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www.eastbury-residents.org Autumn 2013 Page 1
www.eastbury-residents.org
In this Issue
Page 2
• Metropolitan
Line News
• Northwood
School Results
Page 3
• Proposed
Sainsbury’s
Development
• Travel Tip
• Leaf Blowers
Page 4
• Health Matters
• Northwood Live
at Home
• Pocklington
House
Page 5
• Planning
Applications
• Highways
Update
Page 6
• Poppy Appeal
• Eastbury Church
Events
• Eastbury Tennis
• Hillingdon Carers
Café
*****
2013 AGM Minutes
Autumn 2013 Newsletter
AGM
This year around 100 residents attended our
AGM in June. Our guest speaker was David
Lloyd, Police and Crime Commissioner for
Hertfordshire. He gave an interesting talk
about his new role and answered questions
from residents.
All existing committee members were re-
elected and we welcomed Neelima Payne as a
new committee member to look after
environmental issues. A copy of the Minutes is
included in this newsletter.
The Future of Northwood
The proposal by Transport for London to
redevelop the land it owns in Northwood along
Station Approach, to build a large Sainsbury's
and housing development, is causing much
concern and debate amongst Northwood
residents including our ERA members. Many of
us value the presence of the local independent
shops not just for the retail speciality they
offer but for the distinctive character they give
the town. Do we really need two substantial
supermarkets? How likely is it that our local
independent traders will be able to survive?
Will the existing infrastructure be able to cope
with the additional housing? How will the
additional traffic on our roads be managed?
These are some of the questions that your
committee will be looking to be answered
during the public consultation which is
expected later this autumn. Please turn to
page 3 of this newsletter where we explain
what has happened so far and where to find
out more information. We aim to keep you
updated via our website and future
newsletters.
Neighbourhood Watch
I am pleased to report that Aanika Bhalla has
volunteered to help run one of the
Neighbourhood Watch areas in Eastbury; a post
which has been vacant for over a year. Aanika
will oversee Batchworth Lane (in part), Bourne
End Road, Grove Farm Park, Heron Walk,
Kewferry Road, Ross Way, Sandy Lodge Way, St
Martins and The Fairway. If you live in her area
and need any help please contact her on 842515
or email [email protected].
Crackdown on Speeding Drivers
The Police are cracking down on speeding drivers
across our county. Unusually, Hertfordshire
Police are naming the roads where officers will
be deploying speed guns this October and
November. The chosen sites are where there is a
record of speed related accidents and
Batchworth Lane is one of the roads to be
targeted. The reason for publishing the locations
is because the aim of the campaign is to
encourage motorists to slow down rather than
catch them. Let's hope the initiative has some
longer term effect.
Vehicle Parking
When you park do consider whether you have
left enough room for an emergency vehicle to
pass along the road - it could save a life!
There is a growing trend of people parking 2 cars
nearly opposite each other on each side of our
narrow roads and the gap left would not allow
passage of emergency vehicles such as fire-
engines or ambulances.
So please think about where and how you have
parked before leaving your car and please make
sure that your visitors do the same.
Elizabeth Willetts
Chairman
Chairman’s Report
New Headteacher for Eastbury Farm Primary School
Graham Metcalfe is the new Headteacher at Eastbury Farm School. Originally from West Yorkshire,
Graham moved to London in 1981 to begin his teaching career. He has over 30 years experience in
primary education, across 3 Local Authorities and 7 schools. After 16 happy and successful years as
Head teacher at Little Green Junior School in Croxley Green, he is now thrilled by and looking
forward to the challenge of Eastbury Farm School.
He writes "The basis of my leadership has always been a strong partnership with parents and the
local community and I intend to keep to that principle".
His interests include mountain biking, road cycling, running, gardening, food and travel. His large
extended family also occupy much time outside of school. We wish him every success in his new
role. Mr Graham Metcalfe
www.eastbury-residents.org Autumn 2013 Page 2
METROPOLITAN LINE newsMETROPOLITAN LINE newsMETROPOLITAN LINE newsMETROPOLITAN LINE news The new air-conditioned S-Stock trains have now fully
replaced the old trains and a number of improvements
have been made to them, such as the provision of hanging
straps. This enables people under 2m in height to stand
throughout the carriages, which is important for
commuters from Moor Park and Northwood as it no longer
guaranteed you will get a seat during peak hours. Efforts
are still ongoing to improve the PA systems as there have
been complaints of the driver’s being inaudible and the
automatic announcers giving incorrect information.
