Michael Wilson, David Trigg and Denise Carr: councillors for Twickenham Riverside

cllr.mwilson@richmond.gov.uk . . cllr.dtrigg@richmond.gov.uk . . cllr.dcarr@richmond.gov.uk Please scroll down the page for full details of roles, biographies, etc..

• [From COMMENTS Summer 2008]: LIB Dems renewing the riverside for local people: Over the last year, the Council has been in consultation with local residents, community groups and businesses on plans to regenerate the Twickenham riverside site which has been derelict for so long. With the Environment Trust's exciting River Centre at the heart of these plans, we have been looking in detail at open space, community use, traffic, parking, flooding and the Embankment itself - and the type of residential/commercial development required to fund the scheme at no cost to council tax payers. In April, the Council agreed a Development Brief for the site. This includes a preferred option for the layout including the scale and location of the River Centre, the enabling residential development (19 % of the site), high quality, sustainable build and landscaping, and improved traffic and parking - which includes removing the bulk of the current Embankment parking to the rear of the site. Improving and repairing the Embankment In addition, a £1m Embankment project, covering the riverfront from Wharf Lane to Champions Wharf, will be progressed to ensure integrated improvement of the whole frontage.

Cllr Denise Carr said, "A small number of houses and flats (3 storey houses on the rear service road and 3 or 4 storey flats on Wharf Lane) is expected to raise £4m. This will be used to fund the shell of the River Centre (£2.5m) and the other infrastructure/open space improvements (£1.5m) to the site. The enabling development will take up about 19% of the site, and we are committed to maximising the amount of open space and to re-providing the playground". The Environment Trust is responsible for funding the fitting out of the River Centre. The Council and the Environment Trust are working hard to make sure the plans for the overall project and the River Centre are financially sound. The Council is determined to renew this site but at no cost to the taxpayer.

Cllr David Trigg added, ""The next step is to find the right potential developers. We must make sure that they understand residents' concerns that the size and scale of the enabling residential development be kept to the minimum and that the highest standards of quality and sustainability are built into any scheme. Applications have been invited with a view to selecting the best developers to be invited to submit site plans. These will then be presented for full public consultation next Spring." Although the Conservatives began the Twickenham Challenge which eventually led to the Liberal Democrats selecting the River Centre for the site, they are now trying to wreck these plans.

Cllr Michael Wilson added, "The Conservatives have announced a unfunded and uncosted plan which demotes the River Centre to a 'boathouse'. They have also attacked the hard work by local volunteers of the Environment Trust to score political points. This is particularly hypocritical given that they were going to sell off land as part the Twickenham Challenge process. We will continue to work with local people, amenity groups and the Environment Trust to finally renew this site". How the riverside will be divided up: 25 % new open space; 34 % improved open space (including improved roadway); 9 % river centre footprint; 19 % residential footprint, including private garden areas; and 13 % for the new service road & car parking to the rear of the site.

• Twickenham Riverside: The Council's principal development objectives

• Twickenham River Centre

• Environment Trust for Richmond upon Thames

• NEW crossing at St Stephen's: A new pedestrian refuge on Richmond Road by St Stephen's Church has just been completed in an attempt to make crossing the road safer. The refuge, which has involved slight changes to the position of the bus stops, will make it safer for people crossing the road at this point. Cllr David Trigg said, "A lot of people cross at this point to get to the Church or the Crossway Hall and with bends at either side on this road it is always very dangerous, especially for the elderly or those people with children". Cllr Denise Carr added, "This pedestrian refuge will give people the chance to cross safely. It may also help to slow traffic down at this corner. We have worked with local residents to slightly re-position the bus stops as well as adding some double yellow lines to reduce unsafe parking near the refuge and bus stops.

• CAMBRIDGE Parade Post Office Closed - despite protests Post Office Ltd has closed the Cambridge Park Post Office branch, ignoring protests from residents, your councillors and local MP Vincent Cable. Cllr Michael Wilson said: "Post Office Ltd shamefully ignored all our protests and clearly had no intention of listening to local people." Your councillors are now looking at ways the Council can support the remaining branches across the borough, to prevent any further closures. Cllr David Trigg added, "From April next year you will be able to pay your council tax and most other council bills at any local post office branch". Twice the Conservatives failed to support motions at Council condemning these closures. The Lib Dems were disappointed not to have cross-party support on this issue.

