Forum Topic

Chiswick Oasis opened by the Mayor of London  29.6.19

http://www.chiswickw4.com/default.asp?section=info&page=conschools148airqualitym.htmCongratulations to all those who worked so hard to crowdfund and create the Chiswick Oasis - the green wall along the A4 helping to reduce the pollution at St Mary's Primary School and the William Hogarth School together with the painting of the school with special paint and the installation of special air purifiers.They've made a film of their work.  So if you are interested in doing the same sort of thing for your children's schools then do take a look.

Philippa Bond ● 2238d15 Comments

It takes a dedicated team with a positive vision to create something like the Chiswick Oasis.  It was crowdfunded using Spacehive and other social media.There are plenty of other Spacehive projects across London who have been jointly funded by The Mayor of London and other partners including I understand Councils and Charities.There is another one at St Marks Primary School in Ealing.Andrea and the Chiswick Oasis group made a film of their project and held a meeting as part of "Breathe" to tell everyone how they achieved their target and to encourage others. I'm sure that this film is available online.www.spacehive.com

Philippa Bond ● 2229d

I have to say that as a lifelong Tory voter, the privatisation of train operations has been an absolute disaster. Increased public subsidy for virtually no benefit to the travelling public and a regulator not worthy of the name.Whoever thought that fragmenting the service into 27 operating companies and then placing the infrastructure into the hands of Railtrack (now Network Rail) was a good idea was definitely smoking something extraordinary.London Buses (a virtual private company for years) however have never been better locally with far improved frequency and reliability. What screws up the buses are the constant roadworks and the dreadful timing of lights at many junctions.

N V Brooks ● 2229d

I rather think they are trying to square the circle - there is no doubt that there is a lot of pressure to try and get us all out of our cars and on to bikes. The next problem they have is the dangerous state of the roads for cyclists, hence these cycle schemes. But at the same time they have also curtailed/amended bus routes and timetables which is hardly a good strategy for encouraging people to use public transport. I'd like to say I have a brainwave but I haven't, but I don't think the fact the government privatised buses and trains helped one bit, it does not favour joined up thinking or benefit the traveller.

Vanessa Smith ● 2229d

It's a question of priorities Vanessa but I have yet to try and figure out what TfL's priorities are.If they were to reduce pollution and congestion then Isleworth Town School would have a green wall tomorrow, Church Road would be re-opened and Hammersmith Bridge would be fixed.

N V Brooks ● 2229d

More to the point - locally, what about poor Isleworth Town School which is in the middle of a terribly congested Twickenham Rd. exacerbated by the Church St. closure debacle. You'd think this is a primary school that would also benefit from a scheme like this. Seems that TfL would rather waste time and money on crackpot cycle schemes which have been badly thought through.

Vanessa Smith ● 2229d

Strange isn't it?When presented with facts how the bleating of 'Tory cuts' goes quiet.

N V Brooks ● 2230d

Very important life expectancy reduced. Not many developed countries have managed that.

Nichols Beard ● 2232d

"Brown and Darling did a lot to rescue the situation."Including selling off the gold reserve when gold was at an all time low and bailing out failing financial institutions which cost tens of billions and for which we are all still paying.

N V Brooks ● 2232d

2008 was a crisis of the whole western banking system, you could even say it was a crisis of capitalism, and was certainly not limited to the UK. In fact Brown and Darling did a lot to rescue the situation. The Tory (and LibDem) austerity that followed might have been necessary for a short while, but has since been maintained as an intentional political ideology, depressing wages and discouraging investment, as well as destroying public services and reducing our life expectancy.

Peter Evans ● 2232d

No one is bullying you.You occasionally make a salient and valid point when you avoid bleating about cuts and how they are, in your opinion, the cause of all of the world's woes.Remember what the Tories inherited and who caused the misery in the first place.The day you admit that 13 years of supposedly 'socialist' mismanagement of the economy lays at the root of the cuts will be the day that become enlightened.

N V Brooks ● 2232d

I'm simply not going to allow you to bully me into not mentioning the excessive and continuing Tory cuts that have caused and continue to cause so much misery!

Philippa Bond ● 2232d

Already done on more than one occasion focussing on his obsession with transport to the detriment of law and order.Notice however that, once again, you could not avoid a 'bleat' about Tory cuts. Change the record and admit that much of the problem with planning stems from the PPG documents from the era of Prescott which relaxed so many controls.

N V Brooks ● 2233d

Nigel - this is where you should send your constructive comments on what you think the London Mayor should be doing:https://www.london.gov.uk/talk-london/

Philippa Bond ● 2234d

The Tory government has made a mess of planning sitting on instead of updating Building Regulations and allowing private landlords to create homes out of cupboards.  Bring back Parker Morris standards.https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/07/live-shoeboxes-housing-standards-minimum-space

Philippa Bond ● 2234d

Shame that he is doing nothing to actually protect the wider environment then by failing to call in all of the over-developed, unaffordable for the majority of locals, slum blocks being planned in the boroughs of Hounslow and Ealing.Khan is only an environmental supporter when it gets him either votes or column inches.Well done though, to those who actually got this initiative off the ground.

N V Brooks ● 2237d