If residents need to contact the association they can now do so via E-mail. Our address is h.a.d.r.a@hotmail.com

Editor: John Clarke Editorial Advisor: John Peecock Printed by R. Young & Sons, 360 Brighton Road, South Croydon, Surrey CR2 6AL, Tel: 020 8680 2242

Newsletter of the Hartley and District Residents’ Association Spring 2009 Protecting and Advancing the Common Interests of the Area

Subscriptions £3 Subscriptions are now due for 2009, if you

have not paid please send payments to the Treas-urer, 52 Hartley Hill, Purley, Surrey CR8 4EN

All residents are invited to the Hartley and District Residents’ Association

Annual General Meeting. See page 2 for details

Are the protesters of the third runway at Heathrow NIMBY’s (Not In My Back Yard)? They were fighting against thousands of extra flights over London homes. What’s wrong with that? It’s democratic. And there is nothing intrinsically good about more flights over our heads is there? Nothing good about the destruction of a 1,000 year old village – Sipson together with a local graveyard. Nothing good about the significant in-crease in roads, maybe more villages will disappear to provide the road network needed for the increase in traffic, noise, fumes and en-vironmental damage. Is there? It will change the lo-cal people’s lives forever. The alternatives should be examined. Can it ever be ‘good’ to subject our chil-dren to this pollution. There won’t be much lichen there (please see photographs).

Now we come to our area. Designed to be a ‘healthy development’ in the 1930’s by and large this has re-mained pretty immune from desecration, unlike Pampis-ford Road, and Foxley Lane. HADRA is not against hous-ing people, what it is against is spoiling what ex-ists. The very reason people live here and visit here can easily be destroyed, as has happened at Thornton Heath which used to be just like here. The HADRA area

is still healthy as the local environment can support the number of residents – at the moment – because of the gardens, the shrubs, the trees and the relative open spaces. The evidence for this is lichen. The more there is on our trees (see top photo) indicates the lack of pollution and is a healthy sign. A tree without lichen (see bottom photo) means that there is too much pollution. Most towns have very little on the trees. Back to what’s good. Is it good to make a very pleas-ant area more crowded, more polluted? Recently, an application was passed on appeal to build a bungalow in a back garden which HADRA opposed and was turned down by the plan-ning department. We do not want this to be the thin end, the start of harmful develop-ments; the Conservative Council policy supports this and our opposition and theirs, was defeated on ap-peal by a government de-partment.

Will any back garden de-velopment improve things? Will it be better than it was before? Will it increase the carbon footprint? It is up to us all to care. Look at the l ichen. Suppor t the GREENLANDS project. (Please also see the British Lichen Society website-www.thebls.org.uk).

ADVERTISE YOUR

BUSINESS

The Newsletter is circulated to 1000 households in the Hartley area. We can run an adver-tisement in our bi-annual newsletter. If you wish to ad-vertise, please cont ac t Jo hn Clarke 0208 660 0845 or E-mail hadra@blueyonder.co.uk. Just give us the information and we will agree a design with you for no charge. Now the website is up and running we will include a link to your website if you have one.

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OFF for HADRA

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

All residents are invited to the AGM. This will be held at Coulsdon Manor Ho-tel in the Churchill Suite on Wednesday 10th June 2009. Light refreshments will be served from 7.15pm, and at 7.30pm representatives from our two com-munity police Safer Neighbourhood Teams will talk for 30 minutes on police issues. Then at 8.00pm, Steven Wise, senior ranger working for the City of London, and responsible for Kenley and Coulsdon Commons, will give a 30 minute illustrated talk on issues concerning these open spaces which are very much in our local area. This ties in neatly with our own Greenlands ap-proach, advancing the cause of the environment. The AGM itself will then fol-low and you will then have the chance to ask your committee or your council-lors any questions which you may have.

THE PROGRAMME 7.15 Meet in Churchill Suite for light refreshments 7.30 Talk by Police Safer Neighbourhood Teams 8.00 Talk by Steven Wise, senior City of London ranger, on our open spaces. 8.30 AGM 9.00 Your questions 9.15 Q & A with our Councillors Your nominations are required for new Committee members as well as a Chair. Please let the Secretary (details on back page of this newsletter) have the name and contact details of anyone who is prepared to consider helping the Committee.

