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Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea February, 2018, Newsletter (# 104)

1. 1. 1. On Twelfth Night, I went to an enjoyable dinner with members of the Battersea Society. The Society organises a myriad of local and London based events and campaigns about local amenity issues, such as planning and the state of our parks and public spaces. If you are interested in joining but don’t know how then do, please, let me know.
    2. On 12^th January, we went to see The Darkest Hour, the film about the decisive month of May, 1940, when Churchill became Prime Minister. The film was shot in such a way that it emphasised how dark and claustrophobic the world must have appeared in Whitehall’s underground war room. I thought it was brilliant – personally I preferred it to Dunkirk, which I thought a bit sanitised. But there was a dud scene with Churchill, the PM, on the Tube between the Embankment and Westminster. It was excruciating. Intended, I suppose, to demonstrate how Churchill instinctively understood the British public rather better than did the other stuffed shirts in the Cabinet; it was like no tube journey you or I have ever experienced. Quiet enough for an in-depth debate, between 10-15 people, with frankly a token West Indian in a 1940 crowd.
    3. On Monday, 15^th January, I met a newly appointed Council officer, selected by and paid for by the Home Office but working for Wandsworth and Richmond Councils. His job is to assist the Council and the Home Office to counter extremism in Wandsworth and Richmond. This is a Government initiative, but to be honest, I think the Government has perceived a problem and decided it had to act but doesn’t know what to do. Sure, we have known some civil disturbances; we have some crime issues; in the 80s there were a couple of IRA cells in Battersea (Do you remember the discovery of two IRA bomb factories near Clapham Common?), but if we have violent extremists, they haven’t exactly advertised themselves. Tough job, but hopefully not one that’s needed here.
    4. Wandsworth Labour’s Shadow Cabinet, of which I am a member by virtue of being the planning lead, met on 19^th January. I don’t normally indulge in internal party business in this newsletter but, three months before May’s Borough Election, this was rather different. We were discussing our plans for changes in Council policies and, by implication, our manifesto for May. It is NOT yet ready for publication but it will be no surprise to anyone that housing provision will be high on the list.
    5. On the 22^nd, I went to a book launch in an historic building in the City. This time it was the Skinners’ Hall, a stone’s throw from St. Paul’s and Cannon Street station. From the outside, Skinners’ Hall looks nothing special, but inside you discover a Grade 1 listed building, dating from the thirteenth century, although the whole building was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and the current one was built 1667-1683. Amazingly enough, like the cathedral, it was almost untouched by World War 2 bombing. I don’t suppose there are many real skinners (of animals largely for leather) left in the Worshipful Company, one of the richest and oldest in the city, but it demonstrates the historical importance of the trade! The book was Essays on Medieval London by Professor Caroline Barron, a family friend.
    6. The next morning it was back to the important, even if mundane, business of joining with Council officers and some residents for a tour of the Kambala, Falcon and Wayford Road estates. On the whole, we thought they were in good nick but as always on the Kambala Estate, there were problems with rubbish! This picture is of conditions behind Haven Lodge. I trust that it got cleared soon after our visit – but it is a perennial problem.
    7. The January meeting of the Planning Applications Committee was on the 25^th and it was packed with major applications, four of them in Battersea. First, the half-completed Peabody Estate development: Peabody had to stop the development, as planned, because it was becoming financially unviable. So, they came back asking for 52 more flats, half for sale on the open market and half for social renting. They suggested adding a couple of storeys here and a couple there. The Committee did not really have much choice but to agree: and we did. I suspect the change will hardly be noticed as the additional storeys are lower down St. John’s Hill than the blocks already completedI voted against two very large developments, which were, however, approved by the committeFirst, 13 blocks between 8 and 15 storeys with 517 residential units are planned for the Smugglers’ Way, B&Q site. 35% of these are described as affordable. There are things to be said in favour of the development. However, in my view it is just too big, with too many high blocks at too high a density. Secondly, a large 82-unit block rising to 14 storeys was approved on York Road, on the Chopper/@Battersea pub site. Again, I voted against on much the same grounds. What do you think of these developments either side of Swandon Way?
    8. The fourth major Battersea development was an application to expand the Royal College of Art campus on Battersea Bridge Road. This had many objections from the immediate neighbourhood of Parkgate Road and, frankly, I can see why. This large university building looks as if it will dominate the area, but the Committee thought that the major benefit of having the University in North Battersea outweighed the disadvantages. On this occasion, I agreed.
    9. There was also an interesting application for 86 residential units with one, six storey block at Jaggard Way, which is behind Wandsworth Common station, just yards outside Battersea. The planners’ recommendation was to refuse it, which we did unanimously. However, I must confess that I had the ungenerous thought that the Committee was keen to vote against a quite small development in rich, posh Wandsworth Common when substantially larger, less pleasing developments in North Battersea were being approved.
    10. On 29^th January, I had a fun meeting at the youth club, Providence House, in Falcon Road, where we made plans to bring Devon’s Shallowford Farm to Battersea, or more particularly some sheep, calves, pigs and a tractor from the Farm for four days in early June. The farm, which is twinned with Providence House, is visited by many youth club members and is an invaluable rural experience for hundreds of Battersea kids. Keep a look out for it!
    11. The next day I had discussions with planners at the Town Hall about a planning application for developments near both Time House and Sendall Court. At the moment this application seems unlikely to be considered in Committee before April. I am sure that it will be contentious and I am rather concerned that the Council is trying to get too large a development through on the coat-tails of the so-called Winstanley regeneration.
    12. Finally, Wandsworth’s Design Awards Panel met on 31^st January. The panel of architects, amenity societies and two councillors, including me, had before it all the North Battersea “icon” buildings like the Lombard Road Tower and the Nine Elms Lane development. But actually, none of those got near to winning, the victor being the under-stated, cleanly designed Chadwick Hall students’ accommodation at Roehampton University.

My Programme for February

On 7^th February there is a special Council Meeting. There is actually nothing special about it as it happens every year and is largely a technical operation agreeing the record of expenditure during the year and the approximate shape of the budget the year 2018-19. There will however be ratification of a 1% rent increase for council tenants and decisions on next year’s budget leading to the Council Tax decision on March 7^th. I think I can guarantee that in Election year there will not be any really unpleasant surprises!
On 13^th February, I have a meeting of the Central Housing Panel, a quarterly consultation meeting with council tenants in Latchmere and other parts of the Borough.
There is the Community Services Committee on the 20^th followed by the Planning Applications Committee on 22^nd February.
On 27^th February, I am off to St. Paul’s Cathedral for a celebration of the life of Mary Turner, of whom more next month.

Do you know?

Last month I didn’t set a question and this month’s is ridiculously easy but I just couldn’t resist the picture – thanks to the Battersea Memories website as the source. And as for the questions then:-

Where? When? How?
How many things can you name that are still there and what are they?
And can you name what is there now?

January 8, 2018

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea January, 2018, Newsletter (# 103)

1. 1. 1. On 1^st December, I went to Theatre 503 to see The Dark Room, an Australian play by Angela Betzien. First a word about Theatre 503, it is based above the Latchmere pub. It is, as they say, intimate or, rather more plainly, very small, which puts you in really close contact with the action and the actors. It invariably hosts “experimental” theatre and as it’s above the pub, it gives one a great chance, after the show, to have a drink and chat with the cast and discuss the play, which I did with Alasdair Craig, one of the four actors.
    2. As for the show: The Dark Room was about one of Australia’s darkest subjects, the relationship between the indigenous population and the overwhelmingly white, European population of today. What starts off as a “scene” between a white, female social worker and a young aboriginal woman develops, with a confrontation between two white policemen over the death in police custody of an aboriginal boy. To complicate matters the social worker also has a dysfunctional relationship with one of the policemen. Interestingly directed and well-acted, the play poses difficult questions. If my experience is anything to go by Theatre 503 is always worth a visit.
    3. I had my Council Surgery on the morning of 2^nd December, but it was not a very busy event. I only had one constituent visit. Looking through the log, it is very rare that more than two constituents turn up. I know that MPs always have far busier surgeries, which is understandable, but frequently misplaced as MP’s cases are often about essentially Council issues, such as housing. But actually, nowadays not many constituents come in person as most casework usually comes through email or the telephone.
    4. Talking of cases, one reader commented last month that my newsletters were all about social events and that he rather doubted that I did anything real or useful. For the record, I dealt with 81 separate housing cases in 2017, which was 6% of the cases dealt with by 59 councillors (N.B. honesty compels me to admit that one independent councillor dealt with just under 40% of the whole! He really is exceptional.) The system for monitoring queries other than housing is not so simple but these figures suggest to me that I dealt with above 200 cases in 2017.
    5. As for what these cases are all about then the housing ones are largely about rehousing, over-crowding, homelessness and repairs and maintenance. Unfortunately, actually succeeding in getting someone re-housed is a pretty rare triumph. Non-housing matters are most frequently about environmental issues such as planning disputes, pot-holes, fly-tipping and road sweeping, oh, and, of course, noisy neighbours!
    6. I also don’t make much of many other necessary activities, most notably Labour Party matters, which whilst not of great public interest are an essential part of being a councillor. Nor do I write about the boring stuff of reading agendas, preparing for meetings, writing letters, etc. But they all take time.
    7. On the 3^rd, Battersea Labour Party ran its own jazz night, starring Rosena Allin-Khan, Tooting MP, on vocals and Martin Linton, ex-Battersea MP, on horn, with Battersea’s own Junction Jazz band. Rosena is a star in her own right and it’s stunning that, as an MP, a doctor and a mother, she manages also to perform as she does.
    8. I had the Passenger Transport Liaison Group on 4^th December, which was principally concerned with the continuing engineering works on the mainline into Waterloo. Nothing really new was noted then but, talking of transport, I later had notice of roadworks on Battersea Park Road just to the west of the Latchmere pub on 8th-9th January. My advice is to avoid that stretch of the road if at all possible – for example, turning left from Latchmere Road into Battersea Park Road will not be allowed – even for cyclists.
    9. On 6th December we had the last full Council Meeting of the year. There was one set piece debate with half a dozen contributions from both sides. These debates don’t get any press coverage nowadays, but I really enjoyed making an off-the-cuff speech. If you are really, really interested then you can see and hear it at the following address, whenever the Council loads the video, which is not yet! http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/200318/decision_making
    10. And on the 7^th December, I appeared at the Licensing Committee arguing for tighter licensing controls on the Anchor pub, Hope Street.
      The Anchor
      
      This was a difficult matter in that neither I, nor the residents I was representing, wanted to close the Anchor – far from it. After all, it is one of the very few public facilities in that part of Battersea. However, pub use should not be allowed to disturb the peace of close neighbours beyond reasonable hours and I was persuaded that the nuisance caused by the Hope justified some restriction. The Committee agreed with me and the neighbours; but unfortunately, early indications (as of 4^th January) are that the nuisance continues. Early days! But the festive season is hardly over and we shall see.
    11. The December meeting of the Planning Applications Committee was on the 14^th. Many of the applications were “technical”, such as, for example, changes in obscure building conditions. But there were some interesting exceptions. One was the application for the new Battersea Power Tube station, which is being built right now, opposite the Duchess pub. In reality, of course, there was not much for us to decide. Clearly refusing permission was not an option, nor was changing fundamentals about layout but we could have expressed a view about the “finishing”; a bit like choosing the colour of the wallpaper. My view was that given the amount of time and effort put into the design of a really, modern, attractive station by good designers, it was absurd for us to disagree with their recommendations – we shall see whether the station is as good as I thought it looked!
    12. There was also notice of an application in Lambeth, which will affect nearly everyone, who travels up and down to town, and that was for the re-design of the Vauxhall bus terminus. Lambeth Council wants to change, as in get rid of, the massive Vauxhall one-way road system and were asking for our observations! I am not being totally flippant in saying, “Good luck to them on that one”, but I can’t imagine it will happen any time soon.
    13. And there was one other interesting set of 24 applications for advertising hoardings all over the Borough. The hoardings will replace telephone kiosks and will include information bulletins and mobile phone charging points as well as the illuminated ads. They will, however, need careful monitoring. The addition of brightly-lit billboards along many main roads in Wandsworth could confuse drivers, cause distractions, increase street clutter (contrary to　recent trends in trying to simplify street scenes) and　add further garish lighting just when the Council (wearing its environmental hat) is installing new street lights to　reduce the amount of light needlessly beamed into the night skies. We must not worsen street design for the sake of advertising revenue – but rather improve street safety, efficiency and environmental friendliness for all.
    14. The rest of my December was full of Seasonal events, such as an Xmas lunch with the other Labour councillors and Xmas drinks with the Battersea Society; a couple of resident association Xmas drinks and three visits to the theatre. Two of these were to see plays by Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw, A Woman of No Importance and Misalliance respectively. They were both very funny and clever and, appropriately for these days, very “feminista.”
    15. But the third theatre visit was the one that has made my friends very envious as it was a visit to the Victoria Palace Theatre to see the American blockbuster Hamilton. How I got the tickets is a long story but they are like gold-dust! I didn’t have high expectations. I didn’t really think that an American rap musical, played by a multi-ethnic cast, about an Independence war essentially between two groups of Brits (and a few French and German settlers) could work. I was wrong. The cast were great, the rap worked really well, the staging was great. The history wasn’t perfect; but nothing is perfect though Hamilton almost was.
    16. I spent both Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve quietly and very happily at home (from where I took this pic on the 25^th!) and went to see the grandchildren on Boxing Day. PS do you like the lunar illusion over the sunset as seen from the bedroom?
    17. Finally, you might remember that last month I commented on the wretched condition of the old Vestry School, on Battersea Rise. Well, I am now delighted to note that there is scaffolding round the building and positive steps are being taken by the church authorities to safeguard the building and carry our essential repairs and maintenance before a final decision is taken on what use is to be made of this slice of Battersea’s heritage.

