101 Clockhouse Lane Planning application

We are pleased that the planning application for 101 Clockhouse Lane has been withdrawn by the applicant after discussion with planning officers, who suggested that the application was likely to fail and be recommended for a refusal.

The application was submitted to Havering Council for the part demolition of 101 Clockhouse Lane and the formation of a new access road and four bungalows, this is one more than last time and that application was refused.

For more details, please see the story below;

http://andrewmann.blogspot.com/2008/10/101-clockhouse-lane-planning.html

The Invisable Killer

Environmental Health staff from Havering Council will be meeting the public to warn residents about the dangers of carbon monoxide.

Council staff will be urging shoppers in the Liberty centre on Wednesday 19 November to check that their cooking and heating appliances are well maintained as part of Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week.

Carbon monoxide is a poisonous flammable gas which cannot be seen or smelt and can kill without warning. In the UK, more than 50 people die from carbon monoxide poisoning every year, and 200 people are seriously injured.

The gas is produced when fossil fuels like gas, oil, coal or wood do not burn fully. This can happen when cooking or heating appliances have not been properly installed or maintained or if appliances have blocked flues or chimneys or are in unventilated places.

Danger signs to look for on boilers, fires and cookers include yellow or orange flames (except for fuel-effect fires), soot or stains around the appliance and a pilot light that frequently blows out.
Symptoms of poisoning are tiredness, drowsiness, headaches, nausea, chest and stomach pains.
As well as ensuring appliances are regularly maintained by CORGI registered engineers and that there is suitable ventilation, residents can buy an audible alarm for between £15 to £35.

Landlords are required by law to make sure gas fittings and flues are checked every 12 months, keep a record of the checks and issue a certificate to tenants.

Carbon monoxide is a killer. You can’t see it, taste it or smell it – but it can kill without warning in a matter of hours. You are particularly at risk when you are asleep. Having your gas appliances checked regularly by CORGI registered engineers will keep you safe.

For more advice call the HSE Gas Safety Advice Line 0800 300 363.

Romford Christmas Lights Swith-On

Romford's biggest ever Christmas launch throws the spotlight on the family on Thursday 13th November when the town's Christmas illuminations are switched on by the World's most famous cartoon family - The Simpsons.

Supported by Havering Council and Romford's four shopping centres - The Brewery, The Liberty, The Mall and Romford Shopping Hall - the launch features a packed schedule of fun and entertainment in Romford Market Place hosted by Mark Dover from Time 107.5 FM, Havering's popular local radio station.

Starting at 4pm there'll be appearances by Homer, Marg and Bart Simpson, Acrobats from Tanzania, Fire Dancers from Australia and, of course, Father Christmas with Frosty the Snowman and Rudie the Reindeer. And big TV screens flanking the stage will ensure that everyone gets a good view of the fun and frolics.

At 6pm the excitement will build to a climax when the The Simpsons step forward to trigger the switch to light up Romford Town Centre with spectacular Christmas illuminations, accompanied by a fabulous firework display complete with guaranteed snowfall.

On a more traditional note and to get revellers in the festive spirit, there'll be toe tapping music from The Dualers, appearances from characters from the Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch's pantomime Dick Whittington as well as carols sung by the Choir of St Edward's Church.The celebrations and party atmosphere will continue until 8pm in each of the shopping centres.

At The Mall Santa and his team will meet and greet his friends; at The Brewery the Simpsons will enjoy some family shopping; in The Liberty there'll be shows by the Black Eagles and the Amazing Titan the Robot; and in the new look Romford Shopping Hall clowns and balloon modellers will be on hand to entertain youngsters until 6pm.

Remembrance Parade & Service

Collier Row & Mawneys team members Karen & Graham Price, Joe Webster and Denis Stevens were all at Havering's Service today. Cllr Mann was unable to attend today, missing the service for the first time since 2001, he attended a serice in London instead.

We hope as many of you as possible attended Remembrance parades or services, Havering had services at Romford, Hornchurch, Rainham and Harold Hill, details are on the Havering Council Web Site.

