 |
East Barnet
Residents' Association |
(incorporating
Friends of Oak Hill Park) |
|
East Barnet
Residents' Association |
(incorporating
Friends of Oak Hill Park) |
 |
March 2010 Newsletter |
|
COMMITTEE OFFICERS
| Chairman | James Bradshaw |
| Vice-Chairman | George Irons |
| Treasurer | Sheila Solbé |
| Newsletter Distribution | Yvonne Ward |
| Secretary and Newsletter Editor | Pauline Coakley Webb |
| Website / Membership Secretary | Rob White |
To contact the Association, please visit eastbar.net/contact
All Member meetings for 2010
Our all member meetings for 2010 will be held on March17th, July14th and October 27th starting at 8pm at St Mary's Church Hall Church Hill Road East Barnet.
For the meeting on March 17th we invited representatives from National Grid and Veolia to attend. This request was in response to e-mails we have received from members who lost their gas supply over the Christmas period but it was declined due to their attendance at an earlier meeting on this issue , held on 10th February at New Barnet Community Centre.
Our Chairman has compiled the following report from that meeting with the utility companies held on 10th February:
The meeting this evening in New Barnet was attended by nearly two hundred people, some quite angry. The main points that have been clarified are that everyone affected will get a letter from National Grid within the next week explaining that they didn't have all the names and addresses of everyone as they do not have a database with them on. So far they had only contacted about 2/3rds of the residents.
The deadline to claim for compensation for Christmas etc. no longer applies.
National Grid agreed to set up a site the next week at half term, possibly at St Mary's school as before.
They are also hoping to put more information on their website. They will only pay £30 per 24hours of the gas supply being disrupted, increased to £100 for Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Veolia Water will pay compensation for any gas equipment damaged by the water.
Contact details:
National Grid - FAO Customer Services Manager - Email GSOSadmin@uk.ngrid.com
Website www.nationalgrid.com/uk
Veolia Water - FAO Trevor Dunnet - Email insurance@veoliawater.co.uk
Tel 0845 782 3333
Website www.veoliawater.co.uk/central
EDF Energy Networks -
Email customer.relations@edfenergy.com
Tel 0800 028 4587 website www.edfenergy.com
The whole issue is also scheduled to be scrutinised by a council ad -hoc scrutiny committee. This will take place on March 4th 2010 at 7pm in Hendon Town Hall, The Burroughs, NW4 4BG. Residents can attend to view the proceedings and are able to submit comments by post or e-mail. The questions that the scrutiny committee will look at are:
The circumstances of the incident and its impact;
The response of the utility companies;
The response of the London Borough of Barnet; The impact on public services; How future incidents might be averted. The committee has also been charged with examining the other incidents in Mill Hill and Finchley.
Written evidence should be e-mailed to jeremy.williams@barnet.gov.uk, or can be sent by mail to Jeremy Williams
Acting Overview & Scrutiny Team Leader
Corporate Governance Directorate
London Borough of Barnet, North London Business Park, Oakleigh Road South, London N11 1NP
Tel: 020 8359 2042
Mobile: 07949 753 721
Several members have said they would prefer to subscribe to the Residents' Association for more than one year at a time. The Association's year runs from July to June, so subscriptions are not due yet. But in the summer if your subscription is due, you will be welcome to pay for any period between 1 and 5 years. Membership is still only £2 per year per household, so by paying in advance you will save our volunteer committee members and road stewards the need to contact you every year for the money. The membership secretary keeps detailed records of who paid what when, so rest assured that if you do pay in advance you will not be asked to pay again until your subscription has expired. This new arrangement is entirely optional though, and if you wish to continue paying annually then of course that's fine too.
The Barnet Community Police Consultative group (BCPCG) was disbanded last year. This year a new consultative group has been formed, at present it consists of seven members. This committee, that represents various sectors of the local population, will host four open public meetings each year. They will work in partnership with the Police, Council and others who deliver services in the borough. The group will influence decisions taken about how community safety polices and plans are delivered and ensure that partners are accountable back to communities for the work they do. The group will initially be called the Barnet Community Safety Engagement Group.
Will be held this year on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th July . Plans for the theatre in the park programme are already well under way and once again there will be a mix of family entertainment, including Shakespeare, and some events for young children.
The theatre programme dates now confirmed are:
6th June "James & the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl Illyria
13th June "The Merchant of Venice" by Shakespeare ~ Theatre Set up
20th June "Great Expectations" by Dickens Quantum Theatre
27th June Teddy Bears Picnic with Poz the Clown
11th July "The Taming of the Shrew" Principal Theatre
18th July "Macbeth" Principal Theatre
1st August "Romeo and Juliet" by Illyria
 |
 |
 |
|
All performances are on a Sunday and start at the earlier time of 3pm . Tickets can be bought on the day and the performances are held in the 'bandstand ' by the golf course and the woods in Oak Hill Park.
With a reliance on community sponsorship there is an opportunity for local businesses , local organisations and residents to help the festival this year by sponsoring any of the events listed below.