My Programme for January

On 4^th January I have a meeting of Wandsworth’s Design Panel. This is an advisory body relating to architectural design and the physical appearance of the Borough.
This is followed by the Conservation Area Advisory Group on the 9^th.
And on 25^th January, the Planning Applications Committee, followed by the Heliport Consultation Group on 30^th January – a quiet month

Do you know?

In November, I asked “Who or what were Fawcett, Coppock, Hicks, McDermott and Wolftencroft – apart from being Battersea street names? Last month I gave the answer as regards John Bridgeford Coppock, so this month let’s try Fawcett Close.

Most people I know assume that Fawcett Close is named after Millicent Garrett Fawcett (1847-1929), who gave her name to the Fawcett Society, an organisation, which campaigned for women’s suffrage. However, I think it more likely that the Close is actually named after her daughter, Philippa Garrett Fawcett (1868 – 1948).

Philippa went to school in Clapham High School (now Thomas’s School in Broomwood Road). She was a brilliant mathematician and achieved the best Cambridge maths degree in 1890, at a time when women were not actually awarded degrees. She was subsequently unable to get an academic job, simply because she was a woman, but in 1905 she was appointed principal assistant to the Director of Education of the then newly-formed London County Council – surprisingly, at the same salary as a man would have received. She developed the south London teacher training colleges of Furzedown and Avery Hill. It is because she was a Battersea school-girl and died only 20 odd years before the Kambala Estate was built that makes me think that the Close was named after her and not her mother.

December 8, 2017

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea December, 2017, Newsletter (# 102)

1. 1. 1. On 1st November, my partner Penny hosted a book launch in the Speaker’s House, Westminster. The book, edited by Mary Clayton, is entitled A Portrait of Influence: Life and Letters of Arthur Onslow, the Great Speaker. Onslow was an eighteenth-century Speaker of the House of Commons, who set the standard for the role, which is why the book was launched in this very private part of the Palace of Westminster. The current Speaker, John Bercow, welcomed about 70 of us to his home – both graciously and humorously. Something tells me that he rather enjoys the being Speaker! Penny has written a brief review of the evening at https://blog.history.ac.uk/2017/12/report-of-ihrs-long-eighteenth-century-seminar-book-launch-in-the-speakers-house/
    2. The following day, I went to the CAW (Citizens Advice Bureau/Wandsworth) Annual General Meeting at Battersea Library. (Why the CAB has decided to re-brand itself as CAW when everyone in the country knows the CAB – beats me). It was a sombre occasion, because the Council has decided to cut its funding by 10%. What is more the cut is happening just as the Government’s disastrous Universal Credit Scheme is due to be rolled out in Wandsworth. Given experience across the country, this could make it a hard Xmas for too many Battersea residents. The Tory Northcote ward councillor, Peter Dawson, and I had a slight altercation over the Tory role in imposing this kind of cut on our services. He does a nasty job pretty well!
    3. Off to Battersea Park for the Fireworks on November 4^th – good show as always.
    4. On the 6th, I went to the Wandsworth Conservation Advisory Committee. This is a quiet committee devoted to maintaining the best of Wandsworth’s heritage – few political hassles, not many arguments, some might say rather dull. On this occasion we discussed the old Vestry School seen here on Battersea Rise. Some of you will not even have noticed this small building, which is now 151 years old (built in 1866), but it is sorely in need of restoration.
    5. It is part of Battersea history. Before state schools were created by the 1870 Education Act, most education was provided through the church, and Vestry schools like this one were commonplace. I was responsible for getting it listed about 20 years ago but neither St. Mark’s Church nor the diocese have done much to restore it. Now, I am pleased to say, the Council is talking about putting a Repairs Notice on the building. I realise that some churches with small congregations do not have much money for “nice” spending on old buildings but St. Mark’s must be one of the richest churches in suburban London – the Diocesan Board really should do something about its heritage!
    6. The next day, on 7^th November I went to City Hall to take part in WOW (Women of Wandsworth)’s Annual General Meeting in City Hall. It was really an excuse for a party and a first trip for most to the heart of London’s Government. The host was WOW boss, Senia Dedic. Here she is, with GLA member, and Council colleague of mine, Leonie Cooper, on the right, presenting prizes.
    7. On the 9^th we had the Thamesfield by-election. It was a brilliantly sunny day but fearsomely cold. I spent 7 hours of it standing and occasionally sitting outside two of the polling stations. Not the most fun-way of fighting an election but worse from my point of view, I am afraid, was the result. With the Tories winning the seat relatively comfortably.
    8. The very next day, I went on a visit – to the new Battersea Park underground station being built opposite the Duchess pub on Nine Elms Lane and right next to the Dogs’ Home. Many of you will have seen the hole in the ground either from the railway or the top deck of the 44 bus, but nothing quite prepares one for the scale of the whole thing when you are there. This picture shows the platform area with, in the distance, the tunnel disappearing towards Vauxhall; the orange shows high vis wearing workers. Being there that morning appealed to my little boy syndrome of wanting to get out the Meccano set and building a grand, iconic building – or in this case digging a massive tunnel in the heart of the city – fun!
    9. On 11^th November, I went to the second Providence House Fund Raising Dinner – at Providence House, Falcon Road. Every time I go there, which is probably not as often as I ought, I am struck by what a great job Robert Musgrave and his team do encouraging, educating and entertaining the young people of Battersea. We should be proud of and grateful to them.
    10. On the 12^th I went to the Remembrance Day service at St. Mary’s. As ever it was a moving occasion. Unusual features of the service were the rather complex hymns that we tried to sing. They were traditional English nineteenth-century hymns alright, but not the usual ones. Fortunately, we had St. Mary’s excellent choir leading us through the service, but sadly St. Mary’s very own Director of Music is, very shortly, off to do his stuff in the States.
    11. The Council’s Civic Awards presentation was on the 14^th November. I am pleased to say that on this occasion Senia Dedic, see paragraph 5 above, was presented with one of the awards. Senia has missed out on this award several times in the past. It is only right that she has now had the recognition for her work with WOW, building relationships across Battersea between black and white, young and old, female and male.
    12. The Community Services Committee on 15^th November featured a couple of items of general interest (and quite a few very boring ones too). Interesting ones were Battersea’s Jubilee Bridge and the rapid spread of charging points for electric cars. The Jubilee Bridge is planned to run alongside Cremorne Bridge, which is the rail bridge used by the Overground service between Clapham Junction and Imperial Wharf. It would be for cyclists and pedestrians only and would put a considerable number of Battersea residents within easy walking distance of Imperial Wharf station. The newly designed and completed skyscraper in Lombard Road was designed the south bank bridge structure in mind and there is also a considerable amount of money earmarked for the bridge. However, there is still a significant funding gap (£millions) and no immediate timetable for construction – so this plan is as yet a gleam in the eye.
    13. Meanwhile, the assumed rise of the electric car will call for massive changes to our roads – we will need millions of roadside charging points. The change in the next 30 years will be like that in the first half of the last century. In 1900, London had well over 50,000 horses on the roads – imagine shifting all that manure: and if you can’t imagine it, then take a look at http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Great-Horse-Manure-Crisis-of-1894/. Sixty years later horses were a sight in London and there were over a million cars.
    14. I know some of you are very sceptical about the benefits that this new change will bring but just imagine quieter, cleaner streets, fewer asthma sufferers and fewer deaths through air poisoning. There will be problems and one I can think of is the problem with having wires trailing all over the roads. I have been assured by the Town Hall that this will not be a problem. But you will not have been re-assured by this picture of tangled wiring on page 6 in a recent Guardian. I have demanded further reports from the officers on this issue, which I see as big problem with electric cars.
    15. On the 16th November, I went with 20 members of the Battersea Labour Party to see Labour of Love at the Noel Coward Theatre. It is a comedy, by James Graham, of life in the political world, during the period 1990-2017. It is definitely NOT just for Labour Party people but it is very political and enlivened for us, up in the gallery, by a comic and dismissive description of “Lah-di-Dah” Battersea. See my review at https://tonybelton.wordpress.com/
    16. On 17^th November I went with the grandchildren to see my brother-in-law in Southend-on-Sea. It was a beautiful cold, clear winter’s day. We went out on to the Pier, which I first knew many years ago when my parents would pack me off to spend summer holidays with my aunt and uncle, who lived there. I had a lovely day – I think the two kids did too!
    17. The November meeting of the Planning Applications Committee was on the 22^nd. In many ways it was fairly uneventful. One application was, however, a 10% variation to the very large development, about to go up across York Road from Hope Street. This will include 299 residential units, the College of Dance, some shopping and entertainment facilities. This plan confirms the massive changes taking place on and around the Lombard Road/York Road junction – more expensive private apartments and not many so-called affordable but still expensive flats.
    18. Marsha de Cordova, Battersea’s MP, and I hosted a Reception for new Battersea Labour Party members in the House of Commons on 23rd. It was attended by about 50 party members and a fun evening was had by all.
    19. I went to the Battersea Police Ball, along with 2,000 others, in Battersea Park on the 25^th. It was great fun with plenty of food, fun and fancy dresses. However, for my taste, there was not enough dancing – though I am not sure these days that I would trust my metallic knee for a long bout of dancing.
    20. You may recall that last month I took Falconbrook School Year 6 pupils on a history walk around the Falcon Road area. Well following that, on Tuesday, 28^th November, I was interviewed by Byron, Link and Freya, three of the students, as part of a film on the area being made by the pupils. The film is part of a written, narrated and photographed story of the Winstanley and York Road estates, which it is hoped will be launched in a world premier at Battersea Arts Centre in March, 2018.
    21. Finally, on 29^th November, I attended a Guardian “Live Events” at the Emmanuel Centre, SW1, entitled “Can Brexit be stopped?“ The session was chaired by the Guardian’s political editor　Anushka Asthana　and the panel members were Gina Miller, who initiated the court case against the government over whether or not Parliament should have a final vote over Brexit, Alastair Campbell, formerly Blair adviser and vocal remainer,　ex-Labour MP Gisela Stuart　and John Mann MP, both Labour Brexiters; pictured here (Mann had not yet arrived). Although I am very much a remainer, I thought that Mann was very impressive and Stuart frankly rather weak. It was difficult not to have a lot of respect for Miller but Campbell, love or loathe him, was clearly in a different class as a communicator.
    22. One slightly sobering event during the month was a phone call from the Met about my stolen bike, which you may remember I lost in September. Despite several photographs of one of the “villains”, with whom I was struggling and despite the police constable’s certainty that he knew who the young rascal actually was, the Crown Prosecution Service have decided not to take the case to court.

