Tag Archive | news
December 10, 2025  

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea, December 2025, Newsletter (# 198)

  1. 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 5th 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.
  2. 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 10th 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. On Sunday 16th 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.
  6. I chaired Wandsworth’s Planning Applications Committee on 19th  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.
  7. The next day, 20th, I had the Transport Committee, followed on 26th 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 27th 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.
  8. 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.
  9. On 28th 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.
  10. Finally on 29th 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”.

Read More…

October 7, 2025  

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

  1. 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.
  2. So off to Weymouth on 1st 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. On the 11th 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 26th 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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 16th 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!

  1. On the 18th 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.
  2. The Labour Group, councillors and candidates for next May’s Borough Election, had an AwayDay on 20th 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.
  1. 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.
  2. 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
  1. I attended the Transport Committee on 18th 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.
  2. 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 24th 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.
  3. I chaired Wandsworth’s Planning Applications Committee on 25th 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.
  4. On 26th 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.
  5. I don’t know about you, but I had to watch the Women’s Rugby World Cup Final on 27th 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

  1. Battersea Labour Party’s Junction Jazz night is on 5th October – always a splendidly pleasant and informal evening.
  2. On 9th, I have lunch with old colleagues who worked with me in the GLC – now 36 years ago and in the evening the Finance Committee.
  3. I intend to attend the Older People’s Forum at St. Peter’s Church on 14th October.
  4. On 22nd October I will attend the memorial service to David Lipsey and later that day a Council Meeting.
  5. I have the Planning Applications Committee (PAC) on the 23rd,
  6. The PAC, that I chair, gave permission for a large industrial and office complex in Lydden Road, Tooting – immediately off Garratt Lane. On the 24th 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.

May 2, 2025  

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea, May 2025, Newsletter (# 191)

  1. On 3rd-7th April, we went to Essen, once the heart of Germany’s iron and steel industrial base in the Ruhr valley. Now it is known for its green transformation. We were there so that Penny could give a keynote talk on the Handshake at an international conference of European social historians.
  2. These conferences are great fun. Historians in general are a social bunch, and hence the evening entertainments are usually convivial and friendly. And fortunately, nearly all the formal sessions are conducted in English – there was one French session that I ducked out of. There is very little in the study of history, which is technically obscure, and so I like to think I play the role of an intelligent observer.
  3. The transition from being the home of the Krupp-owned Nazi armaments industry to, it is claimed, the greenest province of today’s Germany is spectacularly on show at the Zollverein Museum, based in a massive, closed colliery – see picture. The museum told the story of the area’s transition from a Victorian-era industrial magnet for immigrant workers from the countryside and from Eastern Europe, through its Nazi past using slave and PoW labour, through to the Germany of today – fantastic.
  4. We went by train and on our way back stopped off for a few hours to see Cologne cathedral. That too is on a colossal scale as I have tried to capture in this photograph of its spectacular nave. One thing that surprised me though was that, despite all the work done to modernise Germany and to recover from both the war and the demise of heavy industry, nothing has been done to clean up the exterior of the cathedral, which looks as black and filthy as St. Paul’s looked 30 years ago.
  5. On the 11th April, I attended Brian Reilly’s retirement drinks at the Town Hall. Brian was Wandsworth’s Chief Executive, who had also previously been the long-serving Director of Housing. He brought a robust common sense and practical drive to the job, especially as the Director, where his commitment to the successful provision of public housing was obvious to all. Well done, Brian, and I know you will enjoy your retirement – PS he will be in Sicily by the time you read this newsletter.
  6. Off to the Boat Race, on 20th Wandsworth’s Mayor always hosts a charity event in one of the boathouses on the Thames riverside – after all the boatrace does start in the Borough. But it can be a bit dispiriting for me! I have been a Dark Blue ever since I was at Oxford as an undergraduate, and this year like in most years, we were on the losing side. Still the Deputy Mayor, Finna Ayres, on the left, I and the Mayor, Councillor Jafri, managed to enjoy the occasion.
  7. On the 24th April, I had the Planning Applications Committee (PAC), where the main decision excited a lot of media coverage, especially in The Telegraph, which featured it for three consecutive days. The application was to build a 28/29 storey tower on the riverside at Battersea Bridge, as illustrated here. The application, known as the Glassmills, was for 110 residential units, 50% of which would have been at social rent levels, for a riverside restaurant and an improved riverside walk, plus a couple of gyms. The application was rejected unanimously, and although readers of The Telegraph might find this difficult to believe, none of the committee members were lobbied by either Mick Jagger or Eric Clapton, or even by Felicity Kendall, despite The Telegraph’s encouragement to so believe. PAC decided on the merits of the case.
  8. On 26th April we were off to Battersea Park, to take part in the first event of Wandsworth’s London Borough of Culture (LBOC) Year – Strictly Wandsworth – and great fun it was too, even if difficult to photograph. This pic shows the milling crowd, with dancers in the middle distance! Twenty plus Wandsworth dance groups took part in the show from ballet to break dancing, from St. Marys’ Royal School of Dance to Battersea Park’s own Baked Bean group. Marvellous! We look forward to a year of culture.
  9. Finally, on 22nd and 29th April, the Labour Group held its two-part Annual Meeting and Simon Hogg was re-elected as Leader to take the Labour councillors right through this Council from May 2022 to May 2026. Simon and I and another 60+ aspiring Labour councillors are also starting our re-selection process in the build-up to the election on the 7th May 2026. Assuming I get selected to stand again in Battersea Park, it will be my 15th election – certainly a record in Wandsworth!
  10. On the way home from the Strictly Wandsworth event it was encouraging to see that work is at long last racing ahead on the provision of a pavement for the long-suffering pedestrians of Elcho Street! Dare I say it, but the pressure, from both residents and myself, is finally bearing fruit.

