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PCA Newsletter 18 - January 2007 |
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Cue the
Big Lorry
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PCA committee members, along with
Councillors Gibb, Popham and Sumner and Council
Principal Traffic Planner Peter Tonkin, met traffic
consultants for a tour of the Lane on a mid-December
morning. During the two hour walk, from Brunner Road
to Castlebar Park, the Council’s consultants
witnessed some of the problems that have led
Transport for London to earmark £300,000 for
improvements intended to ease traffic congestion and
facilitate pedestrian movement. |
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This was the first stage in a process
that will incorporate wider public consultation and
a PCA public meeting after the draft plans are
published. The PCA group were concerned that the
post-rush hour meeting wouldn’t demonstrate the
problems at their worst, but they need not have
worried.
The Lane put on a great show of minor
jams, inconsiderate parking, and the flouting of
existing parking restrictions. However, the star
turn couldn’t have been better orchestrated even if we
had tried. Just as the walkabout was winding up an
articulated lorry pulled up in the middle of the
road and, finding nowhere to park, the driver began
to unload there and then to the amazement of
councillors and consultants alike. Your committee
members simply raised a collective eyebrow and
muttered “told you so”. We’ll keep you posted. |
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River
Cleaning
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Councillor Nigel Sumner, cabinet member for health
and community well-being, writes to update us on progress with
cleaning up the Brent. A two-man team has so far removed 19 tons
of rubbish (not just from the Pitshanger area) and although this
is only a temporary operation, Nigel says “I am delighted that
this is the first step in reinstating a Brent River cleanup
team. We are aiming to have a permanent service in place in
April this year”. The Council is using the current operation to
warn park users (and their dogs) not to swim or paddle in the
river. |
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Light Up
The Lane
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They say they’re still trying to get one of the
Events Team out from under his bed while another
sits in a darkened room popping bubble wrap (“it’s
cheaper than therapy” he claims). Yes, this year’s
Light Up The Lane was probably the most stressful
ever to stage and was nearly cancelled just three
days before the Big Switch On. However, all’s well
that ends well and it turned out to be a great
evening. Elisabeth Sladen, ‘Sarah Jane’ in the
old Doctor Who series, got the show going with the
help of K9 (voiced by John Ducker), a Dalek, and...
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...and Steve Pound MP (voiced by Steve
Pound - pictured). At one point Steve accidentally
reversed onto the Dalek’s probe. “I thought that was
Peter Mandelson” he exclaimed, to the amusement of
the adults in the crowd. The weather
stayed good and the stage acts and street
entertainers put on a great show. The Buick Hill
Band particularly played under the most difficult of
circumstances, lead singer Bron Buick having just
come from his father’s bedside at Meadow House
hospice. We were to learn that his father died later
that night and the PCA would like to thank Bron for
his efforts and to offer him our condolences.
The big anxiety started when the new power supplies
that the PCA had ordered were still not working only
days before the event. Additionally, the Council’s
lighting contractors had forbidden us to remove the
street light access covers to set the timers for the
tree lights. Lighting Director Andrew Dixon was the
PCA’s hero of the hour, with a feverish exchange of
emails between himself, the PCA Events Team,
Councillors and the street lighting contractors. We
must thank our Councillor, deputy Council leader Ian
Gibb, for finally putting pressure in just the right
place. In an email to the Council’s Head of Highways
Management he writes, “...it seems in short that
there is a risk that Light up the Lane won't take
place this Saturday. I don't know (or care) who is
right/wrong…I just want to make sure that Light up
the Lane goes ahead on Saturday.” And so it was
done. [Ian Gibb will be lighting up the House of
Commons one day. You heard it here first – Ed]. |
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Wet and
Dry
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St
Davids – Help Wanted
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Hopefully the days of Ealing-bound bus
passengers getting a soaking as they wait for an
E-number on a rainy day are over. Until now vehicles
driving through the large puddle of surface water
that formed in the road would drench anyone standing
in the shelter but drains have been installed to
take the excess water away.
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St David’s Nursing Home, at the bottom
of Castlebar Hill, is home for many disabled
ex-service people, and whenever they go out they
need people to push their wheelchairs. Journeys may
be local; alternatively it may involve a day trip to
Wimbledon or Henley (tickets provided – form a queue
please!). Help doesn’t have to be on regular basis –
occasional assistance is welcome – and if you feel
you can contribute please call Doug Winter on 8998
7758 or email
doug@pitshanger.org.uk.