We have also added the name of Andrew Rosindell to the story below, after his office e-mailed Cllr Mann complaining that his name had been left out of our description, we are happy to include his name as the term "Member of Parliament" is obviously not enough for him.

Havering Remembrance Service

Services to remember and reflect on the sacrifices made by those who lost their lives or suffered during the two World Wars and in conflicts since will be held throughout Havering on Remembrance Sunday, 9 November and Armistice Day, Tuesday 11 November.

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. Musical accompaniment will be provided by the Romford Salvation Army Band.

The Service will be attended by The Mayor of Havering, Councillor John Clark; The Deputy Lieutenant of Havering, Air Commodore Brian Batt; The Member of Parliament for Romford, Andrew Rosindell; Superintendent Steve Wisbey, acting Havering Borough Commander of Police; Councillors and representatives of local uniformed and civilian organisations.

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

On Armistice Day, Tuesday 11 November, the Mayor will attend the Armistice Day Service organised by the Royal Naval Association and the Royal British Legion. This will be held at the western end of Romford Market Place between the Lloyds TSB and Co-op banks starting at 10.45am.

This year The Poppy Appeal theme is 'Serving those who Serve' and emphasises the need to help men and women who are serving today, as well as ex-Services people and their dependants.

Romford Recorder Letters Page

Below is a copy of a letter from Mawneys Team Member, Graham Price to the Romford Recorder, concerning the on going problems at Homes in Havering.

Dear Sir,

This has not been a good year for Homes in Havering and, as your article"Where's the cash gone", (Recorder, 31st October), graphically illustrates, it's going from bad to disastrously worse.

This is Havering Council's 'arms-length management organisation' which has come in for repeated criticism in the local press, and at three consecutive meetings of the North Romford Area Committee. At the April meeting I described the then Chief Executive, Stephanie Miller, as being "not fit for purpose". Within weeks she had resigned and, courtesy of Cllr. Curtin, she walked away with a pay-off of some £87.000.

Such was the furore arising from this, that Cllr. Curtin then resigned as Chairman of The Board of HiH. It is interesting to note the quoted comment of the Cabinet Member for Housing, Cllr. Armstrong, that "We will obviously be there to ensure that we hold HiH to account". Brave words, but I have grave doubts that they will be sufficiently effective.

Yours sincerely,

GRAHAM PRICE

Collier Row and Mawneys Residents Association

Dont be Dim - Dont let the Burglars in

Havering Council is urging residents to take extra home security measures as winter approaches. With the clocks having gone back and the nights becoming darker sooner, homes are more vulnerable to break-ins.

As part of the Council’s Better Together campaign to make the borough safer, cleaner, greener and stronger, the Council’s Community Safety officers have organised seven events at which timer switches will be given out free of charge to residents, starting on Saturday 8 November.

Burglary in the borough remains low – in the 12 months up to 1 October 2008, Havering was the seventh safest out of London’s 32 boroughs for house burglary.

However, when break-ins occur at this time of year, they tend to take place in the afternoon or early evening. A home in darkness between 4pm and 9pm is a sign to crooks that no-one is home. Taking a simple precaution like having a light on in the late afternoon and evening can deter thieves.

The timer switches will be given out on a first come first served basis at the following locations:

Saturday 8 November - Tesco , Gallows Corner 11am -1pm

Monday 10 November - Tesco, Collier Row 11am -1pm

Wednesday 12 November - Farnham Road Shops, Harold Hill, 11am -1pm

Thursday 13 November - Aldi Car Park, Upminster 11am-1pm, Brannigans, Romford, 5pm -7pm

Friday 14 November - Tesco, Cranham 11am -1pm

Saturday 15 November - Tesco, Rainham 11am -1pm

Another 500 switches will also be given away, at the Havering Christmas Lights Switch-on in Romford Marketplace starting from 4pm on Thursday 13 November.

Timer switches should be set to come on before it gets dark. They should ideally be placed in a downstairs living room – a light left on in a hallway or porch won’t fool a burglar. Timer switches can also be bought for around £3 from DIY stores.

