Another stretch of the high street will be worked on by Thames Water now from the 7th until the 10th of February – potentially creating more tail backs during busy times.

In addition to this, unfortunately yet more work is required on the railway bridge roundabout because the previous additional repair & rebuild did not meet the council’s required standards after it was replaced during bridge strengthening work.

Locals might feel history repeating itself – several years ago the same roundabout was moved several times due to long vehicles such as buses finding it difficult to manoeuvre around the raised roundabout.

Council contractor Conway Ltd will carry out these works between 9:30am and 4pm from Monday 13th February 2012 at the junction of Broad Street, High Street and Park Road. Weather permitting, the work should take one week.

During this time, traffic management will be put in place to prohibit right-turns into Park Road (from Broad Street) – instead road users should cut down The Causeway or find alternative routes. Parking restrictions will be in place nearby and cars parking in “no waiting” areas may be towed away.

The company is currently recruiting to fill a variety of positions for the new restaurant. As with all Carluccio’s, management positions include incentives such as trips to Italy as part of the package!

The reasons for the closure of Belmont Bakery have recently become clear – the owner has been fined £10,000 for hygiene breaches and ordered to pay £6,000 in costs for the case. The bakeries in this small chain have now been closed after a bankruptcy notice was served in November. Food hygiene regulations were found to be seriously breached after surprise inspection following a tip-off by a resident.

Ellis’s has left the high street and are now concentrating on private catering and cakes for special occasions. This newly launched business will launch in February. This unit won’t be empty for long though because in it’s place “Teddington Cafe” will be opening in 6 weeks.

The lawn-mower shop on Stanley Road has now disappeared as mysteriously as it opened and Midnight Movies on Kingston Road is now also closed. Oakleys furniture store looks like it now has new owners and has been rebranded “Furniture Outlet” – with mostly the same stock on sale.

“Higher Space” has opened in one of Teddington’s oldest buildings, above BoHo boutique, offering various treatments and classes including yoga, meditation, reiki healing, chakra balancing, acupuncture and various types of massages. Contact higherspace@rocketmail.com for more info or to book any treatments.

If you haven’t yet done so, you can visit the Teddington Constitutional Club as a guest. The club is a hidden gem on Stanley Road, just off Broad Street. The private club has many amenities include a large bar, lounge area, function room (for hire), pool table, dart board and three full-size snooker tables. Various events are held regular including DJ Ann Taylor’s Northern Soul Nites on Thursdays.

Getting up early in the morning to train canoeists on the Thames definitely its benefits, like this stunning sunrise. Photo: GB canoeing coach and 3 times Olympian sprint canoer Paul Darby-Dowman
.

F1 presenter Jake Humphrey celebrates reaching Teddington Lock with a Vettel ‘number one’ finger. The Lock marks the halfway point on a 10k run from his home in Richmond as part of pre-season training that isn’t limited to just the drivers!

Someone clearly likes exploring local scenes early! A still and moody morning on the Thames and early morning reflections at The Architects Gallery. Photos: sardinista

We have so far escaped the harsh winter of last year but some frosty mornings have started to creep up on us and with the plummeting temperatures, this week will see some great winter scenes in the park. Photos: Max Ellis

Your Local Plumbing Company of Hampton Hill have mentioned that there is a burst water main that is affecting pressure across the area. Thames Water are on the case trying to fix this currently.

Don't panic if you don't have any water in TW areas, there is a burst water main, Thames Water are currently fixing the problem!—
Yourlocalplumbingco (@plumbinglocal) February 01, 2012

[Update 12:30pm]

Burst main in Twickenham causing no water and low pressure. We're sorry for the inconvenience and will restore supply as soon as possible.—
Thames Water (@thameswater) February 01, 2012

[Update] water main has now been fixed and supply has returned to affected areas.

