Annual Genaral Meeting 12th November 2009 Minutes

Present
Graham Tigg, Treasurer, in the Chair
Jackie Aust-Lean (Committee member)
Carol Stone (Committee member)

16 residents

In Attendance
Police Community Support Officer Ike Eboise

Chairman
1. The Chairman welcomed those present and introduced members of the Committee.

2. The Committee had hoped that one of the local councillors representing Homefields ward would be able to attend the meeting but, in the event, this had not been possible.

Community Support Officer PC Ebosie
3. PC Ebosie gave a brief description of the work undertaken by the Metropolitan Police Chiswick Homefields Team under the Safer Neighbourhoods initiative.

4. More details on the local team are here

5. PC Ebosie reported that crime statistics for Upham Park Road (UPR) from May to November 2009. There were no Burglaries, Thefts from motor vehicles, Thefts of pedal cycles or Antisocial behaviour. There were 3 incidents classified as “Other”.

6. Residents should make a note of the unique reference number (IMEI number) of their mobile telephone so that the telephone can be immobilised if stolen and the theft reported to the police. The identifier could be found behind the battery or by keying *#06# into the telephone.

7. PCSO Ebosie covered the Ringmaster Messaging System, giving up to date information about local crime. The service was available by telephone, email or fax. Further details were available from the Hounslow Ringmaster office on 020 8247 6443.

8. Overview of the year 2008-2009
The ‘snickett’
In 2008 a majority of residents had supported a proposal to install CCTV cameras, for security purposes, at the UPR end of the footpath which runs along the side of the railway embankment to Turnham Green Terrace (the snickett). Councillor Gerald McGregor had undertaken to raise the matter at an appropriate meeting of the Chiswick Area Committee. To date there appeared to have been no progress in this matter although it was understood that rolling out CCTV to improve security was a priority.
Overhead lighting in the snickett had been improved but there continued to be a problem in the summer months from overhanging trees in the back gardens of the houses along the north side of Thornton Avenue. A group of UPR residents had trimmed overhanging vegetation for which the road was grateful.
Parking
There had been insufficient support from residents for a proposal to introduce double yellow lines at the embankment end of the road to permit 24 hour turning, with the consequent loss of overnight parking places.
Traffic lights
The previously erratic operation of the traffic lights at the junction with Chiswick High Road (CHR) had given rise to problems. During the course of the year, as part of a review of traffic flow along CHR, UPR had been accorded its own dedicated phase at all times and the arrangement was now working well.
Trees/leaf clearance
Extensive pruning of the trees in the road took place in December 2008. Street cleaning and leaf clearance was undertaken just before leaf fall at the end of October 2009. It was assumed that there would be a further exercise before the end of the year.
Street maintenance and road markings
There were a number of outstanding issues which the Committee had previously raised with the Council but which had not yet been fully resolved. In particular, the residents’ parking road markings had not been repainted following work by Thames Water (but the more critical yellow lines had).
In response to complaints about the dangerous state of some of the paving stones which had been lifted by tree roots, the Chairman pointed out in such cases the Council’s remedy was to resurface the area with tar macadam which was unsightly.
On the other hand, a number of persistent puddles had been dealt with by the Council. One resident observed, however, that the road had apparently subsided in the driveway behind the Futon shop and that the depression was flooded whenever there was heavy rain.
The Committee undertook to pursue the foregoing matters with the Council.
Refuse/recycling collection
The new arrangements for the weekly collection of refuse and recycling material appeared to be working well although there was clearly some confusion about the fortnightly alternating collections of garden waste and plastics. Residents were recommended to consult the calendars which the Council had distributed giving full details of collection dates. There were a number of comments about the fact that bags and boxes were not always correctly replaced irrespective of whether they bore the appropriate house number.

LMC planning application
9. The Chairman invited Frank Grech of LMC to update the meeting on revised proposals for the redevelopment of the site at 104-108 Chiswick High Road. A previous planning application had been rejected by the Council on a number of grounds and a subsequent appeal had been unsuccessful. The architects now proposed a development retaining the existing front and side elevations of the building, plus it would be considerably smaller in overall size and bulk than the previous proposal. The roof would be reconstructed but would be similar in height to the existing roof. The ground floor would be allocated for commercial/retail purposes.

10. The plan envisaged the construction of two three-bedroom two-storey dwellings which would front on to UPR. The houses would be contemporary in design but would be similar in size and bulk to the existing dwellings in UPR. Underground car parking facilities would be provided for the residential units.

