onionbagblog

If it’s Wednesday Week then it must mean that it’s time for a meeting of the lovely Wivenhoe Society committee in the library upstairs at the Nottage.

Hurrah!

Not that I officially sit at the top table for the local group that has Wivenhoe, its heritage and its future at its heart - simply that I have been very kindly invited to come along to the meetings as an interested observer. I think that’s a polite way of putting that I’m a nosey parker.

With kitten commitments eating into my early evening (update: we have litter tray lift off. Oh Lordy…) no surprises that I was running slightly late as I headed quayside.

No worries - the first agenda item was a report on the most recent Wivenhoe Town Council meeting that took place on Monday. Our fine man from the Council was double-booked (and possibly double-parked) and so we had a read out of the minutes from the fine Chair.

It was an interesting blow-by-blow account of potholes, police station sell-offs and public convenience refurbishment updates. It was also a repeat performance for me, and so I wasn’t going to be taken in by any cliffhanger.

Mr Mayor‘s bike left unlocked outside The Greyhound, you say? It ‘aint gonna be a happy ending, fella.

Sticking with WTC, and WivSoc heard how our local councillors are a little cash strapped right now. Not in a personal sense - although there’s no dosh to be made out of volunteering for civic service - but as a consequences of the cuts coming our way via Colchester Borough Council and beyond.

The consequences for WivSoc are all connected to the Colne clean up on the 10th April. Breaking tradition, and WTC has asked for a small payment to cover the cost of two employees to help take away all the crap that has sadly found its way by the banks of the Colne.

A ‘friendly and constructive conversation’ followed. I’m no kiss and teller: in fact I’m lucky if I ever get to reach the kissing stage. But I’m breaking no confidences is stating that the balance sheet of the WivSoc probably can’t stretch to TWO groundsmen, Sunday overtime et al.

At a wider level, this opens up very real questions about who actually holds the responsibility for looking after the Colne: CBC? WTC? WivSoc? *shhh* Dave’s #bigsociety?

Blimey.

It’s all about doing your bit, and helping out wherever and whenever you can. We are blessed in Wivenhoe to have wonderful organisations such as The Hub youth club and Transition Town Wivenhoe, both of whom have very kindly offered to lend some helping hands on the big day of the riverbank clean up.

The river is sadly looking a right old mess heading out towards the Hythe. Time allowing and I sometimes stop to pick up the odd can. Many hands make light work. Two WTC groundsmen may make light work, but they will also lighten the load on the WivSoc bank account.

Speaking of which, I’m playing my cards closer to my chest than a 44FF gifted young lady who is holding all the aces: Yep - it’s only the WivSoc Treasurer’s Report.

A small amount of money has been made from selling calendars. Costs have occurred in printing out the Newsletter up at University, plus the very kind donation from WivSoc to Wivenhoe in Bloom (£200 seeing as though you ask. I think the tight lipped 44FF gifted young lady has just undone a singular bra strap.)

The Secretary’s Report confirmed that the speaker at the WivSoc AGM in April will be the Director of Colchester Arts Centre. This is an ace choice of guest, with three decades of sex, drugs and rock’n roll to tell tall tales of. Oh - and Fairport Convention.

Other AGM plans are now all in place. Most importantly these include the news that Dave Harrison, the Wivenhoe Wine Toaster Extraordinaire is well on the case. Or even the cases.

Chin Chin.

Perhaps the most important part of the evening was the monthly analysis of planning applications. Wivenhoe is full (so said the man who has just moved in…) Even minor alterations can have an impact upon the local infrastructure.

The application for a block of flats along Rectory Road has been withdrawn. WivSoc welcomes this, taking the view that the original plans were cramp and ill conceived.

But the real biggie when it comes to proposed new buildings right now is all about that other lot over the river. The planning application has now been formally submitted for the redevelopment of Rowhedge Warf. It seems that our near neighbours are about to go through what Wivenhoe went through over the past two decades with the residential opening up of the waterfront.

With the original application for 300 new builds being thrown out by CBC, the developers have now come back with a proposal for 170 new homes on the site of the empty wharf.

Don’t be fooled by the reduction - this is the application for only the first stage. Today’s Cook’s Phase 3 is the future Phase 3 for our friends at Rowhedge. A total of 250 new builds is believed to be the aim of the developer.

And so what interest is all of this to WivSoc? Well… that beautiful scenic waterfront view just as the sun is setting over West Quay could look drastically different in a decade from now.

