Eastbury Residents’ Association Autumn 2010 Page 1

www.eastbury-residents.org

Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by His

Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, opened

the new Joint Headquarters building at

Northwood on Thursday 6 May 2010 (whilst

we were all busy voting in the General

Election!) The ceremony was hosted by the

Chief of Joint Operations, Air Marshal Sir Stuart

Peach. Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The

Duke of Edinburgh were given a tour of the

world-class facilities which include the UK's

operational headquarters, Permanent Joint

Headquarters (PJHQ), and the multinational

operational headquarters currently housing

the European Union's counter-piracy mission.

The new PJHQ building, designed to

accommodate 950 people, will allow for the

collocation of all PJHQ staff for the first time since

its inception in 1996.

In July, 30 members of our Association were

invited to visit the very impressive new PJHQ

building. Presentations were given by several

serving officers about the redevelopment of the

base, the work of the NATO Maritime Forces

engaged in counter-terrorism operations and the

round the clock monitoring and dissemination of

intelligence from various theatres of war.

Those of you living near Northwood JHQ will be

aware that demolition work is still going on but

building works are scheduled to come to an end

over the next year and final landscaping will then

take place.

The Commanding Officer of Northwood JHQ, Capt

Tom Quaye RN, gave a presentation at our AGM

in May about the history and redevelopment of

the site. A summary is included in the Minutes of

the Meeting attached to this newsletter. Capt

Quaye is about to leave the Navy and return to

civilian life. The new Commanding Officer is

Group Captain Chris Brazier and he takes up his

post on the 4th October.

Fire at Valency House In this Issue

Page 2

• Chairman’s Report

• Copse -

Batchworth Lane

Page 3

• Metropolitan Line

Update

Page 4

• SmartWater

• Overhanging trees

• www.ourclimateis

changing.com

Page 5

• The Role of Safer

Neighbourhood

Teams

• South Oxhey

Woods

Page 6

• Roads (and Flying

Machines!)

• Fireworks

Page 7

• Our Local

Environment

• The Green Corner

Page 8

• Community Voice

• Speeding Vehicles

• Westbury Road -

Speed Survey

• Road Stewards

Page 9

• Eastbury Church

• Northwood Choral

Society

• Donate unwanted

furniture

• Committee

Autumn 2010 Newsletter

Special Offer

See page 4 for details

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The fire at Valency House in Batchworth Lane,

which started late in the evening of Saturday

11 September was attended by fire-fighters

from Watford, Garston, Bushey and the aerial

ladder platform firstly from Stevenage and

then from Watford. The blaze was

extinguished at around 5am the next morning.

Watch Commander Geoff Collins at Watford

Fire Station, who was in charge of the fire

fighting, told the Association on 17 September

that a fire investigation was underway and that

the cause of the fire could not be confirmed

until investigations had been completed.

The Association was told that press reports

that the fire was started deliberately were at

that stage conjecture.

It is understood that the house was completely

engulfed by the fire when the fire-fighters

arrived. As can be seen from the photograph

the roof was destroyed and the first and

second floors have partially collapsed.

According to

Michael Snook,

partner at

Robsons Estate

Agents,

speaking on

behalf of the

developer

converting

Valency House into apartments, it is hoped that it

will be possible for the house to be rebuilt

following the fire.

Valency House was constructed in 1896 and has

an interesting history which was explained by

Debbie Morris in her article in our Autumn

2009 newsletter. If you missed the article you can

view the 2009 newsletter on our website. As one

of the oldest and historic properties in our area,

the Association hopes that the original character

and appearance of Valency House will be able to

be restored.

Queen Visits Northwood

Picture courtesy of Watford Observer

Eastbury Residents’ Association Autumn 2010 Page 2

Loud Party

Were you kept awake on the night of Wednesday 30 June?

Many residents called Three Rivers District Council and the

local police to report very loud music which went on until

3am in the morning.

The next day the

music was identified

as having been from

a wedding party in

Astons Road in Moor

Park and was heard

as far away as

Watford Road and

Seven Acres. An

officer from TRDC

visited the property

the following day

and gave a verbal

warning to the

owner.

