I thought the Hustings was chaired very well; Jonathan was very clear on the overall structure of the meeting, and managed the candidates with charm and discipline.The location and turnout were superb; even if it meant I could only find a space in the gallery!It was also good to hear that many more questions than usual were submitted; particularly good to hear that many questions regarding the infill developments on estates were submitted; with Innes Gardens on the Ashburton receiving most questions; nobody in Putney can still be in any doubt that this is a real issue of concern.However, the problem of covering so many topics in such a limited time, with each candidate given a minute to express themselves and no feedback from the audience or direct exchange between the candidates, lead to an exhausting, and ultimately, disappointing exchange. Candidates making unchallenged assertions of very questionable accuracy, at times, was extremely frustrating.Had I been given the opportunity to respond, I would have liked to picked Fleur up on a few points she continues to make that blur reality;Fleur: ’We didn’t come up with the plans, the Tories did’. In fact, the plans have been in development for the last eighteen months since Labour have been in power. Fleur has constantly told us it is an iterative process and that the very poor quality of information we were being shown at every stage (no dimensions, no floor plans, no elevations, etc) was a result of the buildings not designed yet! If the plans had been prepared by the Tories, why didn’t she insist they were shown to us from the beginning.2) Fleur; ‘Are they going to be anywhere else or are we going to have them in Putney’. Our question is, why should the estates, and the communities with least resources, shoulder all the burden. Why should we not have a voice, a say and the power to influence what happens to our homes? Why is Fleur continually dodging this question and referring to Putney, and not addressing the question about only imposing the infill blocks on the estates?3) Fleur; ‘Homes are for local families’. The schemes in Ashburton, are full of one and two bedroom flats; NOT family homes.4) Fleur; ’I have gone along to all the consultations, there have been changes to them (proposed blocks); reduced in size, changed location, they’ve added community spaces and are play spaces’. Yes, she has been to community engagements, has ‘listened’ to the community, but never heard or reflected what the community has said. She met with residents very early on to discuss concerns with them about the impact of the proposals and how best to oppose the council; be specific and get as many residents involved as possible. A petition was raised with well over two hundred signature is four days, specifically outlining our concerns. Fleur ‘reported’ this in her newsletter as; ‘I met with Innes Gardens residents about the plans for new council housing on the Ashburton Estate.’ The blocks in Innes have INCREASED in size during the ‘consultation’.Yes, a block has changed location, but not as a result of anything the community said; we have no idea why it was changed, we suspect because it was adjacent to Dover House Lane and would have impacted on trees and views from surrounding areas; better shove it back into the estate!A community meeting room in Haward’s Gardens was originally proposed, the community said they didn’t want it, (they didn't want the block or the community centre) the council removed it and added an extra flat, the community said,’ if you are insisting on imposing this block on us, then put back the community centre’. The local Labour councillor for West Putney then writes a letter of objection to the planners saying the community centre should be removed!Look, this is the kind of appalling ‘representation’ the community has had to deal with from this MP and from Labour Councillors for West Putney and from the council and their consultants.IT IS HIGH TIME IT ENDS NOW!We are a community of highly engaged and highly capable individuals concerned about the welfare of our communities, and of all the social capital that has been created here. The success of our communities is intimately connected to the layout of our estates; ‘U’ shaped arrangement of blocks around green areas which form a chain with each cluster being open to its immediate surroundings and beyond; a physical feature that lies at the heart of the success of this estate. The erection of blocks of flats in ‘wall-type’ arrangements will both damage irreparably the estate and fragment the community.We need representatives worthy of us!
Gerry Boyce ● 369d