The Richmond upon Thames Council met to discuss several topics, including the approval of minutes, announcements, declarations of interest, petitions, public questions, member's questions, reports of the council's committees, a debate on opposition priority business, reports on joint arrangements and external organisations, reports of the Head of Paid Service, and notices of motion. The council adopted the Richmond upon Thames Climate and Nature Strategy 2025-2030, and rejected a motion to abolish the committee system of governance. A motion on parking charges for large vehicles was also rejected, and a motion on the impact of fair funding review was approved.

Announcements

Councillor Penelope Frost, the Mayor, announced the death of former Councillor Lawrence Oliver, who represented Hammond Peterson from 1978 to 1981. She also announced her appeal and fundraising events for her charities, Small Steps and Crossroads Care, to be held on 13 July at Asgill House.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Gareth Roberts, announced that Sir Vince Cable had accepted the offer of the freedom of the borough and that a special meeting would be arranged in the autumn to honour him for his services to the borough for over 30 years.

Public Questions

Members of the public posed questions to councillors, which covered a range of issues:

• Mr White asked Councillor Julia Cambridge, Chair of Education and Children's Services Committee, about the timing of concessions in special educational needs cases lodged with the first tier tribunal[^1]. Councillor Cambridge said she would respond in writing. [^1]: The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) handles appeals against local authority decisions about children and young people's special educational needs.
• Miss Seven, Ms Wilson, and Ms Tavanya asked Councillor Katie Mansfield, Richmond Town Centre Project Lead Member and White Ribbon Champion, questions relating to violence against women and girls (VAWG), including education for young people, White Ribbon accreditation for contractors, and resourcing and finance for VAWG services. Councillor Mansfield said she would provide a written update of the actions in the Vorg Strategy action plan with 224 and 2025 timescales.
• Miss Head asked Councillor Roberts about the Twinning Reaffirmation Weekend, and its legacy for the borough. Councillor Roberts described the event as a huge success .
• Mr Moshi asked Councillor Cambridge about the disbanding of the SEND Voluntary Forum. Councillor Cambridge said she would take away the concerns about the forum's disbanding and consider them.
• Mr Evans asked Councillor Alexander Ehmann, Chair of the Transport and Air Quality Services Committee, about serious cycle collisions. Councillor Ehmann said he was not in possession of the facts to confirm or support the question.
• Miss Hayden asked Councillor Roberts about the council acting within its own corporate code of governance in relation to reducing gas boilers. Councillor Roberts confirmed that the council would be acting within the corporate governance framework.
• Mr Baker asked Councillor James Chard, Vice-Chair Audit, Standards and Statutory Accounts Committee and Vice-Chair Transport & Air Quality Committee, about Councillor Nancy Baldwin's decision to refuse Councillor Richard Bennett permission to speak on the Pencer Field item. Councillor Chard read out a response from Councillor Baldwin, who was not present, stating that the decision was made to ensure a variety of views were shared and that the business of the meeting could be properly managed.

Members' Questions

Councillors put questions to lead members:

