New Years Message from Cllr Mann

On behalf of the Collier Row & Mawneys Residents Association I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our readers (including the Tory Councillors, who log on to find out what is going on in Collier Row) and residents in North Romford a very Happy New Year.

As I write a personal blog for our site, the last for 2007 and also the 100th of the year I wanted to briefly look back at the year 2007. It has certainly been an interesting 12 months.

We started the year with the loss of Martin and Alexandra Smith, your former Mawneys Councillors who moved to Australia to start a new business venture, running a café and restaurant for ex-pats in Melbourne, aptly named the “Britannia”. There loss was filled by Karen Price and now Joe Webster, I am pleased that we have a full team working in Mawneys Ward.


It has been a busy year for us, we started with the continued petition to Havering Council for CCTV for Collier Row and we ended the year in January with it almost up and running and in place.

I was pleased to be able to attend the opening of the Surestart Centre in Collier Row with the Mayor of Havering, Cllr Wendy Brice-Thompson. We also welcomed new residents to the area in Bushey Close in the new Gobions Estate.

I spent a day out on patrol with the Havering Park ward SNT trying to get a better understanding of how our local Police team works and seeing first hand the work that was taking place on the crackdown of illegal motor bikes in the Country Park.

Spring saw us launch our petition against Car Park charges in Collier Row, by the time the autumn had come round we had over 3500 in Collier Row and over 18,000 across the Borough, did the Conservative run Council listen, no they did not, the charges are set to arrive at a car park near you soon.

We continued our support of the “Friends of Park groups” in North Romford, we had a team at the King Georges Playing Fields Quiz Night and both myself and Graham have attending meetings or events of both King Georges Playing Fields, Lawns Park and Havering Country Park.

In June, Graham Price was awarded a Honorary alderman award in recognition of his 16 years service as a Councillor on Havering Council. I also attended the Planet Havering Show, which is always a most. The Residents Association also won the St Andrews By-Election, with Mike Winter returned to the Town Hall.

Building Work continued at a very rapid pace at the Forest Row Centre, the old sixth form block was knocked down and the work was finished by December with the hand over to the new Forest Row Centre. We also saw Bedfords park being awarded a green flag, for being an excellent park.

We saw over 1000 Scouts from around the World descend on Bedfords Park for the World Scout Jamboree, who took part in Environmental clean up work. We also saw the park over-run with travellers; they spent almost 3 weeks at the park, destroying all the good work done in making it a green flag park.

We also saw the Council CCTV car set loose on the streets of Havering, over 10,000 tickets have now been issued and we have been inundated with horror stories from residents who been caught on camera. I estimate that the car will make over £1.7 million in its first 12 months.

We continued to help residents fight un-wanted planning development around them, such as 101 Clockhouse Lane, more flats in Essex Road, 92 The Drive and 66 Clockhouse were the Conservative Councillors over-ruled local opinion to approve flat conversations.

We also saw the sell off, of our park land across the borough, in particular at King Georges Playing Fields, with no commitment to ploughing the money back into the parks, this can not be a good thing for residents.

We saw a new road being laid in the village behind the church; residents have campaigned for years to get the Council to take this matter seriously. We saw continued improvement in our exam results at Bower Park School and we also saw Frank Bruno open the new astro-turf pitch, which has to be one of my highlights of the year.

We also saw the Tory Council announce plans to cover the Borough in Billboards to try and recover the £5 million it over spent in social services, another one of there rash decisions.

We have also seen the introduction of our booklet style newsletter, which is delivered to over 11,000 houses and shops across North Romford; it went down so well, that after the first issue we were able to increase it in size from 12 pages to 16 pages. The comments we receive about the newsletter have been fantastic, we have proved that you do not need to send out a full colour glossy leaflet with nothing in it but super imposed pictures of people pretending they are working for the people of Collier Row !

Well that said, if you are still reading, may I wish you a very Happy New Year and I look forward to meeting you whilst out and about during 2008.

Best Wishes

Cllr Andrew Mann

Winter / New Year Newsletter Being Delivered

The latest issue of the Collier Row & Mawneys Residents Association newsletter is currently being delivered to over 11,000 homes and shops across North Romford, which includes both havering park and Mawneys Wards.

You can read all about what we have been up to in the Community, updates on such issues as New CCTV cameras installed for Collier Row, Billboards set to be erected across the borough, Car Parking fees for Collier Row, latest news on the CCTV car, the latest on the Forest Row Centre and its official opening and much more

If you have not received a copy, please drop us a line, either by phone, e-mail or pen and paper, contact details at top of the page.

If you want to read the newsletter on-line, it will be available to read on line shortly, by clicking here or on the picture above.

Letter in the Romford Recorder

Below is a copy of a letter in this weeks Romford Recorder, following the recent report on Joe webster joining the Collier Row & Mawneys Residents Association.

The Editor of The Recorder,

I would just like to set the record straight, and to correct a factual error contained in the report, “De-selected Webster joins Residents’ Group- Tories rocked by another defection”, the Recorder, 14th December.

The article states that “Mr. Webster is one of a three former Tories - deselected as prospective councillors for the party in controversial circumstances in 2006, to go on and join the R.A's”. In fact, when Collier Row and Mawneys Residents Association was launched in March 2006, there were no less than five Councillors, all deselected ex-Conservatives, who formed the new Residents Association.

These were, Cllr. Andy Mann, Jean Gower, Martin Smith, Alexandra Smith, and myself. The welcome addition of Joe Webster now makes six, and a seventh is also evident in the form of Cllr. Ray Morgon, who was the first to resign from the Conservatives, in protest at our numerous de-selections, and move to The Residents Associations in Havering.

GRAHAM PRICE

Mawneys Ward Action Team

Christmas Refuse Collection Times

Refuse and recycling collection dates will change over the Christmas and New Year period. Please see below for a list of revised collection dates. Normal collections will resume on Monday 14th January 2008.

Please note that all revised collection arrangements also apply to the clinical, cardboard and trade waste services. Garden waste wheeled bin collection cease between 25th December and 4th January, normal collections resume 8th January.

Please click on the table on the left for an enlarged copy that you can print out and keep.

For opening times of Gerpins Lane Reuse and Recycling Centre, please see section below.

