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15 December 2013 13:58

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In this edition:
Greg Hands M.P.s Diary Website of the Week: All Saints Church Hands in the media: Chelsea and Fulham M.P. Puts His Money Where His Mouth Is Cllr Charlie Dewhirst has been chosen as the Conservative candidate for Hammersmith Boris Bikes now live across Chelsea & Fulham St Thomas More School in Chelsea is outstanding say Ofsted inspectors Residents back Hammersmith Flyunder as probe gathers evidence How to contact Greg Hands M.P.

Issue 388 Sunday 15th December 2013

Since the last edition, Greg:

Welcomed the selection of Councillor Charlie Dewhirst as the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for the Hammersmith constituency at the next General Election. For more about Charlie, see below. Charlie was selected by Hammersmith Conservative members. Welcomed the management team from the Royal Brompton Hospital to the House of Commons to learn more of K&C Councils proposed planning brief for the Royal Brompton site. For more information, click here. Was a guest reader at the Fulham community carol service at All Saints Church, Fulham, presided over by Rev. Joe Hawes. Visited the Pop-Up branch of the Your Credit Union on the Worlds End Estate, Chelsea, together with its Chairman, Cllr. Jonathon Read. Greg became the 285th member of the credit union. For more, see below. Met developers Stanhope Plc to hear of their plans to redevelop Watermeadow Court and Edith Summerskill House, Clem Attlee Estate, in Fulham. Carried out his duties as the Governments Deputy Chief Whip. Held a regular, weekly, advice surgery for local Chelsea and Fulham residents, at Fulham Library, on Fulham Road, close to Parsons Green tube. Gregs surgeries are generally weekly, on Monday mornings, at either Fulham Library, or Peter Jones, Sloane Square, Chelsea. To make an appointment, email [email protected] or telephone 020 7219 5448.

Website of the Week:

www.allsaints-fulham.org.uk
The website of All Saints Church, Putney Bridge Approach Road, Fulham, where Greg was a guest reader this week at the Fulham Community Carol Service. All Saints have an extensive programme at Christmas, including on 24th and 25th December.

Hands in the media:

Chelsea and Fulham M.P. Puts His Money Where His Mouth Is
The Economic Voice Saturday 14th December 2014

Greg Hands M.P. signing in as the 285th member of the 'Your Credit Union' on the World's End estate, Chelsea, this week, with Credit Union Chairman, Councillor Jonathon Read. Chelsea and Fulham M.P. Greg Hands has signed up to his local credit union which has vowed to fight loan sharks on the doorstep. The Deputy Chief Whip became a member of YourCU during a visit to a pop-up session of the union at the TMO offices on the Worlds End estate. He hailed his meeting with YourCU chairman, Cllr Jonathon Read, chief executive William Rhodes and loans officer Hasina Begom, a big success. Cllr Read said: Were delighted Mr Hands has signed on the dotted line and supports the fight to ensure people on low incomes have access to affordable finance. We want to reach out to the many people out there who are paying a poverty premium for loans because they have limited options. Payday loans may provide a speedy short-term solution, but can create a very long-term problem and can increase debt. YourCU means local residents now have access to affordable finance, a bank account, and advice on how to manage their finances. The union covers an area of West London including Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster. The union holds regular pop-up sessions at venues including at Dalgarno Community Centre in north Kensington, Beethoven Community Information Centre in Westminster, and TMO offices at the Worlds End Estate. For further information: on the web www.yourcu.co.uk; telephone 0207 605 6341 visit YourCU at 346 High Street, Kensington, W14 8NS.