Councillor Chris Wright He was born and edu-cated in Lincoln. After serving 5 years in the RAF he first joined Thomas Cook and Sons and then pursued a career in mar-keting and for the last 12 years before retirement owned and was Managing Director of a Direct Mar-keting company specialis-ing in the travel industry. He 'cut his political teeth' as a young councillor in central London before marrying Marlene. They have lived in Old Couls-don since 1968 and their three children were all educated at local state schools. In 1990 Chris was elected to Croydon Council and has continually repre-sented Coulsdon East Ward since then. After being opposition spokesman for planning for 6 years, Chris became

Cabinet Member for Plan-ning for 2 years and is now Chairman of the Planning Committee. With that post he com-bines being chairman of Croydon's Public Trans-port Panel, the Road S a f e t y P a r t n e r s h i p and the Greenlink Com-mittee. As a long term governor of both Coulsdon College and the Oasis Academy Coulsdon (formally Couls-don High School ), he is keen to raise education standards and to provide a better local education for local post-11 young-sters. As well as being the Council's Climate Change champion, Chris has a life long interest in the envi-ronment and is passionate about maintaining the character and quality of the local area. "This is one of the main reasons I became a local councillor " he says, "if our genera-tion does not fight for this, we will not be forgiven by our grandchildren. I know how lucky we are to live in this area and we must aim to maintain and improve it".

HADRA Greenlands proposal to stop hous-ing infill and environmen-tally protect our large gardens directly ad-dresses the threat of global warming. This concern has a historical origin related to the building of our houses in the 1930’s when the area was considered a ‘health resort’ on the out-skirts of London. This marketing slogan re-flected the large gardens and unpolluted air in the area in those days, and if we wish to maintain good health, clean air is just as important today. The Greenlands pro-posal opposes more houses, more people and more cars which would be the conse-quence of using gardens in order to allow housing infill. Greenlands also includes added protec-tion for all green space from Farthing Downs to Foxley Woods, the pro-tection of wildlife and the creation of more cycle ways and footpaths in order to reduce the need for the car.

Greenlands was proposed at the HADRA AGM in June 2008. The next stage is to raise awareness of these issues, and con-sider ways forward. The Greenlands walk is in-tended to highlight our vision and see whether support exists to create a broader proposal for the entire area, within which Greenlands can be launched. The most

logical approach is for HADRA to support the nat ional Trans i t ion Towns initiative, of which Totnes in Devon is the leading light. Both Mer-ton and Brixton are in the process of joining, but London is otherwise indifferent.

Transition Towns is about reducing our reli-ance on fossil fuels by developing local food, local skills, local busi-nesses, local facilities and generally reducing road transport and distri-bution. HADRA consid-ers it the ultimate solu-tion to Coulsdon’s con-tinuing decline as a local centre. This is because it pulls together all the concerned individuals, Residents Associations and local groups, and unites them with a com-mon purpose, to recre-ate a sustainable and distinctive community. Far from ignoring the past, it recognises the skills so apparent in local people in the period be-tween the 1930’s and 1960’s, when Coulsdon was a community and was not so reliant on fos-sil fuels, and the air was clean. The modern ap-proach is not just to identify these skills but to bring the relevant ones back into the 21st cen-tury. These skills include energy efficiency, grow-ing food, home cooking and maintenance, cycle maintenance and local leisure, amongst others.

The ideal commu-nity for a Transition

Town is 15,000 to 20,000 people, so Couls-don and Kenley could create a Local Transition Initiative. Through a steering group, it would lead to the creation of working groups led by local people to address food, waste, energy, education, transport and water and to illustrate what we want from local and national govern-ment. Ultimately, these working groups would unite to address the real issue of how to create a successful community, not reliant on fossil fuel, and with its own identity. HADRA would like Greenlands, perhaps the first ever urban country park, to be part of that local identity. Other peo-ple might propose alter-native distinctive ways to identify our community, and we want to hear these.

Why not join us on the Greenlands walk to see some of issues within our own small community. We will consider Coulsdon Manor, how it has changed and forged our local culture, even what the Byron family ate from their garden. We will consider the value of trees, conservation of wildflowers and what plants prove how clean the air is. We will con-sider the perils of infill, of local flooding, consider some of our beautiful houses through the origi-nal adverts for their sale, look at a local organic

vegetable garden, con-sider permaculture and the potential for new cy-cleways and footpaths

HADRA hopes that far from just leading the walk, the emergence of local skills and interest will be fostered from which a steering commit-tee might be formed. We believe the solution to London’s survival is here in Coulsdon and Kenley, but perhaps neither the skills nor threats are al-ways recognised. Re-cently, a group of local 6th formers went off to do environmental work un-der the headl ine ‘Swapping sedate Old Coulsdon for the wilds of Indonesia’. The fact that London has a sustain-ability and environmental problem at least as great as Indonesia’s was ig-nored! London has to prepare for ‘peak oil’, the point at which oil sup-plies decline and the price dramatically in-creases, expected with the next 5 or six years.