Improvement works to the line are still
taking place over weekends and will
continue to do so until the installation of
the new signalling is completed, which
will not be until 2016 at the earliest. If
you wish to travel at weekends it is
recommended to check on either the TfL
website or at your station or in The
Metro, before leaving.
The Metropolitan Line management have also advised that
extensive works are required around Finchley Road to
improve the drainage and make the line more able to cope
with heavy rainfall, which has caused severe delays on a
number of occasions over recent years. It will not be
possible to complete this work at weekends and will
require the shutting down of this section of the line for an
estimated six weeks. Dates are still to be advised but will
cause major inconvenience to Eastbury tube users.
Major repairs are also required around Harrow and Baker
Street, which will also result in major disruption. The
Federation of Metropolitan Line Users Committee
(FOMLUC) has suggested that these works are all done at
the same time, with one period of complete closure, rather
than having three separate works schemes with partial
closures.
Efforts are still ongoing to reintroduce the running of off
peak fast trains from Moor Park and our MP David Gauke’s
involvement in this is much appreciated. (See Spring 2013
newsletter).
Ease of access to train timetables continues to be a
problem, with Moor Park and Northwood users having to
either consult two separate pamphlets for Watford and
Amersham/Chesham trains, or rely on mobile internet
access to get full details using the TFL Journey Planner.
However Moor Park has just had new
displays installed at the entrance to the
station and on the platforms which show
live details of train arrivals. The
information is a bit hit and miss at the
moment but it is hoped it will improve
soon and will help ensure that people
travelling in and out of Moor Park or
changing trains there, are on the correct
platform for their train.
Aside from this amongst other issues FOMLUC is still trying
to get the Met Line to address are the problem of trains
leaving before their timetabled departure time and for TFL
to end their required “Good Service” announcements
which passengers find extremely annoying and take
priority over station staff informing passengers when their
next train is due.
Finally the Croxley Link has now had the go ahead and
work is due to start in 2014 and to complete in 2016. This
will allow direct access from the Metropolitan Line into
Watford town centre and also to Watford Junction station.
Please contact me if you require any further information.
John Lunzer at [email protected]
FOMLUC Representative
Outstanding Results at Northwood School Northwood School is delighted to announce another year of outstanding GCSE
results. 97% of Year 11 students gained 5 or more A*- C grades, with an
impressive 73% achieving 5 or more A*- C grades including English and
Mathematics. Both outcomes are significantly above the averages achieved by
all schools nationally and represent the fifth consecutive year of improvement
in results at Northwood.
Deputy Headteacher, Mark Anderson, who oversees student achievement at
the school, commented: “These outstanding results affirm Northwood’s status
as a high performing, academically successful school. As delighted as I am with them, they come as no surprise because
they reflect the outstanding teaching and learning that I see on a daily basis throughout the year.” Headteacher, Graeme
Atkins, said: “Our students benefit from the fact that we are a relatively small secondary school therefore we can devote
the one-to-one attention that enables them to achieve as well as they do. We are ambitious for them and they in turn are
highly motivated to succeed.”
These are exciting times for all at Northwood, which was recently selected by the Government as a priority school for new
buildings and facilities. In addition, the school site has been chosen by the Department for Education to be the location for
a new university technical college, sponsored by British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Brunel University, which will sit
alongside the main school and specialise in aviation engineering. Northwood School is located on Potter Street and recruits
students each year from the Eastbury area. For further details contact Julie Cooper on 01923 836363.
coming soon… well 2016 actually
Headteacher Mr Atkins and students
Pa
ren
ts pe
rrmissio
n g
ran
ted
www.eastbury-residents.org Autumn 2013 Page 3
Proposed Sainsbury's Development in Northwood
How did all this start?
During the first half of this year there was much discussion
and speculation about the possibility of Transport for
London (TfL) selling a substantial block of land it owns,
close to the Tube station on Station Approach and Green
Lane. Sainsbury’s was considered to be the frontrunner to
build a new supermarket on the site.
When did things become more definite?
On 20 June, it was announced
that TfL had agreed to sell
(subject to planning
permission) this site to a
developer. The buyer, Bride
Hall Ltd, indicated its
intention to create about 167
new homes, a 26,000 sq ft
Sainsbury’s supermarket and
car parks for commuters and
shoppers.
What has been the local reaction to this news?
From the outset, strong opposition has been voiced by
local businesses and residents. A campaign group “Save
Our Northwood!” has been established and – together with
Northwood Residents Association (NRA) – a public meeting
was called at Northwood Methodist Church on 1 July.
What happened at that meeting?