My Programme for December

On 1^st December, I went to Theatre 503, above the Latchmere pub. I went with a dozen friends to see Australia’s “best new play”, The Dark Room – see next month.
On Sunday 3^rd December, Battersea Labour Party was entertained by Junction Jazz.
On the Monday, 4^th December, I went to the Passenger Transport Liaison Group.
On the 6^th I have a meeting with a constituent to discuss her plans for enlivening and improving the Falcon Road/Battersea High Street link between Clapham Junction and Battersea Square.
And, in the evening, we have the last full Council Meeting of 2017.
On the morning of 7^th December, I am going on a tour of Christchurch school, whilst in the evening I could go to the Kambala Residents Association or the Police Special Neighbourhood Team at the George Shearing Centre but will in fact go to the Licensing Committee to ask it, on behalf of residents, to modify the opening hours of the Anchor pub, Hope Street.
On Saturday, 9^th December there is a party given by the Battersea Fields Tenants.
And on 14^th December, the Planning Applications Committee, and then on to Christmas and the New Year and on May 3^rd the Borough election

Do you know?

Last month I asked “Who or what were Fawcett, Coppock, Hicks, McDermott and Wolftencroft (which are names of roads on the Kambala Estate)? Can you answer just one or all five?

I am starting with Coppock Close and the answer is John Bridgeford Coppock, who was born in 1910, and died in 1981. He was a Lecturer and research chemist, who taught at Battersea Polytechnic from 1935-41. Perhaps he is an unlikely inspiration for the naming but not only is there an education connection with Fawcett (of whom more next month), but his death is just about the same year as the Kambala Estate was completed. The most detailed description of John Coppock that I can find comes from the American Journal of Public Health. I am no expert but this speaks wonders for the international regard for this little known Battersea-based scientist. See: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.72.8.782

November 16, 2017

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea November, 2017, Newsletter (# 101)

On 9^th October, I was due to be on the platform at Shaftesbury ward’s version of the Council’s Let’s Talk meeting, but, unfortunately, I got substituted. This was a pity, because it turned out to be a bit of a bunfight between outraged voters and Tory councillors, Cook and Senior. Neither are known for pulling their punches or retreating from a fracas and with, an angry audience, the evening must have had its highs and lows. One thing is for certain the evening embarrassed ex-Tory now Independent Councillor Jim (James) Cousins. Jim, a senior member of the Wandsworth Tory Cabinet for many years, now writes an interesting blog at jamescousins.com, which includes coverage of that evening. Many of us are waiting with bated breath to see if he is going to challenge the Tories at next May’s Council elections, meanwhile his blog makes a well-informed commentary on some aspects of Wandsworth Tories.
The 11^th October, Council Meeting, was as unexciting as I predicted it would be. Nowadays, we councillors don’t even get answers to the questions we ask in Council (a bit like Prime Minister’s Question Time but without the answers! Can you imagine PMQs without the answers!). This is important for me, and on this occasion for some of you, as this month I asked about an issue bothering many residents of the Latchmere Estate and what’s more I promised them an answer. BUT I am afraid I don’t yet have an answer and can only apologise to those of you still worried about this neighbourhood issue – hopefully I will have one soon.
I have been concerned about some of the back-land developments that have recently been given planning permission. One particular development that has concerned me is one in Cabul Road, which I visited on the 13^th October. First, it strikes me as being very close to the rear of the houses in Rowena Crescent (from which this photograph was taken) and secondly because the developers have chosen to use their own building regulations inspector rather than the Council’s. The freedom to do this was granted by David Cameron’s Government in one of the crazier anti-regulation moves made in recent times. It leaves the poor neighbours with no recourse to an independent arbiter. I await developments with interest.
On the 14^th October, I and maybe 150 others attended the launch of Sally Warren’s bid to win the Thamesfield by-election on November 9. Sally makes a very impressive candidate, very local, friendly, extremely articulate and committed. Labour won Thamesfield way back in 1971 so clearly winning next month, for the first time since then, has to be a long shot. But the Tories are currently in such disarray, that anything is possible.
On the 15^th, I attended an “awayday” think session on how we, Labour candidates, are going to tackle next May’s election. We held it on a glorious autumn day, in the bucolic surroundings of Manresa College – part of the Roehampton University campus. The mood was buoyant but we must avoid complacency. I have been on the verge of two other Borough elections we were “certain to win” only weeks before the event – on one occasion General Galtieri launched the Falklands War and overnight turned Mrs. Thatcher’s fortunes from being the most unpopular PM in modern history into Saviour of the Nation!
The October meeting of the Planning Applications Committee was on the 18^th. There was one application, which I know is a cause of concern to residents of the Battersea Fields Estate and that was the extended permission, for three years, to Harris Academy to use their playground for a car boot sale. It is now 18 years since the school first got temporary permission and during that time there have been plenty of objections, as well as a lot of support for the “market”. It is often tricky when developments are given “temporary” permission as too often they then seem to go on for ever.
On the 20^th I went to County Hall to see Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution. I don’t mean the modern City Hall, near London Bridge, but the old County Hall standing on the Thames alongside the Eye and boldly facing Parliament. The play, staged in the old debating chamber, was splendidly done and I recommend it to everyone – though it is not a cheap evening – it was almost worth it just for being in the chamber. You can see my review of the play on my blog site at https://tonybelton.wordpress.com/.
On the 23^rd I went to see Iannucci’s Death of Stalin, a film which I was looking forward very much to seeing. What a great subject! A film about a man, who my working-class London family (and many others) revered, in war-time, as Uncle Joe, much more, to their minds, the saviour of embattled Britain than the Johnny Come-Lately Yanks. Yet Stalin later turned out to be a tyrant and an ogre. The film had also had rave reviews and plaudits from many friends – but I found it vaguely disappointing. Somehow treating the death of this giant historical figure, both responsible for millions of innocent deaths and saviour of the Soviet Union, as the centre of a farce was massively inappropriate. Did one care whatever happened to the ghastly Beria, or the cowardly Malenkov or the scheming Khrushchev or any of the other villains of the piece? Well, I didn’t. It is billed as a “dark comedy”, but I guess I found the subject a little too dark to be very comical.
On the 30^th I had a meeting with planners and designers about the so-called Winstanley Re-generation scheme. The scheme is, at last, beginning to get under-way. It is aimed at maintaining the number, but vastly improving the quality (and looks), of social housing available in Battersea, but it is also providing private sector housing for sale and rent – very much in line with the London Plan and the city’s population growth. However, one thing I wish to put on record, is that the largest tower blocks, which, dominate the models and drawings, have NOTHING to do with Winstanley regeneration. They are instead related either to the Council’s plans for major developments in York Road or to the plans for Crossrail 2. Crossrail 2 and the potential new interchange at Clapham Junction does not yet have any funding or Government approval, and even if does get approved it will not happen until at least 2030. And all the developments in York Road are already happening now regardless of Winstanley regeneration.
Late in the month, I made a point of going to look at Tooting Common’s
grand “Chestnut Avenue”, which you may remember I highlighted last month when it was due to come under the council chop. On the left you can see the mature chestnuts, before the axeman came, and on the right the new lime saplings. From maturity to fragile immaturity almost overnight! Whether you think it an environmental disaster or good husbandry, it certainly makes the point that landscape design and planning is a multi-generational project and not something to be resolved in one electoral cycle.
On the 31^st October, I took Year 6 pupils of Falconbrook School on a 75-minute tour of the Winstanley area. Obviously most of them live on the estate and know it very much better than I do – but they don’t know it in an adult or geographer’s way. I hope that they found following the course of the Falcon Brook, the naming history of the estate and William Mitchell’s concrete sculptures interesting. I certainly enjoyed it and, if keeping 30 odd 11 year-olds’ attention for 75 minutes is a measure, then it went well.

My Programme for November

On 1^st November, my partner Penny is hosting a book launch in the Speaker’s House, Westminster. The book is about Arthur Onslow, the Great eighteenth-century Speaker of the House of Commons so Penny and the author wrote to Speaker Bercow to ask for use of “his” House to launch the book. The House, in the corner of the Palace of Westminster, next to the Big Ben tower and facing over the river, should make an impressive venue.
The next day, I am going to CAW (Citizens Advice Wandsworth) Annual General Meeting at Battersea Library.
On the 6^th I have a meeting of Wandsworth Conservation Advisory Committee.
I hope to go to WOW (Women of Wandsworth)’s Annual General Meeting in City Hall on 8^th November.
On the 9^th we have the exciting and surprisingly tight Thamesfield by-election.
The Second Providence House Fund Raising Dinner is on the 11^th November and the Council’s Civic Awards dinner is on the 14^th. And, of course, on the 12^th there will be Remembrance Day services across the Borough.
I have the Community Services Committee on 15^th November and the Planning Applications Committee on 22^nd.
On Saturday, 18^th November, there is something called the London Councils Summit held in the City of London’s Guildhall. All councillors from across London are invited to attend and the Summit is usually addressed by the Mayor and a Government Minister. It should be an interesting day.
Marsha de Cordova, Battersea’s MP, and I are hosting a Reception for new members of the Battersea Labour Party in the House of Commons on 23^rd.
The Battersea Police Ball, the Borough’s largest and brassiest charity big bash, takes place in Battersea Park on the 25^th.

Do you know?

Last month: not many of you appeared to be very interested in why this boat moored at Vicarage Crescent is called Ringvaart III. According to Wikipedia, Ringvaart is a 38 mile circular canal, built 1839-1845, as part of Holland’s land drainage system. It is also a commercial, industrial and recreational canal, part of the very extensive Dutch commercial waterway. This houseboat, being extensively renovated by Joel and Rosie, must have started its life hauling freight around Holland until some enterprising sailor decided to take this river/canal boat across the North Sea and into the Thames.

As for my question this month: it relates to the Kambala Estate, the red-brick, 2 and 3 storey estate on the west-side of Falcon Road. The street names on the estate are Fawcett Close, Coppock Close, Hicks Close, McDermott Close, Wolftencroft Close (note 2 ‘f’s and no s), as well as Ingrave, Wye, York, Mantua and Kambala. Forget the last 5, Who or what were Fawcett, Coppock, Hicks, McDermott and Wolftencroft? Can you answer just one or all five?

October 22, 2017

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea October, 2017, Newsletter (# 100)

I spent the first week of September in a small village on the Croatian coast. For the fourth year we stayed in the same very basic, very simple pension – nothing to do except try all the local fish in one of the 3 brilliant local restaurants – and swim across this bay – great!
Meanwhile, back in Battersea Latchmere Labour Party members re-selected Simon Hogg and myself as two of the three candidates for May’s Council elections. Strange to note that, with all the scare stories about how Corbyn’s Labour Party was going to “de-select” sitting MPs and councillors, this is the only time since 1971 when I have been re-selected without an interview!
What about Wendy Speck, our third councillor? I hear you say. Wendy has decided to move on to other things and so members chose a new candidate, one Kate Stock. Here are the three of us in York Gardens, me on the left and Simon on the right. I will say more of Wendy, who has been a great partner for Simon and myself – probably in May next year, when she steps down.
We were in York Gardens on 11^th September at the Council’s Let’s Talk meeting. Some of you will have received flyers for this event from the Council, but, despite a very wide circulation, only about 40 members of the public turned up. It is clearly a “good thing” that the Council should “consult” with the public but the way we do it in Wandsworth doesn’t really work. The only lively point was when one of the public, probably reading this right now, weighed into my failure to solve everything wrong with his block of flats. PS However, since that meeting I have heard that one person, who came along and talked of potholes, actually got one fixed! The meeting at least made one difference!
On 13^th September, I looked into the Royal College of Arts exhibition of plans for its proposed development on the Howie Street, Parkgate and Battersea Bridge Roads site. One comment I found particularly interesting was how North Battersea is becoming the centre of the UK art world. Not only is there the Royal College of Arts, but the Royal College of Dance, currently in Battersea Square, is also being “re-developed” in York Road.
On Sunday, 17^th, I went with Marsha de Cordova, MP, to the Battersea Chapel service run by Pastor Leroy Burke. You may remember that Leroy organised a very impressive public meeting about knife crime. Pastor Burke’s intention is to keep the public interest focused on the horror of knife crime until we have got rid of it.
The picture shows a sculpture done by Philip Dorman, a Providence House volunteer. It is called The Wall of Pain and has 185 model coffins, representing the young victims of knife crime in London, 2005-15. The three stand-alone coffins in the front represent the three young men killed in Battersea earlier this year.
The following day I had a meeting with Marsha in the House of Commons, along with her office manager Tracy Smith-Robinson. We discussed a range of matters, such as where her Battersea office will be – her intention is that it should be in the heart of Clapham Junction – and her programme for Labour’s Conference in Brighton.
On the 19th September, I had the Community Services Committee, when the Tory councillors decided to go ahead with their plan to demolish and reconstruct the Northcote Road Library. The Labour councillors opposed the proposal, not least because the 17 planned housing units in the new development are NOT expected to be either so-called “affordable” or socially rented.
Within a week of that decision, Wandsworth Council cut down Tooting Common’s grand Chestnut Avenue. This fiercely unpopular action (you may have seen coverage of the destruction
Chestnut Avenue