HADRA is aware that Greenlands can only work within the greater community, sup-ported by local people and by Croydon Council. The Council need to support this initiative rather than drive it as part of their Climate Change Strategy. A uni-fied approach like this is the only way to create thriving local communi-ties both now, and into the future. Come along to our walk, listen, have your say, and contribute!

THE GREENLANDS WALK

SUNDAY 7 JUNE 2009 at 2.30pm Start at Coulsdon Manor Lasts about 2 hours, tea, coffee and biscuits at 4.30

Led by Ken West MBE No charge – call 8645 5271 to reserve a place (limit 40)

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4

THE HADRA WEBSITE

Our website is available and we will be updating it on a regular basis with

the latest information that we have.

It also provides links to other local residents associations and

local council sites.

Our advertisers, who have websites, are linked as well.

It even has back issues of our previous Newsletters going back a

couple of years.

Our Social Section has a page which will have up to date information on

trips and functions.

But most important it will let us let you know quickly what is going on

We will also publish the monthly committee meeting minutes so that you can read what goes on at our

meetings

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PLANNING MATTERS

Brighton Road and the corner of Old Lodge Lane (Car Park and Surrey Beds etc) As you will probably have read in the local paper, we fought the application to build 189 flats on this site and are pleased that the council agreed with us and turned the application down. Whilst we agree that the site is in desperate need of re-generation, this application was a massive over-development and the resulting building would have been reminiscent of an ugly prison block! Hope-fully the builders will have a sensible re-think and the next application will be more acceptable to the lo-cal residents and council.

Hartley Farm

We and local residents were very shocked and dis-appointed to discover that the Planning Inspectorate has allowed the appeal to build one bungalow in the back garden of 3 Hartley Farm. The appeal to allow 2 chalet bungalows to be built is, as yet, undecided. Unfortunately the decision by Croydon Council to nominate Hartley Farm and Hartley Way as Areas of Special Character has come too late to protect the very small area of Hartley Farm. The decision by the Inspectorate, who are

based in Bristol – far away from the areas they can so callously destroy - will result in huge disruption to the neighbouring properties during the build, particularly as Hartley Farm is a single lane road and also a loss to the character of the area which the residents have enjoyed, uninterrupted, for so long. As we have said many times, it is a terrible shame that one person’s actions can cause such disruption for their neighbours.

Raised bed - Hartley Way

Unfortunately it appears that the raised stone bed will have to be removed, following the loss of the horse chestnut, as the pavement strip is less than 1 metre so does not comply with the limit for public ac-cess. We are still liaising with Croydon Council re-garding a replacement tree and possibly some form of base and hopefully a solu-tion will be found shortly.

PURLEY SWIMMING POOL

Residents will know that the council has for some time proposed closing Pur-ley Pool and to incorporate this site, including the multi storey car park and old Sainsbury supermarket, into a large new develop-ment, including, as ex-pected, yet more flats. A Keep Purley Pool cam-paign has been set up, and under pressure the council agreed to keep the pool open until 2009 when a new pool would be open in Waddon. The developers there have withdrawn, but the good news is that the council has now decided to keep Purley pool open until at least 2013 when they anticipate that the new pool complex will be open in Coulsdon. Meanwhile, HADRA is supporting the campaign to keep Purley

pool open indefinitely. This is used by so many schools, and in this day and age of promoting health and exercise, it seems surprising the coun-cil may be ignoring this.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Let the Association know if you think that some back garden development plan-ning is going on. The sooner we know the better the chance of blocking it. Of course, if you are made an offer you cannot refuse -- we understand--, but you must understand too that HADRA will almost cer-tainly oppose it.

Come to the HADRA Stall at the Couls-don Village Fair on

4th July 2009, Noon to 4:30 pm. See page 8 for full

details

HADRA SOCIAL SECTION

Do you want to get out and about see

page 11 for the Forth-coming Events.

If you are interested call Denis Knight on

020-8660-0816 There is something for

everyone

5

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DO YOUR NEIGHBOURS EVER

NEED HELP? The heavy snowfalls of early February may have faded from your memories by the time you read this newsletter. The weather was particularly disruptive in our Hartley area as so many of our roads are on steep hills, and with gritting being confined to priority routes, many of us felt well ma-rooned. In addition the salt bins, provided by the council for residents’ to use in local roads, have fallen into dis-use for a variety of reasons.

