Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea, May 2026, Newsletter (# 203) 

1. This is the 203^rd, and could be the last, edition of this Newsletter if those of you, who live in Battersea Park ward, don’t go out and vote for me and my Labour colleagues Vicky Asante and Daria Hass on 7^th I think that we have done a pretty decent job of running the Council during the last four years and we deserve a second term, but clearly Keir Starmer’s current problems and the disaster of the Israeli/American:Iran war are not making it easy for us. Our track record includes

• Having the lowest Council Tax in the country,
• Having the most generous Council Tax relief fund for the less affluent of us,
• Starting a house-building programme, with 1,000 Council units built, under construction or planned,
• Creating in Springfield Park, the largest new park in the UK sine the 2012 Olympic Park,
• Starting a clean-up and brightening of the Borough – see the Thessaly Road Bridge and the Falcon Road Bridge (Underpass) improvemets,
• Introducing the Access For All scheme for those on concessions,
• And being London’s 2025 Borough of Culture.

Our manifesto for the next four years, here being launched by Battersea Councillor Simon Hogg, promises

• To keep Wandsworth’s Council Tax as the lowest in the country,
• Doubling the current level of street cleaning,
• Introducing Neighbourhood Wardens to keep the Borough safer,
• Aim to be a net zero carbon Borough by 2030 – tough but we are aiming for it,
• Add a further 1,000 new council homes – we believe everyone deserves a decent, safe home.

I think we have done some great work. It would be a crying shame to lose it all because of a Tory victory, especially one gifted by well-meaning but naïve Green or Liberal Democratis votes. From a personal perspective, being a councillor, for over 50 years, it is an enormous part of my life and it would be painful to lose this election.

2. Because of the imminent Council Election, there were not many ‘Council meetings’ in April. Most councillors were committed to electioneering – canvassing and leafletting – and the inevitable increase in casework that follows from being out on the streets – that was certainly the case with me, although I must say I owe a vote of thanks to my fellow candidates Vicky Asante, left, and Daria Hass for doing lots of the legwork for me. We, all three, enjoyed the opportunity to go out and talk to you, the electorate, even if some of you seemed less than excited by the prospect!

3. It was good to hear from one reader that the Battersea Park Gate, destroyed by a lorry a few months back, has been carefully rebuilt and that it is back in action. Thanks for that – I possibly would not have noticed so thanks for the info.
   

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4. The 6^th April was my birthday. Penny and I decided to have lunch at the Shard, investigate Borough Market and visit Southwark Cathedral. The Market, needless to say, was buzzing. As much a tourist trap nowadays as opposed to being an old-fashioned, unexceptional street market, it never ceases to amaze – especially with its range of cheeses. The Cathedral is almost lost under the London Bridge: Waterloo:Cannon Street railway junction, but it is well worth visiting – if you can find it. Medieval in origin much of the Nave was reconstructed in the nineteenth century, but nevertheless has that awe-inspiring grandeur common to English (and Northern French) Gothic cathedrals. And then there was lunch at the Shard. I must confess that I have not previously been up there, so it was a thrill to be lunching with a view – not that we went as high as you can, but we were above St. Paul’s. It was a great way to spend a birthday, and London looked splendid in glorious sunshine.
   

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5. Off to Tate Britain on the 12^th March to see the Constable:Turner Exhibition. It was brilliant but absolutely jam-packed – no way to admire some of Britain’s greatest works of art. But what a fascinating pair Constable and Turner make. They were in not very friendly rivalry, vying for pre-eminence. Turner all experimental; widely travelled across Europe but especially Italy; throwing all conventions aside; simply stupendous in some of his seascape paintings – see one painting entitled Fishermen upon a Lee-Shore in Squally Weather. Constable in contrast hardly moved from his native Suffolk, and his paintings have all the peace and calm that suggests. But they also show a very deep respect and admiration for English rural life and the contribution of the rural workforce. Great show assuming you could see past the crowds.
   

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6. On 14^th April I, and fellow Councillor Critchard, went off to Wembley to see England’s Lionesses win a closely fought and critical World Cup qualifier 1-0. As it happens Lauren Hemp scored in the first couple of minutes, which seemed to have a dampenig effect on both teams, wih neither side looking much like scoring, despite the bar being hit twice. In that sense the match was a little disappointing, but what was not disappointing was the whole atmosphere and flavour of going to a women’s international match – so much more civilised and well-behaved both on and off the pitch, than their male counterparts.
   

