Tag Archive | Battersea

I did not go to the Battersea Park fireworks display – seen a few of them in the past, also not so keen on the ludicrous noise levels of modern displays – I miss the Ooohs and Aarhs of old. But on 5^th November I did attend a lecture at the National Gallery, on Joseph Wright (1734-97), better known simply as Wright of Derby – bit like the Italian style, coming to think of it such as Leonardo of Vinci. The National Gallery is curating the first major exhibition of his work. His contemporaries were the more famous Reynolds and Gainsborough. A generation later they were followed by Turner and Constable. Hence, Wright has been overlooked. His paintings are, however, more relevant to the Age of Enlightenment – they are about science, inventions, the future and the Industrial Revolution – the threats and excitements of the new world. There is a case to be made for Wright to be considered the greatest of British painters. I will go to the exhibition and recommend it to anyone interested in Britain in the modern world.
I was asked to contribute my comments about life in Battersea half a century ago as part of the 2025 Wandsworth Borough of Culture programme – I was the only one they could think of who could remember THE WORLD CUP (upper case deliberate), the great smogs of those years, bomb sites and slum tenements in Battersea. We shot me on 10^th November on the ‘beach’ under Battersea Bridge in the pouring rain – atmospheric. I do hope that it comes out slightly better than this one I took of the production team. Their good cheer in the pouring rain was admirable. Merry Xmas to them all.
On Remembrance Day, I went as usual to the service held in Battersea Park next to the Memorial statue. The service includes a parade of wreath presenters at the statue, by representatives of all the Borough’s public services and wings of the military service. As ever, I find the simplicity of the service very moving, especially in the late, but somehow appropriate, autumn weather. In all the years I have been going I remember only one service held in heavy rain – when it was also blowing a gale. This year’s service was conducted by the new vicar of St. Mary’s, the Reverend Erin Clark seen here leading the event.
It was also the same day as the Wandsworth’s Civic Awards ceremony, when the Council honours just some of the many thousands, who work in the voluntary sector. Until recently this event has been angled very much towards the “more mature members” of our community – partly because the criteria included the length of time people had been volunteering. But this Council has made a point of encouraging youth involvement and hence this year there were also equivalent youth awards. As it happens, a dear old friend of mine, who many of you will know – Sarah Rackham, won an award and another old friend, Phil Burrows, was in a silver medal position. In this picture of the award winners, Sarah is at the front left. Well done and well deserved, both Sarah and Phil.
On Sunday 16^th November, Penny and I went to World Heart Beat, Embassy Gardens, to see The Jazz Physicians: Critical Mass Album Launch, part of the Battersea Jazz Festival, itself part of the Wandsworth Borough of Culture Year. The World Heart Beat venue is situated half-way between Nine Elms Lane and the Wandsworth Road, and it is a very smart, intimate concert hall and recording studio. As for the Physicians, they were terrific. The trio, as seen here, are a pianist, a bass guitarist and a percussionist, playing a 21st century version of cool chamber music – Mozart would have loved them; we certainly did.
I chaired Wandsworth’s Planning Applications Committee on 19^th I could hardly claim that the agenda was either very challenging or very significant, but it does give me the opportunity to discuss one of the many conflicts that arise in the political world, and especially my bit of it – planning applications. A few months ago, the committee approved a planning application against the officers’ advice. The officers advised that the development would cause some level of visual damage to the conservation area. But the Committee decided that the social value of the proposal was of greater value than the damage caused. Here is a picture of the development – the one behind the red car. Clearly the building is not the ideal fit within the area but in the Committee’s view it was not sufficiently damaging to be unacceptable, given the useful community service it was designed to fulfil. Stop Press. The developers have put in an appeal against our decision to refuse planning permission for the block on the Glassmills site at Battersea Bridge.
The next day, 20^th, I had the Transport Committee, followed on 26^th by the Environment Committee, but neither would have excited much interest on a quiet, wet February evening, let alone just before Xmas. Much more interesting was a session I attended on 27^th at London City Hall, entitled Holding Mayors to Account and chaired by an old colleague of mine, Councillor Len Duvall (pictured here), who was the Leader of Greenwich, when I was Labour’s Opposition Leader on Wandsworth Council. The keynote speaker was Lord (Michael) Heseltine. Heseltine’s speech was in essence a pragmatist’s charter, completely void of dogmatic content but full of fascinating vignettes of his long life of being in Government and dealing with people as diverse as Mrs. Thatcher and Red Ken Livingstone, and Liverpool’s Derek Hatton. The most interesting part of the day, for me anyway, was a lunch-time chat with Len, John Biggs (ex-Mayor of Tower Hamlets), Prof. Tony Travers and Andrew Boff, Tory Member of the Greater London Assembly. Put bluntly, it was generally agreed that the elected councillors just did not have the powers or the resources to scrutinise Mayors effectively – or, in my words, the new Mayoral systems are in effect elective dictatorships.
On my way home I stopped off to inspect the work being done on the Falcon Road under-pass, under the tracks at Clapham Junction. Whilst I was there, I heard a couple of cynical comments from passers-by – waste of money style. I, however, think that it is brilliant and a massive stride in over-coming the very damaging divide between north and south Battersea. Whilst I was there a lady came up to me and asked me whether I was taking pictures for my newsletter – recognition! So, this picture is courtesy of Falconbrook resident, guest photographer Kate Wallis – thanks and Merry Xmas, Kate.
On 28^th November Penny and I went to the Mayor’s Charity Comedy night in the Ceremonial Suite at Wandsworth Town Hall. There are great advantages having an event there – one being its capacity to take the 100+ audience and allow space for socialising, or as we say nowadays networking. However, I suspect, it is a difficult venue for stand-up comics, who are more normally used to performing in smaller, intimate surroundings like pubs. I do admire comedians for their courage and tenacity in performance. Well over £10,000 was, however, collected for the Mayor’s three charities, namely Mindworks UK, Wandsworth Oasis, and Wandsworth Welcomes Refugees. Serving behind the bar was a regular reader of this Newsletter, Martine pictured here. Thanks to her and all the other Town Hall staff, who made the occasion a success.
Finally on 29^th November, I went to the Friends Meeting House in Wandsworth Town Centre for the launch of Labour’s Campaign for the 2026 May Election. There were 100+ candidates and supporters there on a very bubbly, good-mood occasion. We had speeches from Simon Hogg, the Leader of Wandsworth Council, Fleur Anderson MP for Putney, and Rosena Allin-Khan MP for Tooting. Rosena (pictured here) wound up with a storming speech with lots of, what Donald Sutherland said in Kelly’s Heroes were, “positive vibes, man”.

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea, November 2025, Newsletter (# 197)

