• [From Comments Summer 2010] HAM Threatened by New Council Cuts: The new Conservative Council is cutting services in Ham, although in a surprising secretive way they have made no public announcement - just told the staff they will be redundant in October! Since 2003 a Community Development worker has been employed in Ham, paid for by Richmond Council, the local NHS andRichmond Housing Partnership, to help those less well off to improve their lives and set up self help organisations, but sadly no longer.

• PARKING Charges Scrapped:Councillor David Williams has welcomed the Coalition Government's decision to scrap the charges inRichmond Park. At a meeting on 17 June with Royal Parks he asked theDeputy Chief Executive to stop the work on parking meters, but was told the work had to continue until the legislation passed under the previous Government in March was reversed.

David asked that John Penrose MP, the Royal Parks Minister, make a statement that the Government was going to reverse the legislation, and direct Royal Parks to stop any further work on charging for parking. When nothing happened following this meeting, he spoke to the Minister's private office, and was told a statement will be made after a meeting with local MPs on 30 June.

Finally, on 5 July the minister made the announcement that should have been made weeks ago. What is concerning us is that a toll has been suggested as a way to replace the income expected from the parking charges.

This would be seriously unacceptable to Ham, Petersham and Richmond. In 2001 when Richmond Park was closed because of worries about foot and mouth disease, the main road had rush hour traffic all day, except in the rush hour when we had near gridlock! And we strongly object to paying to drive intoRichmond Park.

David said, "None of this would have happened if the new Minister had made a statement earlier. And it would have been so much simpler, and saved public money, if the Tories in the House of Lords hadn't played political games on 10 March, and instead supported Baroness Jenny Tonge's motion to kill the charges there and then."

• LASS O' Richmond Hill: This well known pub on Queen's Road has seen a planningapplication submitted from the new owners. They want to convert it into four flats with a house and another flat at the rear. Local residents contacted David Williams who asked for the application to go to the Council's PlanningCommittee. David objected to the loss of the pub, for which the case had not been adequately made. Fortunately the plans were withdrawn last month before the application got to the PlanningCommittee.

• RIVERSIDE Open Space Protected: The open space with grass and trees in front of Burnell Avenue, near Teddington Lock, is a highly valued by residents. They were alarmed when the Council decided to dig a ditch along its entire length to prevent vehicles from crossing the grass. Residents had not been asked their views which were overwhelmingly negative. Besides ruining the open space concept, there was little evidence that cars were creating a problem.Happily, Brian was able to intervene before the ditch had gone any great distance and have the ditch filled in before a great deal of damage had been done. Brian said, " Happily common sense has prevailed."

• KINGSTON Hospital Success: The threat to maternity services and Accident and Emergency at Kingston Hospital has been a major concern locally this year. In January, former MP Susan Kramer found that the NHS were keeping their plans to restructure local NHS services, she and Kingston MP Ed Davey blew the whistle. Most of the options under consideration forKingston Hospital involved closing Maternity or A&E, or both.

• COMMENTS works! The Lib Dem team are pleased to report some progress since our last Comments leaflet on Teddington Lock. Our last Comments featured the problems of unauthorised houseboats moored in the river near Teddington Lock problem, Sue Jones was contacted by a senior manager at the Environment Agency. He told Sue that the Agency were concerned about the houseboat problems, and had not ignored the problem. Sue has now fixed up a meeting with him, Council officers and the local police. This might just make some progress in keeping the unauthorised houseboats under control, which has been a growing problem for the last two years. It's nice to know that all sorts of important people read Comments, and help us in our campaigns to improve our local community!

• HYDRO electricity at Teddington Lock? Some residents affiliated to theHam United Group are working on a project to harness water from the Teddington weir to generate low cost clean electricity. Susan Kramer MP has helped them with contacting DEFRA, the Government Ministry. If the scheme goes ahead it will generate enough electricity to run about 500 homes, and avoid producing about 800 tonnes ofCO2 every year. Brian, Sue and Davidare ensuring that Richmond Council is supporting the project. Things are moving quickly and the Environment Agency is now about to ask for tenders for the work. There will be stiff competition from the private sector, but the concept of a local community scheme producing low cost clean energy is very attractive. The results will be known later this year.