An un-assuming semi-detached house has produced a steady stream of world-class athletes in recent years and made locals used to the sight of the “Teddington Kenyans”. PACE Sports Management under the leadership of Ricky Simms owns “the running house” where hopefuls eat and train together in nearby Bushy and Richmond Parks as well as the track at St Mary’s University.

Olympic, Commonwealth and World Champions have all been through the training process at this “enclave of excellence” where Mo first noticed how obsessed the Kenyans were with their training regime. At certain times of the year, PACE-managed Usain Bolt also can be seen training in the area, staying at a B&B and feeding his love for Chinese food at a local takeaway.

Although travelling the world for training and competitions, Mo regularly returns home to his home nearby and his beloved training ground. This weekend he was back running in Bushy Park again, this particular time with Stars Gym.

Teddington is seen by many as a ‘base of Excellence’ for training due to nearby Bushy Park, equipment specialists Sweatshop, personal trainers such as gym-free In-Kilter Fitness and sports injury specialists such as Physio & Therapy.

Even if you’re not aiming to be a professional athlete there is plenty of encouragement and advice available nearby and you can also join in the free Bushy parkrun every Saturday at 9am.

This event follows on from the successful public meeting held in November 2011 at the church, where 350 people attended to discuss the possible future of the hospital.

At the February meeting, a presentation on the work and progress by The League of Friends, including the exploration of developing a Social Enterprise Model of ownership for the hospital. The meeting will also provide an opportunity for the community to put forward their views about the future of the hospital.

An online petition has also been sent up by The League of Friends of Teddington Memorial Hospital providing another way for the community to show their support.

[Update 06/02/2012] You can now download a summary of what was discussed on the evening including thoughts from Dr Graham Lewis MBE, advisor Zac Arif and MP Vince Cable and news that the online petition has now received over 12,000 signatures.

Pamela Bryant MBE, Chairman of The League of Friends of Teddington Memorial Hospital presenting at the meeting with the panel (left to right):
Zac Arif, Advisor to the League, Julian Naylor, Trustee and Company Secretary of the League, Baroness Hilton, Chairman of Teddington Society and General Practitioner Dr Graham Lewis MBE and Dr Kate Moore

Dr Graham Lewis MBE giving his presentation

“Craig House” on Park Road is a development by Richmond Housing Partnership of affordable houses and is still on track to be completed on time despite the theft of lead from the building site. Neighbours are encouraged to report any suspicious activities on the site after 5pm week days or any time at the weekend to the police.

Craig House on Park Road

Bulldozers last week moved in to start the demolition of the Somerset House site – this is a large development that campaigners fought against on the grounds of overcrowding in an already highly populated town vs parking spaces and other amenities.

Somerset House demolition. Photo: Avery Architect

The plans for Kingston Road Shell Station housing development are now online – a slightly amended number of dwellings, now seven three-bedroom houses and one two-bedroom flat. Residents are still finding it difficult to head to petrol stations further afield to fuel-up.

View Larger Map
Red: permission still pending or denied
Grey: permission granted & work underway or complete

Some developments never see the light of day – they are rejected or withdrawn such as this plan to add an additional floor to Causeway House for residences. It’s great to see that developments are no longer languishing whilst they awaiting funding but it cannot be denied that the population of Teddington is definitely growing!

As part of the hospice’s volunteers campaign, the Business Secretary aimed to show visitors to the shop that even in these hard times of austerity, giving your time can be just as rewarding and invaluable for local charities.

Vince, Patron of Shooting Star CHASE said of his day at the shop: “It is a very successful, well organised and well laid out shop. I have helped on the till, steamed donated clothes and helped with some cleaning. The staff have made me feel so welcome, they have a great spirit… I would encourage anyone to come and volunteer for Shooting Star CHASE. Volunteers are vital and make a big difference to the charity.”

Val Hall, Shooting Star CHASE Senior Retail Co-ordinator added: “It was fantastic to have the Business Secretary volunteer with us. He really proves that donating your time is vital to charities. Shooting Star CHASE’s volunteers are so important in keeping our shops going, and although we have many dedicated volunteers, we still need more.

