 Why not join one of our information sessions in March? Our friendly and experienced fostering team will be talking about all aspects of fostering from your journey to getting approved and the training and support you will receive. There will also be an opportunity for you to ask questions.
Here is a quote from a former foster child about the difference being part of a foster family made to their life: “Foster carers provide a home and give a family to children. This is so important because feeling like you have a safe home, that you are loved and belong in a family helps you go to school and into the world more confident and able to grow, try things and become the best version of yourself."
 The Council and local organisations, like Hounslow Promise and Richmond Rugby club, are continuing to help to supply extra laptops for digitally excluded pupils in our borough.
Can you donate a laptop and help a pupil make a success of learning from home?
London Buses’ have issued a warning of major disruption to West London bus services next week, due to industrial action. It is expected that all of Hounslow Borough will be affected.
To combat the disruption and support residents who have no other option but to drive for all or part of their journey, the Council has announced that drivers will be able to park in any on-street pay-to-park bay beyond the normal maximum 2 or 4 hour stay without further charge.
To benefit from this, the driver must purchase the maximum permitted stay in the normal way using Pay-to-Park or a pay and display machine. Although the ticket will show the parking period ending after 2 or 4 hours, we will not issue a penalty charge notice providing the car is moved before the start of the next day’s paid-for parking period.
This special arrangement will run between 08:00 Monday 22 February and 20:00 Wednesday 24 February.
Residents are advised to not travel unless absolutely necessary between Monday 22 and Wednesday 24, and if they have to travel, to check live travel information on the Transport for London website.
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 Do you care about the environment? Do you want to help make the Borough of Hounslow a clean, green, environmentally focussed Borough?
As part of Cleaner Greener Hounslow we have launched a community volunteering opportunity to get residents from all parts of the Borough to join us in making Hounslow a cleaner and greener place to live. We want to empower our communities to make a difference by developing a volunteering network bringing everyone together to tackle environmental priorities.
As an Environmental Champion there are plenty of opportunities to get involved with and improve your local community, such as planting and caring for trees, helping wildlife flourish in the community, taking part in community clean ups, joining discussions and decision making about what the Borough looks like.
You will be part of a dedicated network of motivated volunteers all wanting to see a greener, community focussed and resilient neighbourhood.
We are hosting two induction workshops for volunteers during the first week of March, more details will be provided to any residents that sign up very soon. Sign up today and hear more about the programme.
 As part of LGBTQ+ History Month, there are lots of special virtual events that residents can participate in residents.
It’s all part of the national LGBT+ history month, an annual campaign to tackle prejudice in the community, with Hounslow’s events just some of the many taking part across the country throughout February.
The Harlequins Foundation have launched a series of webinars exploring key themes of equality, diversity, and inclusion, and how sport can use its platform to help improve representation at every level.
The first webinar, will focus on LGBTQ+ representation in sport. Dr Ben Colliver, from the School of Social Sciences at Birmingham City University, will be giving a short presentation, before answering questions from the audience.
 Following on from the first phase of our engagement, where we spoke to a wide range of residents, stakeholders and local businesses to gather their ideas for the future of our four high streets; Brentford, Chiswick, Feltham and Hounslow, we are excited to share the second phase with our communities.
Following the ideas we received, workshops with teams across the Council and advice from our specialist consultants, the draft vision for each town centre has been designed around a number of themes, under which are proposed actions or projects.
Your feedback on these themes and the associated ideas will help shape the final vision documents.
This engagement runs from 19 February to 15 March.
 If you have a parking permit in Hounslow, or you pay for parking on a street or in a car park, these changes apply to you.
Residents, local businesses, and community groups will have a chance to quiz Hounslow Council Cabinet members about the Council's budget proposals during a virtual Question Time event on Thursday 25 February at 6pm.
Leader of the Council, Cllr Steve Curran, will be joined by Cllrs Lily Bath, Deputy Leader of the Council, Shantanu Rajawat, Lead Member for Finance and Corporate Services and Candice Atterton, Lead Member for Adults, Social Care & Health, to answer questions about the proposed budget for 2021/22.
Residents will be able to ask questions during the live event, they can also submit their questions beforehand and these will be responded to in writing after the event by emailing communications@hounslow.gov.uk before 5pm on Tuesday 23 February.
The event will be held on Microsoft Teams and to attend the event on the day please click on this link. In case of any problems accessing the link please read the detailed instructions.
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The West London Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery scheme offers up to £10k to make your home more energy efficient and reduce your carbon footprint. If you are thinking of installing insulation, new heating controls or windows and doors, the Green Homes Grant could help.
Check if you’re eligible by calling our Better Homes, Better Health Team at 0300 365 3005.
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The Police have seen an increase in the number of commercial burglaries taking place across the borough as commercial properties have had to remain closed through lockdown.
As a business you would have invested a great deal of time, energy and money in your business premises, but burglars are cunning and make it their business to gain entry to it. Read the advice from the Met Police on how to deter them.
