Category Archives: Safer Neighbourhoods

Know South Ruislip. Be on OWL

There have been a number of burglaries in South Ruislip in recent days. These have sometimes involved the burglar climbing over a conservatory or extension and into the occupied property on the first floor. Very alarming.
If you want to be kept up to date with information like this please log onto owl.co.uk and register with them.
I tried OWL a few days ago and clicked on JOIN A WATCH and was quickly approved.
The information there is first hand from the Police.
Take-up of the OWL system is low in South Ruislip and we are keen to get the numbers up so that we make our area a safer place to live.

McDonalds South Ruislip: The SRRA are leading objections!

McDonald’s have applied for planning permission for  a new restaurant in the front of the car park for DFS and Curry’s adjacent to the Homebase/Argos car park on Victoria Road.

The SRRA has consulted local residents and members  and key local stakeholders.  We are objecting to the development and this video explains why…

If you agree sign our online E-petition  which is managed by Hillingdon Council and so becomes part of the planning hearing process.

https://modgov.hillingdon.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=143&RPID=7258445&HPID=7258445

LBH don’t make it easy to sign but please persevere.

Whats Happening in South Ruislip?: Latest Updates! January 2017

Calling them meeting minutes gets a little dull.  But if you want to know whats happening with Lidl Planning or a devious thief in B&M/ALDI or whether HS2 building has started, it is all below!

In this age of the demise of newsletters it’s probably one of the best sources of local South Ruislip information…

Minutes of the South Ruislip Residents Association

Quarterly Meeting Held at St Mary’s Church On Wednesday 25th January 2017

In attendance were 52 and 14 committee members.  Councillors present Eddie Lavery, Judy Kelly, Michael White, Allan Kauffman and Teji Barnes.  Henry Neel of Lidl and South Ruislip SNT Sgt James Wright.

Apologies were received for Mrs Val Blacker and SRRA committee member Geoff Taylor.

1.0        Opening Remarks & Welcome & Matters Arising from the Minutes & Signed Minutes. 

2.0          Police  by South Ruislip SNT Sgt James Wright

The meeting was joined by South Ruislip SNT Sgt James Wright.  Discussed recent crime figures with concern over burglary and car crime.  Assaults put down to police recording of even playground scraps where informed.

Burglary the police feel there are two teams operating on the area, one has been disbanded with arrests made and they are working on the second.  They are working in Thames Valley and the Met mixing this up with vehicle crime.

Theft of personal property also high due to retail parks.  Police disappointed B&M and ALDI are not paying for security.  Local police targeting a prolific female thief in B&M/ALDA, with thefts “almost daily”.  Sgt Wright suggested not taking whole bag there only credit cards which can be replaced with little loss.

They are working on the robbery in Victoria Road.  The perpetrators left behind vehicle forensics and items dropped which have created a number of leads for the police but they are waiting on those forensics results.

3.0          LIDL Henry Neel

Have planning consent at committee on the 11th January.  They are discharging planning conditions, agreeing S106 and 278 highway works. The next stage for confirmation of the build is from the Mayors office/ GLA an then Hillingdon will give Lidl formal confirmation.   Approval is expected and they look to start on site April and open by Christmas.

Question regarding S106 spend.  Henry Neel suggested looking online for full report on planning website.  But the exact details of the planned costs are still being agreed with London Borough of Hillingdon officers.

Source Minutes and agenda report pack

Plans for the site can be found here.

4.0          Treasurers Report

As at 30th December 2016 current account  £247.24 Reserve account  £13,365.46.  Full accounts at the AGM but we made a small surplus.

5.0          Chief Road Steward Report

Thank you to Lynne Kauffman for organising with distribution of this month’s newsletter with various members of the committee and to the Road Stewards for their delivery.

We are seeking Road Stewards for Station Approach, Bourne Court, Melthorne Drive, Queens Walk, Queens Walk Terrace, West End Road and Wingfield Way

6.0          ARLA Site

Handed over with fit out expected by May.  Small delay caused by a power cut.

Developers hope to host an open evening event, which we will make open to SRRA meeting attendees, if we can.

