Dropping in for St Francis Hospice

Cllr Andy Mann & Kevin Tonks, will be literally dropping in at the YMCA building in September, when they take part in a sponsored abseil, they will be dropping down the 120 foot building in aid of St Francis Hospice.

Based in Havering-Atte-Bower, Andy and Kevin aim to raise £500 for the hospice, which offers specialist care to patients who have cancer or other life-limiting illnesses.

It costs over £6.5 million every year to run the service, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can care for more than 1,600 patients and their families each year.

If you would like to sponsor Andy & Kevin please go to the just giving web site at http://www.justgiving.com/AndyandKevsbigabseil/

Bower Park will Rock You !!

Bower Park School is proud to present "School will rock you", next week, Monday to Wednesday, the 6th, 7th and 8th July as their end of term school production.

Based on the hugely popular west end show "We will rock you" written by Ben Elton and a tribute to Queen and Freddy Mercury, the school has been working hard over the last few months putting together the school version.

If you would like to go and support the children, you can purchase tickets at £5 each, just call the school switchboard on 01708 730 244, ask for ext 234 or Eileen Parish and she will deal with your ticket requests.

Cllr Mann said, "as a Governor and a huge Queen fan, I will be at the school next week, I hope to see many of you there".

Armed Forces Day Parade

Havering will join the nation today, Saturday 27 June in honouring Britain's armed forces past, present and future on Armed Forces Day.

A parade will take place through Romford Town Centre, beginning at 10:45am on South Street, going through the Market before ending at Tollgate House. The parade will be led by the 12-piece band of the Invicta Rifles.

Veterans, army and police cadets, as well as members of the St John's Ambulance are also due to join in on the day. Collections for the Help for Heroes Appeal will also take place during the parade.

All residents who would like to support the parade through the Town Centre are welcome to come along.

Hampden Lodge Refused – for now !

The Collier Row & Mawneys Residents Association are pleased that the Planning Committee refused permission for the former care home to become 43 flats. Over the last two years, the application has gone from 58 flats, down to 48 and then rather controversially mid way through the recent consultation, reduced down to 43.

Cllr Mann who was joined by Joe Webster and Denis Stevens at the planning meeting said, “I am pleased that the Committee agreed with all those who objected by refusing the scheme, I struggled to find a single positive point, the flats were too high, out of character, a danger to the highway in Clockhouse Lane, loss of light and there is also a lack of education places in North Romford.

However, the Conservative controlled Council need to take some responsibility for this whole debacle, they are the ones that sold the land, (subject to planning being granted) they are the ones that reduced the price by an alleged £1/2 million (as reported in the Recorder) to get shot of it and they are the one who have now made it a planning condition that 100% of the flats are offered as affordable housing to a Housing Association.

Over 1000 people signed the original petition that was presented to the Mayor last year, however it seems that your Tory Councillors are hell bent on doing anything for money, and could not give a damn about what local people want. Earlier this year, Tory Cllr, Geoff Starns said he was resigned to taking the big bucks for the land and at the Planning meeting, Cllr Tebbutt, said it was the Councils job to squeeze every pip of money out of a piece of land they sell, so plenty of hope there then !

Almost every resident we have spoken to would accept some sort of housing on the site and that is what we need “housing” not flats. Havering Council now need to go back to the drawing board, look at what money they want for the site and balance that against what is best for a family town like Collier Row and come up with suitable plans, perhaps houses, maybe a Health Centre.

The developer has spent a lot of money trying to get planning permission and will undoubtedly appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. Or will the Tory run Council shelve plans until May 2010 when the next Local Elections take place, hoping people will forget ?

Hampden Lodge Planning Meeting

URGENT – PLEASE READ – Hampden Lodge

As you may or may not know Havering Councils Regulatory Services Committee will be deciding the outcome of the planning application to turn the former care home into 43 flats on Thursday of this week (the 25th).

Over the last 12 months the applicant, Bellway Homes and Havering Council have submitted plans for 58 flats, then 48 flats and now revised plans for 43 flats, the latest revision has included a planning condition that 100% of the flats are for social housing and will be handed to a Housing Association.

