The Whitton Lib Dem team: York Membery and Cllrs Arnie Gibbons & Liz Jaeger

May 2010 Election %s: C 34.2; LD 40.3; L 10.9; I 14.6. C 1 LD 2.

• YOUR local Lib Dem team: York Membery [16 Heatham Park 07940 522 231 york.membery@btopenworld.com] · · · • · · · Cllr Arnie Gibbons [102A Cole Park Road 8744 9269 cllr.agibbons@richmond.gov.uk] · · · • · · · Cllr Liz Jaeger [111 Teddington Park Road 8977 0785 cllr.ljaeger@richmond.gov.uk]

2012 News

• [Comments Jan/Feb 2012] Whitton Police Seek new Home - temporary base in Twickenham: AFTER the unexpected eviction from their previous base, Whitton's hard working Safer Neighbourhood Police Team is still without a permanent home. The Whitton and Heathfield team has now settled into their temporary home in Queens House (just behind Twickenham Police Station) and are still doing an excellent job of keeping Whitton safe. Your local Lib Dem Cllrs Liz Jaeger and Arnie Gibbons have been working hard trying to persuade the Metropolitan Police Service and Richmond Council to come up with a new home for the local team.

The good news is that rehousing the Whitton & Heathfield team remains a priority, but in the present economic climate the MPS is trying to protect frontline policing so money for a new base will not be easy to come by. Although local Lib Dems Liz and Arnie have helped to identify possible new locations the council is unwilling to make any firm commitments until it has completed a review of its property. This means the council is unlikely to make any firm commitment until 2013. However one possible solution under consideration would be to house the police base in a redeveloped Whitton library.

• THE River Crane and the Duke of Northumberland's River have been devastated by a release of raw sewage as a result of problems Thames Water encountered in the Heathrow area at the end of October. Thousands of fish have been killed and the rivers will take a long time to recover. Lib Dem Cllr Arnie Gibbons said, "Thames Water must work with FORCE and other local groups to ensure that the ecology of our local rivers is restored in time." Your local Lib Dem team will also be pressing Thames Water to review the circumstances surrounding the incident and to do all they can to prevent a repetition.

• BUILDING works continue apace at Twickenham Academy for the new secondary school being built at Percy Road. This is part of the previous Liberal Democrat Council's secondary school improvement plan. "We are pleased to see the improving grades that pupils at the Academy are getting at GCSE level," said Arnie Gibbons. At Primary level Nelson, Chase Bridge and St Edmund's have all been rated good by Ofsted.

Schools in our area are becoming oversubscribed as the birth rate rises. Chase Bridge is already being expanded to three-form entry. An extra year class for one year has been introduced at Heathfield Infants. Should this extra need continue as expected then there will be a strong case to permanently increase the size of another one of our primary schools by one class. Both Nelson and Heathfield have the space on which it can be done. "Our borough's primary schools have topped the national Key Stage 2 league tables for the tenth year running", commented Liz Jaeger, "We congratulate all the pupils, teachers, parents and governors across the borough. What a fantastic achievement!" Local Lib Dem MP Vince Cable has ensured that our local schools are benefiting from £1,238,000 in Pupil Premium this year. Arnie Gibbons says, "This extra funding is helping to tackle inequality and enables schools to provide extra support for pupils to reach their full potential."

• CAMPAIGNING for 20 mph: Your local Lib Dem Cllr Liz Jaeger says "We have a definite need for 20 mph zones in a number of roads in the ward, including Constance Road, Bridge Way and adjacent roads'. 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. If you want a 20 mph limit in your road, contact your local Lib Dem Councillors, Liz and Arnie, who will help you campaign for one. Your Lib Dems Councillors will help to give you a fighting chance at getting this speed calming measure where you live.

• What is happening to our High Street? WHITTON residents have been pleased by long awaited opening of Lidl, a project that has taken nearly three years to accomplish. The latest news is that another application for retail development on the garage site has been submitted. A decision on the new application is expected in February. More good news comes from the successful bid for £360,000 from the Mayor of London's 'Outer London Fund' (OLF): the biggest item will be new traditional-style street lights, running from the roundabout by the Admiral Nelson up to Montrose Avenue. Some of the shop fronts will get a make- over, and there are a number of smaller items such as new railings. "There remains much to be done, particularly repairing pavements and forecourts, which most local people tell us is their top priority," commented Lib Dem Cllr Liz Jaeger.