The derelict wharf ‘aint exactly a beauty spot right now, but the opportunity is there to guide and advise as to what might take its place, and help keep the Colne a scenic place in which to live around.

The newly submitted plans seem to suggest that an access road will be built right along the Rowhedge waterfront. On a practical level this allows more property to be tightly packed in.

WivSoc takes the view that the increase in traffic levels, and subsequent noise, are sufficient reasons to oppose this. An access road behind the first row of houses, similar to West Quay, would seem more sensible.

The new set of plans has dropped the proposal for a series of tall residential properties. Two and a half storey is now the average height, with a single flagship taller property as the centerpiece, designed to mirror the splendor of our own St Mary’s.

Good luck on that one.

And so the Rowhedge redevelopment seems inevitable, and if put in place sensibly, most certainly an improvement on the current abandoned wharf. But there’s a huge gulf between local sensibilities and the balance sheet of a corporate developer.

Moving on…

A domestic planning application for Belle Vue Road was briefly touched upon. I have a personal policy of publicly not passing any judgment on non-commercial planning applications - there but for the grace of God, ‘n all that twaddle. Did I mention the plans for a skyscraper extension to our back garden?

Concluding the planning update and the application for Cedric’s Bus Garage has been withdrawn. No reason has been stated. CBC has turned down the planning application for a care home for special needs kids on Cracknall Close, up towards Broomgorve.

Planning sorted, time for some Front of House hospitality. We’re talking in particular here the annual competition to see who can tart up their two up, two down best with hanging baskets and other fauna and flora. Excitement is building within WivSoc (seriously) with the publicity, prizes and judges being organised.

A request was then considered from WTC for a call of interest in helping to put together plans for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in the town next year. WivSoc collectively may be supportive of the Monarchy, but then again WivSoc *may not* be collectively supportive of the Monarchy. Either way, no official Royalist response is being sent back to the Town Council offices.

On the Social front and a quick read of the officer’s report suggests that WivSoc is one wild abandon of a social party, with an occasional eye on planning applications.

Possibly.

Bookings are already coming in for the November Craft Fair (phew - rock ‘n roll.) A serious fiscal debate then followed, regarding the raising of the entry price from 20p to 50p. It is under such circumstances that revolutions take hold.

The fine Wivenhoe Folk Club and Transition Town Wivenhoe group have both been offered free stalls for the WivSoc Fun Day on 10th September. The rather excellent Judith Chalmers popular combo band has been booked once again for the Post Christmas Party on 7th January.

The NAP minutes were then up for discussion. Once again, I refer my honorable friend to the answer I gave some three weeks ago.

And finally, Any Other Business - always the best part of any local meeting, and the one time when I feel like taking to my feet for a spot of stand up.

But there wasn’t much to laugh about when we went over the escalation during the past month of the blatant vandalism of the Colne vegetation by the Environment Agency. This is an area that was discussed in mild terms last month when the signs first went up.

What has happened in-between has been well documented. There’s one hell of a difference between the posting of some A4 signs along the Colne, and the complete destruction of the once wonderful area of natural beauty.

With spring finally starting to shoot through along the estuary, the one uplifting thought to come out of the very depressing debate was the hint of some guerilla gardening taking place by the Colne.

Cripes.

And then a final, final item agenda, which seems to have slipped into our little local patch almost undetected. Heads up the good folk of the Queens Road Resident’s Association who were very early on the case in highlighting the proposed waste dump site across the river at Fingringhoe Wick.

What is up for grabs here is essentially landfill:

“Thames and Colne have a plan to import and process waste at Ballast Quay. Part of the company’s plans for the expansion of four quarry sites in Fingringhoe involves the import and processing of inert waste material to infill the quarry sites. Processing of the waste will take place at Ballast Quay.”

A huge variety of materials are proposed to be part of the project. This includes plastic and other non-biogradable items. Where this leaves the long-term plan of flooding the marsh remains to be seen.

Of more immediate concern is the 24/7 schedule for the operation. The noise of the mechanical machinery will travel around 1km in distance - easily within reach of the residential accommodation down by Wivenhoe Quay. It is also expected to be a light pollutant as well.

As this is a business proposal and not a residential property development, it seems that the usual channels for alerting and consulting with local residents has passed by under the radar. WivSoc is going to urgently raise the matter with Essex County Councillor Julie Young, and Bernard Jenkin MP.

And so that was WivSoc for another month. With issues covering major commercial and residential development, down to the cost of entering the Craft Fair. The agenda reflects the diverse issues currently taking place around the town, and likewise the need for a diverse range of local representation.

