www.eastbury-residents.org Spring 2015 Page 1

www.eastbury-residents.org Spring 2015 Newsletter

Our Autumn 2014 Newsletter told you about the proposal to petition Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) to set up a Community Council for the only unparished areas remaining in Three Rivers District which are Moor Park & Eastbury, Rickmansworth Town, Penn & Mill End and the Maple Cross, Heronsgate and West Hyde parts of Chorleywood South. The petition has to be signed by at least 10% of the electorate of these unparished areas which will then trigger a Governance Review by TRDC. It is through this Governance Review that a new local council can be created. Such a review involves consultation with the electors for the area and may involve holding a referendum.

We also set out some of the reasons why the Association thinks that it would be advantageous for Eastbury to be part of a Community Council. A copy of the Autumn 2014 newsletter can be found on our website. Since then there have been changes to how local funds are allocated to parished areas within Three Rivers.

Community Infrastructure Levy As from 1 April 2015 a new charge called the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) allows TRDC to raise funds from new developments for use on infrastructure to support the growth of the District. The levy will apply to most new buildings and charges will be based on the size, type and

location of the new development. The money collected from the levy will be used to fund infrastructure that the Council, local community and neighbourhoods need. Parishes with a neighbourhood plan will receive 25% of any community infrastructure levy arising from developments in their area compared to

parishes without a neighbourhood plan who will receive 15%. There is no statutory right for unparished

areas to receive any CIL money so our electorate will have no say at a local level as to how any part of CIL money raised from developments in our unparished areas is spent. We consider this to be grossly unfair.

Petition Launch The petition will be launched in mid-May when you will be able to sign either a paper petition or an e- petition which will be on TRDC’s website. Details will be enclosed with the AGM papers we deliver to you in May and on the ERA website. Your support is vital if the campaign to set up a Community Council is to be successful. If you are able to help by collecting signatures for the petition or delivering leaflets please contact me.

Further information can be found on the Campaign website www.4wards.net

Elizabeth Willetts, ERA Chairman chairman@eastbury-residents.org

Tel: 01923 820940

Campaign for a Community Council

Annual General Meeting - Monday 8th June 2015 Notice is given to members that the Annual General Meeting of Eastbury Residents’ Association will be held on Monday 8th June 2015 at 8pm at Eastbury Farm Primary School, Bishop’s Avenue, Northwood. Members are invited to put forward nominations for the Executive Committee and to submit items for the Meeting Agenda. Nominations and Agenda items should be sent in writing to the Secretary, Victoria Cook, 7 Bourne End Road, Northwood, HA6 3BP not later than 8 weeks prior to the AGM (i.e. by 13th April 2014) as laid down in the Rules. However nominations and items for discussion will be welcome up to 14 days prior to the Meeting.

In this Issue Page 2

News from the Chairman

Northwood Futures

Metropolitan Line Users Report

Dog Owners Page 3

Health Matters

Road Stewards

Planning Year Summary

Safety Conscious Page 4

Planning Permission Mavericks

Police Report Page 5

Highways Update

Hospital on the Hill

Michael Sobell House events

Page 6

Eastbury Horticultural Society

Paul Strickland events

Eastbury Tennis

Community DriveSafe

ERA Executive Committee

***** Tennis Membership

Application Form

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Metropolitan Line Users Report Service - This has been more reliable over the last 12 months as teething problems with the new S-Stock having been sorted and drivers are getting more used to operating them. Track replacement work has also helped, but the line will only be able to run at full efficiency when the long awaited replacement signaling is installed. Work is now due to start sometime in 2016 for completion in 2018 and until then it is likely that the service will continue to be disrupted by adverse weather conditions.

Track - Replacement work to the line is still taking place over weekends although less often than in previous years. It is not clear at the moment whether the new signaling work will require further weekend closures when it commences. If you wish to travel at weekends it is recommended to check on either the TFL website or at your local station or in The Metro, before leaving. Major closures that were contemplated to replace sections of track in the Finchley Road area and north of Harrow have currently been deferred.

Information Displays - The displays at Moor Park provide some information about arrivals into the station. Displays at some of the remaining stations including Northwood are also due to have temporary solutions installed soon which will provide some information. On completion of the signaling this will be available at all stations on the line. It is unlikely that fast services from Moor Park outside of peak hours will be reinstated until this time, in spite of pressure from user groups and our MP.