• GOING, Going, Gone! The derelict toilet block in Cambridge Gardens is going to be demolished and the green space will be protected by a new 'Friends of Cambridge Gardens' group. Despite attempts by a local cafe owner to use the block and some of the land for a new cafe, many local residents felt the plans were inappropriate. They worked with local Councillors to get the toilet block pulled down for good. Cllr Denise Carr said, "I am delighted that this derelict building which has become such an eyesore is to be pulled down. A new Friends group for these beautiful, riverside gardens will help to build on the improvements made to the pathways and planting under the Arcadia in the City scheme and with the help of local volunteers. They will be supported by the Richmond Environment Network which promotes environmental activity, bio- diversity and sustainability in the borough." For more information, contact Colin Cooper at REN: 8831-6142 or www.richenvironmentnet.org.uk

• PROBLEMS with pubs, clubs or other anti- social behaviour? The best thing local residents can do if they are experiencing anti- social behaviour is to report it to your local Safer Neighbourhood Police Team. Details for the police team are below. The weekend noise service offered by the council which operates on Friday and Saturday 10 pm - 3 am can be reached on 07944 038495. Cllr Michael Wilson said, "If residents experience repeated problems the best things to do are to report it and keep a record of it in a diary form." Your Lib Dem councillors are committed to tackling all forms of anti-social behaviour in our area. Please remember in the event of an emergency to always dial 999.

• TWICKENHAM Town Centre Manager: Esther Worboys has left her position as the TCM. We are now looking to recruit for her position. This post, which in part looks after all of the festivals and other community events and the general economic well being of the town centre. Could you be the new Twickenham Town Centre Manager? For more information about the work of the Town Centre Management Board and the role of the Manager, see www.twickenhamtown.co.uk or contact Cllr Denise Carr for a chat. Many thanks must go to Esther and the Town Centre Management board for all their hard work over the years.

• COMMUNITY TV comes to Twickenham - have you seen it yet?: 10 plasma screens have been installed at locations across the borough, including the Civic Centre and Twickenham and Richmond Stations. They broadcast sound-free community messages from the Council, the police, the PCT (Primary Care Trust) and local community groups. Important information on crime reduction, community action, local emergencies, weather and much more for residents and visitors. Let us know what you think.

• GREEN Flag award for York House Gardens: The Council has been awarded 4 prestigious Green Flags by The Civic Trust this year, including one for the public gardens at the rear of the York House Council offices. Green flags recognise the best green spaces in the country - which are welcoming, well- maintained, safe and encourage community involvement. Visit these magical gardens soon while the sun is still shining.

• NEW Pelican Crossing outside York House Cllr David Trigg says "In response to complaints from residents about safety, the Council has replaced the dog-leg/bus gate crossing with a new pelican crossing and improved the paving in front of the York House gates. Pedestrian safety is a priority along the busy Richmond Rd and we are committed to improving provision wherever possible."

• THE next Area Consultation Meeting will take place in The Salon at York House on 14th October 2008 at 7.30pm. Members of the public are invited to come and meet your local councillors and raise any issue of concern.

From COMMENTS winter 2007/8: A flag ship eco-friendly River Centre, offering river- related and environmental education and leisure opportunities for all ages and abilities, will be part of new development plans for the old baths site. The Twickenham River Centre will be run by the Environment Trust (ET) and will include a café, toilets, boat hire and much more. In July 2007 the Council started a consultation exercise with local residents, businesses and community groups with a view to producing a new Development Brief for the whole site which will have the River Centre at the heart of the development, opening up the site for a range of leisure activities for young and old. As well as maximising public open space and improving the embankment, the Council is keen to promote the highest environmental standards and for the development to contribute to the economic vitality of the town centre. Once a Development Brief has been agreed, the Council intends to work in partnership with a developer to achieve a scheme that will deliver the agreed community benefits with the minimum enabling development - whether residential or restaurant/café - necessary to ensure a financially viable scheme.

• ANOTHER Green Promise Met: Richmond Borough went even greener from November with the introduction of doorstep cardboard and plastic bottle recycling. The new scheme means that all plastic bottles including milk cartons and even bottles that contained household cleaning products can be recycled. There were a few inevitable teething problems, some missed collections and the need to hire extra collection vehicles, when the scheme was introduced. However by the end of the November recycling rates had topped 40% and many more households had started recycling for the first time. For Twickenham Riverside ward, collection day is Wednesday except for a few properties on the border with South Twickenham ward which are collected on Friday. Your recycling and waste will be collected by different vehicles at different times of the day. If you live in a block of flats please contact the team about how you can participate. 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. "Recycling cardboard and plastic bottles is vitally important if we are to protect the environment. Central Government is increasing charges on landfill waste so it also makes financial sense to reduce landfill waste." said Cllr Michael Wilson " It is frustrating that there have been some teething problems with the implementation of this scheme . I am grateful for residents' patience and hopefully these problems have now been ironed out." said Cllr Denise Carr.