Once again, I feel guided to point you in the direction of the membership page on the WivSoc website. If you join up rather prompt, you might just be in time for the AGM, the debate and… the booze.

Chin chin.

To the Town Council offices (cripes) on Tuesday evening for the bi-monthly meeting of the Wivenhoe Neighbourhood Action Panel, the Essex Police initiative, defined as:

“Each NAP consists of representatives from the local community, residents’ associations, children and young people, voluntary agencies, schools, faith groups, Town and Parish councillors, Colchester Borough Council, Essex County Council and other statutory groups or organisations that are best placed to make a valuable contribution to community problem solving throughout Colchester.”

Oh - and nosey bloggers as well. Many thanks for making me feel most welcome…

Scaling down further for Wivenhoe, and our very own #hyperlocal NAP states:

“We want to tackle crime and quality of life issues that are effecting Wivenhoe and the University of Essex. We not only want to tackle them but we want to reduce them.”

A cursory glance over at the online data released last week via police.uk reveals that downtown Wivenhoe ‘aint exactly a crime hot spot. Ah, but it’s all relative, and also all about reassurances.

Seven incidents of anti-social behaviour, plus the three reports of violent crime in December 2010, are much more than pure, hard online data. These are very real situations that NAP seeks to address to help to make Wivenhoe an even better place in which to live and work.

Violent crime is hard to predict. Parking issues however can be addressed to help achieve a positive outcome.

Um, can’t they…?

As was the case with the previous NAP back in November, a great deal of the debate on Tuesday evening was taken up with parking issues around the town. Put simply, we have too many cars parking within Wivenhoe.

You can’t legislate for car ownership; nor for local authority cuts, which reduces the budget available to address the issue. Which all rather depressingly sums up the majority of agenda items at the NAP: Parking problems, no money, not much we can do.

Bare with me, blog readers - there is something of a warm, happy ending involving Mayor Brian Sinclair…

But first the roll call of cars parking woes:

Rosabelle Avenue has been reported as being a problem area for dangerous parking. Wivenhoe Town Council is currently waiting on a review of the 2011 budget for possible funding.

Moving on…

Parking outside One Stop towards The Cross - Councillor Penny Kraft reported on the solution being pressed by WTC. Essex County Council Highways have agreed to widen the pavement at the Colchester Road end.

Hurrah!

The problem? The small matter of the shortfall of £25k to pay for this. Cripes, you’re thinking - that’s a lot of wonga for a small stretch of road. Indeed it is. A more conservative £4k is the figure for the physical pavement improvements; £21k is the amount needed to pay off the various utility and telco companies who would be caught up in the crossfire.

NAP Chair Eugene Kraft has approached One Stop about some friendly sponsorship to help carry out the work, and ultimately improve the parking outside the business. Times are tough for traders as well as local councils. Sadly the scheme is now on hold.

Something slightly more positive however is the report of disruptive parking outside Millfields School. Councillor Kraft observed:

“You need a physical presence to address this. Whenever someone from the school stands outside during the school run, parents tend to park properly. Without this however and the problem returns. People don’t park cars - they abandon them. This is a great inconvenience to local residents.”

In response, the Deputy Head of Millfields [apologies, didn't note your name...] kindly attended the meeting to update on the issue:

“Our last formal complaint from a resident was back in May 2010. If we aren’t aware of the issues, then we can’t act upon them. We have extended parking in the school so that there are more spaces. Teachers arriving early morning are parking flush to the edge of the space. We now have fewer employees parking outside the school.”

The Chair observed that the Millfields parking problem is now “not as bad as it once was.” The NAP agreed to remove the item from future agendas, pending any further complaints.

Which was all very considerate, which also leads rather nicely into, ah… the Considerate Parking Scheme.

This is a WTC initiative, which aims to promote a better understanding of the parking needs around the town, in the absence of any law of the land to ease the flow of traffic. Wivenhoe tends to be a terribly considerate town anyway. If such a scheme were to work, one would hope that it would work in Wivenhoe.

The idea is simple: encourage and promote a more considerate, shared use of car parking space around the town, and explain the positive outcomes for the community. Councillor Kraft explained how the scheme has been discussed at WTC, along with input from our local police team.

“We looked at the Brightlingsea model and concluded that the Brightlingsea problem is not the same as ours. WTC decided not to pursue the Considerate Parking Scheme. The police aren’t keen, and we haven’t got the backing from Colchester Borough Council.