October started for me, with a couple of jabs, against Covid and influenza. It is really good that the NHS has for a few years now got onto the offensive against these highly infectious diseases. Let me urge you, especially if you are eligible for free jabs, if you haven’t got around to it, to get your free jabs now. And if you are one of those scared of injections or with other objections, or distrust, can I ask you to re-consider your position. These are infectious diseases and if you get them then you are also endangering the rest of us.
As Chair of the Planning Applications Committee, on 8^th October I attended a Design Review Panel (DRP) of a new council development on the Lennox Estate, Roehampton on 8^th The Council intends to build some 50 new flats on the estate and I think the DRP process is a really positive newish part of the process. It is in effect a peer review by architects, ecological/landscape experts, engineers, etc. of the architects’ and planners’ plans. The end result is better buildings and, hopefully, in the longer term happier residents.
On 9^th October I was off to the Civil Service club, Great Scotland Yard, for the annual summer dinner of the 07 Club. Founded in 1907, this club was established as an informal gathering of men (and I mean men, as women members are a 21^st century innovation), whose job it was to run London’s civil government. Originally, they were largely the leading lights of the London County Council or LCC – replaced in 1965 by the GLC and now the GLA, or Greater London Assembly, but now it includes the Fire Brigade, the Ambulance Service and the London Boroughs. Actually, of course, it is an excuse to go into central London and have a harmless jolly – which is what it was.
I was touring Battersea Park ward on 18^th October and by chance, as much as by design, I popped into the Carney’s Community youth club in Petworth Street. It was good to see that boxing training was going ahead as vigourously as ever. I also had an interesting chat with Mumtaz, Kyran and Malachi – pictured here, youngsters who were that morning running the club’s bicycle repairs and support shop. It is a positive and useful by-product of the youth club, so if your bike needs repairs and maintenance, or you have an old one that needs a new home, why not pop down to Petworth Street and have a chat with them.
d id you know that before the effective de-industrialisation of Battersea in the 1960s and 1970s, Battersea had a reputation as being one of the heartlands of the London boxing scene? There used to be regular boxing events put on in Battersea Town Hall (now the BAC). Probably the biggest star was Don Cockell, aka the Battersea Bruiser, who in 1955 went 9 rounds with the fiercesome, American heavyweight champion, Rocky Marciano. Cockell was British, European and Commonwealth champion. Here Cockell, in black shorts, takes a right-hook from Marciano – in Madison Square Gardens, NY.
I went from the Carney Community into Battersea Park, where I came across the Battersea Park Running Festival. It is an annual event run hosted by RunThrough Events for the benefit of the Battersea Cats & Dogs Home. There are several events such as a marathon, a half marathon, and a 1-kilometre junior race. Smashing!
I had a very sad experience on 22^nd I went to a memorial service for a significant Labour figure, being held in the famous de-commissioned church in Smith Square. Not surprisingly, the large audience was mature in years – unfortunately a member of the congregation had a heart attack just as the service was beginning. The occasion was cancelled, much to the distress of widow and family – imagine the emotional and nervous energy used up in preparation for the eulogies and the social sympathies involved in such an event. That was followed, in the evening, by the Council Meeting, but there isn’t anything to say about that routine event.
On the return journey, I popped into the Tate Gallery to see the Clive Branson paintings on display. Branson was a British artist, who fought in the Spanish Civil War and sadly died in WW2 in Burma, now Myanmar, in 1944. He was a true socialist, who lived for many years in Battersea. His most famous painting, Selling The Daily Worker outside the PECO factory, I have shown before but on display with it at the Tate was this social-realist painting Bombed Women and Searchlights. The building under the searchlights are public baths – probably the long since demolished Nine Elms Baths? Note, in this moving and historic picture, the giant barrage ballon overhead, the broken windows and the Dig for Victory poster.
On 23^rd October, I chaired Wandsworth’s Planning Applications Committee. There was a contentious application for a hotel in Tooting, but we were assured that this hotel was incapable of being converted for hostel use without a secondary planning application. The liveliest debate affecting Battersea was consideration of another application – but one submitted after the building had already been constructed. The Committee does not like construction proceeding without permission, but on this occasion, we decided to approve it anyway.
I was invited to the opening, on 24^th October, of a large new industrial building in Lydden Road, off Garratt Lane, that my committee had approved a couple of years ago. I went there but I had the wrong date, or they had re-scheduled without telling me. It looked all bright, shiny and new and hopefully it will stimulate the Borough’s industrial economy.
Whilst there I dropped into the Font climbing and social centre in Lydden Road for a cuppa. I knew, of course, that climbing is now an Olympic sport with thousands of new devotees, but I did not know that we had a thriving centre for it, just off Garratt Lane. Even if it looks quiet here, early on a Friday morning, it is apparently so busy at weekends that they are hoping to expand to a larger place in the Southside Shopping Centre. Good climbing to them all.
The following day, I went again to Battersea Park to see the unveiling of a plaque to Bob Marley, who lived across the river in Chelsea, but regularly played football in the Park. Self-confessedly, the soccer he played displayed none of the gentleness and love to all men that he sang about. The unveiling was a passionate and cheerful occasion attended by some of his soccer team-mates, our MP, Marsha de Cordova, my fellow councillor Maurice McLeod and launched by the High Commissioner for Jamaica. In this photo Marsha and I are pictured in front of the two plaques – one to Marley and the other to the first football match ever played in the world under FA rules.
October 27^th was a sad day for all of us in Battersea Labour Party, being the day that Prunella Scales died. She and her husband Tim West were, as well as being truly great actors, substantial contributors to the party – and not just financially. They occasinally hosted summer garden parties at their home facing on to Wandsworth Common; and they acted in a couple of revues, which my partner Penny wrote. Prunella will be best remembered as Sybil in the hilarious Fawlty Towers sit-com, and for the range of meanings she managed to convey in the five letters B_A_S_I_L. But if they show it on TV in tribute, I recommend making a point of watching Hobson’s Choice a classic of British film, starring Prunella and many others. RIP Pru, true friend and comrade to Battersea Labour Party.
Lunch with Battersea Park Rotary Club at the Albert 30^th October and a talk given by Syeda Islam on Moghul art, design and architecture in the 15^th-18^th century India. She took us through the six great Emperors, from Babur, a descendant of Genghis Khan, who led an invasion of India from central Asia to the golden age of Shah Jahan, who romantically built the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife. This painting of Babur, is a portrait of a learned and cultured man and a fine example of Moghul art.

My November Programme

I have my Council surgery at 11 am at Battersea Park Library on 1^st November.
On the 4^th there is the Conservation and Heritage Committee.
I am attending a National Gallery lecture on Wright of Derby and his paintings on 5th November. Wright is an interesting eighteenth-century painter who loved painting works about the Age of Enlightenment, of science and the origins of the then Industrial Revolution, which could almost be centred on the growth of engineering in the West Midlands – still the home of Rolls Royce.
I will be at the Remembrance Day Service in Battersea Park on 11^th November in the morning and the Council’s Civic Awards presentation in the evening.
The Planning Applications Committee is on 19^th November, followed by the Transport Committee on 20^{^th.}

Did you know?

Last month I asked which fragrant flower grew wild, and was cultivated commercially, in Battersea, before full urbanisation? But still left its name to SW11.

The answer was, of course, Lavender, as answered correctly by many of you. There are, of course, Lavender Hill, but also Lavender Sweep, Gardens and Mews. And notoriously the Mob!

And this month?

I took this picture of a pastoral autumnal scene during one of my recent tours around Battersea Park ward but it is NOT in the Park. Where is it?

October 7, 2025

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Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea, October 2025, Newsletter (# 196)

Last month, Tom was kind enough to “protest” about the brevity of my August newsletter, because he claimed that he enjoyed my rambling. I hope that I do not disappoint him with this busy version.
So off to Weymouth on 1^st September for a fortnight of editing and writing a/the book. I must be mad to trail such an event as, after all, there must be a hatful of reasons why I don’t get there, including not finding a publisher. But it went quite well in two weeks in Weymouth and the town itself is a delight, squeezed as it is between the harbour and the sea, Portland Bill and Chesil Beach.
The seafood restaurants and pubs in the town stand comparison with their rivals in Brittany, whilst the Town beach is three or four miles of sand – the type that’s better for cricket than football – at low tide anyway. It was also George III’s favourite holiday spot, where he was known as a rather amiable “Farmer George” rather than the “tyrant”, who drove the 13 rebellious colonies to declare independence. He had a good taste when it came to choosing seaside resorts within striking distance of London. Great night life, too, for such a small town, not in high season.
At the beginning of September, the Meadbank Care Home on Parkgate Road was closed for new clients. The home for 80 mature residents in need of care was originally run, I believe, by the Council or the NHS, but has long since been owned by BUPA. Today, according to its owners, Meadbank has passed its “sell-by” date – the bedrooms are not en-suite. BUPA have put forward plans for a new-build replacement on the same site and these plans have been considered by what is known as a DRP (Design Review Panel). We can expect the submission of a planning application soon.
On the 11^th September, as many will know, a potentially deadly fire was ablaze in Fox House, Maysoule Road. (I was on holiday at the time). It could have been worse, but both the emergency services and the Council acted quickly, and no one was even injured, but all 37 flats were immediately uninhabitable. The Council placed all residents into temporary accommodation of some kind and by 26^th September 29 households had been offered alternative accommodation in SW11. The town hall officers have assured me that the remaining eight households are OK – they have decided to move elsewhere or made independent arrangements – well done, to Council staff, fire brigade and police first respondents.
A day or two later, a Council employee was stabbed whilst at work on the Rollo Estate. It was a serious injury incident, and he had emergency care – I (and we) do not need to know the details, but I am reliably informed that he is recovering reasonably well, whilst the alleged perpetrator is in protective care and is suffering from some form of mental health disorder.
Trees, trees, trees: you’d be surprised how much correspondence councillors get about trees. Do cut them down, don’t cut them down, prune them, don’t touch them, you planted the wrong ones, they are too big, too small – every complaint under the sun. Why am I telling you this? – because on 16^th September I got the following notice in a council email. “I am writing to inform you of the planned removal of 17 highway trees (street trees) across the Battersea Park and St Mary’s wards. These removals are part of our routine maintenance programme and are necessary due to the defective condition of the trees, which pose an unacceptable risk of damage or injury in the event of failure. Felling notices have been placed on all affected street trees, with a scheduled start date for removal of 29 September 2025. The following roads all have one or two trees that will be replaced:-

In Battersea Park Ward: Beechmore Road, Juer Street, Reform Street, Rosenau Crescent, Thames Walk, and,

In St Mary’s Ward: Morgans Walk, Inworth Street, Stanmer Street, Ursula Street, and Simpson Street.

So, if your favourite tree is cut down – one outside my house was removed much to my anguish – remember that there is a reason and it will be replaced – mine, on the right, has been!

On the 18^th September a lorry-driver drove into and demolished Battersea Park’s Albert Gate. It was built in 1881 and formed a small but essential part of the splendour of the Park. You will be pleased to know that work has already begun on its restoration.
The Labour Group, councillors and candidates for next May’s Borough Election, had an AwayDay on 20^th It was exactly what it should be – friendly, inclusive, stimulating and fun. Whatever the political mood is elsewhere, and one can hardly pretend that it is good – right here in Wandsworth, Labour faces next year in buoyant mood, and with an excellent slate of candidates.