Unfortunately the

out of hours service

at TRDC was

removed in April this year as it was not considered to be

cost effective. However if at least three calls are received

from residents, or on behalf of three residents,

complaining about a noisy domestic party between the

hours of 8pm and 1am on Friday, Saturday or Sunday

nights, a Council Officer (who has volunteered to be

available) will be called out to visit the property. This does

not of course help if the party is in the week when a visit

will not be made until the following day. You must also be

able to identify the address - or at least the road - from

where the noise is coming from - not easy to do on a still

summer night when noise travels far. I have spoken to the

Moor Park Residents' Association and they are asking their

members to be more considerate of their neighbours in

future so let's hope this does not happen again.

Chairman's Report Welcome to the Autumn 2010 edition of the Association's Newsletter. Attached are the minutes of the AGM held on 24th

May at which an interesting presentation was given by Capt Tom Quaye RN, Commanding Officer at Northwood Joint

Support Unit. More about the redevelopment of Northwood Joint Headquarters can be found on the front page.

Police Liason

Over the summer I have been liaising regularly with our

Ward Constable PC Sharon Hill over various matters

including parking problems around Eastbury Farm Primary

School and traffic speeding. PC Sharon Hill explains her role

and that of PSCO Chris Bignell in this edition and we report

on measures being taken to try to encourage more

considerate driving in our area.

School Parking

Various meetings have taken place with our local District

and County Councillors, the Three Rivers District Council

Principal Projects Manager, our Ward Constable and the

Head Teacher of Eastbury Farm Primary School to address

the issue of inconsiderate and often illegal parking at drop

down and pick up times during school terms. As reflected

in Ken Balneaves' article on page 6 your Committee is not

in favour of more yellow lines on our roads and regard this

as a last resort (as indeed does the Council). Various

measures are being considered including parent

supervision of children in the playground before school

starts so that parents can drop off children quickly without

waiting for the school to open and "walking buses". More

generally we are urging the school to try to persuade

parents to show more consideration in how and where

they park - not across residents' driveways for example

even if it does mean they have to walk a bit further!

Residents in those roads particularly effected will be kept

informed of progress and asked to monitor the effect of

the measures when implemented. Meanwhile our local

police will continue to patrol the area at the operative

times whenever possible and issue parking tickets where

applicable.

Local News

You might be interested to read the Northwood Residents'

Association Newsletters published three time a year. These

are now on our website .

If you are involved in a local organisation or club and would

like to include details of forthcoming events on our web

site or in our newsletters please contact me.

Elizabeth Willetts

Copse – Batchworth Lane Recreation Ground During last winter, work took place on the copse at Batchworth Lane recreation

ground. Dead wood was removed, brambles cut back and the spread of ivy controlled.

The ‘tidy up’ has encouraged the growth of other plants and has helped to improve

the appearance of the Copse.

Nisa Patel

The revitalised copse

Eastbury Residents’ Association Autumn 2010 Page 3

New Trains – The new S Class trains were officially

launched on the Metropolitan Line on August 2nd by

London Mayor Boris Johnson. The trains are the first

London Underground trains to have air conditioning and

have walk through carriages, easier access and spaces for

wheel chairs. The trains will run more smoothly but they

will only be able to run at the same speed as the current

trains after the implementation of the long awaited new

signalling and

power supply

upgrades (see

below). They

will then be

able to run

considerably

faster with

smaller gaps

between

trains. In order

to provide

more space

and better

access the

number of

seats on the

new train is

30% lower

than on the

current trains.

This is likely to

mean that there will be no seats available for passengers

travelling in the rush hour from Moor Park on fast trains or

from Northwood on semi-fast trains until after the

signalling upgrade, when the trains will be more frequent.

The new trains are due to be introduced on a bi-weekly

basis from the autumn of this year.

New Signalling and Power Supply – This was originally

intended to be implemented at the same time as the new

trains, but owing to the demise of Metronet this has been

delayed by several years and companies are currently

tendering to provide for this work. In spite of anticipated

government spending cutbacks it is understood that this

work will still go ahead and completion is anticipated

sometime between 2016-18.