Christmas Eve 0730-1630
Christmas Day Closed
Boxing Day 0930-1600

New Years Eve 0730-1630
New Year Day 0930-1600

All other times 0730-1745

Merry Christmas

Turkey Tips

Cooking on Christmas Day should be fun and enjoyable, however it can often lead to serious illness with food under cooked, in particular the Christmas Turkey.

If in doubt, follow these simple instructions from havering Councils "Captain Turkey" at the Environmental Health Department, the simple leaflet explains how to defrost and cook the turkey without getting food poisoning, click on the link below to go to the site for more details.

Click HERE for more information

Letter to the recorder

Below is a copy of a letter in this weeks Romford Recorder, following the recent report on Park Land being sold off and the Editors Column last week.

Dear Editor

Your view from the editors Column published last Friday is absolutely spot on with “Parks, time to be worried”. Well at least we now know officially what the Conservative Administration in the Town Hall intend to do, with the open area of land behind Linley Crescent in King Georges Playing Fields.

After several months of rumours that they wanted to use it for the Council’s vehicle depot, it now transpires that they have identified the former children’s play area as a potential site for disposal and suitable for development as detailed in a report to Cabinet on the 24th October.

It is one of several sites identified in the same way, two of which are in Mawneys Ward, the other being the grassed play area situated between Hood Walk and Clovelly Gardens.

The Collier Row & Mawneys Residents Association have been simply inundated with comments from dozens of residents in Linley Crescent, all of which have signified to us their firm and vociferous opposition to the proposed disposal of the open area of land, we have not received even one comment in favour of the proposal, from any resident in Linley Crescent.

After the Cabinet decision was made, The Residents Group requisitioned a special meeting of the Corporate Overview & Scrutiny Committee which was held on the 12th November, a meeting which I attended in an observant capacity, together with approx 50 members of the public. After a discussion of the cabinet report and their decision lasting over an hour, the Conservative members voted by 4-2 to uphold the decision.

In your editorial published last Friday, you have directed criticism at “Council Leader Michael White & Cabinet Member Paul Rochford”. However, it is interesting to note that two of the Mawneys Councillors are heavily implicated in the proposed disposal, as Peter Gardner is also a Cabinet Member and Roby Misir actually chaired the special Requisition meeting and used his vote to uphold the decision.

Like all Conservatives, they are fond of putting out leaflets stating that they are “On Your Side”. However, the residents of Linley Crescent now know for sure that two of their Mawneys Councillors are most definitely NOT on their side !

Graham Price
Mawneys Ward

Crime Figures down in Havering

Figures released by the Metropolitan Police indicate a significant decrease in the number of offences committed in Havering for the year ending November 2007.

The total number offences for the 12 month period to November 2007 amounted to 17,640 compared with 21,137 for the same period in 2006, equating to a 20 per cent decrease in recorded offences.

Among the most significant reductions were:

131% drop in gun enabled crime (from 67 to 29)
41% drop in motor vehicle crime (from 4,095 to 2,905)
15% drop in all violence against the person (from 3,903 to 3,397)
15% drop in all burglaries (from 2,569 to 2,235)
10% drop in domestic crime (from 1,174 to 1,066)

Key activities over recent months include a specific operation targeting burglaries, which led to an increase in the number of people arrested and intelligence gathered. In addition, a week long campaign targeting road safety was launched which led to 158 fixed penalty notices being issued for offences ranging from no seat belt to jumping a red light.

To view the complete set of figures please click on the following link.

http://www.met.police.uk/crimefigures/datatable.php?borough=kd&period=yer

Picture: Havering park Ward SNT Sgt Andy Barnes and Cllr Andy Mann out on patrol earlier in the year.

Joe Webster joins the Residents Association

The Collier Row & Mawneys Residents Association has welcomed the decision of former Councillor, Joe Webster in leaving the Conservative Party and joining our Association.

Mr Webster has a huge amount of experience in helping the local community, first elected in 1998, he represented the Rise Park ward and then, following Boundary changes in 2002, he contested the newly-formed Pettits Ward, a seat he held until 2006.

Now Mr Webster intends to go back into local politics, by becoming an action team member for the Collier Row & Mawneys Residents Association, representing the Mawneys Ward in Collier Row, where he will join long-standing activists Graham & Karen Price.

Joe, who was also the Cabinet member for Education for almost three years, has a huge wealth of experience of local issues that will be a great benefit to the local community, having previously been a Councillor for 8 years. He is also a Governor at no less than three schools, Marshalls Park, Rise Park Junior and Parklands Infants.

Commenting on Joe’s decision, Chairman of the Collier Row & Mawneys Residents Association, Cllr Andrew Mann said “I believe that Joe Webster will be a brilliant asset to our team in Collier Row, he is dedicated and hard-working and just wants the best for the local community, I know he will fit in well with our team and I look forward to working with him in the run up to the next local elections in 2010”

Joe Webster said “After 25 years of working for the Conservative Party, I have found this decision very difficult. After my deselection in 2006, I waited to see how the new Council would operate. I have been very disappointed. The worst aspect is the complete absence of transparent democracy, the Overview and Scrutiny is just a joke. Any dissent within the Conservative Group is snuffed out by threats of deselection”

He went on “I have come to the conclusion that the only way to oppose this arrogant treatment of the people of Havering is to join forces with the Residents Association to elect Councillors into the Town Hall who are of independent mind and are prepared to stand by their principles”

So you think you can dance ?

Cllr Mann was lucky to be at Bower Park school yesterday to watch the "So you think you can dance", a 90 min plus show of dance and music, put on by the students to raise money for the school to purchase a portable dance mat that can be moved around the school and used in different locations.

Students from all five years were dancing, although almost predominately girls, we did have a few brave boys that put on an excellent show, although out numbered massively.

Over 70 students took part in the dance show, with some 250 turning up to watch in the audience, the hall was fall up and after the raffle, the school made good progress towards the £2000 they need to buy the dance mat.

Once again, the staff and pupils of the school put on a great show, as a Governor of Bower Park i am no longer surprised by the quality and determination of all the pupils that want to achieve, they were all a credit to the school.

