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PCA Newsletter 26 - January 2008 |
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Streets
for People Scheme Gets Green Light
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77% of people want the Pitshanger Lane Streets for
People Scheme to go ahead. That’s the headline
result of the Council’s public consultation. This is
a significant step up from the 69% indicated by the
earlier PCA consultation, and may in part reflect
the improvements to the scheme suggested by the PCA
consultation. On the strength of the strong YES
vote, the Council’s Ealing Area Committee has given
authorisation for the scheme to proceed to detailed
design and implementation.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that
there is still a |
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good deal of important detail missing
– and this scheme will only work if the detail is
right. Fortunately, the PCA has been given a role in
fleshing out the detailed design with Council
Officers. Watch the PCA Newsletter for further
updates. The Council's consultation
report is available for download from the PCA
Streets for People resource page
here. |
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Fishy
Van
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Our Safer Neighbourhoods Team leader, Sergeant
Steve Driscoll, warns us of a gang apparently selling fish
door-to-door from the back of a van. When other residents in the
borough became suspicious the police checked the van, which did
indeed contain fish, but it was not refrigerated or packed in
ice as one might expect from a reputable fishmonger. Checks on
the occupants revealed previous convictions for theft and
burglary and it is strongly believed that the fish selling ploy
is little more than a cover allowing the gang to check out
houses and roads. There’s a general increase in burglary at the
moment and, apart from the food safety aspects of storing fish
in this way, Steve asks you to be on your guard and not to buy
anything from the van or encourage its presence. |
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A Night
At The Samrat
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PCA Quiz
Night
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Our gastro-queen, Michelle Scupholme,
has organised a members’ night at the Samrat on
Friday February 8th from 7.30 pm. The cost is £12 a
head which includes a starter and main course of
your choice, with side dishes – King prawns and
alcohol are extra! You’ll need to hurry – there’s
only room for 20 people so send a cheque (payable to
the PCA) for £12 per person to Michelle at 9
Barnfield Road, W5 1QU with your name, phone number
and address. For more information email Michelle at
michelle.scupholme@pitshanger.org.uk.
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Following last year’s successful and
entertaining evening Karen Jacks has scheduled this
year’s event for Friday 4th April at the Brentham
Club, starting at 7.30 p.m. In charge once again
will be Karen’s other half, David, and the ticket
price of only £10 includes a sausage and mash
supper. Maximum 10 people per table, but if you
don't have a full table then it’s no problem: just
buy as many tickets as you need and we’ll arrange
the rest. Contact Karen on 8566 7383 or 07711 014331
or email
karen.jacks@pitshanger.org.uk to book your
tickets.
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Lights
Go Green On The Lane
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Andrew Dixon, who maintains the Christmas lights
along the Lane, is doing his bit for the
environment. The much admired green globes that he
added to the trees last year use low-energy LED
lights, taking just 10% of the power used by the red
ones. However, he warns that the white lights are
beginning to show their age and need constant
attention to keep them going. Inevitably, in the
five years since the present lights were installed
the trees have grown and so now the lights only fill
the centres of the trees.
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It seems to be just a matter of time
until we will have to replace them. Andrew would
like to thank Dave Park for “taming the time clocks”
along with his army of volunteers who battle with
ladders to make Pitshanger Lane one of the prettiest
places in Ealing at Christmas. |
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Tales Of The Riverbank
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Get
Involved
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The Council’s Parks, Countryside and
Events Service now has the funding to begin an
ongoing clearance and improvement of the River
Brent. They are completing an initial two week sweep
down the river from the A40 through the Park which
should deal with 90% of the waste present, the
exception being larger objects that will require
winching out.
After this, a two-man team will work
two days work per week on the whole length of the
river, dealing with ongoing waste, the larger items
requiring specialist equipment, and also
conservation and visitor access management along the
river corridor. The service is also looking at
methods of stopping wind-blown litter at source, and
installing booms to capture river-borne waste. The
programme will continue for the foreseeable future
and will be managed by the Ranger Team at their
Acton base (8740 1855).
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We’ve space on our main committee and
sub-groups (Environment & Planning, Communications
and, as ever, the Events Team) for people who want
to get stuck in and do something, for themselves as
well as for the community. If handling the Streets
for People debate or managing our reaction to the
proposed new runway at Heathrow takes your fancy, or
if you want to help us increase our expertise in
handling communications and public events such as
our popular ‘Question Time’, then our secretary
Debbie Edwards (8998 2414 or
debbie.edwards@pitshanger.org.uk) will be
delighted to hear from you.
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Heathrow
Third Runway
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Members might be interested in the public
consultation being carried out by the Department for
Transport on increasing capacity at Heathrow
Airport. A general rise in air traffic and the
addition of a third runway seem to be treated as
foregone conclusions in the consultation, with most
questions dealing with points of detail of which two
are of particular interest for Pitshanger residents.
