The Kew Lib Dem team: Cllr Jean-Francois Burford and George Crozier
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- May 2010 Election %s: C 46.0; LD 45.7; L 8.3; G 0; I 0. C gain 2; LD hold 1 [JF Burford].
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2010 News:
- [Autumn 2010] Cllr J-F Burford writes: 5 MONTHS ON...Since the election back in May, I have been working with residents and council officers to try and resolve local issues; some personal and specific to individuals, others that affect Kew Ward as a whole.
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These include: liaising with TfL, residents and KRA to stop the cutting down of 5 trees along the Mortlake Road; repairing street lights across the ward; getting involved in social housing needs; trying to help stop the over-development of the Inland Revenue site and looking into the removal of dangerous bus stops and road crossings. |
I have also been working on some new initiatives, which include setting up a farmers market in the village, getting residents involved in building a community garden in North Road and looking at the possibility of creating a youth music festival at the Old Deer Park. In addition, I have been out with our community police officers to see first-hand how they are safeguarding our streets and helping to reduce crime. |
- AS shadow spokesperson for arts, sports and libraries in the borough, I have met up with the council department heads and organisations responsible for delivering a full and diverse programme of events and activities across the borough. My aim is to continue to serve the people of Kew and make a difference to our community by getting involved in issues and initiatives that matter to you. To follow my progress, visit my blog at kewlibdems.org.uk .
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- NORTH Road triangle: a proposed design for a community garden is in consultation at the moment. The design was donated by Land Girls. If you have not yet seen the design go to the junction of North Road and High Park Avenue and the plans are on the old fence. Alternatively, you can go to www.richmond.gov.uk.
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- FARMERS Market In Kew Village: At the moment the capital set up cost for a farmers market is TOO high For the market to go ahead. I am organising another meeting with the council and Kew Society and London Farmers Market to see how we can resolve the issue and have a trial market for the spring.
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- SHOULD Kew Allotments Be Able To Feed Kew? Local residents have been asking if our individual allotments could be run as a co-operative where the vegetables and fruit grown could then be sold to the local community. What do you think?
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- CYCLE Hire In Kew: The council have introduced their own cycle hire scheme at Richmond Station called Bike N Ride. Daily charge is £10 or weekend rate £25. Should Kew join the scheme? Or link up with Barclays Bicycle Hire?
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- MORTLAKE Road: I have asked for the placement of the crossing and bus stops at the junction of Taylor Avenue and West Hall Road to be moved after residents complained that they were dangerous to pedestrians. Again I am waiting for a reply but will keep you informed on the progress.
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- LIBRARIES Under Review: I have had discussions with council officers about the possibility of our borough libraries being in danger of being closed due to the Government cut backs. All the libraries in the borough are under review and that includes Kew Library. I will keep you posted.
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- THE Kew Safer Neighbourhood are looking for street coordinators. To get involved call Sgt Tim Webb: 07879 433392 or 8721 2930.
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- [April 2010]: CYCLE racks for Kew Station: The Lib Dems are campaigning to get improvements for cyclists at Kew station. Local campaigner George Crozier, has written to council Cabinet member for transport, Cllr David Trigg, to ask for better bicycle parking at the station. George said, "At the moment there just are not enough places for cyclists to park their bicycles before getting on the train. "With more and more people trying to travel in an environmentally friendly way, we need to make it as easy as possible for people to do their bit." "That's why I'm asking the council to install more bicycle racks." Please do let the Lib Dem team know if there are any other improvements you would like to see at the station.
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- CAR Club review - let us know your views: JF Burford writes: The Lib Dem team want to know your views about the car club places in Kew. There are 7 bays in Kew (operated by three companies): on Kew Green, Station Parade, Gainsborough Road, The Avenue, North Road, Kew Gardens Road and Lichfield Road. The scheme has been hugely successful across the borough, letting people cut their pollution. Research shows that each car club car replaces between 6 and 20 privately owned vehicles. Car clubs are privately operated 'pool cars' and members of the club can book a car as little as an hour before use. Bookings can be for an hour, for 2 to 3 days or longer and is cheaper than conventional car hire.
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- NORTH Road Improvements: Cllr Serge Lourie writes: Work to upgrade the footway and cycleway at the junction of the A316 and North Road is currently taking place. It affects North Road, Orchard Road, Market Road, Manor Grove and Bicester Road. I am delighted that Transport for London is improving the cycle route in this part of the ward. "The work is part of our commitment to improving cycling in the borough." The engineer responsible for these works at TfL is Carl Jones, who can be contacted by email on carl.jones@tfl.gov.uk.
