Our guest speaker this year will be Vic Knope. Vic is Chairman of the Friends of the Copped Hall Trust and has been involved at Copped Hall for the last 10 years. He is one of the senior guides and helps train the newer guides that join the team. Besides being a guide, he organises many of the events that occur at Copped Hall, including all the Carol Concerts, the Open Days and most of the music events.  All welcome- and a free glass of wine on arrival courtesy The Gardeners Arms.

Loughton Residents Association, supported by Hills Amenity Society,  is taking strong exception to plans by The Wheatsheaf public house to turn  the gartden opposite the pub into a car park having extended the outside seating area to what was car parking space by the erection of a fence and now a paved area. Your views are welcome.

David Linnell of LRA gave this report to the Hills:

What’s happening: residents have told LRA that the pub wishes to extend its outside seating area at the front of the pub, and to transfer parking to the garden opposite. There are some wire fences up at present on the forecourt. The District Council say that the construction of a wall less than 1 metre high on the pub forecourt is allowed; it will be rendered to match the appearance of the pub, along with the existing wall around the patio area. Unfortunately no.15 York Hill isn’t included on the schedule of properties covered by Conservation Area provisions (“Article 4 Direction) covering boundary treatments and hand-standings.

LRA’s view: the garden is within the York Hill Conservation Area (CA), and is a noted and pleasant entry feature to the York Hill and Staples Road CAs. Since the pub last changed owners, we have noted a vast expansion of parking in the area, often obstructive, and so we think that the existing forecourt parking should be kept. We are also concerned about the trees on the site.  The pub will be applying for planning permission to convert the garden into a car-park – the LRA Plans Group (and others) will no doubt put in strong objections to this

Official Go-ahead for picnic on York Hill Green

Following requests from a group of local residents,  Hills Amenity Society has obtained all the necessary permissions for a Hills picnic on York Hill Green on the Queen’s national picnic day, Monday 4 June.  To make the event as safe and as enjoyable for all as possible, York Hill and Woodbury Hill will be closed around the Green before lunch and during the afternoon.

This will be a FREE event:  turn up with your picnic and enjoy the biggest Hills event for many years.

Offers of help putting up bunting, picking up litter (though we are sure all Hills residents will ensure they remove their own and any other litter they see)  and general security, are very much appreciated.  Event organiser is Stephen Cohen, stephenmcohen@hotmail.com, phone 07968 720804.

Oh, and don’t forget to bring the sunshine….

The campaign to have 20mph speed limits throughout the Hills Conservation areas and on the short links between is gathering support.  To add your name, email hillsamenity@gmail.com cc to i.locks@btinternet.com.

Support entirely 20 mph for Baldwins Hill. Beloved cat killed by speeding driver last year. Show me where opponents of this view are, and…… Only kidding; no, really…………

John Lowe

Hi.
In response to your piece in the newsletter…. I’m definitely lending my support to the 20 mph campaign !
We live half way up York Hill and have to reverse, almost blindly, out of our drive.
Seeing the speed taxis in particular take this bend / chicane makes this a worrying task !!

Regards,
Ian Hovell.

my family and i also live in Baldwins Hill and i’m pleased to see other residents share my thoughts that there should be speed bumps down our road.This would be the only credible way of slowing the speedsters down.Unfortunately like all these things it will probably take an accident before we see this though..i hope i’m very wrong ! R. Nelson. Baldwins Hill

I too support a lower speed limit in Baldwins Hill and sleeping policemen would also help.   The road is too narrow for speeding motorists

M Purves, Baldwins Hill

I think it should be 20 and not 25 as it has a better chance of reducing speeding. 20 is also a standard limit in other boroughs. Moreover I support traffic calming measures in York Hill as it is a question of when not if there is a collision with a pedestrian, due to the lack of pavements , and where there are pavements they are at times blocked with parked cars, forcing pedestrians onto the road. Even some residents tear up the hill with little consideration.

A. Golan, York Hill

You can add this household to the list of those in favour of 25 mph speed limit signs.

They wouldn’t make any difference to the speed of traffic, but they would represent sort of “boundary markers” which might make it more likely that peoples’ attention would be drawn to the fact that they are entering a “different” area.

