Welcome to the May 2008 issue of Great Baddow Online Newsletter

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Introduction

For newcomers to the site, this newsletter is circulated monthly to registered site members and friends, to supplement information on the site itself. Please forward to colleagues and other interested individuals in order to publicise the site. If you are a recent newcomer to the site, welcome - your readership is appreciated.

Proposed Housing Development at Tabors Avenue

A planning application has been submitted to Chelmsford Council for 3 new houses at the rear of  numbers 6 - 12 Tabors Avenue. Details of the application are on the Council website.  Last month I reported the application at the rear of existing properties on Rothmans Avenue and these proposals indicate the high utilisation of available space within the village for building purposes.  It is unfortunate that high density housing is likely to become and remain the norm in Great Baddow for the foreseeable future.

Sandon Women's Institute

Sandon has added a further achievement by winning the Essex Area award for WI of the year; their entry now forward to the national competition. A considerable amount of time and effort went into preparation of their entry and their win is well deserved.

Are you aware that some members of this Institute meet regularly during term time on Monday mornings for gentle exercise and movement to music. Any ladies interested are invited to join them on Mondays from 10-11am at Sandon Village Hall at their friendly keep fit class for 50+ ladies.  Wear gym shoes, trousers and loose top.  All welcome - just turn up!

More information about Sandon WI.

Village conference

The conference took place on Thursday evening, 17 April when a number of parishioners met and heard reports from councillors and representatives of the Police and local charitable organisations about developments and progress on various projects over the past year.

As a first time attender at this event, I found it interesting and helpful to have an update on key issues concerning the village and the progress made over the past year with ongoing developments. It  is unfortunate that only a couple of dozen or so residents turned out to hear reports from the Council, the Police, and other local organisations on matter of interest to the community as a whole. Perhaps next year consideration could be given to publicising it more and to make the agenda less dry and more appealing!

For those who did attend, it provided an opportunity to raise and discuss local issues and concerns. Our local Police Inspector reported good progress with crime reduction in the area, but invited residents to look out for theft of combustible materials which could be used for further arson attacks on sheds; also to be aware of  possible bogus callers pretending to be representatives of utility or other well known organisations. Any suspicious activity should be reported on the Essex Police 24 hour non-emergency number 0300 333 4444.

Among the issues raised was the proposed changes to Riverside pool in the town, and the potential loss of diving and other facilities. The meeting passed a resolution requesting the Borough Council to reconsider and retain similar facilities, such as diving boards and corresponding deep water areas in any new pool.

Also, on display were a number of example of replacement play equipment for the recreation ground.

Many people complain that that their views are not heard, but this was one opportunity when it was possible for individuals to do precisely that.

Local history

Two items of interest relating to local history.

Local history archives

First of all, the local history archives have been updated. The Archives are intended to provide students of Great Baddow history or family history with worthwhile data and to encourage them to dig deeper. To this end a downloadable index spreadsheet is provided and an online version of the index which may be browsed. If you are interested in seeing the documents referred to in the archive index, you will be glad to know that copies of all the documents are available in Great Baddow Library; the only exception is Volume 4, which is currently being reorganised. Many documents may be viewed in the library, and photocopies may be purchased there by agreement with library staff.

Items which have the prefix ‘PC’ before the volume number belong to the Parish Council archives, and copies of these are not held in the library. If you are interested in these items please contact the Parish Council office (email address info@greatbaddowparishcouncil.co.uk ).

Many documents are subject to copyright and any photocopy requests must be for private use only and in accordance with the Act. 

More information is available within the local history section of the website.

A study of Great Baddow

Christine Goldstone's study of the Village written in 1962/3 as part of a teacher training project would have probably remained gathering dust until she was encouraged to publish it by Allen Buckroyd as a contribution to local archives. Allen himself provided editing and added some footnotes to annotate the original contents.

Christine had severe reservations...she had not read it since 1963....but agreed to allow it to be published for what it is, i.e. a snap shot of the village at that time.

A more detailed introduction and a list  of chapter contents is provided in the local history section of this website. Having perused a copy myself, it provides interesting background information about life in the village at that time and complements the much later oral history study published in 2003.

Copies of the book itself may be ordered from christine.goldstone@blueyonder.co.uk at £10 postage paid in UK or collected from Great Baddow Community Association at the Recreation Ground at a cost of £8 (collection only).

Zebra crossings, Baddow Road

No significant developments have taken place to the new crossing in Baddow Road near the entrance drive to the Community Centre. However a further crossing has been created, also not yet in use, in the lower section not far beyond the BP garage after the junction with Beehive Lane. In both cases there are minor changes to the road layout creating carriageway narrowing. The lower crossing has a warning bollard but in both cases caution may be advised with the new layouts. It is hoped that the bollard will survive better than the one in Molrams Lane which has been demolished on a number of occasions!

Recycling news

In an attempt to reach its target of 40% waste recycling (from the 2007 level of 33.5%), Chelmsford Council is changing its lorries used for Saturday recycling "stand-outs" to those with cages to allow sorting and recycling of waste, instead of crushing as previously. There will be restrictions on the type of waste which can be accepted, and bagged household and garden waste will not be accepted. Being aware of the amount of landfill space consumed by waste each year, places an obligation on us whether we like it or not to reduce unnecessary waste and recycle wherever possible.

For items not accepted in routine kerbside or Saturday collections, residents may take items to the recycling centre at Boreham; other items which can not be taken to the recyling centre can be collected from a residential address on payment of a fee; pensioners and others on benefits may not be charged for up to 3 household items or fridge / freezers.

This affects local Great Baddow residents making use of the collections at Meadgate or Gardners. More information.

Forthcoming events

3rd May in St Mary's Church. 10am - 4pm. A spring festival with displays in the church by local organisations; cream teas, stalls and music. All are welcome.

18th May at the Recreation Ground. Great Baddow Road Race. The Great Baddow Charity Race is now in its 24th year, and since it was first run the event has become a firm favourite in the sporting calendar of Chelmsford, and particularly Great Baddow. Application Forms are now available for download from the Races site, so please look at the site and apply now.

Site Updates

Several new "Advertisements" have been added to the site including:-

• Jo Jingles classes - fun, music and movement experience for pre-school children,

• Family history research and

• Villa rental in Portugal

We wish these new advertisers success in their respective businesses.

In addition, "What's on When" has been updated to include details of the Karate sessions held at the Community Centre.

Unsubscribe - Please stop emailed copies of this newsletter

Because so many of us receive junk email, if on receiving this or any other issue you do not wish to receive any further editions, please accept my apologies; to stop future issues mailed to you, simply email me with the subject line “stop e-newsletter”, and I will delete you from the mailing list. If you have read the newsletter online and would like to receive it by email, please email me with the subject line entry “start e-newsletter”.

Chris Harvey
Site manager
30^th April 2008
Email Chris Harvey