Unsurprisingly every other person I run into at present is asking me for my take on the take-over of Cadbury's (or whether I will have to change my name to Ruth Kraft).
Well:
Sadly I have no Cadbury shares, so havn't gained financially. My real worry is for the economy and community in south Birmingham, where there is a fear that Kraft will ship production overseas to try to reduce costs. Birmingham suffered from falling real wages even before the recession, and has taken the biggest hit of any UK region in the last 18 months. The potential closure of the factory at Bournville would be a loss of another 3000 jobs and closure of an iconic factory complex. Like many people I am saddened that an iconic British name is now in foreign ownership, and hope it won't make any difference for people who loce the taste of Cadbury's chocolate.
Thursday 21 January 2010
Tuesday 19 January 2010
A4 Survey - of people and junctions this week!
Transport for London are this week surveying the environment for pedestrians crossing the A4 in Brentford. This is in response to the work we have done highlighting how dangerous it can be to cross even when using the pedestrian lights properly. This is a busy route to school for many families, who would dearly love to feel safer as they cross and recross in the course of a normal week. I do hope that as many people as possible can walk across their this week.
Wednesday 13 January 2010
MORE snow; Today's Labour Press Release
HOUNSLOW LABOUR GROUP PRESS RELEASE
13TH JANUARY 2010- for IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COULD TORY ADMINISTRATION HAVE DONE BETTER AT GRITTING
ROADS AND PAVEMENTS IN HOUNSLOW?
Cllr. Ruth Cadbury, Deputy Leader of Hounslow Labour Group, is demanding a review of extreme weather responses in Hounslow. She slammed the lack of coherent effort by the Tory Administration in gritting the roads and pavements this week and last.
Speaking this Wednesday, Cllr. Cadbury said “the Met office gave plenty of warning of further snow yet the response has again been too slow, At 9am it appeared there had been no clearance on the main roads in Hounslow Town Centre and driving conditions were treacherous at what is the busiest time of day. Last week footways in areas with busy pedestrian areas were not cleared or salted until they had become ice-rinks. The footway in the busy part of Brentford High Street was only cleared of ice on Thursday mid-morning, two days after it had snowed.” “There is no point throwing rock salt around a bus stop or station if the pavement between there and where people are walking to are not cleared. Many painful injuries could have been avoided had there been a more coherent emergency plan for town and shopping areas.” She added.
Other London boroughs seem to have responded more rapidly and effectively according to Cllr Cadbury, with main roads – carriageways and footways being cleared early, and thoroughly.
Cllr Cadbury went on to raise concerns about the lack on information provided by the Council over the last two weeks. Speaking this Wednesday, when two inches of fresh snow arrived, she pointed out that the bulletin on the Council web-site has not been updated since Monday. “It is essential to know, on a daily basis, what has been gritted and what hasn’t, and also what services are operating as normal or not – such as schools, day centres or meals-on-wheels,. so that residents can take the proper precautions. Furthermore, Councillors have not been kept updated directly with regular information during this emergency so they can respond to residents’ questions. This contrasts markedly with the experience of colleagues in other boroughs who are getting daily bulletins” she said.
Cllr Cadbury is demanding a response from the Conservative administration. “The recent weather conditions warrant emergency action being taken, but we do not believe that the Council has responded to appalling weather conditions with sufficient urgency or coherence” she said.
13TH JANUARY 2010- for IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COULD TORY ADMINISTRATION HAVE DONE BETTER AT GRITTING
ROADS AND PAVEMENTS IN HOUNSLOW?
Cllr. Ruth Cadbury, Deputy Leader of Hounslow Labour Group, is demanding a review of extreme weather responses in Hounslow. She slammed the lack of coherent effort by the Tory Administration in gritting the roads and pavements this week and last.
Speaking this Wednesday, Cllr. Cadbury said “the Met office gave plenty of warning of further snow yet the response has again been too slow, At 9am it appeared there had been no clearance on the main roads in Hounslow Town Centre and driving conditions were treacherous at what is the busiest time of day. Last week footways in areas with busy pedestrian areas were not cleared or salted until they had become ice-rinks. The footway in the busy part of Brentford High Street was only cleared of ice on Thursday mid-morning, two days after it had snowed.” “There is no point throwing rock salt around a bus stop or station if the pavement between there and where people are walking to are not cleared. Many painful injuries could have been avoided had there been a more coherent emergency plan for town and shopping areas.” She added.
Other London boroughs seem to have responded more rapidly and effectively according to Cllr Cadbury, with main roads – carriageways and footways being cleared early, and thoroughly.
