John Coombs, Bob King and Bill Treble: councillors for Heathfield

cllr.jcoombs@richmond.gov.uk · · · cllr.bking@richmond.gov.uk · · · cllr.wtreble@richmond.gov.uk · · · Please scroll down the page for full details of roles, biographies, etc..

• 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.

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FROM COMMENTS Autumn 2007: • NEW Children's Centre for Heathfield: Work has commenced on the construction of a Childrens' Centre on the site of the disused caretaker's house in the grounds of the infant and junior schools. This is one of three to be created in the borough, the other two being in Ham and Barnes. Two of them are funded by the Government and one by the local authority. These Centres are designed to provide flexible services in communities that meet the needs of young children and their families. For parents and carers this can also include help with finding a job and training opportunities The new Centre will be a 'one-stop centre' that will provide: neighbourhood nurseries; out of school clubs; extended schools; and for children with special needs. A complete rebuild of the very popular Heathfield Nursery is included in the project which is expected to be completed by April 2008. In the meantime the nursery will be accommodated in an existing classroom in the Junior school with existing play equipment being fully utilised.

• HEATHFIELD Library: Recent rumours regarding the selling of Heathfield Library site being sold should be firmly discounted. The library site is being looked at by the local NHS Primary Care Trust (PCT) who want to find a location for a new health centre. The PCT want to move the services provided at the present Whitton Clinic, together with local GP and dental services to a centre that would have all these facilities under one roof . The new centre would also treat patients for a variety of complaints currently requiring attendance at hospital. The local Council would not sell this land to the PCT unless it received enough money to provide a new library near to the present one. The Council is working hard with its partners to complete negotiations before the very tight deadlines for the availability of Government money are reached. John, Bob and Bill very much welcome the possibility of a 'One-Stop Primary Care Centre staffed by a wide range of healthcare professionals and are doing what they can to move the scheme along.

• RECENTLY, a representative of London Buses accompanied Bob and John in Hospital Bridge Road and Powder Mill Lane together with an officer from Richmond Council, to examine at first hand the problems that have been raised by residents. The position of Hospital Bridge Road bus stops were examined and discussed. Your ward councillors suggested the re-positioning of one particular bus stop, be made permanent away from front doors of properties. Requests from residents have also been received for additional stops to be provided in Powder Mill Lane with particular reference to residents living a considerable distance away from a stop on the Woodlawn Park estate.

• AT the time of going to press we are still awaiting news on a planning application in Woodlawn Crescent. • John, Bob and Bill are supporting residents who are dismayed at the proposal to pull down a bungalow (pictured) and replace it with a block of four flats and a new bungalow This application follows a spate of overbearing applications in our area, which we have opposed. • Success! So far the planning department has agreed with residents and your local councillors, with a notable success in Heathside, off the Hanworth Road, where the planning committee turned down a similar application. The developers have appealed to central Government and we await the outcome. If the appeal is dismissed it will make it more difficult for developers to get permission for these applications in our area . • Lib Dem Action in Parliament Liberal Democrat MPs have tabled a bill in Parliament to stop developers building in back gardens. It will need the support of Labour or the Tories to become law. Neither party seems to want to support this bill.

• THE Woodlawn Crescent developer has appealed just as the eight week determination expired. John believes the developer realised that the planning department would recommend refusal for the scheme and that a Government appointed Inspector will be more likely to grant. John will make sure the Inspector knows local residents feelings on this application. • Hutchinson 3G have withdrawn their appeal in regards to the proposed telephone mast on the grass verge between Hanworth Road and Harvey Road.

• DOCTORS wanted: When the doctor retires this surgery has planning consent to become a children's nursery. Richmond and Twickenham Primary Care Trust (PCT), who have responsibility for providing doctors and dentists in our area, did not object. They have told John that there are now enough doctors in the area. The team would like to hear from any resident who has experienced any difficulty in registering with a doctor so they can pass this on to the PCT.

• ANOTHER Green Promise Met: Richmond Borough goes even greener from November with the introduction of cardboard and plastic bottle recycling. The new scheme will see rubbish and recycling collected on the same day. In Hampton waste collection day is Thursday.The new scheme means that all plastic bottles including milk cartons and even bottles that contained household cleaning products can be recycled. Your recycling and waste will be collected by different vehicles at different times of the day. At the beginning of the new service we also expect collections to take place up until 5pm. If you think your recycling has been missed please report it at www.richmond.gov.uk/waste_and_recycling online or by phoning 08456 122 660 after 3pm on the day of your collection. Heathfield Cllr John Coombs said : "Recycling cardboard and plastic bottles is vitally important if we are to protect the environment. Central Government is also going to increase charges on landfill waste so it makes good financial as well as environmental sense to recycle more."