Major Power Cut in Romford

Whilst working in the Town Hall this morning, I was somewhat thrown into the dark when the lights when out and the power shut down at 08.45. The result of a StreetCare operative being a little to keen to dig a hole with his kango to install a bench in Main Road, Romford.

I am informed by the Head of StreetCare at Havering Council that the young man is o.k, although taken to hospital it was only a precaution and he was quite shook up. At one stage there was three fire engines and two ambulances following somone calling in the incident as an electrical fire. The resulting power cut, knocked out the whole of the Town Hall until early afternoon and parts of Romford.

The power was also affected at Marshalls Park School and the A12, as the traffic lights lost power and turned off, however i have to say when i travelled home later that day, the lack of lights made the junction far easier to navigate and the two traffic Police on their bikes were rather redundant as they really were not needed.

The power went back on late afternoon, and the Council was back to usual, with Full Council taking place later in the evening.

Pinewood Christmas Bazaar

I had the chance to attend The Pinewood School Christmas Bazaar yesterday and it was great to see so many people supporting the school by turning out to buy Christmas gifts for family and friends and to join in some of the fun, even Santa himself was in school giving out gifts to the children.

As a former pupil and now a Governor it is always good to be back in the school, there is something about being in a primary school that is different to when I am in Bower Park as a Governor. I am however, positive it is down to the small chairs, it always makes me laugh when you have to sit down and your knees come up above your head.

That said, I did not get much of a chance to sit down, the teachers and staff do such a wonderful job at Pinewood and often the school does not get much public praise for what it does, so hopefully this little plug for the school will go some way.

Frank Bruno at bower park School

Cllr Mann was on hand at Bower Park School this Friday as Boxing Legend Frank Bruno, MBE officially opened the schools £1.2 million sports hall and astro turf development.


As a Governor of the School, Cllr Mann was on hand to show Frank around the school, along with Mary Morrison, the head teacher, pupils, staff and teachers, he not only cut the ribbon to the new astro turf pitch, he spent time talking to the children and visiting some of the class rooms.


More to follow later ........

101 Clockhouse Lane Planning application

Another planning application at 101 Clockhouse Lane has been refused following objections from local residents and Cllr Mann, who "called in" the decision so that officers could not decide it using their delegated powers without referring it back to Councillors.

The full planning reason for the the proposed development reads "By reason of the proximity of the access road and the intensification of vehicular activity close to residential properties adjoining the access road, be detrimental to the residential amenity of neighbouring properties, contrary to Policy DC61 of the Core Strategy and Development Control Policies Submission Development Plan Document".

Which in no planning speak means "The reason for refusal will be based on the unacceptable impact of the development on adjoining occupiers".

Cllr Mann said "I have almost lost count of the application on this site, I think this is the fifth one now in about 4 years, the last application ended up at a public enquiry meting of the Planning Inspectorate, an independent body that regulates planning appeals. The Inspector agreed with myself and local residents that this site was not appropriate for development".

We now wait and see if yet another planning application will be made on this site.

Billboard Madness !!!!!

Residents Association Councillor, Andrew Mann (Havering Park) has slammed Havering Council over its decision to lease off parts of its open green space around the Borough. In a secret Executive Decision made last week by the Cabinet Member for Finance, Roger Ramsey he agreed to a 5 year lease with advertising company JC Decaux to erect a 96 sheet bill board at the North Street and Eastern Avenue, Romford.

However, Cllr Mann was banned from talking about it last week, as the decision was confidential, this despite the billboard being built last week and there for all to see, he risked a complaint to the Standards Board of England if he even confirmed the billboard was to do with the Council.

He said “I would never knowing release confidential information, so to be told I could not discuss this issue in public, whilst the 12ft tall by 30ft long structure was built and was there for all to see was madness, I therefore made a request to the Councils Head of Law to make the decision public, and following a Freedom of Information request, this has now been done”

However, Cllr Mann has also accused the Conservative Administration of nothing but spin, after the Council sent out a press release talking about the plans, before the Head of Law had made the report public, potentially leaving the Councils own head of Communication liable to a Standards Board complaint for breaching confidential information”

The Decision was “Called In” by the Residents Association and it is now set to go before a special Overview & Scrutiny Committee this week to discuss why the decision was made in secret and to ask about the reasons behind erecting a billboard in this location.

However, the saga continues as the advertising hoarding erected was not the one in the report, but it has (coincidentally) been erected by an unknown contractor who just took a chance and built it to see if he could get away with it, this is not the first time this has happened in the last 12 months, as signs have been erected at Como Street Car Park and the Ice Rink. So the sign is set to face the bulldozers as it is an unauthorised structure on the highway and the Council has no idea who put it there.

Cllr Mann went on “This whole situation is nothing less than a scene from a carry on film, the Administration seem to be running round like headless chickens, they call this a pilot project to see how it goes down, but they do not tell anyone, make the decision confidential and agree to a five year lease, well that’s some pilot project ! and then, a billboard is erected without planning permission by an unknown contractor, so that has to be bulldozed, and then another one in its place with planning permission can be built, you could not make it up !”

“This is another attempt by the Administration making a fast buck because it can not get its finances in order, the fact that they have overspent £5 million this year is no reason to go about covering every green space and road side green in the borough with a bill board, where will it end, Havering Village Green ? Hornchurch Stadium ? What about Bedfords Park ? This Borough is famed for its green and open space and the Tories seem heel bent on paving the lot over with flats and bill boards”

Bower Park - Children in Need

Over 600 pupils and Staff at Bower Park School took part in Children in Need day last Friday with a host of events throughout the day. Over 500 children paid £2 to come to school in no uniform, but 12 girls from Year 9 went one step further and came to school in their pyjamas.

However, they did not stop there, once dressed up in their pink P.J’s they then carried out a sponsored walk to Romford, whilst wearing their outfits. They made their way over lunch time from the School, to Central Library in Romford. They had raised £120 from sponsors; however with tin shaking on the way, they managed to gain almost another £100 from members of the public.

After an impromptu stop at Romford Fire Station, in Pettits Lane North, they managed to fill their collecting tins a bit more with the kind fire fighters donating to the cause.

Back at School the staff took on last years leaving Year 11 pupils in a Charity Football match, raising more money for Children in Need. All in all, the school raised almost £2000 throughout the day.