Does LBOC mean anything to you? No, what about London Borough Of Culture or LBOC? I have been to a couple of events featuring in LBOC but not as many as I would have wished. There have been a few sceptics round and about the event, and I have my own minor criticisms. But overall, I think it has already been a great success and will continue to be so through to its end in April, next year. Do try and to take in a few events if you have not yet done so. The year runs through until April next year – we are at the halfway point – give it a go.
Battersea Bridge has been a real pain for anyone trying to get over it, or even near it for some months. The work has been aimed to improve safety at the junctions on both sides of the bridge. It has also affected Albert Bridge of course, and much else besides. But now, I am told that at long last we are in the final stages of the work. The road is going to be completely re-surfaced overnights – the road will need to be closed at night during much of October. But by November, Battersea Bridge Road, Parkgate Road and Elcho Street should all be done and dusted. Hopefully we will have a safer and better environment – remember: this is all being done after a fatal accident. The details of the works are far too complex to list here but if you are concerned look up – https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/battersea-bridge-safety

I attended the Transport Committee on 18^th The main items on the agenda were Wandsworth’s installation of EV (electric vehicle) charging points and the introduction of “school streets.” The borough is in the top four of London boroughs in terms of EV installations, along with Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham and Southwark. We have also installed school streets for every school that has demonstrated a positive interest. These are, however, demand-led services so if you are aware of a major shortage of EV installations or you want a school street near you, then let me know and I will try and get support for you.
In August, I talked about giving permission for the development of the derelict site at the corner of Culvert and Battersea Park Roads – and in Dagnall Street. At the time, I said that at last, the kids at Harris Academy will have a decent gym/sports hall. Well, on 24^th September I visited the site and here I am on the roof of the gym building, which will include changing facilities, and two new class – note, the field of photovoltaic cells on adjoining parts of the school. The aim is to complete this building by May 2026, and to have the main site re-developed by spring, 2028.
I chaired Wandsworth’s Planning Applications Committee on 25^th Frankly, this was not the most significant month in terms of big or particularly major applications – the largest, in Battersea, was permission to expand Thomas’s School’s school role from 660 to 690 – so, I will just take this opportunity to note that the committee has this year been watched online by some 1500 Wandsworth residents. Judge for yourself whether the cost of giving people the ability (and right?) to see decisions being made about life in their streets is justified or not at that level of participation.
On 26^th September, I attended a memorial service to Timothy West, on behalf of Battersea Labour Party – Tim lived in Battersea. The service was held in St. James’s Church, Piccadilly. Tim as well as being a great actor – he played Churchill twice, Stalin, Edward VII, King Lear, and many other roles – was, with his wife, Prunella Scales – a major contributor to Battersea Labour Party funds. The service was attended by many well-known actors, who gave everything in what was quite a performance – from the singing, no shy rendition of hymns here, and lessons read, from the personal memories to the couple of scenes from Tim’s own plays enacted by his family and friends. Tim, great actor, great friend of BLP, RIP.
I don’t know about you, but I had to watch the Women’s Rugby World Cup Final on 27^th September – wasn’t it brilliant, especially in the first-half – it had too many scrums, mauls and indecipherable rules in the second half, but that’s rugby. What with that and the Lionesses triumph at Wembley – and the crowd behaviour – the feminisation of sport – or of the crowds – has been a great bonus, especially when contrasted with the scenes from the USA during the Ryder Cup. But three great triumphs for British team sport – with a considerable helping of European input.

My October Programme

Battersea Labour Party’s Junction Jazz night is on 5^th October – always a splendidly pleasant and informal evening.
On 9^th, I have lunch with old colleagues who worked with me in the GLC – now 36 years ago and in the evening the Finance Committee.
I intend to attend the Older People’s Forum at St. Peter’s Church on 14^th October.
On 22^nd October I will attend the memorial service to David Lipsey and later that day a Council Meeting.
I have the Planning Applications Committee (PAC) on the 23^rd,
The PAC, that I chair, gave permission for a large industrial and office complex in Lydden Road, Tooting – immediately off Garratt Lane. On the 24^th October it is being officially opened and I, and the ward councillors, have been invited to its opening. I look forward to seeing how it has turned out.

Did you know?

Last month I asked whether anyone could add details about any names on the Dodd? What was Park Court South called before it was sold off by the council. Why Voltaire Court? Or Turpin House? Why Charlotte Despard and Francis Chichester? But I got not one reply! Ah, well, here are a couple of answers:

Park Court South was previously named Jay Court after long-serving Labour Cabinet minister and Battersea MP, Douglas Jay 1946-73, but the private owners did not want it named after a Labour politician!

Francis Chichester was a famous Devonian, who became the first person to sail solo around the world, arriving back in Plymouth on 27 August 1966 just as the Doddington Estate was first being planned.

And this month?

What fragrant flower grew wild, and was cultivated commercially, in Battersea, before full urbanisation? But still left its name to SW11.

April 9, 2025

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Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea, April 2025, Newsletter (# 190)

The Council Meeting on 5^th March confirmed the long-discussed Council Tax freeze, already agreed at Committee level. The somewhat academic discussion centred on when a freeze is a freeze and when it is not. I doubt whether the public is as interested in the finer points of the argument as leading councillors are. What I am sure residents are interested in is that Wandsworth is now the only Council in the country where the standard Band D Council Tax (the gold standard) is below £1,000 a year, only just perhaps but definitely below £1,000.
On the 6^th March, I attended the North-East Surrey Crematorium Board’s quarterly meeting at Sutton Town Hall. The main discussion this quarter was whether we should spend potentially £1/4 million on providing separate pedestrian access along the main access to the Crematorium. I do not think that the clash between car traffic and pedestrians is a major feature of cemetery concerns in the UK today – see picture! For aesthetic as well as for financial reasons, I was opposed – a real Clochmerle story if ever there was one. (If you haven’t heard of Clochmerle, then let me tell you it was a comedy novel about French rural small-town politics by a man called Gabriel Chevallier, which centred on the location of the town’s proposed new public lavatories. It’s an amusing read, and I am rather afraid that I might be at the centre of a similar story!)
Off to the Renaissance Hotel, St. Pancras, on 14^th March for the very classy launch of Penny’s latest (of six) book, called Time-Space We are all in it together. (She says that it has to be Time-Space and not Space-Time because that would be a physicist’s book and not a historian’s!) The picture is of me introducing the author to the audience, which, although not obvious from this scene, was over 100 strong. It was a great evening, enjoyed by all.
On the 21^st March, I joined our MP, Marsha de Cordova, and the local police team on a walk-about on the Doddington Estate. The main focus of our concerns were drug-dealing criminals, but we were also concerned about fly-tipping and problems with damp and mould. Marsha is really good at these walk-about events; chatty, welcoming and friendly to all passersby. We left having plenty of practical issues to follow up.
On the morning of the 24^th March, the members of the Planning Applications Committee went for a site visit to the Wandsworth Gasworks site. It is a large, derelict, noxious, industrial ruin of a site, covered with gas pipes, concrete, scrap metal and the detritus of a century of heavy industry. The water in the picture is NOT the Wandle but the drowned, very deep, very large foundations of the old gasometer.
And two days later on the 26^th, I chaired (pictured centre, along with Nick Calder, the head of planning development and the clerk) the Planning Applications Committee, where the main decision to resolve was the application for the development of the Gasworks site. The choice we were presented with was to accept the current application or leave the site as it is now and wait for some hypothetical future application, which would need to be as viable in financial terms as the current application, but also better in policy terms. Better in policy terms would, in reality, have to mean more than 40% affordable housing and/or less than 29 storeys of height. But we are where we are with a dangerous, toxic, empty, under-used site so we accepted the application by 6 votes to 3. One possible beneficiary of a much-improved site was this heron spotted in the Wandle Estuary foreshore.
Between these two occasions, on the 25^th, I had the Conservation and Heritage Advisory Committee largely uneventful and business-like. And then on the 29^th Penny and I decided to have a day in Weymouth. For those, who don’t know the town, it is well worth a day return from Clapham Junction, with a delightful harbour, a really, great very long, sandy beach, good very British food next to the harbour – my fisherman’s pie was terrific – if it had been a hundred miles away in Normandy/Brittany we’d have been raving about French cuisine!
The Borough’s March highlights:

In the last year, Wandsworth has recycled an extra 5,000 tons – the equivalent weight of 400 double-decker buses.

The next phase of the Cleaner Borough Plan starts soon, including additional bins in town centres, jet washing and more regular sweeping of high streets, as well as clearing fly-tips on private land not owned by the council.

Wandsworth has the biggest bike hangar programme of any local authority in London. Residents told us that more safe storage would make it easier for them to cycle, so we’re installing another 120 hangars around the borough, taking the total to almost 350.