• SAFE Crossing Point for St Stephen's Church: The Council has been consulting local residents and those who use St Stephen's Church and Crossway Hall on plans for a refuge to make crossing the road safer on this difficult turn. To ensure traffic safety, the proposal necessitates changes to the bus stops and some loss of parking, but the response has been largely positive. The proposal will now go to a public meeting of the Transport Consultative Group prior to a decision being made. Cllr Michael Wilson, who recently got married at this church, says: "I am delighted that the growing number of people who need to cross safely at this location will have a refuge. Children and adults with mobility problems will

• CCTV for York Street: Residents who battled for CCTV in York Street to help prevent and detect late night, alcohol induced anti-social behaviour have been successful. This area, a hotspot for incidents on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, will have a camera installed. Cllr Denise Carr welcomed this investment: "CCTV can be very effective in making our town centre safer. Some 27% of British teenagers now admit to getting drunk regularly, and binge drinking admissions to local hospitals are increasing - strong policing and enforcing licensing conditions will help local residents and may encourage binge drinkers to think again."

• SERVICES for Children & Families in Richmond upon Thames are "outstanding" according to Government inspectors. The highest Grade 4 has been achieved in Ofsted's annual performance assessment, with provision for looked-after children and those with disabilities highly praised. And in the same week, CSCI (Commission for Social Care Inspection) awarded the highest 3 star rating to Adult Social Services for the first time, highlighting the successful partnership working with health, the voluntary sector and individual users and carers, and the excellent prospects for further improvement.

• PROTECTING Twickenham's Historic Waterfront: Twickenham's historic working waterfront is constantly at risk from the loss of working boatyards, lack of mooring facilities and damage to the embankment walls. Thanks to pressure from local residents, community groups and the Richmond Environment Trust, a survey of the embankment walls was carried out at the drawdown in November 2006 and an action plan has been developed. Now, the whole of the waterfront needs to be looked at as part of the plans for the old baths site and the embankment up to the Barmy Arms. Your local Councillors are very supportive of this approach and will be working with residents to develop a strategic plan covering the whole area.

A panel chaired by the Council Leader and including a representative from the Environment Trust for Richmond upon Thames www.environmenttrust.co.uk/, who will operate the proposed River Centre on part of the site, have recommended the appointment of urban design experts, Urban Practitioners www.urbanpractitioners.co.uk/, for the task. Once their appointment is confirmed, they will hold a series of consultations with local residents and local interest groups over the coming months. These sessions will feed into their work on the brief and will include presentations, workshops and exhibitions. The final brief, which will spell out the type of development envisaged for the derelict riverside site, is expected to be completed by December. It will then be used for an exercise, to be held in early 2008, to seek a developer partner.

Council Leader, Cllr Serge Lourie, said this week: "We want to ensure the greatest opportunity for a viable, sustainable scheme for the site. We were very impressed by the Urban Practitioners team, in particular their approach to tackling the range of complex issues that we face at the Twickenham Riverside site. We are confident that they are the right consultants to help us ensure a high quality development sensitive to the riverside and town centre location that is highly sustainable and incorporates an outstanding community resource that will be the River Centre. We are determined to work closely with the local community and ward councillors to ensure that the scheme is widely welcomed by local people."

• FROM COMMENTS Winter 2006/7: A flag ship eco-friendly RIVER CENTRE, offering river-related and environmental education and leisure opportunities for all ages and abilities, will be part of new development plans for the old baths site. The Twickenham River Centre will be run by the Environment Trust (ET) and will include a café, toilets, boat hire and much more. The next stage will be the production of a new Development Brief for the whole site, based on the planning requirements of a mixed use development, including public open space, homes and restaurants. Cllr Denise Carr says "I congratulate the Trust on their wonderful proposal. I look forward to working in partnership with them and with the many local residents who care passionately about this site and want to see it brought back to life. The Council is committed to environmental sustainability and we will be bringing forward proposals which demonstrate how buildings and the street scene can contribute to this."