New Train Interior Picture courtesy of Chorleywood FOMLUC member

Metropolitan Line Update John Lunzer represents the association on the Federation of Metropolitan Line Users Committee (FOMLUC).

FOMLUC membership is made up of a number of Residents’ Associations, Passenger Transport groups and interested

individuals who meet on a bi-monthly basis to discuss news and concerns about the running of the Metropolitan Line and the

Chiltern Line. Representatives from the Metropolitan Line attend every other meeting.

Residents who have any matters they wish to bring to the attention of FOMLUC should contact John Lunzer at

john.lunzer@gmail.com.

Current Service – With the trains now approaching 50

years old and the signalling in some places dating back to

the beginning of the last century, it is hardly surprising that

that there are regular signal and train failures. London

Underground have assured FOMLUC that they have

sufficient resources to keep the system going until the

upgrading works have been completed, but with some

components being extremely fragile and obsolete, this year

has been particularly bad for failures.

A new timetable was introduced in December 2009, which

has allowed for longer running times for trains in the rush

hour in the expectation that the trains will be able to run to

these more “realistic” timings. The writer however has

noticed no improvement in the service and delayed

running still results in longer gaps between Watford trains

in the rush hour than during other times, whereas the

reverse should be the case. Pressure brought by FOMLUC

members on the Met Line Management to change

destinations of trains at Baker Street to prevent bunching

has so far been to no avail.

Moor Park Station – The drop off zone in the circle directly

outside the station has now been blocked off and reserved

for staff only. According to the Met Line management this

is to ensure that emergency and maintenance vehicles can

always gain access and that without the area being blocked

off they say they are unable to prevent Moor Park

residents from parking there. The result of this is that

during peak times there can be long queues of cars around

the circle and blocking South Approach. This matter is

being taken up with the Moor Park Residents’ Association

to see if a solution can be found.

Weekend Closures of the Tube Network – Continuing

works to upgrade the Met Line track as well as Jubilee Line

improvements mean that there is a limited service to the

Met Line on most weekends. Other lines are also being

upgraded and anyone wishing to travel on the tube at the

weekend should check on the TFL Website

www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/livetravelnews/realtime/tube/

default.html or on Ceefax/Teletext or at the station before

leaving.

John Lunzer

Eastbury Residents’ Association Autumn 2010 Page 4

What is SmartWater?

SmartWater is a colourless liquid

solution that can be dabbed onto

your personal possessions and

valuables. You can use it on all kinds

of household items such as jewellery,

ornaments, electrical equipment

including TVs, mobile phones and

DVD players, golf clubs and garden

equipment. Once something is

marked, it can be traced back to its

true owner if lost or stolen.

SmartWater - make your property more secure Hertfordshire Constabulary, in partnership with Neighbourhood Watch, is working with SmartWater to keep home burglary

low in Three Rivers. SmartWater is offering Neighbourhood Watch members the product for a one-off total payment of

£18.80 (inclusive of VAT and p&p). The usual price is £60 per annum.

Are overhanging trees or hedges causing a nuisance? Although the Association have been actively working with Hertfordshire County Council (Herts

CC) on this matter it is not always possible to deal with every tree/hedge causing a nuisance.

The following points may be helpful in empowering you to take action and help solve the

problem!

For any defective trees affecting the highway – verges, pavements, roads, these need to be

reported to Herts Highways via either of the following methods:

• Herts Direct Website www.hertsdirect.org and select online service ‘highway fault reporting’.

• By calling Herts CC on 0300 123 4047.

The council will inspect the offending trees and if necessary prioritise any required work. If the

tree or hedge is on private property, the resident will receive a polite letter asking them to cut

the offending growth back. Herts CC will then check to see if the growth has been removed

(usually after 21 days or so). If the request is not complied with, a second letter will be sent.

Herts CC have the power to cut the offending growth once a notice is served and the householder may be charged.

If the tree or hedge is on private property and not affecting the highway then this is a matter that needs to be dealt with by

Three Rivers Council at 01923 776611 or e-mail enquiries@threerivers.gov.uk.