• LET down on Richmond Park:Conservatives refuse to back bid to kill offparking charges inRichmond Park for good 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 MPSusan 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."

• KEEP our Countdown displays: London Buses isplanning to install some more countdown timers in the borough - but our area is set to lose out. David Williams is taking this up with London Buses, and argued for more local Countdown displays, not less, at a meeting with them earlier this month. David objected to losing six of the seven displays locally, two of which have already disappeared. "We are one of the few places in London without any rail or tube" said David "It is essential that bus passengers are given as much information as possible about the 65 and 371 bus services."

• A SAFER Sandy Lane: The Council is taking action after parents in Lauderdale Drive collected a petition for a safer crossing of Sandy Lane for children travelling to school. A survey of traffic speed and vehicles and pedestrian numbers will be done later this year. David has asked the parents to get both schools to include in their School Travel Plans a safer crossing of Sandy Lane. This will allow the schools to ask Transport for London for a grant toward a better crossing. David has also asked, at the request of the petitioners, for Lauderdale Drive, Ashley Gardens andArlington Road to be made a 20 mph area

• [From Comments #206 July 2008]: MP still pressing for a new Grey Court School: Susan Kramer, our local hardworking MP is still pushing the Government to fund a brand new Grey Court School. Susan said, "I will keep up the pressure on the Government to fund this multi-million pound project as well as working with the local Council to keep improving Grey Court School". The Liberal Democrat council has worked hard with the new Head Teacher. Performance and standards are improving. It is becoming a popular choice school again. School parents including those at local primary schools will be consulted on any possible changes. Susan added, "I would like to congratulate the Head Teacher and the staff for the improvements achieved to date".

• ROOF of new house overhangs the pavement: LAST year a small house was built on the parking and garage area between 184 Petersham Road and 2 Cedar Heights. However, it has been built in the wrong place. Not only does the roof overhang the pavement, but the Reduce Speed Now sign has had to be turned to get the roof in. And the gutter will stick out even further over the pavement when added on. David Williams has been asking the Council to take action since local residents first complained last year. The owner has put in an application for a licence to overhang the pavement, which will be decided on this month.

• SUE Jones and Brian Miller have taken up several complaints of illegal flytipping on our open spaces. The worst problem is on Ham Lands by the road to Teddington Lock. The lock on the gate has been broken several times, and the posts by the gate have been knocked over. Sue Jones said, "I have asked the Council to ensure the gate is securely locked and for more posts. Otherwise the cost of removing the flytipping will soon exceed the cost of a better gate!"

• CROSSING Petersham Road: The long awaited pedestrian crossing by the Dysart Arms is almost ready. The main delay has been getting all the cabling installed by EDF. Brian Miller has been chasing up progress for some weeks, but success is imminent! We've been asking for a crossing here for over 30 years, and until recently we were told it wasn't possible with the awkward sight lines. Brian is pleased the engineers have found a satisfactory solution. Pedestrians should be much safer crossing between the pub and the park.

• PETERSHAM Common improvements: 2008 has seen major improvements at one of our local woodlands, and the stretch either side of Petersham Road looks better than for many years. A two metre wide strip has been cleared and seeded after all the drain laying. The kerbs on both sides of the road have been renewed. The drains in the road and below by the farm fence have been fully repaired.

• HAM Common Traffic: Success at last for residents and councillors. Yellow lines are to be put down by Martingales Close to make this complicated junction safer. Stopping careless parking here will mean fewer problems, and less risk of accidents. Brian and Sue have also taken up the problems on the south side of Ham Common. Brian Miller said, "Continuous parking tempts drivers to accelerate dangerously to get through the gap before a car coming the other way, and there have been several accidents recently. Some motorists have even driven on the grass to avoid the hold-ups". The Lib Dem team have proposed some gaps with yellow lines. These should be in place soon.

