The Kew Society Latest

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Design the Kew Society Christmas Card for local charities!
We would like to receive up to three designs per applicant on a local theme from anyone living or working in Kew before June 30, 2007.  Up to 4 different cards may be selected for publication with net proceeds from sales going to local charities (including The Kew Society).

Every submission must have an identifiable theme directly related to Kew and, although no payment will be offered for the selected design(s), the Kew Society will publish the name and contact address of the artist on the cards.  All designs must be the original work of the applicant and any suitable medium, including photography, can be used.

Please send designs, not later than June 30, 2007 to:  The Kew Society, c/o Giles Dixon, 65 Kew Green, Kew, TW9 3AH.  Each design should be accompanied by a letter giving the name, address, phone number and email address of the artist and the title of the work.  Please note that if the card depicts any living person, or private property, you should confirm, with your application, that appropriate consents have been obtained.  A stamped return envelope should be enclosed if you want the artwork returned.

The decision of the Executive Committee of the Kew Society will be final and they reserve the right not to select any of the designs submitted.

Bus Stop in Kew Gardens Village
Letter to TfL to request removal of the underutilised Kew Village bus stop.

Mayor considering the return of the Kew Bridge Bus Lane
When the Kew Bridge bus lane was first introduced in 2002 it caused a substantial increase in congestion along the main feeder routes to the South and created the menace of high speed rat running, especially along Ennerdale Road and other routes to the area's schools.  TfL's own surveys at that time confirmed that bus journeys were in fact slower and, in the face of tremendous local opposition, the bus lane was subsequently removed.  We are therefore concerned that TfL is once again communicating with the Council regarding re-introducing the bus lane and, this time, extending it even further down Kew Road to displace even more traffic.

Aside from a repetition of the previous problems, a consequence of giving over much of the length of Kew Road to a bus lane is that coaches and other vehicles bringing visitors to Kew Gardens will no longer be able to park there and they will consequently shift to the surrounding streets.

See the Society's letter to Peter Hendy, Commissioner of Transport at Transport for London (pdf)

Donation of £250 to HACAN
Letter of support to HACAN (pdf)

Kew Gardens Gates
Opposite the junction of The Avenue with the Kew Road is a gap in the wall surrounding RBG Kew. This was planned to be a major gateway into the gardens when it was thought, in 1868, that Kew Gardens station would be sited at the other end of the Avenue.  For a few months from December 2006, the gap will be re-opened temporarily to facilitate construction vehicles' access to the site of the new gallery for botanical art.  At conclusion of construction, the gap will be closed using the Queen Elizabeth Gates (which originally formed part of the entrance to Kew Palace from the garden).  RBG Kew expect these gates to enhance the vista down the Avenue into the gardens and have advised that they will not be a public entrance.

Council proposals to base residents' parking fees on a vehicle's CO2 emissions
Letter to Richmond Council from Michael Glazebrook (pdf)

Tow Path Restoration
Notes by Michael Glazebrook (pdf) following a presentation by the Environment Agency relating to their preferred option

THE OLD STATION WORKS, 119-123 SANDYCOMBE ROAD
Proposal to demolish all existing buildings on the site fronting the railway (accessed through a gated entrance) and to erect four separate buildings with combined residential, commercial and light industrial use.

• View the plans, drawings and comments submitted to date
• Comment online

The Old Station Works as it could look viewed from North Road across the railway

Minutes of The Kew Society's 2006 Annual General Meeting (pdf)