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Pesky
Foxes
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Member Brian Sharp takes the Newsletter to task
for implying support for the dreaded wheelie bin in last issue’s
item about the Council’s Refuse & Recycling Survey (“Foxes Vote
For Black Bags”). Unfortunately this was an unintended
side-effect of your editor’s never-ending quest for a witty and
attention-grabbing headline, and was in no way meant to suggest
PCA support for the bin. Mr Sharp writes, “One thing we do not
want on the Brentham Estate is the awful and unwieldy wheelie
bin. They are quite unsuitable for a conservation area and for
terraced houses. If people put their black sacks in an ordinary
dustbin, the foxes won’t get them.” He makes the point that if
we use the green buckets and compost vegetable waste there would
be less to go in the black sack, and concludes, “Wheelie bins
will encourage waste to landfill.” The survey is
now closed and results will be published in Around Ealing
shortly. The Council’s decision is due in March. |
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Police
Progress
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Scam
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Cleveland Ward’s ‘Safer
Neighbourhoods’ Police Team now mount regular
day-time foot patrols along the Lane, and team
leader Sergeant Steve Driscoll has written to all
local traders highlighting problems caused by
delivery lorries and anti-social parking. Members
can point out problems to passing patrols or call
the team on 8246 9406, 07879 694696 or
Cleveland.snt@met.police.uk.
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Phone the police immediately if you’re
visited by a young Asian woman with a sob story.
She’s about 5 foot 4, well spoken, and described as
having a ‘long face and large nose’. She’ll probably
tell you she lives nearby and has to go somewhere
urgently (sick children, family in a car crash,
etc.) or needs a few pounds desperately. Sometimes
she’ll use your distraction as you look for money to
come inside your house and steal. The woman has
struck locally at least three times recently and
police from several other divisions in the Met are
also looking for her.
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The
Building That Never Was
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Pitshanger Park users who venture as
far as the Argyle Road roundabout have been puzzled
by recent work in the park. Some assumed it was
preparatory work for the long-awaited Pitshanger FC
clubhouse, but what appeared to be foundations were
dug only to be filled in again, and the site is now
abandoned. Enquiries show that it was the location
of a World War Two public bomb shelter which had
become unstable and the work was undertaken to
prevent any danger to the public.
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PCA committee member Dean Horridge
points out that the annual Fun Run passes over this
very spot and several hundred runners could have
found themselves in a bit of a hole. Do members know
of any other hidden dangers in the park? |
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Planning and Environment Sub-Group
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Your committee has organised itself into
sub-groups to oversee areas such as communications and
membership, and the latest to set out its stall will look after
planning and environmental matters. John Bird leads the group,
which also includes Karen Jacks and Robert Jones. It will aim to
identify proposals or developments that have the potential to
“affect the quality of living of Pitshanger residents”,
scrutinise them and consult with other interested parties, and
advise the PCA committee whether the association should
intervene, and – if so – how. Current issues receiving attention
from the sub-group include the emerging traffic plans for the
Lane and cleaning up the Brent, but they’d like members’ help in
alerting them to potential developments that may be of concern
to the wider community. Contact John Bird on 8998 3418 or at
john.bird@pitshanger.org.uk. |
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Charity
Shops
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An e-mail from member John Martin (not the estate
agent) sparked one of the liveliest debates in the PCA committee
for some time. He’s enraged to see people rifling through the
bags left outside the charity shops and suggested some sort of
protection or security be provided to prevent this. The
committee split between those who regarded the “looting” as
wholly unacceptable and others who regarded the practice of
leaving stuff outside as dumping: “fly tipping”, said one.
Either way, it seems clear that discouraging people from leaving
donations when the shops are shut would help. Your committee
will be seeking Police advice and talking to the charity shops
themselves to determine the best way forward. |
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Forthcoming Events
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Upcoming PCA events include Ferret Racing (23rd
March), a Quiz Night on a date to be arranged, and the third
Pitshanger Fun Run, scheduled for Sunday 13th May.
On Wednesday 31st January St Mary’s Church offers
an evening of Beethoven and Prokofiev played by 18 year-old
pianist Ashley Fripp, followed by a performance from the Agon
piano trio. 7.30 pm, free with retiring collection. The
following Sunday, 4th February, there’s a very special event: a
performance of all Mozart’s piano duets by 12 pianists, or 6
pairs of duettists. 3 pm - admission £10. This is the first of 3
concerts in a Mozart Festival, the other two scheduled for 18th
February and 4th March. Details at
www.st-marys-perivale.org.uk.
Ealing Choral Society will be celebrating Elgar’s
150th anniversary at St Barnabas Church on Saturday 3rd March at
7.45 pm. Tickets cost between £10 and £12 and are available on
8991 2730. |
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