Have a safe Fire Works Night

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/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.

Dartford - Thurrock Crossing

Changes at the Dartford – Thurrock Crossing

The charging regime at the Dartford - Thurrock Crossing will change with effect from 10.00pm on Saturday 15th November 2008. The main changes are as follows:

No charges at night during the hours of 10.00pm to 6.00a

Charges for those customers outside those times paying cash will increase (e.g. from £1 to £1.50 for cars, from £1.80 to £2 for 2 axle goods vehicles, and from £2.90 to £3.70 for Multi-axle goods vehicles)

Discounts for those paying by the electronic pre-payment DART -Tag system will also increase (e.g. cars will pay the current £1 charge only).

There will no longer be any charge for trailers.

A Local Resident scheme will be introduced applicable only to those living within the Dartford and Thurrock Council areas.

A pre-registration scheme will be available for vehicles that are exempt from paying the charge.

Further information is available from Le Crossing Company Limited's Customer Centre on 01322 280200 or via the website http://www.dart-tag.co.uk/.

101 Clockhouse Lane Planning Application

My final words, almost a year ago on the last planning application for this site were “We now wait and see if yet another planning application will be made on this site”. (see previous story by clicking here). And 12 months later, it is here

Another planning application at 101 Clockhouse Lane, Collier Row, has been submitted to Havering Council for the part demolition of 101 Clockhouse Lane and the formation of a new access road and four bungalows, this is one more than last time and that application was refused.
Cllr Mann has “Called in” the application, which means no decision can be made unless it is refused by officers are goes in front of a committee of Councillors to decide. If you live near by, and have an issue with this application, you need to write with your objections by 6th November to the head of Regulatory Services at Mercury House, Mercury Gardens, Romford, RM1 3SL and quote Planning Reference No. P1510.08.

The last application was refused for the following reasons, "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".

I can see nothing that has changed to address any of the original concerns. Cllr Mann said "I have almost lost count of the application on this site, I think this is the sixth one since 2002, 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".

Homes in Havering Troubles Continue

It has been announced by Havering Council today that Homes in Havering (HiH) has discovered a gap in its finances. The Council is investigating the exact details with HiH to deal with the issue, and a report on the situation will be brought to Cabinet shortly.

Apparently, the Council has raised concerns about HiH’s financial position and accounting practice over a number of months. HiH agreed with the Council that a team of forensic accountants undertake an initial audit of finances at HiH in September and that an interim Director of Finance should be appointed. His report now indicates a budget gap from last year’s accounts of between £1.8 million and £2.2 million.

Further work is now underway to clarify this year’s financial position, with the Council instructing HiH to account for any and all past and present budget gaps and explain how they occurred. The Council has also instructed HiH to cease all unnecessary expenditure, whilst safeguarding services to tenants and leaseholders, until its financial position is clear.

Havering Park Councillor, Andrew Mann said "I am amazed that HiH have managed to get themselves into such a mess, to over spend £2 million pound in a year is just unbelievable, it now seems that the former Chief Executive (Stephanie Miller) jumped off the ship at just the right time (see previous story on her £87,000 pay off) along with the finance director, who resigned just a month or so ago".

He went on "The only people to suffer in all of this, is the residents, lease holders and tenants of this Borough, with all none urgent expenditure cancelled, this will only serve to have a negative affect on our tenants. The Council needs to urgent set out exactly what is going on at HiH"

Park Consultation

A consultation is being held today at Chelmsford Avenue Play Site, behind Gobions Avenue in Collier Row some four years after funding for the park was secured. Cllr Mann said "This is the chance for local residents to have their say on what they want to see in the park, please go along and take a look at the plans and talk to the parks officers"

The public viewing session is being held in the park next today, the 30th October (between 11am and 3pm) during the school half term holidays for children and parents to come and view the plans and comment on what they want to see in the park.

Police crack-down on Halloween troubls

We are only a few days away from the 31st October, which means its Halloween, so we thought we would offer a dew words 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.

