EastSheenMatters

Saturday 27 July 2024 11am to 1pm

Don’t miss the final week of the Market for now. You might not want your face painted but pop your nose in to support this engaging local community enterprise.

Stallholders for this final bumper week are

Discovering Gardens with Sarah, a garden designer

Sheen Sports Known to everyone!

Polly the Facepainter

Liesll Bockl Food Photography

Life Sorted with Judith a KonMari Consultant

E & E Creations Bespoke handcrafted jewellery

Flossie & George Clothing and Accessories for Children

Recent coverage here (see 15 July) of ‘The Lime Bikes Question’ has led to a response from Cllr. Ehmann, the Richmond upon Thames Council Transport Committee.

“The borough has seen considerable use of the bikes in question (in excess of 60,000 journeys a month)  and is well-aware of some inconsiderate parking behaviours that occur in a minority of cases.  The backdrop of that widespread usage does put into context the relatively low (but nonetheless, clearly impactful) nature of the poor parking sometimes seen in evidence around the borough.

“In a paper for the Transport Committee in September 2023, it was resolved that we would seek to install dedicated parking bays for these e-bikes in high use locations and we are happy to hear from the Mortlake with East Sheen Society about potential locations at which this facility might be useful.

“This Council is also engaged in London-wide discussions over future regulatory frameworks for the operation of the service as well as discussions with providers about the future of their services in the borough.  No decisions on material changes to regulations or our borough’s approach to services have yet been made but suffice to say that reducing the incidence of poor parking is our number one priority area for service improvement.

“I hope that you will find this response helpful in acknowledging the issues, setting out the proportionate thinking about these harms and the ongoing work being undertaken to improve resident experience while supporting such positive usage levels. We will of course keep you informed of any changes to the approach to managing these bikes as they manifest themselves.”

One question already being asked is about the meaning of ‘high use locations’.

In a prelude to the Paris Olympics 2024, Channel 5 showed a fascinating programme about the London Olympics 1948 last night. Being immediately post war when the country was suffering severe after effects, they were known as the Austerity Games. It is a somewhat sad reflection that the wondrous London Olympics 2012 might now be known as the Pre Austerity Games.

In 1948 facilities were converted rather than built. The army offered their convalescent camp in Richmond Park for accommodation.  (A video clip is available on Google.) The 15-acre site near Isabella Plantation took in 1,740 male competitors, despite protests from some locals that resources should be given to bombed-out families ahead of overseas athletes. The site has now been cleared, with only a flight of still visible steps surviving.

GB won only three gold medals. The better fed USA and Swedish competitors cleaned up. But the heroines of the Games were three British women silver medal athletes: Dorothy Manley, Maureen Gardner and Audrey Williamson. Successfully taking the risks to run the Games and demonstrating the importance of the Olympic spirit must have been a massive fillip to the country.

And who knew that Goldfinger’s Oddjob, aka Harold Sakata, won a silver medal for weightlifting. 

24 July 2024

VISOR (Visually Impaired Society of Richmond) has just received £4200 of National Lottery funding to help them continue their work assisting people with visual impairment. The charity, run entirely by volunteers, offers advice, support, and social activities to blind and partially sighted people across and around the Borough of Richmond.

The charity holds a drop in centre between 10:30 am and 2:30 pm on Mondays at the Sheen Lane Centre, 74 Sheen Lane, London, SW14 8LP. You can get in touch with them via telephone on 020 8487 5301 or by email at admin@visor.org.uk.

[Retrieved from the Richmond Park News, the weekly Newsletter from Sarah Olney MP.]

Richmond upon Thames and Wandsworth councils’ Chief Executive Mike Jackson has announced that he will be leaving in the autmn after less than two years in the job, due to ‘personal family reasons’.

The leaders of both councils praised Mr Jackson for the work he has led as chief executive, including helping many residents struggling more than ever before with the cost-of-living crisis, overseeing major investment in infrastructure and delivering environmental projects.

