Your Questions, Answered

  • You would’ve seen candidates speak about issues such as waste collection, traffic congestion, new housing and developments in the past. However, at the core, there is a lack of transparency about WHAT will be done, WHEN it will be done and HOW it is progressing. This is what I’m aiming to change.

    My first tenet is to improve the transparency of what a ward councillor can do for residents and make it easier for you to reach me with your concerns and queries. A key barrier to greater involvement by the public is the timings of meetings, a lack of awareness of when these are held, how to access records about them and unfriendly timings for the general working population to attend sessions. Therefore, I aim to increase accessibility by:

    1. Holding surgeries at times suitable for the general working population to attend.

    2. Separate small and local business surgeries from general public surgeries to ensure they are getting adequate time and support as supporting local entrepreneurship is key to sustainable development.

    3. Create a dashboard for residents to track what progress we’re making as a ward as well as engage with the local community more deeply.

    While issues that candidates are addressing are largely similar as these are relevant to our ward, my approach is different in trying to affect systemic change and increase the involvement of the general public voice in the decision making process within our ward.

  • Previously, I have been Secretary of the GSS UK, a UK-registered charity focusing on protecting and promoting Konkani heritage. I have also held governor roles in both my children’s schools. Moreover, I am a tax consultant by profession with work experience in large multinational companies, such as PwC and KPMG, and a career spanning over 25 years. During a career break, I have also previously been an entrepreneur and therefore understand through first-hand experience the challenges of small and local businesses.

    Hence, through my myriad of experiences in local and multinational contexts, I believe I am well-equipped to serve our ward as well as represent our concerns, queries and ideas on a larger, Borough platform.

  • I believe that while our colleagues from established parties have done a great job in the past of delivering results, there remains improvements to be made systemically. The lack of alignment to anything other than the interests of our ward specifically mean that an Independent candidate possesses greater versatility in approach to the issues facing us and is therefore more capable of delivering the change we require.

  • Development

    • Brentford is currently undergoing massive redevelopment with upcoming plans to further enhance and capitalise upon the social and economic opportunity West London presents (more on that here: https://centreforlondon.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/West-Londons-Growth-Potential.pdf).

    • As Syon and Brentford Lock, plus our surrounding areas, undergo more development with creation of more housing and population expansion, it is important that our local infrastructure and public services are able to keep up with this. This includes the availability of school spaces, GP practices and adequate public transport with good traffic flow.

    • Therefore, it is important that we question how and where Section 106 funds, contributed by the developer for spending upon local infrastructure, are being utilised and monitor resident satisfaction and if any concerns arise as a consequence of development plans.

    Crime and Safety

    Traffic Control

    • Traffic measures have also been a key concern raised by residents in the Syon and Brentford Lock area.

    • The Hounslow Council has been a strong proponent of Low Traffic Neighborhoods (LTNs) and the South Circular/A4 changes. Previously, pedestrianising Brentford High Street has also been discussed as a possible suggestion but not implemented as it is also an important bus route.

    • While we are currently ahead of the 2041 target in terms of achieving sustainability in travel within our ward, I acknowledge that traffic control, frequent roadworks and lack of parking have had a significant effect on residents.

    • Therefore, I plan to address this through a more significant dialogue between road and traffic planning as well as ward residents.

  • Having been a small business owner in the past, I understand the unique challenges this poses. Currently, I plan to implement the following measures to make our ward a more inviting and supportive home to local entrepreneurs:

    1. Run specific surgeries for small businesses - the needs, concerns and queries of small business owners vary from the general public and so, this allows for a more targeted dialogue as well as helps us speed up assistance.

    2. Create a centralised dashboard for the ward where residents can view progress on key initiatives as well as “What’s On” in the local area and catch important updates. This will help local businesses reach their most immediate customers.

    3. Small business owners have also raised concerns about how a lack of parking and access by car have posed an issue. We plan to find a way to make this work for small businesses while meeting our sustainability targets and the wider council vision for LTNs and public transport usage.

  • Feel free to reach me at hello@aarti-nayak.org!