Speech On Housing delivered to Labour Party Conference

I am Ruth Cadbury – Association of Labour Councillors , the first ALC delegation at conference following  the rule change last year
–speaking in support of Composite 5 on Housing.
Conference - Many people see my name and ask if I am related to the well known Quaker and Chocolate family

Yes I am, and that is why housing is in my DNA.
At the turn of the 20th century, at a time before local government had a role in delivering housing, my forbearers recognised  the vital need to address the appalling slum conditions prevalent in Birmingham. As employers they created Bournville , a community for working people and their families, of good quality, affordable housing
 - a historic example, one might say of One Nation, in practice

Not long after that, local government took on the role of delivering affordable, quality housing by building, enabling, and regulating;
And today Labour Councils are leading the way in addressing both the overall shortage of homes, and the desperate shortage of affordable homes.

First let me nail the myth that the planning system is holding back the overall supply of housing– no it isn’t.  Local authorities have approved 400,000 new homes, and building hasn’t started on half of those plots –why? -   because the banks aren’t lending.

Now to what Labour Councils, are doing in their communities to deliver good quality  homes with rents that people can afford.

Conference Five times as many council and housing association homes for affordable rent, are being built in Labour authorities, than in Tory ones.

here are just a handful of examples of the work of Labour Councils large and small

- My own Council – Hounslow will have delivered 2500 new affordable homes in the 4 years to 2014, including 124 COUNCIL houses,   of which 18 are zero carbon homes.
Blackpool  – will deliver100 new affordable homes per year
and Liverpool's current programme is 3500
 - Stevenange is building level 6 zero carbon Council houses as part of their significant council housing programme

And Labour Councils are using a range of powers and partnerships to leverage in funding for new homes - Manchester is using the pension fund and Council land to invest in 240 new homes.
Glasgow, Oldham and Hastings are stimulating the private sector to build homes by launching mortgage scheme that enable first-time buyers to access up to 95% mortgages.

And to develop skills and future employment  my authority,  like others, requires construction training to be provided in all new development projects
And Labour Councils are playing an active role in improving the growing private rented sector;
-Oxford  and Newham have introduced licensing schemes of private sector landlords to drive up standards for tenants and drive out the rogue landlords.

But  Conference  - Labour Councils cannot address the mountain of outstanding housing need alone – we need a Labour Government
– a Labour Government that will use the £4bn 4G dividend to build 100,000 affordable homes,
- and a government whose economic policies gets banks lending,
builders developing,
buyers borrowing
and construction workers building the new homes that this country so desperately needs

A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF THIS COUNCILLOR

– A particularly busy and interesting week, which merits it’s own blog entry. Look out for future updates.

• ·         Hounslow Tenants & Residents Association Conference
• ·         Dangerous Crossings on the A4
• ·         Team GB Parade
• ·         St John’s Community Centre Roof
• ·         Chiswick High Road
• ·         Heathrow
• ·         River in Brentford
• ·         Benefits Crisis

About 200 people attended the HFTRA conference, many of whom work tirelessly day-in-day out to make life better for their neighbours.  Most are Council tenants or leaseholders, with Hounslow Homes - our Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) managing their homes and estates.  However, it was good to also meet tenants of Housing Associations including a lady from Green Lawn Lanes in Brentford.   Not all estates have active associations, but there were residents at the event who came to learn how they could set one up on their patch.

The dangerous crossings on the A4 have been an issue for ward Councillors for 5 years.  Early on Monday morning  I met up with London Assembly member Murad Qureshi at the Clayponds Lane Crossing whilst children were heading for school.  At the end of last term I had collected over 300 signatures from local parents demanding action from TfL, and this week Murad handed it to the Mayor. 

As the borough’s lead on Olympic preparation, and having played a small part on behalf of London Local Authorities in the lead up to the bid and early preparation for the Games, I was honoured to be given a ticket for the end-of-the-Mall gig at the end of the Team GB Parade on Monday.  I was seated in a stand directly across the Mall from the dignitaries – which included Tony Blair, Tessa Jowell and Ken Livingstone - who were instrumental in the UK putting together a serious bid for the 2012 Games, yet whose contribution was not recognised in the PM’s nor the Mayor’s speeches on Monday.

