We are delighted that the new Mayor, elected on 17 May, is Cllr Michael Cartwright. Michael was elected as a Councillor in 1992 and represents Broadway Ward. He was Deputy Leader from 2014 – 2017. He is a member and long term supporter of the work of the Hammersmith Society. We understand that Cllr Mercy Umeh will continue in the role of Deputy Mayor.

We also wish to congratulate Rosemary Pettit on her appointment as Mayoress and Consort to the Mayor. Rosemary has been on the Hammersmith Society committee for several years and was Chairman from 2012 to 2015.

The Hammersmith and Fulham Air Quality Commission report was adopted by the Council in November. The Commissioners, chaired by Rosemary Pettit, have recently asked the Council for an update on the Commission’s recommendations.

A total of 25 recommendations were presented to LBHF council, and 17 of these have been acted upon. These include an Urban Ecology Plan, an increase in diesel permit charges, a target of converting Council fleets to low-emission vehicles, and arboricultural and greening policies to be promoted in the Local Plan and Supplementary Planning Documents. Further details

At Government level, MPs from four influential committees will launch a joint inquiry into the scale and impact of UK air pollution. The Environmental Audit Committee, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Health Committee and Transport Committee will consider mounting scientific evidence on the health and environmental effects of toxic air. The H&F Air Quality Commission report will be submitted to the inquiry.

At GLA level, the Mayor of London is to prioritise air quality in a new London Plan, expand use of electric buses, reduce vehicle ‘idling’ and review London’s Climate Change and Energy Strategy.

This is the panel set up to advise the Council and Planning Officers on the design quality of major planning schemes.

We have been critical of the operation of the panel for a long time as we felt it was not transparent in its operation nor representative of local views. The current administration closed the panel down at the beginning of last year. The panel has now been reinvigorated and we are delighted that our comments and recommendations have been listened to, and the new panel will include non-architect members from the Hammersmith Society, the Fulham Society and the Hammersmith and Fulham Historic Buildings Group. The West London Architectural Society and the local RIBA Branch will also be able to nominate local representatives.