on TV or radio) followed from a Community Services Committee’s decision a couple of months ago. But with both this and the controversial decision on Northcote Library being taken, within 6 months of the next Council Election, it leads one to wonder whether the local Tories have a death wish.
On 20^th September, I had the Planning Applications Committee, which for the second month running had no decisions to take of any significance, except to the applicants themselves and their neighbours.
On Saturday, 23^rd September, I went with Marsha de Cordova to Brighton for the Labour Conference. Marsha MC’d a reception for the London Labour Party, with guest speakers including London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Labour’s Deputy Leader Tom Watson. On the following day, she and I hosted a dinner for Wandsworth Party friends in one of Brighton’s popular Italian restaurants.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling too well and came back from Brighton on Monday morning, but the Conference was clearly a great success and left most of us in good heart. There are obviously serious problems facing Labour, with, for example, our stance on the European Union being to say the least – woolly. But, if our position is woolly, the Government’s confusion and divisions are simply untenable.
You may remember that last month my bike was stolen in Este Road. Well on the 29^th I was rung by the police. They told me that they had caught all three “villains” and that it was now up to the Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether to press the case to court. The police officer told me a little about the three youths, most of which I can’t repeat in public, but the salient point was that it looks very possible that this is the start of a downhill path, which may well result in three wasted young lives, unless society takes immediate remedial action. We really do need a better and stronger Probation Service and not just the shattered remains of a privatised system.
I could get really angry at this point but then something wonderful happened. A Battersea resident, Joel is his name, gave me his bike – see below!
I went to an afternoon charity Coffee Party on behalf of McMillan nurses at Battersea Fields Residents Association clubroom on 29^th of the month – not sure how much was raised but younger members of the community had a rousing game of table soccer. I kind of remember when the participants would claim to be Bobby Charlton or George Best – nowadays the screams were all for Messi and Ronaldo!
Finally, on Saturday 30^th September, there was the funeral of Tory Cllr Jim Maddan. Jim was elected Mayor of the Borough as recently as May. Some of you will have met him but he was best known in Putney, where for many years he was not only a councillor but also the street bobby. Popular across communities and politics, his funeral in St. Mary’s Church Putney was a big occasion.

My Programme for October

On 9^h October, I will be on the platform at Shaftesbury ward’s version of the Council’s Let’s Talk meeting – but as a stand-in for Labour Leader, Simon Hogg, who has to be elsewhere.
On 11^th October, we have a Council Meeting. Nowadays these are as rare as hens’ teeth – the old model of local government desperately needs a re-think. Currently, it is just not operating other than as a once every four-year plebiscite on who should run the place – this party or that one.
In the week of the 16^th I have two interesting viewings: first on 16^th itself when I am going to get better acquainted with the design, work and looks of Battersea Park’s new tube station rapidly taking shape alongside the Dogs’ Home; and then two days later I am visiting the Tideway Thames Tunnel works. This major infrastructure development, perhaps only second to Crossrail, promises to solve some of Londonâ€™s sewage problems, taking tons of sludge away from the Thames.
The October meeting of the Planning Application Committee is on the 18^th.

Opinion Piece

This is NOT an original observation but my caseload as a councillor more and more reveals just how bad the housing crisis in London is. Housing problems have always topped the list of issues brought to me as a Latchmere councillor, but this year there has been a significant increase in both the number and seriousness of the issues people are facing. The most desperate cases are frequently very young families coming from broken relationships, and usually with no job and no income and very little in the way of personal belongings. The shortage of cheap, rented accommodation – council housing – is desperate but meanwhile we continue to see luxury flats, often built as an investment and not an answer to a housing shortage, springing up in North Battersea.

This Council development of 6 council flats in Rowditch Lane is one very small exception to the trend. This block is intended for re-housing folks displaced by the Winstanley Estate regeneration. It’s a small step in the right direction but we need a new building programme numbered in hundreds, not in tens,

Do you know?

I mentioned Joel above. He had read my last newsletter, about the bike theft, and so he emailed me to say that he had a spare bike that he kept on his houseboat (pictured here), moored near Vicarage Crescent – and I was welcome to have it. I went and picked it up the other day and had a nice chat with him and Rosie, who is joint owner of the boat. They tell an interesting story about buying the boat (as cheap as you can imagine) and buying a mooring (more expensive than I could have imagined) and doing up the boat themselves – well pretty much – including taking it downstream to Greenwich for large-scale welding repair jobs. The boat has the interesting, original, name of Ringvaart III.

So, my question is “What does that tell us about the boat’s history and where does the boat come from?” A new fixture on the Battersea scene with, no doubt, its own interesting story.

August 5, 2017

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea August, 2017, Newsletter (# 98)

I said last month that I was off to Sardinia for a week on 24^th June, with the grandchildren. We had a great time in a “resort”, which, whilst not exactly my style, was good for the kids with four (!) adult and kids’ pools and plenty of good mainly, but not exclusively, Italian food. The first few days were, however, soporifically hot. Global warming really is making much of the Mediterranean almost impossible for summer holidays – except for lobsters of course. Here is the clan, minus me the photographer.
I got back on the evening of 1^st July, hoping to get to the Falcon Festival, but was too late. The Festival started in 2016 and will now hopefully be an annual event. I am told it went really well and that the Battersea Labour Party stall, with a guest appearance from our MP, Marsha de Cordova, was a great success – I am sure that our stall will be a regular feature of the Festival in the future.
On 4th July, I had a meeting of Wandsworth Council’s Heritage Selection Panel. 456 heritage assets were reviewed, by the Battersea Society and the other Wandsworth amenity societies (Balham, Putney, etc.). The meeting ran for more than three hours and nominations for the various categories were put forward for final approval. The categories include:-
- post boxes, e.g. VR (Victoria Regina post boxes in Battersea Square)
- boundary markers
- blue enamel street signs
- ghost signs, like this Peterkin Custard ad on St. John’s Hill (Do you know it?)
- “street furniture” such as granite setts, York paving stones, the electricity sub-stations and sewer sink pipes, etc.
- English Heritage blue plaques.
  
  The full revised list will be submitted to the Council’s Heritage committee in September.
  
  A private company has mapped all these assets on to a “geographic database” and in future we have the exciting prospect of being able to research all these assets on-line, placing them in our neighbourhood and seeing images of them as well.
On 5^th I was rung up by Poppy Naylor, a politics student at Graveney School. She asked me if she could “shadow me” for a month or so and learn something about politics at both a local and practical level. Over time, I have had university students studying, say, journalism, who have worked with me writing news stories as part of their course, but I have never had a school student looking for some work experience in politics, prior to deciding whether to study the subject at university. It struck me as an interesting project and so now meet Poppy, for a month at least part of the team! And here is her contribution!

“I approached Councillor Tony Belton in the Summer of my first A Level year as I wanted to find out more about politics at a local level. Our politics course at Graveney School focuses on government and parties at a national level. I felt I knew a little about councils and how they worked. By the time I attended my first council meeting, I knew I understood absolutely nothing. I was very grateful that Tony had given me the opportunity to start to figure things out.

So far, I have attended a Labour group meeting and a council meeting in Wandsworth Town Hall. The meeting rooms are very grand and the council meeting itself seemed to run along the lines of the debates I have seen in the House of Commons. It was encouraging to see how united everyone was in the light of the Grenfell Tower fire about implementing the correct safety measures in Wandsworth. There was a real grass roots and local feel to these meetings. Councillors talked about how the Grenfell fire had touched the lives of some constituents who lost family that night.

It has been an interesting experience so far to see how decisions are made locally that can affect our everyday lives. There is still a lot that I wonder about.”
A couple of councillors have for some time now organised annual week-end trips to battlefields to commemorate the part that Wandsworth military men have played in either World War I or II. This year the trip was to Villers Plouich, near Douai, over the week-end 7^th June to 9^th June. The village was totally obliterated 100 years ago in 1917, but was liberated by troops from Wandsworth, and particularly Battersea. This was such a major event in the history of the village that there is a square called “Place de Wandsworth”! But my favourite story of the area was of this man, who only 10 years ago discovered this World War l tank buried in a bomb crater – after a dozen years of looking! It was one of the first ever used.
We had a Council Meeting on 12^th July. The main debate was about the truly awful Grenfell Tower disaster and its implications for us here in Wandsworth. I wrote about this last month and about our concerns, but the Council Meeting was an opportunity, a month later, to discuss and review the steps that Wandsworth has taken to ensure the safety of our residents. Clearly, we were all shocked by Kensington & Chelsea’s abject failure. We can only hope that we have taken all necessary steps to avoid such a disaster in Wandsworth.
The sheltered housing residents of Doris Emmerton Court, Wynter Street SW11, had a BBQ on 14^th July. They invited me and I was delighted to attend, even if I did get there a little late. Doris Emmerton Court is a purpose-built sheltered housing block of 66 flats for older people aged 55+ who choose to live independently in the community with access to support offered by the sheltered housing officer.
A couple of hours later, Poppy and I were at the Battersea Society Summer Garden Party in the grounds of St. Mary’s Church on the river-front. It is one of the most spectacular spots for such an occasion, that one could imagine. No one that J M Turner painted river scenes here, but about 200 years ago when the view was just a little different!
I won a pair of tickets to the men’s final at Wimbledon on 16^th July! (N.B. I won the right to buy them! This was not a freebie) I took Marsha with me – see the dreaded selfie! As for the game itself, Federer was, of course, immaculate even if Cilic was over-awed and injured. Perhaps the second match, in which Jamie Murray and Martina Hingis defeat Heather Watson and Henri Kontinen, was the more entertaining spectacle.
On 20^th July, I had the Planning Applications Committee, which on this occasion was very important for the future of Battersea. The first application, relating to a site opposite the Dogs’ Home, was to demolish Palmerston Court, and the Pavilion and Flanagan’s pubs and to replace them with 4 buildings up to 16 stories high, comprising 162 residential units, a replacement pub, retail and some open space. No doubt the 162 units will be useful but only 25% of them will be “affordable”, that is far too expensive for, say, the majority of first-time buyers! What is more, we all know that demolishing a vibrant community pub like Flanagan’s is rather more important than just replacing bricks and mortar. The replacement pub, in perhaps 5 years’ time, is extremely unlikely to have the same roots in the community as Flanagan’s. This application was opposed by the Battersea Society and the Labour councillors but was passed by the Conservative majority! No doubt the fact that the development will bring £6+ million into the Council’s coffers also had some influence on the decision!
The second major application referred to the Candle Factory site. This time we are talking about a 25-storey block, containing 136 flats and a gym. 21% of these units will be “affordable” and the contribution to the Council’s coffers will be £4.9 million. The result of the discussion was much as the Flanagan’s debate; opposed by the Labour councillors and supported by the Tories, though interestingly enough one of the Conservative councillors representing the area spoke against the application!
And on 21st July I was off on hols, again. I am making up
Ramsay McDonald’s home, Lossiemouth

for a couple of years without a big break by having a few short breaks this year, including 10 days in Scotland, one of my very favourite destinations. One place I had never been to before was the small fishing village of Lossiemouth, just north of Aberdeen, where I came across this house. It was, and is, the birthplace of Ramsay MacDonald, the first Labour Prime Minister in 1924 and 1929-1931, and, famously and contentiously, the Prime Minister of the 1931-35 National Government. I wonder whether any other British Prime Minister came from such a humble background.
Last month I did say that I would say something about the news from the Finance Committee of 29^th June, re Tours Passage and Falcon Park. Unfortunately, there is not a lot that I can say other than that the Committee decided to allocate £174,450 to the Tours Passage (between Maysoule Road and the railway) scheme and £115,000 to the Falcon (Banana) Park scheme. One of my constituents can take much of the credit for the Tours Passage allocation, as she has lobbied for it for years, and I like to think that I had something to do with the Falcon Park scheme. However, despite the precise nature of the budgets, I am told that the schemes are not yet worked through in any detail and that we must wait until the autumn for that.
Suffice to say that with the Council still intent on putting in an artificial playing surface in Falcon Park, I argued that money should be spent on improving the use and landscaping of the northern area of the Park, where the Latchmere Road cut is situated. The allocation for Tours Passage is simply at present for “environmental improvements”.
By the way other allocations in Battersea included £165,000 for the Wandsworth Common, Chivalry Road play space scheme; £74,000 for the Wandsworth Common, St Mark’s play space; £220,000 for the Fred Wells Gardens refurbishment scheme; and £334,000 for a Battersea Arts Centre scheme.

