• At the May 2006 election, 3 Conservative Councillors were elected in South Twickenham ward. However your South Twickenham Comments Team are eager to hear from you if you have an issue or concern. Please scroll down the page for their details . .

[From COMMENTS Summer 2008]: • LIB Dem Richmond Council has continued its drive to improve school standards by earmarking two schools, Whitton School and Hampton Community College, for academy status. The academy plan could see significant improvements in standards and a multi million pound in- vestment in new buildings for the schools. The preferred sponsor for the Whitton and HCC schools is Kunskapsskolan, the largest independent provider of schools in Sweden. Sweden has some of the best secondary education in Europe, and the council is bringing that expertise to Richmond. The schools will remain English, but use the most modern personalised learning techniques. The local authority intends to act as a co-sponsor.

Their potential arrival in the borough has been welcomed by local MP Vince Cable, and the Department for Children, Schools and Families. Nationally, the Conservatives have also heavily praised the Swedish model of education "This is good news for local parents. The academy programme will see millions of pounds made available for school refurbishment. Most importantly, local children could get the opportunity to benefit from an organisation who have a track record of delivering first rate education," said Vince Cable MP. A consultation process with the schools, local parents, and nearby primary schools is underway. In the autumn, if the council gives the go-ahead, and government approval is obtained, a full community consultation process begins.

• FACELIFT for Radnor Gardens: The Bowls Club Green and its borders have now been renewed to a very high standard. The South Gate has been redecorated. The path leading to the gazebo has been resurfaced. Bollards have been installed on the pathway to prevent vehicles driving on to the soft grass where they created ruts. Commenting on the improvements, local campaigner, Matthew Hull said, "Radnor Gardens are a gem in Strawberry Hill. I am delighted the Council are preserving & improving these superb gardens for the people of Twickenham." Richmond-upon-Thames has more green space than any other London Borough. The Council's parks section maintains more than 100 parks, open spaces, commons and woodlands, as well as playgrounds and sport pitches. Trees in the parks are also maintained by the borough's tree officers. If you would like to report a problem in one of the parks, please phone the council's hotline on 08456 122 660 .

• COLNE Road Traffic Problems: Steve carried out his own survey of residents, after they contacted him about problems they were having parking on their road. " People have told me of their anger at being prevented from parking in their own street. I am delighted that the Council will carry out an official consultation about a regular weekday CPZ and a rugby match day CPZ. The Council is going to work with residents to try and help solve the problem. It is important to remember that these schemes are only every introduced if the majority of residents request it," said Steve.

• SPEEDING in Strawberry Hill: A Pedestrian refuge has now been installed where Strawberry Vale joins Twickenham Rd. The Pedestrian Refuge will reduce traffic speeds, therefore protecting pedestrians. Lib Dem campaigner Michael Butlin said, 'I welcome the Council's actions to reduce traffic speeds along this stretch of Strawberry Vale. Pedestrian safety was at real risk".

• RECYCLING rate tops 40 %: The Council are now looking at ways to simplify the system in an effort to drive the recycling figure over the 50 % mark. When the Lib Dems took control of Richmond Council they promised to put the environment at heart of decision making. The Council have now won national praise for its green schemes. Action speaks louder than words!

From COMMENTS winter 2007/8: A flag ship eco-friendly River Centre, offering river- related and environmental education and leisure opportunities for all ages and abilities, will be part of new development plans for the old baths site. The Twickenham River Centre will be run by the Environment Trust (ET) and will include a café, toilets, boat hire and much more. In July 2007 the Council started a consultation exercise with local residents, businesses and community groups with a view to producing a new Development Brief for the whole site which will have the River Centre at the heart of the development, opening up the site for a range of leisure activities for young and old. As well as maximising public open space and improving the embankment, the Council is keen to promote the highest environmental standards and for the development to contribute to the economic vitality of the town centre. Once a Development Brief has been agreed, the Council intends to work in partnership with a developer to achieve a scheme that will deliver the agreed community benefits with the minimum enabling development - whether residential or restaurant/café - necessary to ensure a financially viable scheme.

• ANOTHER Green Promise Met: Richmond Borough went even greener from November with the introduction of doorstep cardboard and plastic bottle recycling. The new scheme means that all plastic bottles including milk cartons and even bottles that contained household cleaning products can be recycled. There were a few inevitable teething problems, some missed collections and the need to hire extra collection vehicles, when the scheme was introduced. However by the end of the November recycling rates had topped 40% and many more households had started recycling for the first time. For Twickenham Riverside ward, collection day is Wednesday except for a few properties on the border with South Twickenham ward which are collected on Friday. Your recycling and waste will be collected by different vehicles at different times of the day. If you live in a block of flats please contact the team about how you can participate. If you think your recycling has been missed please report it at www.richmond.gov.uk/waste_and_ recycling online or by phoning 08456 122 660 after 3pm on the day of your collection. "Recycling cardboard and plastic bottles is vitally important if we are to protect the environment. Central Government is increasing charges on landfill waste so it also makes financial sense to reduce landfill waste." said Cllr Michael Wilson " It is frustrating that there have been some teething problems with the implementation of this scheme . I am grateful for residents' patience and hopefully these problems have now been ironed out." said Cllr Denise Carr.