The great majority of the 400+ people who attended were
opposed to the proposal. However, opinion was divided on
whether to oppose the development outright or accept the
reality of re-development and seek to mitigate its effect.
How was that difference resolved?
On 19 July, and then on 5 August, the “Save Our
Northwood!” group met to set up a committee and define
its aims. The primary aim is now to stop the development
outright. Only if this is seen not to be working, will the
group seek to mitigate the impact of the development.
What happened after that?
A second public meeting took place at Emmanuel Church
on 19 August. The committee was introduced and its aims
were explained. A full transcript of the meeting – including
questions put and answers given – is available on the “Save
Our Northwood!” web-site www.saveurnorthwood.co.uk.
When will we hear from Bride Hall and Sainsbury’s?
Bride Hall and Sainsbury’s are required by law to hold a
pre-planning consultation event. They will hire a local hall
and, over a period of days, they will exhibit their plans.
Their representatives will be available to explain more
about the proposed development and answer questions. A
recent communication from Bride Hall has given “late
October/ early November” as a potential date for this
consultation.
What can I do in the
meantime?
• Have a look at the “Save
Our Northwood!” web-site
for more information.
• Complete the survey on
that web-site (under “Poll”) in
order that the views of the
whole local community can be
determined.
• If you are opposed to the development, the web-site
explains how you can sign a petition. Residents are
encouraged to send their views to politicians and
planners whose names and e-mail addresses are listed.
The web-site of the Eastbury Residents Association will also
keep you up to date at www.eastbury-residents.org.
What is the position of Eastbury Residents
Association?
Your Committee is very well aware of the anxiety this is
causing in our community and the concerns raised by local
businesses and residents. We are particularly concerned
about the effect that any new development will have on
the volume of traffic through Northwood, where our roads
are already over-stretched at key times of the day.
However, for a more thorough review of the implications of
the proposed development, we await the information to be
provided during the public consultation and exhibition. We
will keep you informed through our web-site of the date
and venue of the public consultation. If you have not
already done so please sign up on our website to receive e-
mail notifications when the website is updated. Please visit
the exhibition to see the proposals and let us know what
you think of them.
ERA Committee
Part of the site for proposed re-development
Oyster Card Travel Tip People may not be aware that if you have a
senior rail card you can ask at the station to
have it put on your Oyster card which gives
you a discounted fare. So if you travel
straight into central London and then back again, for
example from Northwood to Oxford Circus and then back
again from a station in zone 1, without additional tube
journeys, it should only cost £4 return outside the rush
hour. It's a little published fact but a very good deal!
Elizabeth Tothill
When autumn leaves start to fall... ...the leaf blowers start up and, unlike the lyrical and
soothing voice of Eva Cassidy, these fuel operated garden
machines are not the noise you want to be awakened by
especially at the week-end. Please do not use them or allow
your gardeners to use them before 9am at the week-end.
Some residents seem to be oblivious of how anti-social these
machines can be. Please also ensure that your gardeners do
not blow the leaves into the road to block the drains. Leaves
should be put into the brown bin or better still compost
them for your garden.
www.eastbury-residents.org Autumn 2013 Page 4
Health Matters Hillingdon Hospital Urgent Care Centre
Greenbrook , a private firm with links to Ealing Hospital
NHS Trust, is taking over the running of the Urgent Care
Centre (UCC) from Harmoni later this year. The new
extended UCC will operate 24/7 and will be led by GPs and
Nurse Practioners. Except for patients arriving by
ambulance everyone coming to A & E will be triaged in the
UCC, with some being referred back to their own GPs,
some being treated in the UCC and only those needing A &
E services being treated there.
Healthwatch is the new, independent consumer champion
for health and social care. Its job is to represent the needs
of everyone using these services.
Healthwatch Herts was launched in April this year and for
more information tel: 01707 275978 or visit:
www.healthwatchhertfordshire.co.uk
Healthwatch Hillingdon was launched on 18th September
and for more information tel: 01895 272997 or visit:
www.healthwatchhillingdon.org.uk
Northwick Park Hospital
A £21 million grant from the Department of Health was
awarded for a new Emergency Department, Children’s
Emergency Department and Urgent Care Centre. Building
started in Jan 2013 and is due for completion in Spring
2014.
Watford General
The Trust has undertaken a major recruitment drive
following recent criticism of understaffing and has
attracted over 100 trained nurses and healthcare assistants
to improve staff levels on the wards. The number of beds
has also been increased due to a significantly higher than
anticipated number of emergency admissions.
