Twickenham Riverside Liberal Democrats

May 2010 Election %s: C 45.3; LD 38.4; L 10.9. C 3.

• Let us know your views: If you have any comments on the issues raised here or there is another matter you would like to discuss with the Twickenham Riverside ward Liberal Democrats please contact: Roger Crouch rmcrouch33@gmail.com 07919 383 544.

• Page 2: Comments and news from 2010 - 2006

2011 News

• From Comments Winter 2011: CONGRATULATIONS ETNA! The East Twickenham Neighbourhood Association celebrated its 25th birthday in style on 5 November with a cake in the shape of the famous building in Rosslyn Road, a sizzling BBQ, raffle, stalls and children's activities. Verity Jones and the other staff and volunteers, including the trustees past and present, have done a fantastic job in ensuring the survival of this much loved community centre.

"As a base for a wide range of activities for all ages as well as one-off meetings of local groups, this is exactly the right venture for the Council to support" says local activist Roger Crouch "and I wish ETNA every success for the next 25 years". To learn more about ETNA and the children's groups, music and arts, U3A, health & fitness classes, bridge and other activities at the Centre, see http://www.etnacentre.org or contact Verity on 8892 3676.

• CAMPAIGNING for 20 mph zones: The Government has just made it easier and cheaper for Councils to introduce 20 mph zones. This means that in residential areas, especially where road speeds are already below 24 mph because of traffic calming, narrow roads or heavy parking, roads can be designated 20 mph zones simply with signage at the beginning and end of the road and 20 mph roundels painted on the road surface.

The good news is that the current Conservative administration on Richmond Council supports the changes, but the bad news is that they will not even consider taking action unless more than 51 % of the households in a road formally agree to a 20 mph limit. While consultation is vital, response rates from householders are notoriously low, so a threshold of 51% may never be achieved.

So, if you want a 20 mph limit in your road, contact us to start a petition, and we will knock on each door in the road. Remember, the chances of a pedestrian being killed in a vehicle collision are 90 % at 40 mph, 20 % at 30 mph, and 3 % at 20 mph.

Reclaim residential areas for the residents and protect your children and the elderly!

• TOP of the class: Richmond Borough's primary schools have topped the national Key Stage 2 league tables for the tenth year running. Congratulations to all the pupils, teachers, parents and governors of St Stephen's and St Mary's Junior Schools. What a fantastic achievement! In addition, Lib Dem Children & Families Minister Sarah Teather has ensured that schools in the Borough are benefiting from £1,238,000 in Pupil Premium this year. Local Lib Dem Roger Crouch says: "This extra funding is helping to tackle inequality and enables schools to provide extra support for pupils to reach their full potential."

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• [From Comments Spring 2011] DAY Centres for Elderly In Twickenham Axed: Council Ignores All Pleas To Save Old People's Day Care Centres: Twickenham Intensive Day Care Centre - a lifeline for the frail elderly and their carers- is to close as part of a drastic reduction in services for older people in the borough being implemented by the Tory Council. In addition, the Tangley Hall Intensive Day Care Centre for older people with dementia is also being closed.

The only option for users will be to travel across the borough to Sheen or Ham in order to attend day care centres. With traffic jams and long and tiring journeys, this is bound to deter many older people in Twickenham and reduce their quality of life. Twickenham elderly and their carers deserve better - the Council is failing in its duties to provide locally accessible care services to meet people's assessed needs.

• Liberal Democrat motion to special meeting of Council on 1st March 2011: "In the light of the significant predicted budget underspend in 2010/11, the extra resources apparently available for investment in the Council's priorities in 2011/12, and the extra government money for social care being made available to the Council via the NHS, this Council calls on the Cabinet to immediately halt the closure of Tangley Hall and Twickenham Intensive Day Care Centres in order to properly consider alternatives to closure."

• CONSERVATIVE Council Cuts Despite Healthy Reserves: The Council's financial position is nowhere near as bad as the Tories are claiming and does not justify the drastic cuts to front line services being implemented. Because some 80 % of the Council's revenue comes from Council Tax rather than central government grants, the Council has lost just 0.6 % of its spending power; and it has reserves of over £50m and a budget surplus of £4.4m from 2010/11, thanks to Lib Dem prudent financial management. The excessive cuts planned will add to these surpluses and the Council Tax will be frozen, but at what cost for those who rely on essential care and support services?

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• TWICKENHAM Town Centre Manager Post Slashed: Our excellent Town Centre Manager, Natasha Carr, finishes work in March as Conservative plans, first mooted in 2006 and thwarted by the Lib Dems, are now implemented. The Council has reduced its funding support by 75% and is recruiting to a new borough-wide post of Retail & Business Champion, disadvantaging Twickenham at the very time when the town centre's needs are greater than ever. Another Conservative let-down for our residents.

• IT'S all quiet on Twickenham Riverside following the Council's "Barefoot Consultation"and "Twickenham Conference" in October. The Conservatives have yet to unveil their plans for the riverside site and no members of the proposed Advisory Panel have been announced. Despite healthy capital reserves and much talk about community involvement, the Council is struggling to come up with any ideas and there is a real danger that this valuable and important site will remain substantially boarded up and wasted. "We urge the Council to speed up its efforts and work with local groups and residents to develop this important site," said Denise Carr.

• EAST Twickenham Village - Bringing the CommunityTogether: Local groups in East Twickenham want to work together to improve the area and would welcome your support. The Friends of Cambridge Gardens; The Twickenham Park Residents' Association; The Morley Road and Alexandra Road Residents' Association; The East Twickenham Neighbourhood Association; The East Twickenham Traders' Association; St Stephen's Church; Cambridge Park Bowling Club; Meadowside Residents' Association and others are developing plans for a village committee. A meeting will be held on 7th April at 8pm at ETNA, Rosslyn Road. Please contact Margaret Stevens if you would like to be involved.

• "OUTSTANDING" for Orleans Park School: Orleans Park earned an assessment of Outstanding in the school's most recent Ofsted Inspection. Margaret Stevens, who serves as a governor at the school, commented: "Congratulations are due to Orleans Park School. It is most satisfying that hard work of the staff, Head Teacher, and governors has been recognised in the school's new assessment of Outstanding. We should not forget, the pupils are beneficiaries of the sort of improvement an Outstanding judgement reflects. Our families are most fortunate to have Orleans Park School at its heart."

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