• TWO riverside "pocket parks" near Richmond Bridge have had major renovations, partly funded by the National Heritage Lottery. The only riverside open space still to be improved is Gothic Park, half way between the other two. David Williams said, "I am pressing the Council to improve this little park, as the others have been. There has been no access from Petersham Road to this open space, probably since Gothic House and Midhurst were demolished in the 1930s!". The wall is now in a dangerous state. When it is rebuilt, we want to see a new entrance with a ramp behind it.

• From Comments # 205 [February 2008]: 20 MPH zone for Ham: Parts of Broughton Avenue and Ashburnham Road will have 20 mph zones after residents raised concern about high traffic speeds and accident levels. David, Sue and Brian worked with traffic engineers to reduce speeds and the risk of accidents. Brian said, "Any scheme which reduces the risk of accidents is welcomed, particularly if the roads become safer to and from Meadlands, St Richard's and Grey Court schools."

• TERRACE Gardens improvements: Over a million pounds is being spent on long awaited improvements to Terrace Gardens and Buccleuch Gardens. Following the sale of Terrace Gardens Yard, part of the proceeds has been invested in the adjacent formal gardens. Work has started, and a steering group including Brian is monitoring the improvements which include renewing the paths, rebuilding the bandstand, better planting and wheelchair and buggy access for the less mobile.

• MONTHLY Police Surgery: Sue Jones and our local police team have set up a joint monthly surgery at the police office in Ashburnham Road, opposite Ham Library. Our local policing has been transformed by the very visible presence of our six strong police team, and crime locally has reduced considerably. If you have a problem or a concern you would like to discuss in confidence with either the police or a local councillor, or both, please come to the Ashburnham Road office between 3 pm and 6 pm to one of the Saturday surgeries.

• RECORD-breaking investment in local services: The Lib Dem controlled council has announced a record-breaking new investment programme of £165 million for the next five years. The programme includes: Over £107 million for local schools £15 million for new affordable housing £7 million in environmental improvements £1 million in improvements to youth centres Deputy Leader of the Council Stephen Knight said "We are determined to invest in our local public services and facilities while holding down council tax to the minimum possible. "We are not content with simply hoarding bigger and bigger reserves at the town hall." Over the same time the council also expects to spend some £25 million on roads and pavements using money from Transport for London.

• A NEW Grey Court?: Local MP Susan Kramer's campaign for a new Grey Court school is looking promising. Susan has had a positive response from Schools Minister Lord Adonis for a £30 million project to rebuild Grey Court as a joint Richmond and Kingston school. This would be on the site of the existing buildings. Susan Kramer commented "This plan would be the first of its kind, and recognises that Grey Court serves North Kingston as well as Ham, Petersham and Richmond." School would benefit both boroughs The school would benefit from governors as well as active involvement from both Richmond and Kingston Councils. Current and future parents will be consulted on this and other options. One possible option is to link with the Tiffin schools for sixth forms. Susan has worked very hard to get a new school both boroughs can be proud of, and thanks to her campaigning the Government could make this happen.

• DOUBLE yellow lines: In response to residents' concerns, your councillors have been negotiating with Highways officers to install double yellow lines to make certain locations safer. Consultation letters to residents in the affected roads will be sent out in early February. Proposed locations are: Petersham Road beside the Russell School to make access safer by foot to the German School. Langham House Close at the Ham Common junction so drivers can see oncoming cars more easily. Ashburnham Road between Croft Way and Broughton Avenue on the Church side to make it safer for children to cross. Wiggins Lane between Ham Street and Woodville Road (already in place.) Mowbray Road - double yellow lines on one side and pavement parking on the other side to allow ambulances and fire engines easier access. In addition, it is proposed to allow visitor parking at four bays in Nightingale Lane to ease the pressure on spaces. Brian with the first of several yellow lines to stop obstructive parking.

