September was a historic month, with the HM the late Queen passing away early in the month and the reign of King Charles III beginning. This meant much of what was planned for the month was cancelled or postponed and most of September was in celebration of the Queens life and contribution to society.
The Queen's Passing
The Queens passing meant that all meetings were cancelled during the mourning period, except for a special meeting of the Council to pay tribute the Queen and mark the start of the new Monarchs reign. In addition to this I attended various ceremonies such as the local Proclamation of King Charles III, a minutes silent for HM the Queen, signing the book of condolence and, attending a service of commemoration of the Queens life at St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Bromley. Along with Councillor Adam Grant (Shortlands) I also queued through the night to pay my respects at the Queens lying-in-State.
In the Civic Centre
Prior to the Queens passing I attended a meeting of the Adult and Social Care Policy Development & Scrutiny Committee. After the mourning period when meetings had resumed, I attended the Rights of Way Sub-Committee where I was able to vote in favour of giving legal recognition to a footpath over Hayes Street Farm.
In the Community
I was unable to attend a meeting of the Keston Village Residents’ Association but Councillor Michael was present. Both our Street Surgery on Station Approach and my drop-in surgery at Hayes Library went ahead as these were prior to the Queens passing.
I have been dealing with issues around Hayes Lane – mostly the parking situation during the car boot sale. I have raised this issue a number of times with Council Officers and am working with them to identify the best solution. At the end of the month Enforcement Officers were present during the boot fair, at my request, to observe some of the parking issues which take place. I will be discussing the outcome of this with Officers at the Civic Centre. There were also a number of planning appeal decisions relating to Hayes Street Farm. I will report on these separately.
Councillor Alexa Michael and I also joined the Councils Portfolio Holder for Sustainability, Green Services and Open Spaces, Councillor Aisha Cuthbert, in Coney Hall to meet with Sarah, Chair of Environment Action Coney Hall (EACH), where we discussed the Pollinators Corridor that group would like to establish to improve bio diversity.
I also met with a group of Hayes residents concerned about Husseywell Park. We discussed a possible bid for funding for improvements from the Councils Jubilee Park Fund. I look forward to reporting on the development of this.
At the end of the month Southeastern Railways announced the new timetable which would take effect from December, which unfortunately, includes the removal of the Cannon Street services from the Hayes line. This is going to have a big impact on how local people can get to the City of London so my ward colleagues and I have teamed up with Member of Parliament Bob Stewart and neighbouring Councillors to petition Southeastern against the changes.
That is my report for September 2022. October is looking more busy with meetings cancelled from this month set to be rescheduled.