Wandsworth has helped secure thousands of pounds in Attendance Allowance through our campaign to sign up eligible residents. This benefit, for pension-age residents who need regular support, is not provided automatically by the government, so we’ve used data from the Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) platform to target a campaign at those who should benefit. Since the start of our campaign, £230,000 has been put in their pockets, and they will be set to receive an extra £1.5m over the lifetime of the claims. We will also investigate ways to support disabled residents who may be impacted by proposed reductions in their support

My April Programme

On the 3rd April, we are off on Eurostar to Brussels, Cologne and Essen, Germamy, for a history conference, where Penny is giving the Keynote speech and we will be staying for three days. We will take the opportunity to visit Cologne Cathedral, one of the great European cathedrals and which neither of us has previously visited.
I have the Wandsworth Town Together event on the 11^th.I have not been to this before,but it looks like a great celebration of the Borough’s youth.
The April meeting of the Planning Applications Committee (PAC) is on the 24^th.
The official launch of the Wandsworth Borough of Culture Year takes place with the Strictly Wandsworth event in Battersea Park on 26^th April.

Did you know?

Last month I asked, “Do you know where Leo lives and why did he settle there?”

I am afraid that you clearly were not very interested but Roy did point out quite correctly that I had asked that once before and the answer is simply Macduff Road, off Battersea Park Road, but neither of us knows exactly who put him there or why.

And this month?

So, ok it’s a wall. It is not a Roman wall or a last remaining Medieval London wall? But what is unique about this particular wall? And where is it? And why? And what is it called?

November 1, 2024

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Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea November 2024, Newsletter (# 185)

On 3rd October, I visited London’s space-age City Hall for the very first time. Amazingly enough, it was sixty years and one month after my first day in a real job (as opposed to vacation jobs, etc.) at the “real” County Hall, which was then the home of the GLC (Greater London Council), which on that day took over from the LCC (London County Council). I worked there for twenty years. Since then the centre of London government has moved to Borough and now Docklands. Can you imagine the USA or France messing around with both the governance and the HQs of New York or Paris in such a cavalier, shambolic way? Neither the Americans nor the French mess with their capital cities. Why do you think we do?
I went to City Hall to participate in the Hearing on the Springfield Park development in Tooting. I know that it is not Battersea but the development is one of the very largest in Wandsworth and the new park is a delight – if you have not been there I recommend it – the G1 bus goes from the Junction right there. My Committee, Planning Applications, had turned down the application for an extension of the park and the construction of 449 homes, 225 of which were to be “affordable”, on the grounds that it was an over-development and exceeded the capacity of the local public transport infrastructure. I suspected that Deputy Mayor Jules Pipe was going to rule in favour of the developer and against Wandsworth’s decision. The developer is, after all, the NHS, and the development is a significant part of the Springfield Hospital renewal project. As they say, a no-brainer, and the development was approved. The photograph dates to 2023; the park has matured a bit in the last year.
I had the Transport Committee on Monday, 7th October. The most significant item was about the installation of bike hangars. From having none just a few years ago Wandsworth now has the largest number in London. What is more, they are occupied the instant they are installed. I can understand why. When I cycled I had three bikes stolen (at over £500 a pop) as well as a saddle and as for rear lights – they just get nicked for fun. No wonder so few cyclists bother with them. Indeed I have recently had requests for bike hangars from Prince of Wales Drive and Cambridge Road – from sharing young renters, who cycle to work. If that includes you, then register an interest in getting one installed near you – it is easy. Look up the Wandsworth website and ask about bikehangars.
Penny and I went to see Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, on 11th October – my first encounter with this iconic play. It was written by an Irishman, theoretically neutral during WW2, but a member of the French resistance. He narrowly escaped torture and death at the hands of the Gestapo. He was awarded The Croix de Guerre and the Médaille de la Reconnaisance Française. Having experienced war and totalitarianism, he never joined any political party, but he did fund and support various leftist causes such as black rights in Alabama. Waiting for Godot is an apparently endless, inescapable quest for peace in an inevitably violent and unpleasant world. But despite its occasionally funny dialogue, I am not going to recommend it for those seeking a fun evening, however as a commentary on the desolation of war and chaos it is crushingly powerful!
Wandsworth Council organised its first 5K Fun Run in Battersea Park on Saturday 12^th I should have been there – perhaps you were – but I had other commitments including visiting the Glassmills exhibition of plans for a 28-storey tower on Battersea Bridge Road. The Run was very popular and marked the start of a six-month trial of weekly runs. There are probably enough runners in Battersea to keep that going on a weekly basis but I have my doubts whether the organising team can continue at that rate – we will see. I will be happy if you prove my scepticism unfounded by turning up to run and/or volunteer on a coming Saturday at 9 am.
The 14th October was a big day for the River Thames – the Thames Tideway Tunnel was finally opened. The Tunnel complex is about 25 miles of water storage, running parallel to the river. It is much, much bigger than a tube tunnel and is designed to take rain and river flood waters out of the Thames, during the peak wet weather. Easing pressures on the sewage system and raising the river’s water quality back to the level we deserve. I hope it succeeds in doing just that, because it cost us Thames Water customers £4,5 billion.
On October 30th I had a Design Review Panel (DRP) at what turned out to be Vivienne Westwood’s company HQ in Battersea. The company is doing well and expanding rapidly. It is in desperate need of more space and is well on the way to submitting a planning application to extend its current site. Whilst I was there I discovered that a couple of hundred people work at the Battersea HQ; there is another, complementary HQ in Milan. Nearly all the employees live locally and travel to work on the several buses that cross Battersea Bridge – others cycle. Well over 50% of the company’s sales go abroad. The Panel discussion was positive although not totally without criticism. With luck we should see an early planning application.
And other news about Battersea and Wandsworth:

On 15^th October, I had a meeting of the Met. Police’s Battersea Park ward Neighbourhood Team in the Doddington Estate. It is a useful exchange of views between the Met and the local community about police priorities.
The Council Meeting on 16^th was the usual rubber-stamping of the month’s decisions. Regular readers will know my views about this formulaic, essentially pointless event. Over the years it has lost all its old spontaneity and drama and desperately needs a re-think as to both purpose and format.
I cancelled the Planning Applications Committee due on 24th October, because of lack of business – a worrying sign for the building industry or just a temporary blip?
Plans proceed for building a new primary school in the Nine Elms linear park The construction costs will be carried by all the private developments that have taken place in the area in the past few years. I doubt that it will look quite like this but here was the visualisation presented to councillors.
Battersea Park Rotary asked me to remind pensioners about Rotary’s Xmas Day special – contact Senia Dedic (seniadedic@hotmail.com) for details.
The Battersea Park Fun Run began in October and on 18^th October we held the largest such run anywhere in the world ever – or so my friend Simon says but how anyone can possibly know defeats me! But no matter; it takes place every Saturday morning at 9.30. Why not give it a go? (I don’t think my knees would take it!)
The Council has installed traffic lights at each end of the Culvert Road Tunnel. I was frankly a bit dubious about whether they would have any real impact but fellow Councillor Sara Apps from Shaftesbury & Queenstown ward pressed for them. I must say that first indications are good. There is more compliance with the signals than I had anticipated; but let’s see if they are still as successful in a few months.
On 30^th October the Council in association with TfL started works on Battersea Bridge to make it safer for both cyclists and pedestrians – readers no doubt remember the recent fatal accident involving a cyclist. Unfortunately, I suspect whilst the work is being done, there will be delays crossing either Battersea or Albert Bridge.

My November Programme

I have a meeting of Battersea United Charities on 4th November.
And how could one forget November 5th Fireworks Display in Battersea Park.
Junction Jazz are playing one of their occasional fund-raisers for the Battersea Labour Party on 1st November.
The 11th is, of course, Armistice Day and as always, I will be attending the Battersea Park ceremony.
The Conservation and Heritage Committee meets on 12th November.
I have the Transport Committee on 19th.
November’s meeting of the Planning Applications Committee is on 20th.

Did you know?

Last month I asked “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?”

I have never had so many correct answers. Yes, Bob Marley and Spurs. As to the song, well that was a matter of some dispute but probably No Woman, No Cry won by a short head.

And this month?

An Irish Protestant dramatist, clearly torn between both his Irish and British heritages in that he was at once an Irish Republican and a British patriot, this socialist born in North Dublin spent many of his later years in Prince of Wales Drive, Battersea. Who was he and can you name his most famous play, and even one other of his works?

