Four Bridges, the Wisdom of Yoda and a Cabinet Meeting
Chiswick Riverside councillor Gabriella Giles reports back
Cllr Gabriella Giles
September 7, 2025
Looking at my records, this appears to be the 35th blog I've written for ChiswickW4.com since 2019. While I’m sure that not all of these have been diligently read over the years (even I’ve not had a chance to refresh myself with the content), there seem to be a couple of running themes.
I’ve tried to emphasise the need of local councillors to go back to first principles when approaching anything the council does by questioning. I’ve shared aspects of my personal and professional life, especially in how it shapes my perspective of being a local councillor and the skillset that I bring to the role.
Topics have ranged from the need for transparency, good governance, the community benefits of a local pub, navigating COVID-19, the South Chiswick Liveable Neighbourhood, e-bikes, Police ward panel meetings, my work with both the Chiswick Pier Trust and the Thames Landscape Strategy, my role on the licensing panel, and also trying to share news of other local groups and champions when appropriate. While there are many more that I’ve not listed, my intent has been to share an insight to our work beyond casework.
As councillors in Chiswick we are ultimately accountable to those we represent: our neighbours, colleagues, friends, and sometimes even family. Regardless of how someone chooses to vote, we’re here to ensure that you are advocated for when needed, fighting for you to get the support you need, whether it be a new bin, support for a family member, insight on local traffic and transport issues (and there have been a lot of these), or simply wanting to get a response from a council who says that they listen, but unreplied emails might say otherwise!
In that same breath, I’d like to say that nobody’s perfect, and there are times as councillors when multiple hats we wear often prove to be too heavy, and one may need to be put aside for a while, but that doesn’t mean we won’t try to make amends, and catch up from where we left of. I must take this opportunity to apologise to anyone who has emailed me in the past two weeks. Family commitments have meant that while I’ve read emails, and escalated, I’ve not had much of a chance to reply to all of them. In the same breath, I’d like to thank the team at Charing Cross for being fantastic, and we’re very lucky to have such an excellent hospital on our doorstep. Contrary to reports, this hospital is not, nor really ever was, at risk of closure, as a vital teaching hospital and a centre of excellence, and is an integral part of the Imperial College Healthcare Trust.
Rainbow over Chiswick Village, Monday, 1 September from Brooks Lane Footbridge
Bridges - Brooks Lane Footbridge, Kew Railway Bridge and Chiswick Station Footbridge
This summer has involved a lot of emails back and forth to Network Rail (NR) - I’ve had four bridges in my ward that have needed inspection and repair, and while some of them are on the same line, it appears that NR employs a different member of staff for each bridge! This may seem to be an exaggeration, but I certainly have been referred to multiple teams on multiple routes to get, what should be, straightforward updates to engineering projects.
The good news this week is that the footbridge on Brooks Lane linking Chiswick Village to Strand on the Green is now functional. Despite promises that works would only take a week, this stretched to two and a half, and reopened on Monday, just in time for the new school term, and even though we were told that the bridge’s anti-slip covering wouldn’t be replaced, I’m glad that my request means that this has been done!
Brooks Lane Bridge
I’m still waiting for news on Kew Railway Bridge, and Chiswick Station Footbridge is due to reopen on the 26th of September, now to chase the information on the fourth bridge I escalated in July…
The Value of Getting Involved.
In speaking to some of the teens in my life, it’s become apparent that so many of them are afraid to appear “cringe” that they would rather not do what brings them joy; for fear of not being accepted, that they would rather not even try in the first place. Which then of course, brings the Yoda quote to mind “Do or do not. There is no try.”
And I find it’s pretty much the same in all aspects of our lives, the choices we make to engage, whether they be successful or not, will always reap better returns than if we chose not to engage at all. Democracy is a fair bit like that too. In a recent blog for the Hounslow Herald, I wrote about the importance of community, and the running theme of in order to have a village, you need to be a villager. It’s easy in a city like London to feel invisible, but by joining in our local community, we can be seen.
I’ve often asked myself why I think it’s so important to be open and honest as a councillor - it’s not always the easiest thing to open yourself up to criticism and of course, not everyone is going to agree with what I say or do. However, a running theme from across all aspects of my life recently has been accountability, and the quote of a colleague comes to mind “I’ve never fired someone for making a mistake, but I have fired people for denying it and covering it up”. Ultimately, as your locally elected representatives, we owe it to you to be clear in our communications of how we’re working for you, so you can be as informed as possible when you make your decisions at the polling stations.