My May Programme

  1. I have my surgery in Battersea Park Library on 3rd May at 11 am.
  2. The Conservation and Heritage Advisory Committee meets on 6th May
  3. I hope to go to the Ethelburga Tower Residents Association AGM on the 15th.
  4. The May meeting of the Planning Applications Committee (PAC) is on the 20th.
  5. And on the 21st we have the Annual Meeting of the Council, which is when the next year’s Mayor is elected.

Did you know?

Last month I asked, “What is unique about this particular wall? And where is it? And why? And what is it called?

Once again, I am afraid that you were not very interested or perhaps not very knowledgeable about it. The answer is that it is called the Ballast Wall and it can be found in Enable’s main depot in Battersea Park.

It was built in the 1850s, during Battersea Park’s construction. The 1850s was at the height of British power when London was by far the largest port in the world. One problem that the port authorities had was “What to do with all the ballast brought in by the merchant marine?” At the same time the designers of Battersea Park needed hard core as a base for some of the work being done in the marshes being converted to Battersea Park – so here was a solution to two problems, which leaves us all with the puzzle of guessing the geographical origins of individual stones.

And this month?

In the sixty-odd years that I have lived in Battersea, the junction of Falcon Road and Battersea High Street, of York Road and Battersea Park Road, has had at least two popular names – a bit like Tooting’s Amen Corner. Do you know either or both of those names?

December 2, 2024  

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea December 2024, Newsletter (# 186)