My Programme for August

August really is our recess (or holiday season) and my only commitment is to the Planning Applications Committee on the 23^rd – after two years of elections and, of course, the Referendum a complete month off is very welcome. But in September, we will be straight into the build up to and the campaigning for the May 3^rd, 2018, Council election. We have high hopes of making considerable gains and clawing back the advantage the Tories have had over us for nearly forty years.

Opinion Piece

Given my comments last month about our MP’s (Marsha de Cordova) stance on the Brexit/Remain issue, I think I should draw your attention to what she said in her maiden speech in the House of Commons on 17^th July. You can read, or view it in full, on various websites but I thought I should highlight the following extract:-

“As you can see, Mr. Deputy Speaker, in Battersea we are outward-looking and internationalist. It is that outward-looking spirit that I will endeavour to bring to Parliament. With the decision to leave the European Union, we face serious challenges ahead of us. It was a decision that my constituents care deeply about and voted overwhelmingly against. I will be standing up for them, drawing on that outward-looking Battersea tradition, one that values openness, tolerance, social justice and co-operation”.

Do you know?

The Barbara Hepworth statue, pictured here by the lake in Battersea Park? Well one of the organisers, Ian, of the Doris Emmerton BBQ I mentioned above, challenged me, and you, to name the location of its rather larger identical twin. Does anyone know?

July 10, 2017

Councillor Tony Belton’s North Battersea July, 2017, Newsletter (# 97)

First, apologies for failing to produce a June edition of my newsletter. Mrs. May’s mistaken decision to call an election cost her plenty but it also meant I lost a political bet and didn’t finish the June edition! I lost the bet but, as she discovered, I was absolutely right about why she shouldn’t have called the election!
On the 1^st May, I went to the Old Vic to see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, a play by Tom Stoppard. R and G are two minor characters in Shakespeare’s classic Hamlet. They are incidental characters in the tragic drama of Hamlet’s decline and death. Stoppard’s genius is to make a funny but tragic story out of the inconsequentiality of their lives and their best intentions. It’s not quite the tragedy of little men within a bigger tragedy for a bigger man, with all the elitism that would imply but it’s pretty near to it – brilliant.
And then the next morning, the 2^nd May, news started trickling through that Labour’s candidate for the 6^th June General Election was likely to be Marsha de Cordova – “who she?”, I heard, asked by 1,000+ Battersea LP (BLP) members. Marsha, of whom more later, turned out to be a charming and attractive candidate, enthusiastic and friendly. Here she is, front left, at a “candidate adoption party” with GLA member, Leonie Cooper and previous Labour MP, Martin Linton.
The selection was done by a committee of the London Regional Party and the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), inevitably dominated by party apparatchiks. This was not the way one would ideally choose the candidate and admittedly the election was sprung on us, but all could see that there was at least a possibility that the election would happen before the scheduled 2020 date. The Labour Party should have been more prepared – bad mark against Labour’s Leadership!
I volunteered to be Marsha’s agent for the campaign – what a mug to volunteer for all that work! Party agents, amongst other things, have a legal duty to ensure that their party’s expenditure for the election does not exceed the legal limit, which in our case was approximately £14,000, i.e. we, the agents, are the ones that go to prison if it does. The deadline for the statutory return of election expenditure is 14^th July.
Meanwhile I had arranged to have coffee on May 3^rd with one Matt Rosenberg to discuss his ideas for making a film of the Winstanley estate with, and even written by, pupils of Falconbrook School, Latchmere. It turned out that Matt had quite a record of making films/DVDs of London communities and neighbourhoods. It seems like a fascinating proposal, which we will pursue in the autumn.
I got back to the office, just in time to meet Marsha, then a quick drive round the constituency with Marsha and a photographer to picture her with the Power Station, Clapham Junction and Queenstown Road stations and, of course, St. Mary’s Church in the background. You may have seen the one of her from the other side of the river with the Power Station in the background. A few days later, I took this one, which was used on her election address. I am quite proud of it!
On 4^th May, we had canvassing to be organised, stationary to be printed, members to be contacted, supplies to be ordered. We also had a photo-shoot outside the Battersea Arts Centre with all of the current Labour councillors in Battersea, the GLA member Leonie Cooper and two ex-MPs, Lord Alf Dubs and Martin Linton.
Friday, 5^th May was quiet; just Marsha’s election leaflet to write, to design and to send to the printers. A few discussions about apostrophes (‘), split infinitives, spellings, “Are they Tories or Conservatives?” – that sort of thing. (Did you know that it has been a minor Labour Party debate for years “whether to refer to our main opponents as Conservatives, vaguely respectful and formal, or as Tories, more colloquial and less respectful. I belong to the “Tories” school of thought. What do you think?)
On the 6^th my partner and I went to the Royal Opera House to see the UK premier of Thomas Adès’s opera, The Exterminating Angel – pretty unusual for me, but Adès’s mother was my partner’s flatmate in London immediately after university and so we are old family friends. It’s not that I haven’t been to the opera a few times; I could almost claim to be a fan of, in particular, Mozart, but Thomas Adès is a very modern, “post-melodic” composer. His opera was staged impressively and sung brilliantly. The story, derived from the Luis Bunuel film of the same name, is of an elite dinner party, symbolically trapped in a stately home, deserted by the servants, helpless at caring for themselves and increasingly and pathetically blind to their circumstances – it could easily be a metaphor for a United Kingdom blindly, blithely and arrogantly trapped into a hopeless Brexit – except that I believe the UK will escape from the current Brexit impasse. How? Let’s wait and see.
On the following day, 7^th May, Marsha and I attended a meeting about gun and knife crime at the Battersea Chapel, Wye Street. It was called by Reverend LeRoy Burke and was one of the most extraordinary meetings, of the many I have attended. It began a little after 6 in the evening and was still going strong when we left at 10.30. There must have been the best part of 400 people there, of whom perhaps 10 were white and the other 390 of mixed and Afro-Caribbean background. At least 50 people spoke of their anger and concern about the extent of knife crime in Britain, in London and in particular in Battersea. It was part revivalist, part confessional but, whatever it was, it was so totally different from any Council organised meeting on such an issue would have been. Men got up and spoke, (though sorry to say it of my sex) but much of their contribution was bluster and anger. Women spoke with emotion and passion, they spoke of the need for the community to come together to rid itself of this scourge, but not in a self-pitying manner rather in a determined and encouraging way. It was impressive but is there the will or the organisation to make it any more than a one-off protest?
On Tuesday, 9^th May, Marsha and I had a pre-meeting with Wandsworth’s Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), in order to make sure that I submitted her nomination for the election correctly by the legal closure date of 11^th May. The ERO had similar pre-meetings with all the parties competing in the three elections of Battersea, Putney and Tooting. I must say that the ERO spoon-fed the political parties in the three Wandsworth constituencies and if any one of us had got the nomination process wrong they would have been be truly and amazingly incompetent!
On the 10^th, I took Marsha to meet Victoria Rodney, founder and boss of the Mercy Foundation, in her office in Falcon Road. What a woman Victoria is! As far as I can see she self-funds and supports an organisation, whose sole function is to provide various basic training to under-educated, usually ethnic minorities. I have helped her with teaching English to Somali refugees, but her organisation largely trains people in the use of IT and other basic skills, such as childcare. (So, imagine our surprise to see Victoria appearing in the Tory candidate, Jane Ellison’s, election literature – just shows the difference between us party hacks and someone like Victoria, who is simply keen on support wherever she can get it!)
From there we went to the Katherine Low Settlement (KLS), where Marsha met a couple of client groups, one of the elderly and one of the educationally challenged. I should say that in these days of limited state support, KLS, located in Battersea High Street, is now one of Battersea’s key social and welfare organisations.
Some Council events carry on regardless of elections and they include the Planning Applications Committee on Tuesday, 16^th May. But on this occasion, we were very much going through the process of democratic review. I don’t think there was one item on which there was any disagreement – all the applications went through, as they say, on the nod.
Then on the next day, Wednesday, we had the Annual Council Meeting. This is the annual Mayor-Making ceremony: that’s nothing to do with London Mayor Sadiq Khan but the swearing in of Wandsworth Borough’s ceremonial leading citizen: in this case Mayor Jim Madden. It’s a pleasant enough social occasion, the food isn’t bad and the drink is sufficient, but frankly it is becoming a bit of a farce. Every new Mayor adds a little embellishment that appeals to him/her so that the ceremony becomes less and less relevant to the business of the Council. An old colleague of mine would have called it Municipal Tom-Foolery and a new one, Queenstown’s Cllr Dickerdem, commented acerbically that one would never guess from the evening’s processes that the Council was cutting public services.
On the next day, back to KLS with Marsha and a mid-day performance of The Wait, written and performed by the Gold and Silver Players of the Katherine Low Settlement, a troupe whose only qualification is to be 60+. This was a quite brilliantly written, if far too short, very witty take off of life from a modern pensioners’ point of view – about queues in the surgery, young people not offering seats on buses – the stuff of ordinary life – very entertaining.
On the 19^th, Marsha and I joined half a dozen other Labour councillors at Wandsworth Foodbank’s presentation of their annual report and the statistics on foodbank use in Wandsworth. This year it was even more startling than in 2016. Foodbank use has risen in Wandsworth, one of the richest areas in the whole country, by three times the national rate of increase and last year foodbank use in the borough rose by 25% compared to a 4% increase across London as a whole. Clearly the safety net for Wandsworth’s most vulnerable residents is broken.
Then on 22^nd May came the ghastly Manchester bombing – what a tragic waste of young life. How cruel, how wicked, and yet life does and must go on. So, in what might seem a heartless way, those of us involved in the election campaign started thinking about what it meant for us. To start with Battersea Society’s York Gardens hustings meeting for the 23^rd was cancelled. Then all the major parties announced the suspension of campaigning for a couple of days. But what did that mean? All canvassing, all deliveries? We were already on a tight schedule; when would it be considered seemly and decent to start again? Indeed, without military style control and discipline (and communications system) over hundreds of volunteers how could one in any case guarantee a halt? Suffice to say, we worked things out and carried on – sadly.
On 2^nd June, my partner and I went to the Barbican to see a concert, conducted by Thomas Adès. The star event as far as I was concerned was his rendition of Beethoven’s 2^nd symphony. You could hear Beethoven’s development from his almost Mozartian virtuoso beginnings to the full romantic genius of his maturity. Congratulations to Thomas.
Marsha and I went off to my favourite Street Party, on 3^rd June: the Triangle (Poyntz, Shellwood and Knowsley Roads) Party. After years of not winning raffles, tombolas, etc., I have now won two in a row at the Triangle. My partner and I had a very nice dinner at the Nutbourne Restaurant, Ransome’s Dock – and very nice too but I’ll have to avoid winning again!
The next day we attended the much more ambitious Old York Road Street Party. This was on a much larger and more commercial scale than the Triangle, but of course it was less intimate – still fun though.
One of the interesting features of being Marsha’s agent was attending religious events, which I would never usually go near. So, for example, on 3^rd June we attended a Muslim meeting at the St. Anne’s Church Hall, St. Anne’s Hill, and then on 4^th we went to the Ransom Pentecostal African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Mallinson Road, off the Northcote Road. Marsha was invited to speak at both. The Muslim meeting was gender separated, ordered, quiet and orchestrated. The Pentecostal Church was emotional, exuberant and inclusive with a brilliant jazz pianist. Guess which a) I preferred and b) which I think has the greater future in this modern world?
And then on Monday, back to serious campaigning, first with the Borough-wide South Thames College hustings at mid-day. This had 2 Lib/Dems, a UKIP candidate, a Green party candidate and Marsha, Battersea’s Labour candidate. The audience, a group of maybe 50, was a very diverse set of further education college students, some of whom were interested from the off and some were bored and speedy departees (Interestingly enough when the UKIP candidate got into a dispute with the chair, a fair number walked out; they were not interested in any hassle). It was the first time Marsha had “appeared” at a hustings meeting. I was impressed by the amount of homework she did in advance but also couldn’t help noticing how nervous she was. She needn’t have worried. Marsha has such an authentic, enthusiastic personality that she has a head start over almost all competitors!
Then pretty well straight off to Newton Prep, opposite the Dogs’ Home, for a very different kind of hustings. Chaired by the Headteacher and attended by pupils and parents, with pre-written questions carefully presented by pupils, this was a much more ordered occasion. The panel was the Lib/Dem’s Richard Davis and Marsha but also the Conservative candidate, Jane Ellison, seen here at the lectern. Jane, our MP since 2010, knew her stuff, OK, but she does not put over her message with the same passion and belief as does Marsha. I know I am biased but I think Marsha won the hustings competition.
Then to Election Day itself, June 8th and, who should I meet outside my front door but Latchmere personality Joseph Afrane, pictured here – I love the shoes! I have “fought” 13 Council elections, 9 or 10 London elections for Mayor, GLC, etc., a few EU elections and this was my 12^th General Election, so I wasn’t up at 5 am delivering polling day leaflets as some of our keenest volunteers were. Nevertheless I was busy from about 9 am until 4 or 5 on Friday morning. So it was a pretty long day. In many ways, it was like all the rest: chaotic, frenetic, a few lost tempers (I got shirty a couple of times, including to one Tory volunteer outside the George Shearing Centre and if you are reading this then apologies – put it down to the heat of the day!), mistakes, heart-warming stories about the great efforts some people make to register their vote, and exhaustion.
On election days, I have never been totally confident of victory, nor indeed of defeat. But I was very confident of a Labour victory in Tooting and knew we were doing quite well in Battersea, so I was looking forward to the count. I stopped off at home and had a quick shower at 10 pm when I picked up the exit-polls announced on TV. Were we really doing that well? It looked good from the start as the Labour votes mounted up but there was a slight hiatus towards the end as suddenly several hundred Tory votes took Ellison into what appeared like a slight lead. I was girding myself up to demand a recount but then suddenly a large bundle of Labour votes tipped the balance into a de Cordova 25,292: Ellison 22,876 victory with a 9.95% swing to Labour.
I know Jane Ellison pretty well. She has always been an honourable opponent and has worked with me on some issues, especially planning. Of course, as a member of a Tory Government she has had to vote for some awful policies, not least Article 5 and, therefore, Brexit. I can only imagine how disappointed she must be and for that reason, if nothing else, she has my sympathies.
On 15^th June, Marsha invited me to her “swearing in” in the House of Commons. I had never been to this ceremony before and in some ways it is a very mundane process – after all they need to swear in 650 MPs at about 30 seconds per MP, which makes it a 6 hour process. But after Marsha’s “turn” we went and had lunch on the terrace and toured the balance. This picture shows Queenstown Councillor Aydin Dickerdem, photographing Marsha and her friend and supporter Tracey Robinson.
But over-shadowing all that was the disastrous fire that struck Grenfell Tower late on 14^th June. This meant that the Housing Committee on the evening of the 15^th was dominated by discussion of Wandsworth’s many tower blocks and in particular the three blocks with similar cladding to Grenfell Tower. The three are Latchmere’s Castlemaine and Weybridge Point and Putney’s Sudbury House. I think the Committee members gave the officers a pretty good grilling, but, to be fair, I also thought the officers responded with conviction and sincerity. Watch for cladding replacement and other remedial works in the next few months.
On 18^th June, I went with Marsha to the nation-wide Great Get Together in commemoration of Jo Cox, the Labour MP murdered a year ago in her constituency of Batley, Yorkshire. The Get Together was held in the grounds of the Holy Trinity, Clapham Common. It was the right and positive way to celebrate Jo Cox’s life.
On the 21^st June, I had the Planning Applications Committee. This had quite a few very interesting applications all over the Borough but the one that dominated the evening was the Battersea Power Station developer’s bid to reduce the volume of affordable housing that they are committed to deliver along with their total development at the Power Station. You have probably seen some of the controversy around this application with London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, coming out strongly against the application. The Labour members of the Committee, and one of the Tory councillors, hardly needed Sadiq’s exhortations to vote against, which we duly did. But, unfortunately, the Tory majority granted permission.
And then on 24^th June I was off to Sardinia with the grandchildren for a week – a break at last! I will report on that next month along with comments on the Finance Committee of 29^th June, which had interesting implications for Tours Passage and Falcon Park – both in Latchmere.
During the last month I put out a notice titled, Can you help me? In it I described the predicament of a young single mother in North Battersea, who found herself homeless. The Council provided her with a flat but she had no possessions and so I put out a request for help. I am delighted to say that quite a few of you volunteered furniture, kitchen utensils and even money. Well, in response another of you wrote to me saying, ”A neighbour sent me this as they knew I had some bedding etc. We have a sofa bed in pretty good condition, and single bedding – sheets, duvets etc that has only been used one year while my daughter was at uni. We’ve also got a dining table which is lovely but probably a bit big for a small family. I should also have some kitchen stuff. We live near Battersea Park, is any of it ok for you?” I am not sure that I want to become a volunteer Exchange and Mart, but if any of the above is of interest to you then do let me know.