Head Teacher Mary Morrison said “This has been a fantastic effort by the pupils and the staff of the school to raise money for a much needed charity and I am immensely proud of them, they have made a real contribution to the community with their commitment”.

School Governor and Ward Councillor, Andrew Mann said “The pupils of Bower Park continue to surpass themselves with their efforts, in particular, the 12 girls that made the effort to organise a sponsored walk in their pyjamas and then walk into Romford deserve a special mention.

Copy of a letter to the Romford Recorder

To the Editor

With reference to the letter from the current Cabinet Member for StreetCare and Parking, Cllr Barry Tebbutt (letters 19th Oct 2007) I can confirm that he is incorrect in his assumption that the story printed by the Recorder concerning the estimated £1.7 million income is wrong and was based on figures for all tickets issued, not just the car.

I will repeat the figures here for his benefit; on the latest figures given by himself, the Council have issued an average of 2,500 tickets a month using the CCTV car, which gives an estimate of 30,000 tickets a year. At a cost of £100 at the full price and £50 at the discount rate, according to the councils own figures half are paid at discount and half at the full price, with a total of 90% of all tickets issued being paid, the other 10% would be for bad debtors or no vehicle keeper details or untraceable.

So that means an estimate for a full 12 months would be 13,500 tickets paid at £100 (which makes £1,350.000) and 13,500 tickets paid at £50 (which makes £675,000). That makes a total of some £2 million pounds. I accept that this is only an estimate based on current figures; however, the cars have issued three times the amount of tickets they thought it would issue in a whole year, in just three months.

The comments about “Tax on Parking” are ones expressed to me on an almost weekly basis from shopkeepers and residents who feel they are being targeted and issued tickets without any due care to common sense or within the law. Tickets have been issued for parking on the pavement, where the white lines have all been scrubbed away, but it is still legal to park there. More money needs to be spent on re-painting the white lines.

I have been inundated with letters, phone calls and e-mails about people’s experiences with the car; I have seen photos of a car stopped in the road, door open and someone’s leg half out of the door, the fact that they had a blue badge in the front window seems hear nor there to the operator. Many of our elderly and most vulnerable residents are blue badge holders and they are getting ticket after ticket as the car is not looking in the front window to see if it has a blue badge.

I have meet with three different shop keepers in Collier Row in the last week alone, who have expressed deep concern about the parking issues and have seen a loss in custom due to the CCTV car issuing tickets. With car parking fees to be introduced into our car parks in the New Year, those that drive a car in this borough have been well and truly done !

For the record, I have to say that nobody is suggesting that it is acceptable to park illegally, people that park on zig zags outside schools, on zebra crossings or obstructing pavements will always get a ticket as this sort of parking is quite obviously illegal.

The issue that residents have is the draconian manner in which this latest policy from the Conservative Administration running Havering Council is having on their lives and that in many peoples opinion, are starting to suck the blood from our smaller town Centres, the Town that I represent, Collier Row, being a prime example.

Cllr Andrew Mann
Residents Association
Town Hall

Essential A12 Eastern Avenue resurfacing works

Transport for London (TfL), which is responsible for the A12 carriageway, has informed Havering Council that it will be carrying out essential resurfacing works between Rise Park Boulevard and Masefield Crescent.

Improvements will take place from 15 November with work anticipated to be complete on 17 December (weather permitting). The majority of the works will be undertaken during the daytime and will result in single lane closures.

Resurfacing is programmed for five to six nights in mid December and will be undertaken during the night time. These works follow on from the recent essential drainage and carriageway works on Eastern Avenue (Eastbound) in September.

TfL has informed the Council that it hopes to keep the disruption to a minimum. TfL did apologise for any inconvenience to drivers and those on the diversionary route, who are likely to experience additional traffic.

National Consumer Week

Collier Row residents are being offered tips on how to best deal with the likes of cold callers and postal scams. The purpose of National Consumer Week (12-16 November) is to raise awareness and develop understanding of trading standards related issues.

A series of informative events will take place at Havering libraries throughout the week, however, Havering Council's Trading Standards Service will be on hand to answers questions and provide key information to residents. Advice and guidance session for Collier Row are as follows:

10.00am-12.30pm 1.30pm-4.00pm

Tuesday 13th November

at Collier Row Library

A Council Spokesman said "National Consumer Week provides a major platform to promote the protection of consumer interests in the borough. Havering Council places great importance on the interests of consumers in the borough and is proud of its involvement with such an informative and important event".

For more information on National Consumer Week in Havering, contact Michelle Hammond on 01708 434356 or visit http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/.

Residents Drop In Surgery

Our latest Residents Drop in Surgery, held this Saturday was another success, with residents from both Mawneys and Havering Park ward turning up at the new Forest Row Centre in Lodge Lane to discuss issues of local concern.

The next Drop in Surgery will be held on the second Saturday of December, the 8th, again at the Forest Row Centre in Lodge Lane. However, do not worry if you cannot make it on that day, as we will come and see you at a time more convenient to you, just drop us a line at haveringpark@hotmail.co.uk or phone Romford 768 008.

Havering Council will hold Remembrance Day Services throughout the borough on Sunday 11 November to honour those that lost their lives during two World Wars and in the conflicts since.

The borough's official Service of Remembrance will be held at the War Memorial in Coronation Gardens, Main Road, Romford. The Service starts at 10.55am and will be conducted by Reverend Stephen Waine, Vicar of St Edward's Church with musical accompaniment provided by the Romford Salvation Army Band.

The Service will be attended by The Mayor of Havering, Councillor Georgina Galpin; The Deputy Lieutenant of Havering, Air Commodore Brian Batt; Havering Police Borough Commander and representatives of local uniformed and civilian organisations. Cllr Andrew Mann and Graham Price will also be at the Service.

After the Service there will be a parade and march-past by veterans and uniformed organisations with music from the Royal British Legion Band and the Romford Drum and Trumpet Corps. The salute will be taken by The Mayor and the Deputy Lieutenant.

The Mayor, Councillor Georgina Galpin said: "Remembrance Day is a special time of the year when we pay tribute to those that fought against adversity so that we can live in freedom today.