Sid keen to look at the cinema as it built so following that closely.

Citygrove has purchased a sculpture which they will unveil.

Bellway housing opening on a different timescale.   The walkway to open linking to Station Approach as the commercial site opens.
7.0          HS2

Looks like it will go ahead.  Work to start at the end of the year.  HS2 forced to reveal data on housing purchase and compensation deals to make a more level playing field for people.

Tunnel from old oak common.

Need to dig up for sewers on Long Drive/Station Approach/Bridgewater Road/West End Road.  Concern the work will take a couple of years rather than just months.  The impact will be massive as Allan pointed out to parliament at HS2 hearing.

8.0          London Green Belt Council

No Issues

9.0          RAF

22nd July is the date for the family day only a little flying.  Circa 8000 tickets, meant to be a local event. £5 adults £3 children.

10.0        Community Voice

Linda typed up the minutes from the last meeting of Community Voice and we will circulate.  [Secretary – see the post here]

11.0        Youth Centre

Update from Allan and Lynne Kauffman.

Now organised by Dettie Quirke (who is running youth centres across the borough) who is actively seeking to regenerate activity for local children and aim to get the children back in with a series of targeted activities.  Open evening there tonight.  Youth workers will be full time over summer holiday.

“The centre is gradually starting to come back to life.”

On a day to day basis four youth workers at the moment.  Lynne Kaufman confident in roving care taker, Bill who looks to take pride in the centre.

Seeking Youth volunteers.  Dettie Quirke will come and talk to us at a future date.

12.0        Improving South Ruislip

After hearing a rumour from Sainsburys staff at SR that the store might close, Sid rang the David Mills Property Manager who said that it was a good store, trading well and not closing. Sid asked him about improving the store, and offered some suggestions and he will hopefully come back to us.

From Cllr Allan Kauffman.  Looked with officers at the parade as the area looks poor compared to the modern Dairy Development.  The trees to be pollarded or replaced and new pavements with more trees and seating.  Lots of planters by the railings and modular flower display – possibly paid for my SRRA.  Price set to be around £200,000.  Paid on S106 and TFL funds. Should happen in this year.

Concern expressed that once work done it will be dug up again and ruined by work such as HS2 and ARLA in the area.  Sid said that contractors would be obliged to return the site to the same condition.

Good Christmas lights next year.  Asked for green, white and red rather than colder blue and white ones.

Bridge works. Plans drawn up to clad the brickwork, with a higher walkway and better lighting.  Taken up with TFL.  Cost is circa £350,000.  Allan to continue to work on this.

Positive response to road changes at the junction of Long Drive and Victoria Road but request for better signage and consideration for speeding the southerly route onto West End Road from Station Approach.   Discussed difficulty in doing that and the knock on effect of heavy traffic and poor road layout at the Target roundabout.

Cars on Victoria Road, concern with parking both sides of the road.  Looking at changes to either one side of the road or both.  Likely to lose trees but will replant.

13.0        Great Central House, Great Central Avenue Opposite Station.

Aware of planning and councillors aware but it is not on planning schedule as yet.  Concern re overcrowding in the area.  Ex-Fireman expressed concern about buggies etc left in the stairway as it is a means of escape route and should be clear at all times.  Councils responsibility under the regulatory reform order.  It’s a protected route.  Allan said he would follow this up with enforcement officers.

14.0        SR Chamber of Commerce Update

Buying flowers in the parade on Long Drive, Sid asked in the Florist about the chamber of commerce and said that the response was so enthusiastic he was greatly encouraged.

Next meeting of the Chamber in Feb. Plenty of space for meetings without over reliance on the Ramada.  We support and Sid will attend a future meeting. Sanjay chair been trading for 30 years in car repair and we know he is very keen on the area.

Nursery expanding into adjacent buildings with positive trading.

15.0        SKLP

Historically disruptive to neighbours.  Not so bad last year.  Revitalise efforts and awareness amongst police and Hillingdon council officers when close to festival season.

