March 2009 Archives

Feltham MP Alan Keen insisted he had 'pushed extremely hard' to keep Feltham jobcentre open as he visited the limited new job services on offer at Hanworth Library.

Mr Keen welcomed the introduction of a new remote service, which will see two advisors visit the library for one morning a fortnight and The Centre Feltham every other week.

Delighted youngsters enjoyed an early burst of Easter yellow in their classrooms last week thanks to 10 tiny chicks who hatched at Bedfont Juniors.

The eggs were on loan to the school from the Living Eggs programme, which works to put youngsters in touch with nature.

Head teacher Ann Broughton said: "The chicks have been great fun. They grow so fast and the children have been absolutely entranced."

Hounslow police have upped their patrols of the area around Bedfont Cemetery following the apparent theft of a gravestone.

The Chronicle reported last week how the family of a former air force sergeant John Moriarty were left devastated after his headstone and other parts of his grave went missing.

Disused allotments in the west of Hounslow could be transformed as part of an 'urban farming' project.

Eco-activist Alex Morrell wants to commandeer half the overgrown Faggs Road Allotments site in Feltham, where just two out of 80 plots are currently used, and develop it as a not-for-profit 'social enterprise'.

A £20 million scheme to replace Feltham People's Centre with a new state-of-the-art college is still hanging in the balance after the Government deferred its decision.

The Learning Skills Council, who were lined up to pay for the ambitious building project, announced last week that they were again deferring their funding decisions on several schemes including the new Feltham Skills Centre.

The gang, also including Pierre Walrond, from Essex, Olutola Gisanrin, of Rotherhithe and Harjinder Khakh, of West Drayton, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to blackmail.

Their hostage was assaulted then bound at the hands and feet and driven across London. He was later held in a car in Berkshire while the gang demanded a ransom of £20,000 from one of his friends.

Spiralling unemployment figures have prompted Hounslow Council leader Peter Thompson to launch one last impassioned plea on behalf of Feltham Job Centre, which is due to close in three weeks.

The unpopular move, which was set in motion before the recession really began to bite, means nearly 1,000 Feltham jobseekers will be forced to travel to Hounslow for job advice and support.