Community, Parish Council & Village
The Environment & Highways Sub-Committee of West Bergholt Parish Council met on 11th January and discussed a range of issues such as handymen work, winter projects, ponds, HGVs & Argents Lane, bus stop, flooding, parking and trees.
Continue reading “Environment & Highways – 11th January 2018”
The Environment & Highways Sub-Committee of West Bergholt Parish Council met on 7th December and discussed a range of issues such as winter tasks & projects, handymen, allotments, heath barrier, ponds, Argents Lane, bus stop and heath ecology.
Continue reading “Environment & Highways – 7th December 2017”
Winter Bird Walk 2017The first guided walk of the year at Hillhouse Wood takes place on Sunday 19th February when Steve Hallam leads the Winter Bird Walk 2017. Continue reading “Winter Bird Walk 2017”
Winter Bird Walk 2016The first guided walk of the year at Hillhouse Wood takes place this coming weekend (Saturday 27th February), when Steve Hallam leads the Winter Bird Walk 2016. Walkers, who should meet at the Old Church at 10am (weather permitting), wearing stout footwear and warm clothing, can expect to see a range of resident woodland and meadow species as well as some winter visitors. You are also advised to bring a flask of hot drink with you.
Dawn Chorus walks in previous years have seen as many as 20 species registered, most being native, so who knows how many you might see with the added ‘winter visitors’?
[See the report of the walk here.]
Funding is just one of many subjects in the numerous news updates Essex County & Colchester Borough Councils issue every week, the following are extracts that might be of particular interest.
Colchester’s Big Choice funding application process is now open! Bid for a share of £200,000 to fund new or existing community projects in Colchester. Finalists will be entered into a public vote at the end of February 2016 to decide on the winners.
If you have a project that could be eligible CBC needs to know more about it. Not all applications will go through to the final vote but in order to qualify CBC needs to know who you are, what you do and how your idea will benefit the residents of Colchester Borough.
Completing this online application form will guide you through the information CBC needs so please complete it carefully and take note of the deadlines as CBC has to stick to them. The online application form needs to be completed and received by CBC by 12 noon on the 15th January 2016. Click here to find out more
An energy-saving initiative which has already saved Essex residents almost £1 million has reopened for new applications. Register now for the Essex Energy Switch to potentially save hundreds of pounds on your energy bills.
Registration is open till 1 February 2016. After this, energy providers will bid against one another in an auction with the winning bidder being the company offering the lowest price to all applicants. Following last year’s Switch, residents saved approximately £263 per household.
Anyone who pays for energy is eligible to take part. Signing up takes just a few minutes online. Visit www.essex.gov.uk/energyswitch for more information and to find out how to take part.
Free “No Cold Caller” stickers are now available at Essex libraries to help vulnerable people protect themselves from rogue traders.
What best describes Essex culture to you? Is it some of our buildings and architecture; our artwork and theatres; local street and contemporary social culture; or perhaps there’s an iconic image you think sums up the county? Whatever it is, the #InstaEssex campaign wants to capture it with a photography competition that’s open to both amateur and professional photographers.
15 winning images will be displayed at London Liverpool Street station and at branch line stations across Essex. From these winners the top three will be awarded cash prizes of £1,000 (first prize), £500 (second prize) and £250 (third prize).
If you’re stuck for inspiration why not take a look at the Explore Culture website. Or if you’d like to brush up on your photography skills, why not take part in one of the #InstaEssex workshops.
If you don’t fancy submitting a photo but still want to share your thoughts, you can join the discussions on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using #Instaessex. The competition is open until Mon 15 February 2016 so there’s plenty of time to get snapping!
If you were fortunate enough to receive a new smartphone, tablet or PC at Christmas and you’d like help to get online, then why not brush up your IT skills for free at CBC’s digital bazaar events and online drop-in sessions beginning this month and running throughout 2016.
At CBC’s digital bazaar events and online drop in sessions, you are encouraged to bring your own device where you will receive professional help with setting it up.
Computers are available at all of the events and staff are there to support and teach you and undertake tasks such as setting up email addresses. You will also have the opportunity to meet some of CBC’s dedicated multi-skilled Zone Teams who have in-depth knowledge of local areas.
CBC also offer one-to-one support at any of the library hubs across Colchester. To book a free one hour session please complete CBC’s online form or call 01206 282222.
Taking place twice a month in various parts of the North East Essex area, these meetings are free to attend without prior booking and give you an opportunity to discuss matters of concern or interest to you regarding Local Health matters. The minutes of the recent meeting in Colchester will give you an idea of what they are about:
The unseasonal mild spell is coming to an end. Are you ready for wintry conditions on the roads? Keep up to date with road conditions via Essex County Council’s website or Twitter accounts.
