On the Doorstep in Boston Manor

For the last two Saturdays we've been meeting residents in and around Boston Manor Road and have had a very good reception.  Key issues that we have been asked to take up are; fly-tipping in the back alleys, overgrown street trees, parking and speed, the potential impact of being under the landing path of a third runway, and the fear of the Reynard Mills development getting the go ahead from Eric Pickles.

None are straightforward - the alleys aren't public highway, but are private paths jointly owned by the freeholders of the houses that have access rights, which means cleaning an maintaining them is technically the responsibility of householders.    However as the alleys are long, and have several access paths, it is very difficult to for residents to agree who would be responsible for what stretch the alley.  I am going to see whether the Council could run an alley-gate scheme, where the Council identified places that gates could go, and then help to set up an agreement between householders for the cost of the gates and access arrangements.  In less financially stretched times, I know that Hounslow and Ealing has contributed to the costs in the past, but this could be difficult with budgets being slashed..

We all love trees, and know what they contribute to the environment, but right outside your door rising above the height of the house, splattering sap on your car and potentially uprooting garden walls or worse?  I've put in several requests for local trees that are causing problems to be pollarded and for the roots to be looked at.

Parking is one of those tricky issues - some people want a residents parking scheme to ensure residents can park outside their homes during the day, but others resent having to pay for a permit they see as having little benefit.  We only support new ResPark Schemes where a majority of people in a road want one following a consultation, and we only initiate that consultation when there is a clearly demonstrated demand, such as from a petition.  As to reducing speed in local roads - we have some funding and will ask officers to look at options for reducing vehicle speeds in Boston Manor Road, Swyncombe Avenue and (surprisingly) Boston Gardens.

If Runway 3 were built then Boston Manor would suffer the fate of much of the rest of the borough, being under the landing path and having flights overhead every minute or so.  We will follow the work of the Davies Commission on Aviation Capacity with interest, and indeed will be submitting evidence!

And finally Reynard Mills - so much for Localism, this development will be determined by Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for the Environment.  Two applications for almost 300 flats on Windmill Road were refused by Hounslow's planners, not on principle, but because of over density and some design concerns.  However , the applicants have appealed and there is a public Inquiry going on now in front of a Government inspector.  Pickles has announced that he will make the final decision - why?  Not because it has any national significance, but because he has announced that he wants to overide local authorities who "drag their feet" on determining applications.  Hounslow has a good record of determining applications, and Brentford is a good illustration of how many new homes have been given planning permission in recent years.  I suspect Pickles is driven more by the opportunity to attack a Labour Council, than any real interest in planning issues round here, and he certainly has no interest in the residents of Manor Vale, Manor Place and Windmill Road whose homes will be towered over by the resulting flats.