V. McDonald, Wallers Hoppet

Yes I would like to see the 25 mile signs also sleeping policemen on Baldwins Hill it is used as a rat run and driven very fast especially in the night

G. Lawrie, Baldwins Hill

We would be very happy for the 25mph sign to go up. We worry for our children and the school children who use many of the roads, particularly York Hill. There are lots of “boy racers” who clearly do not respect the slow signs and the noise is irritating. Further we are beginning to find that people have started to park in crazy places. Opposite driveways so you can hardly reverse out, at tight points in the road on York Hill etc. Several times, I have had to reverse back down the hill and approach our house from other other end of the hill…

AT – A York Hill Resident

Click here to see the Spring-Summer 2012 Newsletter online. Please note that in the printed version on page 4 the reference to 5 Staples Road should have read 65 Staples Road.  We apologise for any embarrassment caused.

Also in the printed version distributed to 500 homes the last lines of some stories had been lost in the conversion to Adobe pdf.  We apologise that this was not noticed before going to print. The version now online has corrected this error.

The Character Appraisals for the three Hills conservation areas have been put on hold while the council waits for a an independent report on all its conservation areas.  While the Hills Amenity Society and the Character Appraisals Working Group will be making a submission on behalf of the Society it is open to any resident to make their own submission.  Questionnaires may be downloaded from http://dpp-projects.com/efdcreview.

Click here to see what HAS recommended in our three draft appraisals prepared for the district council

The invitation from Maria Kitts in the district council conservation department reads:

Dear Sir or Madam,

DPP Heritage & Design have been appointed by Epping Forest District Council to undertake an independent review of the conservation areas and locally listed buildings in the District.  This survey will provide the Council with a robust evidence base upon which the future Local Plan can be developed.

We are very interested to understand your views on conservation areas & locally listed buildings within the District and have prepared a website containing links to online questionnaires - http://dpp-projects.com/efdcreview

If you could spare a little time to complete those parts of the questionnaire(s) that are relevant to your organisation or Council this would be of great assistance to us in completing the review.

The website and questionnaires will be available until 27^th April.  Unfortunately we will not be able to consider any responses to the Heritage Asset Review which are received after this date.

Please note that this review process is an evidence gathering exercise in which suggestions will be made to Epping Forest District Council. This is a targeted consultation to statutory amenity groups, neighbouring authorities, existing local groups (including local residents associations and historical societies) and Town and Parish Councils. Should any suggestions be taken forward there will be further work and full public consultation will be needed to formally consider any changes to designations and prepare detailed Conservation Area Appraisals and Management Plans were appropriate.

(signed for EFDC)

Maria Kitts

Conservation Officer

Mrs Rita Machin of 69 Baldwins Hill was the 2011 winner of the Hills Garden Shield for the best kept front garden. The shield was presented to Mrs

Machin at the autumn lunch on 12 November along with garden vouchers worth   The shield was presented by Hills chairman, Wendy Fisher (left). The awa

rd encourages  attention to maintaining  front gardens in good condition – an important feature of the conservation area.

The shield was introduced soon after the Hills Amenity Society was set up 40 years ago in 1972.

At its last meeting the Hills Amenity Society Committee heard that the owner of 22 Stony Path had been required by the District Council to seek planning permission by the end of November for a two-storey extension erected without permission.

The committee will be told at its meeting on 16 January that no retrospective permission – or any permission – was showing on the Council’s website at the end of the December.

Residents of York Hill have been granted a two week extension to comment on plans for a two storey extension to one of the prominent cottages on the north bank before Kings Hill.

The letters dated 19 December were received as the council planning offices shut for the Christmas/New Year period, leaving little time to comment.

The new owners have asked for Conservation Area consent to demolish a conservatory and erect a two storey extension in its place.

Hills Amenity Society committee will be examining the plans at its meeting on 17 January.

Prompt action by a local resident has resulted in the City of London Corporation swinging into action to remedy damage damage on York Hill Green including deep rutting and smashed and uprooted guard posts.

Corporation executive Lara Lawson has asked fort the damage is to be surveyed prior to deciding on remedial action.