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Post by batman on Mar 29, 2024 15:34:30 GMT
The Hounslow situation was not as illogical as the Neath one though. I was obviously socialised on the 1978 boundaries and while it did seem a bit odd to me that the wards were so named, there were potentially logical explanations. The West ward did lie directly West of the town centre and also extended further West than did Hounslow Heath. Although the Heath was in the West ward, the frontage of it did abut the Hounslow Heath ward. It occured to me that 'Hounslow Heath' might be a semi-separate community to Hounslow proper (in a similar way as Bushey Heath is to Bushey) and that would have been a satisfactory explanation for me (I don't believe it is but I could be wrong). It is only that they changed to the more logical ordering of the names in 2002 which leads me to believe that they may have made a mistake earlier. I'm not aware of anyone referring to Hounslow Heath as anything except a green space or, very occasionally, a ward name. There is also a Hounslow Heath council estate, but it's in Heathfield ward in the borough of Richmond-upon-Thames & is mostly in Edgar Road. Although it's the name given to the estate on a noticeboard, again I'm not sure it's commonly used in speech to describe it, mostly people just call it the Edgar Road estate. There isn't AFAIK a residential area in the borough of Hounslow commonly known as Hounslow Heath. |
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Mar 29, 2024 16:50:50 GMT
I know that estate. I've driven past it a couple of times. I was shocked when I first did and discovered it was in Twickenham - it was a fairly grim estate
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Post by batman on Mar 29, 2024 17:13:53 GMT
yes, it's fairly grim. There are worse though. I have a friend who lives there of some years' standing, he lives in one of the two council-built tower blocks. Deeper into the estate the low-rise cottages are all right though. The council-built accommodation the other side of the railway but on the same side of the Hanworth Road, just before you get to Hanworth, is fairly good quality. Postally the area is question is in Hounslow & has a TW4 postcode, but it's never been in the same municipality as Hounslow town centre.
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Post by finsobruce on Mar 29, 2024 17:26:09 GMT
The Hounslow situation was not as illogical as the Neath one though. I was obviously socialised on the 1978 boundaries and while it did seem a bit odd to me that the wards were so named, there were potentially logical explanations. The West ward did lie directly West of the town centre and also extended further West than did Hounslow Heath. Although the Heath was in the West ward, the frontage of it did abut the Hounslow Heath ward. It occured to me that 'Hounslow Heath' might be a semi-separate community to Hounslow proper (in a similar way as Bushey Heath is to Bushey) and that would have been a satisfactory explanation for me (I don't believe it is but I could be wrong). It is only that they changed to the more logical ordering of the names in 2002 which leads me to believe that they may have made a mistake earlier. I'm not aware of anyone referring to Hounslow Heath as anything except a green space or, very occasionally, a ward name. There is also a Hounslow Heath council estate, but it's in Heathfield ward in the borough of Richmond-upon-Thames & is mostly in Edgar Road. Although it's the name given to the estate on a noticeboard, again I'm not sure it's commonly used in speech to describe it, mostly people just call it the Edgar Road estate. There isn't AFAIK a residential area in the borough of Hounslow commonly known as Hounslow Heath. I used to know that estate pretty well many years ago as my best friend from primary school lived there. I think you two have a fairly low grimness threshold!  |
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Mar 29, 2024 18:54:24 GMT
I mean by Richmond upon Thames standards..
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Post by evergreenadam on Mar 29, 2024 20:33:55 GMT
yes, it's fairly grim. There are worse though. I have a friend who lives there of some years' standing, he lives in one of the two council-built tower blocks. Deeper into the estate the low-rise cottages are all right though. The council-built accommodation the other side of the railway but on the same side of the Hanworth Road, just before you get to Hanworth, is fairly good quality. Postally the area is question is in Hounslow & has a TW4 postcode, but it's never been in the same municipality as Hounslow town centre. The boundary between LB of Richmond and LB of Hounslow in that area has never made sense to me. It would be more sensible to run the boundary down the middle of Hanworth Road between the railway bridge and the junction with Wellington Road South. That would transfer the Edgar Road estate and the interwar houses backing onto Hounslow Heath into LB of Hounslow. |
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Post by evergreenadam on Mar 29, 2024 20:53:45 GMT
The Hounslow situation was not as illogical as the Neath one though. I was obviously socialised on the 1978 boundaries and while it did seem a bit odd to me that the wards were so named, there were potentially logical explanations. The West ward did lie directly West of the town centre and also extended further West than did Hounslow Heath. Although the Heath was in the West ward, the frontage of it did abut the Hounslow Heath ward. It occured to me that 'Hounslow Heath' might be a semi-separate community to Hounslow proper (in a similar way as Bushey Heath is to Bushey) and that would have been a satisfactory explanation for me (I don't believe it is but I could be wrong). It is only that they changed to the more logical ordering of the names in 2002 which leads me to believe that they may have made a mistake earlier. I'm not aware of anyone referring to Hounslow Heath as anything except a green space or, very occasionally, a ward name. There is also a Hounslow Heath council estate, but it's in Heathfield ward in the borough of Richmond-upon-Thames & is mostly in Edgar Road. Although it's the name given to the estate on a noticeboard, again I'm not sure it's commonly used in speech to describe it, mostly people just call it the Edgar Road estate. There isn't AFAIK a residential area in the borough of Hounslow commonly known as Hounslow Heath. Correct, people don’t really refer to themselves as living in Hounslow Heath, probably because all the development is pretty much contiguous and one part runs into the next. I’m sure the 1978 ward names were a cock up. It doesn’t help that Hounslow West Station is now in a Heston ward! 😂 |
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Post by evergreenadam on Mar 29, 2024 21:00:49 GMT
Do you know if the large scale map showing the existing ward boundaries at the time of the 1999 review is available online? It would be so useful! |
