A local resident has managed to extract a response on the livestreaming issue from the Leader of Richmond upon Thames Council. He wrote
“The idea that this [livestreaming] would be cost free is a fallacy. The equipment we have will be used for the broadcast of committees happening during the run of the hearing so we’d have to see if it was possible to hire in additional equipment – current estimates are twenty five thousand pounds
Also, I understand it’s not a case of the council refusing, the Inspectorate advised iwebcasting would not be necessary
That said, I have asked officers to investigate alternative costs but twenty five grand to webcast somebody else’s meeting (the council is just the host for the event) with no chance of recouping that money is a hefty price tag.
This response is disingenuous. If he had had the slightest interest in the views and feelings of this part of the borough he would have given consideration to the local issues from the start.
A hefty price tag? Let’s know what Counsel’s fee are.
Putting the blame on the Inspector is typical manipulation of the facts – what he decides is based on what he is told. Regrettably we do not know that. But you can bet he was not encouraged to direct streaming.
Now that the Leader has come under pressure, primarily as a result of postings on this blog, we have obfuscation on the costs and availaibility of facilities. If the Leader’s concern is in not having too much local interest stimulated, all his actions will be directed to that. The local authority has given no publicity to the Inquiry. Their Planning website still makes no mention of a hearing date. You might think they are unaware the development as currently planned would change the face and education of Mortlake and East Sheen.
When eventually it became possible to see the note of the Pre-Inquiry Case Management Conference it could be seen that a decision had been taken not to livestream the hearings.
Inquiries were made of the Planning Inspectorate and brought the following reply.
The Inspector has asked me to respond as follows:
The Council is responsible for organising all accommodation and facilities for the Inquiry. It does not currently have an in-house capability to livestream events.
The Inspector asked the Council to investigate the possibility of livestreaming the event. However, he was advised that an external company would need to be hired to provide the service at a cost of several thousand pounds to the Council.
The Inspector consulted the five main parties on the best way to proceed. Having considered the responses, he advised that the Inquiry would not be livestreamed. In making this decision he also took into account Government advice for Inquiry venues (available at Public inquiries; Hearings and Examinations – venue and facilities requirements – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) and the best use of public funds.
We do not know what ‘the five main parties’ said in relation to this matter because they were the only people allowed to attend and they have not disclosed their submissions. It was pointed out to the Inspectorate that the Richmond upon Thames Council website states as follows :
‘Welcome to London Borough of Richmond upon Thames webcasting page. If you have a computer and a broadband internet connection you will be able to watch the meetings live and for up to six months afterwards. ‘
It is well known locally that all Council meetings at York House can be watched live.
Enquiries have been made of councillors. They all appear to be affecting ignorance on the matter. If they had any concern for the local population they would have been pushing hard for this service to be available. Even assuming that the usual channels for Council meetings were not available, who decided it was not worth the cost, a fraction of what the Council is no doubt spending on briefing Counsel?
Synaesthesia is a type of ‘merging of the senses’. It is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway.There are various types. Between 4% and 5% of the population are thought to experience it in some form.
People with synaesthesia may experience colours when listening to music, see shapes when smelling certain scents, or perceive tastes when looking at words or hearing speech. Letters or numbers may be perceived as coloured. People who report a lifelong history of such experiences are known as synaesthetes. Synaesthetic associations can occur in any combination and any number of senses or cognitive pathways.
Some synaesthetes report that they were unaware that their experiences were unusual until they realized other people did not have them. Is that you?
Is the phenomenon relevant to East Sheen and Mortlake?
Our Richmond Park MP reports in her weekly newsletter that she has been meeting with residents from Mortlake and Kew to hear about the local and national issues that have been on their minds over the last few months.
“ In Mortlake, it was unsurprising that issues around traffic and Hammersmith Bridge came up on several occasions but with the task force set to meet later in the year and a new Government in place, it does feel as if there may be light at the end of the tunnel.”
What is surprising is that the newsletter gives the impression that no-one in Mortlake raised any questions about the Stag Brewery planning applications and the Planning Inquiry which starts on 5 November 2024. Surprising especially when you look at the number of objections to the applications.
Meanwhile Richmond upon Thames Council has firmly declined to provide a streaming of the Inquiry, in spite of the request from the Planning Inspector to do so. The hearings are to take place in Twickenham at 10am each morning, not a straightforward trip in the rush hour. So the majority of the population most affected by the applications will not be able to see the oral evidence being given in support of and against them.
What possible justification can the Council have for their intransigence? They have the facilities to stream; they do so regularly for Council meetings. In any event private inquiries have demonstrated that it would not be costly. There are local amateur football clubs which stream their matches. The Council did so when it held a local ‘consultation’ meeting.