11. LMC hoped that these new proposals would meet the objections raised by some residents and by the Council in response to earlier proposals. A further application would shortly be submitted to the Council for consideration. Residents would be able to view the plans at the Chiswick library.

UPRRA Website
12. The Chairman introduced the Website (using www.blogspot.com) which he had established for the UPRRA at www.uprra.blogspot.com. At present it included information about the Residents’ Association, including its genesis, terms of reference and achievements.

13. The site could be used to communicate with residents who had internet access and there was a facility for everyone to comment on entries. The Chairman asked attendees to include their email addresses on the attendance list so that they could be contacted occasionally whenever the site was updated. The minutes of the meeting would be posted on the site.

Mice
14. A new resident drew attention to the presence of mice in his house. This seemed to be a common problem in the road, exacerbated by the long terraces of houses. The meeting noted that the Council operated a pest control service, for which a charge was normally made, but several residents pointed out that treatment of individual houses was unlikely to be effective and that a case could be made for the treatment of several houses as a single exercise. The Committee agreed to explore this with the Council.

Treasurer’s report
15. In his capacity as Treasurer, the Chairman reported that there was £562.80 in the Association’s account, compared with £592.41 in December 2008. Expenses were incurred for the 2008 AGM and for the photocopying of the 2009 AGM flyer.
The Committee was keen to keep the finances healthy to meet unexpected needs, for example a Solicitor’s letter, and the Treasurer stated that donations were welcome.

Committee membership
16. There were currently five members of the Committee. The Chairman invited any resident who was interested in serving on the Committee to contact one of the existing members. It was desirable that potential members should have easy access to email as this was the preferred method of communication between members and with Council officials.

Dates of future meetings
17. The next AGM would be held in November 2010, on a date to be notified.

18. A Committee meeting would take place early in 2010 in order to progress issues raised at this meeting.

19. The meeting ended at 8.45pm and the Chairman thanked Jackie for her generous hospitality in hosting the meeting.

Police Safer Neighbourhoods Team

Safer Neighbourhood teams spend most of their time beating the streets and being visible to the community. For example there was a street briefing by three members of the local team in November 2009. Police Community Support Officer Ike Ebosie also attended the Residents Association's 2009 AGM. Upham Park Road is covered by the Chiswick Homefields team of Sgt Mick Rawling, PC Antony Murray, PC Kevin Howes, PCSO Kieran Leighton, PCSO Mark James, Ikechukwu Ebosie. Note that Sgt Jonathan Adcock retired in the spring 2010. The latest information can be found on the Metropolitan Police website here.

Contact details for the team and police are:-

Tel: 020 8247 6415 (not for emergencies, when 999 should be used)
Mob: 07900 656 695
Email: chiswickhomefields.snt@met.police.uk
Local police: 0300 123 1212 (not for emergencies, when 999 should be used)

Committee Meeting 2nd November 2009

Present
Jackie Aust-Lean (host, chair), Graham Tigg (minutes), Carol Stone, Marise Lee, Richard Palmer

October meeting
The October meeting was cancelled.

AGM
This will be on Thursday 12th November at 7:30 pm and is kindly being hosted again this year by Jackie.
Councillor McGregor has confirmed attendance. The Safer Neighborhood Team has yet to confirm.
Graham will prepare 100 flyers and some tree notices to publicise the AGM.
Carol will confirm Safer Neighborhood Team attendance and co-ordinate flyer and tree notice distribution. She will also prepare an AGM agenda.

Snickett Security
Councillor McGregor is attending the AGM and will be able to give an update - he was given the results of the residents’ survey in 2008 for snickett CCTV.

Trees and Street Cleaning
The tree bases were trimmed after the August meeting so it appears our reporting to Hounslow Council has been effective.

The street was cleaned on 29th October. Unfortunate timing as the leaf fall has been late this year.

Neighbourhood Watch
The meeting discussed Neighbourhood Watch schemes. It could be that the UPRRA is effectively acting as a Neighbourhood Watch group. Clarification will be sought from the Safer Neighborhood Team at the AGM.

UPRRA Web Site
Graham has put up the checklist for securing ones home when on holiday on the web site [you are reading it]
Graham to launch the web site at the AGM.

Next Meeting

AGM -19:30 Thursday 12th November 2009 Jackie's
Committee - 19:30 Thursday 28th January 2010 Carol's

Graham Tigg

Going on holiday security checklist

How to avoid becoming a target for crime

Going on Holiday

Becoming a victim of crime during a holiday can obviously spoil it. Suffering a crime whilst away, whether it’s to you or your possessions, or your home, all have the potential to ruin a relaxing break. The time to prepare for this peace of mind is now – not just before you go away.