Local shops in Collier Row will not be selling eggs or flour to minors during the coming week, the Police have the powers to seach and arrest anyone during this time if found carrying eggs or flour.

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.

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory

Pupils from years 7, 8 9 at Bower Park School staged their own version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory this week, dozens of children spent their own time working with staff and teachers after school and during lunch times practicing for the show.

Over the two evenings of the show, hundreds of parents, family and pupils came along to watch along with some of the North Romford primary schools for the afternoon dress rehearsal.

School Governor, Cllr Andrew Mann went along with his children to watch the show, he said "The show was fantastic and the students were, as usual, a credit to the school, with some truly amazing performances by some of the lead characters, in particular Willy Wonka (above).

Chelmsford Avenue Play Site

A park in Collier Row is to finally get a make over in the coming months, following four years of delay by Havering Council. The Chelmsford Avenue Play Site (Behind Gobions Avenue, in Collier Row) became so overgrown and dangerous that the Police closed the Park in 2006; it remained locked shut for almost 12 months. Click here for previous story

Havering Park Ward Councillor Andrew Mann said some two years ago “There is no reason why this park has been left to rot, the Council closed the gates months ago, it has left local kids with no park to play in and there is no excuse for this delay”.

Cllr Mann was behind the original plan that secured the park over £65 thousand for a new play-site and improvements, he went on “Some four years ago, whilst still a Cabinet member, I secured the deal that saw the money invested in the park, by agreeing to allow a small piece of land by the side of the park to be used for building affordable houses, this then allowed much needed funding to be released into the park”.

Now some four years later, the Council are finally going out to consultation with local people on what they want to see in the park. A public viewing session is being held in the park next Thursday, the 30th October (between 11am and 3pm) during the school half term holidays for children and parents to come and view the plans and comment on what they want to see in the park.

Cllr Mann said “Chelmsford Avenue Play Site was allocated £65 thousand pounds over four years ago and it is a disgrace that the money has still not been spent, I would like to know why Havering Council has been dragging its feet on this issue for so long and left the children of this area without a park to use for many years.”

Veolia Cleanaway Trust 10th Anniversary

I was very pleased to be invited to join the 10 year celebration event of Veolia ES Cleanaway Riverside Trust today. I went along with R.A Councillors Ray Morgon and Steve Whittaker (pictured below) we all had a great day talking with the Trust staff, Havering Council Staff and Councillors and Representatives from Veolia, charities that had gained funding such as schools, Church's and museums.

The Cleanaway Trust, funds projects in Havering to the tune of over £1 million a year and in the 10 years of the Trust, it has given over £12 million to schemes in our Borough. In total 637 individual projects have been completed, costing £23.5 million, that in turn helped match funding of an additional £36.5 million.

The trust was set up 10 years ago to manage the tax credits generated by the landfill tax credit scheme, the scheme still operates now that Veolia purchased Cleanaway in 2006 in exactly the same way.

Mark Hunter Civic Reception

Cllr Andy Mann was on hand at todays Civic Reception in honour of former Bower Park pupil, Gold Medal winning rower, Mark Hunter, being held in the Liberty Shopping Centre and then back at the Town Hall.

Mark spent time signing photos for members of the public and time with pupils from his previous schools, Bower Park and Parklands Primary school. Cllr Mann said "The pupils from both Parklands and Bower Park were excellent, very well behaved and a credit to their schools".

Hundreds of Havering residents turned out to see Mark on his big day, including his whole family, the whole event then marched off through Romford towards the Town Hall behind a marching band.

Back at the Town Hall, pupils and teachers from Bower Park got the chance to try on the famous gold medal from China, before watching the race again on a large screen.

Rise Park School Merger

Collier Row Councillor Andrew Mann has hit out at the Conservative Administration in their handling of the proposed amalgamation of Rise Park Infant and Junior Schools. The proposal to consult in joining the two schools together was started back in May, when Cabinet member for Education, Cllr Geoff Starns (Tory) signed an Executive Decision agreeing to consult on the amalgamation. Cllr Mann said “It would seem he has now forgotten that”.

