Great Notley Garden Village Residents Association
Newsletter Number 20
Date : November 2001.
Chairman : Ken Game. Telephone - 343030. Secretary : Bert Rix. Telephone - 341066.
E-mail : herbertrix@btinternet.com
GREAT NOTLEY GARDEN VILLAGE PARISH MAPS (CUCKOO WAY @ MRS HEDGES).
On page 40 of the winter Edition of the Great Notley Times an "anonymous" contributor has expressed a "huge disappointment" that these boards did not show all the roads in the parish. "Simple my Dear Watson". If the anonymous contributor had followed the history of these map boards through previous editions of the newsletters it should have been abundantly clear that the G.N.G.V. Residents Association is only concerned to promote the interests of the Great Notley Garden Village part of the parish and that does not include White Court.
When these map boards were first erected by countryside there was no mention of roads in White Court and no-one
complained then so why the great rush of disappointment now? Anyway, there is a very smart and useful map board at the entrance to White Court and G.N.G.V. have never given way to mock hysterics over the fact that G.N.G.V. does not figure on this map board.
It would be unrealistic to claim, as the editor of the Great Notley Times did on the telephone that a visitor looking for a road in White Court would consult one of the map boards in G.N.G.V. Even strangers from far afield know the difference between White Court and Great Notley Garden Village.
The total amalgamation of White Court and G.N.G.V. into one entity only exists in the imagination of the Parish Council. Just prior to the split of the old parish of Black Notley, the Residents Association carried out a survey of White Court to determine whether they would prefer to remain with Black Notley, or become part of Great Notley. The result from those people canvassed was overwhelmingly in favour of remaining with Black Notley and some comments about Great Notley were far from favourable. One big happy family eh?
POLICING IN GREAT NOTLEY GARDEN VILLAGE.
At the Parish Council meeting on the 13th. November, 2001 a number of members of the public attended to complain about the ongoing and increasing amount of vandalism in the area and the apparent inability of the local police to give adequate protection. The residents attending were quite vocal.
This is very much a topic of conversation locally and many people are sick and tired of the same old lame excuses
from the police like -- Lack of manpower --Underfunding -- Too much paperwork and Great Notley Garden Village is a "low crime" area. Also G.N.G.V. is classified as a "rural" area and this has been perceived by many people as an excuse to provide a lower level of policing. There is nothing rural about Great Notley Garden Village which has nearly 2,000 houses. That is urban in any language.
The upshot was that the Parish Council promised to organise a public meeting with the police authorities. When the time and place of such a meeting is known it is hoped that a large number of dis-satisfied and dis-illusioned residents will attend and make their views known in strong terms. It is only by such means that the police will be stirred off their chairs and out of their cars to take some positive action. It is totally useless for the police just to ride round local roads in their cars because the troublemakers don't necessarily do their work on the roads, except for bus shelters.
Great Notley Garden Village may be a "low crime area" in the eyes of the police, by which they mean not many burglaries or murders, but if the current spate of vandalism to plants, saplings, houses, police and church portacabins, and damage at the rear of the Community Hall continues to escalate at the present rate we shall end up as a "high crime" area.
The time to stop the rot is now, not forgetting that a stitch in time saves nine. Be sure to attend the meeting.
As support for our concerns, any suspect incident or vandalism, however small, should be reported to the police and
an incident reference obtained to be attached to the report. This will help in our efforts to obtain police input in the area and dispel the view of the Chief Constable that all is well in the area.
Also, the increasing number of vehicles set on fire in the area gives cause for alarm. Whilst the attention of the Fire Brigade is diverted to attending such incidents, calls of an urgent nature could suffer delays.
THE GREAT NOTLEY PARENT AND TODDLERS GROUP.
We have been asked by the Parents and Toddlers Group of the Community Association to let it be known that this group is in need of new toys to replace those which have worn out from age and overuse. If anyone has any good quality toys for 0-4 year olds which are no longer played with, Great Notley toddlers would be happy to put them to good use at their Tuesday and Thursday sessions. Please phone Cherry on 334836 if you can help.
BRAINTREE TOWN CENTRE LATE NIGHT SHOPPING EVENT.
This event commences on Friday, the 30th. November, 2001 and is entitled "That's Entertainment" and which will include for the first time Farleigh Hospice "Light Up a Life" event.
A short service will be held at the Bandstand preceded by a lantern procession from the market place via Great Square, High Street and Sandpit Lane. The parade will gather at 6.30pm. with the service lasting roughly an hour. There will be fireworks at George Yard at 8pm. Lord Newton and the Dean of Bocking will attend and car parking will be free after 5pm.
NOTLEY GREEN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION.
Those people who read the Essex Chronicle and the Braintree and Witham Times should have seen the report from Great Notley Community Association that it is 5 years since it's inception. Under the Community Association umbrella there is a number of sections which have been so successful that they have reached their membership limits.