My Programme for July

On 1^st July, there was the Falcon Festival and then there was an Independence Day Party that my colleague Councillor Peter Carpenter gives in honour of his American wife.
On 2^nd July, we have organised a fund-raising rounders match in Battersea Park.
On US Independence Day, I had a meeting of the Council’s Design Panel, which is spending time creating and extending a Wandsworth heritage database.
On 10^th July, there is a meeting of the Wandsworth Conservation Advisory Committee.
Two days later, there is the last full Council Meeting before the recess.
On 13^th the three Latchmere councillors are due to meet the contractors for the Winstanley regeneration programme, which first talked about in 2011, looks like really starting later this year. After the disaster of Grenfell Tower, we will need to take particular note of all fire safety measures!
On the 14^th July, there is a BBQ for Doris Emmerton Court residents, to which I have been invited, and the annual Battersea Society Garden Party in the grounds of St. Mary’s Church.
On the 20^th I have the Planning Application Committee.
On the 25^th we have an inspection of St. James’ Grove, which will be particularly interesting given that “cladded” Castlemaine is a major part of the estate. After Grenfell Tower this will be an important occasion.
On 29^th July, it is my turn to take the councillors’ surgery at Battersea Library.

Opinion Piece

Two months ago I wrote that “we in Battersea should, therefore, vote for the candidate most likely to argue (and vote) against Hard Brexit, whatever that is, and fight still for a Remain position”. I did say that the Lib/Dem candidate would also vote for a Remain position but that the Lib/Dems were not a realistic winning option.

In that context, some have argued that Marsha’s vote against the Chuka Umunna amendment to the Queen’s speech was a mistake and, worse, a betrayal of her constituents. I think that is a rather premature judgement. Clearly both major parties have major difficulties coming to terms with Brexit/Remain, especially given the Referendum’s majority in favour of Brexit and given the complex make-up of the Labour and Conservative parties.

I believe that it is probable that either or both of the Labour and Tory Parties will face a major internal crisis over the EU. How they get there and who gets there first will be major factors in the future of the UK. I am sure that there is much more jockeying for position to come and I know that Marsha will take an active, anti-Brexit role in the parliamentary debates.

Do you know?

Last month, I asked whether anyone knew anything about this house, including the simple question “Where is it?”

Well, the only correct answers came from people who lived there or were friends of those who did. The house is 22 Mossbury Road, barely 100 yards from the Falcon and the centre of modern Battersea. Actually, the rather more imposing traditional front is on the west side of the building, the right as you look at it, but unfortunately can only be seen from inside the property.

The house is one of the oldest in Battersea, dating from the very first years of the nineteenth century and so about 200 years old.

May 3, 2017

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea May, 2017,Newsletter (#96)

On the 5^th April, I attended a Citizenship Ceremony with a difference. Since 2004 becoming a British citizen has involved a ceremony. This was the second I had been to and was a moving experience watching 30 or 40 new citizens from all over the world swearing allegiance to the crown and the UK. For those sceptics amongst us, who might have thought otherwise in a post-Brexit world, they included Irish, Italian and Portuguese – it was also a reminder of what a cosmopolitan city we live in.
This ceremony was, however, different, because it was also the occasion when the Barbados (Bajan) High Commissioner came to present a certificate recording the contribution John Archer made to both Barbados and the UK. Archer, who lived in Brynmaer Road, Latchmere (see the blue plaque on no.55) was a Liverpudlian of Bajan origin, who in 1913 was elected Mayor of Battersea, the first black mayor of a major UK town and a reminder that London has a long tradition of being home to people from all over the world. He was a Latchmere councillor and I was invited as one of his successors. Here is a picture of the Commissioner with Wandsworth’s current Mayor.
Three days later I went to the National Theatre to see Twelfth Night – what a disaster. You can read more about it at https://tonybelton.wordpress.com/ where you will find a review that I wrote. Suffice to say that the evening started with problems on the railway and continued through what I thought was a self-indulgent and rather unpleasant production of what is meant to be, in modern terms, a Rom-Com; enough said.
The next day I went to Battersea Arts Centre for the much more pleasant occasion. It was the “significant” birthday of my friend, Jenny Sheridan, long-term editor of Battersea Society’s quarterly magazine, Battersea Matters. This was a far more successful evening.
After her Easter break, Mrs May decided to surprise us all with the announcement of a General Election. For those of you not involved in politics, which is no doubt most of you, you may not be aware of what chaos and panic, fun and frantic activity, this involves. In our case Battersea Labour Party did not, but does now, have a candidate (Marsha de Cordova, a Lambeth, Clapham, councillor), agent (me!) or funding. Don’t take this as criticism as I doubt that many other parties or constituencies were in a very different position UNLESS they had a sitting MP. This state of affairs does mean, however, that the last fortnight has been fairly lively.
With fortuitous good timing, the next day Battersea, Putney and Tooting Labour Parties had a joint fund-raising party at the Civic Centre at the Town Hall. The speaker was Keir Starmer, who is Labour’s spokesperson on Brexit. His speech was good, but perhaps more significantly he was very impressive when it came to the questions and answers.
As it happened, I already had a date earlier that Wednesday evening at a book launch in the Fulham Road. A Battersea resident read my April Newsletter and was interested enough to write to me saying that “My [i.e. her] writing, about history-enforced exile and uprooting, …., is particularly relevant in these days of increasing jingoism and xenophobia, which are even leading to crimes in our streets”. Her letter included an invite to her book launch – Miriam Frank’s An Unfinished Portrait.
Miriam (pictured right) writes of her journey through war torn Spain (the Civil War, 1936-38) and Europe and then in Latin America, much of it with just her mother and a suitcase. The book is beautifully and lyrically written and is largely about coming to terms with her difficult relationship with her mother and how central that has been to her life. However, her words to me about xenophobia and the crime on our streets are particularly poignant given that since she wrote them we have had murders in Sullivan Close and Melody Road, both within a mile of Clapham Junction.
There was a further incident in Tooting, which led to this response from the Borough’s Detective Chief Commander Peter Laverick. He said: “These events are unprecedented for Wandsworth and taken together over such a short period of time has increased the impact. We have had three tragic events over the last four weeks. I understand that people will be concerned but Wandsworth is safe [the statistics show Wandsworth to be the safest Borough in Inner London]. We are committed and are working very hard with the local authorities to tackle this sort of violence. On the whole, we are successful in doing so compared with the rest of London.”
On the 7^th April I went to the Quaker wedding of an old friend, Edmund Green to Eloise. It was a new experience for me, with the whole ceremony taking place in almost total silence, with their vows exchanged but directly between the two without any supervisory minister or vicar.
My last newsletter must have had an appeal to authors! On the next day, I had coffee with another author, Camilla Ween, who is an urban planner and has written a book called Future Cities. Camilla is keen to help me (and the Council) improve the quality of the urban landscape and design in Wandsworth. As we talked of possibilities we came up with an interesting idea for environmental improvements in North Battersea, which we agreed to work on. We are both busy people but if, and I emphasise IF, we come forward with an interesting plan then you heard it first here!
On 22^nd the Council had a ceremony to commemorate the three Victoria Cross winners won in World War I, but I was not there because on the same day I attended the unveiling of a blue plaque on Northcote Lodge School, 26 Bolingbroke Grove. The plaque commemorated blind, great Battersea jazz pianist George Shearing’s time at school there. George was born in 1919 of working class parents. His father was a coalman, when coal was delivered by horse-drawn wagons, and his mother cleaned railway carriages, no doubt at Clapham Junction depot. He was brought up in Rawson Street, where there is now Rawson Court. He went to Sellincourt School for the blind and then on to Linden Lodge, now Northcote Lodge, where he learnt to play the piano. In 1947, he moved to the States, where he became the only British musician to hit the big time in jazz. You can hear his signature tune Lullaby of Birdland at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zJnoQiIqDU. You can also read his autobiography, co-scripted by Alyn Shipton, in Lullaby of Birdland (2004).
The irony is that the two old London County Council schools, which once gave blind kids an education and in Shearing’s case an international jazz career, are now (respectively) a private block of flats and an expensive private prep school. Two of the Northcote Lodge pupils entertained us with some jazz but next term they are off to Harrow and Sherborne. Good luck to them but still ironic: we need more state schools but we have spent the last 30 years privatising them!
One nice feature of the day was the dozen or so members of the Shearing family, who attended and some of whom are pictured here – looking remarkably like pictures I have seen of Shearing himself.
On 24^th April, I attended the Passenger Transport Liaison Group – often very interesting about rail and bus improvements but not particularly on this occasion.
Two days later, I had the Planning Applications Committee. Two applications were of importance for Battersea. The first was an application from the Flower Stall (pictured here), which stands outside the main entrance to CJ Station. The officers recommended that we refuse the application for, what we, the Councillors, considered to be, purely technical reasons. We thought that if we stuck with the technicalities we’d become a laughing stock with the public. So, we approved the proposal and good luck to the flower-stall romantics.
The second was a major application for 343 residential units, a 15-storey block and three others at nine storeys on the Homebase site, Swandon Way. Again, we councillors ignored the officers’ recommendations and turned down the application, on the grounds that the large and dense development would overwhelm “the Tonsleys” and result in massive congestion at Wandsworth Town station.
At the same meeting, I also submitted a paper about the use of zinc in back and roof extensions. You may remember, from last month’s newsletter, the picture of a roof extension seen from Frere Street – one or two of you commented that they were not surprised that it was unpopular with neighbours. Well here is the same extension seen from Atherton Road. There is nothing that the Council could do in retrospect about the extension as built. However, the Committee agreed that the zinc addition was incongruous in a street, of properties largely built with London stock brick. We resolved, in future, to take more note of materials, when considering such future applications.
On 27^th April I went to a charity lunch in support of the Ammadiyya Muslim Community organised March for Peace on 14^th May in Newham. The Ammadiyya community consists of 200 million people world-wide, who have their world headquarters in Putney, largely because the Community are on the receiving end of much persecution in many Muslim countries. The prejudice towards them is a tragedy, given that the Ammadiyyas are noted for their attempts to be peace-makers between the current warring religious factions in the Muslim world. Without notice, I was asked to speak and found myself, as a member of the opposition, rather ironically, welcoming them on behalf of Wandsworth Council and councillors!
Earlier in the month, I visited the developing St. Peter’s Church in Plough Road and the new flats, recently finished and now largely occupied. Some of you have asked if and when the church is going to be completed; I was assured that they expect completion in late autumn this year.
It was a little difficult to tell what the church is going to be like but it is certainly very modern. As for the flats; they appear very smart with a fascinating view over York Gardens and the many, major developments taking place, as you can see, in North Battersea.