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 Love Your Career, is Hounslow's first ever careers fair for all year 9 students and their parents or carers in the borough taking place on Wednesday 3 March, from 2pm to 8pm.
Love Your Career is an online student career networking platform designed to help students select their GCSE options by connecting students to local businesses and showcasing the possibilities of future careers or industries.
The virtual online fair will host live Q&A sessions, virtual business stalls and live webinars to help students understand what it takes to unlock different career paths.
Registration to join the event and virtual platform will begin on 22 February from 10am. Students will receive a unique school code from their teachers. Visit the Love Your Career Twitter page for regular updates ahead of the event.
 A series of exciting improvements are planned for Boston Manor Park: we're working on infrastructure, improving access, and making the park safer to use.
Join us to discuss the next stage of the Boston Manor Park works.
Find out more about:
- Project vision
- Project delivery preparation
- What will happen next- improving the Lake and River
- Questions hosted by Cllr Guy Lambert
We will be holding further sessions throughout the project. You can also find more information and view the project blog on the Council's website.
 The Council is preparing an update to our 2014 Urban Context and Character study.
The Council is hosting a stakeholder engagement workshop, on Wednesday 3 March, 6pm to 7.30pm, to discuss the character areas based on resident feedback from the ‘Tell us about your Neighbourhood” Commonplace survey that we held in January and February this year. This will help us define opportunities to improve these character areas.
The workshop will be run by Hounslow Spatial Planning Officers and our Consultants, Allies and Morrison, specialists in town planning and urban designs.
During the event, there will be an opportunity to discuss specific areas in smaller groups.
The areas will be split into:
- Bedfont, Feltham and Hanworth
- Central Hounslow
- Hounslow West, Heston and Cranford
- Isleworth and Osterley
- Chiswick and Brentford
 In partnership with NHS Hounslow CCG we are running a series of online information sessions for carers to support them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The next session will be led by Public Health with a focus on hospital care, admissions and discharges.
 We are Undefeatable has returned with a range of advice to help residents with health conditions get moving around the home.
We’re all spending more time at home, but there are plenty of ways that you can get moving without needing to leave your house. Keeping active can help clear your mind and lift your spirits.
Activities you can do at home vary greatly and include very low-intensity options for moving more.
 If you are aged 65 or over, or you are clinically vulnerable, you can now book your COVID-19 vaccination through the NHS website even if you haven’t yet received a letter.
Appointments are available in Ealing and Wembley.
You must book your appointment before you go to a vaccination centre. We are aware of other scam messages circulating – please ignore them. The NHS will never ask you for money or your bank details for your vaccination – it is free.
You can book an appointment now if:
- you are aged 65 and over
- you have previously received a letter saying you are at high risk from coronavirus (clinically extremely vulnerable)
- you are an eligible frontline health worker
- you are an eligible frontline social care worker
You can book appointments at a larger vaccination centres or a pharmacy that provides COVID-19 vaccinations.
 Do you live or work in the Borough of Hounslow? Do you want to ensure your family, friends, neighbours, colleagues and associates are getting the correct and up-to-date information about COVID-19? Champions can be anyone in the community, it's really easy to get involved.
Join now to be a Community Champion, help the diverse communities in the Borough of Hounslow to stay informed and safe.
 Are you a frontline health or social care worker in Hounslow? Do you have questions about the COVID-19 vaccination programme that you would like answered by a panel of local experts?
Join our live Q&A on Tuesday 23 February from 5pm-6pm by clicking the link.
 We want to say a big thank you to all of you who completed and shared our short COVID-19 Survey. Almost 1,500 of you got in touch, with approximately 32% of respondents coming from the BAME community who we were particularly keen to hear from. Thank you for making time to contact us, as your feedback will help us to improve the service we provide to all our residents. We’re reading through all your responses and our thoughts are with you, your friends and your families. We know times are tough for everyone right now, but we’re here to help.
 Our Heston Library testing site has been open for longer this week to help you access rapid tests if you work long shifts as a key worker, carer, tradesperson or essential retail worker.
Since Monday, anyone wanting a rapid test early or late on a week-day can drop-in at Heston Library between the extended hours of 6.30am and 7.30pm (Mon-Fri).
Rapid testing is available for those who do not have COVID-19 symptoms. If you think you have COVID-19 symptoms book a test online via the NHS website or call 119
Our rapid test sites, for those who do not have symptoms, are located at:
- Hounslow House – 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB
- Heston Library – New Heston Road, Hounslow TW5 0LW
- Isleworth Library – Twickenham Road, Isleworth TW7 7EU
- Staines Rugby Club - The Reeves, Snakey Lane, Feltham TW13 7NB
Please keep an eye on our Twitter page for more information, including all our opening times, and we’ll also provide an update in next week’s edition of Hounslow Matters.
Book online www.hounslow.gov.uk/rapidtest or call 0207 084 9697.
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