Community Voice
Community Voice (CV) meets on the first Thursday of every
month in the Postgraduate Centre at Mount Vernon
Hospital and all visitors are most welcome. At the moment
CV is actively engaged in promoting or monitoring 28
different issues.
Among the recent speakers was Dr. Susan LaBrooy,
Medical Director who spoke on “Shaping a healthier Future
Programme”. She explained that to afford the provision of
modern healthcare all services must be cost effective. The
centralisation of some services in NW London such as
heart, stroke, trauma and vascular centres were already
saving lives. Sometimes hospital mergers are appropriate
in providing a bigger patient pool to justify bigger and
better services.
On Thursday 7th November Margaret Sullivan, Chief
Executive of the Paul Strickland Scanner Centre will be
speaking. All meetings start at 7.45pm.
Adrienne Glicher
Northwood Live at Home Northwood Live at Home (NLAH) aims to improve the quality of life of older people in the Northwood area who live
independently, by reducing isolation, through sociable group activities and befriending. It currently has 111 members, of
whom most are over the age of 75 and almost half over 85.
Amongst other things, NLAH provides a weekly lunch club, a weekly friendship group, fortnightly
‘soup, sandwich and socialise’ sessions with visiting speakers, a weekly exercise class geared to
the needs of older people and outings and trips to places of interest. Transport is provided for all
those who need it, mainly through volunteer drivers who pick up people living near each other.
In addition, many members are befriended by individual volunteers who visit them at home or go
out with them. If needed, support is available to volunteers from three part-time staff members.
The scheme depends heavily on its 35 or so local volunteers who undertake much of the day to
day work. They include retired people, school students and members of a scout troop who help
to deliver newsletters and cards. Volunteers are given training in matters such as first aid, food hygiene, safeguarding,
lifting and handling and dementia awareness.
A number of people receiving NLAH services (members) reside in the Three Rivers part of Northwood and the area covered
by the ERA. NLAH is always looking for volunteers to help with the work of the Scheme in supporting older members of the
community, including help with activities, driving and befriending vulnerable older people. The membership, as well as
volunteers and staff, are also keen to encourage residents in the ERA area to join as members.
Please contact Linda Chapman, the scheme manager on 01923 842494 or e-mail [email protected] for
further information about membership or volunteering.
Pocklington House In May Pocklington House, formerly a home for blind and partially sighted people, in Eastbury Avenue closed. A public
meeting was held at St Helen's School in August at which various options were discussed including the possibility of selling
the land (3 acres) for residential development or to a care home provider. Three Rivers District Council has identified the
site as suitable for residential development so any planning application for such use is likely to be looked on favourably. At
the time of writing the property is being demolished.
www.eastbury-residents.org Autumn 2013 Page 5
The most common technical reason for planning
applications being rejected by councils is that the
accompanying location plans are invalid. These are the
block plans for the property that you are submitting for a
planning application. There are four accredited sources
that supply updated plans. If you utilise one of these you
are one step closer to submitting a valid application.
Most planning applications require a location plan and a
site plan (also known as a block plan) to be submitted as
supporting documents. The accredited sources where you
can obtain these are as follows:
• www.getmapping.com
• www.streetwise.net
• www.geostore.com/stanfordsportal
• www.emapsite.com/referral/planningportal
There are many reasons why plans can be deemed invalid
by Three Rivers District Planners. These include:
• the correct license might not be in place
• the plan might be out of date
• the plan has been used for a previous application
• the plan hasn't been marked up correctly
Submitting an invalid plan can delay your application with
problems arising from boundary disputes if the plan is out
of date and it can mean a resubmission cost. By purchasing
your plans from one of the accredited suppliers you are
safe in the knowledge that:
• your plan is sourced from Ordnance Survey up-to-date
mapping
• the scale of the plan will be correct
A Common Issue with Planning Applications
• the plan will be accepted by the Three Rivers Planning
office and is suitable for planning applications
Each of the accredited sources provide access to plans in a
variety of scales and hectare sizes to suit every planning
application type and includes easy-to-use drawing tools to
assist you in marking up your property. There are many
other benefits
of buying your
map through
one of these
accredited
suppliers such
as:
• You can
view your
plan before
you buy it
• You can highlight boundaries and annotate the map
without the need for additional software
• There is no need to convert your plan's file format for
submitting as the plans are ready to easily attach to
your application and in the correct format
• You can purchase your plan whenever you need it -
either before or during the planning application process
Hopefully this gives you some useful advice on one of the
most common technical issues for rejecting planning
applications.