July 1, 2024

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Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea July 2024, Newsletter (# 181)

My June diary was entirely disrupted by the bizarre timing of the General Election – so all plans were out of the window. As far as Labour members have been concerned, it has been all hands to the pumps since then (22/5/24). But not, so it seems, as far as our opponents are concerned. Here in Battersea, there has been almost no sign of Tory, Lib/Dem, Green or Reform activity. The truth, of course, is that it is difficult to exhort the troops into action when all the leaders seem to have decided that Labour is the certain winner. 1997 was like this, and not just in retrospect – I am on record expecting Blair to win by a majority of 150 – his actual victory was 179! I acknowledge that there is not the same enthusiasm for Keir Starmer, pictured here at the party leadership hustings in 2020, and Labour as there was then for Tony Blair and New Labour – but equally there was not the same despair about John Major and the Tories as there is about Rishi Sunak and the current no-hopers representing the Tories. What are the odds on Starmer’s majority being even larger than Blair’s 179?
On the 5^th June, I went to the unveiling of the Charlotte Despard Plaque in the Nine Elms Linear Park. This was the culmination of years of campaigning by Jeanne Rathbone, who wants Wandsworth to have as many plaques commemorating women as there are commemorating men. And in particular, Jeanne has long wanted one to commemorate Despard. Charlotte was an Irish nationalist, republican, rich, suffragist, philanthropic radical, who in the 1920s spent much of her time and money doing good works for the poor of Nine Elms, at a time when they really were distressingly poor. I think Charlotte, herself, would have recognised the irony of unveiling a plaque to her within a stone’s throw of the US Embassy surrounded, as it is by some of the most expensive and exclusive properties in London. She would have been particularly bemused or horrified by the reception, held in the Skypool complex 200 feet above ground level. My guess is that the pool will be the most expensive, under-used pool in London – spectacularly so, as in the picture.
The occasion was notable for Mary McAleese’s The past President of Ireland, who confessed her total ignorance of Charlotte Despard, before being invited to attend this unveiling, honoured the occasion with a quietly powerful speech. Referring to Despard’s relationship with Mahatma Gandhi, McAleese made a truly memorable plea for the cause of all peoples across the world suffering from the twin disasters of climate change and war. It was a speech full of careful consideration and feeling for people suffering whether in Gaza, Ukraine, Myanmar or Sudan. It was very special for a quiet, cool, not well-attended Wednesday evening in a London suburb.
June 11^th was the day of Sean Creighton’s funeral held at Lambeth Crematorium, Blackshaw Road, followed by a wake at La Gothique. Sean, accompanied by his wife Ann, was a big figure in the Battersea Labour Party in the 1980s and 90s. He was a Labour councillor representing the old Fairfield ward in the years 1982-86. Being an elected councillor did not, however, come naturally to Sean. Frankly, he found it difficult always to follow the party line – and as I was the Labour Leader at the time that was often my line! (At the time he lived 200 yards from Wandsworth Town Hall and he and I often addressed our differences over a friendly bottle of wine, with Ann adjudicating.) Sean was more of an activist and a chronicler, than a party politician. He was the secretary of more organisations than anyone I ever knew, including the Prisoners Education Trust and a Northumberland Historical trust (Sic!). Sean and his bookstall were a feature outside many a local history and/or Labour conference anywhere in the country for a dozen years. Sean was an activist, archivist, campaigning, eccentric individualist: in short one of a kind. RIP, Sean Creighton.
Off to Winchester on the 15^th for a splendid party thrown by our niece, Melissa. The city, the Saxon capital of England, always leaves me confused between Kings Arthur and Alfred, one of whom managed to burn cakes but then also to unite the ancient regions of England into one kingdom, whilst the other mythically sat at a round table with his knights – or was it the other way round? The Round Table really does exist. It is very large and hangs high in a grand ceremonial hall – it looks like a rose window in this picture. It was, however, built in 1290 for a royal tournament in honour of the Arthurian legend – the tournament must have been a late flourish of Ye Olde Merrie England not long before the Black Death of 1348.
On the 18^th Penny and I went to the Jermyn Street Theatre to see Being Mr Wickham. The theatre itself was fascinating, literally a stone’s throw from Piccadilly. With an audience capacity of 70, it must be the most intimate of West End theatres. The one-man, one-hour play was written, created, and acted by Adrian Lukis, – the very man who acted the disreputable George Wickham opposite Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth as Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy in the seminal 1996 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice. Lukis had clearly spent much of the intervening 28 years being George Wickham, imagining a variation of possible futures from Hogarth’s Rakes Progress to the version depicted in the play. Witty and clever, this personal after-dinner history was just right for such an intimate space, where he described how dull life must be for Elizabeth living with that dreadfully priggish bore Darcy – a life so unlike the well-lived one that he, Wickham, shared with fun-loving Lydia. The script was littered with acerbic references to Mr. Collins, the other Bennett girls and of course to Mr & Mrs Bennett themselves. Both George and Adrian seem to have done alright for themselves. Nice one, Adrian.
The Planning (PAC) Applications Committee was held on the 20^th Again, it was, thanks partly to the imminent General Election, a quiet committee. There was, however, one application, which will concern devotees of Northcote Road, and that was to demolish and rebuild 78 Northcote Road. No 78 has, in the recent past, been variously Downings restaurant, a Tapas bar and currently the Soi Thai restaurant. When, or perhaps if, it is demolished, there will be many concerned posts hitting social media. But, unfortunately or not, local authorities do not have the power to prevent demolition of any property if it is neither specifically protected nor within a conservation area. However, let me re-assure readers that the replacement will complement the terrace – in case you had not previously noticed the current building is one floor lower than the rest of the terrace, more of a gap tooth than a sore thumb. The replacement is planned to be the same height, have slightly more living accommodation, and, of course, modern plumbing, etc. No. 78 is on the left of this Northcote Road terrace and is clearly one storey lower than its nineteenth-century fellows.
On 21^st June, Penny and I had the pleasure of going to the retirement dinner of Oxford University Chancellor, Chris Patten, at Keble College. It was held in Keble’s grand and magnificent Hall and the occasion was as splendid as one might expect. Chris spoke of how Oxford “made him” and, as ever, laced his speech with many personal anecdotes. He also made it clear that whilst no longer free to vote – as Lord Patten of Barnes he is disqualified – if he could vote he would not vote for anyone who had supported Brexit. Quite a journey from being a senior member of the Cabinet to a major critic of the current Tory Government – even if it took 30 years to do it.
The next morning, we went for a delightful walk round theUniversity Parks. It was absolutely beautiful – notable for the re-wilding along the River Cherwell – very different as I recall it from the well-mown lawns of the Parks in the 1960s. We enjoyed both the wild and the cultivated flowers, and the couple of thousand Park Fun Runners.
Meanwhile, a team of us, 6-8 strong, have been meeting at 8am every weekday, as the organising committee of the Battersea Labour Party’s election campaign. We all have our allocated responsibilities, from running the canvassing, to organising the digital campaign, from mobilising the volunteers to writing the campaign materials, from looking after the candidate to ensuring the money is available. As the Battersea LP Treasurer, I am “the money”, which this year has been, I have to admit, the cushy number. It is all so very different from an election run in 1997, and as for 1970 well words ……. Technology has changed absolutely everything. In 1970 every constituency largely did its own thing, in its own way. The 8am Zoom meetings would not have been possible; the party could not have moved resources from London constituencies to the Midlands or even, as happened recently, to Scotland – they would not have the data that both enabled and inspired the move. Today, in theory (and in practice) the “boss” knows every morning how many canvass contacts were made last night across the whole of the UK, how many were so-called Labour promises, how many were not. I must confess to a little nostalgia for the more intuitive approach that we used the day before yesterday.
On the evening of the 23^rd I attended an election-hustings meeting at St. Michael’s, Wandsworth Common. There were about 40 members of the public there to hear from the Green, Labour and Tory candidates – the Lib/Dems were invited but were a “no show”. What weird occasions these are. The public included about 25 party members – there simply to support their candidates and ask friendly questions. Half of us knew the other half – I even swopped notes with the Leader of the Tory opposition on Wandsworth Council as to who did best between my Marsha de Cordova (MdC) and his Tom Pridham. For what it is worth, I thought that MdC won by a country mile, but I also thought that given the event was set-up on a “green and very wet pitch” that Tory Tom Pridham did well – disagreed with every word, of course but that’s politics. Just one tip for the Green candidate – if you think that we are all bound to hell in a handcart (as you and I both do) then at least add some gallows humour to your presentation. Total misery is a bit of a turn-off.
There was one final hustings, on 26^th June, this time in the new church on Plough Road. Personal confession here – I was part of MdC’s preparation team. We spent an hour in the afternoon talking through the likely questions and MdC’s possible replies – and it worked. Marsha was excellent that evening and on this occasion all the other candidates, including the Lib/Dems, Reform, and the Workers’ Party, virtually conceded that Marsha de Cordova won the debate comfortably.

My July Programme

July 4^th is the big election day. I will be in Battersea Park Ward for most of the 15 hours of election day – like many other activists across the UK. We will all want a high turn-out and most of us will be VOTING for a CHANGE away from our current, pathetic and ineffective government.
The Planning Applications Committee is on 18^th
We are off to Killarney and the Kerry Ring from 19^th-25^th July and
Back to Maynooth, near Dublin, for an Executive Committee of the International Society for Eighteenth Century Studies from 25^th-28^th
And I will, therefore, have to give my apologies for the Council Meeting on 24^th July and the Environment Committee on 27^{^th}

Did you know?