However, this drew atten-tion to the elderly and dis-abled in our community to whom the knock-on effects of this severe weather were considerable, whether be-cause carers could not reach the homes they nor-mally visit, or the less mo-bile amongst us were reluc-tant to venture outside in icy conditions, or even possibly food supplies could start to run low, or that meals on wheels could not be deliv-ered. We have to remember that some residents may be reluctant to ask for help, but even a task such as putting the dustbin and recycle boxes out for collection could be beyond the physi-cal capabilities of some, es-pecially when ice is around. Not everyone is fortunate to have family readily avail-able.

Some residents contacted us through our website to draw attention to this poten-tial plight, and offered their services particularly with

regard to clearing drives etc. in areas where they were aware that a higher propor-tion of elderly residents lived. Encouraged by this offer, we have decided that as your association, HADRA should take this forward. Firstly, neighbourly consid-eration of those less able to cope than yourselves should always be borne in mind, and a brief regular contact by way of a general enquiry is possibly all that may be required. Secondly, in times of inclement weather such as we experienced in Febru-ary, there is a need to be more alert in terms of spe-cific tasks which some resi-dents may not be able to undertake themselves at that time. Examples could include offering to do some shopping, clearing drives or pavements, or even gener-ally making sure that all is well, and that the heating is operating properly.

If you feel that you would be prepared to offer your services to neighbours in such situations, please con-tact HADRA by email – hadra@blueyonder.co.uk. Alternatively, contact the Secretary, Mike Oastler, on 020 8763 8708. We already have some names, so please come forward and help us to have as compre-hensive a list as possible. In the event that we are con-tacted by a less able resi-dent for help, this can make our response a lot more ef-fective. Do not forget that however young we may be at the present time, we may all eventually be in need of such assistance!

FRIENDS OF FAR-THING DOWNS Kiosk Project -

An Update

It was sad to learn that the mobile refreshment kiosk on the Downs over the summer months had been discontinued. The City is seeking another franchise agreement and is willing to consider busi-ness proposals. If you know anyone who may be interested please put them in touch with the City’s Merlewood Office on 020 8660 8533. A good time to start would be now with spring arriving. The Friends of Farthing Down would like to thank all of you who took the time to fill in the City’s ‘Parks and open spaces questionnaire: City Com-mons Visitor Question-naire’ – 124 questionnaires have been completed for Farthing Downs for 2008 compared to 30 for 2007. One section of the ques-tionnaire related specifi-

cally to the facilities on Farthing Downs and the returns reflected the situa-tion: general overall satis-faction with the toilet facili-ties (rated as quite good) and car parking, while on-site information and re-freshment facilities gained a lower score. Most re-spondents would like re-freshments and more benches. Ninety percent of you would like tea and cof-fee. Support for the proposals in the questionnaire return is good, so far, although there is still some further analysis to be made. The eventual form of the kiosk is still undecided. Three options were presented to the public in 2007; re-use of the current building, a new building in a tradi-tional style, a new modern style building and support was evenly spread amongst the options. Email the Friends of Far-t h i n g D o w n s o n fofd@btinternet.com Telephone: 01737 554449

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Residents’ Association area

List of Councillors &

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Kenley Ward

Steve O’Connell 0208 726 6000 Ext.673806

Jan Buttinger 0208 405 6754

Steve Hollands 0208 405 1902

Coulsdon East

Brian Udell 0208 405 6729 Chris Wright 01737 555581

Terry Lenton 0208 405 6729

TRANSPORT REPORT

The revised, and reduced, timetable for trains serving Reedham was introduced in December 2008. This in-volved removing the service from Smitham to London Bridge, which was little used. Some concern has been raised over this as well as the length of certain trains particularly at peak times, and HADRA are monitoring this.

The new franchise for Southern will start in Sep-tember 2009 with the suc-cessful bidder being an-nounced in June 2009. There is a proposal to re-name Smitham station to include a reference to Coulsdon when the current town centre regeneration is complete.

The 466 bus route has proved to be unreliable de-spite an additional bus be-ing introduced on to the route. Local residents are very active to ensure this is improved.

Freedom passes can now be used 24 hours a day on buses, trams, London Un-derground and Docklands Light Railway (DLR), but not on national rail services which stay at 9.30am.