Given all the evidence one is driven to the conclusion that the local authority is very reluctant to give more publicity than is absolutely necessary to the inquiry. And even sadder our MP is complicit in this conspiracy of silence. These are dark days for Richmond LibDems and quite the opposite of the open government one had hoped for when they were elected.
At the end of 2023 Alastair Grant learnt that ambulances filled with medical supplies were being driven to Ukraine. It was organised by Medical Life Lines Ukraine (MLLU) who sent a convoy every two months. This post is based on his personal report of his journey in September 2024.
The convoy met up near Folkestone for a comprehensive briefing. It was made clear that there was no pressure to go beyond the Polish border and Ukraine was a personal risk. All vehicles looking similar, Alastair and his co-driver, a young married mother of two children, memorised the registration number, part being VND, which became “Very Naughty Diva”. They had to drive for about nine hours a day for three days for 1200 miles, stopping at three hour intervals for short periods.
On the first day they drove to Soest in Germany, where Alastair had a large Wiener Schnitzel for a long time, which caused several comments, though he enjoyed the German beer, a little worrying as they were up at 6.00 the next morning. They drove to Wroclaw, but had an even earlier start on the second morning.
It took the convoy two hours to exit Poland and three hours to get through to Ukraine. From the border the convoy drove in a tight formation. This worked well until they encountered pothole land. They were enormous, so much so they often had to cross over the road in the face of oncoming traffic. In Lviv the Ukrainians were waiting. Alastair met the driver who was to take the vehicle to Kharkiv. He had no English, but they hugged each other and Alastair describes it as an emotional moment. Later they had a grand dinner with a number of Ukrainians.
They spent the night in a hotel in Lviv, with a bunker. The next morning whilst walking in Lviv they heard sirens. They arrived at the Cathedral and saw an honour guard awaiting the cortege of a dead comrade. Shortly after they saw A3 placards up with pictures and biographies of men who had been killed the previous week. In the Cathedral they saw rows of placards with pictures of those killed in the past 10 years, and worse still pictures of boys and girls with messages posted about how they missed their fathers. Tears came all to easily. They were all moved by the awful suffering of the gallant people of Ukraine.
We all know how much the Ukrainians (and Russians) have suffered but seeing it close up was truly awful. What Putin has done puts him in the same pantheon as Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong and other dictators.
Alastair regards it as an absolute privilege to have taken part and deeply rewarding. As an aside one might mention that, including Gift Aid, £21.000 has been raised.
If you are interested in the operations of Fitness Centres within the Borough take a look at the Consultation at the link below. The Consultation ends on 28 October 2024.
https://haveyoursay.citizenspace.com/richmondecs/sfcs-24/
Is the name of the Consultation a misnomer? The Council appears to leave support for sport largely to private members’ clubs.
Next meeting of the East Sheen Police Liaison Group to be held this evening Wednesday 2nd October 2024 at East Sheen Baptist Church, Temple Sheen Road at 7pm.
The Borough’s Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sport Strategy Assessment published in February 2024 stated in respect of the Pitch and Putt Course at Palewell Common: “Retain to meet a clear need in the
golfing market, aimed more so towards beginners and recreational players.”
Now we hear that the two staff employed there are to be made redundant at the end of October 2024.
Is this a winter closure or a more permanent plan?
The Note of the CMC on 20 September 2024 has now been published.
NB The layout of the Note on the Inspectorate website has made it difficult to reproduce a clear copy, especially on numbering, but it should be possible to see key dates, contacts and venues.
The Inquiry is to be held on the following dates, at the venues set out below. It will not [emphasis added] be livestreamed, but the Council confirmed that the venues will have adequate accessibility facilities.
Week 1
Tuesday 5 November (10:00am) – Friday 8 November 2024
York House, Richmond Road, Twickenham TW1 3AA
Week 2
Tuesday 12 November – Friday 15 November 2024
York House
Week 3
Tuesday 3 December – Friday 6 December 2024
Cole Court, 150 London Road, Twickenham TW1 1HD
Week 4
Tuesday 10 December – Wednesday 11 December 2024
(Reserve days 12-13 December)
York House
Previously submitted proofs of evidence will be used for all other matters.
New core documents should be added to the library only where they are
necessary to accompany updated proofs of evidence. These limitations will
ensure that all parties can largely rely on work that has already been
undertaken and avoid having to prepare or review a significant amount of
new information.
No later than
15 October 2024
Deadline for submission of:
No later than
22 October 2024
Deadline for submission of:
Inspector’s confirmation of the Inquiry timetable and
round-table session agendas.
Tuesday
5 November 2024
Inquiry opens 10.00 am.
Posted 30 September 2024
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