Whitton Winter 2007/8 Report

1.59.00pm GMT Mon 28th Jan 2008

By councillors Sally Cole, Liz Jaeger and Keith Warren . .

• INVESTING in Whitton's Schools: The Liberal Democrat Council is committed to improving educational facilities in the borough and will be investing the excessive reserves hoarded by the Tories. There will be a substantial investment at Whitton School to enable students to be taught in first class surroundings. Discussions are continuing with the Governing Body to develop an imaginative scheme. Whitton Lib Dem Councillor Keith Warren says "We were very disappointed when Whitton missed out to Teddington for the government money to rebuild, so these plans are very welcome and will make a real difference for local children." And youngsters at Nelson School can look forward to brand new classrooms later this school year. A contract to build new foundation stage classes for the reception year children has recently been awarded. The half million pound building work will significantly improve the learning environment by replacing undersized classrooms, and should be completed by spring 2008.

• PEDESTRIAN Safety Improved: Following concerns raised by local residents and particularly parents at Chase Bridge, the junction between Kneller Road and Warren Road has been made safer for children and their parents walking to school by building out the kerb and realigning the pedestrian refuge. This follows consultation with nearby residents, of which two thirds were in favour. Cllr Sally Cole said "Road safety, particularly near Whitton's primary schools, is one of the single biggest concerns local people have raised with us, so I'm pleased to see these additional measures. Further improvements are being looked into for 2008, including the possibility of moving the bus stops to improve sight lines. We will of course be monitoring how well the new measures work, and would like to hear local residents' views on the matter."

• PLANS to Expand Mogden: Residents, particularly to the north east of Whitton, will be aware that Thames Water are planning to expand the Mogden sewage works site in 2008. The intention is to reduce storm sewage discharging into the Thames, but people are concerned about large-scale expansion when work on odour control is yet to be completed. Whitton councillors are monitoring the situation, and earlier in the year Cllr Liz Jaeger arranged with Thames Water to extend their public consultation from just one day to a week, giving residents more opportunity to view the proposals at Whitton Library. Thames Water's planning application is due to be submitted to Hounslow Council in the near future.

• RECYCLING In Whitton: Whitton's local Lib Dem Councillors fulfilled an election pledge by getting plastic bottle recycling facilities installed at the Whitton Library car-park recycling site. The site now also has facilities for recycling plastic bags. In addition, following concerns about the bins overflowing, Councillors have succeeded in getting extra recycling bins added and the layout rearranged.

More at: http://www.richmond.libdems.org.uk/pages/Whitton.html