• CCTV for York Street: Residents who battled for CCTV in York Street to help prevent and detect late night, alcohol induced anti-social behaviour have been successful. This area, a hotspot for incidents on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, will have a camera installed. Cllr Denise Carr welcomed this investment: "CCTV can be very effective in making our town centre safer. Some 27% of British teenagers now admit to getting drunk regularly, and binge drinking admissions to local hospitals are increasing - strong policing and enforcing licensing conditions will help local residents and may encourage binge drinkers to think again."

• SERVICES for Children & Families in Richmond upon Thames are "outstanding" according to Government inspectors. The highest Grade 4 has been achieved in Ofsted's annual performance assessment, with provision for looked-after children and those with disabilities highly praised. And in the same week, CSCI (Commission for Social Care Inspection) awarded the highest 3 star rating to Adult Social Services for the first time, highlighting the successful partnership working with health, the voluntary sector and individual users and carers, and the excellent prospects for further improvement.

• PROTECTING Twickenham's Historic Waterfront: Twickenham's historic working waterfront is constantly at risk from the loss of working boatyards, lack of mooring facilities and damage to the embankment walls. Thanks to pressure from local residents, community groups and the Richmond Environment Trust, a survey of the embankment walls was carried out at the drawdown in November 2006 and an action plan has been developed. Now, the whole of the waterfront needs to be looked at as part of the plans for the old baths site and the embankment up to the Barmy Arms. Your local Councillors are very supportive of this approach and will be working with residents to develop a strategic plan covering the whole area.

• FROM COMMENTS Winter 2006/7: A flag ship eco-friendly RIVER CENTRE, offering river-related and environmental education and leisure opportunities for all ages and abilities, will be part of new development plans for the old baths site. The Twickenham River Centre will be run by the Environment Trust (ET) and will include a café, toilets, boat hire and much more. The next stage will be the production of a new Development Brief for the whole site, based on the planning requirements of a mixed use development, including public open space, homes and restaurants. Cllr Denise Carr says "I congratulate the Trust on their wonderful proposal. I look forward to working in partnership with them and with the many local residents who care passionately about this site and want to see it brought back to life. The Council is committed to environmental sustainability and we will be bringing forward proposals which demonstrate how buildings and the street scene can contribute to this."

• COMMUNITY groups, residents and businesses have welcomed the Council's decision to reverse the previous Tory administration's plans to scrap the Town Centre Manager. And at a packed meeting in York House in October, residents called for the Town Centre Management Plan to be updated and public involvement improved. Cllr David Trigg says "The Manager's post was set up by the Liberal Democrats 1997 in order to help revitalise the town and attract more shoppers and visitors. Successful initiatives like the Twickenham festival, Christmas lights, the weekly Farmers Market, summer al fresco dining in Church Street and much more have been developed - but the town centre faces new challenges, with an ever growing late night economy, too many empty shop units and few other leisure opportunities." Cllr Carr added "the turnout and enthusiasm at the meeting was fantastic. The ward councillors will now be working with the Manager, businesses and the community to agree new targets and deliver improvements."

• FOLLOWING a campaign by Twickenham Town Centre Manager Esther Worboys and your ward councillors to improve public transport for late night revellers, the 281 night service started running 6 months ago - and now it is so popular you can hardly get a seat. Cllr Trigg says "helping people disperse quickly when the pubs and clubs close means less chance of crime, noise and nuisance. This has been a great success and we need more late night bus services to take people safely home."

• CONCERNS about late night, alcohol induced anti-social behaviour in York Street have led to residents calling for better policing and CCTV cameras. Cllr Trigg says "Police figures show that the area is a borough hotspot for crime on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. CCTV can help both prevent and detect criminality and I have asked the Council to look at this."

• A MEETING of the Regulatory Committee on 6 February agreed revised arrangements for this popular summer dining experience. The season will run from 24 May to the 9 September, Thursday - Sunday, with the street closed until 10pm on Thursdays, 11pm on Fridays, 11.30pm on Saturdays and 10pm on Sundays. Cllr Carr says "The Committee has granted slightly later hours for Saturday and Sunday nights, but I hope that licensees will listen to the concerns of local residents about noise and refuse so that everyone can benefit from the season."

• LOCAL youth centre, Heatham House, is one of five across the borough which will benefit from £575,000 capital investment and £250,000 service investment over the next twelve months. Cllr Michael Wilson says "Heatham House is a great centre with lots of activities, events, advice and support for young people, but the building needs this capital investment and the revenue funding will enable a much needed expansion of the activities provided. We are committed to increasing the resources for our youth centres and to giving young people a voice in deciding how the money is used."

• JUNK mail and flyers are a nuisance, a waste of resources and add to the rubbish mountain. The borough's EcoAction Team is offering free "No Junk Mail" stickers for residents to attach to letterboxes. Call 08456 122660 or e-mail recycling@richmond.gov.uk for a sticker. You can also call the Mail Preference Service to stop 95% of unwanted mail by calling 0845-070-0707.

Clare Orel Head The Conservative Party Candidate 1498 Elected

David Richard Porter The Conservative Party Candidate 1462 Elected

David John Marlow The Conservative Party Candidate 1444 Elected

Matthew Edmund Richard Hull Liberal Democrat 1264

Steven Julian Topol Liberal Democrat 1260

Michael George Butlin Liberal Democrat 1246

Douglas Orchard Independent 357

John Cochrane Highet ArmstrongIndependent 321

Paul Gabor Neil Tanto The Labour Party Candidate 254