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- LOCAL people let down: Conservatives in the House of Lords refused to support a Lib Dem 'fatal motion' that was the only way to stop the Government's legislation. Local MP Susan Kramer said, "It was great to see so many people come to Westminster to make their voices heard. "But I am saddened that the Conservatives refused to join us to stop these charges once and for all. "I want local people to know that I'll keep on fighting tooth and nail to stop these plans. Conservatives refuse to back bid to kill off parking charges in Richmond Park for good.
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2009 News:
- [From Comments Winter 2009-10]: NEW year gas works frustration: The local Lib Dem team are frustrated at the lack of notice by National Grid about plans to dig up many of Kew's pavements in the new year. The council were only told about the works to upgrade gas pipes at the end of October. Local campaigner George Crozier said, "We recognise that this work is necessary for safety reasons but I am very unhappy about the short notice National Grid have given us. "Recently refurbished pavements on Bushwood, Priory, Forest and Maze Roads are now going to be dug up again. "If National Grid had given more notice they could have co-ordinated the work." The council is working with National Grid to keep disruption to a minimum, and work has been scheduled to make sure that no one will be left without gas supply overnight. For more information contact the National Grid helpline on 0800 096 5678.
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- NORTH Sheen Pavilion takes shape: Work has started on the £1 million pavilion at North Sheen Recreation ground. When completed it will provide changing facilities for all local young footballers, a club house which will be available for community usage and an office for them Available to whole community It will also have excellent facilities, including a café, that will be available for the whole community. Local campaigner Jean-Francois Burford said, "We are really interested in hearing from community groups who would like to use the building". We want to hear your views about: - How should the facilities be managed? - Should there be a crèche or youth club? - What sort of café should there be?" Please contact Cllr George Beevor or get in touch with J-F Burford, the chair of Kew Park Rangers on 07712 579380 or jfsburford@hotmail.com.
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- IMPROVEMENTS to Kew Triangle: Cllr Serge Lourie has been working with the Kew Society, local police and the hostel in North Road to see if the strip of land by the bridge in High Park Avenue can be tidied up and made an asset for the local community. The site has been an eyesore for many years and has attracted flytipping. Serge Lourie said "I am delighted that these groups are taking the initiative to deal with this site. It is a blot on Kew." "I have been working to see if the council will take responsibility for the site after it has been improved. The improvement work would be undertaken by "Community Payback" scheme, where people convicted of less serious offences give something back to the community.
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- MORTLAKE Road bus stops Local campaigner George Crozier has written to Transport for London to ask for a review of the bus stops and islands in the Mortlake Road. At present they appear to make the road more dangerous than before. George said "I think they been installed without any real thought. I have asked the Chair of the London Assembly's Transport Committee to come to Kew and see the problem first hand."
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- COMMUNITY toilet scheme in Kew: One of the popular initiatives started by the Liberal Democrats on Richmond Council has been the Community Toilet Scheme. After a pilot a few years ago, about a hundred toilets in pubs, cafés, and offices around the borough are now open to the public. The Council pays the pub or café £600 a year to allow unrestricted access to the toilets. This is very much cheaper, and offers many more toilets, than the traditional public toilets, which are very expensive to maintain. In Kew, Kew Gardens Hotel, Marks & Spencers, St Luke's in the Avenue, The Coach and Horses and The Railway have joined the scheme, as have 14 places in Richmond. Just look for the Community Toilet sign outside.
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- From Comments Summer 2009: THE Former Inland Revenue Sorting Office: The Lib Dem team are arguing that an application for the former Inland Revenue site should be rejected as the developer is being greedy and trying to get too much on the site. The application is to build six five storey buildings comprising 111 self-contained flats and maisonettes, an 80 room care home, commercial/office space of 15,000 sq ft and car parking for 168 vehicles at basement level. A decision is expected in September. Your ward councillors consider that this is an overdevelopment of the site and will be arguing that the planning committee turn down the application. Plans would overdevelop the site Cllr Serge Lourie said: "We are working closely with the Kew Residents' Association as we believe that this five storey scheme is an over-development of the site." "We hope that as many people of possible will register their objections." This can be done by email to envprotection@richmond.gov.uk. You can also write to Development Control, LB Richmond upon Thames, Civic Centre, Twickenham TW1 3BZ. The reference is 09/0610 (141)
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- KEW Liberal Democrats are continuing their campaign to get Tesco to go plastic bag-free. The team was out in Kew at one of their regular first Saturday street surgeries collecting signatures for a petition to persuade Tesco to stop handing free plastic bags to shoppers. Store should follow the example of other local shops Cllr Serge Lourie has written to Terry Leahy, Tesco CEO, to ask him to change the system in Kew and follow the example of Marks and Spencer at the retail park where people are expected to bring their own bags. Cllr Shas Sheehan said "We want to persuade Tesco that saving the environment is important and that they should stop handing out disposal plastic bags to all shoppers." Local resident, George Crozier, said "I strongly support this campaign and Greener Kew. "We want to be as environmentally friendly as possible and excess packaging is one area that we can improve."
