EastSheenMatters

It may be the middle of August 2026, but we cannot lose sight of the present state of one of the major open spaces in the area and the lack of planning for the consquences. It is over ten years since the Singaporean based City Developments Ltd (CDL) bought the Stag Brewery site for £165 million. Their website now states ‘for Development and / or Resale’. This is a small part of their £1.27 bn revenue just announced.

The developers have mothballed their project, finding it too expensive. Well they should not have paid so much in the first place, and they with Richmond Council, should have paid closer attention to the expertise of the local community.

The residential part was excessive, but as has always been accepted locally, necessary to some degree. It required a greater proportion of affordable housing, and it was always doubtful whether the design and type of accommodation approved would actually have sold. Except perhaps to foreign investors.

The Leader of Richmond Council was recently reported as blaming the Mayor of London for the debacle. (Richmond Nub News 29/06/2026) Politically convenient but nonsense.

Mortlake has always been of secondary interest to Richmond Council, save potentially as a cash cow. So local residents have no reason to expect assistance from that source. The Council is dominated by interests on the other side of the river.

Indeed if there was a balanced borough wide view, there would be questions asked about who should carry the can for the disatrous outcome. If this was in Twickenham or Teddington there would be a genuine debate. But this is Mortlake.

The name of the Police Liaison Group is changing to East Sheen Ward Police Panel. 

The next meeting will be on Wednesday 2 September at 7pm, in their usual meeting place, East Sheen Baptist Church, Temple Sheen Road.

Adam’s Pond – Drier

Barn Wood Pond – Drier

Jubilee Pond – Driest

If you have been concerned about pollution that might be caused by Heathrow Expansion you should watch Buried by Michael Sheen. Episode 1 aired on BBC2 on Monday night and is now available on BBC IPlayer.

It’s a story about a massive cover-up by Monsanto, now owned by Bayer, of dumping carcinogenic chemicals, in which government and environmental agencies have been complicit.

One consequence has been that dumping of waste, when banned in Alabama in 1971, was moved to a dozen or so quarry sites in South Wales and one in Cheshire, some of which drain into local waterways. The key element is polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), compounds of which are highly toxic. “The godfather of forever chemicals.” Their use was banned in the UK in 1987, but dumped waste remains a problem. Independent testing has been conducted showing that in one area toxicity is 2,000 times a safe level.

Terrifying as this story is in itself, it is not without relevance to Heathrow expansion. Profit is more important than people’s health and welfare, both to the companies involved and to government agencies. Principles for decisions are established which diminish the value of health and safety.

“We can’t afford to lose one dollar of profit.” “A little bit of the corporate brain was removed to not have to worry about the dangers of what they’re doing to people.”

Although the ‘surface upgrade’ gets a mention, it ought to be a priority concern for East Sheen and Mortlake. As everyone knows the area already has major road and rail problems. Imagine those problems being doubled in volume.

The Telegraph reports that Cambridgeshire County Council has introduced Britain’s first 15mph bike lane to tackle the scourge of speeding cyclists increasingly threatening the safety of pedestrians.

The council, a Lib Dem authority, said the move was in response to regular concerns from residents “including older people and families with young children” over cyclists travelling at excessive speeds. Permanent speed limits apply to two shared-use paths that run along the city’s 16-mile “guided busway”, which has already been mired in health and safety failings.

When The Telegraph visited Cambridge on Friday, locals welcomed the change, with one medical student who frequently cycles on the route saying he had seen around “half a dozen” accidents. Some were already defying the restrictions, claiming the council was penalising riders to limit its own liability following a string of casualties on the busway.  One exclaimed “good luck enforcing it” as he rode past. He added: “Look, I’m going 16mph.” Another shouted that the limit was “ridiculous” before speeding around the corner.

Cambridge is known as the nation’s cycling capital, in part because of a tradition established by the university city’s students but also because of “active travel” schemes that have given over more of the road network to riders.

Videos posted by hobby cyclists online – tracking their speed and heart rates as they cycle along the busway path – show individuals clocking up speeds of around 20mph, [we should be so lucky] swerving around dog walkers, elderly pedestrians and toddlers walking alongside their parents.

The restrictions will be enforced with the help of a dedicated police patrol, who – alongside a “busway safety team” – will use speed monitoring equipment to catch those “clearly exceeding the limit”. There are placards with QR codes to encourage locals to report “antisocial behaviour and criminality on the busway” to the police.

