Hills Committee has registered its strong approval for the new house at the top of Pump Hill, erected after many years of discussion and planning applications.  The impasse of over development of this sensitive site was overcome by flexibility on all sides enabling the owner to achieve a most acceptable result.  Congratulations to all involved.

In August, 138 crimes were reported in Loughton – four of them in the Hills or immediately adjacent: one in Wallers Hoppet, one in York Crescent and three on Church Hill.  You may have read elsewhere big changes are taking place to policing in Essex as a whole.  Locally Loughton Police Station now has reduced opening hours and will be one of 15 in Essex where the counter is to be closed before April leaving Harlow as our nearest public access to the police. On the previous page we  give details of lour local police contacts.  If you haven’t already it is well-worth visiting the Essex Police website and clicking through ‘Your Neighbourhood ‘ to Epping Forest and Loughton to see how the changes will affect us.  You will also read that in Loughton the crack-down on anti-social behaviour is working – but burglaries are on the rise. The Police Meets programme is impressive. Do go along to the Methodist Hall and see for yourself.  Click here for details of times

Meet the police

Did you know you can meet your local police to voice concerns?  Their meetings are organised by

PCSO Paul Le’strange, a PCSO for five years in the Loughton area who can be contacted at:

Email: huboffice-efd-brentwood@essex.pnn.police.uk

Telephone: 101 extn 313603

PCSO Kerri Bowden, a PCSO since 2005 and at Loughton since 2008.

Email: huboffice-efd-brentwood@essex.pnn.police.uk

Telephone: 101 Ext 313603

The meetings, at Loughton Methodist Hall, High Road, last for one hour to meet the public and discuss any issues we may have.

Next dates are:

Monday 19 October 2015  11.00am

Mon 26 Oct 2015 11:00:00

Wed 4 Nov 2015 11:00:00

Fri 13 Nov 2015 11:00:00

Essex County Council is to introduce weight restrictions throughout the Hills in an effort to stop the nightmare of intercontinental juggernauts following satnav instructions to use York and Baldwins Hills as a short cut and causing chaos and damage. The Order has been obtained by County Councillor Chris Pond and will result in the recently installed advisory signs being replaced by statutory ones. The ban will NOT apply to large vehicles delivering to local addresses or servicing the area.  Hills Society Chairman Stephen Cohen welcomed the new Order:  “We look forward to the added protection this aims to give residents and wait to see if lorry drivers take notice instead of mindlessly following their satnavs.”

Hills Amenity Society Committee committee heard at its last meeting that plans for housing development on the site of Trevelyan House, with access over the Potato Ground allotments – now within the Baldwins Hill Conservation Area, has been rejected by Epping Forest District Council.

It was reported to the committee that the planning meeting was very well attended by residents of Monchester Close and County Councillor Chris Pond spoke at the meeting.  The outcome was that EFDC refused the application and also objected to the proposed access through the Potato Ground.  The developers have the right to appeal.  The committee

Reprinted from Guardian Series

Lorry sat navs blamed for repeated damage

Diane Rhodes says the lorries are posing a danger to pedestrians

First published Friday 13 March 2015 in Epping Forest
Last updated 10:20 Friday 13 March 2015by Joseph Flaig, Reporter, covering the Epping Forest district. Call me on 07795 316 211

Hills Watch Warning: Baldwins Hills area on Essex Police burglary hotspot list for February 2015

Please report anything suspicious to discourage whoever is targeting our area!

The boundary wall of the end terrace cottage near the entrance to Kings Hill has been repaired after being damaged twice in just a few months. And the culprit:  a giant lorry, AGAIN.

The previous occasion saw the owner running up the road in his pyjamas to catch the offending vehicle.

The second time (pictured) in November the offender was caught on a private Cctv camera: the outline of the truck can be made out at the top of the picture above right.  The damaged wall is pictured above left. Hills Committee continues to press for action to deter these massive intruders with faulty satnavs. The house is now for sale and we offer our condolences to the owner and thanks to Alison Trauttmansdorff for the pictures.

IN DECEMBER Essex County Council announced they will fund improvements and maintenance work to York Hill Green. This includes the placement of a commemorative plaque on the Green to celebrate its special views over London as well as the 40^th anniversary of the Hills Amenity Society.

Other work on the Green will include much needed maintenance of the wooden posts, repositioning and replacement of the yellow grit bin with one in Victorian style, and restyling of road signage to be more in keeping with the conservation area.

Loughton Town Council successfully applied for the funding after over a year’s collaboration with the Hills Amenity Society and the City of London, who own the land. The Plaque will depict the view from the Green, illustrated by local artist Daniel Wallis and installed by Loughton Town Council.

The work is expected to be carried out in the spring with an unveiling ceremony to follow. We will keep you updated, so watch this space! Maybe another excuse for a celebration on the Green?

Epping Forest District Council has received an application to develop Trevelyan House and its adjoining buildings into a mini estate of 10 homes on the site which abuts the Potato Field allotments.  At its meeting the Hills Amenity Society expressed concern that access to the site might be sought via Church Hill and Monkchester Close, a route which would almost certainly impinge on allotment land.  The development would also create a “development bridge” between Baldwins Hill via Stony Path and the almshouses.

Diane Rhodes has submitted the following detailed opposition to the proposal:

• Planning Procedures

• As Loughton Potato Ground (LPG) is the neighbour with the most land adjoining this site, we are disappointed that EFDC did not consult us, particularly as the allotment site is part of the Baldwins Hill Conservation Area.

