Richmond round-up: Best stories of the week

Richmond Nub News has been going for seven weeks, bringing you the latest stories from around the town.

It was an exciting week for us as the Minister of State for Media and Data, John Whittingdale, praised our parent company.

"Nub News, which employs professional journalists and where people can know that facts and stories are properly checked, is fulfilling an extremely important function," Mr Whittingdale said.

We are Richmond's dedicated, hyperlocal online newspaper.

Here we a look at some of our top stories of the week. Click the links to read the full report.

Learning about the Traveller community

Anyone can contribute a story to Richmond Nub News. All you have to do is click the black Nub It button on our homepage and send your story to us.

We also have town figures such as councillors, MP Sarah Olney and the local sports clubs writing for us.

This is a reflective piece about the struggles for Traveller children to attain a decent education, written by Councillor Penny Frost, chair of the Education and Children's Services Committee on Richmond Council and a Liberal Democrat councillor for Ham, Petersham and Richmond Riverside ward.

10k races in Kew Gardens

Two 10 kilometre races are being held in Kew Gardens next month.

The team behind Richmond RUNFEST were forced to postpone their half and full marathons to next April.

But they have persevered and planned two 10k events inside the beautiful Kew Gardens across the September 12-13 weekend, subject to final approval.

Ex-paratrooper's 200km non-stop charity kayak

A former paratrooper from Richmond is paddling 200 kilometres without a break in a determined bid to raise funds for charity.

Joel Whittaker is kayaking the Thames for Bravehound, a charity which is close to his heart and aiming to raise £5,000 via an online fundraising drive.

Great River Race under threat

An urgent appeal has been started to save one of Richmond's most spectacular annual river events.

This year's Great River Race was cancelled for the first time in 33 years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Now the entire event is at risk, due to a crisis which has seen many of its main sources of funds disappear.

Richmond Rugby re-signs Community Group

One of two stories that Richmond Rugby wrote on our pages this week.

The club told how it has signed up community engagement specialists, Community Group, to a new two-year partnership ahead of the 2020/21 season.

In the other story, Richmond Rugby wrote about its new #OneClub Crowdfunding campaign.

Following the departure of Gallagher as the club's main sponsor after six years at the end of last season, coupled with the coronavirus outbreak, the club now finds itself without a main sponsor for the coming season and facing a significant financial shortfall.

Legendary singer-songwriter to headline 6-day Kew the Music festival

Kew will sing along to the smooth sounds of Van Morrison after he was announced as the headline act for a music festival next summer.

The legendary singer-songwriter kickstarts Kew the Music 2021, held across six days in July.

This year's festival was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but a stellar line-up is now in place to ensure it makes a triumphant return next summer.

It begins with a bang on Tuesday, July 6 2021 with Van Morrison taking the stage of Kew the Music 2021. It then continues for the next five days, with a host of star names.

116-home plan on former Greggs bakery site

Plans to replace the former Greggs bakery in Twickenham with a new development including 116 new homes have been refused by Richmond Council.

Developers London Square said they were "disappointed" with the decision made at Wednesday night's planning committee meeting.

The plans for the Greggs bakery site would have provided 116 homes and 175sqm of commercial floorspace.

The redevelopment sought to create a new mews style residential street with access from the existing entrances on Edwin Road and the corner of Gould Road and Crane Road.

Petersham's amazing riverside cocktail bar

Quench your thirst this weekend by grabbing a refreshing drink at this mobile cocktail bar in Petersham.

The river towpath is always a popular route when the sun shines and with temperatures well into the 30s, a cool drink could be just the ticket.

Gareth Holden runs the pop-up bar with friends at the entrance to Petersham and Ham Sea Scouts - just past the meadows on the river towpath.

The scouts are building a new hut and drinks sales will contribute to the cause.

The threat is real: 'incredibly concerned' council leader tells Richmond residents

Richmond Council has joined the Keep London Safe campaign to address low awareness of coronavirus testing and contact tracing in the capital.

This week the council launched a pop-up test centre in Old Deer Park, but its leader Cllr Gareth Roberts said he is "incredibly concerned that too many people appear to be letting their guard down and no longer see Covid-19 as a threat".

Keep London Safe is a collaboration between London Councils, the 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation, supported by Public Health England, the NHS and the Greater London Authority.