The Teddington Lib Dem team: Cllrs Jennifer Churchill, Stephen Knight & Martin Elengorn

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

• YOUR local Lib Dem team: Jennifer Churchill [73 Harrowdene Gardens TW11 0DJ 8977 4541 cllr.jchurchill@richmond.gov.uk] · · · • · · · Cllr Stephen Knight [73 Harrowdene Gardens TW11 0DJ 8977 4541 cllr.sknight@richmond.gov.uk ] · · · • · · · Cllr Martin Elengorn [10 Albert Road TW11 0BD 8977 1187 cllr.melengorn@richmond.gov.uk]. Councillors' surgery: 1st Saturday of each month 10.30 - 12noon Teddington Baptist Church, Church Road Please drop in with any problems or concerns regarding council services and other local issues.

2012 News:

• [Comments No. 138 February 2012] Fears grow over Teddington School place shortage: CHILDREN who started primary school in the last few years may be denied a place at Teddington School unless the Council takes action to expand it. Four of the school's seven 'linked' primary schools have expanded in the last few years, meaning that there are now 25 % more pupils entering local primary schools than in 2007 and 33 % more than in 2003.

The new Teddington School building was designed to allow for expansion. However, the Tory Council is planning to use the available land to build a sixth form, instead of coping with the increased demand from 11-16 year olds. Many Teddington families with children in linked primary schools are therefore likely to be disappointed.The Council is also considering completely scrapping the linked school system of admissions to secondary school, which gives priority to pupils from the seven feeder primary schools. This could lead to a higher proportion of places going to pupils from Ham and Kingston, with fewer available to pupils living in Teddington.

Cllr Stephen Knight said: "Local families are understandably anxious.TheTories failed to get all primary-aged children in the borough a place in time for Sept 2011, due to their decision to delay one of the primary expansion projects. Now this same cohort faces continuing uncertainty when they come to move up to secondary school. Whilst a sixth form might be attractive to some parents, the priority must be ensuring enough places for local 11 years olds. We are already well served by two high performing local sixth form colleges."

• FARES in London have yet again been hiked by more than inflation from the beginning of January - the fourth such rise since Tory Mayor of London Boris Johnson was elected in 2008. Boris has increased the cost of an Oyster bus fare from 90p to £1.35, an increase of 50 % in four years. Since 2008, a 1-6 Zone Day Travelcard has increased from £13.80 to £15.80 (peak) and from £7.00 to £8.50 (off-peak). In 2011, Boris forced up travel costs for many local travellers by 74 % by abolishing the cheaper outer London Zones 2-6 Day Travelcard. Cllr Stephen Knight said: "Once again we start the year with another painful fare hike from Boris Johnson. For the fourth year in a row he has put up fares by far more than inflation. Shamefully, bus fares have seen the biggest increases despite buses being most heavily used by those on lower incomes."

• Station Footbridge repairs promised: Network Rail has promised that the station footbridge will soon be refurbished with new windows and paint. Cllr Martin Elengorn said: "We were first told this work would start in November last year and then given a date in December. Now we are told work will take place in February. Let's hope they mean 2012!"

• AFFORDABLE homes welcome but many more needed: It is welcome news that two new affordable housing schemes are soon to be complete in Teddington Ward - six new family-sized three bedroom houses in Park Road, and 22 one and two bedroom flats at the Waldegrave Arms site. Worryingly, there are very few schemes in the pipeline for future years, despite the need for affordable homes continuing to rise.

The Conservative Council in Richmond has publicly admitted that affordable housing is not something it takes seriously and it is failing to meet even the Tory Mayor of London's targets. There will be severe problems this year due to the Government's cuts to Housing Benefit. This will reduce the help available for those on low incomes in meeting their rent payments. These changes will leave many local families unable to afford their current rent payments. Housing charities are predicting large increases in homelessness following this change; many families will be forced out of the area, leaving work, school, childcare and friends.

Of course, a number of those affected will be pensioners, forced to move out of what has been their home for many years. Cllr Stephen Knight, who has spoken out against these cuts in the national media, is pressing the council to use its discretionary powers to help those worst affected.

• Action at last on A310 speeding: THE A310 from Teddington Lock to Cross Deep (Twickenham Road/Manor Road/Strawberry Vale) has long suffered from speeding and your local councillors have been pressing for action for years. Finally, Transport for London has agreed to fund a £470,000 upgrade to the road, which aims to reduce speed by narrowing the lanes, improve safety for cyclists and enhance accessibility at R68 bus stops.