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Post by batman on Mar 29, 2024 21:44:28 GMT
yes, it's fairly grim. There are worse though. I have a friend who lives there of some years' standing, he lives in one of the two council-built tower blocks. Deeper into the estate the low-rise cottages are all right though. The council-built accommodation the other side of the railway but on the same side of the Hanworth Road, just before you get to Hanworth, is fairly good quality. Postally the area is question is in Hounslow & has a TW4 postcode, but it's never been in the same municipality as Hounslow town centre. The boundary between LB of Richmond and LB of Hounslow in that area has never made sense to me. It would be more sensible to run the boundary down the middle of Hanworth Road between the railway bridge and the junction with Wellington Road South. That would transfer the Edgar Road estate and the interwar houses backing onto Hounslow Heath into LB of Hounslow. Of course the boundary exists for historical reasons. I haven't heard of anyone proposing that it be altered, but you're right, it is quite an odd boundary, especially close to the junction of the Hanworth & Wellington roads. It would be interesting to know what the residents would think about being transferred to Hounslow. Those who are owner-occupiers may feel, rightly or wrongly, that the value of their homes would decline if that occurred. |
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Post by doktorb🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ on Mar 29, 2024 21:54:13 GMT
The boundary between LB of Richmond and LB of Hounslow in that area has never made sense to me. It would be more sensible to run the boundary down the middle of Hanworth Road between the railway bridge and the junction with Wellington Road South. That would transfer the Edgar Road estate and the interwar houses backing onto Hounslow Heath into LB of Hounslow. Of course the boundary exists for historical reasons. I haven't heard of anyone proposing that it be altered, but you're right, it is quite an odd boundary, especially close to the junction of the Hanworth & Wellington roads. It would be interesting to know what the residents would think about being transferred to Hounslow. Those who are owner-occupiers may feel, rightly or wrongly, that the value of their homes would decline if that occurred. Never mess with house prices, the Kryptonite of being English. |
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Post by evergreenadam on Mar 29, 2024 22:35:11 GMT
The boundary between LB of Richmond and LB of Hounslow in that area has never made sense to me. It would be more sensible to run the boundary down the middle of Hanworth Road between the railway bridge and the junction with Wellington Road South. That would transfer the Edgar Road estate and the interwar houses backing onto Hounslow Heath into LB of Hounslow. Of course the boundary exists for historical reasons. I haven't heard of anyone proposing that it be altered, but you're right, it is quite an odd boundary, especially close to the junction of the Hanworth & Wellington roads. It would be interesting to know what the residents would think about being transferred to Hounslow. Those who are owner-occupiers may feel, rightly or wrongly, that the value of their homes would decline if that occurred. Council tax in LB of Hounslow is about £300 a year cheaper for a band D property, which might be an incentive. |
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J.G.Harston
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Post by J.G.Harston on Mar 30, 2024 0:38:36 GMT
The boundary between LB of Richmond and LB of Hounslow in that area has never made sense to me. It would be more sensible to run the boundary down the middle of Hanworth Road between the railway bridge and the junction with Wellington Road South. That would transfer the Edgar Road estate and the interwar houses backing onto Hounslow Heath into LB of Hounslow. Of course the boundary exists for historical reasons. I haven't heard of anyone proposing that it be altered, but you're right, it is quite an odd boundary, especially close to the junction of the Hanworth & Wellington roads. It would be interesting to know what the residents would think about being transferred to Hounslow. Those who are owner-occupiers may feel, rightly or wrongly, that the value of their homes would decline if that occurred. I think a better boundary would be to follow the railway line down to the river. I prefer railway lines over roads for boundaries, as areas tend to "back onto" railways lines, whereas they tend to "front" onto roads, and they tend to be stronger features.
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Post by jamesdoyle on Mar 30, 2024 8:50:31 GMT
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Post by arnieg on Mar 30, 2024 9:03:04 GMT
Of course the boundary exists for historical reasons. I haven't heard of anyone proposing that it be altered, but you're right, it is quite an odd boundary, especially close to the junction of the Hanworth & Wellington roads. It would be interesting to know what the residents would think about being transferred to Hounslow. Those who are owner-occupiers may feel, rightly or wrongly, that the value of their homes would decline if that occurred. I think a better boundary would be to follow the railway line down to the river. I prefer railway lines over roads for boundaries, as areas tend to "back onto" railways lines, whereas they tend to "front" onto roads, and they tend to be stronger features.
I was a Councillor for Whitton (the ward adjacent to Heathfield) and among some constituents with a Hounslow postcode it was a perpetual low level grumble. Higher council tax for living in Richmond and higher insurance premiums for being in Hounslow. |
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jdc
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Post by jdc on Mar 30, 2024 11:43:22 GMT
I have a strong memory, though can't find the details, of an occasion a couple of decades ago when a ward (Blackbird Leys in Oxford maybe?) was split in two, and one half continued to be called by the old name, that an incumbent Labour Councillor for the former ward, having gone forward for the block local nomination and been selected for the half in which he lived, and which was safer for Labour, but which had the new name, took umbrage and stood as an independent on the premise of having been "deselected" from representing his ward. |
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Post by evergreenadam on Mar 30, 2024 18:27:23 GMT
These days fortunately there is the facility for a local authority to rename an existing ward themselves, but they do have to wait until a certain of years have expired after the initial election held on the new boundaries.
There have been a few, not particularly well publicised examples, of this happening. I believe it was done for a ward in LB of Wandsworth for instance.
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