Cllr Charlie Dewhirst has been chosen as the Conservative candidate for Hammersmith
By Harry Phibbs www.conservativehome.com Congratulations to Cllr Charlie Dewhirst who was been selected as the Conservative candidate to fight the Hammersmith constituency at the next General Election. The sitting Labour MP, Andrew Slaughter, had a majority of 3,549 last time. Charlie is a fellow ward councillor of mine in Ravenscourt Park and a good friend. But can he win? He is a tremendously capable, energetic and good humoured campaigner. On Wednesday morning I arrived at the Ravenscourt Park tube station at 7.15 to hand out leaflets to local residents countering some scaremongering from Labour about Charing Cross Hospital. Charlie was already there, bright and breezy. That was a pretty typical experience over the last few years. Now that he has become the Parliamentary candidate, imagine what he will be like. As a local councillor, Charlie has worked on plans to replace the Hammersmith Flyover with a tunnel. He has examined how the Pupil Premium funding can be most effectively used in local schools. He has spent a lot of time listening to local residents and the police about fighting crime. Our borough has seen a 16 per cent fall in crime in the past year the sharpest in London. Of course, he is also a champion of the Council Tax cutting we have achieved locally. Originally from Yorkshire, Charlie works for UK Sport, the body responsible for delivering Olympic and Paralympic success in this country. He enjoys football, cricket and racing. He organised a fundraising event for the Stroke Association, walking the Yorkshire Three Peaks, which raised over 40,000. He has also helped the Royal British Legion with fundraising. For the Conservatives to gain Hammersmith at the next election will certainly be a challenge. However, there are a number of local factors which will be positive: not least the opening of the West London Free School which provided the venue for last nights meeting which was presided over by the schools founder, Toby Young. It is certainly not a battle for the fainthearted. The Labour MP is thoroughly dishonest. At the last election Labour put out leaflets to council tenants claiming the Conservatives would move them to Barking and Dagenham. There was another one for mothers saying childrens centres would close. A special leaflet for Muslims had the smear that the Conservative candidate Shaun Bailey was prejudiced against them. But Charlie will be tough enough to fight, and well informed enough to counter the lies. In some ways it will also be easier, as Labours dishonest claims last time have been disproved. Last night Charlie spoke powerfully about his belief in individual liberty and the rule of law. He gave a vision of an opportunity society. He spoke of his wish to see Britain once again become a self governing country and that Conservative victory at the next election would offer a chance of this with the in/out EU referendum. There will certainly be a lively 18 months coming up in Hammersmith politics. After which, Charlie Dewhirst will make an excellent MP for the constituency.