The Richmond upon Thames Lib Dem Council Leader said: “Mike has brought steady and experienced leadership to the council. The world is a fast-changing place – our residents are experiencing greater challenges and uncertainties than ever before, as is the council……… With Mike at the helm, we have made real progress in developing new and innovative ways for Richmond to tackle some of the intrinsic challenges our society faces, and for how we approach our local priorities, particularly the vision for the future of Richmond town centre……”

The Labour leader of Wandsworth said: “Under Mike Jackson’s leadership, we have maintained the lowest council tax and crime rate in inner London and doubled our investment in roads and pavements. Mike has been crucial in supporting the most vulnerable, focusing on delivering 1,000 new council homes, and leading our environmental initiatives.”

Without wishing to disrespect his personal family reasons, it is a somewhat cliched phrase which can cover many causes. One has to wonder about the stresses caused by serving two masters with rather different agendas.

As has been noted several times on this site, one of the main objections to the planning applications at the Stag Brewery is the reduction of ‘affordable housing’ to 7%. The Council has justified its position on the basis of high land values in the area. The developers justify their position on the basis of their need to make a profit on their 2015 purchase price of £158 million.

Some might think that ‘affordable housing’ at 7% is sufficient if it were to be for what used to be known as council housing. But what if its primary purpose was affordable housing for essential services like local teachers, medical and nursing staff? As presently planned little accommodation would be available for them. Like so much of the Thameside development the fine views will be reserved for the more well heeled and foreign investors.

There is no reason to think that the Government’s intentions to make local planning decisions easier to implement will affect the process of the Planning Inquiry. If the Government were to decide to call in the decision after seeing the report of the Planning Inspector, it would be inexplicable if they were to decide to accept the proposed arrangements.

Does the Council simply intend to ignore this reality, avoid any attempt at negotiation and waste our council tax for their own political purposes? And all the while they imply that local opposition is Nimbyism, when the vast majority of local residents recognise the need for housing on the site, just not as planned.

The Garden Market at the Hare & Hounds will be open from from 11-1pm.

Exhibitors this week are 

Jodie Robertson from Jodie Designer Travel 

Jane Cox from Jane Cox Photography  

Georgie Bahoshy from Tropic Skincare 

Jess Campbell from Fairytale Forest of Books (Usborne stockist) 

Sue Plowright with her handmade jewellery

Nadia with her original artwork 

Sarah Veniard from Discovering Gardens (garden design)

If you want to make a Comment on any Post in the Blog go to the bottom of the email you receive from ChildLawObserver10’s Blog where you will find a BLUE BOX. Click on the Comment and it will take you to a box within the Blog where you can post a Comment. Subject to suitability it will be approved.

It is apparent that lime bikes are a convenience for many cyclists. But their indiscriminate dumping adds to urban and park pollution and sometimes even danger for pedestrians. Is it not time that providers controlled their users more efficiently? When a cyclist leaves the bike, s/he is supposed to take a photo of where it is left. So Lime can see whether it is left on the pavement, which it should not be. And yet most are left on the pavement. Conclusion : Lime are not bothered providing the money is rolling in.

Lime e-scooters are different. They are marked with an instruction that says they should only be left in an e-scooter park. Otherwise the tab is still running, unless it is reported as stolen or has run out of battery. But Lime operates an app which shows where it is. They should not need it to be reported. If it is neither being used nor docked in a bay it is clearly malfunctioining.

A Lime e-scooter left crossing most of a pavement in Richmond Park Road was reported at 1040am today. Twelve hours later it had still not been removed, Had it not been moved into the gutter it would have caused a significant hazard to anyone with a disability or in the dark, wet and windy weather this evening.

The Council gave some astonishing evidence to the Inspectors at the end of the Public Examination of their 2024 Local Plan in relation to affordable housing. They sought to justify the low percentage at the Stag Brewery and other areas on the basis that high property values in the Borough meant that it was unlike other areas of London. So on that basis we do not need to provide accommodation for the less well off who provide essential services for the community. How myopic is that?

The Inspectors did not like it; the GLA did not like it; those councillors who have been willing to talk about it are uneasy. It will be interesting to see how the Council put their case at the Planning Inquiry in November.

11 July 2024