DON’T SHED CROCO-DILE TEARS –USE

YOUR LOCAL SHOPS

One of the reasons Wool-worths failed was because not enough people bought their products. Yet the lam-entation was massive, mostly by people who hadn’t been in a Woolworths’ store for years. Crocodile tears! Supporting our local retailers is now even more important than ever. And the retailers should make sure that they can offer quality and good old personal service giving us a reason to shop with them. GETTING IT RIGHT We have mentioned in the past that in this area we have seen good, high quality butchers, greengrocers, and post offices, go out of busi-ness because we did not use them enough. There’s a small Post Office in the Woodcote area that won the award for the best service in the area. It’s popu-lar and customers love going there. There’s a men’s re-tailer - Richard Mark who has also got it right. They commenced trading in Wal-lington over 40 years ago and still remains under the same family ownership. To-day its customers come from far and wide and they boast a mailing list of over 1,500 people. The Company spe-cialises in high quality men’s clothing coupled with a first class personal service. All of their brands are consid-ered to be amongst the best in Europe, they include La-coste, Bugatti, Lyle & Scott, Rockport, Bruno St Hilaire, Meyer, Roy Robson, Marl-b o r o u g h & L o a k e s . SAME DAY SERVICE FOR SUIT HIRE They have one of the largest Hire businesses for miles around and this encom-passes a vast selection of suits for the Groom at his Wedding, evening suits and the morning suits for the very formal occasion. A big plus is that they own their own stock so can offer a same day service in many cases. In 2008 they were asked by BBC3 to participate in a TV programme called

'Don't tell the Bride' It was a great success, so much so that their staff were invited to the Wed-ding! Richard Mark will wel-come you through their doors. Look at their ad for their address on page 2 or visit their website www.richardmark.co.uk

DOLLYPERS HILL NATURE RESERVE

Dollypers Hill is a Surrey Wildlife Trust reserve on the borders of Kenley and Coulsdon and lies mostly between Old Lodge Lane and Caterham Drive. It is a mixture of ancient wood-land, open grassy areas and scrub and has been managed by volunteers since 1988. Since that time a variety of habitats have been cre-ated that have encour-aged wildlife to thrive, for example we now have a breeding colony of Small Blue butterflies: this tiny butterfly, Britain’s small-est, is rare nationally but

is doing well at Dollypers Hill. In addition one of Brit-ain’s largest butterflies the Silver-washed Fritillary has come to our woodland glades. Local volunteers are particularly welcome to come and help out with the continuing work to keep the reserve in tip-top condition.

4 t h . M a y 2 0 0 9 A walk around In Woods and Dollypers Hill for Bluebells and Primroses. Also travel back in time to the woodland manage-ment of the 18th. century. Meet at 2pm. at the end of Canons Hill, near the Wood, for more information contact Mal-colm Jennings, Telephone 020-8684-4000.

For more details on the work done by the trust and information on how to be-come a member, go to Surrey Wildlife Trust web-site for further information www.surreywildlifetrust.co.uk.

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Something exceptional happened on February 2nd this year. Remember the heavy snowfall? Everyone you met said hello. There was a smile on faces and neighbourliness. for a day, the relentless bad financial news was knocked off the front page and the top of the

radio and television news. The next day, as if there had been enough friendliness dispensed, as though it was rationed, came the blame, the recriminations, the cost. Back to the usual. But for those who were not too seriously affected it was a happy Monday.

GOT A PROBLEM AND NOT SURE WHAT TO DO?

There are times when you as a resident may have a problem and are not sure what to do. We have compiled and published a series of referral topics which provide you with guidance. These

include the following and details are available on our website (www.hadra.org.uk)

under “Referral Topics”.

Planning Pollution control – noise

Bonfires Road safety

Police Parking

Street debris Overgrown plants and trees

Rubbish in front gardens Useful telephone numbers

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OLD COULSDON VILLAGE FAIR Organised by

Coulsdon Manor Rotary Club

Grange Park, Old Coulsdon Saturday 4th July 2009

Noon to 4:30pm

Fair to be opened by Mayor of Croydon

Over 90 stalls and sideshows provided by Local Charities, Clubs, Societies

and Organisations Exiting programme including Steam Engine

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Karate Demonstration

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LOCAL PRIMARY SCHOOL EXCELS

Byron Primary School in St David’s, Coulsdon was named the top school in Croydon when the long awaited Primary School League Tables were finally published 2nd April. Not only that, it was ranked in the top 2% of all Primary Schools in England. The school achieved a CVA (Contextual Value Added) score of 102.2, the CVA score measures how much progress children make during their time at school, with schools ex-pected to reach 100.0 as stan-dard, about half of the schools in Croydon made this mark. The school has for sometime been making steady progress and these results are the fruit of some very hard work put in by all the teaching staff at the school. The school also scored 281 out of a possible 300 in its “aggregate score” which indi-cates how many pupils achieved the expected level and above.

HADRA FINANCES

In recent years HADRA‘s financial status has grown steadily. As an Associa-tion that is constantly ac-tive in maintaining and improving our area we have purchased items which will benefit the As-sociation both now and in the time to come. From the photographs on the back of this newslet-ter, proof can be seen of the bulbs which were planted at the bottom of Hartley Old Road and the bank in Stoats Nest Road last autumn and the lovely display they have given us and hopefully for many years to come. In connection with our main topic of last years’ A G M n a m e l y “Greenlands” we pur-chased a projector to aid our presentations in future and other projects which we may undertake.