• Parking Plans: THE council is also currently engaged in drawing up and consulting on proposals for introducing free two hour parking on the High Street. This has been done at the request of traders who hope that more parking will be available for shoppers if long-term parking during the day is prevented. The proposals also 'tidy up' the existing location of bays for the disabled and loading bays, and should leave the overall number of parking spaces unchanged. Your councillors have been pressing the council to monitor the impact on neighbouring roads should the scheme go ahead.

• Dismay and Frustration: A Story of Lost Opportunities on the High Street: WHILE there has been progress on the High Street, so much more could have been done. Whitton has lost out in the second round of Outer London Funding, indeed nowhere in the borough has gained ANY this time around.

Firstly, there was the £230,000 of improvements planned almost two years ago. They were consulted upon, and due to go ahead in March 2011, before being scrapped. Then there is also £250,000 from Transport for London for highways improvements to Whitton High Street. This was in last year's 'local improvement programme' from TfL. "In all the talk about 'uplift' in Whitton, this money has not been mentioned. We need to keep a close eye on this because we don't want it reallocated and spent elsewhere in the borough as the Tory administration did with the last lot of Transport for London money allocated to our High Street", pointed out Cllr Jaeger.

• Youth Cafe - Broken Promise: THE Youth Cafe planned for the empty premises in the High Street, the old Nationwide building, has been axed after funds of £160,000 were allocated two and a half years ago. The Tories decided not to go ahead with this, despite good terms being negotiated for the building. "Is the £160,000 going to be spent in Whitton? And will it be on something for the local young people?" asked Liz Jaeger.

• Library Plans fall Short: THE Tories cancelled the promised rebuilding of Whitton's branch library at Heathfield School even though they received payment of £750,000 for the land occupied by the old Heathfield Library. Whitton town centre library has finally seen improvements to the front desk and the introduction of self service loans and returns. But there were ambitious plans for the library back in 2009, which did not require the loss of Heathfield Library, or any other lending library, to fund.

"We would like to see the money received for the Heathfield Library land reinvested in Whitton library and other local public services instead of being pocketed by the Tory council", stated Lib Dem Councillor Arnie Gibbons.

• Station - Lack of Action: WHITTON Station remains in need of improved access. It has been the intention for several years that Whitton should be the subject of a 'station access' bid, but first of all projects at Barnes and Richmond had to be completed. Finally this year was going to be Whitton's turn. Sadly the bid has been postponed until next year - the fear is that TfL will not have station access funds to give in a year's time. Lib Dem Councillor Liz Jaeger expressed her disappointment: "There is still the potential for a lot of good things to happen on Whitton High Street, but it is being held back by council bureaucracy and a lack of co-ordination."

• Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour: LOCAL Lib Dem Councillors Liz Jaeger and Arnie Gibbons are trying to find ways to reduce anti-social behaviour centred on the Stephenson Road bridge and the footpath between Rodney and Collingwood Roads. They have been working with local residents, the local police team, the council's community safety officer and local landlords (Richmond Housing Partnership and Places for People) to tackle the problem. "The problems associated with this area have caused serious damage to the quality of life of a few residents and inconvenience to a great many more. We are optimistic that now we have got all the agencies together there will be some concrete progress," said Liz Jaeger.

• Lib Dem Success: hospital bus re-route: RESIDENTS in the Hanworth Road area of Whitton are now benefitting from an extension of the 110 route from Hounslow to West Middlesex Hospital Unfortunately Transport for London are still resisting the wishes of over 2000 local residents who want to see the other end of this bus route redirected to include Whitton station and its High Street. In December local Lib Dem councillors from Whitton and Heathfield wards Liz Jaeger and John Coombs won the backing of Richmond Council's cabinet member for transport for the campaign to get the 110 bus re-routed through Whitton High Street.

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2011 News

• [From Comments Spring 2011] CONSERVATIVE Council Makes Frontline Cuts: The Conservative Council have embarked on a savage programme of cuts despite having over £30 million lying unused in the Council bank account. Richmond is also a relatively wealthy borough and so raises most of its funding locally from Council Tax, rather than relying on central government grants. This means that government funding cuts affect Richmond less than almost any other council in the country. "The Conservatives seem determined to dismantle and outsource our services, to fulfil their goal of reducing the influence of the council in local people's lives. The cuts now being made are over £3 million deeper than needed to freeze our council tax next year," said Cllr Jaeger.

Heathfield library closed: As part of the cuts programme, the Conservatives have cancelled the re-location of Heathfield library and the Council will now close Heathfield library on March 17th. The Council had received £750,000 from selling the old library site and over half was going to be used to pay for the relocation.