The first of these is the so-called “Westerly
Preference” whereby aircraft are directed to take
off and land in a westerly direction even when there
is a slight tailwind.
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Pitshanger only really suffers from
aircraft noise when the planes are taking off to the
east (i.e. when there is a significant easterly
wind), so clearly the current Westerly Preference is
something we would want to keep. The other point to
watch is the “Cranford Agreement” which dictates
that most easterly take-offs should use Heathrow’s
southern runway. This doesn’t make much difference
to Pitshanger at present, but if/when the third
runway comes into operation the Cranford Agreement
should help to push at least some take-offs well
away from our airspace. Perversely, the third runway
could lead to a quieter Pitshanger since the current
easterly take-off track that affects us would have
to be replaced by two new tracks displaced a fair
bit to either side of the present one. Consultation
details are available from the DfT
here or via 0845 600 4170. The consultation
closes on February 27th – remember “Westerly
Preference” and the “Cranford Agreement”. |
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Neighbourhood Meeting
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Keep
Holding On
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There will be a public meeting with
our ward Safer Neighbourhoods Police Team on
Thursday February 21st in St Barnabas Church Hall,
starting at 8 p.m. This is your opportunity to hear
about successes to date, influence objectives and
suggest new initiatives for the future, and to put
your questions to Sergeant Steve Driscoll and his
team.
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Despite agreement in principle by
Ealing Council that the toilets in Pitshanger Park
would open during daylight hours this summer, it now
looks as though desperate dog walkers and frantic
football parents will have to hold on for a while
longer. The problem is that plumbing repairs and
changes to the building needed to meet modern
accessibility requirements have made the job too
expensive for now. However, there is some good news
regarding the park: indications from the Council are
that the section of footpath almost undercut by the
River Brent will be re-routed in the next few
months, and the worst of the pot-holes near the
tennis courts will be repaired.
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New Golf
Academy
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Ealing Golf Club (behind the park) will launch
their new Academy with a free “Taster” session for women and
girls at 10.30 a.m. on Tuesday February 5th. The session is
completely free with no obligation to have lessons. There will
be light refreshments and an introduction by the club
professional, followed by 1½ hours on the putting green and
practice ground. Contact the Office on 8997 0937 or the ‘Pro
Shop’ on 8997 3959; alternatively email
ealinggolfshop@aol.com. Names are needed by January 29th so
you’ll need to get moving to avoid disappointment.
For those who want to take things further, a series of 6 one
hour lessons start the following Tuesday, February 12th –
beginners at 11 a.m., improvers at 12.30 p.m. Beginners will
learn the basics of golf and will not need equipment because
trainers can be worn and everything else will be provided.
Improvers will have lessons on the practice ground and on the
course, including an individual lesson with the Pro over 8
holes. For further details call the Office or Pro Shop as above. |
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Co-op
Opening Hours
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The Co-op has at last legitimised its trading hours.
An application to extend its approved opening hours
to match those they have actually been operating
since they opened two years ago has been agreed by
the Council. However, a condition of the approval is
that deliveries to the shop should be limited.
Newspapers and sandwiches can be delivered between 5
a.m. and 8 a.m. in vehicles limited to 1.5 tonnes
(i.e. a van). From 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. bread and
milk can be delivered in vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes
(a smallish lorry).
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All other deliveries must be made from
7 p.m. until 9 p.m. in a vehicle up to 7.5 tonnes.
If you think the Co-op is in breach of these
conditions you may report the fact to the Council’s
planning enforcement team leader Ingrid Smith at
smithi@ealing.gov.uk. |
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Christmas Turkeys
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Diary
Dates
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In the last Newsletter we promised a
bottle of wine for the groaniest Christmas cracker
joke. It’s good to know recycling is alive and well
in Cracker World – old favourites included: “How did
the human cannonball lose his job? He got fired!” –
but an honourable mention for this: “What does the
word ‘minimum’ mean? A very small mother”. However,
the winner, submitted by Events Team stalwart John
Waters, is: “Why does Santa like to work in his
garden? Because he likes to hoe, hoe, hoe!” Thanks,
John – that’s truly terrible.
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Here is a round-up of PCA diary dates
for the next few months:
8 Feb: PCA members’ evening at
Samrat
21 Feb: Safer Neighbourhoods
Meeting, 8 pm St Barnabas
27 Feb: Heathrow expansion
consultation closes
4 April: PCA Quiz Night, 7.30pm
Brentham Club
Details of these events can be found
in this edition of the newsletter and on the PCA web
site. Looking further ahead, Party In The Park will
take place on Sunday June 29th.
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