Commuters cause the problems in Wivenhoe - in Brightlingsea it is residents. We tried to speak with inconsiderate parkers down at West Quay and we didn’t even know who we are dealing with.”

Wivenhoe Society Chair Tom Roberts was not alone in expressing his disappointment that this scheme has now been shelved:

“I had hoped that the Considerate Parking Scheme would address the problem of cars parking with two wheels on the road.”

[um... Valley Road.]

The official WTC response is that this can’t be done without police support.

Sgt Lou Middleton added:

“It is not an offence for cars to park on the public pavement, as long as they are not obstructing pedestrians. If it was HGV’s, then we could act.”

A discussion then followed about *ahem* Park Road in particular, and how double parking takes place on both sides of the pavement. It was suggested that putting double yellow lines down one side of the road would ease the problem, but… there isn’t a budget for this.

A work-around of sorts was concluded, which kept in with the very considerate nature of Wivenhoe: the NAP will work alongside the local police to leaflet cars, which are parked inconsiderately.

Different agenda point, same problem: dangerous parking along Elmstead Road. The Chair noted:

“Nothing can be done. The road is too narrow and there are no pavements.”

And then just when you wait for yet another dangerous parking conundrum, along comes… Queens Road.

Oh Lordy.

The problem, if indeed there is one with Queens Road, is not so much dangerous parking but the inverse and the continued closure of the stretch. An update was kindly provided by a QRRA member, outlining the Association’s view on the fire at the Business Centre last year.

This is all old ground, and nothing new was discussed that we didn’t already know. Highways are not prepared to change their position on the closure, and so the item was ticked off the NAP agenda.

And relax.

Sgt Littleton then explained a little more about the Essex Police Emerging Communities initiative:

“This is a government led scheme to identify new groups moving into communities. We are keen to identify these groups so that we can give them the same standard of support as we do other members of the community.”

A bit of head scratching around the Town Council table, and apart from an anti-Mubarak poster that has been spotted in solitary along Park Road, Wivenhoe doesn’t seem to be a town that is that transient right now.

But anyway - back to parking - or back to the pedestrian flow around parked cars to be more precise.

The much-mooted zebra crossing by the Co-op now seems like a lost cause. With much personal frustration, Mayor Sinclair explained the saga that has frustrated WTC for some time:

“We can’t have a pedestrian crossing close to a road junction, therefore the only location would be above from the Co-op. This would wipe out resident parking space, as well as creating extra cost in having to move the bus stop.

Delays happened, and we simply ran out of time with the project in relation to the budget. WTC is collectively very angry over this. The money has been put aside, and we want to make sure that we have still got access to this.”

Tom Roberts raised the valid point of tapping into some Section 106 funding as part of the planning process for Cedrics Bus Garage. The current planning application has now been withdrawn, with WTC waiting for an expected re-submitted approach.

AOB raised up the appropriate issue for a NAP panel of the closure of Wivenhoe Police Station. As has already been documented, Sgt Middleton, PC Bond and PSCO Neville are moving out to the Fire Station. Sgt Middleton confirmed that this would be happening later in the month. The ICT infrastructure is currently being kitted out.

The possible problem, as pointed out by Councillor Kraft, is that there will be no public access to the new premises. This is simply a physical imposition of the building.

Sgt Middleton commented that he doesn’t view this as a problem, as the old police station gets very few doorknockers anyway. A police surgery at the library was confirmed, as was the very visible police van drop in sessions that you can currently see around the town.

A final point was confirmation that the police houses will be sold…

And then as promised, here comes the lovely *ahhh* moment that one just wasn’t expecting to conclude a Wivenhoe NAP meeting.

Mayor Sinclair reported back on a couple of incidents involving vocal students, tired and emotional, late in the evening after taking part in the legendary Wivenhoe Run. Not wanting to condone the actions (The Flag down to The Station, and then back again, mid-week as an Essex undergraduate? Not me, Oh no, Sireee…) but there is something of a lovely ending.

Personal apologies have been made to locals who were disturbed by the behaviour, as well as apologies to our local pubs. My Mayor thought that this was very humble, and even told the young boozers this as well as encouraging them to return to our town.

Perhaps it’s a good idea to get the bus back to campus next time, eh, guys ‘n girls?

Oh - and with perfect comic timing, and just as the meeting was concluded, in walked the good Councillor Steve Ford.

The poor chap probably couldn’t find anywhere to park.

Whoops.