Welcome to our Spring 2005 issue of Village News and we would like to extend a warm welcome to all those new residents who have moved into the village over the past few months. Please remember that all residents of Lower Kingswood are members of the Residents’ Association, if you have any concerns about the Village, the Residents’ Association Committee is here to try and help you and represent your interests.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The AGM of the Lower Kingswood Residents’ Association will take place at 8.00pm on Wednesday, 6th April at the Lower Kingswood Social Club in Buckland Road; it will be preceded at 7.15pm by the AGM of the Village Hall Trust. All residents are welcome to attend both meetings. Please note the revised venue for both events – the Church Hall is closed for redecoration

We hope to see as many of you as possible; please remember that it is your Residents’ Association. This year we look forward to welcoming our Borough & County Councillors and a representative from Surrey Police.

We would also like to invite any residents who may wish to stand as new members of the Residents’ Association Committee, to contact our Chairman – David Patel – who will be pleased to explain their roles and detail specific responsibilities.

COUNCILLORS’ SURGERY

We are pleased to report on the success of our first “surgery” held on 22nd January. This was attended by all our Borough & County Councillors and a considerable number of residents took the opportunity of raising a variety of concerns “face to face” with their Councillors. Members of the Committee were pleased by the very positive nature of the feedback that they received from both residents and Councillors.

We have therefore booked the following dates for future surgeries – all of which be held in the Church Hall in Buckland Road from 11:00am to 12:00noon:

Saturday, 30th April
Saturday, 16th July
Saturday, 15th October

We should also like to thank all our Borough & County Councillors for sparing the time to attend our first such meeting and we look forward to welcoming them at future surgeries.

KEEP LOWER KINGSWOOD TIDY

Although we now have the benefit of our local “recycling centre” in Stubbs Lane, it is clear that some people periodically use it for “fly-tipping”. If you see evidence of this please notify the appropriate authorities so that the waste can be removed (County Highway land on 08456-009009 or public land on 01737-276262). If you able to identify those responsible (or their vehicle), please contact the Environment Agency on 0800-807060 who will deal with identification and/or prosecution. Don’t forget that it’s your Council Tax that has to pay for the removal of such waste.

Our Borough Council is actively seeking to expand the number of local recycling centres - perhaps to hold waste plastics as well. If you can think of another location for such facilities elsewhere in the village (not adjacent to neighbouring properties) please let either our local councillors or one of our committee members know.

At the same time we would like to remind those residents out walking their dogs that they should ensure that any mess that may be left – particularly on pavements – is cleared up at the time; in these dark evenings how would you like to tread this sort of mess indoors? There are bins available for depositing dog mess in the Recreation Ground.

There have been some instances of vandalism reported in the village and the theft of garden ornaments; should you encounter such instances can you please contact the appropriate authorities – don’t just assume that “someone else” will deal with it.

LOWER KINGSWOOD YOUTH FORUM

Although the regular visits of the Youth Bus have proved popular, there has been some disturbance and noise caused by a small minority who are in danger of spoiling it for the majority. A number of concerns from residents nearby have been expressed to members of our Committee and we have taken the opportunity of passing these on.

We have also received a number of complaints regarding the ‘micro scooters’ (powered by small petrol engines or electric motors) being ridden by youngsters round the village – both on the pavements and on the roads. The riders of such vehicles may be unaware that proper documentation is required (e.g. driving licence, number plates and a tax disc) and that, when being ridden on the road, riders must be over the age of 16, wear a crash helmet and be subject to any legislation concerning careless or dangerous driving – in extreme cases offenders could have their scooter confiscated.

NEW YEAR – NEW WEBSITE

The new Lower Kingswood website was launched in January; and we propose updating it on a regular basis – in particular to include the contents of the latest version of Village News. If there are any items that you would like to promote in terms of the Village Diary element of the website please let us know; for obvious reasons we have taken the decision not to publicise “personal” contact details (except for those already in the public domain). If you have any suggestions for improvements to our new website: www.lowerkingswood.org.uk please let us know.

We would like to extend our thanks to those involved in the redesign and redevelopment of our website – in particular to Ruth Jones.

PLANNING ISSUES

We continue to lodge – on behalf of residents – objections to those planning proposals where it is felt that there are issues of infringement on ‘Green Belt’ land, loss of amenity etc.