This will therefore stop local people actually being able to buy the flats and as you have to offer properties across East London as part of the choice based lettings scheme Havering are part of. There is no guarantee that Havering people will get a flat, if they are approved.

The level of support against this development has been fantastic, with hundreds writing to object and over 1000 people signing the original petition; please join us for the last push at the planning meeting this week at the Town Hall to show the level of objection.

Please meet at the Town Hall from 6.30pm for a demonstration this Thursday, the 25th June, then stay on for the planning meeting at 7.30pm. Your support on Thursday could make all the difference.

Cllr Andy Mann

Web Site Problems

It seems that our Web Site continues to annoy people as once again it has been attacked by outsiders trying to upload a virus to it. However, as it is all backed up and saved and was protected by blogger.com we have been able to close down certain items for a week or so whilst tracking of the IP address took place.

It is now up to speed and over the next few days, we will upload stories that should have been on there a few weeks ago, sorry if they are a bit late.

We have now posted over 350 stories in just over 2 years and had 26,000 hits, which is great, if you want to receive regular updates from us, just drop us an e-mail, address on the right and we will add you to the list.

Pinewood Primary School sings at the Queens

Cllr Andrew Mann was pleased to be able to watch the children from Pinewoods at the recent Queens Theatre Summer Music Festival, the 30 plus children from the School choir put on a fantastic show by singing a spoonful of sugar and the candyman.

As a Governor and former pupil at Pinewood, it is always a pleasure to see the children perform; they were all a credit to the school, a lot of the children performing were in year six, so will be leaving the school in a month, I wish them all good luck at their new schools.

And as the children leave the school, sadly, so does the Head Teacher, Mrs Hazel Boutel. After almost 10 years in charge of the school she has decided to retire from teaching and spend more time with her family, in particular her first grandchild.

Cllr Mann has seen first hand some of the work that Hazel has done in promoting Pinewood Primary. As a school tucked away at the furthest point in the ward, surrounded by Havering Country Park it has often being the forgotten school of North Romford. However, Hazel has led an excellent team of staff who have done their best for the children and putting Pinewood firmly on the map for all to see, I thank her for all her work and wish her all the best in retirement.

New sign for the Village green

The Havering-Atte-Bower Conservation Society has been successful in biding for a £5,000 grant from Grassroots (part of the Cabinet Office) for a sign to be erected on the Village Green and for repair of the circular seat.

A planning application has recently been submitted for the sign and Cllr Mann said "I was pleased to be able to write to the planners supporting the scheme, which has now been approved, HABCOS have done some wonderful work in the village and should be congratulated for all they do"

HABCOS have now set thee sites on a bid for a larger £10,000 grant to help enhance the village.

More information on what HABCOS have been doing to support the village are available on their website at www.habcos.co.uk

Mounted Police come to Havering Park

Cllr Andrew Mann and Havering Park Ward Action Member, Denis Steven joined the friends of Havering Country Park and the Ward SNT Police team as the Metropolitan Police Mounted Branch visited Havering Country Park and Bedfords Park on Sunday.

Four Police horses were on patrol in the parks, along with Sgt Grahame Harle and PCSO Pete Watts, who were looking out for anti social behaviour problems, including people using motorbikes illegally in the parks.

The horses have become an annual fixture in the parks over the summer months, having been to Havering for the last few years.

Cllr Mann said “The sheer presence of the horses is enough to scare anyone off who even thinks about riding a bike in the park, we are all extremely grateful for the Mounted Branch for coming over to the park, my thanks to the local SNT Police team for arranging the event.

Denis Stevens said “The Police in our ward have been fantastic in supporting the Friends of Havering Country Park group, by bring in the horses it send a clear message that illegal motorbikes will not be tolerated in our parks”

New Dentist opens in Collier Row

Cllr Andy Mann was on hand today, as a new NHS dentist opened its doors for the first time, the Collier Row Dental Surgery is the first new dentist in Havering for many years. The first patients was Mrs Driscoll, from Collier Row (pictured in the chair with Dr Patel and Cllr Mann).

The clinic will be specialising in treating nervous and anxious patients and children and the elderly.The surgery opened in the Councils old Housing office, that it sold off some three years ago and has laid empty ever since.