16.0        Brackenbridge House – Slip Road

Corsa being sold from the area.  Illegally running a business.  Plan to block the area with no parking between 10am and 12am to stop vehicles being left there, such as the van advertising the hand car wash which does not seem to have moved in 5 years.  It is also bad for the nursing home at Brackenbridge House.  Parking changes have gone to consultation.

17.0        Alleyway Royal Crescent and Field End Road

Road resurfaced, part of this is due to work by David Seaman campaigning.  Needs bollard placing to stop cars cutting through in a somewhat dangerous fashion.  This element to be done at residents cost by a resident builder.  Resurface work paid for by the Chrysalis fund.

18.0        Boundary Changes

Keen to stay with rest of Ruislip rather than split off with Ealing wards and Hillingdon area.  Lady wrote asking what is happening.  We await the Boundary Commission’s recommendations in due course but it will take a while as due to affect 2020 elections.

19.0        AOB

19.1        Scam Email HMRC 

From Cllr Teji Barnes – Watch out for scam emails which contain promises of tax refunds.  Such as this one.

hmrc-email

19.2 Building to rear of Lidl Columbus House

Allan Kauffman – Bought by a worship group in 2013.  They put in a change of use to change to worship use and a retail use below.  A tiler currently works below.  This was refused for numerous reasons, mainly as an industrial area not for worship.

If they got planning permission it would add traffic and block the road.

[Secretary : It sounded like the application was not formally refused for change of use.]  They’ve also set up marques and events (non-permanent) which we would expect them to hold license for to operate.

Sid wanted to know what they could put in a petition against Lidl who is trying to act correctly legally and they stopped planning (albeit temporarily).  Can’t the council refuse the petition because it comes from a body operating illegally? Why are planning enforcement officers not following this up on it?

Cllr Lavery spoke (as a councillor who chaired the planing committee meetings).  They were presented with a  valid petition (which just needs 20 Hillingdon residents signatures to be valid regardless of anything else) at the meeting but it was never considered or explored as Lidl agreed to make changes to the plan to move things around.  However the committee can only rule on the proposition that is presented not one changed.  Thus the planning decision was deferred.   The meeting did not get further to consider the decision.

Lidl  came back with a revised scheme.

The councillors will follow up on the Columbus House site.  “It is being actively followed up on.”

19.3        Thank you

Thank you for the tea and coffee and the all the help getting the newsletters out.

19.4        Meeting Closed

Next SRRA Quarterly meeting is the AGM Wednesday 26th April 2017

 

 

Weekly Crime Update: Cavendish Ward

From the Cavendish SNT is this very local update.  Look forward to one for the South Ruislip ward;

Dear Readers,

Welcome to your weekly update.  Within these updates I will focus on local crime and the issues effecting you and the local community.  My last crime update has been very well received with some excellent feedback.  If you feel you have prevented a crime, seen some suspicious activity, and you believe other readers would benefit from knowing, please reply and it will considered for entry in to the next crime update.

I aim to send these updates on the Monday of the following week.  However, this will be dependant on shift patterns and availability of data.

Crime

Burglaries

17-03-2016 to 20-03-2016 – Field End Road, Ruislip – Suspects have kicked the rear door off the hinges and entered the property. No items stolen. Ref 0905611/16.

21-03-2016 – PM – Bideford Road, Ruislip – Suspects have entered property via a rear door.  Jewellery and cash stolen.  Ref 0905739/16.

21-03-2016 – PM – Oak Grove, Ruislip – Suspects have forced entry via a rear door.  No items stolen.  Ref 0905740/16.

21-03-2016 – PM – Seaton Gardens, Ruislip – Suspects have gained entry by smashing a rear patio door and forcing a kitchen window.  Witness has seen four IC1 males leave the venue and drive away in a black saloon vehicle.

Motor vehicle crime

22-03-2016 – Overnight – Ashburton Road, Ruislip – Suspects have entered vehicle by an unknown method and damaged ignition barrel. (See crime prevention below) Vehicle not stolen.  Ref 0905818/16.

24-03-2016 – Overnight – Windmill Way, Ruislip – Suspects have stolen a Silver Honda CBF-4 motorcycle with registration FX05YXN.  Ref 0905995/16.