The city’s e-bikes – operated by Voi – are capped at 15mph but authorities have become increasingly concerned about rising antisocial behaviour along the route. This includes the use of e-bikes more broadly, particularly private e-bikes modified to far exceed their capped speeds. Anyone breaking the limit will be stopped by enforcement officers and advised to slow down, with repeat offenders expected to be met with harsher treatment such as fines.

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Constabulary said: “Speeding in this area has been recognised as an issue and work is ongoing to tackle it for local residents. Officers are being given dedicated time to patrol the area in question and we are working with partners to tackle the issues and enforce the speed limit” .

If only…..

The Evening Standard reports that London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has slammed Heathrow Airport after proposed spending on “noise reduction” was drastically cut. Around 6,500 local homes could be affected by the noise from additional flights if and when a third runway at Heathrow becomes operational. The disclosures are contained in over 70 pieces of written evidence to the House of Commons transport select committee on the proposed expansion.

The airport had proposed spending £241 million on double glazing, loft insulation and erecting walls – but this has been severely cut to just £52 million. Airport chiefs have blamed the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for being forced to cut the noise insulation budget, while insisting that a ban on night flights would be “enhanced” rather than diluted.

Heathrow also promised to implement the noise reduction measures for local residents over the next 20 years – but a submission by local forum the Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group has warned that local residents could wait a century for noise protection.

The CAA said: “The consultation on Heathrow’s pricing arrangements proposed broadly retaining existing levels of noise insulation expenditure.”

Hacan, a campaign body for residents near Heathrow, takes the view that: “There is a strong argument that… a good corporate neighbour would just use shareholder money to invest in [it].”

Khan warned that the number of night flights will double if the third runway gets the go-ahead. The draft expansion policy statement suggested a six-and-a-half hour ban within the hours of 11pm and 7am. It is said that airlines already operate under voluntary agreements that mean flights are rare between these hours. [Simply untrue – see below.]

Khan said that a loophole in the proposed night flight ban would be put in place for the third runway to operate. He argued that formalising the ban risks flights being rescheduled to the hours immediately before or after the ban, meaning airlines could compress their schedules, doubling night flights by packing them into either the early morning or late night windows. A Heathrow spokesperson said: “We have proposed enhancements to our night flight ban, already the strictest in Europe.”

Readers should also note that published simultaneously is A Strategic Vision for Transport to
an Expanded Heathrow Airport. This is couched in general terms with responsibility being placed on promoters. This is an area on which local residents will have to keep a close eye. It is to be expected that promoters will seek to expand locally on the use of existing, already over-committed, road and rail facilities, probably without any central government financial support for additional infrastructure.

What is clear is that neither the Government nor the agencies supporting the expansion of Heathrow are to be trusted. Business interests rather than residents’ health and welfare predominate.

The night flight ban: statements are nonsense. As local residents know only too well flights arrive at any time after 430 am. And they are the rule not the exception.

Noise expenditure: who do you believe, the CAA or evidence that Heathrow could cut costs by nearly £200m?

Noise reduction : a plan to implement measures over the next 20 years! Clearly a plan based on mortality rates.

You can express your views via email to:

Henpsconsultation@dft.gov.uk

Draft Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement: consultation on proposed amendments published on 18 June 2026. The deadline for response is 1 September 2026

TfL has confirmed that bus route 533 is being withdrawn, with its service replaced largely by an extended route 209 from 15 August 2026.

Route 533 is officially withdrawn as part of TfL’s permanent restructuring of Barnes-area services following the long‑term closure of Hammersmith Bridge.

• Route 209 is extended to cover most of the 533’s former path between Hammersmith Bus Station, Castelnau, Lonsdale Road, Barnes Bridge and Barnes Pond. It will run roughly every 15 minutes.

Clifford Avenue, East Sheen two-way temporary traffic signals from junction of Somerton Avenue for Thames Water utility works. Estimated completion date 17/08/2026. Contact: Thames Water 0800 316 9800. TFL 0343 222 1234 

Lower Richmond Road, Mortlake multi-way temporary traffic signals from outside no.67 to junction of Sheen Lane for Cadent Gas utility works commencing on 10/08/2026 to 04/09/2026. Contact: Cadent Gas 08000 159 057.

Sheen Lane, East Sheen two-way temporary traffic signals Outside 188 for Cadent Gas utility works. Estimated completion date 19/08/2026. Contact: Cadent Gas 08000 159 057.