Community, Parish Council & Village
Celebrate Local VolunteersCelebrating local volunteers is at the cornerstone of the upcoming Annual Parish Meeting on 21st May starting at 7pm in the John Lampon Hall (adjacent to Orpen Hall). Refreshments will also be available as will the opportunity to discuss other important issues for the Village such as:
The West Bergholt & Eight Ash Green Speed Watch team remains one of the most active in the county; with 78 groups in total only 7 undertook more speed checks in March. Across the county as whole there were 147 speed checks (up from 99 in February), which resulted in 1,129 first warning letters, 77 second warnings and 24 being processed for further action being either a visit from an officer or specific enforcement.
Essex Police are always actively trying to clamp down on speeding drivers and they have a dedicated web page where you can see details of recent speed checks undertaken by police officers as well as the location of Community Speed Watch groups throughout the county – http://www.essex.police.uk/be_safe/speeding.aspx. Essex Highways also maintain a mapping system where you can find details of accidents, speed cameras etc… at http://www.essexworkstraffweb.org.uk/main.html.
If you are interested in finding out more about the local Speed Watch group, perhaps you would like to join them, please contact Anthony Robin by phone on (01206) 571910 or email [antibot mailto=”[email protected]”]. An earlier post on this site also has more information – speed watch campaign.
The latest Village Bulletin is now on-line and available for download/reading on-line on the Village Bulletin page. News updates not previously reported here include:
A West Bergholt woman has been recognised in the New Year’s Honours awards for her services to Higher Education. Deanna Walker has been awarded the BEM (British Empire Medal) for her work at the University of Essex where she is administrator in the Registry Department. She joined the university staff 25 years ago in the Admissions Department working in several administrative roles before reaching her present position as Senior Academic Officer. Her work has included mentoring junior colleagues which, she believes, also contributed to colleagues recommending her for the award.
Deanna is modest about her achievements. She says:
The award came out of the blue. When the letter came notifying me, I couldn’t understand why I was chosen as I just do an ordinary working job.
[More… in the Bulletin]
The Concert Band’s 2013 Christmas Concert was a huge success, as one audience member commented:
the most enjoyable Christmas Concert I’ve been to in many, many years.
The report continues to tell how they have raised nearly £30,000 in recent years and about their plans for 2014.
[More… in the Bulletin]
Well, there were quite a few including:
[More… in the Bulletin]
As if we needed reminding, 2013 was pretty much the wettest we can recall – the following chart tells you just how wet West Bergholt was:
Of 61 Speed Watch groups in Essex, the West Bergholt/Eight Ash Green speed watch team remains one of the most active (joint 5th) with 6 speed checks undertaken in February. Between them the groups managed over 90 checks last month resulting in 853 first warning letters being sent, 58 second warning letters and 15 requiring further action which will either be a visit from an officer or targeted enforcement; since January 2013 there have been over 29,000 offenders that have attended a speed awareness course.
If you would like to find out more about where Speed Checks take place from time-to-time, then you should check out the following link which will take you to the Essex Police website where you will be able to view the speed checks that have taken place in your area or nearby – http://www.essex.police.uk/be_safe/speeding.aspx.
The full Community Speed Watch report for February can be downloaded from here:
Essex Highways, Essex Police, Essex Fire & Rescue and local Speedwatch groups joined forces on 5th February with a crack down on speeding motorists. The results saw a substantial number of interventions including:
The local branch of the WEA welcome all who would like to join this course in the Methodist Hall. Graham Platts, who has lived in Oman and will lead the course “An introduction to the Sultanate of Oman”, says:
The Sultanate is a rapidly progressing country in the Arabian Peninsular but still not widely known. The combination of cherished traditions and modern development provides a fascinating basis for study.
This is a shorter course than usual in the hope that it will avoid the worst of the winter weather and cost less. The classes start on Tuesday 18th February 2014 at 8.00 pm and cost £27.18 for six weeks with a coffee break thrown in. There is no need to book ahead, just turn up on the first evening without obligation, before deciding whether to enrol.
Further information is available from the WEA Secretary on 01206 240791 or e-mail [antibot mailto=”[email protected]”].