Nisa Patel

www.ourclimateischanging.com Three Rivers District Council have launched an exciting new interactive website (www.ourclimateischanging.com) which

looks at climate change issues that affect us all. This website is a one stop shop website providing interactive maps of

nature walks and cycle paths to information on planning, building and transport. The website features an interactive house

which summarises the main areas within our homes where savings can be made both financially and environmentally!

Nisa Patel

Proven to Deter Criminals

Officers routinely scan criminals and recovered property for SmartWater, so offenders know about it and fear its power to

forensically link them with the scene of a crime. Mark your valuables and display SmartWater deterrent stickers and signs to

send a powerful warning to any would-be burglars or thieves in the area.

Purchase SmartWater

If you would like to purchase SmartWater then please use the Application Form enclosed with this newsletter or you may

download a form from the ERA website www.eastbury-residents.org (see Neighbourhood Watch page). Once the

application form and payment are received delivery will be co-ordinated by Crime Prevention Officer Gary Sibson. His

contact details are 01923 472624.

Warning Signs

Three Rivers Crime Reduction Partnership have agreed funding for SmartWater warning signs for our area to be installed

once a number of residents have started using the product.

Elizabeth Willetts

How SmartWater Works

Each bottle has its own unique chemical

‘code' which is registered to your address,

so anything marked with your SmartWater

can be traced back to you. A bottle marks

around 50 to 60 items. It is almost invisible

and is virtually impossible to remove. The

liquid glows under ultra violet light so

anything marked can be easily identified by

the police. SmartWater has helped to

convict hundreds of criminals and maintains

a 100% conviction rate when used as

evidence in court.

Eastbury Residents’ Association Autumn 2010 Page 5

The Safer Neighbourhood Teams exist to address

community priorities, improve confidence and make

neighbourhoods both feel safe and genuinely be safer.

They are dedicated to a specific geographic area and locally

accountable.

The Key Tasks of a Safer Neighbourhood Team are:

• Understand neighbourhoods. Your officers research

your community on a daily basis, by looking into calls

received and reports of crime and by speaking to

residents in order to understand what is happening in

your area and to discuss your concerns.

• Engage communities. We speak to as many residents as

possible in order that they engage with us and let us

know what concerns them so we can try to resolve the

problem. We make ourselves as accessible as possible,

via email, telephone, using Online Watch Link (“OWL”),

in person, at monthly street meets and in other

meetings in order to improve communication.

• Agree neighbourhood priorities. Once we have

understood the community, we take on board the

concerns of the local residents to agree neighbourhood

priorities and try to combat them.

• Coordinate action with partners. We work in

conjunction with other agencies, such as the council and

schools, for example to resolve the problem of

inconsiderate parking around Eastbury Farm School and

to try to combat speeding in the area amongst other

issues.

• Intervene and enforce. Where necessary, arrests are

made, or fines issued; in particular fixed penalty notices

comprising a £60 fine and 3 points on a licence for

speeding around Eastbury, so that those responsible for

offences in the area are brought to justice.

• Communicate and publicise success. OWL and press

releases as well as word of mouth are used to inform

residents of success in your area. This shows that we

have taken on board what your concerns are and have

done something about it.

My role and responsibilities are as follows:

• Respond to initial reports of crime and conduct the

investigation of crimes in Moor Park and Eastbury

• Help agree and set neighbourhood priorities

• Organise operations on local issues of crime, anti-social

behaviour and agreed neighbourhood priorities

The Role of Safer Neighbourhood Teams The Police Constable covering Moor Park and Eastbury is Sharon Hill. Sharon has been a police officer for four years and has

been in her role as the Ward Constable for two years. Sharon explains what Safer Neighbourhood Teams are all about in her

article below as well as her role and that of Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Chris Bignell.

• Update residents on local crime

issues and activity undertaken by

various means including frequent

updating of the Safer

Neighbourhood Pages on the

Constabulary Website

• Co-ordinate and task daily activity

between PCSOs, Neighbourhood

Constables and Partners

I work alongside Police Community

Support Officer (PCSO) Chris Bignell who assists me in my

role with high visibility policing. Chris has been a PCSO for

two and a half years; all of this time has been spent as

PCSO in Moor Park and Eastbury.