Once the floats had passed we were allowed to the end of the Mall overlooking the stage on the Victoria Memorial, with Buckingham Palace in the background, for the speeches and then the Pet Shop Boys.  Heading back across St James Park for the tube, we were treated to a low-key amble-past of the athletes as they headed up Birdcage Walk – with no crowds and direct contact with them.  Sadly I didn’t catch Mo Farah, to give him Hounslow’s congratulations!  So much has been said and written about what the Games did for London and the UK so all I will add is that I hope that we can ensure there is a legacy in Hounslow – the new athletics facilities in Osterley, and more people also cycling, rowing and playing tennis, as well as taking part in a host of other sports and activities.

Before I left the Civic Centre on Tuesday I signed the order to repair the roof at St John’s Community Centre in Isleworth.  This has been a long-running issue for the volunteers who run the centre, who ensure there it is available for a variety of community activities all day, every day.  The reasonable rents they charge keep the charges low enough for users, which is sufficient to cover the week to week costs.  But for years the volunteer committee have had to battle with increasingly large quantities of rain pouring in to the former school building, putting off hirers and having to rent indoor pumps to siphon off the water.  The centre was also on a long-list of community buildings in 2010/11 that were considered might have to close as part of the cuts the Council needed to make in revenue funding.  However, due to the dedication and hard work of the Committee members who run the hall, the building receives no Council subsidy for its normal annual running costs.– but did need funds to fix the roof .  Anyway, the issue was in my In-tray when I took over Cabinet responsibility for Assets in May this year, and as soon as committee members showed me round the centre, I ensured we had funds in the capital budget to cover the repair costs and instructed officers to go out to tender.   The quotes for the work came in below the level at which we would have needed to go out for full EU tender which means that now the contract for the work is signed, the builders will be on site within 3 weeks, and hopefully the work will be complete before the worst of the weather in the New Year.

 Heathrow continues to dominate the headlines; I will write a separate blog article about the current issues, but suffice to say, BAA’s crude attempts to define the debate as “without Runway 3, UK plc. goes down the pan” has little economic basis particularly on a national stage apart from BAA’s own commercial interests.  It does not address the real capacity issues now or in the future, nor address the real noise and air quality challenges we have right now, right here in Hounslow.  I was able to attend a really useful meeting in the House of Commons of people representing residents in West London and beyond -  MPs, Councillors and members of the House of Lords from all 3 main parties, as well as Council officers –  ably co-ordinated by John Stewart of HACAN .  It even featured in the Evening Standard.  Boris Johnson wasn’t there but his Estuary Airport idea was attacked, as it would require the closure of Heathrow – with inevitable devastating consequences for the West London economy.  It’s all about balance – but as I say – another day.

I joined Seema Malhotra MP for some doorstep canvassing in Feltham West ward and as ever was enthused by the result we got.  People are worried about jobs, and the more local stuff such as litter and parking.

Sunny Saturday turned out to be spent round the River in Brentford.  With Cllr Steve Curran, I went to Town Wharf to meet the residents who live on narrow boats in this hidden and untouched old wharf off the Thames end of the River Brent.  They are worried that their unique and low-impact way of life, is under threat from the future development of the High Street.  They have a lease but being boat-dwellers they have little security of tenure.  We will have to consider how we can protect this as the plans for the redevelopment of the South side of Brentford High Street progress,

I walked from Town Wharf across Johnson’s Island which has artists studios (Open Day next weekend I gather), to the bottom lock on the Brent and up onto Brentford Dock.  I ran into an old friend and together we watched the Great River Race, hundreds of human-propelled boats of all shapes and sizes coming up the Thames from Dockland to Richmond.  An amazing sight and another example of extreme human endeavour. 

I can’t complete this blog without covering the benefits crisis; brought about by the Government’s attacks on those on the lowest incomes paying the price for their defict strategy.  I was made aware of two particularly sad cases this week .  Whilst I know there is a climate of public opinion that abhors “scroungers”, the Welfare State has always been a safety net and many of the current changes particularly to Housing Benefit have been made with no consideration of the high rent levels in London.   I lead on “Financial Inclusion” issues on Hounslow’s Cabinet, and we are seeing more people facing homelessness through no fault of their own – as housing benefit no longer helps with rent for people’s whose weekly wage is less than their rent, or who are required to pay a penalty for remaining in the family home once the children have moved.  Hounslow will do whatever is within our legal and financial powers to support people facing the effects of the welfare benefit cuts– but it feels to me, and front-line staff, that we will have an unstoppable deluge of people who can no longer keep themselves and their families housed and fed.