As with all Associations, change in committee members is normal, so to give a greater continuity and ensure that all we do is recorded in one place a laptop computer was pur-chased. The information on the laptop is constantly being updated with all the minutes of each monthly meeting, recent and future newsletters, the web site with its frequent updates and all the records con-cerning members and subscriptions. Our involvement in the Old Coulsdon Village Fair led to us being able to make a small donation to the Coulsdon Manor Ro-tary Club. We will be in-volved in the fair again this year, see advert on this page. The production of this Newsletter is a cost that we try to minimise by get-ting as many business’ as

possible to advertise and a lot of hard work by the committee goes into get-ting new advertisers. With the economic squeeze affecting all of us, we have had a few advertis-ers drop out. The only reason the Hartley & District Resi-dents’ Association is able to work to protect our area is with your support. A full account of this year’s financial movement will be given out at the AGM if you wish for fur-ther information please come along.

BRIGHTON ROAD/OLD LODGE LANE

JUNCTION The plans and details

of the proposed change to this junc-

tion, due to take place end 2009/ early 2010 are all on the HADRA

website

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• Renovations • Refurbishments • Kitchen & Bathrooms • Garage Conversions • Carpentry & Joinery 86 Hartley Down Purley, Surrey CR8 4EB

• New Roofs & Repair • Flooring and tiling • Plastering • Painting & Decorating • Brickwork & Re-pointing • Landscaping • Driveways Tel: 020 8645 9936 Mob: 0771 563 7714

All Building Work Undertaken

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OLD COULSDON OSTEOPATHIC CLINIC

Mr Jitendra Vara D.O. & Associates

Registered Osteopaths

Treatment for:

Low Back, Neck Pain, Hip, Shoulder Pain

107 Coulsdon Road, Old Coulsdon, Surrey CR5 1EH

TEL: 01737 551743 www.ococ.co.uk

THE HADRA NUMBERS GAME

9 COMMITTEE MEMBERS (THERE WERE 7 LAST YEAR) 0 CHAIR 0 VICECHAIR 6 OUT OF 10 RESIDENTS PAY THEIR SUBS 25 DAYS OF BELOW ZERO

TEMPERATURES 12 INCHES OF SNOW ON FEBRUARY 2 1 SUMMER FAIR THIS YEAR 17 ‘OUTSIDE MEETINGS’ 1 CHRISTMAS MEETING FOR ROAD STEWARDS

1 LOST TREE

10 CAR CRIMES

6 DRUG OFFENCES

7 ILLEGAL, ORGANISED DOG FIGHTS

101 POT HOLES IN OUR ROADS

6 EYE- SORES OF BUILDERS’ RUBBISH IN FRONT GARDENS 2 DRUG DEALER’S HOUSE IDENTIFIED

HADRA ACTIVITIES THIS YEAR

Our activities this year have been more associ-ated with issues outside our . area. We have been extremely active on the COPRA Commit tee. (Committee of Purley Residents’ Association). as well as many other lo-cal organisations. Topics covered included;

• Purley Town Devel-opment plans.

• Exhibiting at the Old Coulsdon Fair

• Backing a number of objections to back garden developments

• Regular meetings with the Police

• Meetings with the Local Transport Com-mittee

• The Conservation Area application

• The Greenlands Pro-ject

• Planted Daffodil and Crocus bulbs in 2 lo-cations

• Ensured that pot-holes in the HADRA area are attended to promptly

• Carried out survey of grit bins in our area and suggested extra locations

• Arranged for Street furniture to be re-paired by council

On more local matters, we have tried to encour-age residents to tidy their front gardens, to park more considerately, to cut shrubs and trees over-growing on pavements, and to stop noisy motor cycles and speeding cars. We were consulted about the cases of arson in the Hartley area including the setting alight of a car. We requested more clear green garden rubbish bags; we are still supplied with two but can use a further 4 bags, provided they are of clear plastic so the contractor is aware of the contents. Meanwhile we are hoping to have some news on our Con-servation Area applica-tion. This autumn, we had a bulb planting plan for some open green spaces and verges; our represen-tations have led to the repair of the seat at the bottom of Hartley Old Road on the green area. We have had one volun-teer to join our Committee but still pursue increasing our numbers and we have recently recruited three Road Stewards. However, two Roads Stewards have resigned, so we still re-quire help. After two years of advertising we now have someone who will be able to provide some legal advice

RECESSION RECIPE

Bitkis

A Economical Recipe Emanating from Greece (You can even use your stale bread or crusts with this – ideal

for recession times!)