This year, however, a larger than usual number of volunteers that are needed to run the Hall end their terms of office and there is an urgent need to replace them. The deadline for nominations to join the management team was Thursday, the 15th. November, There are still several vacancies remaining to complete a full committee. An A.G.M. is to be held on the 17th. January, 2002 and an extra-ordinary general meeting will follow. If you are interested and feel capable of fulfilling one or other of the vacancies please attend the meeting, ensuring that you have yourAssociation membership card with you.
It is simply a fact that if a suitable person to be Chairman is not found plus someone to do bookings and another to look after maintenance, the Association's ability to run Great Notley Village Hall is going to be seriously impaired.
IN OTHER WORDS, TO PUT IT BLUNTLY , IF THERE IS NOT A COMMITTEE TO ORGANISE THE VARIOUS SECTIONS THE HALL WILL DEFINITELY BE CLOSED FOR A CERTAIN LENGTH OF TIME BECAUSE SAFETY FACTORS ARE INVOLVED.
CONTRARY TO SOME MEMBERS' UNDERSTANDING OF THE SITUATION THE HALL WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE TO BE RUN BY THE SECTIONS ALONE. CLOSED MEANS LOCKED, BOLTED AND BARRED. ALSO THE UTILITIES (WATER, GAS AND ELECTRICITY) WILL BE TURNED OFF.
IF A COMMITTEE IS NOT IN PLACE AFTER THE A.G.M. THE POSSIBILITY IS THAT BRAINTREE COUNCIL WILL STEP IN AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME AND THEN ALL THE FEES AND RENTS ETC. WILL DOUBLE OR TREBLE.
AT THE CLUB 55 MEETING ON THURSDAY, THE 22ND. NOVEMBER, THE CHAIRMAN HANDED OUT A SIMILAR MESSAGE. WE DO NEED PEOPLE TO COME FORWARD AND KEEP THIS ASSOCIATION ALIVE FOR THE SAKE OF GREAT NOTLEY GARDEN VILLAGE.
PLEASE THINK HARD ABOUT HOW YOU CAN HELP. PLEASE BE SURE TO ATTEND THE A.G.M. ON THE 17TH. JANUARY IN THE MAIN HALL. MEMBERSHIP CARDS ARE ESSENTIAL
VILLAGE PUB AT GREAT NOTLEY GARDEN VILLAGE.
From information received from a local resident who has family connections in the building industry the projected pub has twice gone out to tender recently and nobody was interested in quoting. The buzz is that the pub project is now dead and the village will, therefore, not be getting a pub.
CAROL SINGING.
Members of the Residents Association will be singing carols in aid of The Essex Air Ambulance on the 15th. and 22nd. December outside TESCO and around the village on the 18th. and 21st. December. Your support will be very welcome. The collectors will be authorised and in possession of official collecting boxes.
GARDEN COMPETITION.
It is regretted that the Garden Competition had to be cancelled this year owing to unforseen circumstances, but plans are in place to resume in July, 2002.
DO IT YOURSELF CONVEYANCING.
In the last two newsletters we promoted two books on the above subject entitled "The Conveyancing Fraud" and "Lawyers Can Seriously Damage Your Health". These books are both available on the www from Amazon Books at the full price. The price quoted in the newsletters is half price to get rid of remaining stocks.
Both books are a satisfying read as well as being of use to anyone who is moving house and would like to find out how easy normal property conveyancing really is. These books could also be useful in assisting a family member or friend who is thinking of moving house.
We had a good response from our last two newsletters and a useful inroad has been made into these stocks. There is just a small number remaining and they can be obtained by phoning Bert Rix on 01376-341066.
SPEEDING IN LONDON ROAD.
Improvements to London Road in the recent past were designed to slow the speed of traffic and the main alteration was the narrowing of certain sections of London Road. Whilst there appears to have been some reduction of speed
and a greater adherence to the 30mph speed limit a new and potentially dangerous trend has been observed.
When a car pulls in to deliver documents traffic flowing in the same direction is held up if other traffic is coming from the opposite direction. The new game is for following cars to speed up in an effort to overtake the stationary car before oncoming cars can cause a small tailback. All down to impatience.
GREAT NOTLEY WOMEN'S INSTITUTE.
On November, 5th. Great Notley Women's Institute held their A.G.M. Barbara Ball was our Visiting Adviser and guided us through the intricasies of the voting in of a new committee and President. Our resigning President, Jill Burdett, having held the post for the past three years was thanked for all her hard work and presented with a glass fruit bowl. The committee had arranged to take her out to lunch at the Green Dragon.
A new committee of 14 members was formed and Pam Wood was voted in as President. We are all looking forward to our next meeting which will be our Christmas Party. With the entertainment for the morning being a one-act play by six of the members.
To the ladies of the village, why not consider joining us on the first Monday of each month at 10am. and start the New Year well?
NEXT ISSUE OF THE R.A. NEWSLETTER.
Our next issue is planned for the end of January, so, in the meantime may the committee of the Residents Association wish all in Great Notley a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year, 2002
.
November 2001.