  1. I didn’t feel too hot on 1st November, so I gave Junction Jazz at the Bread & Roses a miss (I gather the band was good), but did feel well enough on the 2nd to go to the Councillors’ Surgery at Battersea Park Library. Saturday mornings at the surgery can be a very peaceful time, simply reading the papers, but not this time. As usual, the cases were about housing issues, about wanting a transfer or the conditions in rental properties. It can be depressing listening, but I do follow them up and, from time to time, really do resolve the problems.
  2. I discovered one victory this month quite by chance. I was doing my normal monthly tour of the Picture1ward, including a walk Picture2down Anhalt Road, a quiet road near the Park. On my last visit there I came across this trip hazard on the left, created by an aggressive tree root. Now the Council has doctored the tree and re-surfaced the pavement and it is no longer the very serious hazard it was. A small triumph perhaps but mine own!
  3. On 4th November I had a Battersea United Charities (BUC) meeting at the main Battersea Library. Nothing particularly momentous happened but it is worth noting the existence of this small body, which distributes small grants to individuals and/or organisations that live, work or play in Battersea. For example, BUC gives financial assistance to other charities that organise Xmas Day Dinners; or to Providence House to help fund summer schemes for Battersea’s younger people; or to families that have hit hard times and who need carpets, furniture, ovens, fridges, etc. The Chair of BUC is Phil Beddows, once a Tory councillor, but don’t hold that against him too much. For a long time now Philip has been a passionate Battersea boy and has given hours of his time to the charity.
  4. On 5th November I did not go to a fireworks display but went Picture3instead to Wandsworth Council’s Civic Awards. At this annual event, the Council praises and appreciates people, who have contributed their time and efforts to support the community. The Labour administration has added some new features, such as video descriptions of the award winners at work rather than the previous over-long reading of their commendations. One of the stars of the evening was Gonçalo da Cal Martins, Wandsworth’s Young Musician of the Year 2024, who played a beautiful violin concerto.
  5. I went to the Armistice Day Commemoration ServicePicture4 in St. Mary’s on Sunday 10th November, and then on the 11th itself, I went to the service in Battersea Park. I always find the open-air service the more moving of the two. The late autumn weather is very appropriate and the sound of the lone bugle playing The Last Post followed by Reveille almost haunting. The only blemish, of course, is that the Park was right under the day’s flight path into Heathrow! The picture is of our MP, Marsha de Cordova, walking away from the monument having just laid a wreath.
  6. Pen was due to present a paper at a small conference in Antwerp on 14th-15th November, so I decided, more or less at the last minute, to Picture5accompany her. We stayed in the centre of the city from 13th-17th. It was magnificent. Why has everyone kept so quiet about Antwerp? It is certainly the largest city within easy reach of London that I have never been to, and it is only just over 4 hours away, from door to door, by Eurostar. The city centre is substantially traffic free, so it is a pedestrians’ delight and the trams work like a dream. It is very lively, and very cosmopolitan. Belgium’s colonial record was not good – to say the least – and Belgians are very conscious of that, but one result is that it has made Antwerp a culinary delight. It includes African, Caribbean and Indo-Malaysian food of every kind and, of course, some say that the best French cuisine is actually Belgian. Added to that, the many museums and art galleries are replete with works by the three Breughels, Reubens, Van Dyck, and countless other Flemish masters. We had a great time – Oh, and Pen said the conference wasn’t bad either (which is English for a great success). The picture shows part of the Grote Markt.
  7. The Transport Committee on 19th November was quiet and uncontentious but full of interesting matters, not least the extended hours of operation of the controlled parking zone (CPZ) around Battersea Park. The residents had campaigned for the extended hours since before the opening of the Power Station, but that had been the final straw. Other matters of interest were:-
  • The competition to design the transformation of the Falcon Road railway bridge – probably the worst environment in the Borough – which effectively cuts north Battersea off from Clapham Junction and will hopefully be completed by late 2025;
  • more new school streets; and
  • amendments to the Borough Plan designed to encourage the development of more affordable housing.
  1. I chaired the Planning Applications Committee (PAC) on 20th We approved five applications:-
  • three, which in total amounted to some 50 residential units, as part of our 1,000 homes project – odd how it is that everyone thinks that we ought to build more homes at affordable prices but no one wants them built next door – am I being cynical, or jaundiced?
  • one, which involves the total demolition of a terraced Battersea house – except the front wall – and the construction of a modern house in its place. No one on the committee liked it but one does not need permission to demolish property unless it is either listed or in a conservation area – and we could hardly refuse permission for replacing it with a modern version.
  • the fifth was a technical change to a previous planning approval.
  1. Prezza, aka John Prescott, died on 21st November, and with him, some people argue, an old-style Labour brand. I do not know about that, but I do have one very clear memory of him. I was sitting at home one Saturday afternoon watching one of the autumn rugby internationals. The year was 1997 and Labour had stormed into power on 1st May.

    Prezza determined to get between Blair and Brown

         Prezza determined to get           between Blair and Brown    

    I was the Leader of Wandsworth Labour councillors and had recently written an angry letter to John, the Deputy Prime Minister, protesting that he had recently walked around Battersea Park with Wandsworth’s Tory leadership without informing anyone in Wandsworth’s Labour Party, and that despite John making improved communications between the Government and Labour councillors a major theme. I didn’t expect anything other than a formal civil service acknowledgement.