Cllr Cadbury went on to raise concerns about the lack on information provided by the Council over the last two weeks. Speaking this Wednesday, when two inches of fresh snow arrived, she pointed out that the bulletin on the Council web-site has not been updated since Monday. “It is essential to know, on a daily basis, what has been gritted and what hasn’t, and also what services are operating as normal or not – such as schools, day centres or meals-on-wheels,. so that residents can take the proper precautions. Furthermore, Councillors have not been kept updated directly with regular information during this emergency so they can respond to residents’ questions. This contrasts markedly with the experience of colleagues in other boroughs who are getting daily bulletins” she said.
Cllr Cadbury is demanding a response from the Conservative administration. “The recent weather conditions warrant emergency action being taken, but we do not believe that the Council has responded to appalling weather conditions with sufficient urgency or coherence” she said.
Sunday 10 January 2010
Gritting or true grit
Is Hounslow's record this last week worse than other boroughs? I was shocked that on Thursday morning the pavements on Brentford High Street (not any old side street) were only being gritted at about 10am. Yet crossing over to Richmond, all the pavements along major bus routes had been cleared. Could not the refuse and recyling staff who have not been able to collect our rubbish becasue of the ice on side streets, not be put to gritting and clearing of footways on main roads and shopping areas? I suspect the answer is no, as the privatised contract would not allow for that obvious flexibility in use of person-power.
I know that people have been demanding that every side-road (carriageway and footway) should be cleared of snow by the Council, but is the tax-payer prepared to pay the cost of that, given we havn't had weather like this for almost 50 years? One thing that would cost the Council nothing, would be to encourage people to clear the path in front of their own houses, and those of neighbours who are unable to. The Council's communciations machine could also dispel the myth that I have heard several times this week - that you shouldn't clear snow on the public footway as you could be sued if someone slips and injures themselves. Well I Googled this, and found it to be something of an urban myth - the case would only stick if it could be proven that you had maliciously sought to injure that person, ie you're safe to clear snow and ice!
In most snowy parts of north America and north Europe, residents in side streets are EXPECTED to clear the path in front of their house and in many places are fined if they don't. I'm all for having a bit more of that common support for our neighbourhood here (though realise the fines for a once-in-a-blue moon event might be a bit ott.)
I know that people have been demanding that every side-road (carriageway and footway) should be cleared of snow by the Council, but is the tax-payer prepared to pay the cost of that, given we havn't had weather like this for almost 50 years? One thing that would cost the Council nothing, would be to encourage people to clear the path in front of their own houses, and those of neighbours who are unable to. The Council's communciations machine could also dispel the myth that I have heard several times this week - that you shouldn't clear snow on the public footway as you could be sued if someone slips and injures themselves. Well I Googled this, and found it to be something of an urban myth - the case would only stick if it could be proven that you had maliciously sought to injure that person, ie you're safe to clear snow and ice!
In most snowy parts of north America and north Europe, residents in side streets are EXPECTED to clear the path in front of their house and in many places are fined if they don't. I'm all for having a bit more of that common support for our neighbourhood here (though realise the fines for a once-in-a-blue moon event might be a bit ott.)
Tuesday 5 January 2010
Improvements to the H91 Bus route
Happy New Year!
At last we are to see double-deckers ply the H91 route out along the A4, and it will be a 10 minute service with real-time information, starting on 9th January. This route has been a poor relation of local buses ever since I have been a Councillor, and many Brentford children (mine included) have notched up horrendours numbers of late detentions as a result of its intermittent service. It has slowly improved in the last year or so, as new funding has paid for service enhancement. These funds come from the planning gain (S106) from various developments along the A$. Improvements to H92 were not always included in the S106 list until us Councillors nagged officers to revise the draft S106 agreements.
The last tranche of funding is £430,000 from BSkyB and Capital Interchange Way. So with a better service along the A4, some of the congestion on the High Street routes might be relieved. ANd perhaps it might make local people consider using the bus instead of the car more often? (I feel a late new year resolution coming on!).
At last we are to see double-deckers ply the H91 route out along the A4, and it will be a 10 minute service with real-time information, starting on 9th January. This route has been a poor relation of local buses ever since I have been a Councillor, and many Brentford children (mine included) have notched up horrendours numbers of late detentions as a result of its intermittent service. It has slowly improved in the last year or so, as new funding has paid for service enhancement. These funds come from the planning gain (S106) from various developments along the A$. Improvements to H92 were not always included in the S106 list until us Councillors nagged officers to revise the draft S106 agreements.
The last tranche of funding is £430,000 from BSkyB and Capital Interchange Way. So with a better service along the A4, some of the congestion on the High Street routes might be relieved. ANd perhaps it might make local people consider using the bus instead of the car more often? (I feel a late new year resolution coming on!).
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