Tag Archive | AELTC
September 30, 2024  

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea October 2024, Newsletter (# 184)

  1. We were off to our regular village in Croatia inPicture1late August. It was nice to be welcomed back by some of the residents and to see one lady, sitting in the town centre – pictured, reading Penny’s book “The Georgians”, Croatian-English Dictionary to hand – Yes, really!
  2. A friend of mine told me that he found Cyprus too hot for a comfortable holiday and certainly southern Croatia at 90°F or 30°C was too much for me in our first week. Surely no one doubts the truth about global warming anymore? Just make sure that you switch off unused electricity; cut engine idling; and, wherever possible, switch from fossil fuels to renewables immediately.
  3. On that theme, this is at least the fifth time we have travelled from London to this small village in Croatia, without flying. This year we tried London-Paris-Nice-Milan by train; Milan-Ancona by coach; followed by Ancona-Split, and Split-destination by two ferries. It is an interesting and challenging way to travel – greener. And we would never have discovered the charms of Turin, Trieste, Bratislava and Graz, if we had always flown. Nonetheless eco-travelling is expensive in both time and money.
  1. With air travel one of the smaller but much the fastest-growing form of global warming, we, as a society, just have to do at least one of the following:-
    • ban flights between destinations where alternative forms of transport take less than five hours. So, for example, we should ban flying from London to Edinburgh or Paris but flying to Dublin would be OK because there is no direct land link;
    • raise aircraft fuel taxes to the same level as car and rail fuel taxes
    • scrap duty-free shopping in airports. Just imagine the political protests about that from airports and airlines (and from many of you). But duty-free shopping is a subsidy from those who never fly or never go abroad to those who have the money to do so. It’s just not fair;
    • invest and develop electric or other forms of aircraft propulsion;
    • or even tax, not reward, frequent flyers – say 10% tax for one return journey a year, a 20% charge on second journeys, 30% on third trips, 40% on the fourth, ad infinitum.
  1. OK, I hear you say that all this is politically, or technically, impossible but without such reforms or something similar what is going to happen to the billion people, who live in overheating countries, or drowning islands, or desiccated areas of the world? They will be forced to migrate to cooler countries like Britain or Germany, where immigration is already a number one political issue.
  1. One way to keep cool was, of course,Picture2 to go swimming and this picture shows the secluded bay that we swam across twice a day. I reckon that amounted to about one mile a day. It was certainly the most extensive exercise I have taken in years! I loved it and lost half a stone (3 kg) in weight – must be a moral there.
  1. Changing the subject to accessibility campaigning, what do you make of this contraption, which we found in Korcula, onePicture3 of Croatia’s small urban jewels. It is called an Aqualifter; and it looks like a kind of medieval ducking stool. It is, however, a benevolent sea bathing aid, giving mobility-challenged people a chance to sit, splash or swim in the sea as they prefer. Unfortunately, the contraption looked under-used and not very welcoming – a great idea but, whatever the intentions, is it ever being used?
  1. I was still in Croatia when the Environment Committee met on 17th I note, however, that the committee resolved to change the relationship between Wandsworth Council and enable (why they insist on not having a capital E to enable, I have no idea). Those with long memories will recall that “enable” began life as part of the Council’s Recreation Department before the then Tory Council decided to out-source the operation. Out-sourcing was a cost-cutting operation, partly through tax avoidance, but nothing to do with quality service. The Labour Council have now decided to bring 10 of those jobs back into the Council in order to improve the management, the control and the responsiveness of the parks service.
  1. The Planning Applications Committee on 19th September had a very light agenda, with just the one application for development in Battersea. That was for nine flats and a day nursery at 18 Latchmere Road, directly opposite Latchmere swimming pool. The application was refused because it was considered to be an over-development of the site, with a resulting cramped and un-neighbourly design.
  1. On Friday, 27th September, the Greater London Authority Picture6held a public hearing into the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s (AELTC) application for an extension to the famous Wimbledon courts. Prior to the hearing the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, made his view clear that he supported the application. Accordingly, he withdrew from any active consideration of the application, and delegated the conduct of the enquiry to his deputy, Jules Pipe. I watched the hearing online and was impressed by the considered and careful process.
  1. The Deputy Mayor found against the Council and in favour of the AELTC, which I am sure will please many tennis fans. Wandsworth’s objections did, however, achieve some gains for Wandsworth, namely:-
    • an increase of 2 hectares in public open space, about the equivalent of 3 football pitches,
    • a reduction in the amount of car parking.
    • improved access for public transport and cycling.
    • improved access to the ground.

So, by no means a waste of time.

  1. And some good news about Wandsworth:
    • air quality monitors show that air pollution in Wandsworth has fallen and is continuing to fall. This is mainly due to the switch to cleaner vehicles – see the new dust-carts – by the Council, and local residents and businesses, and the Mayor’s Ulez (Ultra-Low Emission Zone) policy.
    • there have been some teething troubles with the new waste collection arrangements. This was largely due to changes that had to be made to introduce the food waste system.
    • the Council has now collected 500 tons of food waste, which is converted into fertiliser and earns the Council, and therefore all of us, money.
    • talking of the food waste system, I saw one complaint (was it in Facebook?) about the food waste caddies being so small that “by the time I have finished peeling the garlic there was no room left in it!” Only in trendy Battersea! But at least our garlic peelings are now being re-cycled.
    • the Council is soon to start a re-design of Old York Road. Hopefully, this will further improve the environment after this successful road closure.

My October Programme

  1. I have a Greater London Authority hearing into Wandsworth Council’s refusal of planning permission for the complete development of Springfield Park on 8th The application included over 400 homes but also an extension of the new park.
  2. There is a full Council Meeting on 16th
  3. The October Planning Applications Committee is on 24th

Did you know?Picture4

Last month I asked ” Can you name a celebrity of a different kind, who is best known for his great knowledge of extra-terrestrial matters, delivered with a boyishly winning charm, and who lives right in the heart of Battersea?”

Many of you responded positively to that one with the correct answer, which was, and is, the engaging and charming Brian Cox.

And this month?

In tribute to October’s Black History Month, which Jamaican singer-songwriter lived in Chelsea, but loved playing football in Battersea Park? Name him – and one of his songs – and name the English football team that he supported.