450g minced beef 1 onion finely chopped 1 tbs. chopped parsley 100 – 150g bread About 150ml water Salt and pepper Flour for dusting Oil for frying 300 – 400ml tomato sauce Soured cream or yoghurt

Method: Put the beef into a bowl with the onion and parsley. Cut the bread into pieces and cover with cold water. Leave until soaked through, then squeeze as dry as possible. Break well with a fork and then mix with the meat. Work thoroughly, adding the water gradually with plenty of seasoning. When smooth and light in consistency, shape into cakes on a wet board and dust with flour. Fry in oil until brown on both sides. Arrange in an ovenproof dish, pour over the tomato sauce, add the soured cream and bake in the oven at 175C or mark 4 for about 30 minutes. Serve with sauté potatoes and glazed carrots.

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Sundays Lunches At Coulsdon Manor Hotel &

Golf Club

Sunday Carvery Lunch Bring the family for a lovely carvery lunch

Lunch is served between 12.30pm and 2.30pm.

£12.95 per person To make a reservation please call

020 8668 0414 www.oxfordhotelsandinns.com

Coulsdon Manor Hotel & Golf Club,

Coulsdon Court Road, Old Coulsdon Nr. Croydon CR5 2LL

KENLEY AIRFIELD FRIENDS GROUP

(KAFG)

The activities of the Group, to which we are af-filiated, may well appear to be in limbo as the outcome of the latest Planning Appli-cation. But this is far from the case as the group pre-pare to be more represen-tative of and interactive with local organisations within the wider community around the airfield. Paul Eyres, from HADRA, will be joining the ordinary committee when it meets in the near future. According to Croydon Council a decision regard-

ing the current fence appli-cation seems someway off yet. There seems to be some outstanding interac-tion between the Council and the Health & Safety Executive as well as with the Ministry of Defence. The task of formalising the group and making them properly constitutional con-tinues in the lead up to the first AGM which will be held in early summer. The web-site www.kafg.org.uk is be-ing developed and already has some interesting fea-tures for you to review and provide feedback on. They are also intent on produc-ing their first newsletter that will give a wide ranging re-view of the activities and

revised aspirations. Those wishing to apply for KAFG membership should contact the Mem-bership Secretary, Lesley West, 5, Hillhurst Gar-dens, Caterham. CR3 5HX giving your full contact de-

tails including e-mail ad-dress if available. Applica-tion made now will grant you immediate membership but will carry through to June 2010. The subscrip-tion is £5 per individual and £10 for families.

NEWS FROM THE SOCIAL SECTION Another successful year for the Socials Section with everyone enjoying the trips and talks that have been arranged.

QUIZ EVENING IN FEBRUARY 2009

An enjoyable evening, with some teams attending for the fun and others out to try and win. The questions were pitched at the correct level as the average score was above 50% and no team managed 100%. The number of people taking part was 57 and this produced 10 teams of between 5 and 6 members to each team. The Fish & Chips supper went down well and everyone provided their own drinks.

ILLUSTRATED TALK ABOUT THE RNLI THE MARCH 2009

The RNLI is supported solely by voluntary contributions and Mr. Woolhouse gave an illustrated talk on the history and future plans. The number of people taking part was 23, which was rather disappointing but the evening went well. Mr Woolhouse has been supporting the RNLI for a number of years and an-swered a wide range of questions.

OUR AREA NOW INCLUDES Bouverie Close Gemel Close Haydn Avenue Mileston Drive Holmes Close Watney Close

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FORTHCOMING EVENTS Sat. 18th Apr. 2009 Evening

Skittles at British Legion at Limpsfield. Ticket includes a Buffet Supper.

Sat. 16th May 2009 Day Time

Front of the House Guided Tour of The Royal Albert Hall - Time - midday 12.00 noon.

Sat. 13th June 2009 All day

A day coach outing to Canterbury including a guided tour. Starting at 9.00am from Stoats Nest and Leaving Canterbury by 5.00pm

Sat. 18th July 2009 Afternoon

Fun Croquet for beginners with cream tea at a local vanue Try your skills or learn how to do it.

August Afternoon event

Various ideas are being investigated from a walking treasure hunt Around a local area, to a barbeque at a local venue.

Sat. 24th Oct. 2009 Evening Event

Murder Mystery play with refreshments.