Chris’s role is as follows:

• Reducing crime and anti-social behaviour by conducting

high visibility uniformed patrols, responding to calls for

assistance and enforcement of local low level offences

via fixed penalty notices

• Using designated powers to compliment dealings with

low level crimes, anti-social behaviour, disorder and the

fear of crime

• Providing support and post incident care to victims

through follow up visits and regular contact

• Updating residents on local crime issues and activity

undertaken in relation to crime, anti-social behaviour

and agreed neighbourhood priorities.

• Supporting the investigation process by conducting tasks

such as scene preservation, securing of evidence,

collection of CCTV, identifying witnesses, house to house

enquiries and providing reassurance as directed by the

Investigating Officer.

We always welcome speaking to and hearing from

residents so please contact me or Chris by telephone or e-

mail using the details below and if there is a matter you

would prefer to discuss in person we will do our best to call

round to see you.

PC Sharon Hill Tel: 01923 472211, e-mail:

Sharon.hill@herts.pnn.police.uk. PCSO Chris Bignell Tel:

01923 477208 e-mail: chris.bignell@herts2.pnn.police.uk

or telephone 0845 33 00 222.

PC Sharon Hill, Moor Park and Eastbury Ward Constable

South Oxhey Woods Oxhey Woods local Nature Reserve covers 240 acres of ancient semi-natural woodland, several areas of which date back

towards the last ice age some 10,000 years ago. The Woods contain a range of habitats which make it amongst the most

important woodlands in the county. Amongst the vegetation, Britain’s smallest bat ‘Pipistrelle Bat’ is a common site at the

Woods. A map and more information about the characteristics of the Woods can be found on the ERA website.

Nisa Patel

Eastbury Residents’ Association Autumn 2010 Page 6

There are only three months of this year remaining for Rafi

Yoeli's 2007 prediction to come true when he told the

World about his X-Hawk flying car and that he expected

delivery to be in 2010. Since the beginning of time, we

have looked to the skies for a means of travelling from one

place to another, free from the restrictions of land.

Distance has

for as long as I

can

remember

been referred

to, 'as the

crow flies' and

in science

fiction films

there has

always been

the 'flying machine'. I clearly remember a vehicle not

dissimilar to the X-Hawk being featured in the 1982 film,

'Blade Runner'.

No need for roads up there, eh? Well maybe not, but as a

helicopter pilot, I can see that if we take to the skies en-

mass there would be far more chaos there than we

currently endure on our roads down here. The likelihood

of that is of course limited as the cost of these vehicles is

expected to be in excess of £1m so the prospect may yet

be a while away. However, think a little more about this.

There would be no possibility of signs in the sky as there is

no tarmac to place them in, so perhaps we will have virtual

signs, projected on to our vehicle canopies by the virtue of

GPS location? Hang on though, we already have GPS, can

we not then have virtual signage now to reduce the

proliferation of signage that blights our earthly roads? A

thought perhaps for those who decide the future of road

signs at the Department of Transport? Think of the

savings, no more holes to dig for the supporting poles, a

reduction in the number of car accidents involving signage,

less cost for motorists repairing their cars, clutter free

streets and best of all for control freaks, new virtual signs

Roads (and Flying Machines!)

at the flick of a switch warning us of a new one-way street

or a new 'No parking zone'. Which brings me to the area

round Eastbury Farm school entrance.

It seems that there are traffic issues as a result of parents

dropping off their children at certain times and there is

pressure from some for 'No parking' areas to ease this at

peak times. However, the peak times are term time only,

Monday to Friday and at drop of and pick up times, so just

twice a day. That's only about 340 hours a year and it

seems to me to be overkill to have more no parking lines or

signage or, most likely, both to attempt to deal with this.

Better surely that parents park courteously for local

residents, allowing them to access and egress their homes,

(whilst they await the delivery of their vertical take off

vehicles) remembering not to cause damage to the

pavements and verges around the school that is the local

residents' outlook for the remaining 8,400 hours of the

year. Granted, not all parents are from the Eastbury area

so may not see this article but perhaps the school can pass

on the message as a gentle reminder to visiting parents?

This may save them a parking ticket from the local Police

who are monitoring the situation periodically for illegal

parking.