• FROM COMMENTS March 2007: the Liberal Democrats will introduce the doorstep collection of plastic bottles and cardboard later this year, whilst retaining the weekly waste collection. Despite scare-mongering and lies by the Tory opposition, doorstep plastic bottle and cardboard recycling will be collected weekly from November as well as keeping the weekly residual waste collection. Prior to implementation there will be a massive education exercise to let residents know how and when their waste will be collected and importantly extra investment in new street collection vehicles which will be purchased later this year. The Tories have been claiming that the Lib Dem council was planning to collect residual household waste fortnightly rather than weekly. This simply isn't true.

Cllr Bob King said "We aim to have the best and greenest waste collection in London. Doorstep collection of plastic bottles and cardboard was a key election promise, which we will be delivering later this year. This will increase the recycling rate here and across the Borough". Cllr Bill Treble added "Recycling all recyclable waste is vitally important to protect our environment. Central government intends to impose increasing charges on waste, especially organic waste going to land fill sites, as land fill space is running out. Boroughs who do not meet recycling targets will be heavily penalised. More charges from central government mean more Council Tax so it makes financial as well as environmental sense for all of us to do all we can". The Council is hoping to encourage more residents to make use of the current food waste collection or for residents to compost their own organic waste. For more information contact one of your local councillors. Organic landfill is being particularly discouraged because it creates methane which is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2.

• THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS have launched a national campaign called "We can cut crime" which is a 5 point plan to tackle crime and help victims of crime. Priorities include putting more police on patrol and making prison work. Local Councillor John Coombs said "We want to hear local people's experiences with crime and their ideas on how to make our community safer". One resident local resident has done so already. A letter was written to local MP Vincent Cable regarding motorists driving the wrong way in Woodlawn Park Estate. They demanded action and the details have been passed to the local Police team. Residents have also reported that Wyndham Crescent is a popular venue at lunchtime for students of the Heathlands School over the border in Hounslow. There is a great deal of litter and the attention of the officers has been drawn to this problem, as it appears that one generates the other! Obviously, it is not possible to prevent youths gathering as long as the law is not being broken but it is hoped that some means will be found to discourage the littering. Cllr Bob King added "The problems of noisy motor scooters and mini-bikes were raised with the officer from the Community Safety Division". Bob will be raising the matter with the Safer Neighbourhood Police Team in an effort to see some action being taken.

• HEATHFIELD SCHOOLS: Plans are progressing well for a Children's centre to be built at Heathfield schools. This is part of the governments push to provide all public services for children under 5 in one place. The Nursery site has been chosen to provide these services for the Whitton area and John and Bill are active with the schools, council officers and the architects in seeing that a suitable and sustainable building is constructed. The government has provided enough money to renovate the current Nursery and provide some new building. It is planned to remove the disused caretakers house on the site to provide more play space for the Nursery children. Cllr John Coombs said "Unfortunately, Richmond did not succeed in obtaining money to rebuild a Primary school in the borough. The Liberal Democrat administration had decided that Heathfield schools would receive this money and the architects had produced some imaginative outline sketches of how these schools could be rebuilt. At least the Council was thinking in a 'joined up way' unlike the government".

• OUR local Primary Care Trust (PCT), a part of the National Health Service, has decided that the best way to improve the services of family doctors in the Whitton area will be to locate them in one place. They are looking at the site on the corner of Percy Road and Hospital Bridge Road, currently occupied by Whitton Community Centre and Heathfield Library, as being the ideal place for this. Bill, Bob and John have met with Council officials to discuss the implications. As the Council owns this land they have made it clear that they only accept the PCT's plans if a new community centre, library and carers centre for Homelink are an integral part of the plans. These plans will only be viable if housing is also included and Bob, Bill and John believe that any plans for the existing clinic on the opposite side of the road should be considered as part of this proposal. Cllr Bill Treble said "It's important that local health needs are considered very carefully and if changes are required it must not be at the expense of losing other community facilities".

• THERE are various traffic problems in Powder Mill Lane according to the time of day. Problems arise when parents collect children from school and again on Sundays when Heathfield Rec. is heavily used for football matches. Additionally there is the problem of the excessively raised speed hump near the entrance to Lyndhurst Avenue, to which Councillors have repeatedly drawn the attention of officers. Sudden heavy downpours earlier in the year caused flash flooding as the drains backed up at its Percy Road end and Officers and Councillors saw a home video of the experience taken by one of the residents, which graphically illustrated the problem. The Councillors are pressing for remedial action as soon as possible to address the situation.

• ON a recent visit to the Hounslow Heath estate with Officers of the Council, the state of the roads and parking areas was pointed out. John, Bob and Bill pressed for a joint project between the Council and Richmond Housing Partnership to repair the roads and parking areas on the estate, (The Council is responsible for the roads and RHP are responsible for the parking areas.) This would enable resources to be shared and save money.