    The phone rang, “on my way to Heathrow and the Kyoto climate change conference”, John spat out, “thought I’d give you a ring about the Battersea Park event”. I was so surprised that I do not recall the rest of the conversation, but I do remember that I could not make sense of the syntax, nor of some of his sentences. But I do remember the meaning, the apology, and the thought that Prezza made a point of ringing me, whilst he was on the way to being a prime mover at one of the world’s most important ever conferences.

    I much appreciated the thought then and have done ever more so since.

  2. Picture7The 22nd of November was the night of the Battersea Ball held in the Battersea Park British Genius site. This is always a noisy, showy, fun event, held to fund the Battersea Summer Scheme for Battersea youth. Pen and I usually go, and often get caught pretending to be training for Strictly!
  3. Picture8I have just heard of the death of Battersea Labour Party member, Timothy West, earlier in November. Timothy and Prunella have been substantial supporters of BLP for many years and have played their part in several revues that BLP staged at Battersea Arts Centre. I will say more about Tim in next month’s newsletter, meanwhile RIP Tim.
  4. And other news about Battersea and Wandsworth:
  • The Council plans to update the Latchmere Estate playspace and is asking users and residents to get involved in its design. Do get in touch if you are interested.
  • Battersea Park Rotary asked me to remind pensioners about Rotary’s Xmas Day special – contact Senia Dedic (seniadedic@hotmail.com) for details.

My December Programme

  1. I have a meeting of North-East Surrey Crematorium Board on 3rd The members are the London Boroughs of Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth, so it should more accurately be called the South-West London Crem.
  2. On 5th December, I am having Xmas Lunch with the soccer team I played with in the 60s-80s – always nostalgic, “remember that goal Prodg scored” days.
  3. On 11th December, we have the last full Council Meeting of the year.
  4. December’s meeting of the Planning Applications Committee is on the 12th and much of the rest of the month is standard stuff, Christmas Carols, eating and drinking too much. I hope that you have a great Christmas too.

Did you know?

Last month I asked who was “an Irish Protestant dramatist, clearlyPicture9 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?”

Not quite do many correct answers as about Bob Marley and Spurs, but some knew about Sean O’Casey and his most famous play Juno and the Paycock. There is a plaque on the wall of 49 Overstrand Mansions, Prince of Wales Mansions.

And this month?Picture10

Born in Cheltenham, became a Bachelor of Medicine at St. George’s Hospital, met his wife in Caius House, Battersea, where he did missionary work in the worst of Battersea slums, has a plaque in Battersea Square. He died, a peculiarly British heroic death 10,000 miles from home and he looked like this. Who was he?

April 2, 2024  

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea April 2024, Newsletter (# 178)

