Hounslow Chamber webinars
All are free, run for 60 minutes and start at 10:00 am:


4 th June - Business Task Force -
We are pleased that Cllr. Guy Lambert, Cabinet Member for Highways, Recycling and Companies is able to be with us.


11 th June - Business Task Force / Structuring for re-emergence -
We are pleased that Cllr. Katherine Dunne, Cabinet Member for Communities and Climate Emergency is able to be with us.


If you have missed our webinars, you can watch them now:  https://hounslowchamber.org.uk/10015
LCCI has this morning written to government ministers – urging them not to introduce a blanket quarantine for all international arrivals into the UK.
Metro Bank now accredited lender for Bounce Back Loan Scheme

The British Business Bank has made Metro Bank an accredited lender for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme. (courtesy of LCCI)
Freedom Pass

London Councils has received clarification on restrictions on the use of Freedom Passes on the TfL network at busy times , announced as part of TfL’s financial support package from government.

The changes, which are to be introduced on Monday 15 June, will mean passengers with an Older Person’s Freedom Pass, 60+ Oyster photocard or English National Concessionary Scheme pass will not be able to use those passes during morning peak hours.

Older Person’s Freedom Pass, 60+ Oyster photocard or English National Concessionary Scheme passes will continue to be valid at all other times on weekdays and all day on weekends and Bank Holidays.

Passengers with a Disabled Freedom Pass are unaffected and will, as usual, still be able to travel at all times using their Freedom Pass, if they have to use public transport for their journey.

These temporary arrangements will help reduce the risk of crowding at the busiest times, which would make social distancing more difficult to maintain.

You might be rightfully anxious about your business during this time, but we are here to help you to make the best of it. Now is the time to ensure that your digital presence and strategy is as effective as it can be, so that your clients will also feel positive about the future.

Over the last 10 years we have worked with small and medium businesses to effectively transition to the digital space, grow their online presence and improve productivity and sales. We are happy to make available an exclusive offer for all Spaces Chiswick clients, a free digital audit worth £399.

Why not contact us through the link below and see how we can help or add value to your business today. Thank you and we wish you the very best. 

Firstly from everyone at Gunnersbury, we would like to wish you the best of health at this very difficult time. 

I’m the CEO of Gunnersbury Estate (2026) CIC, a small not-for-profit organisation responsible for managing and maintaining Gunnersbury Park & Museum, aiming to create a leading heritage and leisure venue that serves all our diverse communities.

By now you will no doubt have seen that Gunnersbury Park Café was destroyed in a fire in the early hours of Friday morning and has been completely destroyed; a significant blow to the community.  
Gunnersbury Park Café pictured after the fire

What you might not be aware of is that every time you bought a cup of tea or coffee in the café, approximately 25p (10%) of that money was invested by us directly back into the maintenance and care of the park and museum. Those 25p’s along with 10% of the price of your pizza or sandwich amounted to over £70k per year, which has now been wiped out. 

Gunnersbury CIC was already badly hit by Covid-19. We rely on income from our private hires and public programmes to thrive and survive, but due to the outbreak we have lost 40% of the entire yearly income over the space of a few weeks. 

Gunnersbury is now facing the double whammy of the lost income from both Covid-19 and the recent fire to the café.  To be blunt we are forecasting a funding gap of £250k this year, and – unless the outlook changes the closure of the organisation. 
This week we have launched a fundraising campaign called #YourGunnersbury asking you to donate £10 , the equivalent of a few cups of coffee, or whatever you can afford. We are hoping to raise £25,000 over the summer months to help us ensure that we keep #YourGunnersbury thriving now and well into the future.


We’ve worked incredibly hard to keep the park open for you and our community during lockdown. We have seen thousands more people using the park during this time and it’s been heartening to hear how the park has been a ‘lifeline’ and a ‘sanctuary’ to so many during the lockdown. If you have visited recently you will of seen our gardening team working flat out to keep the park looking beautiful. They’re the same team responsible for the multi-coloured blaze of tulips that have been bringing joy to many.

We know that times are difficult, and I’m sure you’ve had many appeals from similar organisations, but if you feel that could give just £10 , your support will help us to ensure that we keep Gunnersbury thriving for you and our community, now and well into the future. 

Look after yourselves, and we’ll do our utmost to keep Gunnersbury a safe and welcoming place for you.  

David 
CEO, Gunnersbury Estate (2026) CIC 
Water your new tree today - URGENT APPEAL

Today we are launching our emergency Chiswick Tree Adoption Scheme .

Over the last few months 95 new trees have been planted around Chiswick. This is a praiseworthy initiative. However the weather has been exceptionally dry, many of the trees were planted too late in the season, and without our help they will not survive. 

So please read on, look at the list , find the tree nearest to you that you can water, and sign up to adopt it. Otherwise we will simply have 95 new dead trees in Chiswick - maybe more as even more mature trees are struggling in this new hot dry climate.

We should all be aware of the importance of trees in fighting the effects of climate change and as pollution mitigators. Last year Hounslow, along with many other London Boroughs, declared a climate emergency and tree planting was declared an important plank of this strategy. In addition to their contractual obligations to replace dead or removed trees, Hounslow Highways stepped up and offered to plant an extra tree around the borough for each of their 140 members of staff.

That’s the good news. A lovely selection of new trees, including hornbeams, liquidambar, tulip trees, sweetgum, field maples and whitebeam, has been planted.

The bad news is that the planting took too many months and was only completed in mid-May, during a long spring drought that has so far lasted three months. This was the driest May since 1896, with only 10mm of rain, following on the sunniest April ever. In theory Hounslow Highways will water each tree. In practice, they will not get round the trees in time as there are simply too many planted out of season, it is too dry and of course there is a pandemic on so they have other stuff to do too.

We can either wring our hands, blame “the council” and watch the young trees die, or we can step up, roll up our sleeves and fill our watering cans. Abundance invites you to read this list , find the tree nearest your house and sign up to keep it alive.
Good News:
Hotel plans for Sipson Road (courtesy of Capital West London)

Sipson Property have submitted plans for a new hotel near Heathrow.
The detailed plans, designed by RPS CgMs, would involve the demolition of the existing Douglas Webb House at 546 Sipson Road in Sipson, and the construction of a new building ranging between one and six storeys high containing a 302 bedroom hotel with restaurant and car parking. The development has been designed to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating.
Hounslow Chamber of Commerce is the primary support, networking, and representation organisation in west London for SMEs.

We support the interests, the commercial aspirations and the investment for some 18,000 firms - from Chiswick to Feltham, Heathrow to Osterley and Brentford to Bedfont - the Chamber is the voice for all businesses located in the borough.