Savings not reinvested locally: The Conservatives are refusing to reinvest the £750,000 locally. Instead the money will go into making parking in controlled parking zones cheaper for owners of large cars.

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• DAY Centre Closures: Local residents have been left reeling after the Conservative Council announced it intends to press ahead with its massively unpopular and damaging decision to close two specialist care centres in Twickenham and Hampton. The Hampton day centre, Tangley Hall, specialises in respite care for sufferers of moderate to severe dementia, and also offers very real support to their carers. It is purpose built, over subscribed and open 365 days a year.

Local residents' views ignored: Despite a 2,500 petition and recommendations by an independent task group, which outlined ways to save money and allow the day centres to remain open, the decision to close has gone ahead. Cllr Liz Jaeger, part of the Lib Dem "Save our Day Centres" campaign team, said: "The Conservatives are prepared to subsidise parking charges for high CO2 emission vehicles to the tune of £410,000, but not prepared to spend £136,500 a year on an important frontline facility like Tangley Hall. It is a disgrace. "

Emergency Council Meeting: Liberal Democrat councillors used special powers to invoke an extraordinary general meeting of Richmond Council so that the closures of the day centres could be discussed in the light of the council's large underspend this year and extra money coming into social care from the NHS. "Despite being asked to delay their decision and look at sensible alternatives to closure, the Conservatives remain determined to press ahead. This is disgraceful given that there is no immediate financial imperative to close the centres" said Cllr Gibbons after the meeting. Liberal Democrat Councillors are fighting to save our elderly day care centres.

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• WHITTON High Street Improvements: Thankfully money set aside by the Lib Dems, when they ran the Council, to improve Whitton High Street has not been axed by the new Conservative administration. People were consulted last autumn about ideas including street lighting, tree planting, brightening up the station area and emphasising the northern and southern entrances to the High Street. We expect to see works beginning soon, taking into account feedback from the public. Due to concerns about congestion at the station, suggestions about road narrowing at this point will not be going ahead.

Cllr Arnie Gibbons said:"This is good news; I spoke to many people during the consultation, and I know that Whitton residents care passionately about our High Street. Your local Lib Dem team are working alongside residents to ensure that residents get the High Street Whitton deserves."

Cllr Liz Jaeger observed: "With Lidl at last committed to the old Co-op site, with landlords generally looking for more realistic rents, and the Whitton Business Association going ahead with advertising for a town centre manager, things are looking brighter for our High Street.

"Now we just need the 110 bus to bring more shoppers from West Whitton".

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• CONSERVATIVE Mayor cancels A317 crossing: Agreement was finally secured last year both for a new surface crossing over the A316 to link The Meadway and Jubilee Avenue, and for an upgrade to the Whitton Station pedestrian crossing to make it light-controlled. Sadly both projects have now been cancelled. Tory Mayor Boris Johnson vetoed the funding for the A316 crossing. This is a disappointment for many residents like those on the Dene Estate, who do not feel safe using the underpass.

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• CONSERVATIVES cancel station crossing: The new Conservative Council pulled the money for the Whitton station crossing improvements despite the funding being clearly earmarked in the 2010 transport plans. This is particularly galling when we see similar works starting at Barnes Station. "We shall have to hope that the improvements planned for the entrance to the High St from Percy Road will help address the safety concerns at this poorly lit crossing. However we will continue to listen to local residents and if necessary demand further work to make crossing safer" said Councillor Liz Jaeger

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• GET on board the 110 Bus Campaign: The campaign for the diversion of the 110 bus has taken on more importance now the Council is forcing Heathfield library users to travel to Whitton. Transport for London (TfL) turned down previous proposals to divert the 110 as they felt it would add too much time to the bus journey. To overcome TfL's objections, local resident Ann Goff and the Lib Dem team are campaigning for a new proposed re-routing that would involve the bus turning right at the Admiral Nelson into Whitton Road and then following the route of the 281. "Ann's non-political campaign to make Whitton High Street accessible for local residents has really taken off. Let's get behind her," said Liz. Please let us know what you think of this idea.