Nov.-Dec. Provisional plans to visit the Dickens Festival at Rochester on 5th December 2009 but we need to determine the interest. Please contact if you are interested

For details and booking please telephone Denis on 020-8660-0816 Entry to all events is by ticket only

All correspondence to be addressed to: The Secretary, HADRA, 66a Hartley Old Road, Purley, Surrey CR8 4HJ

HADRA COMMITTEE Chairman Vacancy Vice Chairman Vacancy Secretary Mike Oastler 8763 8708 Legal Representative Zarina Gani Planning Diane Hearne 8668 1778 Newsletter Editor John Clarke 8660 0845 Environment & Transport Ken West MBE 8645 5271 Membership & Treasurer Josephine Hullay 8660 0845 Committee Member Chris Lovelace 8660 1185 Committee Member Paul Eyres 8660 6965 Committee Member Colin Etheridge 8668 3707 Social Chairman Denis Knight 8660 0816 __________________________________________________________________________________________________

ROAD STEWARDS Asmar Close Miss Ann Smith Bencombe Road Mrs Sue Bentley Brighton Rd Mrs Jeannette Abdey (odds) Burcott Road Mrs Jessica Tollitt Byron Avenue Mrs Kath Rees (evens) Mrs Barbara Gown (odds) Cearn Way Mrs Helen Pierce Coulsdon Court Rd Mrs Colin Coates Coulsdon Rd Mr Bill Collar (evens) Hartley Down Mr Andrew Dunlop (evens) Mr Denis Knight (odds) Hartley Farm Mr Denis Knight Hartley Hill Vacancy Hartley Old Road Mrs Joyce Earl (odds) Mrs Helen Moon (evens) Hartley Way Mrs Barbara Gown Haydn Avenue Mr Colin Etheridge Hillars Heath Mrs Peggy Brown Old Lodge Lane Mrs Heather Elliott (part evens) Vacancy (part evens) Mrs Liz Marsden (part odds) Mrs Alba Dourado (part odds) Petersfield Crescent Miss Ann Smith Stoats Nest Road Mrs Linda Lawrence Stoats Nest Village Mrs Linda Lawrence _____________________________________

New Residents Welcome Please let our Membership Secretary have your name and address if you would like to become a member of the Hartley and District Residents’ Association (HADRA)

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IMPROVING YOUR ENVIRONMENT

As you will recall from pre-vious issues, we proposed (with the council’s approval) to brighten up the HADRA area with bulb planting. This was intended to be carried out by a team of volunteers from local residents, but unfortunately none were forthcoming (what do we make of that?), so the work was undertaken by a team from your committee led by Ken West, our environment representative, involving two planting days last au-tumn. At the bottom of Hart-ley Old Road, 2,000 daffodil

bulbs were planted and these have made an im-pressive splash of colour, being visible from both Hartley Down and Hartley Old Road. 1,000 crocus bulbs were also planted on the bank where Hartley Down joins Coulsdon Road/Stoats Nest Road, and these have been in bloom, although we think the wood mice may have had a nibble. We propose repeating this exercise and would wel-come ideas from residents for future planting locations, as well as VOLUNTEERS to assist with the planting! Please contact Ken West

on 020 8645 5271 or by e m a i l k e n -west610@aol.com. As already mentioned, we made representations about the seating at the bottom of Hartley Old Road where there was a seat in dire need of refurbishment. We had considered replacing this from HADRA funds but to meet the council’s re-quirements would have in-volved heavy depletion of our funds.. We are very pleased that the council has now repaired the seat. So if you wish to take a rest on your journey you can have a seat in this pleasant spot.

POLICE REPORT

There has been a substan-tial increase in motor vehi-cle crime, particularly con-cerning the theft of number plates from vehicles parked on the road side or even on private driveways. Lockable screws obtainable from a car spares shop will help to

prevent this. In addition, parked cars continue to be broken into where attractive contents have been left on view, such as laptops, sat. nav. devices, or even cloth-ing; these must always be placed out of sight or pref-erably removed totally. The Roadwatch scheme to

monitor speed, and carried out by volunteers, contin-ues and has now been ex-tended to roads in Couls-don East ward as well. A mobile CCTV camera has been installed at the shops at the far end of Old Lodge Lane and this has proved to be effective in monitoring the area. Lastly, the future of Kenley Police Station is still under review with no decisions having yet been made. Any proposed closure is being resisted by local Residents’ Associations, including HADRA. Your local Police Safer Neighbourhood Teams are keen to increase their pro-file with the community and we have here the Kenley team led by Sgt. Paul Pot-ter. Back row - L to R. PC Simon Packham, PCSO Bob Cameron, PCSO Greg Tickner

Front row - L to R. PC Gareth Storer, Sgt. Paul Potter, PCSO Tom Beresford