Before you go - Remember

•    The best burglary deterrent is to make the home look occupied.
•    Unless a room is obviously a bedroom to people outside the home, don’t close your curtains in the daytime. Ask a trusted friend or neighbour to close them for you when it goes dark. Neighbours can help each other in many ways. They can keep the home looking occupied by maintaining the garden to even parking their car on your driveway.
•    If neighbours keep your keys, advise them not to put your surname, address or even your house number on in case they fall into the wrong hands.
•    Use automatic timer-switches to turn your lights on when it goes dark – don’t forget bedrooms.
•    Cancel any milk or newspaper deliveries.
•    Avoid discussing holiday plans in front of strangers.
•    Cut the lawn before you go and trim back any plants that burglars could hide behind.
•    If there is a chance that mail will pile up on your doorstep whilst you are away, consider the Post Office’s ‘Keepsafe’ service. For a small fee, they can hold back the delivery of mail for up to two months.
•    Consider leaving important documents and valuable items with other family members or a bank.
•    If you normally leave valuable pedal cycles or similar items in your shed, consider putting them in the house.
•    Make sure that you’ve locked all outside doors and windows and, if you have a burglar alarm, make sure it is set.

The Journey

•    Don’t put your home address on your luggage, when you are travelling to your holiday destination.
•    Most airlines will restrict you to one item of hand luggage. Keep valuables like cameras, jewellery, cash and passports in this bag so they are with you all the time.
•    Is it really necessary to take all that jewellery? It would be much safer in a secure place at home.
•    Don’t rely on the locks that are built into the suitcase, as most are simply just not up to the job. An extra padlock will deter most thieves and putting a belt around the case will help prevent the suitcase bursting open.
•    Never leave your luggage unattended at the airport as the chances are it will be removed by the security staff, or worse still, a thief.
•    When you’ve arrived at your destination, collect your luggage as soon as possible. Check to see if it has been tampered with. If you think it may have been, report it at once!

At the destination

•    If you want to exchange currency, try and have the exact amount of money ready. Don’t produce a wallet bulging with cash.
•    Don’t keep your passport, sterling or foreign currency together and most importantly make sure you keep your travellers cheques in a separate, safe, secure place.
•    Many hotels have a safety deposit box for you to store your passport, large amounts of cash and credit cards. Always detach the key fob from the deposit box key and place the fob in the deposit box, after memorising the box number. If you happen to lose the key, you won’t also lose all your money!
•    Handbag and jewellery snatches are not uncommon in many tourist resorts, so don’t put anything valuable in your bag, and only wear what jewellery is needed.
•    On a similar note, pick-pocketing is widespread in many holiday cities, so again only carry what is necessary.
•    There is also every conceivable ‘con’ going on in most busy holiday locations, from the photographer who promises to forward the picture, to the time-share sales person. When you’ve switched off and are having a good time, it becomes difficult to tell who the criminals really are.
•    If you find burglary is a problem in your hotel, then consider hiding valuables in your room. A ‘can-safe’ looks like a normal tin of food, hair-spray or drink, but the bottom unscrews to let you store items away out of sight.
•    You can improve door security by taking a temporary door lock. Looking a little bit like a slide ruler, these locks can be put in your closed bedroom door to stop anyone getting in whilst you are asleep. The type of personal attack alarm which has a pull string to activate the unit, can often be positioned to go round the door handle. Anyone opening the door whilst you are in would activate the alarm.

Committee Meeting 11th August 2009

Present
Jackie Aust-Lean (host, chair), Graham Tigg (minutes), Carol Stone, Marise Lee, Richard Palmer

Police Relations
Sgt Jonathan Adcock of the Homefields Safer Neighborhood Team contacted the committee at fairly short notice inviting a representative to attend a Community Crime Fighters training day. Richard attended and reported that it was about relations between the team and resident’s groups such as Neighborhood Watch.

Richard had a call from Trafford Hall (01244 300246) to say there were courses on Safer Communities from September to March 2010.

Conclusion: the UPRRA should engage more with the Safer Neighborhood team e.g. invite them to attend the AGM and possibly some Committee meetings.

Snickett Security
Councillor McGregor was passed the results of the residents’ survey (43 for, 3 against) on installation of CCTV to make the snickett more secure.

There has been no news and the committee suspects that funding may have become an issue.

Carol will contact Councillor McGregor to understand the current position and next steps.