• As the applicant, Trevalyn House Limited, is including a section of our land as part of their access to their potential development, they should have served a notice on us before submitting a planning

• Further, they have signed the Planning Application Form as being the owner of all the land which is completely untrue as evidenced by the Land Registry documents of Loughton Potato Ground and Trevelyan House which are in the possession of EFDC.’s Planning

• It is unclear whether they are including Epping Forest land owned by the Conservators as being in their ownership too!

As the applicant is not the owner of land he needs to access the site from Monkchester Close, and has not served notice to the LPG, this planning application is invalid as per Article 12 of the Town & Country Planning (Development Management) Procedure Order 2010.   Furthermore, Section 65(5) of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 says that a local planning authority shall not “entertain” any application for planning permission where these requirements have not been satisfied.

It would appear the proper planning procedures have not been followed.

• Housing

This site is not urban but meets the Essex Design Guide of Arcadia as it is set in the surrounding landscape of Epping Forest, Loughton Potato Ground and Whitaker’s Almshouses which add an air of rurality.   Fewer houses specifically designed for this old part of Loughton would have been preferable than standard designs taken out of a filing cabinet to cram on the site.   The development does not do justice to this particular location.

The present proposal is overdevelopment of the site and the style of houses out of keeping with the location.

• Boundaries – Trees/Hedgerow

• We are not clear from the documents what the applicant proposes for our three boundaries, bearing in mind the Conservation Area (CA) status. These allotments are 200 years old and the second oldest in the country in continuous cultivation and little changed in time.   They were in the forefront of allotment provision in this country.   We are in discussion with English Heritage regarding Historic Landscape status

• We are concerned about the future health of some of our trees, where it is being proposed to prune them back to the boundary.   As you know trees with 3” diameter or more are designated trees and protected by CA status.   We request Tree Protection Warning Signs to be installed on our trees.

• We have concerns for the Root Protections Areas (RPA’s) of our trees on the boundaries, particularly where buildings need to be demolished and new building work constructed.

• We request a Construction Exclusion Zone (CEZ) to protect our trees.

• It is proposed that protection of trees on the development site and our third party trees are to be under the control of the Local Authority, who refuses to discuss this with us or visit our site, in liaison with the developer and exclude us.

We shall hold the Local Authority responsible for any damage to our trees or their roots or if any die as a result of buildings works.    We shall take the necessary legal action against EFDC and the developer if damage occurs.

We request that no materials or machinery is stored near our trees/hedgerow and no ground disturbance which would affect our trees.   We request our trees and their roots are to be protected by fencing.

We request that the Chairman of LPG is involved in the discussions regarding our boundary trees and hedgerows.

• Tree Protection

In the Tree Protection Plan seems to show a section of ‘Old Lane’ to be dug up but there is no authority for the developer to do this as they are not the landowner.

• Highways

We are not allowing the use of Old Lane, which is in our ownership, to be used by anyone delivering to or working on the development site and request a protection barrier so that construction traffic does not go astray.   Neither shall it be used by residents who may live in the houses built there.

If any damage occurs on Old Lane, or trespass, legal action will be taken.

• Old Lane is not a public footpath or for public access generally and has been in existence and in our ownership for at least 200 years.   It is private land.

We refer to Ordnance Survey map of 1880 which clearly shows the footpath and ‘Old Lane’ leading into the allotments and not part of Trevelyan House which was not in existence then.

Any damage caused to anything or anyone on Loughton Potato Ground as described in our Land Registry document, will be referred to the Charity Commission with whom the land is vested.

• The entrance to the Trevelyan House site from Monkchester Close is below highway standards and does not meet their criteria.   They have sent a copy of a plan to Essex Highways indicating they own ‘Old Lane’ and can therefore meet the standard.   This is blatant manipulation and completely untrue.   So Essex Highways have given their approval to a false document.

• Further, there is a highway safety issue when plotholders exit the site, whether pedestrians or cars, on to “Old Lane’, they will not be able to see any traffic exiting the Trevelyan House site and vice versa.   The safety of plotholders seems to have been omitted in these documents.

The entrance of Trevelyan House does not meet highway standards and puts plotholders’ safety at risk.

• Traffic

Traffic accidents occurring on Goldings Hill, which is the A121 and a Major Distributor Road, are only shown at or near the junction with Monkchester Close as being two or three minor occurrences.   Whereas the number of personal injury accidents on Goldings Hill for the last two years are 22.   There have been other accidents either not reported or not causing personal injury.   There have also been fatal accidents on Goldings Hill.

As can be seen from Essex County Council’s figures, this is a very busy road and is difficult to access on to or from side roads due to the heavy traffic.   It has been proven A-roads are more dangerous than motorways because of side roads and we have six on Goldings Hill.   It is used by vehicles wanting to access or exiting from the M25 motorway about two miles away.

The A121, Goldings Hill, is heavily used by traffic and any additional side road movements will only increase the dangers.

The information given on accessing the town centre, local schools, the college and underground stations on foot are very misleading as new or even existing residents would not walk those distances.   This site is in the northern most part of the town as it is only 2 minutes walk from Epping Forest.

• Misleading information on accessing essential places.

• Parking

There is inadequate parking for that number of 3 and 4 bedroom houses and their visitors.   There is no other land available for them to use.

There is inadequate parking for the proposed number of houses and visitors.

• Appendices A ST-2397-01 and E ST-2397-02 in the Stomor Transport Statement are totally incorrect in terms of land ownership of ‘Old Lane’(see Land Registry documents).

• Contaminated Lane

We request that no contamination on to LPG takes place when dealing with the contamination of this site.