| Topic: | Chiswick Couriers - delivering local businesses to Chiswick during lockdown | Forum Home |
| Posted by: | David Lesniak | |
| Date/Time: | 02/11/20 07:13:00 |
| On Cllr Biddolph's "Circuit break/Lockdown thread" Edward Seaton calls out Boris Johnson for being behind the curve. On that we can agree. But the good doctor neglects to mention LBH and Steve Curran and his all Labour Cabinet. So this is for Ed: I'm glad you mention government being behind the curve. Hounslow Cabinet has proven to be woefully behind the curve in terms of supporting businesses during this pandemic. They like a good photo op promoting free cargo delivery all the while ignoring the fact that delivery option is, in fact, costing businesses using that platform 20% of the order's cost. Other delivery platforms such as Deliveroo cost traders 30%. LBH has chosen to shut down access to the very community local businesses serve. Your colleagues (perhaps even you) have chosen to antagonize local businesses on the cusp of a second lockdown not to mention on the brink of collapse by threatening to boycott them because they object to the notion of a united community. Access for one. Access for all type thing (FYI Paulo, I'm putting up the poster today if you want to stop by and take a pic). Today we will be sending all LBH councillors an email. We found ourselves in a similar situation in July when LBH had zero plans to allow businesses to access the pavement in time for reopening July 4th let along to maximize the Eat Out scheme. So they were literally behind the curve. Every other London borough had an outline. Hounslow did not. Again, they are behind. They are promoting their agenda at a literal and figurative cost to local businesses. The likes of Ocado and Amazon can carry on as ever before. But local businesses with developed relationships and customers do not. Local businesses will be charged or worse, penalized, for using the local road network. So today we will promise this: we will deliver anything from any local independent trader during this next lockdown. For free. Unless, of course, it needs a van in which case we will discuss. Many of them do not have the means to do so. But we do. We will use the shortest quickest route that we know of because we know this community. And by doing so we will have more time and resources to dedicate to the next delivery and the next one after that. That is how delivery logistics work. When we drop off in one neighborhood we can collect from that neighborhood's traders and continue on. We will walk when possible. We will drive when needed. We do not have a cargo bike. We cannot now afford one. Donations accepted. No business should kneel down to campaigners nor a tone-deaf inept council that has steadfastly refused to engage with this community and its elected representatives. No business should be made to kneel down especially now when there are no knees left. To anyone who knows of their preferred local businesses who need help with this, please put them in touch with me. We will help them out. For Ruth Mayorcas - you might like to know we helped out Rhythm and Brews with their pavement seating back in July. For Karen Liebreich - you might like to know we are helping Parle Pantry out by giving them access to our kitchen to avoid them having to shut down in the coming days. To anyone who used BloBar about a year ago - you're welcome. It was our electricity they used for a month as they had to tap into our service while they sorted out whatever the hell was going on with theirs. To Guy Lambert - you're welcome for our contributions to Hounslow Foodbox. Where were you when businesses needed your support? Our money is precisely where our mouths are. On that you can rely. We will collect any PCNs and present them to Steve Curran for cancellation. He can liaise with Serco. Or he can delegate to Katherine Dunne if she's not too busy conflicting herself. We'll be too busy propping up the local economy and traders. Without them there will be no community. Should he/they not, we - every single local independent business - will then be able to promote LBH as being anti-business and anti-support during this second lockdown. We can expose them for precisely what they are: ignorant of Chiswick's needs and driven only by their agenda unable to recuse themselves when appropriate. Unable of democracy. We will also be able to shine the anti-business and anti-support light on all LTN campaigners and on the Hounslow Cycle Campaign. I guess you could say, we'll also be delivering a bit of democracy along the way. |