With the valued assistance of the other members of the

Committee, I continue to try to look after the roads in our

area and most issues are entered on to and then actually

leave my list as they are completed. Hopefully, you will all

have noticed the new bollards on Batchworth Lane and the

replacement of various damaged road signs? Also,

following the ravages of last winter, some of the badly

needed resurfacing has actually taken place. However, as

always, we need your assistance in reporting issues relating

to roads and footpaths that come to your attention to,

Hertfordshire Highways on 01923 471320 or, via the

Hertfordshire Highways Fault Reporting webpage

www.hertsdirect.org/highwayfaults. This webpage can

also be accessed via the ERA website on the Environment

and Roads page.

Ken Balneaves

Fireworks The season for fireworks is fast approaching. Fireworks must not be let off before 7pm and after 11pm except on November

5th when fireworks can be used until midnight and until 1am for Diwali (also 5th November this year) , New Year’s Eve and

Chinese New Year (3rd February 2011). The police enforce the requirements relating to the use of fireworks and can be

contacted on 0845 330 0222.

Please remember: -

• Tell your neighbours you are going to use fireworks and how long they are likely to last.

• Make sure pets and other animals are safely away from fireworks.

• Avoid letting fireworks off in unsuitable weather (still and misty air or strong winds).

• Avoid letting off fireworks in enclosed areas as noise will bounce off buildings and smoke cannot disperse.

• Clear up firework debris afterwards and dispose of safely.

Nisa Patel

Eastbury Residents’ Association Autumn 2010 Page 7

Our Local Environment

Noise Pollution

Residents are asked to be mindful of any noise disturbance

they may cause neighbours, particularly if this occurs in the

early hours of the morning. If you are affected by a noise

disturbance please report it to TRDC. Details of how to

contact TRDC are given below. Please try to specify a

precise location of the source of the noise so that the

council can deal with the issue effectively and in a timely

manner. (Read more in the Chairman’s report about a

recent incident.)

Smoke Pollution

Bonfires – these are NOT the most environmentally friendly

way of getting rid of your rubbish.

If you have a problem with a neighbour’s bonfire please

report it to TRDC (see below) specifying a precise location

of the source of the problem.

Dog Fouling Signs

Residents have contacted the ERA again regarding the

increased levels of dog fouling in the area, particularly in

Crofters Road. At our request TRDC have placed signs in

this road to remind residents to clean up after their dogs.

Recycling Bulky Waste

Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) offers a special

collection service for large household items such as beds,

sofas, chairs, ovens, etc. Typical charges for the removal of

these types of waste are £25 for the 1st five items and £25

per five items thereafter. To arrange collection contact

Customer Services at TRDC (see below). The Household

Waste Recycling Centre in Rickmansworth also accepts

large household and electrical items.

Plastic Recycling

Most of you should be aware that at last TRDC are now

able to recycle most types of plastic. This includes

margarine tubs, ice cream tubs, yoghurt pots, cartons (e.g.

tetra packs), food trays and packaging (except those which

have been in touch with raw meat). A leaflet detailing

what can and can’t be recycled can be found on our

website. Don’t forget, you are able to order extra

recycling boxes from TRDC at Customer Services if

required!

To contact Three Rivers District District Council Customer Service Centre telephone 01923 776611 or via email

enquiries@threerivers.gov.uk.

Nisa Patel

Loft insulation thickness standards have gone from 2 inches

to 8 inches to a new 11 inches last December? This was

almost predicting what would be a really good idea with

first the atrocious long snow and ice spell which

immediately followed - and then the boiling June! Many of

you will have a mere 2inches installed which has been

there for years! Or maybe not even that.

You may have heard that the government will insulate your

loft for £100. Actually this requires you to empty it

completely (and replace the items afterwards). Then

insulation is rolled across the loft floor in 2 directions. Also

you may have to wait for some months to have this done –

and that’s only if you qualify.

Or you can pay for your own insulation and you can also

have it installed inside the roof beams instead to keep your

loft space and its contents aired and warm too.

