Does Brentford Need to Invade Richmond to Ensure Our Security?
Brentford West councillor Guy Lambert reports back
Brentford West councillor Guy Lambert
November 28, 2025
This weekly blog has a tendency to grow like Topsy (who is Topsy?) so I will try to truncate it this week. Whether I succeed I will tell you in about 10 hours when I finish writing the ruddy thing. It has not been my purpose to bore Brentford into submission but it seems to develop that way. Perhaps I should announce that Brentford is going to invade Richmond because we need it for security. Tariffs on anything coming in over the river. That'll do it, but I might settle for a free bacon roll at the M&S cafe in Kew. You heard it here first.
On Friday I had a short conversation with a man from Isleworth who is thinking about doing something political. I don't know what his politics are - we didn't really discuss that - but he works for TfL and we discussed step free access to Kew Bridge (in particular) as that was once in my ward. I started writing an essay about that but I gave myself a sharp slap on my face because that would go against what I wrote in the first paragraph. The world will have to wait for that with (no doubt) bated breath.
Saturday was the latest in my planned series of coffee mornings. I had one a couple of months ago at the Spire Cafe for which I had delivered 300 leaflets to people's front doors. Not a single person attended from the streets I leafletted though I did get a dozen people from the blog, which was fine. This time I was at the Globe, accompanied by Rashid Wahab, who will be my election partner come May. One of our trusty Green colleagues attended to take pictures and I chose this one.
I would like to have used a Trump-like picture with the most bigly ever crowd of people turning out to meet us, but as it turned out only one person came and it seemed cheeky to use her photo, even though she would have greatly improved the appearance of those attending. When I see photos of me I wonder whether it is time to bring my hairy protest to an end. I have been trying to hold off the haircut until Bea has actually opened her shop in Brentford, but it is getting silly.
I was disappointed at the lack of enthusiasm for the 'event' but I still want to meet more people from the ward (and wider Brentford) and I will persist, though we will think of a better approach to inviting people. The most important thing, though, is to keep looking to demonstrate that we are eager to hear from locals, including ones who (like me before I became a councillor) never even think of talking to councillors!
Monday was one of the more complicated days I have had recently. First up, was a meeting with the Friends of Watermans Park to discuss what we should be calling for to rescue and reprogramme the Watermans Marina to actually get something built and try to persuade the council that what is built actually chimes with what Brentford wants. Constructive, and the Friends are, I believe, meeting with cabinet member and senior officers this week (I, of course, am not invited, but the Friends and I are on the same page).
I was told of this initiative, I believe created by the man who leads on the Creative Mile. I understand this involves placing reproductions of wonderful pictures on the derelict piles near Watermans Park. Must meet with him and understand this properly but something like the picture would be wonderful.
Next on the list was a session with Julia Quilliam. The continued abject failure to provide a new vibrant town centre needs a new approach. The current Estate agent, Levy from Regent Street, has never listed the shops available on their website. The three they can be bothered to list disappeared last week, were back when we had the area forum, then disappeared again by Monday and are now back again. It is ridiculous having a marketing partner who has no presence in Brentford and it seems little interest, when there are excellent local agents who are excluded on entirely spurious grounds. We are told secret negotiations are progressing. But we were told over a year ago that all the shops were more or less already let to (secret) local businesses most of which turned out not to be real.
I will continue to move this forward. There is a lot of demand for shops in Brentford but this needs a creative approach and some urgency and flexibility from the council, which is sadly lacking.
Next on the list was a meeting with the leaseholders at Holly House. Those who pay attention will remember my previous comments on this local fiasco. The leaseholders have lived and owned barely inhabitable flats under the burden of an enormous demand for contributions to the improvement of the building. Fair enough - leaseholders do have that responsibility - but they have been under this threat for 8 or 9 years and as of today they are still under threat (which is growing) and there is still no credible plan for actually dealing with the current problems with Holly House. It has been clad in scaffolding for at least 3 years and a car park full of unused Portakabins. Of course this is completely unacceptable for tenants and leaseholders alike, but the leaseholders have flats they cannot effectively sell or let and have a massive bill hanging over their heads. They agreed to create a 'dossier' of their difficulties to help me get a grasp of the problems and look for a solution.
On Tuesday I went to Twickenham to have my feet improved by the podiatrist. Never exactly fun but I come out with a spring in my heels. Plus I like the river around Twickers (well, I like all rivers, everywhere) but it turns out there are big works going on in the centre of the town and my normal riverside route is blocked. What they are doing sounds interesting!
Later I talked extensively with Paul Keane, who is currently engaged with extracting himself and his outfit from Brentford, a very sad event. He still hopes to be back soon, but the war of words with the Brentford Boat Club continues and led to what I understand was a major confrontation on Tuesday evening with the police in attendance keeping the peace while Keane removed his assets from the former centre. The Boat Club claims these assets are not his, but they belong either to him or to one of the charities he leads, and certainly don't belong to Brentford Boat Club. I have also this week had a conversation with the London Kayak School, whose poster is still at Ferry Quays, and exchanged emails with the landlord there: we are looking for a date to meet.
I am not taking sides in this battle between charities, but I hope they sort it out fast. The arrival of Team Keane and all who sail with him has been transformative for Brentford, in a good way. What they do I am sure is not perfect, but boy, his and his wife's enthusiasm and hard work is precious to our town and especially our children.
I went down there on Tuesday evening and it was rather a depressing site. Pontoon has gone, as has most of the boats, and a chapter in Brentford's reintegrating the rivers in the town is closed, I hope temporarily. The footnote is an uninhabited police car lurking on the quay in the darkness.
Turns out my phone is quite good at seeing in the dark
On the way home I noticed new activity in Ferry Lane. The small restaurant, which has had rather a chequered history is being recreated as something Georgian. There were a couple of chaps up ladders redecorating the walls and a woman and man by the counter. She seemed to be in charge and I welcomed her. She will be opening her restaurant soon and I hope this will succeed. We have quite an international restaurant hub in this corner of Brentford - Ing Thai on the High Street, Moisei Ukrainian in the old Fire Station, Turkish Galata Pera in Town Meadow, unconventional Indian at Anima and now (or soon) Georgian Cafe Sashka. Also Japanese etc at the Watermans Arms and a standard Premier Inn restaurant at the hotel that is ashamed of being in Brentford - the so called Kew Bridge site which talks about Hogarth House and Twickenham Stadium but ignores Brentford FC and Boston Manor, Gunnersbury Park or our fantastic museums!
That’s it for this week, really, so I managed to keep this shorter and only took a couple of hours completing it in two forms, as I always do. Two things this evening - a Governance session at the council. I will do that on Teams because the next thing is at the Steam Museum which sounds like great fun. More next week.
Councillor Guy Lambert
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