cllr.jcoombs@richmond.gov.uk · · · cllr.bking@richmond.gov.uk · · · cllr.wtreble@richmond.gov.uk · · · Please scroll down the page for full details of roles, biographies, etc..

• COMMUNITY toilet scheme: One of the popular initiatives started by the Liberal Democrats on Richmond Council has been the Community Toilet Scheme. 90 toilets in pubs, cafés, and offices around the borough are now open to the public. The Council pays the venue £600 a year to allow unrestricted access to the toilets. This is very much cheaper, and offers many more toilets, than the traditional public toilets, which are very expensive to maintain. Just look for the Community Toilet sign outside. 4 places in Whitton and Heathfield have joined the scheme: Golden Grill; La Parisienne; Twickenham Cemetery; and Whitton Library.


• The Borough's 90 Community Toilets

• From Comments Winter 2009/10: Good news! Work is well underway on the improvements to CRANE PARK. The park was recently awarded £400,000 from the London Mayor's Priority Parks competition, beating off some notable rivals by amassing 6677 votesThe park has now received £150,000 from BIFFAward for environmental improvements. Hounslow & Richmond councils together with "Awards for All" and the Wates Foundation have funded a feasibility study that has just been completed. The full report is available at http://www.force.org.uk Phase one is possible in the near future and would cover 63 hectares (currently the park is 33 hectares). It will run from Twickenham Station to Hounslow Heath. It is envisaged that phase two would take three to five years and will depend upon private land ownerships and other obstacles. After phase two the planned park would cover 97 hectares and would be classified as a new Metropolitan Park for London. Phase three would extend the park along the River Crane to include several large park and heathland areas and create a new regional park of over 400 hectares.

• WHITTON School: An independent consultation on the future of Whitton School has shown encouraging support for the Council's proposal to turn it into an Academy. In answer to the question:- 9% were broadly supportive. Cllr Eady, the Cabinet member for Children's Services said "I am very pleased that we have had such a strong support for the proposals. There is similar deep- seated support from the staff, governors and parents, so I am confident that the school has a strong mandate for change, and a very exciting future. If the proposals are agreed by the council and the government, then the new school will open in September next year and we will then have access to about £16m for new and refurbished buildings. Concerns have been expressed by some residents about the proposed name change if an Academy is created. The name Twickenham Academy has been suggested by some current pupils as it would help to reinvigorate the school and be a 'fresh start'. It would also help to reaffirm the links between the RFU and the proposed Academy.

AIRTRACK: The Council has raised concerns about the impact of traffic at Godfrey Way and Hanworth Road if Airtrack, the direct train link between Waterloo and Heathrow airport, proceeds. Feltham Marshalling Yards, currently open ground, will become its base (storage of trains etc.) and a new road will be built from Godfrey Way as the only means of access to the site. This will add to the congestion experienced at the moment at this junction and increase the problems at the mini roundabout at the Powder Mill Lane/Hanworth Road junction. " Please let us know your views," said Cllr John Coombs

• A planning application is expected for the new clinic on the site of HEATHFIELD LIBRARY. When the NHS submits this the Council will put one in for the re-location of the library. • Money has been received from the Government to provide more equipment for play areas. Both the play area on Heathfield Rec and on the Edgar Road estate will benefit from this initiative. • Roads on the Woodlawn estate have recently been resurfaced following concerns by local residents about the state of the road surface.

• WORLD Milk Day at Heathfield Infants: In September, millions of children across the globe took part in the 10th UN World School Milk Day as a celebration of school milk and its importance for children as part of a healthy diet. Vince Cable lent his support at Heathfield Infants' milk day. Vince said: "World School Milk Day is a great way of raising awareness of subsidised and free milk in schools. Milk is invaluable to children's health".

