MOORFIELD RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION
6TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. FRIDAY 28TH OCTOBER 2005.
ST JAMES SCHOOL. 7.45 P.M..
Committee Members Attending:-
Derek Coles (Chair) Bill Noone Maureen Carroll Pauline Howard,
Tony Treacher Christine Lockwood Paul Trigg Pam & Terry Slater.
Apologies:-
John Whitby Michael Jezzard.
Residents:- 13
Chairs Report.
Derek began his report by explaining that this year had been fairly ineffectual in terms of progressing the aims of the MRA. This has been mainly due to the fact that the direct link with Harlow Council has ceased. For reasons which possibly arise from Council policy, the regular monthly meeting with Council officers no longer take place, and therefore the opportunity for face to face discussions on the various Moorfield projects has been lost.
Resignations from the committee have been received from Mary Bambury and Maurice Kittrell, and, on behalf of the committee, Derek stated that the MRA owed them both a great debt of thanks for their support and commitment.
Landscaping projects are still ongoing, and Ray Matthews will submit a schedule of works. New trees will be planted, and will be treated with anti-climb paint instead of being protected by railings ( which cost £300 each)
A request has been submitted that the shrubs in the vicinity of the demolished telephone box be removed, and concrete slabs installed to provide extra parking.
The Parringdon Road edge of Moorfield will be cleaned and, to a certain extent cleared.
Footpath Closures.- project still ongoing. Agreement has been reached with the residents of the footpath leading directly to the playground, and the path to the right of it, and closures will be installed in those areas. It is hoped that the residents in the remaining paths will also agree to the closures in time.
Garage Block 1-29 ( lower deck) has been greatly improved by the addition of railings at the Joyners Field end. The walls and garage doors have been painted white. The remaining work, which will be completed when funds permit, includes the replacement of damaged garage doors, installing new lighting and clearing the drains. Garage doors on the top deck have been painted red and the walls treated with anti-climb paint.
Demolition and re-build of garage blocks- After six years of discussion with various agencies, it is now obvious that funds for this very expensive project will not be available. In addition, Harlow Council's proposals for the garage regeneration would have been detrimental to the estate in general. The project still remains on the MRA agenda, in the hope that a solution may be found.
Underpasses - The blocking of the two underpasses is linked to the proposed one-way system and the installation of pedestrian crossings. The original plans for a one-way system were blocked by two residents who, by giving other residents wrong and misleading information, gained signatures to a petition against the project. The works are now in the hands of Essex County Council who will decide on the feasibility of the scheme and it's format and design.
Bill announced that the Moorfield website is now up and running and can be accessed through any search engine by keying ourmoorfield.co.uk. The site will contain breaking news, dates of committee meetings, minutes of meetings etc. Any input will be welcome.
Terry has had continued success with reporting abandoned vehicles and having them removed. Any abandoned vehicles can be reported on the website.
Pauline gave the MRA financial report as follows:-
The current credit balance is £12,472
The credit balance as at 2004 £12,256
A grant of £350 was received from Harlow District Council in respect of the Moorfield website and the litter pick.
The main expenditure this year has included the setting up of the website, and charges for the use of the school hall for committee meetings. Any donations to MRA funds are always gratefully accepted.
All current committee members agreed to continue for a further year, and anyone wishing to join the committee will be welcome.
Questions and Answers.
The steps leading down to the flats garage area need a handrail, and , is it likely that the Council will use empty garages for storage as has happened on other estates?
Many garages in Moorfield are rented only for storage by private tenants. Usually, if Council contractors are working in the area they use portacabins for storage. The Council could take over empty garages for that purpose but we have no information on that.
Why were there no ward councillors here tonight?
Councillor Lorna Spenceley was due to attend, but unfortunately was not able to due to a prior engagement.
At the Ployters Road exit Transit type vans are regularly parked very close to the Moorfield junction and are an extremely dangerous hazard. The view of any driver trying to turn into Ployters Road is totally obscured.
The Police have been informed but nothing has been done so far. Double yellow lines would probably be the answer.
Parking on pavements is another hazard and the Council have done nothing to deter people from doing this.
Although there are genuine parking problems on the estate, some people do seem to be irresponsible. The installation of concrete bollards would be the answer, if this could be done.
What is the percentage of garages in use at the moment?
Due to having lost regular contact with the Council, we do not have a detailed breakdown. However, the garages underneath the flats are under used, and, in the single garage block only four or five are being rented at the moment. On the upper level at least six or seven are being used for storage.
The retaining wall at garage roof level which faces the approximate area of flats numbered 271-286 is being seriously damaged. The top course of bricks has been systematically removed and thrown into the area below. The situation was bad enough, recently for a Council team to be called out to remove large quantities of bricks from the lower garage area. A resident reported that the damage was being done by a youth with a hammer.
This will be reported to the Council immediately.
A caravan has been parked in a layby. Can anything be done to remove it?
This will be looked into.
In closing the meeting, Derek pointed out that litter is still an ongoing problem and , although the estate is now regularly cleaned, it would be appreciated if residents could help by disposing of litter when they come across it.
The committee were very pleased to receive a vote of thanks from a lady resident for their work during the year.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.40.p.m.