Visit ECC’s winter travel web page for useful information about salt bins, salting (gritting) routes and links to other winter-related advice about school closures, flooding alerts and health. Follow @Essex_Travel and @EssexGritters for all the latest winter road updates from Essex County Council on Twitter. ECC does not manage the A12, A120, M11 and M25. Visit the Highways Agency website for information about these roads.
At midday every day during winter a weather report comes in to Essex County Council and the decision is made whether to send gritters out onto the Essex roads. Essex County Council has 59 gritters which grit 2,500 miles of roads in the county using a mixture of salt and brine. Find out how the gritting service works in a feature which appeared in the East Anglian Daily Times this week.
Remember to always drive to the weather conditions to keep safe on the roads this winter.
The village saw no reported crimes in September or October so either everything has been super-safe or crime isn’t getting reported. For a complete crime picture, please visit http://www.police.uk/ however, please be aware the information on this website is always three months behind.
The police have, nevertheless, been providing advice and information including the news that the Police & Crime Commissioner, Nick Alston, will be holding a public meeting in Colchester on 3rd December to which you are all invited or, if you would like to speak to him privately, he will be holding a surgery before the meeting. There is also advice about vehicle and home security posted below.
Your Police & Crime Commissioner is responsible for holding the police service in Essex to account on your behalf. Nick Alston wants to hear about the policing, crime and community safety issues affecting you. To make sure your voice is heard, come and speak with him at the Colchester Public Meting on 3rd December between 6:30-8:30 pm at:
The Essex Business School,
North Towers,
University of Essex,
Wivenhoe Park,
CM4 3SQ
PCC surgeries will directly precede the PCC’s district public meetings. They are a chance for members of the community, particularly those who may not be comfortable speaking in a public forum to raise issues, ideas and concerns with the PCC directly, and in a private setting. All surgeries must be booked in advance and are given by appointment only. Please book early to avoid disappointment.
The COLCHESTER PCC surgeries will take place on Thursday 3rd December 2015, at the Essex Business School, North Towers, Essex University, Wivenhoe Park, CO4 3SQ. To book an appointment to attend a surgery near you please send an email to [antibot mailto=”[email protected]”] or use the online booking form at www.essex.pcc.police.uk/pcc-surgeries/ Please put the word SURGERY REQUEST in the subject line of your email. Alternatively you can ring the PCC office to book an appointment on 01245 291 600.
Gaping Home Security HoleThis is based on Neighbourhood Watch Research:
How many people could have a key to your new front door?”
Jim Maddan, chairman, NHWN
Research undertaken by Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network (NHWN) has highlighted a gaping home security hole amongst its members – a problem the nationwide organisation says will be exacerbated amongst the general public. Working alongside its primary security sponsor, Avocet Hardware, NHWN’s research found that two thirds of the 6,000 respondents do not change their locks when they move home. And of those two thirds, 86.2% don’t even consider it.
Jim Maddan, chairman of NHWN, said:
These figures alone may not seem that surprising, but when you consider that around 11% of the population moves home in the UK every year; and that the average Briton moves eight times in their lifetime; then it begs the question just how many people could have a key to your new front door?
And when you take into account the most recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) crime survey showed that 92% of all domestic burglary in a dwelling in England and Wales was committed through either the front or back door, then it’s obvious that everything possible should be being done to secure them.
The security lapse highlighted by the research not only means that two-thirds of NHWN’s members are putting themselves and their possessions in unnecessary danger when they move, but they are also running the very real risk of having their home insurance negated should a burglar simply unlock their front door and let themselves in.
Clive Lloyd, managing director of Avocet Hardware, said:
Whenever I move home I make sure I change my locks as quickly as possible – the reason being the sheer number of people who’ve had access to my door keys in previous homes.
Whether it’s friends or neighbours we’ve given spare keys to while we’re away on holiday; workmen we’ve left a key out for; or even our grown-up children who still have their own sets of keys; there’s no escaping the fact a lot of people could still have the key to my old front door when I move. Therefore, I assume everyone else is in exactly the same boat and so change my locks as soon as I move.
Close to 40% of those who told NHWN that they do change their locks when they move did so for the same reason as Clive, while a further 25% made the decision based on the fact they felt the locks looked inadequate.
Meanwhile, only 6.9% of people changed locks in order to upgrade to anti-snap locks – an extraordinarily low figure when you consider that over half of those polled had uPVC doors, the standard locks for which led to the development of lock-snapping as a means of forced entry in the first place.
Doors are very much the main entry point for burglars and this research shows that a large percentage of the population isn’t even doing the basics to protect themselves, (continued Jim Maddan).
Our advice is simple – change your locks as soon as you move and rule out at least one horribly easy route into your home.