• PETERSHAM Nurseries restaurant access: Despite local opposition, Petersham Nurseries was granted temporary planning consent for mixed use of the restaurant and garden centre. Permission has only been granted for a year, on the promise that the car parking generated by the restaurant will be halved, as well as other conditions. Objections were on three grounds: Parking has reached saturation point in River Lane, Cedar Heights and Meadow Close, with nowhere else to park nearby. There are also difficult traffic problems at the Petersham Road junction, with large delivery lorries with only inches to spare, threatening the old walls of houses and the church. The site of the nurseries is also Metropolitan Open Land, which is supposed to be predominantly open space, and is next to Petersham Meadows, protected by an Act of Parliament as part of the famous view from Richmond Hill. The Council will be monitoring the parking and traffic situation this year to check that the conditions in the temporary planning permission are met.

• January 2008: £2m ENVIRONMENTAL improvements planned for five areas of the borough: Richmond Council's Cabinet is being recommended to approve spending of £2 million on the schemes over the next three years at its meeting on January 14. Shopping parades and other public spaces have been identified as the priorities for the five areas: Castelnau; Mortlake; HAM; the Hampton Nurserylands; and Heathfield. These have been identified in the Community Plan as being the borough's five areas of relative deprivation.

• [From COMMENTS # 204 June 2007]: Lib Dems invest in local services: After one year the Liberal Democrats are investing millions of pounds in key services for local people. Money from Council Tax reserves is being invested in improving secondary schools, the environment and facilities for young people. Despite already being the lowest spending council in London, the Liberal Democrats have managed to make additional savings of over £4.5m to keep Council Tax down and pay for key service improvements. The increase in Council Tax was only 0.3% above inflation compared to the Tories who in 2003 increased total Council Tax by 15.6% (12.7% above inflation). Here are some of the things which are being invested in:

• LIB Dems fight for better road safety: In 2001 the Petersham section of the A307 was made 20 mph, with "gateways" at each end, and a raised "table" was built at the pedestrian crossing by the Fox and Duck. In 2002 the crossing near Sandy Lane was also raised and a mini roundabout put in at the Sandy lane junction. After complaints about speeding traffic late last year, the police discovered that there isn't an offence of exceeding a 20 mph speed limit! All 20 mph zones should be self-enforcing. It gets worse. Cllr David Williams discovered that since 31 January 2003 all 20 mph zones must have traffic calming features, such as tables, cushions or road narrowing every 100 metres to be legal! Why Richmond Council did nothing about this David has been unable to find out, though the previous Conservative administration didn't like traffic calming schemes, even though they reduce accidents and injuries dramatically when installed. Even with the limited traffic calming for the last few years on Petersham Road accidents have significantly reduced. So reverting to 30 mph is not a realistic option to avoid more traffic calming. Leaflets were sent to every house in the 20 mph zone, and all the side roads outlining the proposals, which were also on display at Ham Library. About 80% of those consulted supported the extra tables and cushions. Work should start in July, but may be delayed until the school holidays. We have asked the Council to avoid, if at all possible, any night working and road closures.

• CRIME & Personal Safety - top priority: One of our big successes locally has been our Safer Neighbourhood Team. Since 2005 the local policing has been vastly improved and much more visible. Crime has gone down locally, and we are below the national average here, and well below the London average. Sue, Brian and David would like to thank all the police officers involved, particularly Sgt. Mick Neilson and PC Gareth Pring. Both sadly are moving this summer. They will both be a hard act to follow, but we are sure their replacements will take on the challenges and the problems with the same enthusiasm and success. Mike will be supervising a joint Kingston and Richmond boroughs team, and Gareth is joining the Youth Offending Team. Police Community Safety Officer Gurminder Dhanoa is also leaving, but you may see him as one of the new Transport PCSOs at the local stations and on the buses. Susan Kramer MP added, "We will keep crime and personal safety at the top of the local agenda. I will work hard with the local councillors and safer neighbourhood police team to make sure crime and personal safety are a top priority".

• NEW children's centre planned: The Liberal Democrats are delighted to announce a new Children's Centre is planned as an extension of St. Richard's School, Ham. This is one of three in the borough which will provide early education integrated with day care, child and family health services, family support, and help for children with special needs and their parents. A crèche and a drop in coffee shop are also planned, as well as a full time manager on site. The money for all this is largely coming from the Government. Cllr Sue Jones has been closely involved in the planning of this major local venture on which Meadlands School and St. Richard's have been working together. Subject to planning permission and tenders for the construction, work should start in the summer holidays. Sue is delighted that both Ham primary schools will get their nursery provision completely modernised as part of this project. Please contact Sue if you would like to know more.