Cllr Mann has been inundated with concerned parents who are very unhappy that the two schools could merge into one and feel that following the public meetings last week, the Council are biased towards merging the schools and gave no evidence as to what benefits it would have..

Cllr Mann, whose children have attended the school, for the last seven year said “I am amazed that the Council would want to even think about closing the infant and junior schools and making a new Primary school, this action should only be considered if the school is failing and Rise Park is far from that situation”.

The amalgamation has been labelled a farce by Cllr Mann, after the three Conservative ward Councillors for Pettits Ward have all objected to the proposal by their own Cabinet colleague, with a few of them turning out for a photo shoot with the M.P for Romford and Cllr Starns all pretending to be concerned, they even brought along former Councillor, Alby Tebbutt.

Cllr Mann said “The farcical situation is that the Tories made the decision to consult on its merger in the first place and now they are all shouting their heads off, how they are against it, Cllr Starns evens turns up for a photo shoot against his own consultation”.

He went on “It would seem that the Conservative Party in North Romford are not content on ruining the reputation of Bower Park School (when they produced a leaflet suggesting it would close) they have now moved onto Rise Park, it would seem this bunch of so called local Councillors could not run a bath between them, let alone a Council”.

Cllr Mann has urged every parent of children at the school to write to the Borough with their objections, by the 26th October. You can do so by e-mailing primaryvision@havering.gov.uk or writing to Social Care & Leaning, 23 Eastern Road, Romford, RM1 3NH. Or you can log onto the Havering web site at http://www.havering.gov.uk/ and clicking “Education” and then “Consultations”.

Havering-Atte-Bower Horseman Show

The Havering Park team of Cllr Andy Mann, Kevin Tonks and Denis Stevens all attended the Havering-Atte-Bower Civic Societies first “Horseman’s Sunday Service” held on the village green. (I say first, the last one was held some 30 years ago, so it was the first event in modern times).

The event started with a parade of horses from across the various stables based in the Village, approx 40 where on display whilst an open air service was conducted by the Revd David Marshall of St Johns Church, with songs being sung and prayers said for the horses and for the residents of the village.

Tea and cake was kindly laid on by the Church, which some 100 plus people took advantage of in the glorious Autumn sun that came out especially for the day. After the horses had all been presented with a rosette by the M.P for Romford and a few by myself, it was over the road for daffodil planting.

Huge trenches had been dig for everyone to get on their hands and knees to plant some daffodils around the pond and green area. So next spring, we should expect to see hundreds of yellow flowers popping up through the grass.

The whole event was fantastic and really brought out the best of the village, my thanks to Nicky Gates and Heather Sherry (who are the Chairman and Secretary) and their team of helpers for putting the event together, I very much look forward to next years.

Cllr Andy Mann

Banking Crisis hits Havering

It would seem that Havering Council is one of 20 Local Authorities that has money tied up in Iceland in one of the two banks (Landbanksi or Heritable) in deep trouble; it has some £12.5 million at risk in one of the Icelandic banks that have filled for bankruptcy. Once again Havering has been caught up in the credit crunch (after pulling the plug on the swimming pool for Romford project)

The other Councils caught up in the banking fiasco are Kent County Council with £50m, Westminster with £17m, Sutton has £5.5m, Hertfordshire also has £17m and North and East Lincolnshire between them has £8m and whilst Buckinghamshire and Cornwall County Councils both have £5m tied up in Iceland.

Havering Park Councillor, Andrew Mann said “I have today written to The Chief Executive of Havering Council asking her to confirm how much we have on deposit with the banks and what risk there is of losing any the money and if this will affect the cash flow of the Council”.

There is a different set of rules around money held on account for Local Authorities to that of members of the public, where personal banking customers are now guaranteed the first £50k (up from £35k this week), no such guarantee exists for Local Authorities.

It is understood that Council Leaders from the Local Government Association are seeking urgent meetings with the Chancellor to discus the emerging crisis and to ask him to guarantee the money the same as personal bank customers.