Hello everyone,

Since my last update, I've had a short break and was lucky enough to coincide it with the week of sunshine that seems to have been summer 2007. At any rate, having got back, here's the latest on what I've been working on:

MP Textline
I've had a good initial response with people signing up to my MP Textline to let me know when things go wrong on the District Line - it was a terrible service today with severe delays getting into London. There's nothing quite like a bad morning commute to bring you back to normality after a holiday. The more people sign up and use MP Textline, the more I can hold London Underground to account. You can find it on http://www.justinegreening.co.uk/campaigns/text-signup.php.

Richmond Park Pedestrian Entrances for Roehampton
I've just got confirmation from Mark Camley, the Chief Executive of the Royal Parks Agency (RPA) that they will try to have a second pedestrian and cycle entrance at Chohole Gate entrance from the A3 into Richmond Park. Local residents had approached me about an entrance, so it was great to get such a positive response from the Royal Parks Agency. The RPA had also already agreed to a pedestrian entrance from the Alton estate directly into Richmond Park. Both entrances will hopefully be built into the Richmond Park plans at the same time as the golf course is redeveloped and both entrances will mean that Roehampton residents around Stag Lane and the Alton estate can access Richmond Park much more easily.

Post Office Closure Programme Reviewed
When I met with Royal Mail and PostWatch to get briefed about the next wave of post office closures, I was concerned to find out that the planned closure consultation period was the same time as next May's London Assembly and Mayoral elections. The election and consultation are both too important to have running at the same time. Having been in touch with Adam Crozier, Chief Executive of Royal Mail, I had written confirmation today that they'll now take another look at when the consultation process takes place, which seems sensible. I suggested it was delayed until after the elections but I'll stay in touch with Royal Mail. We've already lost several post offices locally, so losing even more is very concerning, especially for the local communities they serve.

Out and About locally
I've also been to visit SureStart in Roehampton to find out more about the planned Childrens Centres, and met with our local Putney Inspector Keven Martin. I've had a very useful meeting with the Putney Society Transport Panel representative where we were able to compare notes on local transport issues. Following my recent meeting with Rowers Against Thames Sewage (http://www.thamessewage.com/) I've now seen Thames Water to talk about river health. Water leakage is still running at 29-30% which is way too high - given lots of us have water meters and pay by the unit, you'd think they wouldn't want to see a third of their potential sales drain away!

As ever, if you need my help as MP, do get in touch by emailing me on greeningj@parliament.uk, writing to me at the House of Commons, SW1A 0AA, or come and see me at my weekly MP surgery by calling 0208 944 0378.

Have a great bank holiday,


Best Wishes,

Justine Greening MP

August 24, 2007