  1. March began (for me, in Council terms,) with the North East Surrey Crematorium Board of which I am a board member, on 5th March. Why – North East Surrey? Because, Battersea Borough Council bought the land for a large cemetery, somewhere cheap between Raynes Park and Merton in the early twentieth century. The crematorium was built for use by Wandsworth, Sutton and Merton Councils – and hence the name – North East Surrey. Not much happened at the Board meeting.
  2. Much the same could be said for the Council Meeting, Picture2which took place on 6th March. Its main purpose was formally to rubber stamp the Council Tax agreed at the February Finance Committee. However, there was some discussion of the state of our roads and pavements, which for some years have been deteriorating at a faster rate than we have been repairing them. I am pleased to say that we were able to announce a multi-million pound plan to do the necessary repairs and maintenance to tackle this problem – how is this for example in affluent Anhalt Road?
  3. Off to Southend-on-Sea on 10th March to have lunch with Penny’s relatives – her brother lives in a flat with a fantastic view over the Thames Estuary. I used to spend school holidays in Southend in the years immediately after WW2 – I guess it must have been 1948 and 1949 – so I have a bit of a soft spot for the town. But my, how economically depressed the town appears now – this is not affluent Brighton, much more like poverty-stricken Blackpool.
  4. On the 13th March, Penny and I were off to the Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) to Picture3see The Seven Deadly Sins, but first, an Accordion Concerto – yes a concerto for an accordion – violins obviously, organs of course, but had you ever heard of an accordion concerto? It was brilliant, interesting, fun but I’m not sure that this work is sufficient to raise the reputation of the accordion. On the other hand, Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s reputations are assured – they were both émigrés from Nazi Germany, Weill because he was Jewish and Brecht because he was a Marxist. Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins is described as a sung ballet with German words written by Bertolt Brecht and sung here in translation by Danielle de Niese (pictured). It is the dramatic and harrowing story of a young woman, exploited by her family and torn between money and morality.
  5. The Planning (PAC) Applications Committee was held on the 19th March. There were only four applications to be considered. One was a purely technical event and the second of no great consequence nor contention. However, we did approve the development of a school unit in central Tooting, and then, after a near three-hour debate, we rejected an application to develop 449 residential units on Springfield Hospital It was a close decision; in my view the wrong one; but what concerned me most was the mechanical, clearly “whipped” votes of the Tory members. PAC has a quasi-judicial function. It relies upon the individual judgements of its members. It is NOT whipped, although naturally most Tory and most Labour councillors vote the same way as their party colleagues – but on this occasion, Tory councillor votes were very suspiciously both uniform and predictable. (For the record: As the Chair of PAC, I do not discuss decisions before the meeting but the way I voted on this issue is now a matter of public record.)
  6. This time of the year is dominated, Picture4for those with sporting inclinations, by two traditional events, the culmination of the Six Nations Rugby Championship and the Boat Race (the National and the finale of the soccer season come in the next two months). For Oxonians, like me, the least said about the Boat Race the better but, just, maybe the E-coli scandal surrounding the event, might force change on the water industry – and about time too! And I have little to say about the Six Nations but talking rugby gives me an excuse to show a picture of Battersea Labour Party’s new organiser pursuing her sport on a typically muddy north London pitch – she’s the one with the large white gum shield! Good rucking, Zara!
  7. In the third week of February, the Labour Group had its two-evening, two-part Annual General Meeting. Simon Hogg was re-elected as Group and, therefore, Council Leader. We elected Sana Jafri as the new Mayor, and Jamie Colclough as the new Chair of the Environment Committee. Unfortunately, we also had a resignation from a West Putney councillor, who decided after six years to call it a day.
  8. On the 21st February, I chaired the Wandsworth Planning Forum, which is a twice-yearly discussion forum between the main planning societies, the Battersea Society, the Wandsworth Society, the Putney Society, the Clapham Junction Action Group and organisations like the RIBA and the Council. It was not dramatic; I can’t think of any notable decisions; but it was a very useful exchange of views, confirming our intention to do the best for the Wandsworth environment.
  9. On the 23rd March, Penny and I went to thePicture5 splendid St. Ann’s Church on St. Ann’s Hill for a performance of Handel’s Messiah by the South West London Choral Society and the Otranto Chamber Orchestra. It was spectacular, even if that is a ludicrous adjective to apply to an audio event! As the choir reached the climax of the Hallelujah Chorus and perhaps even more spectacularly the final Amen Chorus, I could feel just why choral societies are so popular in today’s individualised culture – they are clearly, at their best, magnificent collective celebrations. We were totally wowed.
  10. On 27th February, I had the Conservation and Heritage Advisory Committee (CHAC). This may seem like a niche interest, but it does important work – for those Picture6interested in our history. I was happy to say that work had started on St, Mark’s Vestry School in Battersea Rise – had you noticed? The school was built in the 1860s, just before the introduction of free, compulsory education in 1870, and is one of the last remaining vestry school buildings left. Not long ago, the roof was bust, the walls were cracked and the windows broken, but now it is on the way to being the home of a small, but obviously a very professional architect’s practice.

  11. Picture7One other thing that I learned at CHAC was that there is an original eighteenth-century cottage on Clapham Common Northside. Did you know? I hadn’t even noticed despite having lived here a mere – well many years! It is not a particularly notable building but/and it is probably the only pre-1800 building in Wandsworth that is neither protected nor listed. Should it be? Here it is – what do you think?

My programme for April?

  1. On 1st April, we are off to see a performance of Nye (Aneurin Bevan, creator of the NHS in 1948) at the National Theatre.
  2. On 4th April I have a special Finance Committee convened by the Tory councillors. Masochistically, the Tories seem to want to argue about how Labour has been handling the Council’s finances. Odd given that we have just announced successive Council Tax “freezes”.
  3. The Planning Applications Committee is on 24th April.
  4. And that seems to be that for formal Council events but I guess that there will be plenty of activity going on as we build towards the Mayoral and GLA elections on 2nd May and on the West Putney by-election also to be held on 2nd May.