Croxley Rail Link - The Link has now been given official approval and trains are due to be running by 2018 with stops at Watford Town Centre and Watford Junction station.

John Lunzer : john.lunzer@gmail.com

Parking in Westbury Road and Bourne End Road Following the consultation about introducing waiting restrictions at the end of Westbury Road and Bourne End Road, the Council decided to implement restrictions as proposed which prohibits waiting at all times. I am informed that the restrictions are believed to be proportionate to reported problems and the low but broadly positive response to this consultation suggests that residents did not in general object to the proposals. Suggestions and requests for change will not however be ignored but will be prioritised for further action as will any new issues arising from the introduction of these restrictions. Some residents are concerned that the restrictions will only move the parking problem into other areas and we will be monitoring the position.

Please be a responsible dog owner! There are recent reports of dog mess being left on grass verges in our area. It is an offence to fail to immediately clear up any mess deposited from your dog anywhere in the district. If caught you can be prosecuted and the maximum penalty is £1,000. To report an incident call the Three Rivers District Council Customer Services Centre on 01923 776611 or e-mail enquiries@threerivers.gov.uk.

News from the Chairman

Hertfordshire County Division Boundary Review Delayed As explained in the Autumn Newsletter, the Boundary Commission's Draft Recommendations propose that, from 2017, most of Eastbury should join South Oxhey to create a new county division called South Oxhey & Eastbury and the remainder of Eastbury should stay with Moor Park, Oxhey Hall and Carpenders Park joining with Rickmansworth to form a division to be called Rickmansworth East & Oxhey Park. This would split our Association between two county divisions. The ERA strongly objected to the proposal. The final recommendations were expected at the beginning of February but have been delayed until 12 May.

Elizabeth Willetts

Northwood Futures … is a project commissioned by Transport for London (TfL) which aims to engage with as many people who live, work and pass through Northwood as possible, to understand what opportunities there may be for the future of TfL’s sites around Green Lane and Station Approach. We have recently completed the second phase of work where we shared the feasibility stage designs from TfL’s consultant team, who were appointed in October 2014 following the first stage of local engagement, culminating in a public exhibition of two feasibility stage visions earlier this year. The exhibition was viewed by 698 people and overall we received a very positive response to the visions

shared. This is early work which is at a feasibility stage and therefore much more detail needs to be prepared at a planning stage. We received 394 pieces of feedback and 80% of people preferred vision 2. Feedback was shared with the TfL board which is now progressing with the Vision 2 proposal. For more information see: www.northwoodfutures.com.

Catherine Greig, make:good - an independent company delivering Northwood Futures for TfL

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Health Matters Northwood Community Hospital Site Nick Hurd, MP for Northwood, Ruislip and Pinner, has pulled together a consortium to try and buy the Northwood and Pinner hospital site to ensure that the site continues to deliver healthcare along with some sheltered housing with extra care for elderly residents. The next step will be for Nick Hurd and the consortium to meet with NHS Property Ltd which now owns the site.

Healthwatch Hillingdon From April 2015 every GP’s surgery must have a Patient Participation Group and Healthwatch Hillingdon is trying to set up a network of these groups to help influence improvements in local GP surgeries. The launch of MyNHS website www.nhs.uk/mynhs enables people to compare their GPs, hospitals, care services and local authorities.

Northwick Park Hospital The Stroke Unit has achieved the highest performance scores in the country making it the best in England. The new A&E unit opened in December incorporating a children’s A&E and the Urgent Care Centre.

Safety Conscious The UK construction industry is one of the safest in the world; however any number of injuries is too many. Last year 42 construction workers went to their place of work in the morning and never made it home. If you see construction work going on near you that looks unsafe, the chances are that it is unsafe. If in doubt contact the Health & Safety Executive for advice; if possible take a picture of the activity to show them. For more information see www.hse.gov.uk/contact/raising-your-concern.htm or contact Concerns Team on 0300 0031647 or email concerns@hse.gsi.gov.uk.

Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Following its inspection last October the Care Quality Commission rated Hillingdon and Mount Vernon Hospitals as “Requires Improvement” but the staff’s care of patients was praised. The new Acute Medical Unit has now opened in the Nightingale Centre.

Mount Vernon Cancer Centre The newly installed MRI scanner at the Paul Strickland Centre represents the highest performing clinical and research Siemens scanner in the UK. It will directly benefit patients by providing unsurpassed image quality allowing for the most accurate diagnosis and treatment.