Although initially opposed by the Borough Council, the developers of proposed new housing on the Clocktower stables (known as Horseshoe Lodge and sited by the A217 to the north of the Chipstead Lane roundabout) took their case to appeal in September. The upshot of this was that their appeal was rejected.

POLICING ISSUES

The Police crime statistics published in our last issue of Village News indicates that the level of criminal activity remains low in our area. However, it has been brought to our attention that there have been several recent instances of such activity which have not, for whatever reason, been reported to the Police. If we are to get the appropriate level of policing, it is essential that ALL such instances are reported to the Police and thus accurately reported in the crime statistics. As mentioned elsewhere, the “non emergency” number for contacting Surrey Police is 0845-125-2222.

Since the last issue there have been, to our knowledge, two instances of break-ins to adjacent (unoccupied) properties where it appears as though an individual may have called shortly beforehand on some form of pretext – presumably to ascertain if there was anyone at home. Don’t forget to ensure that you lock your own doors and windows securely and also take the opportunity to keep an eye out for your neighbours’ property – particularly if you are aware that they are away from home. Any suspicious activity should be reported to the police.

Some other local areas have introduced Neighbourhood Watch Schemes or even benefitted from the installation of CCTV. Whilst the latter may not be appropriate for our village, if you are interested in the introduction of a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme please contact Peter Light – our Committee Member responsible for policing matters and who attends the local Police Community Group meetings.

POSTAL ADDRESS CHANGE

According to most recent correspondence, Royal Mail are now verifying that the necessary criteria have been met and will send individual letters to all those affected and, provided less than 20% object to being classified as Lower Kingswood, the postcode address will be amended. Only if more than 20% object will there be a necessity for a full postal ballot which will require a response rate of more than 50% and be carried by a simple majority.

SUPPORT OUR POST OFFICE

Royal Mail anticipates losing significant revenue from the planned introduction of benefits being paid into bank accounts rather than over the Post Office counter. However, what it has not appreciated is that recipients can elect to continue to receive benefits paid over the Post Office counter.

You may also not be aware that customers of several high street banks (Barclays, Lloyds TSB and Alliance & Leicester) can also use their local Post Office for personal banking facilities – including payment of utility bills. Royal Mail is itself extending the facilities available at Post Offices by offering Personal Loans (of up to £25,000) and Car Insurance.

The more our Post Office is used, the more chance there is of keeping it open. If not, you could find that your nearest Post Office is miles away in Banstead or Redhill. Although the Post Office in Morrison (Safeway) in Reigate is scheduled to close in the summer, it will now re-open in alternative premises.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES

Whilst many of you will have noticed the decline in the number of shops in Lower Kingswood over the years, it is clear that there are still a number of local businesses, sole traders etc. located both in and around our village – many of whom advertise in our newsletter.

Don’t forget - if using the services of one of our advertisers, please mention that you saw their advertisement in Village News.

We would also like to acknowledge the support of Fidelity Investment Services who continue to provide the paper on which Village News is printed.

VILLAGE NEWS

Once again a big thank you to all who have contributed articles and helped with both the production and distribution of this newsletter. Village News is distributed free to all households in (and around) Lower Kingswood, and this is only possible because of the assistance given by volunteers in its production, printing and distribution. If you can spare the time to help – particularly with distribution – please contact our Chairman

Our congratulations go to Mrs L Wood and Mrs J Barnett who won the 1st and 2nd prizes in our Christmas Competition published in the previous issue of Village News; they have each been awarded voucher prizes of their choice.

In addition to our regular contributors, we are always pleased to include articles submitted by residents. Don’t forget, if you have any of your own ideas for Village News (or better still would like to contribute a completed article) please let us know. This is after all your newsletter so why not take the opportunity to contribute an article relating to matters that interest you? Please note that any such articles are published in good faith and any views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Residents’ Association Committee.

YOUR COMMITTEE

In addition to the designated Officers of the Association, specific responsibilities have been organised as follows: Environment (highways/pathways) - Philip Mulcaire, Newsletter (distribution/co-ordination) - Bruce Clarke, Planning -Faye Miles & John Elford, Police -Peter Light & Jennie Page, Youth issues - Sherry Formosa and Website (design/update) - Stephen Jones. Contact details for all Committee Members are set out on Page 16.

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