DANCE & THEATRE TENT presenting best of North London dance groups £3000
MARKET TENT including craft stalls £1600
SMALL TENTS 3 dressing rooms & bar tent, each £200
PUBLIC ADDRESS system for field announcements, each horn £100
FURNITURE a table in the tea tent £30
EVENTS The dog show, now in its fifth year £100
Dog agility display team £100
The Junior Schools Football Tournament now in its 15th year,
for boys, girls and mixed teams: Marking out three pitches, each £60
The festival committee are delighted that Barnet & Brookside Methodist Church and St Mary's Church have once again agreed to sponsor the tea tent.
For enquiries about next years festival , booking stalls, the theatre in the park season, offering help to steward or being a sponsor please visit www.eastbarnetfestival.org.uk or phone 07071 781745
With Rob doing a sterling job both maintaining and updating the web site he also deals with any e-mails that are received . Of late he has been receiving mail intended for the Parish magazine at St Mary's and this is because the word 'parish ' appears in the name of our association. This was discussed at the last committee meeting and it was agreed to put it to the next all member meeting that the word 'parish' be dropped from our name in order to avoid any confusion. The committee also noted that this may help reinforce that we are a non political organisation and that we do not represent any religious group.
New Barnet Development Strategy
The Campaign Team have just been informed that the long anticipated "New Barnet Town Centre Framework" will finally be published on Monday 22nd February. We understand that it contains a number of alternative development options for New Barnet. An exhibition of the plans will be held locally next week. The document will be downloadable from the council website, with printed copies available to read in libraries. A four week consultation period will allow the public to express their opinions on the options.
With Paul Baker, City of London guide
Walks cost £7. Accompanied under 12s £3. For further information, phone 020 8440 6805. Mobile 07506 761294 e-mail: pbaker54@hotmail.co.uk Web-site: www.barnetwalks.talktalk.net
In Oak Hill Park a government funded scheme called 'playbuilders ', providing Barnet with 1 million pounds, will be installing additional play equipment for 8 to 13 year olds near the current play areas.
The fitness equipment should be increased by another four items of equipment in a few weeks time, which they should have been installed last year. The last two items of fitness equipment are planned to be installed in the summer.
A short time ago the team had a drugs warrant executed at the empty shop "Gifted".A quantity of cannabis was found as well as money but only one person arrested on the night for supplying drugs.
We would like to warn older residents about an alarm company that cold calls on the phone.
They offer an alarm at a reasonable price and is all well and good, but they don't tell you about the extortionate monitoring and maintenance cost of about £6, 000 per yr.
Please do NOT be persuaded into any arrangements. If you need an alarm service, use a reputable company.
There has been a bit of unease about a firearms incident that occurred on Cat Hill at the end of January.
A male from out of town was visiting his girlfriend and another resident who came into the same house (shared occupancy) saw what he thought was a gun in his waistband of the visiting male. It turned out to be a lighter.
However, there was some disruption to local residents as the armed response units could not take the risk of allowing people to wander past the address at which a potential firearm had been reported. A male was arrested and there were no injuries.
A drugs warrant was executed in Church Hill Road on 12th Jan. A small quantity of cannabis for personal use was found.
On 19th January four wheelie bins were set alight in Crescent Road. We are in touch with the LFB "Arson Task Force Manager".We now have a good communication link set up between us. We alert her to things that may be a danger to the public and she will come along and survey. She has also agreed to to come along to the local schools and give a presentation about the danger of fire. (or guide us to do this if she is unable to make the appointment)
There seems to be a little discontent with the youths of late. We have increased patrols at specific times and dates based on historical data when youngsters have been more at risk. As well as local patrols, we also have a dedicated minibus of officers responding to calls to groups or where tension has been indicated through teachers or pupils themselves.
We continue to attend year group assemblies and give talks to the pupils. We are still in the process of setting up a youth panel..........where the young people from the area have a say in what they perceive to be problem areas and have an input into making decisions with policing issues.
For this newsletter we have some images and information kindly supplied by Gillian Gear, local historian and a former Chair of our association. Gillian has been researching the former Church Farm Industrial school which was located close to St Mary's Church and which included an open air swimming pool . This is now the indoor pool used today by many local schools for swimming lessons and is used each week by members of our association, although the pool and changing rooms would benefit greatly from some much needed upgrading to ensure its use for future generations.
 |
 |
The outdoor pool |
Boys parade, Church Farm and staff |
 |
 |
Below The Boys' Farm Home c 1890
Left to right - playroom, accommodation, classroom, extended former farmhouse and the parish church of St Mary the Virgin.
Church Farm Farmhouse c 1860
In around 1860 Church Farm farmhouse was described as 200 years old at the time. The farm had previously been used to provide donkeys for the army during the Crimean War.
 |
 |
The 1926 buildings of the Boys Farm Home |
Once a year former boys returned for a reunion at the farm |
 |
 |
One of the Staples brothers, an old boy who became a member of staff with a group of boys |
and a postcard view of the church |
Chas R Lowe Estates are proud to sponsor the East Barnet Residents' Association newsletters.