• Councillor Sam Dalton asked about measures to mitigate the impact of Thames Water works on the Upper Sunbury Road. Councillor Roberts said that Thames Water had been asked to implement mitigation strategies, including signage and a dedicated web page, and that double yellow lines had been implemented along Lower Sunbury Road at Thames Water's expense. He added that Thames Water would be fined £5,000 per day for any overrun of the 15-week period allocated for the works and that he would find out where the fine money would go. Councillor Raymond said that the money comes to Hampton Walls.
• Councillor Jonathan Cardy asked what the council had learned from its handling of the Penseford Field issue. Councillor Warren said that the council needed to embark upon important changes with more consideration for people who perform great service in local areas, and that the mental health of many people in the borough must be prioritised.
• Councillor Robin Brown asked about the implications for Richmond of the government spending review and changes to local government finance. Councillor Millard said that Richmond would suffer the biggest percentage loss of grant across the whole of London, and that the council would continue to lobby.
• Councillor Fiona Sacks asked how many Richmond households were likely to benefit from the extension of Free School Meal eligibility to all households in receipt of universal credit[^2]. Councillor Cambridge said that an additional 1,515 school-aged children would benefit from the extended eligibility. [^2]: Universal Credit is a payment to help with living costs, which is paid monthly.
• Councillor Margaret Dane asked how concerned the council was about the effect of welfare reforms on vulnerable adults in Richmond. Councillor Allen said that the council would work closely with voluntary sector partners to mitigate any negative impacts of the welfare reforms.
• Councillor Carey Bishop asked about actions taken to improve security at the old Clarendon School site on Hanworth Road to prevent antisocial behaviour and trespassing. Councillor Roberts said that full-time security was being deployed, CCTV cameras were being installed, and an application for consent to demolish the buildings would be submitted in September.
• Councillor Michael Butlin asked what the council was doing to ensure that the borough's residents and landscapes were resilient to the impacts of heat. Councillor Neden-Watts said that Public Health had issued information and guidance, emergency planning officers had plans in place, and the council was working with other West London boroughs to increase signups to the GLA's Cool Spaces programme.
• Councillor Bennett asked if the Lead Member for Finance would commit to maintaining the agreed 50% level of affordable housing in the Twickenham Riverside development. Councillor Millard agreed, and Councillor McLeod said that the Twickenham Riverside Regeneration was expected to deliver over £43 million in social, economic, and environmental value.
• Councillor Zoe McLeod asked about feedback from exhibitors and attendees at Richmond's pioneering Cargo Bike Fair in June. Councillor Freeze asked how plans were going for introducing more cycling infrastructure to ensure the safety of everyone who purchased cargo bikes.
• Councillor Caroline Wren asked why the summary risk register presented to the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee showed the risk to scheme viability and cost for the Twickenham Riverside project as only 'medium'. Councillor Millard said that the key point was that there was now a more accurate jointly agreed cost base with independent oversight, which gave stronger confidence in delivering on time and to budget.
• Councillor Paulina Vassileva asked for an update on plans for 'Centre Stage Richmond' on 13 September 2025. Councillor Mansfield said that the event would bring the creativity and community of Richmond to the forefront.
• Councillor Kuldev Sehra asked what steps were being taken to try to ensure that the transition to a fully in-house repair service by Richmond Housing Partnership resulted in service improvements for residents. Councillor Varley said that the development of the Social Housing Improvement Plan put residents at the heart of decisions made by housing association partners.

Reports of the Council's Committees

The council received the report of the Adult Social Services, Health and Housing Committee. Councillor Vassil Labour moved reception of the Tenants' Champion Annual Report for last year, highlighting the workload of the service and the Tenants' Champion's role as a critical friend to housing associations. Councillor Alan seconded the report, and Councillor Bennett endorsed the praise for the work she does. The recommendation to receive this report was agreed.

The council received and adopted the Climate and Nature Strategy. Councillor Neden-Watts moved reception of the report, asking the council to adopt the Climate and Nature Strategy as part of the strategic policy framework of the council. Councillor Charance seconded the paper, and Councillor Warlow raised concerns about the retrofitting situation. Councillor Neden-Watts concluded by urging the council to adopt the strategy. A recorded vote was requested, and the recommendation was agreed with four abstentions.

Reports of the Head of Paid Service

Councillor Roberts introduced the report of the independent review into the count error for the Richmond Park Constituency at the UK Parliamentary General Election on 4 July 2024. He apologised on behalf of officers and the council for the error and said that safeguards had been put in place to ensure that the issue could not happen again. Councillor Warlow accepted the apology and made a suggestion to the Returning Officer about a way of avoiding the mistake in future. Councillor Hale requested that an amendment be made to the document to reflect that there are three parliamentary constituencies within the borough, not two. The recommendations were agreed.

Notices of Motion

Councillor Roberts moved a motion to reject the Minister of State for Local Government & English Devolution's characterisation of the committee system of governance as being 'unclear, duplicative, and wasteful', oppose government's plans to abolish the committee system and to force councils to adopt a Strong Leader and Cabinet system, and champion governance that puts residents first and empowers all councillors to play a meaningful role in shaping the future of the borough. Councillor McNulty-Howard seconded the motion. Councillors Bennett, Howell, Crook-Dake, Wren and Eamon spoke in favour of the committee system. The motion was passed.

Councillor Wren moved a motion that the Transport and Air Quality Committee Chair requests officers propose parking charges based on vehicle size and emissions for the 2026/27 budget. Councillor Waller seconded the motion. Councillors Bennett, Eamon, Roberts, Chard, Cardi and Freese spoke on the item. The motion was rejected.

Councillor Millard moved a motion that the council views with severe concern the potential impact on borough finances which could arise from the Fair Funding 2.0 review, supports the call of London Councils to ensure the Fair Funding review leaves no London borough worse off after the review than before, supports the call of London Councils for housing costs to be included in any calculations relating to indices of deprivation, and calls on Government to use the fair funding review to redress the historic imbalance in funding to Richmond Upon Thames and to ensure a package is forthcoming which is fair to Richmond residents. Councillor Cambridge seconded the motion. Councillors Crook-Dake, Bennett, Carroll and Dane spoke on the item. The motion was approved.

A motion on personal independence payments was withdrawn.