Tower House School is looking to recruit a driver for a new minibus route through Kew and Richmond, to collect pupils first thing and drop them off at school each morning. This will help our parents with early morning logistics, but also help reduce traffic in Richmond, Kew and East Sheen around rush hour.
Tower House already has two minibus routes through Barnes and Putney, run by staff who regularly comment that being a minibus driver is a joyful way to start the day – the children are always very excited to see them and leap on the Tower House bus!
It would be a great role for someone who might have some free time first thing in the morning and is keen to play an important role at the start of the school day. For anyone who is interested please contact Elaine Oliver (oliver@thsboys.org.uk)
An EastSheenMatters subscriber wrote this morning:
“Rush hour traffic on the Upper Richmond Road was again held up by traffic lights [this time] outside Sheen Sports. Having passed the traffic lights at 1pm, complete with attendant queues of traffic, I can report that not only is there no one working there but the job on the pavement is complete. The barriers and lights are serving no purpose other than to make life difficult and frustrating for thousands of road users.”
The photos below were taken half an hour later. Local shopowners told ESM that there had been an electricity cutout at 4am. The barriers were erected when workers arrived on site at about 930am. They created one way traffic from just east of the Sheen Lane traffic lights and blocked the road to the east of Richmond Park Road.
The sign above says that the work will be completed by 31/3/2026.
ESM rang the emergency telephone number to make enquiries, to be told that the works had been completed and a separate group had been emailed to say that they could now complete the job. That will likely be done on Thursday 26 March.
This raises a number of questions.
Why do the barriers need to extend so far into the road, when all the work was being done on the pavement? Why did the barriers need to extend so far along the road? Why can’t they coordinate works so that it is all done in as short a time as possible?
Heath and safety is of course all important, but it is difficult to see that anyone’s safety could have been affected if there had merely been a worker’s van parked by the work.
Instead we have queues of traffic where there are already the highest pollution levels in the borough. We have frustrated drivers trying to get to and from work: it will no doubt be worse this evening.
The responsible organisation is UK Power Networks which appears to be an autonomous body responsible to no higher authority other than (so ESM was told) OFGEM. Try getting any timely response from them.
We have been suffering these roadworks regularly always with the same timetable. Call out, restrict the traffic; do the works (without any realistic time estimate); sometimes call out a separate contractor to fill a hole; vacate the site of workers; call out a separate team to remove barriers.
Nowhere does there appear to be any supervision of the work being done or any attempt to speed up works to allow for the damage being caused to the health and safety of local residents. UK Power Networks is a law unto itself.
The only response youl will get from Richmond Council is ‘it’s not our business’. The same applies when they blame TfL. It’s high time for the local population to be informed about discussions the Council should be having with these other agencies about their management of repairs.
LOCAL ARTISTS AND BUSINESSES REUNITE TO BRING SHEEN ART TRAIL BACK TO SW14 18 APRIL-2 MAY 2026
Following the success of 2025’s inaugural Sheen Art Trail, Sheen Artists and East Sheen Village are joining forces again to bring the event back to SW14’s high street from 18 April – 2 May 2026.
Showcasing local talent in partnership with independent businesses, the trail will feature artwork displayed in shop windows and interiors, alongside exhibitions, workshops, a weekend Artist Fair at the Hare & Hounds pub (18 April) and a fun family event (25 April).
With the new theme “This is for Everyone” inspired by Tim Berners-Lee’s links to Sheen, this FREE event invites visitors to explore, connect, and celebrate Sheen’s vibrant creative community.
The Outfox the Competition is a fox-drawing event for local school children, with prizes and the best entries being displayed on the big screen in Lazyl’s shop window !
Pre-loved, Re-loved sale, Sunday 29 March 13:00 -15:00 Mortlake Hall,
Tea, coffee and cake also available!
Come along to our charity clothing and homeware sale. Recycle, repurpose and reuse whilst at the same time supporting two local charities – MCA and Retina UK.
If you have clothing and homewares in good condition you can drop off donations at Mortlake Hall on Tuesday 24 or Wednesday 25 March (9am – 5pm) or Saturday 28 March (1pm – 4pm).
Please note we cannot accept furniture or electrical items.
The Council’s Transport Committee agreed on Monday 16 March to award exclusive operating rights for e-bike services in the Borough to Forest, which will effectively ban Lime bikes from being hired or parked in the borough. The likely effect is that when the change is made Lime bikes will stop working at the Borough boundary.
The Committee agreed that the E-bike service should continue at the meeting and the cap on the number of e-bikes should be increased from 250 to 750 in the borough, with an option to rise to 1,000 overall. It also agreed to increase the supply of e-bike parking bays from 65 to at least 150 to reduce the number left blocking the pavements.
A report by Council officers said Forest scored highest for pricing plan and service. Councillors said the move would give riders full access to neighbouring boroughs Kingston and Hounslow, where Forest is the designated e-bike provider. When the change will begin will be confirmed in due course.
One has to wonder whether the Council has recycled itself into more judicial review proceedings!
The All England Lawn Tennis Club has overcome one hurdle in its proposed £200 million expansion on what was the adjacent golf course in Wimbledon. The High Court has decided that that land is not subject to a statutory trust for public recreation, and never has been. It had previously been thought that this was a complex matter possibly worthy of consideration by the Supreme Court, so it will be interesting to hear whether the Save Wimbledon Park group seek to appeal this decision.
A second appeal is still in progress after Save Wimbledon Park took legal action against the Greater London Authority’s decision to grant planning permission last year. The judge dismissed the group’s challenge after a hearing in July, but the Court of Appeal granted permission to appeal that ruling in November 2025. A date for that hearing is yet to be set.