Havering residents always respect Remembrance Day and also lend their generous support to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. “As time passes, it becomes more important that we do not forget the sacrifice that all veterans made during the conflicts of the twentieth Century. The Services also provide us with an opportunity to commend our servicemen and women that are carrying out their duty today all over the world.”

All residents are more than welcome to attend the service, all you need to do is turn up at approx 10.45 a.m, ready for the service to begin at 10.55 a.m.

Community Payback Scheme Pays Dividends

Low level offenders have carried out unpaid clean up work in Collier Row as part of the borough's ongoing 'Community Payback' scheme. Working under supervision of the London Probation Service and Havering Police, the clean up team arrived at Orchard Avenue to remove litter, rubbish and graffiti, to the approving glances of local passer-bys.

The Havering Community Safety Partnership-funded scheme has been operating for over three years and enlists only low level offenders who have received court sentences of anywhere between 40 and 300 hours community service.

Requests from residents are forwarded to the Havering Community Safety Partnership by park grounds maintenance staff and Safer Neighbourhood teams, who then prioritise and allocate the work to the clean up team.

Mawneys Action Team Member, Graham Price said "It is good news that the local community are benefiting from these ‘clean ups’ and it is good news that offenders have to do the work, it may give them the chance to reflect on their crimes on the local community".

Residents Drop In Surgery

Do you need any help or advice about a local issue, do you live in either Mawneys or Havering Park ward in North Romford ? If so, you can pop in any time between 10.30 and 12.00 this Saturday at the Forest Row Centre in Lodge Lane Collier Row to see one of our action team members along with Cllr Mann.

A map of the location is below, if you are using SAT Nav, the postcode address is RM5 2LD, the centre is located two thirds of the way along Lodge Lane and is on the old Forest Lodge school site.

This is our first surgery being held in the newly opened centre, our surgeries will be held monthly on a Saturday, the next surgery will be in December, on Saturday the 8th, no need to make an appointment, just turn up.

Havering Council, Havering Police and the London Fire Brigade have launched a crackdown to prevent the sale of fireworks to under-18s. They will be making visits to remind retailers that it's illegal to sell fireworks without the necessary licence from Trading Standards.

Havering Trading Standards takes a zero-tolerance approach to any breach of the stringent conditions governing the storage and sale of fireworks, which will result in legal proceedings and the confiscation of such products.

Though current legislation allows some businesses with special authorisation to sell fireworks all year round, most fireworks can only be sold between October 15 and November 9. It is illegal to set off fireworks between 11pm and 7am, though on special occasions like Bonfire Night they may be set off up until midnight, unless special permission for them to continue until 1am has been granted.

It is also an offence for anyone under 18 to possess fireworks in a public place. Using fireworks in an anti-social way is irresponsible, dangerous and unacceptable, so Havering Police Safer Neighbourhood Teams will be operating additional patrols throughout the borough at this time.

Remember; fireworks are mini-explosives dressed up in colourful packaging – they are NOT toys. Most injuries caused by fireworks happen to children under 16, with many of them ending up with burn scars for life.

So please take care this bonfire night. Go to http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/az/bonfires_fireworks.asp for helpful safety advice from the London Fire Brigade.

If you wish to report illegal sales of fireworks, you can call a special hotline 01708 433428 in confidence.

New Park for Collier Row

Residents of Collier Row will be celebrating shortly as a new children’s play site will open as part of the new Forest Row Centre in Lodge Lane on the site of the old Forest Lodge School.

Ward Councillor, Andrew Mann, who is a trustee of the new charity that’s runs the Forest Row Centre was on hand recently as the finishing touches were being made and commented on the new park.

He said “This play site has been five years in the making and I am pleased to have paid a part in providing this new park to an area of Collier Row that is lacking in provision for young people and im sure it will go a long way to giving local residents some quality amenity facilities”.

Although the park is on the site of the Forest Row Centre, it was paid for out of the agreement when the builders were appointed to build the centre. The park will be run by the Councils Parks Department and will open to the public shortly once all of the work is complete and safety checks have been made.

Cllr Mann went on “It is great that something good can come out of building on this site, with a new community centre on its way, local residents will have some first class facilities on their door step”.

The Centre is on the site of the Former Forest Lodge School, which Cllr Mann attended as a pupil from 1982 to 1987. 29 housed have also been allowed to be built on the site, which funded the building works for the new centre. The houses are still being built.

Halloween -- Trick or Trick Night !!!!!!

Well its the 31st October today, which means its Halloween. I have to admit that i do not intend to dress up in a cape or as a ghost and go scarring the kids of North Romford, but i thought i might offer a work of advice to those at home and who do not wish to have kids pestering them.

Most of the children that do trick or treat are well behaved and out with the parents or an older brother or sister at a safe distance, often the children have taken the time to make there own costumes for the nights fun.

What is not fun, is a small minority of children that feel it is funny to throw eggs and flour or other object at people houses, in particular the elderly or frail within our community, if you know someone who may be at home on there own tonight, give them a call and make sure they are o.k, or even invite them round to your own house.

If you have any serious concerns about anti social behaviour tonight, then phone the Police, either the SNT in Mawneys ward, on 0208 721 2586 or the Havering Park team on 0208 721 2510. If the matter is serious, then always dial 999.

Happy Halloween.

Park sell off at King George's Playing Fields

In 2006 the former childrens play site situated in King George’s Playing Field was relocated to a new position near to the café at the front end of the park. Since then we have been concerned as to what would happen to the area of the former play site. We had raised questions about this, even before adverse comments were made by a former resident in the local press during the summer. We were pleased to receive reassurance, that Havering Council’s vehicle depot was not going to be relocated there from its current location in Purfleet.

We have delivered over 100 flyers to local residents to inform them that Havering Council is now proposing to sell off the open area of land behind numbers 59-99 Linley Crescent and a report detailing the proposals went before the Cabinet at the Town Hall on Wednesday, the 24th October. The report states that “the area is considered potentially suitable for disposal as a development site”.

We, as The Collier Row and Mawneys Residents Association, would be interested to know the feelings of our fellow local residents in response to the above proposal. To date we have been inundated by residents who so far have all objected to the plans.

