger sett. The new goals and hoops will be about 30 metres from it, and all excavation will be done by hand to minimise any disturbance. I am pleased young people in Ham will have somewhere to play basketball and football properly, for free.”
Richmond’s twin towns celebrate 65-year partnership
Over the weekend of 6-8 June, Richmond will celebrate 65 years of being twinned with the European towns. To mark the event in our area, Richmond in Europe is installing an information board on Ham Parade, supported by the monthly market. Plus, your councillors are planning to use donations from filming companies to install a commemorative water fountain on Terrace Walk, overlooking the famous view from Richmond Hill.
Thames Water exploratory works
Thames Water is digging a number of boreholes across the borough to extract soil and rock samples to get an understanding of local ground conditions for the proposed Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA).
Each borehole has a diameter of about 20 cm and takes between two to three weeks to complete. A small fence compound will be put around each one to make sure it’s safe. After boreholes are created, they will be securely capped and water levels monitored for around six months before backfilling.
Andrée is in contact with Thames Water about this issue, attends the Save Our Lands and River (saveourlandsandriver.org.uk) steering group meetings regularly and continues to campaign against the TDRA scheme. Find out more at thames-wrmp.co.uk/tdra or call 0800 316 9800.
Good news: Bishops Close gets bicycle storage
Richmond Council has installed 30 new, weatherproof bike hangars across the borough to help people to store their bikes safely. Spaces cost £72 per year to rent fromCycleHoop. Bishops Close was the only location in Ham and Petersham to get a bike hangar in the last round.
Andrée says: “If lack of storage puts you off using a bike, or even starting to cycle, this may be the answer. The Council focuses on requests from residents when deciding where to put hangars in, so the more people in your road or block that ask for one, the more likely it is to listen.”
To request a bike hangar, go to richmond.gov.uk/bikehangers then click ‘Register your interest’.
Community Conversation – 25 March
Ask your ward councillors about issues that affect you on Tuesday 25 March, 7-9pm. The Ham, Petersham & Richmond Riverside Community Conversation is being held jointly with South Richmond, and so is taking place in Duke St Church, Richmond TW9 1DH. Register here.
New ‘mini-library’ in Ham
Check out the mini-library on Ashburnham Road, near the junction with Willow Bank, where you can pass on books or pick up a new read for yourself or your children. The book swap was started by volunteer gardening group Green Grafters, who tend the planters and green spaces in the Ham Riverside Lands estate.
Andrée says: “This is an ideal way to share and reuse, and I applaud the group that has made the mini-library happen.”