My Programme for May

I am sure the month will be dominated, for me, by the June General Election but I do have a Council surgery on 6^th May at the main library on Lavender Hill.
On 15^th May I have a meeting of the Heliport Consultative Committee and the day after there is the Planning Applications Committee. After that, on Wednesday, 17^th May, there is the Annual Council Mayor Making evening – a very simple, formal evening.
On 28^th May, as part of the Wandsworth Heritage Programme, I am leading a History Walk from the Latchmere pub to Battersea Arts Centre, via a few historical sites. If you are thinking of coming then please do contact me nearer the date, by email, for details.

Opinion Piece

In this newsletter, I have never hidden my politics but I have always tried to make the newsletter relatively non-partisan. That is, however, difficult in the build-up to any election, but especially this one – so here goes.

Most of you will know, or at least can guess, what my views are on the housing situation in London, or the NHS, or education spending, or taxation, but the major and unique new issue of the day is clearly Brexit. As far as I am concerned, it is becoming clearer day by day that our national vote in last year’s Referendum was the worst political decision we have made since …, well since as long as anyone can remember.

In my view, we in Battersea should, therefore, vote for the candidate most likely to argue (and vote) against Hard Brexit, whatever that is, and fight still for a Remain position. To be fair, the Lib/Dem candidate represents a party, which is committed to that position – strange given that it is so indecisive on almost every other issue! But the reality is that given the electoral situation in Battersea there are only two realistic winners: the Tory Party candidate, who is a member of the Government negotiating Brexit, and the Labour Party candidate, who is anti-Brexit and will take every opportunity to fight for our membership of a customs union and the open relationship we have had with the rest of Europe for 40 years. The choice seems simple enough!

Do you know?

Last month, I asked why are the York Road estate blocks, some soon to be demolished, named Inkster, Penge, Chesterton, Pennethorne, Holcroft and Scholey? I got no responses! Obviously too difficult or not very interesting to many of you but the answers are, I believe:-

Chesterton House: G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton, was a writer, poet and literary critic (1874-1936), who moved into Overstrand Mansions, Prince of Wales Drive in the late 1890s.
Holcroft House: Might be named after Thomas Holcroft (1745-1809), who was a radical Englishman, who travelled to Paris, during the French Revolution and probably knew ant-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce, but I have no definite evidence.
Inkster House: Major Inkster was a serving officer in World War II, who was a member of Battersea Borough Council’s Housing Committee, when the York Road Stage 2 estate was being planned in the 1960s.
Penge House: Simon Hogg tells me that In the nineteenth century Penge was, apparently, a detached hamlet of the parish of Battersea. He and I guess that the naming of Penge House comes from that connection – but I am not totally convinced!
Pennethorne House: William Pennethorne, was a principal architect and designer of amongst many other things Battersea and Victoria Parks, as originally conceived in the 1860s.
Scholey House: Might be named after the Lord Mayor of London (1812) who, I am told, was also the churchwarden in Battersea, but somehow I doubt it. Apart from anything else he was an East Londoner.

This month, I have a far easier question for those, who keep their eyes open, though I must admit I have lived here 50+ years and I had never noticed this house before. This is as it appears from the road, but its real front is on the right as seen in this picture. The building dates from the very early 1800s and it is in the heart of Battersea. Where is it?

PS I will not be able to produce my June Newsletter until after the General Election, thanks to laws about election expenditure, etc. So, my 97^th edition will be out about mid-June.

Promoted by Tony Belton on behalf of Marsha de Cordova at 177 Lavender Hill, SW11 5TE. Produced by Tony Belton at 99 Salcott Road, SW11 5DF

April 3, 2017

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea April, 2017, Newsletter (# 95)

On the 1^st March, I visited Northcote Road Library and the associated Chatham Hall, both of which are threatened by demolition and replacement by a new library development including 17 flats and some retail. This promises to be a matter of some contention in the immediate neighbourhood, but many of the comments about over-development look distinctly exaggerated when comparisons are made with many recent developments along the river and north of the main line railway. Pictured here are the current library and the Alphabet Nursery, which operates in Chatham Hall.
On the 8^th March, we had the annual Council Tax setting meeting, confirming what I said last month, i.e. that we would be facing a 3.99% increase in 2017/18. But the Council Tax has in effect been nationalised and in 1971 Council committee meetings have been held in public, and both these changes have rather detracted from the dramatic value of this meeting. Imagine national budget day with absolutely everything known in advance – all that we would be left with would be synthetic anger and formulaic speeches about a decision already agreed and made public – well that’s this meeting!
I had the Wandsworth Conservation Advisory Committee on 14^th March and the Standards Committee on 16^th March. Both were fairly uneventful except that I raised the issue of whether there should be more stringent rules than currently about the ease with which senior officers could move from important positions in the Council to major private sector roles – most obviously from senior roles in the Planning Department into private developers – and the links between councillors and private developers and businesses. My comments were noted but not considered very seriously – yet!
I went to the Dorfman Theatre at the National on Friday, 17^th March, and saw a fascinating play – My Country, by the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. The play is centred around Referendum Day, 2016, and the confused state of the UK today. I reviewed it on my BLOG at https://tonybelton.wordpress.com/. Do please have a read.
On the following day, Saturday 18^th March, I went to the 50^th wedding anniversary of my old friends, Jeanne and Dave Rathbone. Apart from food and drink, chat and laughter, the centre point was an afternoon of poetry readings, funny, romantic, traditional and modern – very moving.
And then on the Sunday, I went on a pilgrimage for my last ever game at White Hart Lane, except that rumours have it that Spurs might not move out until the end of next season, in which case it might not be my last visit! My first trip there, when I lived just around the corner, was on 2^nd August, 1948, when I saw Sweden beat Austria 3-0 in the London Olympics quarter-final. Sweden beat Yugoslavia 3-1 in the final at Wembley. I was, I think, in the Boys Enclosure paying 6d for my entry, which is 2.5P in today’s language!
I don’t know how many of you have ever taken good action shots but last month’s game, which ended in a Spurs victory over Southampton 2-1, featured this Dele Alli penalty against Soton keeper Fraser Forster. It must be my best ever action shot – and done with a mobile phone! Can you see the ball, just by the goalie’s right hand?
On Monday, 20^th March, my partner, Penny Corfield gave a talk to the Putney Society on duelling. It featured the infamous duel of the Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger, against the radical MP, George Tierney, which took place on the border of Putney Heath and Wimbledon Common. Just think: this was at the height of the French Revolutionary Wars – what a scandal! It was a pleasant evening and her talk was much enjoyed.
The next day I visited some constituents in Frere Street, who had a complaint about a neighbouring development that the Council had allowed. I mustn’t shirk from responsibility because, when I say that the Council allowed it, it was in fact the November Planning Applications Committee (PAC) of which I was and am a member. Their main complaints were that they were not consulted and that the zinc extension does not fit well with the largely London stock brick environment of north Battersea. The developer, however, remarked that ‘The materials chosen reflect those materials that have been used extensively within the area and will enable the proposed development to blend seamlessly into the character of the local architecture’ Above is a view from their sitting room. Do you think they have just cause to complain or that the development blends seamlessly?
On the 23^rd we had the March PAC meeting. Although there were no major applications in Latchmere, there were some in neighbouring wards, which could have a significant impact on Latchmere. First of all, by re-arranging their operations at Cringle Dock and Feathers’ Wharf, Western Riverside Waste Authority (WRWA) hope to reduce the number of heavy goods vehicle movements by 1,760 a year. That means that they hope to get rid of five daily refuse van movements down busy York and Battersea Park Roads – a welcome development. Just to clarify, the WRWA is the body tasked by Parliament to get rid of all of Wandsworth’s tons of rubbish, plus Ken & Chelsea’s, Lambeth’s and Hammersmith & Fulham’s.
The second application was to provide 127 extra residential units at Plantation Wharf, partly by raising the height of Trade Tower by 6 storeys and partly by building several new blocks. Many of the current residents of Plantation Wharf are far from happy about the intensification of this development and it will certainly concern Latchmere residents that there seems to be no end to the building works taking place around York Road and Lombard Road.
Talking of developments in the ward, can I ask what you think of the new St. Peter’s Church and the associated block of flats in Plough Road (left) and the very tight development in Cabul Road (right)? Let me have your views.
On Friday, 24^th March, my partner and I flew to Jersey for the week-end. Neither of us had ever been to the Channel Islands, although I have intended to go for some time. As you can see from this picture, the weather was great and the scenery often idyllic. That only leaves the Scilly Isles, Lundy, the Orkneys and the Isle of Man to go, before I have done a pretty thorough sweep of the British Isles, including the Republic.
Finally, of course, on 29^th March Mrs. May wrote to EU President Donald Tusk and told him of UK’s intention to leave the Union. Battersea residents voted by a large majority to “remain” in the union but now we face the “leave” option! Will it mark the end of the UK as a United Kingdom? Will it be a glorious Independence Day as Farage and others claim? One thing is for certain: all those people who say that politics does not matter, and that everything is run by big business, will need another argument in future!
I express my view on Brexit at https://tonybelton.wordpress.com/2017/03/08/a-labour-party-remain-strategy-for-wandsworth-2018/. In particular, I think we should argue firmly for the freedoms of movement we now have between the peoples of the EU, whether Brits in Spain or Irish and French working here. Come on Jeremy – show a bit of leadership!