If you feel the same, please drop us a line at mawneys@hotmail.co.uk or to Graham Price, 12 Silver Way, Collier Row, Romford, Essex, RM7 8EX.

New Road for Elmer & Wellingtonia Avenue's

Following a meeting Cllr Mann set up with residents some 6 months ago to discuss the problems of a badly neglected road, work started this week in Wellingtonia and Elmer Avenues in Havering-Atte-Bower on replacing the old road surface, over the years it has become badly neglected and was in need of major works to level the road and to remove all of the holes.

The problem with the road has been the reluctance of Havering Council to acknowledge that it has to deal with the road, although it is a private road and not an adopted highway (like almost all of the roads in the Borough) the owners of the said private road, or actually Havering Council.

As land owners, the Council owns many roads in the Borough and in particular all of the approach roads to Havering Country Park, including Wellingtonia Avenue, Elmer Avenue, Pinewood Road, Kilnwood Lane and Clockhouse Lane (by the Pinewoods Pub).

They where all compulsory purchased by the former Greater London Council in 1982 when the Country Park was formed; the idea was to protect the park from the ingress of new buildings and as the Park is land-locked, would safe guard any unauthorised development on and around its entrance.

The work is set to take another week and involves over 200mm of old road being dug out and then replaced with a type 1 hoggin that will be levelled and rolled in place, the surface should then be good for many years.

Cllr Mann said, "I have been involved with the residents in trying to get the Council to take its responsibilities seriously and to resurface the roads around the Country park for almost 4 years, after hitting my head on a brick wall for a lot of that time, I finally enlisted the help of the former Chief Executive of Havering (Stephen Evans, now retired) to push this along, to his credit he did start getting officers to deal with this situation before he retired.

However, it took the threat of Court Action under the Highways Act 1980 to get it going, I am just glad at long last the residents have got some justice for their campaign, all that leaves now is for the Council to start working out how it will deal with the other roads in Havering Park Ward that are privately owned by the Council and need repairing".

Autumn Newsletter is being Delivered

The latest issue of the Collier Row & Mawneys Residents Association newsletter is currently being delivered to over 11,000 homes and shops across North Romford, which includes both havering park and Mawneys Wards.

You can read all about what we have been up to in the Community, updates on such issues as Car Parking fees for Collier Row, latest news on Bedfords Park, following its green flag award and also the latest on the Forest Row Centre, recently opened in Lodge Lane.

If you have not received a copy, please drop us a line, either by phone, e-mail or pen and paper, contact details at top of the page.

If you want to read the newsletter on-line, click here, or on the picture above.

WARNING - Phone Number Scam

This is an old scam that seems to go around every few months and never seems to go away completely.

A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911(a premium rate number).

DO NOT call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize. If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will already have been billed £15 for the phone call.

If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal Mail Fraud on 0207 239 6655 or ICSTIS (the premium rate service regulator) at www.icstis.org.uk

If you receive a card from a company that you do not know, or you are not expecting a delivery, take some care before phoning, you can contact ICSTIS to see if the number is a premium rate, or contact your phone operator, such as B.T or Virgin Media to ask what rate you will be charged.

Secondary School Admission Deadline is Friday

This Friday, the 19th October 2007 is the closing date for Secondary School Admission applications for children starting in September 2008.

Parents must get their applications in to the London Borough of Havering by 19th October 2007 or risk their child not being enrolled at any secondary school for next year.

Due to recent industrial action from Royal Mail we suggest parents use Havering's simple online admissions facility at www.havering.gov.uk/eadmissions. The online service will be available until midnight 19 October 2007, or hand deliver to the Education Department (address should be on your letter).

The online application process was introduced in Havering and the other London boroughs last year and has since undergone significant improvement to make the application process easier and simpler to use.

Parents can still apply by completing the paper forms and submitting them to the child's primary school who will then send them on to the council by internal courier service. However, it is advised that if parents wish to do this, they check with the school as the last day for submission to the school will probably be before the closure date of 19th October.

FREE ELECTRIC BLANKET SAFETY CHECKS

With winter fast approaching, Havering Council’s Trading Standards team have organised a free, electric blanket safety check for the borough’s residents.

Taking place on Tuesday November 6 at Langtons (Hornchurch), residents will be welcome to bring their electric blankets for a safety inspection by a specially-appointed fully qualified electrical consultant. A one-year certificate of inspection will be issued after each check. Unsafe products will receive a certificate detailing the reasons for the inspection failure.

This will be the third year that the scheme has been offered, and it has proved extremely popular particularly with mothers of young children and older people. However the Council will offer a product collection, inspection and return service for those genuinely unable to attend in person.

The free inspection will be offered on a first come first served basis between 10am and 3pm on November 6. For further details and information, please contact phone 01708 433430.

Council bans Councillor's Rememberance posters.

This is a copy of a letter published in this weeks Romford Recorder, following Residents Association Councillor, Len Long being banned from photo copying posters and letters to publicise the Remembrance Day service in Rainham by the Conservative run Havering Council.

I was interested to read your article, "Len's anger at council red tape" in connection with Cllr Len Long not being allowed to use Town Hall facilities to photocopy notices to publicise "the Remembrance Day service in Rainham".

This seems to me to be an excessively heavy-handed approach with regard to an event which is for the community at large, and is demonstrably non-political. The Job Descriptions for Councillors call for Members of The Council "to provide a link between the authority to the community..." and demands "Community Leadership skills".

By taking a leading role to promote a Remembrance Day service, Cllr Long is fulfilling those requirements, as one would expect from a former Mayor and Freeman of The Borough, and he deserves better consideration.

Graham Price

Mawneys Ward

The story made National coverage, click here to read the stories.

CCTV car is set to make £1.7 Million in 12 months

Residents Association spokesman for StreetCare and Parking, Cllr Andrew Mann has hit out over the amount of income the Councils new CCTV Smart Cars are making from issuing parking tickets by stealth across the Borough.

This Follows Havering’s parking Manager supplying Cllr Mann with the breakdown of the amount of tickets issued since the car was introduced.