25-03-2016 – PM – Denbigh Close, Ruislip – Number plates stolen from vehicle. Ref 0906058/16.

Theft – Person

No incidents reported.

Robberies

No incidents reported.

Assaults

No incidents reported.

If you were a witness to any of the above crimes or have any information, please call 101 or make contact by either of the means below.

Crime Prevention

Motor vehicle crime

Over the last few months there has been an increase in the number of ‘theft from’ and ‘theft of’ motor vehicles.  Many of these crimes have been reported where there has been no sign of forced entry to the vehicle or the vehicle has been stolen with the lawful owner still in possession of the keys.  I have made contact with PC Pick of Thames Valley Police who has been in contact with an expert at the vehicle testing centre in Thatcham.  He has offered the following information;

There are currently two main locking systems for vehicles.  These are key fob and keyless entry.  Both can leave your vehicle vulnerable to crime if certain precautions are not taken.

Key Fob entry

The system works by sending random combinations of code to the vehicle each time the fob is pressed.  Therefore, thieves copying the code is useless so they have come up with another way to prevent you from locking your vehicle.

Thieves are overcoming this by jamming the signal from your key fob to your vehicle by using a number of different devices.  These devices can be purchased from as little as £2 from the internet and come in many forms such as garage door openers and house light controllers/dimmers.  Many of these devices act to block your key fobs when you attempt to lock your vehicle.

Thieves are able to block signals in whole areas such as car parks or streets by hiding these devices in bushes with a clothes peg activating the device for long periods of time and without the need for them to be in the vicinity.

There is a solution.  Once you have activated your key fob, YOU MUST ensure the lights have flashed indicating the car has received the signal, and then check the vehicle is locked by lifting a door handle.

Keyless Car entry

The signal for a vehicle with keyless entry cannot be jammed so thieves will simply smash a window to steal your property.

The signal used for vehicles with this form of security system is unchanging and broadcasts continuously between the fob and the vehicle.  IT CAN BE COPIED. 

Fobs made by different manufacturers use different ranges and the signal can vary in terms of strength and useable distance.  This is the distance between the vehicle and the range in which the vehicle will be unlocked.  This can be up to 30 feet from the vehicle.  For many people this could be less than the distance between your vehicle and where you leave your keys once inside your home.  YOUR VEHICLE MIGHT NOT BE LOCKED.  Alternatively, if your fob is transmitting continuously, the distance between where the device is in your home and the pavement, driveway etc. may be sufficient for a potential thief to copy the signal.  Once copied the thief can not only enter your car but also steal it or any property within it.

The advice from Thatcham is as follows;

If you have a vehicle with a keyless entry system, keep the key in a ‘Faraday Cage’ where the signal cannot escape.  This is the same advice as given to us in relation to tap credit and debit cards.  You can now purchase small metal credit card cases at an affordable price.  You can then remove the plastic card holders and keep your key fob in there.  Search for RFID blocking case/wallet.

DO NOT leave anything on display that a thief may find attractive.  This includes any electronic/valuable items such as phones and sat navs, but also be aware of other items such as bags, child seats and clothing.

Have you been a witness to any suspicious behaviour that may be of interest to your local Police officers?  Please let us know.  All information is gratefully received.

Neighbourhood Watch

Are you interested in setting up a neighbourhood watch scheme for your road?  Get in touch and we will be pleased to help you.

  Ruislip Manor SNT       0208 721 2549            Email: manorward.snt@met.police.uk

 Cavendish SNT    0208 721 2550            Email:  cavendish.snt@met.police.uk

 Follow Hillingdon Police on Twitter @MPSHillingdon

Follow Insp Bryan on Twitter @MPSHillingNorth

 http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/  The UK’s national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre.

APS Tristan Brown | Team 3 North SNT  | Hillingdon Borough

MetPhone 741801 | Telephone 020 8246 1801

Address Ruislip Police Station, 5 The Oaks, Ruislip, HA4 7LE

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

Follow Insp Bryan on Twitter @MPSHillingNorth

Follow Hillingdon Police on Twitter @MPSHillingdon

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