Last month, I asked if we could list all Battersea’s MPs, from 1900. And I started with John Burns (1892-1918) and Marsha de Cordova (2017- ). I am afraid that quiz obviously did not appeal to many of you, indeed I got only one reply. But that one from Roy, was very good and very detailed – well done, Roy. His complete list of MPs, with dates, is:-

Battersea – John Burns, Liberal “but obviously also a socialist” 1892-1918

Battersea North Years Battersea South

Richard Morris, Liberal 1918-22 Francis Curzon, Tory

Shapurji Saklatvala, Lab 1922-23 Francis Curzon, Tory

Henry Hogbin, Liberal 1923-24 Francis Curzon, Tory

Shapurji Saklatvala, CP 1924-29 Francis Curzon, Tory

William Sanders, Lab 1929-31 William Bennett, Lab

Arthur Marsden, Tory 1931-35 Sir Harry Selley, Tory

William Sanders, Lab 1935-40 Sir Harry Selley, Tory

Francis Douglas, Lab 1940-45 Sir Harry Selley, Tory

Francis Douglas, Lab 1945-46 Caroline Ganley, Lab

Douglas Jay, Lab 1946-51 Caroline Ganley, Lab

Douglas Jay, Lab 1951-64 Ernest Partridge, Tory

Douglas Jay, Lab 1964-79 Ernie Perry, Lab

Douglas Jay, Lab 1979-83 Alf Dubs, Lab

Battersea

Alf Dubs, Lab 1983-87

John Bowis, Tory 1987-97

Martin Linton, Lab 1997-2010

Jane Ellison, Tory 2010-17

Marsha De Cordova, Lab 2017-

And this month?

And which of those MPs have had buildings or roads or institutions named after them, and which are they?

July 17, 2021

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Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea July 2021, Newsletter (# 145)

That was June, June that was

1 June. I was walking along Trinity Road, in Wandsworth Common, when I saw this magnificent hearse. Obviously, it marks a sad event for someone, somewhere, but it also provides a spectacle and an insight into cultural diversity, between the sombre nature of some funerals and the joyous celebration of a departed life “enjoyed” by others. (please note this version of the blog is without pictures – techie problem! I hope to sort shortly)
5-6 June. Penny and I went Eastbourne for the weekend. On the Saturday we went to Pevensey Castle, five miles from Eastbourne, where William the Conqueror landed at the start of his conquest of England. The magnificent ruins of the Castle command a splendid view over the coastal plain/marshes and of the sea, which has retreated a couple of miles since 1066. This photograph of the Norman castle ruins is not the best – of the castle – but I chose it for one very special feature and that is the gun emplacement set in the Norman Tower during the Second World War – an eleventh-century pillarbox defence. So, from some fortifications at Pevensey in Roman times through to its military use in the twentieth century, it has had an active history of 16 centuries – a truly unique British castle.
On the Sunday, we went on the “Annual Family Walk” from the Birling Gap to the top of Beachy Head. I was a little doubtful about whether I could make it all the way, but managed OK. The trouble was that, whilst the rest of the country was basking under a beautiful sun, we were trapped in a sea fog and couldn’t see the sea, the Beachy Head light-house or almost anything else. And the day had started with this beautiful and tranquil, if unspectacular, dawn at about 3.45 am!
7 June. I went to a lecture organised by Labour Heritage and given by Baroness Dianne Hayter. She was talking about a book that she had written in 2006 on the centenary of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) and about the 29 MPs, who in 1906 got together to form the PLP and, effectively, the Labour Party. The book, called Men Who Made Labour, is a record of the lives of these 29 men and their experiences as the first Labour MPs. Nearly all were what we might call “working men”, with very few having had any formal education beyond the age of 12 or 13. Almost none had ever been to London before their election and none had had any exposure to life in Parliament. The challenges they faced were immense compared to most modern-day experiences. But nevertheless, through self-education, hard-work and endless commitment they became over time Cabinet Ministers and, in at least one case, Prime Minister. Dianne, an old friend, told the story with passion and understanding – it was an hour’s Zoom well spent.
10 June. This time, I was doing the talking – to Croydon Trades Council. Croydon Borough Council recently decided to hold a referendum on 7^th October this year, when the voters will be asked whether they want to have an elected Mayor or to keep the current Leader and councillors model. As it happens, one of the Trades Council members recalled reading an article I had written in 2007, on why elected mayors are “bad news”. Hence I was invited to speak. My speech went well but I think most of the audience was on my side before they had even heard a word. Nevertheless, it was good to get a good reception. If you are interested in my arguments against elected Mayors, then you can see the article on my blog at tonybelton.wordpress.com/
Constituency Boundaries. Boundaries are extremely important to people deeply involved in politics. It may seem very boring to most but it is a matter of life and death to real politicos. It is because they have manipulated electoral boundaries so efficiently that the Republican Party is stronger in the US House of Representatives than its poll numbers would suggest. Indeed the word “gerrymandering” is an American word of abuse, originally aimed at the Democratic Governor of Massachusetts called Elbridge Gerry and the boundaries he drew up in 1812 for a new voting district, shaped, it is said, like a salamander or as the Boston Weekly Messenger called it a “Gerry-Mander”.
This comment is a long-way round to introducing the fact that the Boundary Commissioners have recently produced their latest proposals for parliamentary boundaries. The whole point of these proposals is, of course, to try and bring some kind of democratic equality to bear on the electoral process by making parliamentary constituencies of more or less of equal population size – the law actually allows a 5% variation. Unfortunately, geography is nowhere as neat as arithmetic, and so five constituencies are defined by geography and not by population numbers. They are the islands of Orkney and Shetland, the Hebrides, Anglesey and two on the Isle of Wight.
Fortunately on this occasion, the growth in Battersea’s (and the Borough’s) population more or less reflects the growth in the country’s population, hence no gerrymandering is required. The three Wandsworth constituencies of Battersea, Putney and Tooting, as proposed, are almost unchanged. But Tory Party MPs may be less keen than they were to implement the boundary redistribution, because, since the 2019 General Election, they do not stand to gain as much as they had previously expected – or at least that is what I have heard Labour cynics say! And, if that is the case, then maybe – as so often before – nothing will happen. We really ought to take these crucial decisions out of the hands of active politicians, and into the hands of the independent Electoral Commission.
22 June. I had a meeting in the morning of the North East Surrey Crematorium Board – and after its routine business, I was shown the grave of John Archer, famously the first black Mayor of a major local authority when elected Mayor of Battersea in 1913. I must confess that the grave itself is fairly unremarkable but it has its place in Battersea history, even if the graveyard is located deep in Merton! Or even Sutton?
On the way back home from the Crem Board, I passed an unusual scene in Christchurch parsonage garden. Not exactly where I expected to see a rehearsal of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Ernest but that is what it was – and I never found out when and where it was produced but it made for an entertaining surprise for anyone walking along Candahar Road, just off Battersea Park Road!
That same evening there was a meeting of the Planning Applications Committee and, as regular readers will know, there is usually something of interest on the agenda. But on this occasion – nothing. So, I pass on to the Education Committee, which had two items that sparked an interest. The first was a Report on Wandsworth Independent and State School Partnership. Now, with one of the largest private-sector engagements in public education in the country, one would think that this issue has to be of major significance to Wandsworth local education authority. But with the final recommendations saying “This paper sets out the plans to strengthen the relationships between Independent and State schools in Wandsworth with a view to establish a long term mutually beneficial cross-sector partnership adding value to both sectors and securing targeted support for disadvantaged pupils in the borough…There is no additional financial implication for Council” – the heart sinks.
The second item that caught my eye was the Report by the Director of Childrens Services on Wandsworth catch up strategy – that is, to catch up on education following all the disruption caused by the Covid Pandemic. How exciting and demanding one thinks, until reading the recommendations which say, and I quote, “No decisions are required on it by the Council”. That was Council politics in June, that was!

My Programme for July

1. On July 1^st we have the result of the Batley and Spen by-election – of course Labour won but more about that next month!
2. I am taking Battersea’s MP, Marsha de Cordova, to Wimbledon on 6^th July, which will be fun.
3. On July 12^th I have a meeting of Battersea United Charities, where Marsha will be a guest.
4. On 15^th July both Kambala Cares and the Battersea Society are having their summer parties.
5. A meeting of the Special Neighbourhood Team is due to be held on 20^th.
6. There is a Council Meeting on 21^st July.
7. On the 23^rd July the Falcon Estate Residents Association Committee is having an annual dinner.
8. The Planning Applications Committee (PAC) is on the 27^th July.

Did you Know: Last month I asked, “How many pubs are there in Latchmere ward? Their names? And how many have closed to your knowledge in the recent past and their names?”

Not one of you tried a reply, and I don’t know the answer but let us work it out, working from west to east. There is the Anchor in Hope Street, the Asparagus and the Suburb in Falcon Road, the Latchmere and the Clockhouse in Battersea Park Road and the Flag in Culvert Road, and that is that – I think. Closed: in the recent past: the Grove, the Duke of Wellington, the Meyrick Arms, the Prince’s Head, the London, Dover and Chatham Railway Tavern, pictured right, and the Havelock Arms. So, 6 down and 6 remaining; pubs really are an endangered species in our current environment!

And for this month can you tell me:

Where in Battersea was the location of a pioneering aircraft factory, named Omnia Works, where WW1 fighter aircraft were made? And where, again in Battersea, did its owner and managing director live?

