Forum Topics

Continuing traffic chaos on Chiswick High Road.

At 5pm today the line of westboundtraffic could be described as ridiculous.Cars and buses almost stagnant.What caught my eye was that traffic turning right from Wellseley Road into Oxford Road North .. joined an uninterupted queue  all the way down that road to the High Road. 91H buses from Hammersmith were terminating at Chiswick Roundabout having laboured to get there..whilst passengers had to leave the bus.. hoping that the following 91H opened it's entry door. My bus was packed and didn't accept more passengers until Ealing Road.One felt for mothers with prams being left on the pavement having to wait for the next bus.It seemed that vehicles in side roads wanting  to turn into the High Road stood no chance of exit. Maybe temporary traffic lights are needed to help their plight.

Jim Lawes ● 1497d136 Comments ● 1492d

wheres the cheapest petrol

Got a bit of a long journey to make and wonder if anyone can suggest the nearest (or on route to M1), cheapest petrol. Thanks

Stephen Gould ● 1494d10 Comments ● 1492d

Yellow arrows

Does anyone know who painted the yellow arrows along Chiswick Mall and riverbank.The heavy rain has failed to wash them off so those responsible need to clean them off.

Chris Lucy ● 1492d0 Comments ● 1492d

All (reasonably) quiet on the Chiswick front?

I was on Chiswick High Road earlier and half expected to see it in total gridlock due to the A4 roadworks but it wasn't that much busier than usual. There was queueing traffic by Turnham Green going west but, other than that, seemed pretty normal for a Saturday morning.Looking at Google Traffic there is not surprisingly slow moving traffic westbound on the A4, southbound on the NCR towards Chiswick Roundabout and Kew looks a nightmare with tailbacks from Kew Bridge.Am I getting this wrong (and yes I know it is the weekend and the real test comes on Monday) but is this not as bad as we might have feared from a Chiswick perspective.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 1507d81 Comments ● 1492d

Accommodation

Does anyone know of any local accommodation which might be available short term ( 3month max).  Thanks

Feargal McShane ● 1493d1 Comments ● 1492d

Dishonest Roofer

Just to let you know that there is a roofer by the name of James who I asked to fix my roof in Grove Park some months ago. He charged me a fortune (I have now found out) as he knew I was worried about more damage to my kitchen from a leaking roof. It is now leaking again - I asked him to come resolve the matter and after promising several times to return he hasn't. My new roofer says that no work whatsoever was done on  my roof recently and that this James was a scammer. He has several companies online that he works from (not real companies). The first is 'Your Local Roofing Company' and another is "Gunnersbury Roofing.' I feel certain there are other companies and alias' he uses. He seems very jovial and helpful but he is just a scammer - so beware and do your homework. His reviews are fake as are the office addresses.

lorna Boss ● 1493d0 Comments ● 1493d

Walking dogs in the heat

If you're walking your dog in the heat, especially between 0900 and 1900, please wear a fur coat and walk barefoot ...just so you'll know how it feels.

Leslie Wilson ● 1501d21 Comments ● 1494d

Hiring arcade games

Hello! Does anyone know where/how I can hire big arcade games like the old Pac Man or pinball. I just need them for about 5 hours! Any experience with a company, or better yet, any local company?

Caroline Barber ● 1495d7 Comments ● 1494d

E3 bus today

I walked up to the High Road this lunchtime via Sutton Court Road.  I passed 4 E3 ‘s along this road  coming back towards the A4.  buses at a standstill.  Cars spewing gas from their exhausts.Coming back with very heavy shopping I got eventually on an E3 bus - I was on the bus for 45 minutes- outside Sainsbury’s to the A4- and for people who cannot walk - no buses tomorrow and Saturday - be aware... is this sense?

Helen Bamberger ● 1495d11 Comments ● 1494d

Hartington Road/Staveley Road

A tired old question, I know. But I am in France, and will shortly be returning to Chiswick to confront the horrors of the A4 works and the nightmares imposed by Hounslow Council.If, in the next month or two, I am travelling in the very early evening from Richmond to Chiswick along the A316, will I be able to turn into Hartington or Staveley to avoid the mammoth queues leading to Hogarth Roundabout, and then simply cross over the A4 on SCR?I am a Chiswick resident, living north of the A4, so don't qualify for any permits etc.

David Darlow ● 1495d25 Comments ● 1494d

Cllr Biddolph's latest blog

I read the second item on Cllr Biddolph's weekly blog with interest. I have three questions for her. She clearly cares that people are living in wholly inadequate accommodation.  However she then drags in the issue of 'shoebox flats'. She must know that for flats to gain planning permission they must conform to London building standards, which are now national:https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Minimum_space_standards/If you want better standards then we should go back to the old Parker-Morris standards.  Will Cllr Biddolph be asking the Conservative Government to do that?The real evil is where 'permitted development' of offices and shops allows these standards to be circumvented.Will Cllr Biddolph be asking the Conservative Government to stop this happening?The heart-breaking case Cllr Biddolph refers to can only be resolved in the longer term if Councils have more and  bigger flats to let. We know why there's a shortage of Council housing: it's called 'Buy to Let'. The Treasury snaffled the money from sales and only one in nine houses and flats were replaced. The 2019 Conservative manifesto proposes to force Housing Associations into 'Buy to Let'. Is Cllr Biddolph in favour of that manifesto pledge?Even if Council's had the money to build more new housing, where would they  be built?  According to ConservativeHome.com both contenders, Sunak and Truss, have backed away from upsetting Conservative Party members in southern suburbs and towns who are vehemently against building on their patch. See:  https://conservativehome.com/2022/08/07/a-true-heir-to-thatcher-would-confront-the-housing-crisis-but-neither-sunak-nor-truss-will/.I don't want to go on and on, but I would urge Cllr Biddolph to stop making cheap shots at Hounslow Council and to spend some time thinking  about how she could move the Conservative Party away from costly, pointless initiatives like 'Help to Buy'. Harold Macmillan was a  Conservative Premier who built more houses in government than anyone perhaps at their next seance the Tories could try channelling him rather than Mrs. Thatcher.