“We hope that Dr Cable’s example will spur local residents to follow suit and donate their time to make a real difference to over 500 local families that rely on our support.”

For those able to help out, Shooting Star CHASE are currently looking for new volunteers for their shops in Teddington, Twickenham, Hampton Hill, Shepperton, Whitton and Ashford. For more information on volunteering, click here.

One possible future for the hospital involves a Social Enterprise ownership model where the development of services would be decided locally via partnerships with the community and the health and social care services – helping to secure its future as a local GP and community hospital. You can find out about how the investigation into this and other plans are progressing at several up-and-coming dates.

There are two January ‘Drop-In’ dates – informal meetings at Teddington Baptist Church Hall on Monday 16th January. This will be split into two sessions – parents with young families 11am-2pm to discuss services for children at the hospital (any suggestions will be welcome). Then 7:30-9pm for any member of the community to talk about any additional services, clinics etc. If you are short on time you can drop in for a brief spell as these will be informal in nature.

Following on from these sessions a public meeting will be held on February 2nd at the same venue 7-9pm where a presentation on work and progress so far will be made. Opportunities for feedback will also be available – TMH is the community’s hospital and the League of Friends want your involvement.

Although strong assurances have been recently made by NHS bosses that its future more secure than it has ever been (particularly with governments plans to move more patients to hospitals in their communities), the main concern still remains that the proposed creation of a Foundation Trust which may be at risk of a future merger. If you cannot attend any of the meetings you can show your support by adding your name to the online petition.

Recently a group of artists lent their work to the hospital for an exhibition so that patients and staff could enjoy them on site. Richmond Arts Service transported 30 paintings, graphic designs and old photographs (most of local scenes) to the hospital for this special exhibition.

Studies have shown that showing works of art in hospitals can reduce anxiety, stress and depression for patients, as well as staff and visitors! The hospital has run similar schemes involving voluntary visitors to chat to patients and well-behaved bed-side pet visits.

The League of Friends of Teddington Memorial Hospital have a proud record of voluntary service to the hospital and have raised several million pounds since its inception to help improve facilities and equipment.

Restaurant sites are being snapped up by companies including Brasserie Blanc. It is believed however that talks have been underway with Carluccios to take on this premises – more news once this is confirmed.

On Kingston Road, the ever-increasing threat of online movie streaming and rental by post has almost certainly been the cause of Moonlight Movies closing down – a sale is currently helping owners sell any remaining stock of movies and fireworks. On Stanley Road a lawnmower seller has taken residence in the ex-tattoo shop so head over there if you are looking to get the lawn in order for spring.

The latest estimates from Travelodge for the opening date of their new hotel is May 2012 – recently the building changed hands £9.4 million on the basis of Travelodge’s 25 year lease and income from roof-mounted phone masts.

Fielding Gould has now closed to pave the way for Hamptons International to move in. In pub news, the leasehold for The Hogarth is currently up for sale by owners Fullers. Coffee-lovers with kids will be happy to learn that Teeney Weenies ‘kids play cafe’ will be opening on the 23rd January at Teddington Baptist Church.

The January Sales are well upon us – every other shop seems to have a sale sign in the window and big discounts are available. This comes amidst news of supermarkets biggest ever store opening plans in history (could be 50% more trading space created) will only increase the threat to our high streets in the UK.

Richmond has however been named one of the most likely borough’s to bounce back from the recession due to support for local businesses.

Councillor Fleming (cabinet member for community, business and culture) has praised recent initiatives including the creation of the business and retail champion post, Christmas lights investing and help with parking from the RichmondCard and removal of yellow lines in town centres. Although Richmond is in a better position than some, we should all keep supporting our local businesses to help them in these difficult economic times.

Local retail specialist Philip Downer has posted his thoughts on Mary Portas’s high street report here with his take on the recommendations.