Dr Patel, the lead clinical principal dentist said “We have been working with the NHS to develop a modern family friendly practise and are delighted to offer all aspects of NHS dental care. It is especially important that children’s teeth and gums are looked after in their early years to ensure dental health is maintained for life”.

Cllr Mann said “I was very pleased to be able to support the planning application for this new dentist in Collier Row; a NHS dentist is very much needed in the area and will be a wonderful asset for the community and I very much wish Dr Patel the best of luck as he get the dentist up and running”.

For more information, contact the practice on Romford 728 715.

Residents Association By Election Victory

The Residents' Association scored a landslide victory yesterday, in securing the vacant St Andrew's ward seat in a by election, following the resignation of Tory David Charles, who was convicted of downloading child porn.

John Wood, of the Hornchurch Residents' Association, was returned with 1,413 votes, 522 ahead of the second placed Tory candidate.

With a high turn-out of 42.6%, the full result is as follows:

JOHN WOOD (RA) 1,413
PAIN (TORY) 891
JOYCE (BNP) 771
CARR (LABOUR) 455
WEBB (UKIP) 433
DURRANT 291
TAFF (LIB DEM) 159

John has lived in Hornchurch for over 30 years and has been a member of the Hornchurch Residents' Association for many years. He currently works for the London Probation Service and has served as a governor at St Mary's RC Primary school and as chair of Education appeals in other local authorities.

John is pictured above, with Cllr Barbara Matthews, who was his election agent for the campaign.

Armed Forces Parade in Romford

On Saturday 27 June, Havering will join the nation in honouring Britain's armed forces past, present and future on Armed Forces Day. The event will consist of a parade through Romford Town Centre, beginning at South Street and taking in the Market before finishing at the Town Hall.

The parade will be led by a 12-piece band the Invicta Rifles. Army and police cadets, as well as members of the St John's Ambulance are also due to join in on the day and any veterans in Havering who would like to take part are welcome.

After the march there will be a chance for veterans to catch up with old friends, as well as meet new comrades during refreshments outside the Town Hall. Collections for the Help for Heroes Appeal will also take place.

Anyone wishing to take part should call 01708 432 427 for more details.

Residents who would like to support the veterans as they parade through the Town Centre are also welcome to come along. Prior to the event, a special Armed Forces Day flag will be raised at the Town Hall in a ceremony on Monday 22 June.

A local veteran will be raising the flag and it will fly for a week leading up to Armed Forces Day.

Langtons Summer Concert

One of the most popular events in the borough's culture calendar, the Langtons Summer Concert, will take place on Sunday 7 June, and is free to all residents.

The annual event, which last year attracted around 3,000 people to Langtons Gardens, will celebrate 80 years since Havering Council acquired the gardens of Langtons House from Elizabeth Varco Parkes in 1929.

In celebration of this anniversary, guests are invited to put on their best 1920s style fancy dress, and there will be a prize for the best costume in two categories, adults and children, presented by the Mayor of Havering.

The concert is performed by the Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra who will bring the sound of the 1920s to life with the help of long standing musical director Jonathan Butcher. The concert starts at 3pm and visitors are invited to bring along a picnic.

StreetCare fined £10,000

The London Borough of Havering has been fined £10,000 after an employee of its Street Care Department struck an 11,000 volt cable buried in the pavement with a hydraulic breaker.

The employee suffered flash burns and electric shock during the accident which occurred on Main Road, Romford in December 2007. The worker, who was untrained, was using the hydraulic breaker to dig holes for the installation of a new bench.

Havering pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and safety at Work Act 1974. It was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £9,810 at City of London Magistrates Court.

John Crookes, Health and Safety Executive inspector, said: "This incident could have been fatal. London Borough of Havering failed to provide a safe system of work as a result of which a temporary council worker was injured."

Click HERE for details of our original story, when the incident first happened.

Hampden Lodge You Tube Video

Local resident and Hampden Lodge campaigner, Jeff Terrell has made a short video and posted it on You Tube, click on the link below to view it.

CLICK HERE TO LINK TO THE VIDEO

Lynwood Drive Planning Application

Another planning application has been submitted by the Lynwood Drive Medical Centre to extend its size by converting the house a no.2 to form part of the surgery.