David McLoughlin ● 1499d24 Comments ● 1495d

300 ton crane

300 ton crane is due to bring the walkway through Dukes Meadows. Utter chaos at the junction of Riverside Drive and the A3 one and six as an E3 bus has broken down in the middle. It’s worth coming down to have a look!

James Petri ● 1503d29 Comments ● 1495d

Pickling spice

Where can I get mixed pickling spice from in chiswick? No luck either in Waitrose or Sainsburys so far

Marie Power ● 1496d5 Comments ● 1495d

Flat Roof Repairs - recommendation update please

Back in 2018 there were recommendations for two firms for flat roof repairs: Gold Star and DM Rusk. Would be grateful to know if those recommendations still hold good, 4 years on? If not, has anyone got other recommendations, please?We have a flat roof about 24 years old which needs re-surfacing.  This summer's baking heat has really damaged the asphalt.

Liz Thornton ● 1496d5 Comments ● 1496d

Guardians of the galaxy tickets for sale

We have 5 tickets for Guardians of the galaxy secret cinema on Saturday 3rd Sept which we now can't use for sale. There are 3 adults and 2 children tix for the sold out 2.15pm matinee performance. Let me know if anyone is interested.

Ceinwen Mailvaganam ● 1497d0 Comments ● 1497d

Fines for people who do not turn up to NHS appointments?

It seems that the race to the bottom between Sunak and Truss as to who can come up with the most barking right wing policies to ingratiate themselves into the party members has found new depths.Sunak's latest is fines for people who miss doctors' or hospital appointments.  How will that work?• Poor people who are struggling to get through the week will not make appointments at all, for fear of missing them and being knocked even further over the financial edge.  They will postpone treatment (consequentially potentially becoming more expensive for the NHS if their conditions deteriorate).  Contagious diseases will not be treated, and may spread throughout the population.  • Those who can afford it may see it as a “fee”, to allow them to miss an appointment without guilt. Sunak should read the Gneezy and Rustichini study (“A Fine is a Price”, Journal of Legal Studies 20.1 (2000) which found that when fines were imposed for parents who picked their children up late from day care saw the fine as a "fee" and actually encourage more parents to pick up their child late because they felt they had permission, and had paid for it.• How will the NHS collect the fine?  Prevent patients receiving any more treatment until they have paid?  Employ debt collectors?  Make it a criminal offence to not go to the doctor?• What about people who have a good reason for not being able to make the appointment (bearing in mind that we are talking about people who, by definition, are ill)?Only a person who has never been poor, or even (as he admits) even ever had any “working class” friends could come up with something so stupid.

T P Howell ● 1513d84 Comments ● 1497d

Road access amnesty

Among the temporary lifting of restrictions during A4 bridge repair works, Strand-on-the-Green residents are currently allowed to access Hartington Road. However nowhere in the literature from Hounslow Council can I find any reference to residents of the Hartington Road white list now being allowed to access Kew bridge via Thames Road in a reciprocal arrangement. Does anyone know the official position?

Bruce Hammal ● 1502d27 Comments ● 1497d

Free king size duvet and 4 pillows

Very good condition. Useful for uni student or happy to drop of if any charities need

Krysia Gdaniec ● 1498d1 Comments ● 1498d

Ealing Community School of English open for new students

Registration is open for our English language classes for adults on Monday and Wednesday evenings, starting in September in Hanwell.Refugees, asylum seekers, those not in work or on low incomes can join the school for free.Students must be 18 or over to join the school. We have no childcare facilities and we are unable to provide transportation or reimburse travel costs.To join the school or if you have any questions, please visit our website at ecse.org.uk/study.#english #englishlanguagelearning #esl #esol #efl #elt #ealing #hanwell #englishlessons #englishclasses

Ata Rahman ● 1498d0 Comments ● 1498d

Drone flying in Fishers Lane this lunchtime

Look out - I have just confronted two men outside the Health Centre in Fishers Lane flying a drone. It flew all the way up Fishers Lane beyond the tube lines, and back, to hover over the High Road at between 25m and 50m high.  When challenged they assured me that they weren't taking any photographs, and showed me the control panel.  However, the regulations state that in urban, built-up areas a drone must be at least 150m away from people and buildings. Furthermore, flying over private property breaks privacy laws. The men said that they were 'testing' it, to which I responded 'So what - that doesn't give you permission to fly it over my property'.  What were they looking at, and it soon moved when I originally looked up at it???

Ben Cooper ● 1502d18 Comments ● 1498d