• IN May there were three sets of squatters at 132 Richmond Hill, next to the Roebuck Pub. Liberal Democrat Cllr Brian Miller has been working to try and resolve the problems and has had the property made secure. It was bought about four years ago for £1,200,000 by an offshore company, who left it to rot. It is now owned by a bank, following the financial problems of the offshore company. The bank is putting it up for auction this month. Of course hundreds of thousands will be needed to make good all the damage. And it will be next year before this once attractive house is an asset to The Terrace, not an eyesore.

• PARKING by staff and visitors to Petersham Nurseries and its restaurant on part of Petersham Meadows will stop soon. The Council as landowners have terminated the lease of the land, which was only ever for turning vehicles, not parking them. A new lease for a smaller area just to turn vehicles is being negotiated. This land is both Metropolitan Open Land and protected from development by the 1902 Act safeguarding the view from Richmond Hill. · · · A Certificate of Lawfulness was applied for claiming that the restaurant use is ancillary to the nursery use. Since the restaurant has 120 covers and 20 staff, according to an article by the chef in January, this certificate was recommended for refusal by the Council's Planning Committee. A few days before the meeting, the application was withdrawn. We hope the owners will now at last submit a planning application that deals with the access, traffic, parking and the use of the site. Hopefully this is the advice from their planning consultants, too.

• SUE Jones has succeeded in getting money for Christmas lights from the Council, with matched funding being raised for some of this money by the traders on Ham Parade. Sue particularly wants to thank Fiona of Ham Pantry and Alison of Mervyn Smith who put a lot of work into this. "The shops on the Parade have always wanted Christmas lights as long as I can remember," says Sue, who has shopped there all her life. Ham Parade got a boost from the Council with a major improvement project five years ago. This is the refresher treatment for 2006. Please keep supporting our local shops as part of a brighter Christmas.

• RICHMOND Council, as part of the long list of Arcadia projects, are improving many of our local open spaces. Funding is from the Council and the National Heritage Lottery Fund. These include: Both of the historic avenues to Ham House, from Ham Common and from Petersham; Melancholy Walk, the avenue between Ham House and the Polo Club; Ham Street car park by the river, last renovated about 20 years ago; Ham Gate Avenue; and Ham Common.

• Phase 1 of this £3.1m project saw major improvements in Richmond to Terrace Field and Terrace Gardens, including the splendid renovated greenhouse. Phase 3 will improve the Richmond riverside pocket parks, never finished in the 1960s! And a separate scheme to improve Buccleuch Gardens on the river, and more work in Terrace Gardens, will start soon. This is all very good news for our historic and riverside open spaces, and must be our first news story covering Ham and Petersham and Richmond Riverside! Major environmental improvements

• HELP protect local youth facilities!: Last year we reported that Kew and Ham Football Club won the largest grant ever to a football club of over half a million to build their new pavilion and changing rooms at their ground in Riverside Drive, Ham. The new buildings will replace the 1950s buildings they inherited when they leased the ground from the Council. The club want to use their new facilities to channel the efforts of young people towards a safe and productive role in the community. · · · However, Sue Jones has discovered that the club does need help. Their existing pavilion has been burned down, glass has been broken on the playing field, goals have been damaged, and new £3,000 dugouts have been destroyed. All these incidents are reported to the police, but show no sign of stopping. Sue is taking this up with the Council and the police to see what can be done.

• AFTER the problems we had with the thoughtless contractors at Cassel Hospital, who threatened the badger sett by putting a portakabin in the wrong place, the problems moved to Craig House next door. The then Conservative controlled Council sold the closed old people's home to Wimpeys for development as flats. Sadly, one of the bidders for the site, who didn't win, was the Star and Garter Home, looking for a local 60-bed site for a small care home. Sue has ensured that their have been no badger problems at Craig House, and to be fair to Wimpeys, they have done everything needed. They have had more problems with squatters, though they have now been evicted.