Great Notley Garden Village Residents Association
Newsletter Number 21
Date : January 2002.
Chairman : Ken Game. Telephone - 343030. Secretary : Bert Rix. Telephone - 341066.
E-mail : herbertrix@btinternet.com
WHITE COURT STORES.
Barry Wright wishes to thank all those kind folk in G.N.G.V. who have sent him good wishes during his recent illness. To date all is going well and being at home again with Debbie and the children is his best medicine.
With all best wishes from the Residents Association "and keep taking the tablets Barry".
NOTLEY GREEN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION.
In newsletter number 20 we highlighted the potential plight of the Community Association. It is gratifying to be able to report that the crisis has been overcome and a working General Committee is now in place. John Hainsworth, a past vice-Chairman, agreed to become Chairman until a successor comes forward, but the post of vice-Chairman remains vacant. John was not able to Chair the Extra-ordinary General Committee Meeting following the A.G.M., because of a prior engagement taken before the date of the A.G.M. was known, but Alex Eaton-Fearne took the Chair for a very successful meeting.
POWER FAILURE.
The Chairman of the Residents Association attended a meeting with the Electricity Supplier 24Seven Utility Services Limited convened by County Councillor Roger Walters, the purpose of which was to ascertain the reasons for the recent frequent power failures in the area. It would appear that no common fault could be identified, but it was acknowledged by the supplier that the public had suffered unreasonably as a result.
We were assured that a range of measures would be taken to try to eradicte further problems and these would include a major maintenance programme, transferring customers onto more reliable circuits and the isolation of sections of the system when faults occur. Furthermore a new sub-station will be built next year at the TESCO roundabout which would have the effect of lessening the number of customers affected should any further breakdowns happen.
CAROL SINGING IN AID OF THE ESSEX AIR AMBULANCE.
The Residents Association held three Carol Singing sessions immediately prior to Christmas. It was intended to hold four, but one was rained off. Two were held at TESCOs and one session was round the local streets.
Resulting from these efforts the total raised was £498.00p. in cash and a gratefully accepted heap of foreign coins brought the final total to £526.60p. A cheque was sent to the Air Ambulance H.Q. at Broomfield and the foreign coins were put in a special charity box at Great Leighs Post Office suitably labelled for the E.A.A. Had heavy rain not forced the cutting out of one session, who knows what total would have resulted.
A very nice letter of acknowledgement has been received from the E.A.A. and we quote the text below:-
"On behalf of everyone here at the Essex Air Ambulance Appeal, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for the very gererous donation of £498.00p. we have received.
I am sure you will be interested to know that last month the Essex Air Ambulance was scrambled for 64 missions, 22 of which were Road Traffic Accidents. As I am sure you are aware the Essex Air Ambulance is totally dependent on the
charitable donations it receives to carry out it's vital work. It is only with the continued support of the people of Essex that the future of our operation can be secured".
It is the intention of the Residents Association to hold another set of Carol Singing sessions in aid of the E.A.A. pre next Christmas. Hopefully the "choir" can be increased in numbers and newcomers will see what fun Carol Singing can be with a lot of complimentary remarks from appreciative listeners and dilight from the children.
BRAINTREE TOWN CENTRE STRATEGY GROUP.
The Braintree Town Centre Strategy Group requires a committee clerk involving approximately a day and a half per month. This is an opportunity to be involved in Town Centre matters.
Interested applicants please contact Ken Game (Chairman of the B.T.C.S.G.) on 01376-343030 for further details.
COUNCIL TAX.
As is normal at this early part of any new year there is press speculation about the level of Council Tax and again the omens do not look good. The figures being speculated are a rise of 9.8% which is as near 10% as dammit is to swearing.
Braintree District Council and Essex County Council are being quoted that they are not getting sufficient money from central government, but are still legally obliged to fund and support certain services. This is all very well, just raise local taxes and that is the easy way out. But as the Israelites discovered in Egypt you cannot make bricks without straw.
If rises of the order of !0% a year are going to be the norm, the tax burden will double in 7 years, such is the power of compound interest. The "rule of 70" is very accurate over a wide range of figures and it works like this:-
Divide a rate of increase, tax, salary or pension into 70 and the answer is the number of years it will take to double the
percentage increase. 7 years in this case. This same "rule of 70" applies equally to Bank or Building Society interest
where 2% interest will take 35 years to double the starting capital.
At inflation of about 2% and salary and pension increases nowhere that level how long will it be before people will be unable to live with this rate of increase? The Councils should not just wring their hands and accept the easy way out, but should make extremely strong representations to Central Government.
If it is true that Councils have a legal responsibility to support certain areas then they have every right to go to the Government and say that the burden on ordinary people is intolerable. There is an old saying about cutting one's coat according to the available cloth.
On top of the above there is talk about national tax increases to fund the N.H.S., the Police, the Railways, Education etc.
If anybody is concerned about what has been written above why not write to your local District Councillor?
DO IT YOURSELF CONVEYANCING.
In the last few newsletters we have promoted two books on the above subject entitled "The Conveyancing Fraud" and "Lawyers Can Seriously Damage Your Health". Quite a few people have opted to buy these books and we are sure they have found them interesting and informative reading even allowing they have no immediate intention of moving.
A photocopy of a press article is attached to this newsletter which confirms that D.I.Y. conveyancing is well within the capability of any average person. It only needs the confidence to "have a go" and it then becomes apparent how easy it is to do your own proper job. There are still just a few books left at £7 the pair. Just phone Bert Rix on 01376-341066.
GREAT NOTLEY WOMENS INSTITUTE.
The W.I. ended the year on a high note with a Christmas Party and an hour's entertainment by 6 of their members in the production of a play "A Slight Misunderstanding" which was quite hilarious.
2002 has started well with talks given by Mr. Davies on the subject of "Constable Country" and Sue Sincock on inter- esting walks in the City of London. In January, 25 members enjoyed an evening at the Civic Theatre unravelling the mystery of Agatha Christie's "An Inspector Calls", but our reputation for cooking is far better than our detective work.
Also in January with teams from other local branches an afternoon was enjoyed playing Indoor Bowls. For future events we look forward to a pancake race at Black Notley.
With most sections of the Community Association fully subscribed and with waiting lists, the W.I. still has room for new members. We shall be pleased to welcome you on the first Monday of each month at 10.00am.
January, 2002.