• COMMUNITY groups, residents and businesses have welcomed the Council's decision to reverse the previous Tory administration's plans to scrap the Town Centre Manager. And at a packed meeting in York House in October, residents called for the Town Centre Management Plan to be updated and public involvement improved. Cllr David Trigg says "The Manager's post was set up by the Liberal Democrats 1997 in order to help revitalise the town and attract more shoppers and visitors. Successful initiatives like the Twickenham festival, Christmas lights, the weekly Farmers Market, summer al fresco dining in Church Street and much more have been developed - but the town centre faces new challenges, with an ever growing late night economy, too many empty shop units and few other leisure opportunities." Cllr Carr added "the turnout and enthusiasm at the meeting was fantastic. The ward councillors will now be working with the Manager, businesses and the community to agree new targets and deliver improvements."

• THE RIVERSIDE towpath from Richmond Bridge to Orleans Gardens is beautiful and popular with residents and visitors. Under the Arcadia in the City scheme, plans are afoot to prune and thin overgrown, dead and dangerous trees and shrubs along the path and these are welcomed by Cllr Michael Wilson who added "active management is part of maintaining a safe and pleasant environment which promotes bio-diversity and opens up the beautiful views along the river. I shall also be pressing for improvements to benches, lighting and the footpath itself so that people can enjoy walking and resting along the path."

• FOLLOWING a campaign by Twickenham Town Centre Manager Esther Worboys and your ward councillors to improve public transport for late night revellers, the 281 night service started running 6 months ago - and now it is so popular you can hardly get a seat. Cllr Trigg says "helping people disburse quickly when the pubs and clubs close means less chance of crime, noise and nuisance. This has been a great success and we need more late night bus services to take people safely home."

• CONCERNS about late night, alcohol induced anti-social behaviour in York Street have led to residents calling for better policing and CCTV cameras. Cllr Trigg says "Police figures show that the area is a borough hotspot for crime on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. CCTV can help both prevent and detect criminality and I have asked the Council to look at this."

• LOCAL youth centre, Heatham House, is one of five across the borough which will benefit from £575,000 capital investment and £250,000 service investment over the next twelve months. Cllr Michael Wilson says "Heatham House is a great centre with lots of activities, events, advice and support for young people, but the building needs this capital investment and the revenue funding will enable a much needed expansion of the activities provided. We are committed to increasing the resources for our youth centres and to giving young people a voice in deciding how the money is used."

• ORLEANS Art Gallery, which houses the borough's art collection, is located in the heart of Twickenham Riverside ward at the bottom of Orleans Road. The "In Focus" display, which runs until 6 May includes recent bequests from local artist John Meade and donations from other borough residents. These 20thC additions include a stunning watercolour of Twickenham Riverside by Hugh Goldie and many other local views. Cllr Carr says "We are so lucky to have this gallery on our doorstep, which is free to visit during a casual riverside walk as well as for a special exhibition."

• YET another gem in our ward is York House Gardens and the magnificent marble statues of ladies and horses by a pond. Now specialist contractors will restore the weathered and damaged figures to their former glory and will also look at improving security to avoid any further vandalism. Cllr Wilson says "We are looking for old photographs of the Cascade Statues to assist with the restoration. If you have any please contact me."

• JUNK mail and flyers are a nuisance, a waste of resources and add to the rubbish mountain. The borough's EcoAction Team is offering free "No Junk Mail" stickers for residents to attach to letterboxes. Call 08456 122660 or e-mail recycling@richmond.gov.uk for a sticker. You can also call the Mail Preference Service to stop 95% of unwanted mail by calling 0845-070-0707.

Cllr Denise Carr

Tel: 8891 2482 E-mail: cllr.dcarr@richmond.gov.uk

Roles: Cabinet Member for Adult Services, Health and Housing; London Councils (formerly ALG) - Health and Social Care Forum; National Council of Domiciliary Care Services; Richmond Primary Care Trust Board; Richmond Upon Thames Council for Voluntary Service; The Octagon Trust; Twickenham Town Centre Management Committee.

Mary Denise Catherine Carr Liberal Democrat 1838 Elected

David Stanley Francis Trigg Liberal Democrat 1728 Elected

Michael Robert Wilson Liberal Democrat 1600 Elected

Joe James Broughton The Conservative Party Candidate 992

Stuart Nigel Leamy The Conservative Party Candidate 950

Anatole Weinberger Pang The Conservative Party Candidate 855

Gillian Clara Thomas Green Party 440

James Richard Page Green Party 392

Henry Boscawen Leveson Gower Green Party 321

John Wanklyn Herring Grant The Labour Party Candidate 159

Sheila Doris Nixon The Labour Party Candidate 141

Andrew James Constantine UK Independence Party 106