My Programme for April

On 5^th April, I will be at the Town Hall to meet the Barbados High Commissioner, who is going to present a gift, I know not what, to commemorate John Archer, pictured right and a Labour Councillor for Latchmere ward. Archer was of Bajan extraction, was a notable resident of 55 Brynmaer Road, where a plaque marks the spot, and in 1914 was elected as the first black man to be the Mayor of a major London authority – Battersea Borough Council.
There is the Passenger Transport Liaison Group on 24^th April and the Planning Applications Committee on 26^th April, but apart from that April looks like being a quiet month.

Do you know?

Last month, I asked about this bridge crossing the Thames from Battersea Park to the Chelsea Embankment: Do you remember this bridge? Did you ever cross it? Do you know where in Uganda it ended up? Do you know anything about it? Were there other back-up bridges elsewhere in London?

I am sad to say that I got no responses on that one, not even any expressions of interest. You clearly did not find it as fascinating as I did. But just stop and think: during the greatest crisis in our modern history, I guess Harold would have said in 1066 that William’s invasion was a bigger crisis, with the country strapped for money and resources, how we managed amongst everything else to put together such a fine looking and presumably effective bridge.

Well this month I have another question and from the same source (thank you Simon Hogg). Why are the York Road estate blocks, some soon to be demolished, named Inkster, Penge, Chesterton, Pennethorne, Holcroft and Scholey? I know the answer for the first four but not Holcroft and Scholey. Does anyone know all six?

Here, by the way, are Penge and Pennethorne Houses under development in about 1962?

March 1, 2017

Councillor Tony Belton’s Latchmere March, 2017, Newsletter (# 94)

I open with an apology! I did not, last month, mention Battersea Labour Party’s great Jazz night on 22^nd January at the Clapham pub, The Bread and Roses. We were entertained by Junction Jazz with our star guest vocalist Rosena Allin-Khan, who of course is also now Tooting’s M.P. as well as being my fellow Bedford ward councillor. Here is Rosena accompanied by Nikki Marsh on the clarinet.
On the 1^st February, there was a special Council Meeting with just one item on the agenda, and that was a technical, financial paper setting the background of next month’s Council budget, when a 3.99% increase in Council Tax will be announced. I took the opportunity to denounce the state of local government taxation and finances – whatever your attitude to taxation, too much, too little, to be avoided, as inevitable as death, as the old saying goes, the fact is that Council Tax is grossly unfair in that the poor, on average, pay considerably more in proportion to their income than do the rich. For that reason, Council Tax is known as a regressive tax.
Whilst on the subject of tax, the new business rates table was produced in February. It is a massive table, which I couldn’t possibly reproduce here but it does illustrate the vagaries of the system, which have resulted in a lot of recent press coverage. For example, 123 businesses in Latchmere ward have had reductions in their business rates, in some cases of over £5,000 per year. On the other hand 87 businesses have had increases, with 9 having had increases of over £10,000 and in one case an increase of over £36,000! Frankly I see no rhyme nor reason for these variations! So if your local shopkeeper has a good old moan at you – listen sympathetically and tell him/her to write to the M.P. and complain!
On the 2^nd February, I stood in for Simon Hogg, Labour Leader, at the Fairfield Let’s Talk meeting in St. Anne’s church hall, pictured here. I’m not sure that I would have mentioned it except for the many public complaints about over-development on the Homebase site near Wandsworth Town station. I don’t know how many of you are aware of the scale of the high-rise developments approved in York Road in the last year, but I can guarantee that the area will see massive changes in the next few years – see, for example, paragraphs 11 & 12 below.
On the 9^th I attended a Kambala Estate “wine and cheese” party. The weather was atrocious, cold and wet, which may have cut turn-out, but for those few who did turn up it was a pleasant evening.
The next morning was Maurice Johnson’s funeral at Christchurch, Battersea Park Road. I have already posted an obituary of Maurice, my fellow Latchmere councillor from 1990-2010 at https://tonybelton.wordpress.com/2017/01/31/obituary-maurice-johnson/ and so I won’t repeat that but suffice to say that there was a very large congregation to see Maurice off, both from his family and the community but also from councillors of both political hues. At the funeral, I joined members of his family in saying a few words about his time as a councillor and his civic commitment. Here is his cortege making his last journey through Latchmere.
On the 15^th I was invited to Caius House to attend a meeting of Penge House residents and the Wandsworth Council team responsible for its modernisation. Although I did not go, I understand that there was a similar meeting for Inkster House residents the following week. They both worked well and appeared to be much appreciated.
On Thursday, 16^th February, I had the Community Services Committee, which considered a host of papers, but the one that caught my eye was the decision to bring the re-surfacing of Petergate up the Council’s work programme and to ensure that it is in next year’s, i.e. April-March, programme. That is a cause to congratulate local campaigner, Jane, for her tireless lobbying for Petergate – proof that persistence occasionally has its victories!
The 20^th February Housing Committee was entirely devoted to the next stage of the York Road/Winstanley estate regeneration. Yet again this covered procedural matters, but the Council is now getting within a few weeks of signing a contract to proceed with this massive project. With luck and a following wind, work will start on Penge and Inkster Houses around the turn of the year, proceeding later in 2018 with Pennethorne House. The project was first announced in early 2012, after the August, 2011, Clapham Junction riots, and now five years later we are within a year of physical improvements beginning to happen – Phew! It’s a long process, but inevitable, I guess, when the total project is as large as this one is and when there has been a lot of consultation and discussion.
The next day, 21^st February, Battersea Labour Party had as its guest speaker Lord Alf Dubs. Alf, who was Battersea’s MP from 1979-87, was presented with our informal award as Parliamentarian of the Year, 2016, for his work for child refugees and his tireless campaigning for their cause. For those of you who might not know, Alf was himself a child refugee (part of the Kindertransport) from Hitler’s Germany in 1938. Here he is telling us about his struggle to persuade the Government to let in 3,000 child refugees – for interest the much poorer UK of 1938 took in 10,000 child refugees from Central and Eastern Europe.
This month’s Planning Applications Committee meeting was on 23^rd February. There were two applications that were of particular interest in North Battersea, though both were amendments of previously approved applications. The first was the plan for an 8-storey block of flats on the old Savoy Theatre, or Shell garage site on York Road. As I have said before, but it is worth repeating, this was where this magnificent cinema stood prior to being destroyed by a V2 in 1944. The change in this application is the omission of the garage.
The second application was to increase the size of the very large 800-unit development on the gasholder site, next to the Dogs’ Home, to over 900 dwellings. Interestingly this increase of 116 units is largely achieved by more efficient use of space, in particular reducing the height of the individual storeys in the 26 storey blocks so as to squeeze in two extra floors – we were assured that the ceilings will still be high enough!
Earlier in the month I went to see La La Land – what was all the fuss about? I thought the first half was a bit boring and the second OK, but certainly it doesn’t deserve an Oscar in my book; at least they got that right at the awards ceremony! Give me a Fred and Ginger musical any day, or Gene Kelly, or Chicago or one of my favourites amongst musicals, the little-known City of Angels.
On 24^th February I went to see a 1962 play, namely Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? It was at the Harold Pinter Theatre and the leads were Imelda Staunton and Conleth Hill. It was brilliant and they were brilliant. Get to it if you can but if that’s not possible get the 1966 film starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. It’s a searing portrait of a dysfunctional but weirdly loving, loveless marriage. It’s a tough watch but it is a classic amongst films.
On 26^th February, I took myself off to the Victoria and Albert Museum (the V&A) to see an exhibition called Revolution. No, not the one 100 years ago, in St. Petersburg but the one 50 years back in Carnaby Street, London. Quite a thought for me that the Sixties Revolution of my university and immediately post-university days is exactly halfway back to the Russian Revolution! But, I didn’t find the rehash of great music, record covers, revolutionary chic (full of Mao, Fidel, Che images), etc., particularly inspiring – perhaps it’s all still too real to be in a museum – for me anyway.
However, what I would say is, if you don’t know them, or seldom go there, “Do go to Exhibition Road and visit the V&A, or the Science Museum or the Natural History Museum.” There are amazing things there, and the 345 bus goes from the Junction almost to their front-doors. If you are not at home with museums, then just go in to the V&A (it’s free entry) and enter the first room on the right and spend 30 minutes, looking at the artefacts, sculptures and altar pieces from the ancient world. It’s got to be worth 30 minutes of anyone’s time.
On the 28^th February, I went to Honeywell School to attend a meeting of locals, from the Northcote Road area, protesting about the Council’s plans to redevelop the Northcote Road Library. The Council was consulting on a proposal to demolish and rebuild the library and Chatham Hall both to modernise them and to get rid of asbestos in the library building; with associated shops and 17 flats, which are designed to pay for the work. To say that the proposals were not popular with the 30 or so people, who turned up, would be an under-statement!

My Programme for March

On 8^th March, there is a full Council Meeting, when we will be debating Wandsworth’s budget. I have already said that the increase will be 3.99% – we already know that – but this is where we debate the rights and wrongs of that. Once upon a time the actual increase was kept secret until the last moment but those days are long gone.
The day after, 9^th March, I have a meeting of the Met Police Safer Neighbourhood Team at the George Shearing Centre, Este Road.
On 14^th March, I will be at Wandsworth’s Conservation Area Advisory Committee.
And on the 19^th March, I am going with a couple of friends to a last sentimental visit to the real White Hart Lane. For those, who don’t know it, I have been a Spurs supporter for years and years, despite representing a North Battersea ward, which is only a stone’s throw from Stamford Bridge. My excuse is that, when I was 6-8 years old, I lived quarter of a mile from the Lane. My first ever game, that I can recall, was in the 1948 Olympics (how many people have been to both the 1948 and the 2012 London Olympics?). The game, I must have seen according to Google, was the quarter-final, when Sweden the gold medallists that year beat Austria 3-0.
I have the Planning Applications Committee on the 23^rd.

Do you know?

Last month, one of my readers, Ian asked, “Our canine friend here, in his original form, caused a cataclysmic event in the past. Firstly, who is the fellow, where is he situated? Also, what was that cataclysmic event?”

The answer was, of course, the Little Brown Dog, whose death by vivisection caused the 1907 Brown Dog Riots with over 1,000 demonstrators in Trafalgar Square. This statue, which I am afraid, Ian, I don’t like stands in Battersea Park, whilst the much better original shown right was the centre-piece of Latchmere’s Recreation Ground until stolen and smelted down by the “Anti-Doggers” during the night of 10^th December, 1907.

A number of people got that right but what about the next question, which is not exactly a puzzle but a genuine request for information. My fellow councillor, Simon Hogg, came across this fascinating picture of a bridge built during the war and linking Battersea Park to the end of Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea. It was apparently built as a back up to Chelsea and Albert Bridges in case either of them were put out of action by German bombing raids.

Simon says that in 1948 it was taken down and shipped to Uganda, then of course, part of the British Empire. The questions that arise include: Do you remember this bridge? Did you ever cross it? Do you know where in Uganda it ended up? Do you know anything about it? Were there other back-up bridges elsewhere in London?

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Tony Belton

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea February, 2018, Newsletter (# 104)

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea January, 2018, Newsletter (# 103)

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea December, 2017, Newsletter (# 102)

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea November, 2017, Newsletter (# 101)

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea October, 2017, Newsletter (# 100)

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea August, 2017, Newsletter (# 98)

Councillor Tony Belton’s North Battersea July, 2017, Newsletter (# 97)

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea May, 2017,Newsletter (#96)

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea April, 2017, Newsletter (# 95)

Councillor Tony Belton’s Latchmere March, 2017, Newsletter (# 94)

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