I was pleased to welcome my 57 new colleagues to Westminster this week and I look forward to working with them to deliver a fair deal for our community and everyone in the UK.
I took the formal Oath of Allegiance on Tuesday and have now been once more officially sworn in as Member of Parliament for Richmond Park.
I've used this week to restart work on a series of local campaigns and I look forward to bringing these issues before Parliament as soon as possible.
THAMES WATER - TEDDINGTON DIRECT RIVER ABSTRACTION
Residents in Ham, and in particular Riverside Drive, will be extremely pleased to hear that earlier this week, Thames Water announced that it would be adjusting its plans for the Teddington DRA. Two of the main building compounds planned for Ham Lands have been removed and they have suggested using a tunnel boring system to allow most of the waste soil to be removed from the entry point at Mogden.
This should reduce the construction impacts on residents significantly and will also mean far fewer HGVs are needed to complete the project, reducing the pressure on local roads.
However, while these changes do bring benefits, they also come with their own risks. On Wednesday, I met with a group of campaigners and activists near Ham Lands to discuss these proposals. In this meeting, we touched upon the fact that, in order to reduce the number of construction sites, Thames Water will need to increase the width of the tunnel carrying effluent from Mogden from 1.8 m to 3.5 m. This could, in theory, mean that far more effluent could pumped into the river at Teddington Lock in the future.
In addition, these plans do nothing to mitigate the risk to water quality from the scheme and will still involve substantial construction on areas of woodland opposite Burnell Avenue. Ultimately, while these changes are an improvement, I still believe this proposal is like sticking a plaster on an open wound. Instead of spending hundreds of millions of pounds on the DRA, Thames Water should be focusing on repairing their pipe network and bringing their existing infrastructure up to standard.
I continue to oppose this project, and will keep fighting to protect residents and our local environment from this misguided and unnecessary scheme.
NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING
For several years now, I have been campaigning for the return of Richmond Police Station and for more local neighbourhood police to be deployed to our streets. I know that thousands of local people share my view that it is vital residents have access to a local police station and many would like to contact neighbourhood officers who are in the local area, ready to respond to criminal activity or anti-social behaviour.
Over the last two decades, Richmond Park has lost all of our three police stations, meaning that constituents from Richmond upon Thames must make the journey across the river to visit their 'local' station in Twickenham if they wish to report a crime or provide a statement.
The new Labour government campaigned on returning a strong local police presence to communities throughout the UK and I intend to hold the Government to account on this promise. In my letter to the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP, I underlined the need for a greater local policing presence in Richmond Park, and for the return of a truly local police station.
THE 3RD RUNWAY AT HEATHROW
In the weeks before the election, I was extremely concerned to hear that Heathrow was breathing new life into the 3rd Runway proposals. For the past few years, the scheme had been effectively mothballed due to the scale of opposition from campaigners and financial pressures caused by the pandemic, and I know many Richmond Park residents had hoped this would be the end of the project.
Unfortunately, Heathrow's management have confirmed they are now looking at ways to rework the scheme, despite overwhelming opposition from local communities and representatives.
As the Government has not yet taken a clear position on the 3rd Runway, earlier this week, I sent a letter to Transport Secretary Louise Haigh MP to request that she do what the Conservative's failed to do for more than a decade and put an end to this dangerous proposal. In the same vein, I have also put a motion to the House urging the Government to acknowledge the dangers of the 3rd Runway with this scheduled to be published as soon as the King formally opens Parliament.
You can read more about this news, and my views on it, in the Evening Standard here.
HAMMERSMITH BRIDGE
With a change in leadership in the Department for Transport, it is possible that we will finally see some movement on the issue of Hammersmith Bridge.
The intransigence shown by the former Conservative Government towards the restoration of the Bridge has resulted in numerous delays to the project and left local residents in the dark as to the status of the repairs. In the early stages of the project, while various representatives may have disagreed on the direction decision makers took, there was at least an open and constructive dialogue
I have reached out again to the Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh MP, to call for a change in how communications between the DfT, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, TfL, and local communities are managed.
I have also submitted an Early Day Motion which calls for the Government to acknowledge that Hammersmith and Fulham Council do not have the necessary funds to foot the costs of the repairs and asks for an immediate session of the Hammersmith Bridge Task Force to update stakeholders on the status of the works.
Above: Roundtable with campaigners, councillors and local activists to discuss the Teddington DRA
KINGSTON NEWS
KINGFISHER LEISURE CENTRE - CONSULTATION EVENTS
Kingston residents will be very pleased to hear that work on the design for the new leisure centre on the former Kingfisher site is progressing well. The team behind the project will be holding a series of community engagement events across the borough to hear residents views and an online consultation portal has been opened for anyone who wishes to offer a comment.
All the details of the events can be found below and you can respond online through the link here or phone the design team on 020 8547 5000.
RICHMOND NEWS
FRIENDS OF HAM LANDS - MEADOW COMMUNITY
Local botanist Lawrence Hill, in coordination with the Friends of Ham Lands, has created a beautiful piece of artwork, dubbed Meadow Community showcasing 112 leaves gathered from across the nature reserve. A wonderful creation in it's own right, the design takes on a new meaning in light of a damage Thames Water's construction of the Teddington DRA could do to Ham Land's local environment.
Ham Lands is a unique ecosystem in London, with examples of plant life that cannot be found anywhere else in the capital. The design is being sold in packs of five cards by the Friends of Ham Lands with proceeds going towards their work. Contact the friends of Ham Lands as friendsofhamlands@hamunitedgroup.org.uk to find out more about this project and buy a set of cards.
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