It also proposes a Change of use from residential to D1 for pharmacy, consulting rooms and administration, alterations to the driveway of 2 Lynwood Drive to form parking for patients and staff of adjoining medical centre located at 2A, 4 and 6 Lynwood Drive.

The pharmacy also seeks permission to be open Monday to Saturday, from 06.00 to 23.00 and on Sundays from 09.00 to 13.00, that is a total of 100 hours a week.

The Collier Row & Mawneys Residents Association is sympathetic to the needs of the community in improving the facilities available to patients and to improving the care they receive.

However, this site is just not capable of being extending any further; the surgery is already located within three converted houses in Lynwood Drive. The parking situation in the surrounding roads is already at breaking point and the six extra spaces that are proposed will not be enough, as they will be taken up by extra staff parking.

The location of the pharmacy on the junction of Lynwood Drive and Clockhouse Lane will be a traffic nightmare, it is also less than 100 metres from a school, and the traffic at start and finish times is already of concern.

There is also issues around why a Chemist needs to be open 100 hours a week !

Havering Park Ward Councillor, Andy Mann said “This application was refused last summer and as far as I can see, there is no difference to the new plans, I am deeply concerned about a dispensing chemist being available for over 100 hours a week, from 06.00 in the morning to 11pm at night, its not like the surgery is open for 17 hours a day”. “To that end, I will be writing to the Head of Planning at Havering Council and calling in tis application and to express my concerns and objections”.

Gallows Corner flyover CLOSED

Gallows Corner flyover will be closed from tomorrow morning, for 3 months to enable repair works to be carried out. Additional works were found to be needed after the existing safety barriers were not up to the job. The work that was necessary to manufacture the support structures off-site has now been completed.

However, it will take at least three months, working 7 days a week, to install the new parapets. During the period of works the flyover will be fully closed with traffic diverted around Gallows Corner Roundabout.

There will be partial lane closures on the roundabout and its approach during off-peak periods and there will be inevitable delays to motorists.

It will also affect certain bus routes, including, the 174, 496 and 498.

Latest Newsletter being delivered

Issue 14, the May / June edition of our Collier Row & Mawneys Residents Association is now being delivered, across Collier Row, Mawneys, Chase Cross & Havering-atte-Bower.

Over 11,000 houses and shops should have received a copy, with information such as the latest update on the Councils plans to sell of Hampden Lodge. There is also stories about Bower Park School, StreetCare, a new Vicar for the Ascension church and Park openings.

Click on the newsletter to read, or click on the link on the right hand side to take you to our newsletter archive.

Council Advertising Income not achieved

Income from advertising on council assets (lampposts, roundabouts, etc) could underachieve by around £300,000 this year according to a report recently considered by the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

Last year, the Council agreed to increase income raised through advertising on council assets from £50,000 to £550,000, however the actual figures have left a large deficit in the planned budget.

Following a question to Council in December 2008, it was revealed that the 2008/09 budget was likely to underachieve by £200,000.

For 2009/10, the figures are looking even less favourable as one advertiser has already dropped out of the contract. Based on existing figures, income may only be £235,000, leaving a shortfall in excess of £300,000.

Leader of the Opposition, Cllr Clarence Barrett, said: “Last year we challenged the Cabinet decision to increase income through advertising on council assets on the grounds that we needed reassurance as to the quantity and quality of advertising and that the income projections were way too optimistic. However, our concerns were subsequently voted down by the Tory dominated Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

“Even given the economic conditions, the need to set income projections at a level which is achievable rather than through wishful thinking is crucial as it impacts on council budgets if the targets are not met”.

Half Term Fun at the Library

Children in Havering can find out all about their favourite animals, be brave enough to hold a creepy crawly, or learn more about their carbon footprint and the environment this half-term.

Staff from Wellgate Community Farm will bring along animals including rabbits, chickens and ducks to teach children how to care for their pets during an animal fun day at Collier Row Library from 12pm on Saturday 23 May.

There will also be local guide dog trainers, therapy dogs, local vets, craft activities and face painting at the event. Tickets for the animal fun day cost £3 and are available from the library. Call 01708 760063, to book.