Decision Maker:

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: July 22, 2025

Purpose:

Content: Public Realm Design Guide: Councillor Tom Bruce reminded members of a competition run over the winter months for primary school children to submit artistic ideas for the borough’s public spaces.  He reported that some pupils from Cranford Primary School had been invited to Hounslow House where the winning pupils were presented with prizes and the news that their entries would be featured in the completed public realm design guide that should be published by the end of the current calendar year.   Local Plan update: Councillor Bruce announced that the borough’s Local Plan was submitted to the Secretary of State and was now with the Planning Inspector in readiness for them to announce a public examination.  Councillor Bruce was hopeful this would lead to adoption of the plan by early 2026.  He again recorded his thanks to officers and all who had worked so hard on the process to date.   Update on place provision for vulnerable young people in the borough: Councillor Samia Chaudhary announced that both providers were subject to annual inspections to ensure the care provided met the standards laid out in the detailed regulatory framework.  The inspection results reaffirmed the outstanding rating for the Westbook unit for children with a disability and the good rating for The Ride for teens with additional emotional needs.  Councillor Chaudhary stated that the results reflected the hard work and dedication of the teams who strive each date to provide the highest standards of care and support.    She added that the in-house provision helped the Council reduced its dependency on much more expensive private sector.  The Council was extending its in-house provision with a new home in Bedfont Lane, as well as leading a West London project to develop a new six bed children's home for children with complex mental health needs and challenging behaviour.   The Council would be providing the asset and recruiting a specialist staff team with input from NHS colleagues to run this provision.   The Council’s recent bid to the DFE for 50% capital costs to renovate and remodel the asset had been successful.  An offer of £1.5million was subject to confirmation. Councillor Chaudhary added that the new provision would release pressure on local hospital wards for children's in crisis and deliver saving to the Council's general fund.  Children would benefit from remaining local with continued access to local support networks and in turn the Council would also be better able to manage the rising cost of private sector provision.   Tributes to the late Councillor Sukhbir Singh Dhaliwal: The Mayor led tributes to former councillor Sukbir Singh Dhaliwal, who passed away after a long illness on the 18th of June 2025.  He was born in 1949 and moved to Cranford in 1975 where he raised his family and lived for the rest of his life. He worked as a bus conductor and then bus driver for many years and was a lifelong supporter of the trade unions movement. His political interests soon led him to be selected as a councillor in Hounslow where he had a long career as an elected member serving over 21 years in total over three separate periods. First elected to the council in 1994, he served two terms until 2002 as the Labour member for the Cranford ward.  He was then re-elected to the council in 2006 as a Labour councillor for the Heston West ward until 2010.  He then rejoined the council at a by-election in February 2016, again for the Cranford ward, which he represented until the time of his sad passing a few weeks ago.   During his long service as a councillor, he worked on the Education Committee, the Central Area Housing Forum, he was Vice Chair of the Planning and Transport Committee, the Terminal 5 Panel, the Development Control and Highways Subcommittee, the Unitary Development Plan Panel, the Voluntary Sector Subcommittee, the Heston and Cranford Area Committee, the Pension Fund Panel, the Revenues Appeal Panel and many others.   Former Councillor Dhaliwal also served on a number of outside bodies including the Association of Metropolitan Authorities Highways Committee, the Capital Transport Committee, the Cranford Combined Charities, the Ealing and Hounslow Parking and Traffic Trust, Hounslow Community Transport, the London Borough’s Transport Committee and the Heathrow Airport Consultative Committee.    Former Councillor Dhaliwal had been suffering from declining health in the recent years and had spent some time in hospital since the start of the year. Nonetheless, the Mayor noted that news of his passing had still been a surprise and a shock to everyone who knew or worked with him.  She knew from the outpouring of tributes and appreciation that followed the news of his death that she spoke for the Council as a whole when she said that he was a much liked and respected member across the chamber and that members would miss him.  The Mayor then invited Councillor Shantanu Rajawat to say a few words in tribute to the late Councillor Dhaliwal.    The Leader reflected on former Councillor Dhaliwal’s long service to the community, particularly to those in Cranford but also in Hounslow. He had been the embodiment of the diversity in the Hounslow community with an ever-present value of working hard and raising a family and doing right by those around you.    The Leader expressed his belief that former Councillor Dhaliwal would be missed greatly. Describing all the things he did and what a varied career he had even as a councillor during his time at Hounslow, former Councillor Dhaliwal had done so much and would make sure he would contribute something that would advance the work of any committee he was part of.  The Leader suggested that this was something all councillors should aspire to.    Former Councillor Dhaliwal was well known in and around Cranford.  