Meetings next week
Surbiton Neighbourhood Committee meets at Dysart School, 190 Ewell Road Surbiton on Wednesday 13th May at 7.30 PM.
Of particular interest to Surbiton Hill residents are
- Planning application for conversion and enlargement of 2 Oakhill Road, and
- Proposed alterations to the boundaries of the Southborough Conservation Area.
The next Councillors’ ‘surgery’ for residents will be at the Small Hall Surbiton Library on Saturday16th May from 10.30 AM to 12. No appointment is needed but it would help if you could contact Paul on 8405 0244 to let us know what your concern is.
Raven’s Ait squatters evicted
We were very pleased to see that this self-styled environment group ( actually squatters, one of whom claims to have been doing it for 18 years!) has been evicted from Raven’s Ait. During the squat we received one email in support of the squatters and quite a number from residents in the river roads complaining of the environmental damage that was being done.
They sought to enlist our support with a set of proposals on a website they had established. This was emailed to this writer two days ago. Leaving aside the sheer arrogance of much of the content, we were alarmed to note on the list of those from whom they evidently expected support the names of two sitting Lib Dem councillors and one former Lib Dem councillor from the old Tolworth East ward.
Bank Holiday waste collection
All waste this week will be collected on the usual day,
so please remember to put your bins out accordingly.
Make sure of your vote
On Thursday 4 June 2009 there are elections to the European Parliament. If you want to have your say on who represents you in Europe, you need to register to vote by Tuesday 19 May.
If you’re not registered then you can’t vote.
If you lived in Kingston last September you should have returned the Registration Form which was sent to you. If you have moved here since then you may not yet have registered to vote.
If you’re not sure whether you are on the electoral register, or would like to be sent a registration form, contact:
Kingston Council Electoral Services – 020 8547 5026 or you can download a form, get information about the elections and visit a virtual polling station at http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk
Tuesday 19 May is also the deadline to apply for a postal vote and cancel or request changes to your existing postal vote. Applications for postal votes can be obtained from the above address, or you can contact one of us and we will do all we can to help you.
To register to vote in this election (these elections) you must be a British, Irish, qualifying Commonwealth or European Union citizen resident in the UK.
Swine Flu: RBK’s preparations
At borough level the response to Swine Influenza is led by Dr Jonathan Hildebrand, Joint Director of Public Health for RBK and Kingston Primary Care Trust.
A factsheet will be delivered to all UK householders in the next week and contains practical information about the Swine Influenza. As advised previously general infection control practices (eg disinfection of surfaces) and good respiratory hygiene (wash hands, use tissues, wrap and throw away) can help reduce transmission of all viruses, including human Swine Influenza and these are detailed in the factsheet provided. For more information – please see www.hpa.org.uk
The ‘Voice’ of desperate rubbish
There are lies, damned lies, and Lib Dem leaflets!
It has come to our attention that a publication called ‘The Voice’ is circulating in the Ward. Among other things it claims to reveal our policies and those of the Conservative Group on recycling. It repeats the old, discredited, nonsensical suggestion that we are opposed to recycling. Nothing could be further from the truth as readers of this blog are already well aware.
The Conservatives haven’t run Kingston since 1994, though we had a minority administration from 1998 to 2002. I was Executive member for Environment in the last year of that and introduced an expansion of recycling from just paper to include plastics, textiles and tin cans in 2001. We were working on glass door to door when the Lib Dems got a majority in 2002, at which point progress ceased for the next 4 years, until 2006.
Leader Cllr. Howard Jones with 5500 signature petition
We wanted – it was in our 2006 manifesto – to expand the then fortnightly collection of recyclate to a weekly one. Again Cllr. Kevin Davis and I both argued strongly for this at the 2006 Budget Council, only to be shouted down by the Lib Dems. We wanted the leave the weekly collection of non-recyclables strictly alone instead of going to the present fortnightly collection.
We argued for this consistently throughout the procurement process for the new waste contract in every venue open to us. You will see the matter fully documented, and our policies explained, in this website which runs from November 2006. Feel free to dig around!
A large part of our concern on the fortnightly versus weekly issue stems from experience as ward councillors of the problems many of our constituents face with housing 180 litre bins in small terraced houses and conversion flats. There a lots of these in the Tolworth parts of the ward like Ellerton and Bond Roads and smaller homes as on St Thomas Close, where there are outside bin stores just big enough for the standard 90 litre bin. Such areas are often home to young families with problems around nappies and limited storage capacity. Most residents are coping with these problems, but in some places, as evidenced on the junction of Red Lion Road and School Lane recently, there have been incidences of very unsightly and smelly flytipping.
Surbiton Forum 