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- [From Comments Febrary 2009]: GO-AHEAD for North Sheen Pavilion: the Liberal democrat Council has given the go ahead for the North Sheen pavilion with young players from the team.The new pavilion will be built on the footprint of the existing derelict building and has already received planning consent. Cllr Serge Lourie said; "We are delighted that his project is, at last going ahead." "One of our key pledges was to provide better facilities for young people in the borough and this will definitely be an enormous asset to Kew and to the borough."
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Jean-Francois Burford, Chair of Kew Park Rangers, said: "We are delighted that the pavilion is at last going to be built. It has been a long process but it will be an enormous benefit to the local community and to KPR". "We are extremely grateful to the Football Foundation , which is investing over £600,000 in this project; the council for its investment of £300,000; and the parents of the footballers, who have contributed £50,000." The council is going out to tender for the project, and work is due to start in April 2009, with the new facilities due to open at the end of April 2010. |
- FORMER Inland Revenue Sorting Office: Parkway properties have been consulting local residents about their plans to redevelop the old Inland Revenue Sorting Office, adjacent to the National Archive The plans would include four storey blocks of flats, some offices, a care home and possibly a local shop. They will be putting in a planning application later this year. Serge Lourie, who was shown round the site by the owners, said: "Clearly this site needs to be redeveloped as it is a key site in an important part of Kew. I think we will need to study the plans once they have been submitted, but I would be interested to hear what local residents think."
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- 18 STATION Parade: A proposal to build a single storey retail unit and office space under the listed bridge over the railway has been turned down by the Council. The Kew Residents' Association are opposing the proposal as it involves the demolition of a listed small brick outbuilding. Cllr George Beevor would be interested in hearing your views on cllr.gbeevor@richmond.gov.uk or 07946 608681. You can see the plans on the Council website at www.richmond.gov.uk. The references are 08/3373/LBC and 08/3372/FUL
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- TESCO still refuses to go plastic bag-free: Kew became one of the first places in London to banish plastic bags from shops when eco- friendly traders launched the scheme. Cllr Shas Sheehan said; "I am really pleased that the scheme has proved so popular. Now several shops have even produced their own Hessian bags, including Pethers the butchers who are always happy to exhibit phots of their bags in exotic locations! However, not all shops are co- operating. Cllr Serge Lourie said; "In spite of promises at the time, Tesco remains solidly indifferent to the scheme and continues to offer free plastic bags to customers." Kew Councillors are planning a potential demonstration on 2nd May outside Tesco in Kew to put pressure on them to go plastic bag-free. Can you join us? Email cllr.slourie@richmond.gov.uk or contact by phone on 020 8876 3545. Join the protest
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- SANDYCOMBE Road to get flashing speed sign: It will flash a 30 miles per hour slow down warning to vehicles coming too fast from the A316. This is following concerns from residents and councillors about speeding here. Cllr George Beevor, who has campaigned against excessive speed said "I think this will be a real benefit to local residents." "Signs of this type are used across the borough and have been very effective in improving road safety."
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2010 results: Meena Bond C 2858 elected; Jean-Francois Burford LD 2767 elected; David Linnette C 2715 elected; Serge Lourie LD 2709; George Crozier LD 2660; David Nelson C 2630; Dominic Dalglish L 530; James Hurst L 477; Gareth James L 471.
May 2006: Kew Electorate 7133 Seats 3 Ballot Papers 4038 % Poll 56.6 Serge Lourie LD 2089 Elected Shaista Sheehan LD 1972 Elected George Beevor LD 1934 Elected Robin Jowit C 1674 David Linnette C 1539 Sarah Keen C 1523 Sylvia Levi G 424 Kate Segall L 203 Gareth James L 190 Joao Silva L 144
2002: Robin Jowit C 1,391; Alexander Lourie LD 1,339; Anthony Barnett LD 1,330; Emma Winsor-Cundell C 1,327; Andrew James C 1,314; Ian Hunter LD 1,252; Margaret Robson Lab 357; John Fowler Lab 341; David Butler Lab 303