Despite knowing this, the Leader had been surprised at the outpouring of grief and the number of people who had come to pay their respects at the family home and at the funeral, all with a personal story to tell about him.  The Leader recalled how members would joke in the chamber about how as a lifelong bus driver he had the ability to tell you how to get across London one bus at a time, but to the Leader this was indicative of the extensive bank of knowledge and support that former Councillor Dhaliwal was always willing to share.     The Leader recalled how he often went to former Councillor Dhaliwal for advice adding that, whilst he never gave advice without first being asked, the advice he did give was always very good.  On a personal level, the Leader explained how former Councillor Dhaliwal had taken the decision to stand aside for the 2010 local elections so that Councillor Rajawat could seek election and become a councillor, again indicative of his ability to nurture and promote the next generation and something that the Leader retained as a valuable life lesson.    The Leader acknowledged that former Councillor Dhaliwal’s family would miss him every day and he wanted to let them know that they were not alone and that his extended family of councillors in this chamber would always be with him.    The Mayor thanked the Leader and invited Councillor Ghazala Butt, Cranford Ward to speak.   Councillor Butt spoke of how members were deeply saddened by the loss of former Councillor Dhaliwal who had been a dedicated public servant who worked tirelessly for the community. She described him as a “man of Cranford” who knew its stories, its streets and above all its residents.  His kindness, guidance and commitment would always be remembered. He left behind a legacy of service and compassion and would be missed but not forgotten. Members’ thoughts were with his family and loved ones.  The Mayor thanked Councillor Butt and asked if there were any other members who wished to address the meeting.    Councillor Gerald McGregor spoke of the sadness felt by those in the Conservative Group in paying tribute to former Councillor Dhaliwal.  Councillor McGregor had served alongside him on the Council for many years and while he noted that they came from different political and cultural perspectives, He had always respected former Councillor Dhaliwal’s calmness and his thoughtful manner, and of course his kindness and genuine commitment to the people whom he represented.   Councillor McGregor described former Councillor Dhaliwal as being ‘of the people’, someone who had cared deeply about his community, which had shown in the many ways he conducted himself both in this chamber and outside of it over a long period of time. In many respects former Councillor Dhaliwal had the qualities of what might be called a gentleman, which brought a great deal of credit to him and to the people around him.   Councillor McGregor recalled serving alongside him on various committees and panels over the years, adding that when it came to the point former Councillor Dhaliwal would firmly but quietly make the case for his residents. The thing Councillor McGregor had liked so much about him was his common sense and decency.   Whilst former Councillor Dhaliwal did not have a loud voice, when he spoke everybody in the chamber listened.    On behalf of the Conservative Party, Councillor McGregor paid tribute to former Councillor Dhaliwal’s work on the Council, describing him as fair-minded, always courteous, and with a good sense of humour.   They had many discussions in the old Civic Centre chamber had chatted before and after meetings quite happily.  Councillor McGregor added that he would miss seeing him and having a chat with him about what was going on in his part of the world. Even in times when there had been political tensions in the chamber, former Councillor Dhaliwal had not allowed this to get in the way of a nice comment.  His passing was a complete loss to the Council. On behalf of his Conservative colleagues, Councillor McGregor wished to extend heartfelt condolences to former Councillor Dhaliwal’s family, friends and close colleagues in the Labour Party.     The Mayor thanked Councillor McGregor and invited Councillor Vickram Grewal to speak.  In doing so Councillor Grewal added his thanks to Councillor McGregor for his contribution.  He described how former Councillor Dhaliwal had been someone he had known since he was a young boy when his father served as a councillor.  Former Councillor Dhaliwal had, he said, always made sure Councillor Grewal had had something to drink or sweets, something that continued right up to recent Council meetings in this chamber.    Councillor Grewal described former Councillor Dhaliwal as a polite man and a gentleman, adding that he was almost like a father of the house who took care of everybody and never had a bad word to say about anyone. Whilst this wasn’t because he didn't have any political differences, it was because he conducted himself in a certain manner.  Councillor Grewal described how former Councillor Dhaliwal had welcomed him into Cranford ward in 2022 with open arms.   Only recently when Councillor Grewal had been out in Cranford, he recalled how former Councillor Dhaliwal knew everyone who lived in the area, including details of their grandchildren, family celebrations and what their interests were – even when he last spoke to them.  Councillor Grewal attributed former Councillor Dhaliwal’s success at the ballot box to the fact that he was ‘a man of the people for the people, particularly in Cranford’.   Councillor Grewal expressed his condolences to the Dhaliwal family for whom this was such a big loss, just as it was for members in the chamber.  He asserted that former Councillor Dhaliwal’s legacy would live long in Cranford and in those younger members he had always taken care of.      The Mayor thanked Councillor Grewal for his contribution and asked members to stand for a minute’s silence.