Community Voice (CV) CV meets on the first Thursday in every month at 7.45pm at the Post Graduate Centre Mount Vernon Hospital. Visitors are most welcome as guests. Meetings end at around 9.45pm. These meetings provide a platform for discussion on NHS issues and an opportunity to hear and challenge influential NHS speakers. For more information visit www.communityvoicehealth.org.uk.

Adrienne Glicher

Planning Year Summary Within the Eastbury area last year there were 46 planning applications to Three Rivers District Council. The ERA raised objections to 8 of these. Of the applications 4 were subsequently withdrawn and 4 were refused which were:- • An additional dwelling at Bracken Hill House • Retrospective installation of a fence at 60 Grove Farm Park • Extension to 47 Grove Farm Park

Addition of 2 new houses in the grounds of The Limes in Eastbury Avenue In addition to the above, an application at 32 Eastbury Avenue was only approved with the condition that the proposed building would be moved to a more acceptable aspect within the plot; one of the objections raised by local residents.

With all of the above, the voice of the residents local to the proposed development was the overriding factor in bringing the issues to the attention of the TRDC planning committee; in two instances the recommendation by the Planning department was overridden by the Planning Committee, which is an unusual occurrence. Well done and many thanks to all those that objected.

Andrew Tooley : planning@eastbury-residents.org

Road Stewards Our Newsletters are delivered by more than 30 Road Stewards, to whom we are most grateful. In addition, they collect membership subscriptions. We also encourage Road Stewards to take the time to talk to members, and to listen to your concerns and issues. In this issue, I would like to welcome to the team, Stuart Gilles, who is taking over as Road Steward for the top half of Bishops Avenue.

There are still one or two areas where we would like new Road Stewards to come forward and volunteer to help. If you live on Mount View or Eastbury Avenue, or in the area near Oxhey Drive, we would particularly like to hear from you. Please contact Andrew Dawrant on 822660. Alternatively, you can e-mail committee@eastbury-residents.org.

We have also established an e-mail link to the Road Stewards. If you need to contact any of them, please send an e-mail to roadstewards@eastbury-residents.org and the message will be passed on to them.

Andrew Dawrant - Membership Secretary

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Planning Permission Mavericks can do, namely:-

Review the submitted and approved plans for the property. This can be done on line www3.threerivers.gov.uk/online-applications/

Compare the submitted plans with what has been constructed

If there is something that appears materially different between the approved plans and what has actually been built you should contact the Three Rivers District Council planning compliance team on 01923 776611 or planning.enforcement@threerivers.gov.uk

Once reviewed, TRDC will decide whether there has been a material breach. If the decision is that the completed works does not follow approved plans, the planning team will request from the owner or developer that a revised planning application is made incorporating the aspects that are different. Once the revised application is received, the normal planning process will be followed.

If for any reason the Maverick does not resubmit plans for re-approval, TRDC will either issue an enforcement notice or a Land Registry Charge letter. This could ultimately result in the offending aspect of the property being removed.

Andrew Tooley - planning@eastbury-residents.org

In the majority of cases once planning permission is granted by the Three Rivers District Council planning team home owners and developers will build out their scheme in line with the plans that have been approved.

Almost always during the building process things are altered from the original plans to suit construction needs or aesthetic desires. If these materially change the look or construction of the external elements of a property an amended application to the planning department is often needed; TRDC planning department can give guidance on individual circumstances. Well informed home owners, architects and developers will be aware of this and resubmit the amendment to their scheme for approval.

Very occasionally the ‘Planning Mavericks’ attempt to flout the system, either through ignorance of the process or blatantly to avoid it. Given the current local government budget and spending restrictions, there is very little checking that takes place with regard to the accuracy of the ‘as built’ compared to the plans submitted; in many instances this defiance passes unnoticed.

Should you be concerned that a development, extension, or new build near to you is not being built in accordance with approved plans there are a number of things that you

Police Report

from our Safer Neighbourhood Team Sergeant Luke Mitchell

Theft from Vehicles We’re still having the odd overnight break-in to vehicles in Eastbury. This type of offence has gone up nationally with offenders normally having some sort of device to unlock the vehicle. This has seen our biggest crime increase this year. What have the police done about it? We’ve kept people up to date via OWL and Twitter. The PCSO’s have carried out a number of operations where they have walked every street in Eastbury checking for vehicles that may have left items on display and given the owner some advice. We’ve put up signage in the worst effected road and carried out “street surveys” to give face to face contact to residents. We’ve carried out joint patrols with the Met Police and patrolled both overtly and covertly. We also carried out a search warrant at a suspect's address. We’ve arrested one male for these offences and are awaiting a charging decision from the CPS. What can members of the public do to help? Please ensure that, where ever your car is parked during the day or night in view of an inquisitive thief, all valuable items are removed or locked away out of sight. Help to keep Car Crime figures down!