Did you know?

Last month I asked, given that the International Day of Women Picture9was on 8th March who could name the woman (born in Huntingdon; died in Biggleswade), who founded which major Battersea institution, without ever, as far as we know, visiting the borough?

Two or three people emailed me with the answer, which was Mary Tealby (1801-1865), a “kindly woman”, who took pity on a stray dog, where she lived in Islington and ended up looking after several dogs in her scullery before founding a dogs’ home (1860), which moved to Battersea in 1871.

And this month?

 In paragraph 10 above, I write about an eighteenth-century building on Clapham Common Northside, which I did not know about. So, I wonder just how many surviving pre-nineteenth century buildings or structures in Battersea you/we can name? I will be really interested in seeing the result and how many of us can name 10, 15 …?

March 8, 2024  

Councillor Tony Belton’s Battersea March 2024, Newsletter (# 177)

  1. The big news of the month was that Wandsworth’s Labour Council has been able, for the second year running, to freeze its element of the Council Tax that you (or yours) will be paying from April to March next year. This decision was announced at the 27th February Finance Committee, though of course it was being discussed from early in the month. Your Council Tax will go up by 5.1% but that is because of other elements that make it up, namely 2% on the Social Services element, which largely pays for the care of the elderly; and the GLA (Greater London) element that pays for the police, the fire brigade and other London-wide services and which rises by 8.6%.
  2. It is, of course, impossible to predict the next two years, which will certainly include changes at both a Governmental and London level; but it is safe to predict that we, Labour councillors, will do our utmost to keep Council Tax rises to an absolute minimum.
  3. Our Tory opponents will say that our ability to do this is testament to the success of earlier Tory administrations in Wandsworth. But, if anything, surely it demonstrates that they raised Council Tax and built up reserves unnecessarily. Our critics on the Left will, however, argue that we should have raised Council Tax a bit (2.9% is the figure used) to safeguard services, but actually, we have increased services with the single largest cost of living relief fund in London, which included relieving more than 10,000 of Wandsworth’s most financially challenged households completely from the burden of paying Council Tax.
  4. On 2nd February, Council Leader Simon Hogg and Cllr Kate Stock hosted a Saturday coffee morning coffee get-together for Picture1the residents of Falconbrook ward. It replaced the old Let’s Listen meetings run by the Council when under Tory control. It was much less formal, and I think very considerably more successful, than was the previous, platform and speeches, format. One notable difference was the much larger audience participation, particularly by women from the relatively large Islamic population. This picture gives a flavour of the meeting – Simon is arrowed explaining a finer point.
  5. The Council Meeting on the 7th February was only really notable for the debate about the 7.7% increase in Council rents. The Tories tried to embarrass Labour, and indeed I can remember occasions in the past when a 7.7% rent hike would have been a matter of serious argument. However, in a year when the Tory Government has been responsible for double-digit inflation, the dispute never really took off.
  6. Would you believe it, but I took Penny out for dinner on Valentine’s night, 14th February? We went to Augustine’s Kitchen on Battersea Bridge Road. It was frankly a little pricey, so be warned – don’t think of it for fast food, but it is superb for a special evening and with a very individual menu: braised seabass, champagne and caviar velouté, followed by beef filet, heritage carrots, mushroom ravioli and St. Emilion sauce, for example.
  7. On the 16th February I had a second design review panel of the potential developer’s plan for the Glassmills Readers will no doubt recall that the Picture1first panel reviewed their plans for a 38-storey block at the base of Battersea Bridge Road as shown in this image, despite the local plan suggesting 6 storeys were appropriate. (Note: last month I incorrectly said 7-12 storeys – thanks to the ever-vigilant Cyril Richert for correcting me). This time their plans involved a 35-storey tower. Clearly, there is a big – one might say massive – discrepancy between 6 and 35 stories. I await the planning application, expected by 31st March, with interest.
  8. Our MP, Marsha de Cordova, hosted a fund-raising dinner at the Chelsea Bridge Pestana Hotel on Queenstown Road on 21st Speakers included David Lammy, Shadow Foreign Secretary, Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London and, of course, Marsha herself. Picture2But the star of the show was undoubtedly the auctioneer, John O’Farrell, who managed to auction all the usual prizes with humour and without losing the audience. It was also an occasion for me to introduce Battersea LP’s new organiser, Zara Overton, to many party members – here we are enjoying the event. Zara is throwing herself into the job with admirable energy – and she will be happy to welcome to 177 Lavender Hill anyone who wants to help in our election campaign – or indeed drop in for a chat.
  9. The Planning Applications Committee on 22nd February had some important applications but largely of strictly local significance. But one entailed further development at Battersea Power Station (BPS). It was for a temporary leisure centre on the large site between the refuse transfer station and BPS itself. The application, which we approved for temporary (five-year) use, was for an “immersive leisure” centre and for four padel tennis courts (tennis for beginners, with smaller rackets and less fearsome hitting – I think). The applicants (and others) claim that padel tennis is the fastest growing sport in the world – the borough has negotiated thousands of free uses by local school-children.
  10. On 24th February I played chess for Surrey against Middlesex. You may have seen those newspaper stories recently about 6- and 7-year-olds beating Russian grandmasters. Well, it was like that! The Surrey team, not exactly in the flush of youth were walloped by a team of pre-teenagers – half of them had mum or dad along as chaperons. Chess is like that, but it doesn’t stop it being a bit humiliating! Ouch!
  11. The Finance Committee (as mentioned above) was on 27th It had many, many other items of major significance on the agenda as well as the Council Tax decision. For example, we have very considerably expanded the capital programme so as to reverse the situation in the recent past when our roads have been deteriorating faster than they were being maintained; we have increased investment in our leisure centres; we have added to our “Cost of Living” Emergency Fund; and we have safeguarded the Borough against possible cuts in grant from the Government.
  12. On the 29th February we had a meeting of all Wandsworth’s Labour councillors when the main item of discussion was the situation in Gaza and whether we should/should not take a position on the calls for an armistice. It was a very considered and mature debate, taken intensively seriously by all. Some of us are very keen to express our collective desire for the end of bloodshed. Others, meanwhile, could see the dangers of being mis-interpreted as pro- or anti-Islamic or pro- or anti-Semitic. And yet others thought that we should keep clear of foreign policy. My concern is and was to encourage negotiation and to resist any statement that could exacerbate the issue – it was a serious debate, which I am sure will continue as long as the current awful situation continues.
  13. Meanwhile, we are a month nearer to May’s London Mayoral and Assembly elections, and to the next General Election – I still think that the GE will be on the third Thursday of October – just 2 or 3 weeks before the American Presidential election. And, over all, there continues to be the dark, dark shadows of wars in Gaza and Ukraine. I guess the only certainty is that Putin will win his election – and we will carry on fighting ours!

