See the previous entry on 15 October 2024 in which it was written that notice of the Inquiry to start on 5 November with a timetable and venues had not been sent to individual local residents. Notices have now been sent out. One house has now had the same letter sent four times – two on the same day. Who is missing out?

There is no news about whether the Council is willing to livestream the event, although the Leader has said it is being considered.

Prediction: on or about November 1st the Council will, if asked, state that it is impractical and / or too costly.

East Sheen Avenue will be closed at its junction with 215 Upper Richmond Road for electricity cable installation works commencing on 21/10/2024 to 13/11/2024. Contact: Envevo 07392058740.

Twenty four hour closure? Three weeks? Which works will be next? Can they be coordinated?

There has been a spate of thefts in East Sheen in recent weeks. These have involved the theft of bank cards and a mobile phone, when the victim has been drawing money from a cash point or using a card to pay for shopping. Substantial funds have within minutes of the thefts been removed from a different local cash point. On at least two occasions there has been CCTV footage identfying the perpetrator.

The police appear to be powerless in these cases because they do not recognise the perpetrator. It seems that this type of case is not regarded as a high priority unless there is such violence that it can be described as a robbery.

East Sheen is of course a low crime area by comparison with many other parts of the Met. But these thefts are causing severe disruption and upset for the victims. It is essential that all offences are reported.

It is a harsh lesson to keep your cards and phone safe and avoid any oversight of PIN numbers. Especially as ‘There’s a Thief about’.

Twenty one days to go and the Council has given notice of the Planning Inquiry Hearing. It appears that this letter has only gone to those who have already registered an interest.

At the time of posting the notice here the Council Planning Portal site for these applications has not been updated since the end of 2023. {But some local residents have today received a letter.}

Scroll down within the box to see the full letter.

Thank you for the email with the note from the Inspector [concerning the livestream of the Inquiry hearings]. I see that you have copied others into your email, so I have included them in this response. I have added the Leader of the Council, as I am aware that he has been in email correspondence with a local resident who has drawn his attention to my blog EastSheenMatters.

I am not disposed to pursue this matter further.

The position is obvious. The final decision on livestreaming rests with the Council. They have decided that the cost is too high. They alone know why this should differ from other occasions which they do choose to livestream. They alone know the true financial cost, estimates for which I have seen to vary between £5,000 and £25,000.

I would only add this. It does seem to me to be a missed opportunity to involve the local community, especially for example those working from home or less able to travel or who cannot afford to spend a day or days at hearings. We all know the importance of developing the Brewery site. Given the level of local opposition to some aspects of the development, it would have been an opportunity to lay the case before the public. Once the decision was taken that the hearings could not be arranged closer to the development site, getting to York House during the rush hour was never going to be easy. So regrettably one is left to deduce that the Council would prefer not to expose its position to greater public gaze.
 

While writing I must mention one other point. I raised with the Council earlier in the year, the matter of the false letters of support for the development filed by or on behalf of the developers at the time of the Planning Committee meeting in July 2023 and posted to the Council planning website for more than six months thereafter. That has caused considerable disquiet locally. I have sought but never received a satisfactory explanation. As I have written in the statement I have filed for the hearing, were an explanation to be forthcoming, I would not seek to take up the Inspector’s time on the matter.

Don’t forget the Remembrance Service at Sheen Lane on Sunday, 10 November 2024.

Eight marshals are needed between 10.30am – 11.30am. If this is something you could help with please contact Anne Reeves.

anne_reeves@madasafish.com – phone: 8876 6616 or mobile – 07802 763 851 as soon as possible.