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• Page 2: Comments and news from 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 & 2006

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Cllr Arnie Gibbons 8744 9269 arnie_gibbons2004@yahoo.co.uk

Arnie Gibbons lives in North Twickenham with his partner and two cats. Before moving into the area three years ago he was previously a councillor in Islington where he served as lead member for Finance. While in that role he returned the council's finances to good health after years of Labour misrule had left the council nearly broke. He says: "I appreciate how important it is that our council continues to give value for money, and as a chartered accountant I believe I can provide the necessary scrutiny. My colleague Liz Jaeger has been a hard working and effective representative for Whitton. Being on the edge of the borough we need strong voices to ensure that Whitton gets its fair share of the borough's resources."

Cllr Liz Jaeger Tel: 8977 0785 E-mail: cllr.ljaeger@richmond.gov.uk

Roles: Planning Committee; Nelson School Governing Body; Whitton Community Association Executive Council; St Mary's University College Governing Body; Whitton with Heathfield Police Liaison Group; London Councils Culture, Tourism and 2012 Forum; Vice President Richmond Borough Scouts; Chair RFU Consultative Committee; Richmond Theatre Trust; Chair Alcohol Scrutiny Task Group

Liz Jaeger writes: I have lived in the borough with my husband Peter for over twenty years and have three teenage children. I first got to know the area in the late '70s when Peter began working at Kew Gardens. I too am a botanist, though my career has been mainly in government information and communication, with earlier experience in research and the publishing industry. I decided to stand for election following early retirement in 2005, and am delighted now to be in a position to put something back into the community that I have enjoyed living in for so long. In my spare time, I enjoy playing tennis, walking and gardening.

I was elected in May 2006. Back then we were campaigning on several issues - reinstating Whitton's town centre manager, more things for Whitton's young people to do, investing in Whitton School, doorstep plastic bottle and cardboard recycling, improvements to Murray Park . . I am very pleased to be able to say that we have delivered on all this and more. As well as the £22 million investment for the secondary school, there is £6 million to expand Chase Bridge School from two-form to three-form entry. And Nelson School has seen half a million pounds spent on a wonderful new foundation stage classroom.

Residents appreciate that Whitton is a very safe area to live, and I have always worked closely with our Whitton Safer Neighbourhood police team. As a regular attendee to police liaison group meetings it has been very rewarding to see how the group has steadily expanded and become an excellent forum for the community and local police to work together.

Planning issues have featured strongly in my time as a councillor. I have served on the planning committee for all four years, and have used this experience to help local residents with planning concerns. Recent successes for residents have included resisting an inappropriately large and dense development behind Vincam Close, and preventing several flats replacing a bungalow in Nelson Road.

One of my first encounters with planning was on behalf of 1st Whitton Scouts. This led to getting involved with the borough scouts more generally, and supporting their many events and endeavours. It was a great privilege to be invited to take up the role of vice president, and it pleases me hugely that the scouts are so big in Whitton. Whitton does have a great community spirit. As well as all the voluntary work of the scouts, there are many other volunteer groups working hard to make things better for Whitton. I have very much enjoyed getting to meet the people involved and trying to help where I can.

York Membery 07940 522 231 york.membery@btopenworld.com

York Membery lives off Whitton Road, North Twickenham, with his wife, Junia. He grew up in West London and is a journalist; in a career in the media spanning more than 20 years, he's worked on the Daily Mirror, Daily Express and Sunday Times; he now freelances for the nationals.

. . working for you all the year round!

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2010 results: Arnie Gibbons LD 2071 elected; Liz Jaeger LD 1999 elected; Gareth Elliott C 1827 elected; York Membery LD 1747; Roger Hackett C 1599; Annie Hambidge C 1516; Neil Wilton I 687; Keith Warren I 600; Jacqueline Morgan L 559 ; Julie Boyle I 552 ; Howard Marchant L 523 ; Martha Mackenzie L 491; Chris Hurst BNP 264.

Election, May 2006: Electorate 6474 Seats 3 Ballot Papers 3503 % Poll 54.1. Keith Warren LD 1845 Elected; Sarah Cole LD 1842 Elected; Elizabeth Jaeger LD 1774 Elected. Christopher Bligh C 1428; Nicholas Lait C 1371; Paul Maynard C 1306. Neil Browning L 190; Stephen Guichard L 182; Sampson Dalston Low L 165. Paul William Hampartsoumian Christian Peoples Alliance 65

2002: Hilary Dance C 1,443; Georgina MacKinney LD 1,392; Michael Morley C 1,386; Keith MacKinney LD 1,377; Patricia Pipe C 1,374; Keith Warren LD 1,353; Jacqueline Morgan Lab 346; Howard Marchant Lab 336; Stephen Guichard Lab 335

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