June 12, 2021

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Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea June 2021, Newsletter (# 144)

I am having a season of anniversaries! What with reaching the dreaded 80 in April, on 13^th May I notched up 50 years as a Labour councillor – it must be a drug – or certainly an addiction. The Town Hall put out a press release, which was nice of them. They dredged up a picture of yours truly in 1971. Here it is; as shown in my election leaflet, would you believe? I won Northcote ward that year and subsequently Graveney before settling down in Latchmere in 1982 – but enough of me.
On 2^nd May, I went canvassing in Bedford ward, just near Tooting Bec station with the Labour candidate in the Bedford ward by-election, which was held along with the GLA election on 6^th May. It was a Labour area and it was an enjoyable occasion – canvassing is always much more fun when you do NOT get doors slammed in your face and have no abuse to deal with (I am not suggesting, by the way, that Tory canvassers don’t get the same treatment in reverse). I was impressed with Labour’s candidate, Hannah Stanislaus. Whatever else she brings to the Council – she has a good, bold, confident doorstep manner.
On 6^th May itself, Labour did well in London in general and in Bedford and Wandsworth in particular. The by-election result was strikingly similar to the Bedford result in the 2018 Borough election. The turn-out at just over 51.4% was very slightly higher this year than the 48% turn-out in the Borough election and the Labour and Tory votes were very similar, with Labour on 50% as opposed to 49% and Tories on 24% as opposed to 23%. Interestingly, the Green candidate gained 50% more votes than in 2018 – admittedly from a far lower base but the Greens must feel that they are on the move.
On the same day, of course, Sadiq Khan was re-elected Mayor of London and Leonie Cooper re-elected as the Assembly Member for Merton and Wandsworth. Congratulations to both of them, who I know well having been a fellow Wandsworth councillor for more than a dozen years. They are part of the story that London has become an overwhelmingly Labour city. But I think that both, Sadiq and Leonie, have questions to answer. In Sadiq’s case, his first term has been defined by disaster, with the Grenfell Tower disaster of 2017, being followed by the Covid crisis of 2019-21 (22, 23?). And in this election he had an admittedly small (1.6%) swing against him achieved by someone universally perceived as one of the weakest Mayoral candidates ever, the Tory Shaun Bailey. The opening of the Elizabeth Line Crossrail might have given him a completely undeserved triumph, but in fact, it has left him with an equally undeserved calamity – “undeserved” in both cases because the decisions, the planning, the construction mostly pre-dated his time as Mayor and triumph or calamity they “merely” happened on his watch. Can he realistically achieve much in the three years left to him, given that Covid remains the significant factor that it is? Does he decide to go for a third term? Does he like Johnson before him, plan to return to the Commons? He will still only be 54 years old, so he still has time to achieve yet more. But if I know Sadiq, and I think I do, then he will have a pretty shrewd idea now of what he is going to do and he will not let on about it to anyone.
I think Leonie’s questions are easier, at least to pose. Does she decide to be primarily the first Labour Leader of Wandsworth Council since 1978 or the deputy leader of Labour in the London Assembly? I know which I would consider the more important (what after all does being an Assembly member mean apart from getting a massive salary?). But on the other hand, being on the Assembly is arguably a better stepping stone to the Mayoralty (how about being London’s first female Mayor?) or a seat in the Commons. But either way, Leonie does not need to decide, nor will she, until after the May, 2022, Borough election, when she will discover whether she is, or is not, Leader of Wandsworth Council.
On the 11^th May, Penny and I went for a walk in Nunhead Cemetery. It’s well worth a visit in spring, or I guess in autumn for the falling leaves. Wildflowers and generally rampant undergrowth climb over magnificent late 19^th and early 20^th century statuary, spread across a very large site. A quick rule of thumb comparison on Google Maps suggests that it is about half the size of Battersea Park and almost completely empty – at least of live bodies! It also commands magnificent views of the city, with one view, in particular, focused on St. Paul’s Cathedral. It is actually a “protected” view (in planning terms, i.e. new buildings are not allowed to obstruct the view) as indeed is a similar distant view of the Cathedral from Richmond Park.
Talking of which, did you happen to see a recent list produced, by a Wandsworth news blog, of 10 special open-places to visit in South London? Strikingly we, in Wandsworth, are right in the epi-centre, with Richmond Park top of the list and others included Wimbledon Common, Battersea Park, Wandsworth Common (a mistake there I think as the write-up didn’t sound like the common I know), the Crystal Palace dinosaur Park, Nunhead Cemetery, Greenwich Park and a couple of complete strangers near Sidcup, south-east London. With all the travel restrictions we face today, perhaps we will bump into each other at one of these London beauty spots!
On 25^th May I had the Planning Applications Committee. In the last couple of months, I have rather down-played the interest in this committee but May was different. As always there were a number of small and locally important applications but only two of major significance and they were both in Nine Elms. I voted against both, though the first vote was almost a gesture of frustration as I knew that it was really a box-ticking exercise at the “details” level of the process. Nonetheless, despite the poor re-production I hope you can see why I should be against such a monolithic construct! The second was a giant hotel next to, and destroying the view of, the American Embassy.
You might have seen coverage in the press of the new Nine Elms “Sky Pool”, which was opened in May. My Labour colleague, Aydin Dickerdem, who represents the area of Nine Elms where the Sky Pool is situated, reminded me of my August 2015 Newsletter when I asked whether people had seen “the fantasy proposal for a swimming pool in the sky? Captioned in the Daily Telegraph as the “Glass-bottomed floating ‘sky pool’ to be unveiled in London”. Now, it is completed, it confirms my worst fears. It is a display of conspicuous consumption by an arrogant affluent class of developers, which reminds me of Marie Antoinette quipping that the starving Parisians of pre-revolutionary France should eat cake. No wonder she was soon to lose her head: I wouldn’t wish quite that on the planning committee and the developers responsible, but with the homeless walking the streets and foodbanks doing a roaring trade, they deserve some telling punishment.
On 26^th May we had the Council’s Annual Meeting. All 60 of us in the Civic Suite were spaced out like candidates in a major public examination but instead of preventing us from cheating this lay-out was: so that we could socially distance. Of course, the effect was precisely the opposite, as it was clear we were meant to be unsocially distanced. This procedure was rather strange as these annual meetings are meant to be for the new Mayor’s family and friends to share a drink and a chat with everyone who attends. So we had a Mayor-Making when not one person talked to the Mayor. A new experience for all and especially for the Mayor, Richard Field, a councillor in Nightingale ward, Tooting.
On 30^th May Penny and I stayed with Mary Jay in Oxford. Some of you, but not many I guess, will know Mary, the widow of Douglas Jay, Battersea’s Labour MP from 1946 to 1983. We were also there to introduce a Brazilian friend to both the city and the Bodleian Library. We took Antonio round Oxford and, in particular, round Magdalen College. Both looked magnificent in the early summer sun and, whilst we were in the Cloisters, this feathered friend popped by for a chat.
On 22^nd April, I had the Planning Applications Committee (PAC) and, if I said that the March PAC, was uneventful, then the April version made it seem positively momentous. The interest in individual planning applications was still sufficient, however, to inspire the virtual attendance by 52 people – it was very rare for pre-Covid, pre-online PAC ever to have an audience of 50 – so perhaps there will be some benefits from the new post-Covid regime. But councillors and officers will have to learn a few more broadcasting related presentational skills if they expect to be taken seriously!

My Programme for June

On June 7^th I look forward to hearing Diane Hayter talking about the first 29 Labour MPs, who started the PLP, the Parliamentary Labour Party, in 1906.
On June 10^th, I am talking to a group of Croydon trade unionists about the rights and wrongs of having elected Mayors. Croydon is planning to have a referendum on the matter in the autumn and clearly many are undecided about which way to vote. I am very much opposed.
On June 11^th, I am going to give my knees a trial run on an 18-hole golf course for the first time in several years! Fortunately, my partner’s knees are worse than mine so we will be using buggies! Too much football for too many years did for our knees!
The Planning Applications Committee (PAC) is on the 22^{^nd}

Did you Know: Last month I asked, “What was the connection between the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge and Battersea?”

And the answer was simply that the British company, Dorman Long, which won the contract to build the bridge, had a significant part of its London operation in Queenstown ward, Battersea.

And for this month can you tell me:

How many pubs are there in Latchmere ward? Their names? And how many have closed to your knowledge in the recent past and their names? And whilst I will be open to rational debate, I will be the final arbiter on what is, or is not, a pub, etc.

