Category Archives: Development

Stop expansion by stealth: The Cranford Agreement Bill

Development, Heathrow

The long-standing practice known as ‘The Cranford Agreement’ has avoided easterly departures off Heathrow’s northern runway over Cranford, wherever possible. It means that when the airport is operating on easterlies, most departures use the southern runway and arrivals generally use the northern runway. Alternation is not therefore used on easterly operations.

Stemming from an undertaking given at a public meeting in 1952, the Agreement was designed to protect the residents of Cranford, close to the eastern end of the northern runway, from the high noise levels experienced on the ground from departing aircraft.

In January 2009 the Labour Government announced it was ending the Agreement, which will substantially reduce the quality of life of Cranford residents. Furthermore, by reducing the restrictions on flight patterns (and distributing noise pollution more evenly), more intense usage of the two existing runways will be possible: expansion by stealth.

I hope that a cross party consensus can be formed in the boroughs affected by the loss of the Cranford Agreement and “expansion by stealth” to work together in re-securing The Cranford Agreement through primary legislation and delegating monitoring/ regulatory powers to the local authorities affected. The report I have just published sets out how this could be achieved by using powers under the 1972 Local Government Act. On Tuesday night the Liberal Democrat Group Alternative Budget will including funding for Hounslow’s contribution to such an initiative.

Regenerating Gunnersbury Park, local history museum and mansions – A way forward

Development, Gunnersbury Park
In the past few week’s we’ve had hot air from our Labour MP which clearly really frustrated the Tory Leader of Hounslow Council. I have some sympathy with his view. With just three days until our Budget meeting for the 2010/11 we need solutions, not more waffle.

Over the past few months Joe Bourke and I — with input of several local people — have been working on how the £8.2m funding gap could be resolved. On Friday I shared with other political group leaders on Hounslow Council the short report ‘Regenerating Gunnersbury Park, local history museum and mansions – A way forward’ that is the result of this effort.

The report picks up on our call for substantial investment in these local assets in January and provides the detail behind this element of our Alternative Council Budget announced last week. Our more detailed work set out in this report has concluded that the best model for investment would be to borrow the £8.2m London Borough of Hounslow needs to contribute to the regeneration through ‘prudential borrowing’ and repay the capital and interest over 25 years.

If you have thoughts on the paper and our proposals for a way forward please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Thames Water to fight Mogden abatement notices

Development
Just before Christmas the battle for a fair deal for residents over Mogden entered its latest phase as three Abatement notices were finally issued. This was a key milestone in the battle for better treatment of local residents by Thames Water. MRAG and Cllr Jon Hardy are to be congratulated in their persistence. It was good to see Jon get the recognition he deserves in the Hounslow & Brentford Times as Thames Water, unsurprisingly, announced they will be appealing against the Abatement notices. In my view the Leader of the Council was unduly credited for Jon’s work in the local media before Christmas.
Along with my colleague Vince Cable MP I have argued that given the unfortunate expansion of the plant approved last year it is essential the six storm water tanks are covered.
For residents that witnessed the Mogden expansion S106 agreement coming back to the Sustainable Development Committee last Autumn it would have been a depressing experience – any meaningful debate was quashed. Some days after the meeting I am pleased to say that one of the key concerns that Cllr Hardy and I pressed on was addressed with the agreement text being revised to read: “……which will be undertaken by an external INDEPENDENT specialist consultancy TO BE JOINTLY AGREED BETWEEN THAMES WATER AND THE LONDON BOROUGH OF HOUNSLOW.”
This revised text seems like a good step forward. In implementing this clause though it is vital is that the procurement process is open and transparent and that a cross section of local councillors are involved. I wonder how quickly the Terms of Reference will be drafted?
Cllr Hardy is rightly – at times against the odds – trying to get the different stakeholders to work together to control the blight that is the Mogden stench. It is tough, but thank goodness someone with his tenacity is ensuring residents’ concerns are heard within the council.