Cllr Mann said “The truth is finally out, the figures say it all, in the original report concerning the car, it was assumed they would only issue 2200 tickets a year, at an income of £80k. However, this is not the case, as they have been issuing that amount each month, with a much larger payment rate due to the photo evidence and are on target to issue over 26,000 tickets”

If the same payment rates are kept up, the income could be well in excess of £1.7 million in a full year. The original report also suggested that the car would only be used around protecting school children at schools and on yellow zig zags and crossings.

Cllr Mann met with shop owners and business people in Collier Row after they spoke out earlier this month about the targeting of their shops, one of those was B & D Tyres in Collier Row who have been trading for over 35 years. Dave Fuller from B & D said at the time “This is just daylight robbery, we get this CCTV car here at least 2 or 3 times a day hitting on customers and delivery vehicles and its just not on” Now, due to the continued use of this car, one of his major suppliers “Motex” of Romford is refusing to make deliveries due to the amount of tickets his delivery vans have been issued with.

Over 12 months ago, Cllr Mann warned about the possible future use of the covert cars and felt at the time they were introduced, caution should be taken and also warned that they should not be used as an income generator for the Council.

In a Town Hall press release dated 20/03/07, Conservative Cabinet Member Cllr Barry Tebbutt said “I have no problem with this car being used to target indiscriminate parking around schools and pedestrian crossings which poses a real danger to our children”. However, it would seem that this is not the case as there is no school or crossing near to these shops.

Cllr Mann said “It has now become quite clear that this car was only introduced to make money, it is just a cash cow, sucking the life out of our Town Centres, coupled with the new charges being introduced for smaller shopping centres such as Collier Row, Hornchurch, Upminster, Cranham, Elm Park and Rainham this Conservative Administration are going to kill of the smaller towns in Havering in favour of Romford Town Centre”

He continues, “Whilst I chaired the Collier Row Regeneration Committee, we spent a lot of time and money in trying to improve the shopping experience in our Town Centre, the provision of parking restrictions is always going to be difficult, but it appears that this particular parade of shops is being picked on”, he went on "Along with car park charges in our town centres, this is yet more proof this Administration has no sympathy for small businesses”. "While they are wasting time targeting this parade, other parts of the Borough - particularly outside schools - are being neglected"

Forest Row Centre opens its Doors

Cllr Mann was on hand today as the official handing over of the Forest Row Centre took place; the building has been completed in just under 12 months and is almost fully operational.

The former Forest Lodge School in Lodge Lane has come a long way over the last 10 years, writes former pupil and now local Ward Councillor, Andrew Mann.

“Since I was first elected in 2002, I have been involved with the plans to redevelop the former school, meeting with the user groups almost monthly, discussing the plans and proposals with Council Officers and being involved with discussions as the project moved through the planning, design and build stage and even watching the last part being demolished”.

As one of three trustees of the “Forest Row Centre” who recently signed the 25 year lease for the Forest Row organisation to use the new building and centre, Cllr Mann said “It has been an honour and privilege to be asked to be one of the trustees of the new centre, to walk round the finished building and the site with its football pitches is just fantastic”

Another organisation celebrating, is the Collier Row Football club, who have been playing at the former school for over 10 years, they now have a new home fit for the future and a wonderful asset for the young people to use.

The Law for selling Tobacco has changed

From the 1st October 2007 it will be against the law to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 in England and Wales. The change will include cigarettes, cigars, tobacco for roll-your-own and pipes as well as rolling papers sold both over the counter and through vending machines.

Trading Standards Officers will continue to enforce the law relating to the sale of tobacco products to under-age consumers. The penalty for selling tobacco products to someone under the age of 18 from 1st October 2007 is a fine of up to £2,500.

However, what has not been made clear in this change of law, that to be honest hardly anyone knows about, is can you still smoke if you are under 18. Well nobody is clear on that issue.

This week, Cllr Mann has spoken to both Trading Standards and the Police in Havering and they are both not sure, they both say quite rightly that shops can not sell any smoking products, but did not know the exact answer in can a 16 or 17 year old smoke, as long as they do not buy them.

If this is the case, then it make s a mockery of the whole change in law, as you will just get the big brother or mum and dad issue where they will buy cigarettes for them !

Perhaps next time Government bring in a change of law, it can be done in a more open and transparent manner and people can be consulted properly, that way you will not get the issue we have now where it is illegal to buy something, but not to use it.

For more information on the changes go to www.tobaccoagechange.co.uk

Sunday Parking charges U-Turn by Council

Havering Council have announced a spectacular U-Turn, concerning the proposed parking charges for Collier Row, however the measures do not go far enough concerning the recently agreed Parking Policy. The Tory controlled Council have this week announced that they will not charge for Sunday parking in our town Centre, however, you will still have to pay Monday to Saturday.

Before the summer, Residents Association Councillors from across the Borough launched petitions in the outlying town Centres and collected almost 20,000 objectors to the proposals to start charging in areas such as Collier Row, Hornchurch, Elm park, Rainham, Cranham & Upminster.

Cllr Andrew Mann said “Whilst we welcome the decision, not to charge parkers on a Sunday, the Council have still ignored some 20,000 people by continuing with their proposals to charge six days a week, this is just another tax on shopping and will be detrimental to our town centres”.

Signatures were collected from around the Borough and include:

Collier Row 2236
Upminster 4715
Cranham 2803
Hornchurch 2997
Elm Park 2629
Cherry tree 344
On line Poll 551

The petitions were handed into the Mayor at a recent Council meeting.

Mawneys coordinator, Graham Price said “ Although the Administration has been forced into a U-Turn on this issue, it only deals with Sunday parking, but the charges will still apply in Romford Town centre, our smaller shopping centres will suffer with week day charges”

Cllr Mann concluded “They have still not looked at the parking charges for weekday parking in our small town centres and our argument is still the same, more needs to be done to support out of town shopping, our local communities will suffer if these charges are introduced”.

Dont lose your Vote !!

Reminders will be issued from this weekend to those residents who have not yet returned their Register of Electors form that was sent out to all 97,000 households at the end of August.

Every year an up to date list of names and addresses of those people living in Havering who are eligible to vote must be produced. This list forms the register of electors which is published every year on 1 December.

To vote in an election, eligible electors must be on the electoral roll. A GLA election is planned for 1 May 2008 and a snap General Election could be called at any time.