Boris Bikes now live across Chelsea & Fulham

Greg Hands M.P. welcoming new Boris Bike Docking Terminals on Effie Road. Watch the clip on YouTube Find your nearest docking station Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme has this week launched in Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F), bringing around 1,700 new bikes to the borough. Mayor of London Boris Johnson was among the first to ride one of the brand new Barclays Cycle Hire bikes in Fulham, alongside H&F Council leader Cllr Nicholas Botterill and Cllr Victoria BrocklebankFowler, cabinet member for transport and technical services. They collected their bikes from the docking station in Wandsworth Bridge Road, near the junction of Stephendale Road one of around 60 in H&F before setting off together on a short journey across Wandsworth Bridge to Wandsworth town. The south west expansion of the scheme sees the hire bike scheme expand westwards to parts of H&F, Wandsworth, Lambeth and Kensington & Chelsea, bringing more than 2,000 new bicycles and around 5,000 additional docking stations to the boroughs. Councillor Nicholas Botterill, leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council, said: This scheme is going to bring a cycling revolution to every street in Hammersmith & Fulham, and being able to put pedal power into action today is like getting an early Christmas present. The south west extension means our residents will be able to pop to the shop, nip into work or explore our borough on one of these bikes and they are now better-connected than ever. Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: Our iconic bikes have changed the face of the capital since their launch three years ago and this expansion into great swathes of south west London will enable even more people to hop on them. The hire bikes are a key part of my vision for cycling in the capital and I am committed to making sure the scheme becomes even bigger and better in the future. Already the second largest cycle hire scheme in Europe, it now covers 100 sq km. This year alone, more than 7.6 million trips have been made on the bikes, with over 26 million hires since the scheme began in July 2010. H&F Council has contributed 2 million towards the popular blue bike hire scheme using Section 106 funding money that developers pay to the council to reduce the impact of development and contribute to community improvements, as part of their planning permission. Cabinet member for transport and technical services Cllr Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler, said: H&F is already well-connected through its fantastic transport links, but this is another feather in the boroughs cap especially as it is not costing our residents a penny, as our contribution has been paid through money from developers that is set aside for community improvements. We have worked hard to bring this fantastic scheme to H&F and our residents can now enjoy the benefits of these bikes which are easy to ride and offer low-cost alternatives to other ways of travelling around the borough. We hope more people will be encouraged to get on their bikes and this could help cut congestion on our roads, which has been central to our Get H&F Moving campaign. Greg Hands M.P. added: "I am delighted to see that the scheme is now live across my constituency, and I look forward to seeing this going from strength to strength." Docking stations in the borough include well-known locations like BBC White City, Olympia Exhibition Centre and Charing Cross Hospital and near the train stations at Imperial Wharf and West Brompton. There are also stations near the parks of Eel Brook Common, Parsons Green and South Park, and at tube stations including Ravenscourt Park, Putney Bridge, West Kensington and Barons Court. The most westerly docking station is at Ravenscourt Park Station in Hammersmith. The cycles offer another travel option to residents, commuters and visitors in H&F and it is likely that the bicycles will be used for a variety of reasons leisure, tourism, work, or for popping to the local shops. Over 200 people contacted Hammersmith & Fulham Council in 2011 as part of its Get H&F Moving transport campaign to offer their views on where the docking stations could be put. Additional suggestions came from council officers and Transport for London, which owns the scheme. Each of the places has had to be reviewed against a set of strict criteria to see if the site is suitable. The Barclays Cycle Hire scheme celebrated its third anniversary this year and has around 160,000 registered users - 3,900 of whom are H&F residents - with more than 10,000 bicycles at 700 docking stations across London. Each station has a touch screen terminal where you can enter your card details, before getting a release code to type into the bike stand and release the bike. When the bike is returned, it just has to be pushed firmly into an empty docking point and it automatically recognises the bike, via its code, and locks it back in. There is also an option to become a registered member and get a cycle hire key, which allows you to access the bikes all year for 90 that is 25p per day. Cycle hire staff will be on hand tomorrow from 10am until 6pm, and on December 14-15, 9am - 4pm, at Hammersmith bus and underground station and at docking stations in Fulham Broadway. For more information about the scheme, please visit: www.tfl.gov.uk/barclayscyclehireexpansion. For more information on cycling in H&F including how to take part in cycling courses to learn how to ride or to build confidence and to see a list of docking station sites that have been approved, visit www.lbhf.gov.uk/cycling, and for more information on the council's transport campaign, Get H&F Moving, visit www.lbhf.gov.uk/getmoving.

St Thomas More School in Chelsea is outstanding say Ofsted inspectors

Staff and students at St Thomas More Language College in Chelsea are preparing for the Christmas holidays on a high after celebrating their recent Ofsted inspection which judged the school to be to be `Outstanding'. The government inspectors awarded the outstanding rating, the highest possible, in all four categories of their inspection: the achievement of pupils, the quality of teaching, the behaviour and safety of the pupils, and leadership and management. Head teacher, Doctor Trevor Papworth, said: "We are clearly delighted with the outcome and feel the judgement echoes living out our motto `Serving God, Striving for Excellence'. We have made rapid progress since our last `good' judgement in 2009 and this is a recognition to the staff, students and their families for their amazing hard work and dedication to being the best they can possibly be particularly when being judged against the much more challenging 2013 Ofsted framework." The report is full of praise for the college with inspectors summarising "As a result of outstanding teaching all groups of students make rapid and sustained progress" and "Behaviour in lessons and around the college shows that students have an extremely mature attitude to each other and to their teachers and this results in a strong family atmosphere and values." This latter statement is particularly welcomed by Dr Papworth given that students have always described the school as `a family'. Inspectors were also very impressed with the wide range of opportunities available to students outside the main curriculum and how these additional learning opportunities are a real strength of the college. Mary Alves, Head Girl of the school, said: "Being in an outstanding school makes me feel amazing. It rewards all the hard work students and staff have made. We all excel as a community and we always knew we were outstanding but it's great to be told!" Greg Hands M.P. added: "As a keen linguist myself, Ofsed's report caught my eye. I visited St Thomas More last year, and saw it was a well-run and well-managed school, and a credit to the Royal Borough."