• The Football Foundation and Richmond Council have jointly provided the funds to develop an all weather pitch with floodlights on Lincolns Field. This will be run by the Whitton Fitness Centre at Whitton School.• Heathfield Children's Centre at Heathfield School in Powder Mill Lane has added an advice service on debt run by Richmond Citizens Advice Bureau. To find out more about this and other programmes run at the Centre call 020 8734 3405.

From Comments Summer 2009: • HEATHFIELD Library: Recently the NHS held an exhibition in the Whitton Community Centre showing what their proposal for a new health centre on the land that Heathfield Library currently occupies may look like. It showed a three story building on the Hospital Bridge Road frontage with car parking behind. It is proposed that six doctor's surgeries, an improved clinic, currently situated on the opposite corner, and some social workers would be based in the new building. After analysing the comments received from the public who attended the exhibition they will apply for planning permission.

If permission is granted and the NHS will buy the land from the Council which will enable the Library to be temporary housed on a site in Heathfield Junior School in Powder Mill Lane. Another doctor's surgery has just been given planning permission in Powder Mill Lane. At the planning committee John tried to get the hearing deferred until the NHS put in their planning application but the rules of the committee would not allow this. John, Bob and Bill are concerned that 7 doctors' surgeries within a few metres of each other will cause congestion in Powder Mill Lane (see separate story) and the surrounding streets. It is unfortunate that planning rules do not allow for a sensible overview of proposals still in the pipeline when a planning application is submitted.

• FOLLOWING a number of complaints in regards to indiscriminate parking in Powder Mill Lane, we are in discussion with traffic officers to see if conditions can be improved. The main culprits have been drivers parking across private driveways when collecting children from the school. The schools have written to them in this matter. This problem will need to be addressed, especially if the library is temporarily located in the grounds of Heathfield Junior School.

• £400K CASH Boost for Crane Park: With over 6,000 votes, Crane Valley Park received the highest number of votes out of the 47 parks nominated for 10 grants in the London Mayor's park improvement programme. The park will receive £400,000 which will help fund river restoration works and the creation of a bridge to link the two boroughs of Richmond upon Thames and Hounslow within the park. New paths, bins and signage will also be introduced, along with continuation of the existing "carved bench project". The grant will also contribute towards the funding of new cross-borough roles of Park Ranger and/or Park Development Officer.

Bill Treble said, "We are absolutely delighted with the result and are very excited about the improvements this fantastic cash boost will deliver for Crane Valley Park. Thank you to all the residents who voted for the park and a particularly special thank you to FORCE - Friends of the River Crane Environment - for all their hard work in making this bid a success." Richmond will be working closely with Hounslow on the project and initial discussions are already underway. If you would like to get involved in environmental activities in the park visit the FORCE website:www.force.org.uk

• RUGBY Day Parking: A number of roads bordering Heathfield (in West Twickenham and Hounslow) are being consulted about an extension of the rugby day controlled parking. This is currently free to residents as it is co-funded by the Council and RFU. If these residents opt to be included in the zone then roads in Heathfield will be the closest to the rugby ground without parking restrictions. Bob, Bill and John lobbied to have roads within Heathfield included in this consultation but given the opposition by residents to CPZs in the past Council transport engineers did not believe our area was the right one to consult.

• Academy at Whitton School: Following Government approval a feasibility study is underway at Whitton School for a new academy. A top Swedish educational trust, Kunskapskollen is the Council's preferred partner. They are conducting consultations with parents and potential parents. Is this phase is successful a new Academy will open in September 2010 at Whitton and a new school will be built on the site. " This could be great news for Whitton School. Millions of pounds could be potentially invested," said John Coombs

• AT a recent meeting with London Buses, Bob and John raised the possibility of increasing the frequency of the 481 Bus. It currently runs one an hour between Kingston and West Middlesex Hospital along Hospital Bridge Road. The bus company will not increase the frequency as they believe it will only double the loss and is therefore uneconomic.