Community Speed WatchWith 56 Community Speed Watch groups in Essex undertaking 45 speed check sessions in December (3 of them in the West Bergholt/Eight Ash Green Area), Essex Police have reported statistics as follows:
Last Sunday a regular police speed check was also carried out in the village and they stopped one driver for speeding (40ish) who was also twice over the legal drink drive limit.
Definitely a case of no news being good news. The regular Crime Report issued by the Neighbourhood Watch Liaison Officer, covering ‘beats’ in and around Colchester over the Christmas/New Year period, ran to 41 pages (roughly 250 incidents) covering events such as Assault, Criminal Damage, Burglary, Theft etc… Fortunately not one took place in West Bergholt!
Speed Watch NewsThroughout the Colchester area Community Speed Watch Checks resulted in:
The West Bergholt Speed Watch team undertook the 10th highest number of speed checks out of the 60 teams and will have contributed much to those numbers.
Mick Green of Essex Police’s Casualty Reduction section, further reported to the Speed watch groups:
BRAKE week was a great success and I can’t thank you enough for all your effort during the week despite the rain! 53 groups were visited, if you were not one of them then I can only apologise I understand that demand was greater than the officers available, but on that note our new Community Engagement Sergeant Graham Freeman will be tasking his Community Officers with arranging more CSW visits in the new year.
The Casualty Reduction section are trialling a new speed detection laser that records the offence which is then processed in the back office the offender then receives the details in the post. This device is capable of detecting hundreds of offences per hour and is now being used to great effect.
December’s activity is largely around drink and drug driving offences as we move towards the Christmas period, if you know of a regular drink driver or pick up any information we would love to hear from you, information will of course be treated in the strictest confidence.
Adam Pipe the Casualty Reduction Section manager continues to forward information via Twitter if you want to receive these tweets then log on and connect with him.
The Essex Watch Liaison Officer has reported on crimes committed between 9th to 15th December including one local crime, and offers a range of ‘Festive Security Tips’.
This “Burglary in a building other than a dwelling” took place between late afternoon on 6th & early morning on 9th December. Suspects unknown have gained entry to secure class room by forcing the door, no search made, property removed from within.
Festive Security TipsWith Christmas and New Year just around the corner, you are probably in the process of buying presents and stocking up on supplies for the festive season. However, at this time of year rich pickings can be found.
We want you to be able to relax and enjoy the festive season, so here are some useful tips to ensure that you don’t become a victim to an opportunist thief.
If you’re going away, we always recommend asking a trusted neighbour to pop in to your home every now and then to turn the lights on and off, draw the curtains, collect the mail and make the house look occupied. It goes without saying, make sure everything is properly locked up before you leave and the burglar alarm – if you have one – is set. We advise cancelling your newspapers, magazines and milk deliveries. We also recommend that you don’t advertise the fact you are away from your home on Social Networking sites – thieves use Social Media too!
You don’t have to be a member of a Neighbourhood Watch scheme to be a good neighbour, and even if you don’t have much contact with your neighbours, Christmas could be the perfect time to break the ice, have a friendly chat and get to know them a bit better.
Burglars wander around looking for chances. The best opportunity for the police to catch them in the act is for you to spot them before they break in. Wherever you live, remain vigilant and if you see anything suspicious, call 999 immediately. You can also call 101 to contact your police in a non-emergency situation.
The Suzy Lamplugh Trust has also produced a guide on how to keep safe during the Festive season, which can be viewed and downloaded here:
Adam Pipe, the Casualty Reduction Manager at Essex Police is asking all Speedwatch groups, and other community-minded folks, for any support they can give to the Xmas drink driving campaign. Such support is always much appreciated and could help save lives. He says:
We always look to the support of the community in providing us with intelligence relating to possible known drink drivers within your communities and this information can be provided to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
As always you can stay in touch with our daily operations via following my Twitter page @EPAdamPipe.
As their poster cautions – drink-driving can have devastating consequences, don’t take the chance, make sure you arrange your lift home in advance.
Criminals are always present in our lives and Christmas is no exception. The City of London Police recently issued a document detailing 12 top seasonal frauds being conducted on-line and how to protect yourself from them:
Read more about how you can protect yourself in 12 Online Frauds of Christmas.
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].