A4 Traffic Update

Well we're getting a little bit of acknolwedgement form TfL;  we have secured some limited improvements to traffic flows both along the A4 eastbound through Brentford and along Chiswick High Road. But yesterday (Tuesday), the traffic was still a nightmare.  I could see, as I have an app on my phone that shows by red, amber and green the state of the traffic, at any place at any time. 

 

We feel TfL should loosen their grip still further in these areas and could also allow some local 'tweaks' without compromising their overall objectives for the movement of Olympic vehicles, so we are continuing to press for further changes, on the A4, Chiswick High Road and the Kew Bridge Road/Kew Bridge junction.

 

While I'm on - the M4 closure - in case you saw signs advising of an M4 closure , it is only a temporary closure between midnight and 5.00 a.m last night. The Boston Manor Viaduct section is still subject to a 7.5T weight restriction, but Olympic coaches (the vehicles not the trainers!) are exempt from this restriction provided that the travel no closer together than 200 metres. The closurelat night was to allow the installation of additional markers on lamp columns to assist drivers in keeping to this 200 metre headway.  

 

What the Times said when the Torch Relay went through Hounslow town centre

Don't take my word for it. This is what jornalist Martin Fletcher says in today's national Times newspaper! Here is the full article.

Yesterday (24th Juy)  Hounslow was a place transformed — multicultural Britain at its richest and most vibrant
It is just one small flame, but it surely has magical powers. Yesterday, after processing around affluent Kingston, through the splendour of Kew Gardens, and past the riverside mansions of Richmond, the Olympic Torch reached Hounslow, a dreary expanse of westernmost London distinguished primarily by its utter lack of distinction.
You drive past Hounslow as you head out of London on the A4. You roar over its drab homes, bucket shops and cheap Asian restaurants as you land at Heathrow. In normal circumstances there would be no reason to visit, but yesterday it was a place transformed — multicultural Britain at its richest and most vibrant.
Thousands turned out to greet the Torch. Elderly Sikhs with beards and turbans, women in hijabs and young Rastas waved flags with fervour. They cheered as the Torch was born up the High Street by Sister Mary Joy, a nun who was Britain’s first firewoman and founded the Wormwood Scrubs riding centre for disabled and disadvantaged children. They whooped and screamed as she passed the Torch to the diminutive figure of Sai Singam, 12, chosen for his exemplary behaviour at school.
They were entertained by dhol drummers from Punjab, bhangra dancers and belly dancers, and Bollywood singers. They sashayed together in the sun-drenched street. They hoisted their children onto the shoulders of policemen and tried on their helmets.
For a few hours at least all differences fell away and the people of Hounslow were as one in their exuberance.
“There’s every race and nationality here, and we’re enjoying it together,” said Lester Sarmiento, 30, a Filipino barman watching with his four-year-old son. “It pulls the community together. Today everyone is smiling,” said Anthony Del Bono, an Italian-American from Brooklyn. “It reminds me of a Caribbean carnival,” said Carl McCarthy, 42, who came to Britain from Jamaica five years ago.
“The Torch is a massive opportunity for the nation to come together and show appreciation and national pride. We’re not just here to watch, but to say thank you,” said Murari Sharma, 70, a retired teacher who came to Britain from India as a student 45 years ago. “This is my country now, and the best thing about this nation is its tolerance.”
The Torch came and went in 20 minutes, but 20 years hence people will still recall the day that Hounslow was gilded by its flame.
 

Nightmare on Chiswick High Road - Hounslow is pressurinsing TfL

Well,  we all thought the Games Lanes would be a problem, but it's the light sequenceing, especiially on Chiswick High Road that is causing a nightmare for the town this week.  Here is our officer, Nick Woods's response to a local resident who complained:
thank you for this. I have yet again raised with Transport for London the appalling conditions along the High Road. Whilst, after a meeting in London last Friday afternoon, we seem to have achieved a general improvement across other parts of the Borough (helped, of course, by the school holidays) the same cannot be said of Chiswick. I can perhaps understand that there was some nervousness about this morning with the Games Lanes 'going live' along the A4 but, at lunchtime today, the A4/M4 was flowing freely whereas Chiswick High Road had traffic queuing solidly westbound from the boundary with Hammersmith and Fulham to the Heathfield Terrace junction.

 

As you may know, TfL's aim is to reduce general traffic flows along the Olympic Route Network (ORN) which includes the A4 through Chiswick and rather than just holding traffic at the immediate junctions onto the A4, they are trying to 'spread the load' to prevent absolute gridlock at the A4 junctions. But I believe they have tightened the screw far too much along the High Road and are actually causing gridlock in the Town Centre.