Registering to vote is straight forward. The reminder form is not pre-printed with names. Electors are asked to simply complete with the details of anyone who should be registered, sign and return to the Election Services office as soon as possible. Postage is pre-paid.

Residents with any enquiries should contact the Election Services Office, 01708 432444/5 or email Elections@havering.gov.uk.

Romford Recorder Letters Page

A copy of a letter published in this weeks Romford Recorder, concerning the on-going issues with Havering Councils CCTV smart car.

To the Editor

Thank you for highlighting the issue with Havering Councils CCTV camera car, I have been inundated with letters, phone calls and e-mail concerning the manner in which the car seems to operate and issue around individual cases.

These have come not just from businesses all over the Borough, but from residents who live anywhere from a main road to small little closes and they all paint a horror story about the way the car seems to operate.

Nobody is suggesting that we should not issue tickets, its all excepted I’m sure that you can not park on double yellow lines, zig zags outside schools, disabled badge offences or just mount the pavement and park were you like.

The information that I am collecting on behalf of the Residents Association group on Havering Council will help me and my colleagues, to call for a review, on how the car is deployed across the Borough.

If you would like to write to me, please do so via the Town Hall or e-mail me at andrew.mann@havering.gov.uk. Last week my address was printed incorrect, so if you think you have not had a reply from me, please send your e-mail again in case it did not come through.

Regards

Cllr Andrew Mann
Residents Association
Town Hall

Havering Cabinet Meeting

It was the monthly Cabinet meeting at Havering Council last night and I spoke on two reports as the opposition spokesman for the Environment for the Residents Association group.

The first report was a serious of recommendations from the Environment Overview & Scrutiny meeting; this group, which I was part of, met approx 5 times from October 2006 through to May 2007. The idea was to review what went on in Havering Trade Waste & Enforcement Department and in the process look at initiatives to reduce fly tipping.

However, Tory Chairman Cllr Binion was not interested in finding best practice or learning from other Councils across London, as she consistently refused my requests to make any such visits, thus failing the topic group from the beginning, as you can not challenge our own officers on what they are saying.

I feel justified in these comments when you look at the recommendations of the group, the only new initiative was to introduce a 360 litre wheelie bin to business users across the borough, that should help clean up the streets then !! All the other recommendations were to support the officers in initiatives that they are already doing, which we would do as a matter of course anyway.

I spent a lot of my own time working on ideas for improvements and e-mailed suggestions to Cllr Binion, who was the Chairman, but alas, all of my recommendations were knocked back, which is a shame I feel. As my day job involves me working for another London Borough in the trade waste area, my own experiences could have been invaluable in producing a report we could all have been proud off.

I have to say though, that my old adversary, Cllr Barry Tebbutt has said he is willing to sit down and listen to my views on how to improve the services that we deliver for the Borough, which I am pleased about, as it is a cut above the petty party politics in the Environment Scrutiny Committee.

The second report was an update on Havering’s Enforcement Policy, which I introduced in April 2006 whilst I was the Cabinet member for StreetCare. This report updated some of the polices and fixed penalty notice, issues that the Council has power to issue.

Web Site hits Increasing each Week

In the week we made 3000 hits in 6 months on the web site, we also had our highest count in a single week, with 151 hits last week. The busiest day was last Thursday, the 13th September which achieved a total of 45 in one day.

I'm not sure what was so special about last Thursday, but the hits are increasing each week now, it has been suggested to me that the site is only looked at by Councillors from opposing parties wanting to know what, A, I am up to and B, what is going on in Collier Row !

I'm sure neither could be true, but it seems that now a host of Council officers at Havering are also reading the blog site, not sure for what reason, although i know some have passed comment with favourable words. I have however, also received a letter from one Senior officer who did not like the views expressed by myself, but as they say, that's politics. I don't always like the spin in "Living" magazine, but you don't hear me asking them to change that.

Our new web address is making a huge difference, www.collier-row.co.uk has gone down very well and it suggests more of a local feel and not some corporate type global web site with just a dot com domain on the end !!

Havering Road House Fire

Saturday morning saw a huge house fire at the bottom of Havering Road, Collier Row, from a quick look, it would seem the house has massive structural damage, let alone water and smoke damage from putting it out.

I have been informed by the Chief fire officer at the scene that everybody got out, however the owner of the house was taken to hospital. Sadly, i have now been informed that the owner of the house has died from injuries sustained in the fire.

The youngest son of the family used to be one of my scouts and although house fires send a shiver down my spine, its even worse when you know the people concerned.

I took the time yesterday to read up a bit about smoke alarms and its surprising how many homes do not have one fitted. It is reported that almost 80% of homes have smoke alarms, however in 2002 Firefighters across England & Wales attended 5000 accidental house fires where alarms were fitted but failed to work.

The London Fire Brigade offer free home fire safety tests, you can find out more information by visiting the LFB web site here.

Note: I am not suggesting this house was not fitted with a fire alarm, i just thought i would find out a bit more information on the subject.

CCTV Parking Car Review

Cllr Mann will be calling for a review at Havering Council into the use of its CCTV car and to examine how and when tickets are issued.

Cllr Mann said "Since the story broke in the local press this week, I have been inundated by phone calls and e-mails from residents telling me of their horror stories concerning the car"

One of the biggest complaints from residents seems to be around the lack of proper white lines in the pavement parking bays, across the Borough, cars that have parked in the same spot for 20 years are now receiving tickets.

The next biggest issue concerns small residential streets, in particular Cul de sacs and dead end roads. It would seem again, that cars that have parked for years on part of the pavement are now being penalised.

In one particular close in Collier Row, the dustcart is unable to get down the road unless cars on at least one side park on the pavement. However last week at the same time the dustcart was in the road, with cars moving onto the pavement to allow it access, the CCTV car followed the dustcart down the road.

Cllr Mann said "At the moment we have no way of knowing if any tickets were issued, but if they were, it would seem like another example of Haverings new parking policy not working, i will wait and see if anyone contacts me"

Cllr Mann went on "There is nothing wrong with proper parking enforcement around schools, crossings, double yellow junctions and abuse of disabled parking spaces, after all that is what the Conservative Cabinet member (Cllr Tebbutt jnr) said at the time of its launch, it would seem only three months later that is not the case".