• May 2010 Election %s: C 40.5; LD 49.4; L 10.1; G 0; I 0. LD 3.

• LIBERAL Democrat Council Cabinet Member, Environment, Geoff Acton has written to Ian Coucher, Chief Executive, Network Rail following a huge number of complaints from residents and local groups in Teddington about the removal of railings in Station Road and their replacement with an ugly chain link fence topped by barbed wire. Speaking in Twickenham, he said:

"I have written to Ian Coucher expressing our concern over the replacement railings with no consultation after representations from many local residents who are concerned about detriment to the street scene with no real justification on safety and security grounds. There are other examples at both Mortlake and Whitton and though there are permitted development rights, these should be used with care and discretion. We are trying to reach a satisfactory solution and are fully prepared to have site meetings to urgently resolve this and furthermore look at planning rules to prevent this happening on future occasions."

● [From Comments 135 Spring 2010] £14 MILLION for new Teddington primary school buildings: St Mary's & St Peter's and Stanley schools are both set to benefit from heavy investment from the Lib Dem Council over the next year, with new buildings to ensure that all Teddington children can have a place at one of our excellent local schools. This follows a large increase in the local birth rate in recent years. Stephen Knight said: "Many councils in London are coping with growing demand by educating children in temporary classrooms, but we are determined to do better and are investing in new, high quality permanent buildings."

● PROTEST at Bushy Park charges: Teddington Lib Dem Jennifer Churchill and Cllr Stephen Knight joined the rally against Bushy Park parking fees. Teddington team The Minister responsible for the Royal Parks, Margaret Hodge MP, has decided to introduce parking charges in Bushy Park, despite robust protests from Vince Cable, the Council and many local residents. The Lib Dem Leader of the Council went to see the Minister and Vince Cable is now working to secure a vote in Parliament.

● JAMES Mumford to stand down after 12 years as Teddington councillor James Mumford, who has served as a Teddington councillor since 1998 has announced he is to stand down from the Council at the May local elections. Fellow Teddington councillor Martin Elengorn said: "James has been a tireless campaigner on behalf of Teddington for over a decade and there are very many residents he has helped over the years. We wish him well for the future. "We are delighted that Jennifer Churchill has agreed to join our team. I know she will be a very strong voice for the ward."

● SAVE Kingston Hospital A&E and maternity: Local Liberal Democrats have vowed to fight the closure threat to A&E and maternity services at Kingston Hospital. Local Lib Dem MPs have uncovered a review of acute hospital services currently taking place across South West London that could mean the closure of Kingston's A&E and maternity units. Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg, whose third child was born at Kingston last year, recently joined the protest. Over 16,000 local people have already signed up to a Lib Dem petition to save the Hospital.

● Richmond Council's Home Insulation Scheme Lib Dem Richmond Council is offering discount loft and cavity wall insulation to all residents in the borough and will provide this free to those in receipt of certain benefits and to those aged over 70. For more info see: www.richmond.gov.uk/home/housing/ heating_and_insulation.htm.

• 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.

• 33 places in the HAMPTONS and TEDDINGTON have joined the scheme: Adelaide; Bell Hill Wharf; Bell Inn; Bloated Mallard; Blubeckers; Caffe Mimmo; Cardinal Wolsey; Carlisle Park Bowl Pavilion; Coffee Mill; Greenwood Centre; Hampton Hill Library; Hampton Open Air Pool; Jolly Coopers; King's Field Pavilion; King's Head; L'Amandine; Lion; Nearest Cafe; Old Goat; Railway Hotel; Railway Bell; RedLion; Scarpetta; Swan Hampton Wick; Teddington Arms; Teddington Cemetery; Teddington Library; Teddington Pool and Fitness Centre; Tide End Cottage; White Hart Hotel; White House Community Centre; Wimpy; and the Windmill [Hampton Hill].

• The Borough's 90 Community Toilets

• [From Comments 134 December 2009]: TEDDINGTON School is set to move into its brand new building over the summer and work on the £37 million state of the art facility is progressing at a fast pace. The frame of the building is now complete and work is focusing on fitting out the interior. The building has been designed with many environmental features. Cllr Stephen Knight, who has led the project, said: "This is the largest and most exciting investment project in the Council's history and will provide a stunning education facility for local children for generations to come."

• PRIMARY schools to expand to cope with growing birth rate The borough has experienced a massive increase in the birth rate in the past few years and the Council is investing heavily in expanding local primary schools to cope with the extra numbers. Across the borough, it is estimated that over 3,000 extra places are needed. In the Teddington area, Collis School has already been expanded and there are plans under way for both Stanley and St Mary's & St Peter's Schools to expand by 210 places each.

• NEW Teddington Health and Social Care clinic opens: A new £4 million Health and Social Care Centre is now open behind Teddington Hospital, with health services integrated with Council social care services. The centre is the new base for a children's team including school nurses and health visitors and the integrated adults teams, including district nurses, occupational therapists and care managers.

• SMARTER Travel: The Council won £5 million of funding from Transport for London earlier in the year for a project to promote alternatives to the private car. This project focuses on improved facilities for cyclists and expanding the network of car clubs. In Teddington we have seen 31 smart new cycle stands in Broad Street and High Street and five new car club vehicles dotted around the town.

• GROVE Gardens improvements: The Council's parks improvement programme has benefitted Grove Gardens recently, with £35,000 of new paths, signage and other improvements. To mark all these improvements, the Council worked with the Teddington Society to provide a new display board showing the 250 year history of the gardens.

• RAILWAY footbridges: South West Trains have promised that the main footbridge at Teddington Station will be refurbished soon, including the glazing. The condition of the Network Rail footbridge to the south of the station continues to be of concern. We want to see a new bridge with ramps, but this will need external funding.

• 33 BUS to run 24 hrs a day: Another bit of good news is that from the New Year, the 33 bus between Hammersmith and Fulwell via Teddington will run 24 hours a day.

• NEW Mayor reopens Teddington Library: Teddington Library was officially reopened by the new mayor, Cllr Celia Hodges, on 20 May. The library has been refurbished to maintain the character and architectural features of the original 1906 Carnegie library building and introduce new features including more shelving for books, a comfortable seating area, improved disabled access and customer toilet facilities. There is a also a brand new teenage section and young adult book collection.

Head of Culture at Richmond Council Ian Dodds, said: "We are have made a significant investment to improving the library and are delighted with the new facilities. It has more than 4,000 new books, DVDs and audio books, new public computers and an area designed by local teenagers for local teenagers. We understand how important libraries are for local people and hope that the new facilities will help establish Teddington as cultural hub for the local community for years to come."

• Fulwell & Hampton Hill COMMENTS Winter 2008-9

• [Jan 06]: Council consults on extra school places at Chase Bridge Primary school [Whitton], Orleans Infant and St Stephen's schools [St Margaret's, Twickenham], and St Mary's & St Peter's and Stanley schools [Teddington]; closing date: Feb 02.

• Comments and other news from 2008, 2007 and 2006