 

As you may know flows along the M4/A4 into London this morning were not brilliant, not helped, I understand, by an accident in the rush hour, but the route seems to be operating well off peak. TfL may well argue that this is because their measures are working. However, I firmly believe that their measures are too extreme and some relief is essential.

 

In terms of the Games Lanes along the A4, I have consistently argued for about the last 5 years, that they were unnecessary. Whilst I accept that you cannot have an athlete who has trained for years, be late travelling from his/her accommodation for his/her event at, say, Wembley Arena, I fail to see the same need to get that athlete or indeed an Olympic official to his/her accommodation in a fixed time from Heathrow and this is what the A4 Games lanes are intended to achieve. However, this was a battle I was never going to win and it appears that the Games Lanes are a requirement of any bid to host the Games. I also argued that for 'the greenest Games' there should be much more use of coaches, minibuses or, at the very least, electric vehicles for the Olympic fleet and, whilst there are some, I believe there should have been far more.

 

But returning to the High Road, I shall continue on the case and hopefully we shall shortly see some relaxation.

We are continuing to push TfL - they have to balance the needs of the Games with that of day-to-day living and working in London.

A4 Crossings Update - message from Transport for London

This was received by us yesterday (23^rd July) from Laura Dyett of Transport for London, Please let me know what you think.

A4 Great West Road – s106 proposals and issues at junction with Clayponds Avenue

I would like to start by addressing some general points raised regarding junction layouts and signal timings:

·         Louvers –

Ø  The louvers over the green traffic signals at the A4/Clayponds Avenue and other nearby junctions cannot be removed as they are an essential safety feature.

Ø  Their purpose is to prevent vehicles on the A4 that are held on a red signal at the first stop line from seeing through to the green signal at the second stop line associated with the pedestrian crossing. If the green signal was left uncovered then there is the possibility that these vehicles will mistakenly proceed into the junction and collide with vehicles entering from the side roads.

Ø  Louvers are never placed over a red signal so they have no effect on the visibility of the red signal for vehicles turning from the side roads onto the A4.

·         Signal timings

Ø  Request for longer ‘green man’ time – The steady green man is an invitation to cross and is designed to ensure that anyone who is waiting starts their crossing movement. It is followed by a safety critical clearance period, the duration of which is determined by the crossing distance.  This ensures that anyone starting to cross when the green man goes off will complete the crossing movement before vehicles receive a green signal. We have checked and can verify that all pedestrian timings adhere to Department for Transport standards.

Ø  One suggestion is to hold all vehicles on a red signal whilst pedestrians cross the A4. This measure would result in a significant increase in congestion on both the A4 and adjoining side roads as there would be a much longer period of time when vehicles were not moving through the junction. Any increase in congestion would not only have an impact on the economy but also on noise and air pollution levels, which are already high alongside the A4.

·         Drivers’ eye level signals – These are not currently allowed within our national traffic sign regulations. We would need a change to the regulations before we could trial anything on our road network.

 In regards of the measures that we propose to implement and their timings:

·         At the A4/Clayponds Avenue:

Ø  Louvers – In March we altered the angle of two of the louvers over the signals at the pedestrian crossings so that the slats were vertical rather than the standard horizontal.

This was done to improve the visibility of the green/amber signal for those turning left from Clayponds Avenue onto the A4, which from the north arm is the predominant turning movement onto the A4. This has helped to improve the visibility for left turners but an issue remains with those turning right from Clayponds Avenue or u-turning on the A4. As a result we have removed the louvers on the amber signals at the crossing on the eastbound carriageway to further increase visibility of the signals. This is being done on a trial basis as we need to monitor the junction to ensure this doesn’t introduce additional problems.

Ø  Signal timings – Our engineers have adjusted the point when the crossings change in the signal cycle to ensure that there is no traffic approaching when it changes.

Ø  Installing advanced warning signs of traffic signals ahead – to be installed on both Clayponds Avenue approaches to the junction by the end of this month.

Ø  Lighting under the M4 – we are leaving the light on 24 hours under the M4 structure above the crossing on the east arm of the junction to see if this improves visibility of the crossing.

Ø  Pedestrian crossing stop line – we are proposing to increase the width of the vehicle stop line in front of the crossing and increase the distance between the stop line and the crossing; both to the maximum measurement permissible by the Department for Transport. This should help to make the stop line more visible and provide additional stopping distance for those who mistakenly run through the red light. We will do this as soon as possible after the Olympics.