Another way to keep your heating bills as low as possible is

to address just how much heat is escaping (or in hot

weather is entering) through your windows and glazed

doors. The best protection is with secondary glazing, and

then wooden type shutters, especially with insulated

panels, followed by modern honeycombed blinds, then

comes thick/heavy curtains and roller-blinds. Even better is

a combination of these.

To keep your house warm keep these fittings closed in

rooms you are not using in the daytime, particularly during

very cold spells, and all rooms at night.

On the other hand – in anticipation of another hot spell

next year - the traditional

Mediterranean way to

keep a house cool is to

open up and ventilate at

night only and close up

windows, shutters and

blinds in the very early

morning to retain the cool

and keep the daytime

heat out.

Where your expensively

paid for energy goes:-

Space heating: 53%, water heating: 20%, appliances: 16%,

Lighting: 6% and cooking: 5%.

Where you lose your heat:

The heat-loss for a semi-detached house is: 35% out

through the walls (greater for detached houses) 25%

through the roof, 15% through doors and 10% through

windows.

Diana Rustam

The GREEN CORNER - did you know that...

Eastbury Residents’ Association Autumn 2010 Page 8

The Community Voice was set up in 1990 to link local

people with Mount Vernon Hospital, after a successful

campaign against its closure. Over the last 20 years its

activities have widened so that all local NHS services are

now monitored including Hillingdon, Harefield, Mount

Vernon, Northwick Park and Watford Hospitals. Its broad

purpose is to monitor and work for improvements in local

NHS services and campaign when necessary.

Monthly meetings are held with prestigious NHS guest

speakers and members also receive monthly mailings.

Members include local groups and associations, including

the ERA, and individuals. Meetings are held on the 1st

Thursday of each month (except August and January).

Speeding Vehicles

Have you been smiled at?

Our local police are testing the latest equipment to catch

speeding motorists. The picture shows PCSO Chris Bignell

using a Speed Indication Device (SID) which shows the car's

speed followed

by a happy or sad

face in order to

try to educate

motorists and

make them aware

of their speed.

Although PCSO's

are unable to

issue tickets, they

can use the SID

and note the registration number of the speeding vehicle

and give a written statement so that a police constable can

follow up with a ticket later. Officers will also continue to

use the speed camera as much as possible throughout our

area.

Since march this year, speeding has been a priority matter

for PC Sharon Hill. 74 speeding tickets have been issued in

the last 6 months in our area and over 70 verbal warnings

given to motorists.

Picture courtesy of Watford Observer

The Community Voice urgently needs more volunteers if it

is to continue as a viable organisation. Roles available

include Membership Secretary and Minute Secretary and

support for the IT team but more routine assistance is

needed in many areas such as mailings and assembling

news sheets. Representatives are also needed to attend

meetings at various NHS hospital trusts. All expenses will

be re-imbursed and any equipment or training needed will

be provided. Anyone willing to volunteer can discuss

details before making a commitment. If you are interested

in helping in any way please contact the Chairman or

Secretary.

The Community Voice needs help in order to survive!

Chairman: Mrs Joan Davis, 2 College Drive, Ruislip, Middlesex HA4 8SB Tel: 01895 636095 Email: joandavis@onetel.com

Secretary: Mrs Margaret Ross, 53 Rodney Gardens, Pinner, Middlesex HA5 2RT Tel: 020 8868 8429

or to learn more visit the new website : www.communityvoicehealth.org.uk.

Road Stewards This is the time of year when our hard-working Road

Stewards begin one of their most important jobs, when

they start to collect the 2010-11 annual subscriptions from

you, our Members. The Association is most grateful to

them for their hard work, and to you for your

contributions. I am pleased to tell you that the subscription

for this year is still only £2.

I know that some Road Stewards have been round already,

during the school holidays. Others will be collecting at the

same time as delivering this Autumn Newsletter. And I

know there are some Road Stewards who like to catch you

at home during winter evenings. In any event, your

membership of the Association is continuous, regardless of

when during the year you actually pay your subscription.

We report with sadness the deaths in the last few months

of two longstanding road stewards, Ian Carr and Anne van

den Berg. The Association has sent condolences to both

their families. Margaret Carr, Ian's widow, is continuing to

look after Sandy Lodge Way, and Calver Townsend is now

looking after Grosvenor Road and Parkside Road.