Residents back Hammersmith Flyunder as probe gathers evidence

As engineering and transport experts continue to explore options for burying Hammersmiths Flyover, 89% of respondents to a council poll back some form of tunnel replacement. 249 people, or 77% of respondents, said they strongly agreed with tunnelling beneath the A4 Talgarth Road, including the concrete flyover. 12% of people who filled out the feedback form, which was available on-line and at the councils Flyunder Summit, agreed with burying parts of the A4. 9% disagreed and 2% were indifferent. The favourite tunnel length was from Hogarth Roundabout to Warwick Road and there was some backing for north-south links on major routes such as Fulham Palace Road and Shepherds Bush Road. Around a fifth of respondents said they wanted the land freed up by burying the A4 to be used for improving connections to the River Thames. 21% would like the land used for new housing, while 7% favoured new offices. 34% wanted the tunnel to be paid for by over site development with a similar number wanting nationwide or London-wide taxes to pay for it. 18% said the A4 should be tolled to pay for the tunnel. The news comes as the council reports that its feasibility study, to explore the various tunnel options, is progressing well. The probe is exploring various tunnel lengths and possible starting and end points, and will measure options against social, economic and environmental benefits. It will include feedback from local residents and is set to be completed by March 2014 when the study will be given to Transport for London (TfL) which owns and manages the A4. The study aims to answer two main questions which are: could a tunnel be built and should a tunnel be built? The preliminary findings will be presented at a public meeting in January. Cllr Nicholas Botterill, H&F Council Leader, said: Residents views are vital on the question of whether we should build a tunnel and how bold we want to be. We have a range of options from simply replacing the flyover to something far more ambitious, like a tunnel that potentially stretches from Chiswick to Earls Court, involving various north/south connector tunnels. This is very much the start of the process and all options are being explored. Multinational engineering firm CH2M Hill Halcrow - one of the UK's largest infrastructure experts and builder of the Channel Tunnel is exploring the ground conditions in the area to help answer the question of could a tunnel be built. Meanwhile TfL has started repairs to the flyover with works set to last 18 months. Some overnight closures and partial closures of the flyover will be needed along with local road closures and diversions, according to TfL. Cllr Botterill continues: This needs to be the last time TfL spends such a large amount of money on this divisive, ugly old structure. In the short term TfL need to do the works with the minimum of disruption to motorists. In the longer term we need a solution that can relieve congestion while improving Hammersmith as a place to live. Greg Hands M.P. added: "Although this scheme is not in my constittuency, I beleive it will bring benefit to my constituents byr educing congestion and making it easier to travel north-south through the Borough. The Flyunder has my active support." What do you think? Share your thoughts on www.lbhf.gov.uk/flyunder. a tunnel beneath flyover the A4 at at

TfL is providing updates on their www.tfl.gov.uk/hammersmithflyover.

works

Public meeting - hear the latest on the councils Flyunder feasibility study Come along to the councils Transport Select Committee: Monday, January 13, 2014 at 7pm.

5 ways to contact Greg Hands M.P.:

By Phone: By email: By post: In person: 020 7219 5448 [email protected] Greg Hands M.P. House of Commons London SW1A 0AA Click here for details of how to book an appointment at Greg Hands M.P.s weekly surgery

www.greghands.com

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