Ø  Signal heads – we will replace all of the signal heads at the pedestrian crossings so that they are cleaner and therefore more visible to drivers. This should be done by the end of August.

These measures are in addition to those we agreed as the Isleworth and Brentford Area Committee (IBAC) meeting in December 2010. In regards of these measures:

Ø  These include providing a signal controlled pedestrian crossing on the north arm of the junction, moving some pedestrian push buttons further away from the kerb edge, replacing all other signal heads, providing an additional signal head at the pedestrian crossings and relocating an existing signal head at these locations. The last three of these measures will help to improve visibility of the existing pedestrian crossings.

These measures are currently being designed by our Traffic Engineers who have to go through a number of stages in order to come up with a workable and approved design; particularly because we are required to alter the layout of the junction and signal timings in order to incorporate a crossing on the north arm. The situation is complicated by the fact that the existing signal equipment at the junction needs fully replacing before we can make any significant changes to it because it is too old to support additional requirements. We expect preliminary design work to conclude by the end of this year after which we will proceed with detailed design work and securing permits to carry out the work on the road. We anticipate that we will be able to implement the measures towards the end of next year.

Ø  At the A4/Windmill Road:

Ø  Installing advanced warning signs of traffic signals ahead – as at A4/Clayponds Avenue

Ø  Pedestrian crossing stop line – as at A4/Clayponds Avenue

Ø  IBAC measures – Providing a signal controlled pedestrian crossing on the south arm of the junction, moving some pedestrian push buttons further away from the kerb edge, providing an additional signal head at the pedestrian crossings, relocating an existing signal head at these locations and replacing all signal heads. Same progress status as at A4/Clayponds Avenue.

·         At the A4/Lionel Road:

Ø  Installing advanced warning signs of traffic signals ahead – on Lionel Road (south arm) approach only.

Ø  IBAC measures - moving some pedestrian push buttons further away from the kerb edge, providing an additional signal head at the pedestrian crossings, relocating an existing signal head at these locations and replacing all signal heads. These measures should be implemented early next year.

·         At the A4/Ealing Road:

Ø  IBAC measures - moving some pedestrian push buttons further away from the kerb edge, providing an additional signal head at the pedestrian crossing, relocating an existing signal head at this location and replacing all signal heads. These measures should be implemented early next year.

·         Standalone crossing near to A4/Brook Lane

·         IBAC measures - moving some pedestrian push buttons further away from the kerb edge and replacing all signal heads. These measures should be implemented early next year.

In regards of progress on these measures prior to the Olympics, from the 1^st of July until after the Paralympic Games there is an embargo on carrying out all but essential maintenance works on the Transport for London Road Network. A large majority of our staff will be at least partially re-deployed to Olympics based roles during the Games and it will take some time to revert our road network back to its previous state afterwards. All of this means that there will be an extended period of time where we cannot introduce any further measures at these junctions.

Finally, the measures we plan to implement will only help to reduce the occurrences of ‘red light running’ caused by vehicles who fail to see the traffic signal. From our own site observations, made during the school run period, we believe that some drivers intentionally run through the red light to avoid waiting for the pedestrian crossing phase to run. This is clearly an issue that needs to be addressed by enforcement activity and as such we have spoken to the Police about this.

Petition for Safer A4 Crossings in Brentford

Over the past week I've been collecting signatures at the gates of 3 of our local schools demanding prompt and serious action from TfL on the dangerous crossings of the A4 where pedestrian lights are regularly ignored by vehicles on the A4.

• In 2007, Brentford parents approached Brentford councillors with their concerns about safety on the A4.  We identified over £500,000 from recent planning applications that could be spent on these improvements.  After five years, no serious work has taken place.  TfL have said they wil make some minor changes, but not until October.  We are calling on the Mayor of London, and Transport for London, to begin work immediately on making the A4 crossings in Brentford safer.

I meeting local parents I met family members and friends of a woman killed on the Clayponds Lane crossing in recent years.  But also many parents who have had clse shaves when crossing at the "Green Man" and vehicles trying to shoot through the red light.  They are suggesting adjustments to the louvres on the lights, and repainting the white stop line and putting warning signs up.  BUt what many feel is that there should be additional drivers-eye level lights on the signal columns, which are prevalent in many other countries.  


Email me if you'd like copies of the petition ruth.cadbury@hounslow.gov.uk
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