January 17, 2019

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Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea December, 2018, Newsletter (# 114)

On 1st November, I went to the Commons for our (Battersea’s Labour councillors) monthly meeting with the MP, Marsha de Cordova. What a change has taken place in Westminster over the last 40 years, (no) thanks to terrorists! I can remember just walking in off the street to meet the MP and then going up to the public gallery to listen to the debate. But now, understandably, one has to go through body searches both mechanical and manual and then undress (well take off belts, shoes, etc. – it’s just like flying). And as for the public gallery, what was a fascinatingly real experience now has to be viewed through bullet-proof glass. All justifiable, I suppose, but to put it mildly a crying shame. Terrorism certainly has been effective at some things. The meeting – oh nothing special; just party business.
The following day, we went to Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) to see Chekhov’s First Play by Ben Kidd and Bush Moukarzel. It was a play about perceptions of people and truths and as such very ambitious, but unfortunately it did not work for me; I simply left a little lost and not persuaded. I guess that it is what should be expected from experimental theatre and it did seem to work for many in the audience.
It was also the first time that I had been to what was, before the disastrous 2016 blaze, the Grand Hall. Have you been? It’s well worth a visit, along with the other new features of the Arts Centre. Contentiously, the designers have left much of the building cleaned up but simply as the fire left it. I am not sure that works as it looks a bit dark and miserable for my taste. But there is nothing irreparable about that and it could be put right, in my view, by a good plasterer and a bit of paint, or pictures or murals or even tapestries! What used to be the Lower Town Hall has been converted into a work hub and I think it looks really good. The object is to supply nursery space for seed businesses. There is work-space and access to computing resources, meeting rooms and a community of small creative and/or start-up businesses.
Throughout the Arts Centre you can find small spaces where the wall-paper is designed by Nicholas Hughes, especially for BAC. It is a brief pictorial representation of some of Battersea’s history. So apart from the Town Hall itself, you can find John Archer, the first black mayor of a major authority (Battersea, 1913-14); the statue of the Brown Dog, the cause of the Brown Dog Riots, 1903-10; John Burns, MP and the first working class member of the Cabinet, 1905-10; and Pluto, the BAC cat (now retired). A busy but stimulating wall-paper design.
On Sunday, 4^th November, I and maybe 100 other London councillors from all parties went to Camden Town to Jewish London: A Seminar for Councillors at the Ort House Conference Centre. It was organised by London’s Jewish Community, I imagine, in the light of the perceived rise in ethnic and religious tensions in Britain. It was informative about Jewish views on such things as Faith Schools and on Jewish concerns about anti-Semitism in the UK and, specifically, in London. As it happens, I am opposed to Faith Schools in principle, so there were limits to my support, but that didn’t stop the conference being an interesting and educative experience.
On 6^th November, I played for Battersea Chess Club against Hammersmith and Fulham Chess Club. For those interested in these things, I do not have a national grading as this was my first competitive game (except against my brother-in-law at Xmas) for many years, certainly this century! My opponent, Andy Routledge, was graded 128; we were playing on board 25! I think we are the largest two clubs in the country. He won but I was holding my own until about move 26 – so not too bad!
I went to the club again, which meets every Tuesday at the Labour Club in Falcon Road, on 20^th November. As you can see in the picture, it was set up for a massive event – there were well over 100 players – so I joined in. What a mistake! I found myself playing eight three-minute games in quick succession and being hammered in every one of them. The club write-up the next day said “It was as big a night as we’ve ever held with 12 International Masters, five Grandmasters and a host of well-known faces in the chess world at the club”. This experience should teach me to read meeting notices properly!
I had a pleasant lunch with Wandsworth and Merton’s GLAM (Greater London Authority Member), Leonie Cooper, on 7^th November and also had a brief chat with Labour’s Leader on the Greater London Authority, Len Duvall.
On 9^th November we went over to the Clapham Picture House to see Mike Leigh’s film, Peterloo. Leigh certainly picks some interesting subjects such as the great painter J M Turner and is clearly interested in the very early nineteenth century, when Turner was working. The Peterloo Massacre took place in 1819; fifteen demonstrators died in a clash with the military. It was a major moment in the development of British radicalism; it marked a stage in the advance of suffrage, with the Great Reform Act following 13 years later. It should make the subject of a great film, and it certainly is a good-looking one, but I am afraid that there is something wooden about Leigh’s film; it’s almost an oil painting. What did others think? Oh, on the same theme, the TV special of the month was, I suggest, They Shall Not Grow Old – were you a big fan or again like me, impressed but not wowed by the technological wizardry?
Then on Saturday, 10^th, I went to Providence House’s Annual Fund-Raising Dinner. Providence House, under the devoted leadership of Robert Musgrave, is one of the most successful and few remaining youth clubs in Battersea. With so many of us concerned about knife crime and the vulnerability of youth in today’s society, it is essential that clubs like Providence get everyone’s full support. It was a great evening, for the best of causes.
The Remembrance Day Sunday Service on 11^th November was something special because it was, of course, the centenary of the end of the World War, aka The War to End all Wars – if only. The Vicar of St. Mary’s Church, Canon Simon Butler, gave an admirably thoughtful and ecumenical sermon – it was brimming with understanding and compassion. If I were a practising Anglican, he would be just the kind of vicar I would like.
The Civic Awards Ceremony took place on 13^th November. This event gives an annual opportunity for the community to thank some individuals for the outstanding contributions they make to our society. One of the seven winners was, this year, a Latchmere resident, and, she told me, a regular reader of this newsletter. Ayan is, and for several years has been, a leading light in the Association of Somali Women and Children.
The Planning Applications Committee, on the 21^st November, was, if possible, even less substantial (about back extensions and the like, not over-sized developments) than last month. Is this a major indicator of the economy turning down even further than it has already? I suspect so.
On 24^th November, we went to see Peter Groom’s Dietrich at Walton’s Musical Hall, Wapping. I thought it was a brilliant performance and have said so in my review on my website at https://tonybelton.wordpress.com/2018/11/28/review-of-peter-grooms-dietrich/ The picture illustrates Groom’s very androgynous but sensual performance.
On 25^th November, the Latchmere Labour Party had a pub quiz night at the Anchor pub, Hope Street. Not of itself of particular note, but just to flag up that it looks unlikely that we shall keep this nice, little local unless it gets a bit more custom. It’s such a dilemma for the pub business as in their desperate bid to maintain custom, they sometimes provide loud, noisy entertainment. I have already had (reasonable) complaints from neighbours about the Anchor! Let’s hope any disputes are amicably resolved and the pub thrives.
There are a few local developments of interest that I have noticed over the last few weeks, which are not particularly date related but are noteworthy. They are as follows:-

consultations have just begun about the details of the new Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) due to be installed from 21^st January 2019 in the Rowditch Lane (off Culvert Road) area;

the start to the “improvement” works in Falcon Park, including in particular the installation of an all-weather soccer pitch. It is also intended to improve the northern (i.e. the one off the passage-way) entrance to the Park. I believe that there will be an improvement although the work will not be completed until late summer, 2019. But there is soon to be a consultation on the details, which I hope will get lots of responses;

the Council has consulted on Artist_impression_bridge_850px the possibility of proceeding with the new pedestrian and cycle only Pimlico Bridge. I think that it is unlikely to be built, because Westminster Council is against it. Hence, I don’t think that it’s worth us Battersea Labour councillors opposing it and getting bracketed as “refuseniks” – but all my colleagues think I am wrong! I guess you win some and lose others!

perhaps most significantly, in London-wide terms, on 23^rd November, Millicent, a tunnel-boring machine named after suffragist Millicent Fawcett (not sure that as a feminist I approve of a tunnel-boring machine being named after a leading suffragist!), started digging London’s super sewer under Battersea. This is the start of building the 25km, or 15 mile, Thames Tideway Tunnel, which is designed to cope with the increasing pressure on our sewage system;

the Council’s consultation on the future of the York Gardens Children’s Centre can be viewed at https://haveyoursay.citizenspace.com/wandsworthcsd/childrens-centres-18/consult_view/. In theory, consultation ended on 3rd December, but legal decisions have shown that any responses, made before the final decision, have to be taken into account, so don’t be put off! The Children’s Centre is under threat so respond now!

My Programme for December

1. 1. On 6^th December, I have the final Council Meeting of the Year. I am due to speak on the Regeneration Programme for the Winstanley Estate. I am a little concerned that when we vote against the Council paper, there will be a possibility that our opposition will be mis-understood. I want to make it clear that we will NOT be voting against the re-development and the improvement of the estate, as such, but against the amount of private as opposed to public housing that will replace the current buildings.
  2. On Sunday, 9^th December, I hope to go to a meeting of the newly formed Friends of Christ Church Gardens.
  3. On 12^th December there will be a commemoration service for the 35 passengers, who died in the (so-called – actually Battersea) Clapham Train crash of 1988 and, totally separately, the funeral of long since retired Wandsworth Chief Executive, Albert Newman. I will go to Albert’s funeral.
  4. And as its December, I suspect that there will be the Battersea Society, the Battersea Park Rotary Club, etc., etc. Xmas socials!
  5. And, of course, there is the tragi-comedy of Brexit to be played out! At the time of writing, the Government had merely been defeated three times in the Commons. When will we all come to our senses?

Do you know?

Last month, I asked, “Just what are these posts? What do they de-note? And how many of them do you know?” These two, on Wix Lane, mark the Battersea and Clapham Parish boundaries. If you want to know more and there are many more, all documented by my old friend Philip Beddows and co-founder with me of the Love Battersea website. See https://sites.google.com/site/lovebatterseacampaign/batterseaboundarymarkers.

And my question this month is: So, Battersea Chess Club is one of the largest in London. It also claims to be the oldest, continuingly functional chess club in the country. Take a guess as to which date is the nearest date to its foundation

1850?
1900?
1950?

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?

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Tony Belton

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