My programme for March

  1. There is a Council Meeting on 6th March, when the Council Tax for 2024-5 is formally ratified. It will be a debate with Labour claiming that its first two years in power have gone well and the Tories unsure how to respond to the position they find themselves in after 44 years in power – as Leader of the Opposition for 26 of those 44 years, I won’t say I am sympathetic, but I do recognise the problem!
  2. The Planning Applications Committee is on 19th.

Did you know?

Last month I asked “about a pub in Lavender Gardens called Picture3The Cornet of Horse,  which is now part of a very twenty-first century comedy pub-chain called Jongleurs” (and where incidentally John O’Farrell had some of his early success as a stand-up comedian). And asked “What is a Cornet of Horse and how did the pub get that name? And what is the link between the pub and a council block on the Ethelburga Estate?”

I had a few correct answers stating that a cornet was a cavalry unit of some100-300 horse, and that the pub was so-called because in the late nineteenth century, a book called The Cornet of Horse was written by G A Henty who lived in Altenburg Gardens, Battersea. Henty apparently used the pub as an office to do his writing. And in the 1960s the Greater London Council named one of its new blocks in the Ethelburga Estate, Henty Close.

Readers, Chris and Jeanne, think his writing is, shall we say, dated but given that he wrote over 100 novels and was a massive best-seller, I rather suspect that in the words of E P Thompson, they display “the massive condescension of posterity”. The Cornet of Horse was about the Wars of the Austrian Succession – the Duke of Marlborough’s battles, especially Blenheim.

And this month?

And to mark the International Day of Women on 8th March who can name the woman (born in Huntingdon; died in Biggleswade), who founded which major Battersea institution, without ever, as far as we know, visiting the borough?