A significant proportion of traffic on the road exceeds the speed limit and there have been nine personal injury collisions during the last 5 years (2006 - 2010). Cllr Martin Elengorn said: " We have been concerned about speeding on this stretch of road for years. I hope that the new revamp will slow traffic and improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians."

• Community noticeboard left tatty and out of date: The Council has let the community noticeboard in Broad Street fall into disrepair with outdated information since the maintenance contract ended in early November last year. Cllr Martin Elengorn said: "These noticeboards fulfil a useful function in terms of information to the public and it is unacceptable that they have been allowed to fall into disrepair for months whilst the council thinks about how to maintain them. If the Council were serious about keeping residents in- formed, then this would have been sorted out before the maintenance contract ended last year."

• TEDDINGTON Councillor and Lib Dem Leader on Richmond Council Stephen Knight is to fight for a place on the London Assembly in May's London elections. Stephen is second on the Liberal Democrat party list to become a London- wide member under the proportional voting system and stands a very good chance of being elected. The 25 members of the London Assembly have the job of holding the Mayor of London to account on issues like transport, policing and strategic planning. Scan here with your smart phone to go to our web page Stephen says: "I shall carry on representing the people of Teddington on the council, but am also excited at the prospect of taking up important London-wide issues such as public transport and policing directly with the Mayor at City Hall."

• POT-HOLED Sandy Lane pavement resurfaced after councillors demand action: We reported last year that your councillors had complained about the appalling state of the pavement on Sandy Lane, which had been left untouched when the road was resurfaced. Happily the council was shamed into action and we now have a new smooth surfaced pavement. Those wishing to use the Shaef Gate into Bushy Park or the 465 bus stop no longer have to negotiate large craters. Cllr Jennifer Churchill says: "The new pavement is a great improvement, especially for those with buggies, older residents and those with disabilities."

Cllr Jennifer Churchill moved to Teddington in 2005, where she now lives with her partner. Jennifer is currently employed as an Economics Tutor at two London universities, and is doing a part-time MSc in Development Finance. Jennifer previously worked for a national older person's charity, where she was concerned with policy issues regarding social care and pensions. She has also worked for a housing association, and is keen to support the council in meeting its goals regarding the provision of affordable housing.

Cllr Martin Elengorn Tel: 8977 1187 E-mail: cllr.melengorn@richmond.gov.uk

Martin Elengorn has been a Teddington councillor for 30 years. He has campaigned successfully for environmental improvements, like Elmfield House Gardens and new bus routes, such as the R68, the 465 (now sadly replaced by the less frequent 481) and the X26. He has fought for many road-safety and pedestrian schemes and new tree-planting in many roads. He was Chairman of Governors of Teddington School for ten years and held a number of senior posts on Richmond Council and on London-wide bodies. He is now Opposition Spokesperson for Environment.

Cllr Stephen Knight Tel: 8977 4541 E-mail: cllr.sknight@richmond.gov.uk

Stephen Knight grew up locally and went to Teddington School and returned here after studying Physics at University in Southampton. He has represented Teddington on the Council since 1998, being re-elected in 2002, 2006 and 2010.

. . working for you, all the year round!

2010 results: Jennifer Churchill LD 2800 elected; Martin Elengorn LD 2679 elected; Stephen Knight LD 2655 elected; Simon Lamb C 2298; Graeme Tallantire C 2195; Barry Edwards C 2183; Margaret Mills L 619; Michelle Sims L 554.

Election 2006: Electorate 6982 Seats 3 Ballot Papers 3569 % Poll 51.1; Martin Elengorn LD 2088 Elected; Stephen Knight LD 2046 Elected; James Mumford LD 2036 Elected; Karen Bradley C 1150; ; Roger Avins C 1132; John Christopher Wylie C 1041; Kevin Mcmahon G 438; Kevin Gilligan L 188; Margaret Mills L 182.

2002: James Mumford LD 1,344; Martin Elengorn LD 1,324; Stephen Knight LD 1,274; Peter Temlett C 1,075; June Cape C 1,036; Kevin Ross C 1,003; Nuala Orton Lab 403; Penelope Banaji Lab 398; Sampson Low Lab 365

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