Street Markings
The yellow lines have been re-painted which makes them clearer. The parking bay white markings are worn and absent from the bits dug up for the water main replacement. Given that the yellow lines are now clear the meeting agreed not to progress re-marking the bays.

LMC Planning Application
The appeal by LMC has been unsuccessful. It is not known whether LMC will progress redevelopment of their site further at this time.

Trees
Extensive pruning took place in December 2008.

As usual, the bases of some of the trees have sprouted which reduces pavement and parking space. In previous years the council has trimmed these in a reasonably timely manner. Residents have trimmed some of the trees but its worst between numbers 1 to 20. Graham reported this in July.

All to report to Hounslow as a next step.
[Note - tree bases were subsequently trimmed]

UPRRA Web Site
Graham has created a Web site for the UPRRA.
Currently it introduces the Residents’ Association (history, charter, achievements).

Graham pointed out a number of items to consider: -
•    It can be used to communicate and store meeting minutes
•    We will need email addresses of residents in order to publicise the site and inform them when new content becomes available (otherwise few will look at it more than once)
•    It can replace leafleting (except for residents who are not on email/Internet)
•    The content will be public so we need to be mindful of publishing personal information (names with addresses, phone numbers etc.)
•    The site allows visitors to comment on entries, although this could be turned off. For example, an entry informing of road works affecting the road could be commented on (by anyone) to say that there is a delay.

The meeting agreed to launch the site at the AGM.

Graham will put up the checklist for securing ones home when on holiday.

AGM 2009
Jackie kindly offered to host the AGM again. After last years low key meeting the committee would like to inviting a Councillor and the community police to attend this year. The date will be Tuesday10th November with 11th and 12th as alternatives to fit in with Councillor availability.

Carol will try and arrange for a Councillor to attend on the above dates.

Next Meeting
19:30 Tuesday 20th October 2009    Committee    Carol’s

Introduction

The Upham Park Road Residents Association (UPRRA) was formed at a meeting in July 2002 attended by 28 residents in the Scout Hut near Stamford Brook underground station.

The following Aims and Objectives were agreed at that meeting and serve to introduce the role of the UPRRA.

To represent the needs and wishes of all the residents of Upham Park Road to protect and enhance the domestic environment and conserve the amenities of the residential area.

Including: -

•  The monitoring and dealing with any traffic problems
  
•  The safeguarding of domestic parking facilities
  
•  The preservation and improvement of pedestrian access to Turnham Green Station
  
•  The improvement of street cleanliness
  
•  The proper care and maintenance of the lime trees lining the road
  

One of the key founding members was the late Bill Lindsell. The current committee members are: -

•  Graham Tigg (Treasurer) (since 2003)
  
•  Richard Palmer (since 2004)
  
•  Carol Stone (since 2004)
  
•  Marise Lee (since 2006)
  
•  Jackie Aust-Lean (since 2007)
  

The committee meet two to four times a year depending on how many issues have arisen that impact the street. There is an AGM every year, usually around November, open to all residents. Minutes are taken at all meetings. Some matters are dealt with using email. For flexibility the committee doesn't have a formal permanent Chairman or Secretary.

What does the Committee do
Some of the issues that the UPRRA has helped resolve include regular removal of rubbish from the underground railway embankment, regular cleaning of the snickett (path by the embankment to the station), tree pruning – notably in 2005, traffic light phasing, street cleaning and drainage, footpath maintenance, speeding motorbikes on the road (when LMC sold bikes), Councillors and Community Support Officers speaking at AGMs, recycling awareness.

What does the Committee NOT do
The UPRRA does not represent the views of all the residents in the road. For example, LMC made a planning application in 2008/9 to develop the site on the west corner of Upham Park Road with the High Road. Any objections to the application was left as a personal choice for all residents, including the committee. The committee did write expressing their agreed concerns of the impact on parking, the visual appearance (height) and disruption during building works. As another example, some residents requested at the AGM in 2007 that a permanent vehicle turning facility be made available at the end of the road, with a downside being the loss of overnight parking spaces this would necessitate. The views of the road were canvassed through a questionnaire with the conclusion that opinion was clearly divided and the matter has been taken no further.

Financing
The association has few running costs at present. Meetings are generously hosted in resident’s houses so expenses are limited to stationary items and AGM refreshments. Funding comes from donations at the AGM and a one-off £500 given to the association when an advert featuring Johnny Vaughan was filmed in the road back in 2005. Funding stood at over £550 in 2009. The view of the committee is to keep funding at that level for future unforeseen needs such as a solicitor’s letter.