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7. The Planning Applications Committee was on the 15^th You may remember that last month I was pretty sceptical about whether our objection to a massive Lambeth development – one tower 230 metres high, 755 feet, about 30 metres, or 100 feet, higher than the current highest tower in Vauxhall – would make any difference. But my scepticism was totally unjustified as I understand that the weight of objections was such that the application has been withdrawn.

Well this month, the main application was for the demolition and redevelopment of Meadbank, BUPA’s large residential home, near the junction of Parkgate and Battersea Bridge Roads. Given the amount of construction work in the Parkgate Road area, and the unfortunate coincidence of the closure of Albert Bridge for an indefinite period, the timing is unfortunate to say the least. However, Meadbank has had to close because it is not up to today’s required standard – most notably it is no longer acceptable that residential rooms for the elderly do not have en suite facilities. Slightly reluctantly – we were concerned about the scale of the building and overlooking of neighbours –  we approved the application.

On the 29^th April I went to a meeting of the residents of James Searles Lodge, (sheltered housing unit, immediately adjoining the Meadbank site). They had legitimate concerns about the dust, noise, nuisance and disturbance that the development will cause. They were also worried about the traffic and parking implications of the Meadbank development along with the neighbouring Ransom’s Dock, Vivienne Westwood, and Elcho Street developments, which are all due to start in the near future. I promised to organise a meeting with relevant officers to discuss and co-ordinate development management plans for all four developments.

8. On the 24^th April Penny and I went to the Olivier Theatre to see Maxim Gorky’s play Summer Folk – its Russian name is Dachaniki. I knew that Gorky was associated with the revolutionaries before the 1917 Russian Revolution, but I had never seen any of his plays, and knew little about him. He had an amazing group of mentors and friends. Anton Chekhov discussed drama with him, indeed Chekhov suggested that Gorky should take advice from Tolstoy.The play portrays the stultifying boredom and futility of the lifestyle of the Russian middle classes, who were escaping from the torrid summer heat of Moscow and St. Petersburg to their country dachas – a bit more than our country cottages but not exactly stately homes.

Whilst Chekhov describes this with amused satisfaction, Gorky’s play is full of contempt, loathing and nihilism – not without some comedy and a lot of absurdity. It is easy to understand why a revolution was coming to Russia, indeed the play more or less predicts it. It all combined to make the play interesting but not exactly full of laughs. Its opening night in 1904 caused a sensation and within a year there was an uprising in Moscow, the Russian navy was heavily defeated by the Japanese, and Gorky, as a member of the Bolshevik Party, was imprisoned. Change was coming. It made me think of today’s billionaires, whether of the western IT type or of the eastern, kleptocratic type. Indeed with the seemingly inevitable and continuing rise of today’s billionaires, the play has a relevance and topicality that on reflection, I had not expected.

9. Candidates for public elections are nowadays asked to make all kinds of pledges on any number of issues. It is not a tactic that in general I approve of, but one pledge we have been asked to make is in support of the Palestinian people, and I happen to think that this issue is so important for humanity that on this occasion, I have made an exception. Hence see the attached.
   

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My May Programme

1. The May 7^th Borough General Election defines the whole month for us Labour councillors. If we win, we will be deciding which team of our councillors will lead us through the next difficult four years. If we lose, the pressure is off us directly, but the mood will be grimmer; and if we end up with a coalition – which will be for the first time in Wandsworth’s history – then I guess we will have a busy period of negotiation and, hopefully, not too much confusion.
2. Meanwhile in May, Spurs’ fate as a Premiership side for the 2026/7 season will be resolved, I must say that it is looking pretty grim right now!
   

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Did you know?

Last month, I asked, “Whether you knew that a Battersea-based athlete won a silver medal at the recent Parisian Para-Olympic Games. Do you know who that might be and what is his connection to Battersea?”

The answer is that Marcus Perrineau-Daley, won the silver medal in the 100-metre sprint, just two years after he broke his spinal-cord in three places following a motor-cycle accident. As for his connection to Battersea, well that is his membership of Carney’s Community. And the picture shows him, and his tri-cycle (front centre-left), celebrating his achievement with the team at Carney’s. 

And this month?

Watching some of the snooker world championships, I pondered just where was Battersea’s specially built Temperance Billiards Hall – built in 1922 and used for many years for bingo and snooker – and what is its current use?

PS For back-dated numbers, web-search ‘Tony Belton’ to access my blog: to sign on for future copies email tonybelton99@gmail.com.