Budgets & Finance, the Cheese Market and Council Energy Costs
Chiswick Homefields councillor John Todd reports back
Cllr John Todd
January 19, 2026
Budgets & Finance
It is budget-setting season again at Hounslow Council, but this year the process has been significantly delayed. While central government has indicated that additional funding will be provided to several boroughs, including Hounslow, the detailed conditions attached to this support are still awaited.
What is already clear is that receipt of this funding is likely to be conditional on the Council applying the maximum permitted increase in Council Tax.
Alongside this, we continue to scrutinise the performance of the Lampton Group of companies, which are wholly owned by the Council. When established, these companies were projected to generate around £500,000 per year for the taxpayer. To date, however, no dividend or profit has ever been returned.
Recent Cabinet reports now state that the consolidated losses of the Lampton companies stand at £15.7 million, with little realistic prospect of any dividend in the foreseeable future.
Following a one-day scrutiny review of the Lampton entities, Members were told that a new three-year business plan would restore profitability. That plan has still not been published. Alarmingly, the current business plan explicitly warns that the Group “may run out of money to pay our wages and suppliers.”
Other councils, including Croydon and Lambeth, have already subjected their in-house property companies to external, independent investigations. Hounslow has not.
The conclusion is unavoidable: Cabinet oversight and governance of these companies has been inadequate. Losses on this scale are unsustainable, and the continued exposure of residents to financial risk must be brought to an end.
Chiswick’s Cheesewick Market. Its history and beneficiaries
The Chiswick Cheese Market Team
I was aware that Lucy Cufflin who runs the market with a sturdy team of devoted volunteers gave a substantial donation from the market proceeds to charity. I’d seen the market develop in size and wanted to know more.
This is Lucy’s contribution
“We started out as a group of chefs, cookery writers and local businesswomen hosting events to promote new cook books and good food while raising money for charity. We had three great years running ’The Cookbook Festival’ alongside the Chiswick Book Festival. Covid put a stop to that and our popular supper clubs, but answering the call to action to help beleaguered small artisan cheese producers who had lost their routes to market we started a monthly cheese market during the Pandemic, bringing cheese home to ‘Cheesewick’.
“From 18 stalls in 2021 we have grown to 54 every month simply offering some of the best artisan cheese in the world. What’s more we do it for free! We organise the market license, curate the stalls, look after all the health and safety, advertising and man the market relentlessly month in and month out. We do this over and above our full-time jobs and the money the market makes we give away. We give The Upper Room Charity in Hammersmith financial help and food donations and are especially keen supporters of their UR4drive scheme. The remainder of our profits go to support the British Artisan Cheese Industry. We started ’The Chiswick Cheese Market Grant’ scheme in 2022 in collaboration with The Academy of Cheese (the UK’s regulatory education cheese body) and we sponsor several new cheesemakers each year to help them out of their kitchen and into full time cheese making. The money is aimed at education and technical help. So far we have sponsored 11 new cheese makers and they come to the market selling their cheese every September and some are now regular stall holders. It is a thrill to know we have made a real difference to real lives and helped some one on their way to fulfilling their dreams.
“We sponsor several awards within the Artisan Cheese industry promoting not only the importance of real food made properly but putting Chiswick on the map. We are known internationally within the cheese industry and regularly get visitors from abroad. We have had articles written about is as far away as the USA. ‘Cheesewick’ has become the real deal in the cheese world.
"To date we have given away £65,000 to good causes and that is thanks to the regular unfailing support of our customers - so thank you Chiswick and beyond for coming along every month. We are keen to continue and hope that everyone loves coming along as much as we love running it.”
Saving LBH £2m on Utility Costs
Hounslow Council currently spends around £30 million a year on electricity and gas. Procurement is handled through a trading company owned by Kent County Council, and none of the energy supplied is from renewable sources. Officers have advised that this route is also proving expensive.
A recent national survey by Box Power, a not-for-profit energy organisation, compared what local authorities are paying for their utilities. The results are stark.
For electricity, the Greater London Authority pays 21.7p per kWh, while Hounslow pays 30.3p per kWh.
For gas, Kensington & Chelsea pays 5.1p per kWh, compared with Hounslow’s 6.9p per kWh.
On this scale, those differences are not marginal. They equate to a potential saving in excess of £2 million per year if Hounslow procured energy more competitively and diversified beyond a single supplier.
At a time when residents are being asked to pay higher Council Tax and services remain under pressure, it is indefensible that the Council continues to overpay for basic utilities. More competitive procurement and a shift towards renewable energy could deliver both financial and environmental benefits for the borough.
Cllr John Todd
07866 784651
DEMOCRACY: DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
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.
Principal meetings are broadcast live on the Council’s YouTube channel
Council Meetings
Next Borough Council Not Till March!
Tuesday 10 March 7:30 pm Budget Setting Meeting for the Annual Budget 2026/27 (moved from 24 February 2026). Including setting the Council Tax for April 2026 onwards
There is public access for this meeting via a direct lift from the ground floor to the Council Meeting Room, so come and see your elected representatives in action.
Chiswick Area Forum
Monday 19 January
Main Hall, Chiswick Town Hall, Heathfield Terrace, Turnham, W4 4JN, 6.30 for 7.30pm
Informal Meeting at 6.30pm Formal Meeting commences at 7.30pm
Both meetings are open from 6.30pm allowing residents to meet officers of Hounslow Council in Adult and Child care Social Welfare, Education, Housing and other Services (Residents are encouraged to stay on for the main agenda)
Tuesday 3 February Audit and Governance Committee 7:00 pm
Chiswick Area Forum
17 March 2026
Normally at Hogarth Hall, Chiswick Town Hall, Heathfield Terrace, Turnham, W4 4JN, but moveable around Chiswick (please check the website) 6.30 for 7.30pm
Informal Meeting at 6.30pm Formal Meeting commences at 7.30pm
Both meetings are open from 6.30pm allowing residents to meet officers of Hounslow Council in Adult and Child care Social Welfare, Education, Housing and other Services (Residents are encouraged to stay on for the main agenda)
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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