Burglary Burglary has also seen an increase of 6 offences (16 in total over 12 months) compared to where we were last year. What have the police done about it? In relation to the increase in house breaks, we’ve being using Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras (ANPR) and high visibility patrols to ensure we drive down these numbers and prevent people from becoming victims. The PCSO’s have patrolled at night and any house that doesn’t have “The lived in look” has been given a letter, a leaflet and offered a timer switch. We’ve given out over 200 timer switches to Eastbury residents. We’ve also arrested one male in relation to 7 of these crimes. He’s currently in prison for other offences and I should have a court result shortly.

While it's disappointing to report an increase in crime in Eastbury Ward this year, we have year on year reduced crime in this area. At some point crime was going to start to increase. I want the residents to see the increase but also understand what the police are doing to prevent the offences and catch the culprits. I hope just some of the examples above reflect this. If anyone is concerned we are very willing to visit you and carry out crime prevention surveys of your home.

To contact an officer, please call the 01707 354192 and state the name of the officer you wish to speak to or e-mail: sntoxhey@herts.pnn.police.uk

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Road re-surfacing The volume of urgent highways work needed through the Autumn and Winter was such that several pieces of programmed work had to be postponed. I was extremely disappointed that the new road surfaces on Grove Farm Park and Sandy Lodge Way were deferred for this reason and I have been promised these will take place before the summer. Both these roads have good foundations, so the three-stage process will be: firstly, making good the most damaged areas; secondly putting a new ‘thin surface’ over the whole road; thirdly replacing the road markings. In addition to last year’s deferred work, Little Stream Close (the Hertfordshire section) is scheduled for a new surface this year, and substantial patching is scheduled for Batchworth Lane and the London Road, (the A404 to Rickmansworth). No dates are available yet and I will try to give the Residents’ Association as much notice as possible.

Street Lighting Street lighting in Batchworth Lane, particularly near Batchworth Heath, was a real problem this winter and it was a great relief to all when the electricity supply problem was eventually resolved, and quite separately the very muddy traffic islands cleaned. The new lights are LED, and

Councillors’ Corner Highways Update

from County Councillor Frances Button

are noticeably different. The County council has a programme of replacing lights on the A roads with LED lights which are more efficient and cheaper to run. This programme reaches Three Rivers in April/May 2015. Meanwhile failed lights are, where possible, replaced with LED. At the same time there is an ongoing rolling programme of testing existing street light columns and, depending on what the tests reveal, some are immediately ‘stumped’ for reasons of safety. These are often the old concrete type and are replaced

as soon as possible with a new LED light and column. Hertfordshire has also submitted two bids to central government for additional funding to convert its part-night lighting columns to LED, and a decision is awaited.

Blocked Drains I am pleased to report that the blocked drains have been cleared in Sandy Lane, outside Northwood HQ, and at the Westbury Road bridge. These drains had become silted up, causing substantial localised flooding, which I hope has now been cured.

Please report any highways faults on 0300 123 4047 or www.hertsdirect.org/faultreporting/.

To contact County Councillor Button tel: 07713 743063 or e-mail: frances.button@hertfordshire.gov.uk

Hospital on the Hill – A Century of Caring by Jacquie Scott is a new book with over 600 pictures and stories recording 100 years of St Vincent's orthopaedic hospital in Wiltshire Lane, Eastcote. The hospital started life under the auspices of nuns in Clapham in 1907. The book describes the changes from the needy children with deformed bones and joints, resulting from TB, rickets, polio and osteomyelitis, to the recent years as a renowned hospital for adult orthopaedic surgery. Some boys given occupational training went on to become entrepreneurs in their field, like Bill Bowley with local shoe shops in Northwood and Stanmore. The annual fete days are well remembered with notable supporters such as Dame Vera Lynn, Tommy Steele, Jimmy Edwards, Jessie Matthews and Bob Hollness. Many pioneering events occurred at SVH, including one of the first mobile X-ray machines during WW1 and injured soldiers during 1945 treated in penicillin trials. The site is now a purpose-built nursing home, which continues the St Vincent’s tradition of loving professional care. The book is available from the nursing home or email hospitalonthehill@gmail.com.