We have 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.

As always seems to be the case, there are 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, Membership Secretary on 822660 or

Elizabeth Willetts, Chairman on 820940. Alternatively, you

can e-mail committee@eastbury-residents.org.

Andrew Dawrant

Westbury Road - Speed Survey Following residents' concerns the Traffic Management

team at Herts CC has conducted a survey on Westbury

Road and Batchworth Lane in order to monitor the volume

and speed of traffic. The results of the Westbury Road

survey show that the average speed is exactly 30 miles per

hour. The traffic management team has stated that the

council will not implement any traffic calming measures on

Westbury Road due to this average speed. We are still

awaiting results from the Batchworth Lane survey.

Eastbury Residents’ Association Autumn 2010 Page 9

The newsletter is delivered to over 1200 households in the

Eastbury area of Northwood.

Has Science Killed God? Do you believe in Genesis or Darwin or something in between? How should schools deal with pressure from both camps?

As the world seems ever more vulnerable to natural as well as man-made disasters, long held beliefs are perhaps

increasingly difficult to maintain. Professor Stephen Hawking has just sparked the debate by asserting that modern physics

has no need for divinity at the heart of creation and religious leaders have risen up in protest. So, what do you think - has

science killed God?

Dr Denis Alexander is a biochemist and director of the Faraday Institute in Cambridge. He sees no reason to have to choose

between the two beliefs and argues that the biblical doctrine of creation AND the coherence of the evolutionary theory can

live happily side by side. Come to hear this controversial speaker at another of the popular Community Evenings organised

by Eastbury Church. Once again the meeting will be held in Eastbury Farm Primary School, Bishops Avenue, Northwood.

Everybody is welcome and no pre booking or tickets are required. The date is Saturday 16th October at 8pm.

There will then be an opportunity to ask questions and the evening will conclude with refreshments and an opportunity to

meet your neighbours.

*****

Eastbury Church meets every Sunday at Eastbury Farm Primary School at 10am and

has groups for all ages.

The community evening is part of the series of events organised by a number of

Northwood Churches during 2010 entitled “A Passion for Life”. For more details visit

www.APFL.org.uk or email eastbury.church@ecn.org.uk.

Keith Clement

Northwood Choral Society Northwood Choral Society is now

rehearsing Handel’s Messiah for

their Autumn Concert. Rehearsals

take place each Sunday at 7.15pm in

Holy Trinity Church Hall, Gateway

Close, Rickmansworth Road,

Northwood.

Any singers interested in joining the

choir are very welcome to come to a rehearsal. There is no

audition for new members.

The concert will be held on Saturday 13th November 2010

at 7.30pm in Holy Trinity Church, Rickmansworth Road,

Northwood. Tickets which cost £10 will be available in

advance from Sally Rogers: e-mail sallyrogers01@aol.com

or from Northwood Bookshop.

For further information see our website:-

www.northwoodchoralsociety.org.uk.

Nikki Hind, Secretary, Northwood Choral Society

ERA Executive Committee

Chairman Elizabeth Willetts 820940

chairman@eastbury-residents.org

Treasurer & François Neckar 821510

Tennis Sec

Secretary John Servent 822827

secretary@eastbury-residents.org

Membership

Secretary

Andrew Dawrant 822660

Roads Ken Balneaves 827721

Community

Voice / Health

Adrienne Glicher 826569

Environment Nisa Patel 828805

Planning Mehdi Fazal 822562

Neighbourhood

Watch

Bob Cockerell 822797

Ken Mills OBE 821370

Alan Short 824192

Richard Crook 823325

Webmaster Martin Schultz 827082

E-mail :- committee@eastbury-residents.org

tennis@eastbury-residents.org

roadstewards@eastbury-residents.org

Why not donate your unwanted

furniture? There are various furniture reuse schemes in Hertfordshire.

When you donate to one of these schemes you will be

helping a project which supports somebody who is living on

low wages, benefits or needs emergency support. Our

local scheme is in Rickmansworth. For more information

please contact Waste Aware on 0300 1234 051 or take a

look at the leaflet on our website

www.eastbury-residents.org.

Nisa Patel