Hounslow Council Cabinet Meeting
However, when it comes to the deciding body of our local authority, many of these decisions are made in meetings that have sometimes lasted less than 30 minutes by the Cabinet. This week’s meeting was an anomaly in that it lasted over an hour, but not in that there seemed to be a lot of simply nodding items through and a lack of accountability.
The Council’s own financial monitoring confirms what many residents already suspect, savings and efficiencies are not keeping up with demand. The revised “One Hounslow” financial strategy now shows a black hole growing to over £90 million by 2028/29. That is not a rounding error; it is a structural problem that will force some very hard decisions. Yet, Cabinet papers glossed over the consequences, but the presentation of the Quarterly Performance Reporting by Deputy Leader Tom Bruce emphasised that this was necessary for the current administration to “achieve as an administration both in the sense of the politics we want to convey but also the operational sense on the ground”. What does this mean for day-to-day services in Chiswick and the rest of Hounslow? Will our libraries see reduced hours, will local parks lose investment, or will frontline staff be cut back? Admitting the scale of the problem is the first step. We all deserve clarity and honesty about what is at risk, rather than soothing words that “efficiencies” will somehow be found.
The same lack of urgency runs through other Cabinet items. Take the West London Alliance’s plan to deliver a six-bed children’s home for looked-after young people with complex needs. While the aim is commendable, it’s only right to question the cost and timeline: £3 million so that the home can open in December 2027, for just six beds. Of course specific needs require specific accommodations, but the outlay in budget is eyewatering.
I could go on..the HMO licensing scheme seems to have spilt opinion down the middle, it doesn’t seem to please anyone, not landlords, tenants or residents. The Council’s job is to weigh these openly and take responsibility for the consequences. Whether it’s managing budgets, housing vulnerable children or tackling problem properties, residents don’t expect perfection, they expect leadership that admits mistakes, explains delays, and takes ownership of the choices being made. And certainly not blame officers for executing on a political decision as we have seen on the ChiswickW4 forum in relation to the latest Lime bike fiasco!
Dates for your diary:
14 September: Tidefest at Strand on the Green, Elmwood Road Street Party
20 September: The Great River Race, I’ll be behind the bar at Chiswick Pier, but SOGA are hosting a street party at Strand on the Green too!
Cllr Gabriella Giles
gabriella.giles@hounslow.gov.uk
07966 270823
DEMOCRACY: DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Monday 13 October: Chiswick Area Forum - Normally at Hogarth Hall, Chiswick Town Hall, Heathfield Terrace, Turnham, W4 4JN, but moveable around Chiswick (please check the website). Meetings are open from 6.30pm allowing residents to meet officers of Hounslow Council in Adult and Child care Social Welfare, Education, Housing and Services
Council Meetings
Borough Council
- Tuesday 16 September 7.30pm
- Tuesday 25 November 7:30 pm
Overview and Scrutiny Panel
There is public access for these meetings via a direct lift from the ground floor to the Council Meeting Room
6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB
Council Meetings – Overview and Scrutiny Committee
- Monday 18 September 2025 7.00pm
6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB
Council Meetings – Audit and Governance Committee
- Tuesday 4 November 7:00 pm
6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB
Anyone can attend public meetings of the council. Most meetings take place on the 6th Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, TW3 3EB. Hounslow House is fully accessible. The nearest tube is Hounslow Central which does not have step-free access. Parking in local roads is limited.
Emergencies
You can report emergencies outside office hours by ringing the council on: 020 8583 2222.
CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLOR SURGERIES
Chiswick: Every Saturday from 9.30am to 10.30am at Chiswick Library (the seven Conservative councillors take this surgery in turn).
Gunnersbury: First Saturday of the month from 10am to 11am at The Gunnersbury Triangle Club, Triangle Way, off The Ridgeway, W3 8LU (at least one of the Chiswick Gunnersbury ward councillors takes this surgery).
CONSERVATIVE COUNCILLORS and CONTACTS
Chiswick Gunnersbury ward
Cllr Joanna Biddolph joanna.biddolph@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 703446
Cllr Ron Mushiso ron.mushiso@hounslow.gov.uk 07976 702887
Chiswick Homefields ward
Cllr Jack Emsley jack.emsley@hounslow.gov.uk 07977 396017
Cllr Gerald McGregor gerald.mcgregor@hounslow.gov.uk 07866 784821
Cllr John Todd john.todd@hounslow.gov.uk 07866 784651
Chiswick Riverside ward
Cllr Gabriella Giles gabriella.giles@hounslow.gov.uk 07966 270823
Cllr Peter Thompson peter.thompson@hounslow.gov.uk 07977 395810
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