Shrewsbury Park Residents' Association

Summer 2010 Newsletter

26^th May 2010 

Dear fellow resident,

On behalf of the Association Committee I would like to welcome you to this Newsletter. 

I would like to start by thanking all those who have done a great deal of work behind the scenes this year keeping up with all the Residents Association and the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme activities.  Thank you to all of you. 

The following items are covered in this Newsletter: 

-        75^th Annual General Meeting

-        Shrub Bed Maintenance

-        Wheelie Bins

-        Shrewsbury House

-        Former Fire Station Mast

-        Neighbourhood Watch Update

-        Plant a Tree for the Estate’s 75^th Birthday

75^th Annual General Meeting 

Residents are invited to the 75^th Annual General Meeting of the Shrewsbury Park Residents’ Association.  The meeting will be held in the Old Library at Shrewsbury House on Thursday 10^th June, starting at 7.30pm. 

PC Fiona Genovese and PCSO Kevin Denney will be attending to provide an update on policing in the area.  Councillor Barry Taylor and Councillor Jagir Sekhon, two of our new ward Councillors, will also be attending. 

Please do try to attend.  Members of the Committee look forward to seeing you.  After the meeting there will be an opportunity to chat with friends and neighbours over a glass of wine or fruit juice. 

Shrub Bed Maintenance 

The Council’s Parks & Open Spaces department has now completed the road-side shrub bed pruning requested by the Association.  Feedback has been very positive.  The shrub bed surface maintenance and weeding remains unsatisfactory and the Association continues to press to resolve this matter. 

Wheelie Bins 

The Association has contacted the Council asking that waste operatives take care to return wheelie bins to the correct property and that they are not left across pavements where they are a hazard to pedestrians, particularly older people.  Could you please check that your door number is clearly visible on your bins so the operatives can see where to return them.  A permanent felt-tip marker is ideal for marking your bins.
 

Shrewsbury House 

Shrewsbury House has much to offer.  Why not consider joining one of the many groups running at the House, hiring a room for an event or even starting a group.  For more information about what the House has to offer, please call Shrewsbury House on 020 8854 3895. 

Former Fire Station Mast 

Four members of the Association Committee attended the meeting of the Planning and Environment Committee of the Council on 10^th March to oppose the Planning Application to install TETRA antennas on the mast.  Committee member Chris Higgs and I both spoke against the proposal as did former committee member Margaret Foster. 

Unfortunately, the decision taken by the Committee was to grant planning consent.  However, the fight to remove the equipment and the mast goes on and the Association considers the continued presence of the mast within the Conservation Area is inappropriate.  The grounds for the Association’s continued opposition to the Mast include:

• harm to health and the cumulative effect of all the antennas;
• childrens’ play clubs and other groups within close range at Shrewsbury House;
• harm to the visual amenity of the Conservation Area and Grade II Listed former Fire Station;
• lack of appropriate consultation and notification publicity;
• the equipment present on the mast differs from that which has been agreed; and
• that the mast should have been removed when the Fire Station was converted to residential use.

If you want to know more about any of the Mast issues, Chris Higgs 020 7340 7179 or George Tutheridge 020 8855 2755 would be happy to discuss them with you. 

Plant a Tree for the Estate’s 75^th Birthday 

Why not give your front garden a birthday present and plant a small tree in this 75^th anniversary year of the Laing’s Estate.  All the houses were originally planted with a small fruiting or ornamental tree.  Suggested tree types include: Cydonia oblonga (Quince), Cercis siliquastrum (Judas tree), Koelreuteria paniculata (Pride of India), Laburnum watereri (Golden Rain), Morus nigra (Mulberry) or Prunus cerasifera (Purple Plum).  Please contact me for further tree planting suggestions or advice. 

In the last newsletter, I had omitted to thank Sian Fuller who resigned from the Committee during 2009 to concentrate on studies for her university degree. 

With kind regards, 

Robert Million

Chair, Shrewsbury Park Residents’ Association