• [From COMMENTS Winter 2008-9]: TRANSFORMATION for Heathfield Rec: Thanks to Lib Dems on the Council, £3.7 million is being spent on park improvements over the next five years, and Heathfield Recreation Ground is on the list ! Improvement work is underway, and last month saw children from Heathfield Junior school coming down to the Rec for a bulb planting session. The works will see Heathfield Recreation Ground transformed with improvements including tree, hedge and more bulb planting, bird boxes to encourage biodiversity, extra litter bins, benches and the renewal of damaged fencing. A plaque will be placed on one of the new benches to acknowledge the hard work and effort the pupils put into the revamped park. Local Heathfield Councillor John Coombs, said: "The improvement works will make a real difference to local people, in addition to providing opportunities for the junior school pupils to learn about the environment. It is encouraging to see how keen the children are to get involved. "We are fortunate to benefit from lots of open spaces in the borough, and we're rightly very proud of our parks and open spaces." Richmond Borough has more green spaces than any other London borough, and year after year receives one of the highest resident satisfaction levels anywhere in the country.

• HEATHFIELD Library : It looks increasingly likely that the local health service (PCT) will get the finance to build a new health centre on the Heathfield library site. Should the finance be available, then the PCT would have to get planning permission in the normal way. This means that the current library will need a new home. This would either be at Heathfield School in Powder Mill Lane or at a rebuilt Whitton School, if it becomes an Academy. In either case the library would have its own entrance and be run with its own staff and stock as present. Bob, Bill and John would like to know if users, or potential users, have a preference to where the library should be located if a move is necessary.

• MEALS on Wheels: The Council now offers elderly people, who need help, a Self Directed Support plan. The idea is that services are planned around the person, the person is not just fitted into Council services. As part of this it was proposed by a cross-party working group to end the home hot meals service. The savings made will be invested- careers for those that rely on the hot meals service as their "daily call in", assistance for old people with shopping & cooking and providing meals at day centres, there by ending the social isolation that some elderly residents feel. "I understand residents' concerns, but this is actually about providing a tailor made service for our users. The microwavable meals will also be a far better quality," said Cllr Coombs .

• AIRTRACK: . . is a proposal to connect Heathrow with the national rail network to the south and west of the airport. Trains would run from Waterloo to Heathrow airport via Richmond. The plan would be to re-open Hanworth Marshalling yards as a 'garage' for the new rolling stock. Godfrey Way, off the Hanworth Road, would be used as the only road access to the yards. Bob, Bill and John will campaign to ensure that, if this proposal gets the go ahead, the amount of disruption along the Hanworth Road will be kept to the minimum. BAA, Heathrow's owners, are currently carrying out a public consultation.

• AFTER years of campaigning Bryanston Avenue will be consulted on the introduction of yellow lines to operate between 11 am and noon daily. This road is one of the narrowest in the area and with heavy commuter parking, emergency vehicles are unable to access. If residents approve the change, parking may spread to surrounding streets. Residents of the area are asked to contact John, Bill or Bob if any problems result.

• DURING February there will be a couple of consultations about parking. The RFU have funded a consultation to see if some streets would like to be included in the rugby day CPZ. At present the Council funds this CPZ so residents do not have to pay for permits for parking on match days.

• RECYCLING: There have been changes to the recycling scheme. These changes have been introduced after problems with bags blowing away and increased litter after collections. "We are always looking at ways to increase levels of recycling. Richmond Council now recycle over 40% of domestic waste," said Cllr Treble.

Robert John King Liberal Democrat 1900 Elected

John William George Coombs Liberal Democrat 1875 Elected

William Frederick Treble Liberal Democrat 1745 Elected

Hilary Jane Dance The Conservative Party Candidate 870

Gillian Garrow The Conservative Party Candidate 783

Dawn Virginia Hayles The Conservative Party Candidate 776

Christopher Forster British National Party 557

Niki Costas Tanto The Labour Party Candidate 229

Jacqueline Louise Morgan The Labour Party Candidate 218

Simon Douglas Holmes Independent 218

Elizabeth Geraldine Mackenzie The Labour Party Candidate 212

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