It is important to note, when changing locks, that you replace a lock on a security tested door with an identical lock so that you do not invalidate the test that the door was subjected to. New lock cylinders need to be of TS007 3-star or SS 312 standard.
Cars and vans are frequently broken into, a lot of these are from vehicles shown as being insecure vehicles, and these are preventable by just locking them. Below are some tips that may prevent you from becoming a victim:
You might also like to register your property on www.immobilise.com this is completely free service. Please visit the website for more information.
The following items are of particular interest to a thief so should never be left in your vehicle:
Empty your car before someone else does.
Winter officially began on Sunday 27 October when the clocks went back an hour, so now is the perfect time to check your house is not vulnerable to opportunist thieves. You can find information regarding home security on the Essex Police website – http://www.essex.police.uk/be_safe/burglary.aspx
If you work full time and usually leave and return from work in the dark, then please take on board the advice. If no lights are on in your home, curtains are not drawn, and no cars on the drive, it’s an obvious sign to an opportunist burglar that no-one is in. At this time of the year more than any other it pays to secure your home.
There are a number of simple things which you could take on board, to help reduce incidents of crime.
For further crime reduction advice contact the Crime Prevention Tactical Adviser on 101.
If you hear or see anything suspicious please call Essex Police on 101 or 999 is you believe a crime is being committed.
Next Saturday 7th February, sees the first guided walk of the year in Hillhouse Wood, lead by Steve Hallam in and around the wood, walkers can expect to see a range of resident woodland and meadow species as well as some winter visitors. Who knows what you might see but, to quote the Essex Wildlife Trust talking about Essex Woodlands:
Our woodlands come alive at dawn – tawny owls hoot to each other, and wrens, blackcaps and warblers fill the air with song. Great spotted woodpeckers, treecreepers and jays visit broadleaved and mixed woods, while goldcrests and rare crossbills flit between the trees of conifer forests.
Typical woodland wildlife in Essex includes: Tawny owl, sparrowhawk, great spotted woodpecker, treecreeper, nuthatch, jay, blackcap, garden warbler, nightingale, goldcrest, coal tit, crossbill, firecrest, roe deer, red deer, badger, fox, grey squirrel, red squirrel, wood mouse, dormouse, bluebell, wood sorrel, early-purple orchid, wood anemone, dog’s mercury, primrose, herb-Paris, red campion, oak, ash, beech, field maple, hornbeam, birch, Scots pine, lesser stag beetle
Meeting at the Old Church at 9:30am (weather permitting), you are advised to wear stout footwear and warm clothing and to bring a flask of hot drink.
As winter takes holdAutumn is nearly over and winter taking it’s grip, it is, then, perhaps timely to think about the prospects for snow especially since some papers are already forecasting serious drops in temperature with increased prospects for snow, for example, on 3rd December the Daily Mail (online) was saying:
Get set for coldest day of the year: Arctic blast set to sweep across Britain by the weekend with temperatures plunging to -5C.
As ever our village Snow Patrol volunteers will be preparing for serious snowfalls, but all can do their part in helping clear paths & footways. The Government publishes guidance about clearing snow outside your property, pathways to your property or public spaces, this guidance (see link below) says that there is no law stopping you from doing this.
The advice confirms that despite some media reports to the contrary, it is extremely unlikely that someone who has attempted to clear snow in a careful manner will be sued or held legally responsible if someone slips or falls on ice or snow at their property. People should not be deterred from performing a socially responsible act, such as clearing a path of snow, by the fear that someone may subsequently get injured slipping on the path.
Though the person clearing the snow does have responsibilities when doing the job, mainly to ensure that they are not making the area more dangerous, it is important to note that those walking on snow and ice have responsibilities themselves. A common sense approach is encouraged as is community involvement.
As well as HMG’s guidance on snow clearance, the Met Office also runs a useful website on behalf of the government that hosts a wealth of useful information:
Winter bird walk – Saturday 8th FebruaryWeather permitting, Steve Hallam will lead a winter bird walk in and near Hillhouse Wood, offering a chance to see resident woodland and meadow species and some winter visitors. Stout footwear and warm clothing are advised, as well as a flask of hot drink.
If you want to join Steve then meet him at the Old Church at 09:30.
Snow worries? For the past 2 years we have had a brave band of “Snow Patrol” volunteers who have worked to keep the pavements in key areas clear of ice and snow during bad weather.
With early indications suggesting a colder winter than average for the UK, we hope the current volunteers will again join the team this year. Any new volunteers would be very welcome to help as well. We aim to keep the pavements clear for access to essential community assets such as:
Anyone who is willing to participate can phone Harry Stone on 241026 or email [email protected].