• EMP-TREE STREETS: a tour of the ward by councillors and officers looked at several issues, including that of street trees. In Jubilee Avenue, concerned residents have pointed out to Bob King and John Coombs the lack of trees where some years ago they existed. The matter has been raised with the council and it is hoped that trees will be provided as soon as possible.

Cllr John Coombs

Tel: 8255 4133 E-mail: cllr.jcoombs@richmond.gov.uk

Roles: Cabinet Member for Libraries, Sport, Arts and Leisure; Planning Committee; London Councils (formerly ALG) - Culture and Tourism / 2012 Forum; London Local Authority Arts Forum; Richmond Theatre Trust.

John Coombs has lived in the borough since 1974 and in Percy Road since 1998. He was a Borough Councillor between 1992-1994 and 1996-1998 and was chair of the Economic Development Committee.

John is a governor of Heathfield Junior School, currently chair, and of Whitton School He served on the Richmond upon Thames Arts Council executive from 1992-2001, was its chair from 1999-2001;currently Vice-President.

John is a member of the Planning Committee and Health overview and scrutiny Committee

He is a board member of Richmond Housing Partnership representing Richmond Council, a member of Whitton Police liasion committee and represents Heathfield on the RFU consultative group.

Cllr Bob King

Tel: 8898 1556 E-mail: cllr.bking@richmond.gov.uk

Roles: Education and Children's Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee (Vice-Chair); Regulatory Committee; Standards Committee; South West Middlesex Crematorium Board.

BOB KING arrived in the Borough as a student from Richmond, Yorkshire and spent three years training to be a teacher at St. Mary's College, Strawberry Hill. Having previously been a member of Twickenham Conservative Association, he became active in Liberal politics in 1978, acting as agent in the 1982 Council election for Heathfield ward Liberal/SDP Alliance candidates. He was first elected to represent Heathfield residents in May 1986, becoming a member of the Education, General Purposes Committees, and later, of the Housing Committee. He was elected to the Council for the sixth time in May 2006. When the Liberal Democrats relinquished control in 2002, he became the minority group Education spokesman but later resigned from that position. He remained a member of the Regulatory Committee and over the last few months has spent much time in hearing licensing applications as a result of the new Licensing Act He is a part time Primary school teacher, due to retire at the end of July 2006 and is an active parishioner of St. Edmund's Church in Whitton where he leads the music from the piano at the weekly family mass and sings in the choir at the Sung Mass. Until recently he was a member of Whitton School Governors and is currently a member and a former chairman of St. Edmund's School Governors. In 2003 he completed nine years as a governor of St. Mary's College, Strawberry Hill representing the Borough. Upon completion of his term the University of Surrey awarded him the honorary degree of Master of the University. He was Deputy Mayor of the Borough in 1992-93 and Mayor for the year 1995-96, uniquely journeying from his home town, the senior Richmond in the North of England, to become first citizen of her eldest daughter!

Cllr Bill Treble

Tel: 8898 8543 E-mail: cllr.wtreble@richmond.gov.uk

Roles: Mayor of the Borough; Regulatory Committees; Reserve Forces and Cadets Association for Greater London; Richmond Parish Lands Charity.

I am married with four children and eight grandchildren and live in Whitton. I have lived in the borough since 1980. I worked for United Biscuits for 27 years, who I joined as a Senior Computer Programmer. My final 10 years with the company was as Computer Services Manager for the KP Foods Group, a subsidiary of United Biscuits, based in Twickenham.

I have always been interested in public service. I ran an Army Cadet Force unit for 6 years after National Service and I was in the Territorial Army, which became the T&AVR, for 11 years, reaching the rank of Captain and Battery Commander.

My main interest is education and I have been a governor of Waldegrave School for Girls since 1985 and I was on the Parents' Association for 4 years before that. I was Chair of Governors for seven years. I am a governor of Heathfield Nursery and Infant school. I am a past Chairman of Richmond College

I was deputy Mayor in 1999/2000 and I was Cabinet Member for Voluntary Organisations and Leisure in 1991/2. I am currently a vice chairman of the Regulatory and Licensing Committee and I am chairman of the Whitton and Heathfield Police Liaison Group.

. . working for you, all the year round!

Election, May 2006: Electorate 6599 Seats 3 Ballot Papers 3417 % Poll 51.78

Robert John King Liberal Democrat 1900 Elected

John William George Coombs Liberal Democrat 1875 Elected

William Frederick Treble Liberal Democrat 1745 Elected

Hilary Jane Dance The Conservative Party Candidate 870

Gillian Garrow The Conservative Party Candidate 783

Dawn Virginia Hayles The Conservative Party Candidate 776

Christopher Forster British National Party 557

Niki Costas Tanto The Labour Party Candidate 229

Jacqueline Louise Morgan The Labour Party Candidate 218

Simon Douglas Holmes Independent 218

Elizabeth Geraldine Mackenzie The Labour Party Candidate 212