Great Notley Garden Village Residents Association
Newsletter Number 28
Date : April 2003.
Chairman : Ken Game. Telephone - 343030. Secretary : Bert Rix. Telephone - 341066.
E-mail : herbertrix@btinternet.com
PARISH COUNCIL AND DISTRICT COUNCIL MATTERS.
WAKE UP GREAT NOTLEY.
In less than one month the Parish of Great Notley will be holding new elections for Parish and District Councillors. The date for your diaries is the FIRST of MAY.
The forthcoming local elections will give YOU the residents of Great Notley an opportunity to effect a "Time for a change". At the election 3 years ago the turnout was a disappointing
12.30%, thus ensuring the return, in the main, of councillors from the old Black Notley Parish. In other words a "same again" Parish Council. A Council of long standing members who often seem bereft of ideas and are showing little initiative. How many residents have been approached by their local councillors for an exchange of views as to what concerns them and their village?
Great Notley needs new faces, people who are re-active and vigourous. This Parish is really two clearly defined geographical regions comprising a mature and established block of some 600 houses and the new and still under construction block of about 2,000 houses by 2004.
Whilst delivering leaflets for the District Councillors many people have expressed concern about possible future problems after Countryside have moved off site.. All have said, without exception, that they will not only vote, but will urge their neighbours to do the same. If all these
pledges are fulfilled Great Notley will end up with a Parish Council that will properly concern itself with solving the problems that matter like litter, ditches, grass cutting, pathways and pavements, and a host of other small problems.
One problem which looks likely to remain unsolved at the time of the election is the skateboard park in the RAFT area and this will need to be addressed by the new Parish Council. The current Parish Council is in two minds about a solution and problems range from the wisdom of spending £15,000 on a small park which will not accommodate very many children to past nuisance in the RAFT area with drink and drugs plus, to vandalism from which White Court School has suffered and been put to unnecessary expense.
Almost everybody wants local children to enjoy a skate board park, but this is a matter which must be considered in greater detail.
THE VERY NEW VILLAGE PUB.
The new pub, the Oval, is now in business. Majority opinion locally is that it is much larger than expected and there is worry about it's request for opening hours to finish at midnight on 4 nights a week and 1am on 2 nights a week. As the Oval is billed as a "family pub and restaurant" who from Great Notley Garden Village is likely to want to be eating at such late hours?
It should be kept in mind that the owner, Robin Levy, runs nightclubs in Chelmsford and Southend and that a similar future could be in store for G.N.G.V. Everybody (almost) hopes not and it must be admitted that to date the restaurant, as it has begun, suits the majority of locals.
It should also be noted that the Oval has already applied to erect a sign near TESCOs roundabout directing clients from the A131 bypass to their site on Notley Green. This has been refused and a new application on the grounds of size is being prepared. If the Oval ever turns into any form of nightclub and becomes popular the amount of additional traffic along Cuckoo way well be considerable. Also along Cuckoo Way from Panners Farm and along Great Notley Avenue.
However, the price of peace (and QUIET) is eternal vigilance and one day we may need the combined support of District Councillors, Parish Councillors and the Residents Association. Do not regard these words as scaremongering. He who ignores the danger deserves the disaster.
If you don't vote on the FIRST OF MAY they may not be available when you need them.
THE PARISH COUNCIL AND RUBBISH SKIPS.
In Newsletter Number 27 we pointed out the inherent dangers of placing a number of skips for unsupervised periods in a number of locations in Great Notley Parish. We are pleased to report that somebody has taken the point and wiser councils have prevailed. At the last Parish Council meeting it was decided to replace that scheme with another which involves hiring two manned Council refuse vehicles instead. These will take anything apart from fridges, tyres and asbestos.
The first placement has already taken place and the second will be announced in a forthcoming Residents Association Newsletter if the planned date co-incides with our schedules.
THE GREAT NOTLEY PARISH W.I. CLEAN-UP CHALLENGE.
SATURDAY THE 24th. MAY TO SATURDAY 31st. MAY.
The Women's Institute are having a week to clean and tidy the village on the dates stated above.
We do need YOU to come and help.
All the local school children are having a competition for the wittiest, most suitable and the most attractive poster. All entries will be displayed around the village during that week.
The first meeting is on Saturday, the 24th. May at 10am. at the Community Hall and at the same time each morning of that week, or catch up with us as we go around the village. Protective gloves and tools will be available. Please wear old clothes.
So, Mums and Dads please bring the children for an hour or two and let us all join together to spruce up our village for the summer.
POETS CORNER.
The following little poem has come into our hands and we thought everybody might appreciate a little bit of light humour. No rude e-mails please from the usual anonymour cowards.
THE DOLEFUL DIRGE OF NOTLEY GREEN.
(To be sung very slowly to the tune of Lilli Marlene),
Fag ends in the gutter -- vandals in the Square
Dog poo on the pavements -- litter everywhere
This is now the normal village scene --
'Tis not quite what -- it should have been
'Tis time to take some action
To save our Notley Green!
Now we're going to have -- a brand new village Pub
A place where everyone can come for drinks and grub,
Dancing till mid-night -- singing too,
More traffic noise -- nothing's taboo,
'Tis time to take some action
To save our Notley Green!
At the foot of the poem handed in are the words "Somebody please finish!" Any takers?
SUMMER HANGING BASKETS.
If you are considering purchasing summer hanging baskets to brighten your garden, it would be worthwhile contacting Les Leach at 6, Notley Green, Great Notley Garden Village.
He will be pleased to cater for your needs by providing a reasonably priced and efficient service.
Call or telephone on 01376-346425.
GREAT NOTLEY BY-PASS. (A131).
As building work on Great Notley Garden Village is nearing completion, the temporary road dividing blocks placed on the centre of the road between the entrance to the building site and the Discovery Centre will be removed. This will lead to a potential danger as vehicles from the Panners Farm area will be able to cross the road into the Discovery Centre. The entrance is not particularly visible and the absence of road lighting is a further problem.
The Residents Association have written to the Highways Authority suggesting the provision of lighting at that site should be made a priority provision.
THE GREAT NOTLEY TIMES PAGE SEVEN.
Although many people we speak to when distributing the Newsletter say how much they enjoy reading this publication we do from time to time get the odd e-mail from anonymous, cowardly people who seem to get rather hot under the collar.
We normally reply in an effort to tell these authors where they are mistaken, but we seldom get another e-mail from them, from which we assume they accept our points.
We were somewhat surprised to note in the most recent issue of the Great Notley Times a copy of an e-mail we had received, that had been copied in to the G.N.T. Our reply was also copied in to the editor of the G.N.T. who also happens to be Chairman of the Great Notley Parish Council.
However the editor of the G.N.T. did not see fit to include our reply on his page 7 which leaves the whole matter rather onesided. Is the editor biassed against the R.A. Newsletter?
On the whole we regard the Great Notley Times as an interesting and worthwhile publication and have made complimentary remarks about it in the past.
Since nobody likes "spin", propaganda or being hit below the belt we have added to this letter a copy of the original e-mail and a copy of our reply. Dennis Gale did e-mail Paul Stirland asking for a response, but to date we have not received, so we presume Paul and Dogga have nothing to say.
This is rather sad as we feel we are all entitled to expect unbiassed views from a supposedly
unbiassed magazine.
Early April 2003