St Vincents - pre World War II

Fundraising Events for Michael Sobell House Michael Sobell House at Mount Vernon Hospital provides for the care of patients with life limiting illness and support for their families and carers. Your support is needed to maintain the services provided from charitable sources.

For further information about any of the above events please call 01923 844550 or 01923 844829 or visit the website.

Saturday 9th May Annual Plant Sale - Bedding plants, flowers and fruit ‘n’ veg for sale. 10am—12.30pm.

Sunday 17th May On Your Bike - 33 mile sponsored bike ride challenge through the Hertfordshire countryside.

Friday 12th June Ladies in the Night Walk - 5½ or 9 mile route. See www.michaelsobellhospice.co.uk

Sunday 12th July Vintage Event—live music, vintage stalls, classic cars and afternoon tea. 10am to 5pm

www.eastbury-residents.org Spring 2015 Page 6

ERA Executive Committee

Chairman Elizabeth Willetts 820940

chairman@eastbury-residents.org

Treasurer & Tennis Sec

François Neckar

821510

Secretary Victoria Cook 841538

secretary@eastbury-residents.org

Membership Secretary

Andrew Dawrant 822660

Roads & CDS Ian Cristol 823405

roads@eastbury-residents.org

Community Voice / Health

Adrienne Glicher 826569

Environment Neelima Payne

environ@eastbury-residents.org

Planning Andrew Tooley 826303

planning@eastbury-residents.org

Neighbourhood Watch

Ken Mills OBE 821370

Richard Crook 823325

Aanika Bhalla 842515

Clare Ray 821939

E-mail :- committee@eastbury-residents.org The newsletter is delivered to over 1200 households in Eastbury and part of the Frithwood area of Northwood.

If you haven't yet renewed your tennis membership, or would like to join as a new member, please grab the application form at the back of this newsletter or find out about membership in more detail from the ERA website.

Membership subscriptions remain unchanged at £25 (£30 for non-Eastbury residents). We are trying to organise some coaching for children and adults on the courts this summer and will publicise details as soon as possible. Enjoy your Eastbury Tennis in the coming year!

Francois Neckar Tennis Secretary tennis@eastbury-residents.org

Community DriveSafe Campaign If you are concerned about motor vehicles exceeding the 30 miles an hour speed limit in our area, join our Drive Safe team which works with the Oxhey police to help monitor and reduce speeding.

Contact Ian Cristol at ian@cristol.co.uk

Paul Strickland Scanner Centre’s 30th Anniversary CT Scanner Appeal. The medical charity, based at Mount Vernon Hospital, provides state-of-the-art scanning services for the early diagnosis, monitoring and research of cancer and other life-limiting diseases. The Centre relies on donations to fund new scanners as it does not receive any direct funding. They are organising the following fund raising events:-

For more information on these events please visit www.stricklandscanner.org.uk, call 01923 844290 or email appeals@stricklandscanner.org.uk.

Bank Holiday Monday 4th May

Chenies Spring Walk - 8km walk starting and finishing at Chenies Manor House.

Monday 18th May Plant and Cake Sale - 9am to 3pm at Paul Strickland Centre.

Tuesday 9th June Annual Charity Golf Day - at Denham Golf Club, starts 11am.

Eastbury Horticultural Society

During the early 70’s, a group of budding gardeners in Eastbury felt that the gardens in the area were such a valuable component to the quality of life for its residents, that a local horticultural society should be created. In 1971 the Eastbury Horticultural Society germinated. It grew well, expanding to enable residents in other parts of Northwood to join. It now has approximately 150 members.

A programme of talks commences in the autumn with speakers covering a wide range of subjects in which they specialize. Meetings take place at Eastbury Farm School starting at 8pm and finishing with an opportunity for everyone to socialize over tea and biscuits. Outings to gardens and an annual holiday are also organised every year. ‘Bring and Buy’ plant sales are held twice a year and we hold two ‘Open Gardens’ every year as well as our Annual Show. We are always pleased to hear from local residents who wish to become members. The annual subscription for the current year is £4. Remittances should be sent to the Membership Secretary at 43 Knoll Crescent, Northwood HA6 1HH. If you would like to find out more, please do not hesitate to contact me, the Secretary, Paul Akers, on 01923 821115.