Andrew Tooley
Across Hertfordshire the roads maintenance programme
has been very busy this summer, helped by the fine
weather. On one day, Sunday 4 August, the surface
dressing team broke the county’s previous
record for the biggest area completed in a
single shift of six hours, by covering 84,525
square metres of the A41. That is
approximately 7 miles of road, with an area
similar to 12 football pitches.
Locally, following the new footpaths in St
Mary’s Avenue in the Spring, the road was
given a new surface in August. A large
section of Eastbury Avenue, from its
junction with Watford Road almost to the
junction with Hillingdon and incorporating the Davenham
Avenue junction has been resurfaced this summer. There
has also been some substantial patching in Bishops Avenue
near the school and the entrance to Farm Way. In early
Councillors’ Corner
Highways Update from County Councillor Frances Button
September some poor sections of Watford Road and Sandy
Lane were repaired and, together with the resurfacing of
the ‘other’ Eastbury Road between Hampermill Lane and
Bushey Arches, the whole road surface to
Watford is now much improved. Next year
Eastglade, Grove Farm Park and Sandy
Lodge Way are scheduled to have new
surfaces.
There has also been on-going work on
footpaths, with repairs in The Fairway
recently completed . Another section of
footpath in Westbury Road is planned to be
resurfaced later this year and next year the
footpaths in Bourne End Road are
scheduled to be repaired.
I have also been asking for many of our white lines to be
replaced, particularly at junctions, and this has been
scheduled for this autumn.
To contact County Councillor Button, tel: 07713 743063 or e-mail: [email protected]
www.eastbury-residents.org Autumn 2013 Page 6
ERA Executive Committee
Chairman Elizabeth Willetts 820940
Treasurer &
Tennis Sec
François Neckar
821510
Secretary Victoria Cook 841538
Membership
Secretary
Andrew Dawrant 822660
Roads & CSW Ian Cristol 823405
Community
Voice / Health
Adrienne Glicher 826569
Environment Neelima Payne
Planning Andrew Tooley 826303
Neighbourhood
Watch
Ken Mills OBE 821370
Alan Short 824192
Richard Crook 823325
Aanika Bhalla 842515
E-mail :- [email protected]
The newsletter is delivered to over 1200 households in
Eastbury and part of the Frithwood area of Northwood.
Poppy Appeal in Northwood The Northwood Remembrance Day Parade will take place on Sunday 10th November from 10.30
a.m. at the War Memorial in the centre of Northwood (pictured).
Northwood has supported the Royal British Legion for many years by distributing poppies,
wreaths and other remembrance products to our community and collecting donations on their
behalf. Collections are made throughout Northwood, Eastbury and Northwood Hills and there will
again be various products for which donations will be collected in Waitrose, Northwood. Last year
donations of over £16,000 were collected in our community. This year’s Poppy Appeal campaign
will start in Northwood on Saturday 26th October.
If you have not previously participated in the Northwood Poppy Appeal and would like to assist
this year, please advise the Northwood coordinators as follows:
• volunteer collectors at Waitrose: contact Larraine Morgan on 01923 829911.
• organisations, businesses or house-to-house collection volunteers: contact Chris Boultbee on 01923 825564
Eastbury Church Community Events In the coming months Eastbury Church is running the following seasonal events in the school hall at Eastbury Farm Primary
School to which everyone is welcome:
Remembrance Service Sunday 10 November 10am - 11am
This popular service for Remembrance Sunday brings together the school, the church, the British Legion and many other
local community groups with the laying of traditional wreaths of poppies in the school garden.
Christingle Friday 29 November 6.15pm for 6.30pm
At the start of the run up to Christmas, come and make your own Christingle. The service ends at 7.10pm and is
followed by refreshments.
Reverend Helen Wilkinson
Half price offer
We've tried with four mailings to rope all our lapsed
members back into the fold and onto the courts - this has
to be our last attempt with a half price Membership
Subscription Reduction down to £12.50 for Eastbury
Residents from 1st October 2013.
It's not too late if you haven't joined yet, just give me a call
on 01923 821510 and you can be playing in no time!
Hope everyone enjoys their tennis in the coming months.
Francois Neckar Tennis Secretary
Hillingdon Carers Café Come and take a break and meet other Carers in a friendly,
relaxed atmosphere. You may bring the person you care
for, as long as you are able to support their needs.
Northwood Carers Café, Emmanuel Church, High Street
12 November and 3 December - 2.00 to 3.30pm
Volunteers are also needed to assist at the cafe to make
teas and coffees and help set up refreshments. For more
information or to volunteer to help please call Hillingdon
Carers Health and Wellbeing Service Tel: 01895 811206