Subject: Newsletter2

If you can’t see this email correctly click here

If you do not want further copies of this newsletter please email dave@aowr.org.uk & you will be removed from the list

Association of Westborough Residents

Monthly Newsletter

Issue #2 July 2011

Hi all,

This is the second edition of the newsletter we plan to send out every month to keep you all up to date on what is happening in the ward. There will be a copy of meeting minutes here if we can persuade someone to take them, don’t all rush at once! There will hopefully be the text of the Councillors report at meetings email & personal approaches followed by promises of reports have not materialised. These same Councillors will be after your support next year perhaps!

There is a meeting scheduled at the British Legion Friday 05^th Aug at 7.00 to discus the current problem, the ‘management’ have put up posters to deter members from finding out what is going on & hiding behind Latin phrases. They are also claiming to be three management members, one of these named members resigned in May, so the ‘management do not have a mandate to run RAW in accordance with the RAW constitution.

We are trying to restore democracy to RAW

dave batter dave@aowr.org.uk

top of page

Tales of the Residents Association of Westborough

So many lies have been told by the officers of RAW that I felt that I should put down a few words to tell of the recent history of RAW.

I have been concerned about the running of RAW for a long time. The constitution was changed so that the 3 officers could run it like a dictatorship. For example they sent a letter to councillor Luty telling not to attend RAW meetings without consulting or informing the committee.

They ordered members not to attend the quiz night that was run by the British Legion which was nothing to do with them.

The final straw from my point of view was the attempt to rig the nominations for the AGM. Those of you who know me will accept that I can’t be involved in corruption and I refused to go along with it. Although the ballot rigging attempt failed I decided that I could no longer work with corrupt officers. I decided not to stand at the AGM and 6 people were elected to join the committee.

The 3 corrupt officers refused to let Dave Batter join the committee despite him being properly elected. They did not consult or inform the membership.

A group of three members decided that they must account for themselves at an SGM by sending in a request according to the constitution on 12 May 2011 and this was signed for. To date they have not held this SGM. At the meeting 20 May 2011 they made a statement that they refuse to hold an SGM and also refused to answer questions from members.

They have not attended the following two meeting or written to the members since or returned £1000 belonging to the members.

They have been holding a campaign of intimidation against anybody who has complained about them. This includes knocking at people’s doors and windows shouting and swearing, sometimes late at night, malicious phone calls and crazy letters. They have expelled so many members that I see it would be difficult to hold a meeting.

At the meeting on 17 June the members decided to ask the councillors to send them a letter asking that they resign or attend the meeting on 15 July to explain themselves. The members also held a vote to remove the expulsion from all the members that had been excluded. At the meeting on 15 July the councillors refused to allow the Residents meeting to go ahead. The 3 officers did not reply to the members or attend the meeting.

The members had a separate meeting of the Residents Association of Westborough, which was independently chaired and ordered that a special General Meeting was to be held on 5 August to vote whether to remove the 3 officers and to elect new officers if required.

Please attend this meeting and you are all invited to stand for office. I hope that RAW will again start to campaign for the needs of residents. I hope that we can stop for a soft drink or beer after the meeting and discuss any issues further.

Peter Duncan

Hi all just seen this in the RAW site www.roaw.org.uk

JUNE MEETING Cancelled pendente lite

JULY MEETING Cancelled pendente lite

AUGUST MEETING Annual Summer Break

SEPTEMBER MEETING ---- To Be Advised

We have noticed articles in various newspapers to the effect that the Resident's Association of Westborough (RAW) has held meetings on June 17 and July 15 and will hold a forthcoming special general meeting on August 5 at the Royal British Legion, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.

These are malicious hoaxes by a disaffected group of ex members and have no basis in fact. Unless the meeting is advertised here on our website it does not exist.

What the above seems to mean is that the remaining two elected committee members of RAW are too scared of the members to show their faces & explain their actions at the meeting in May when the secretary according to others was shouting at members ‘shut up’ & la la la’ They know they will be voted out of office at the first opportunity so are trying to bluff it out, the AGM is due in January I can’t wait

They call themselves a triumvirate but in actual fact are a duumvirate , The treasurer resigned in May, I have seen the email.They also state pendente lite look it up!!

In case you missed it there is a bit on the site that says

No part of this site can be copied without the express permission of RAW.

Another bit

This website remains the property of RAW and may not be altered, removed or reproduced with out the express permission of the RAW Triumvirate: B.Smith Chairman, J.Smith Treasurer and D.Glover Secretary.

WHOOPS OK now find the copyright statement

That word triumvirate again, there are only 2 the treasurer resigned in May

dave@aowr.org.uk

Councillors Forum 15^th July 2011

Royal British Legion

Westcliff

We were expecting the ‘management of Raw to appear to give account for their action

Statement from your Westborough Councillors, at the Councillors Forum 15 July 2011.

At the request of residents at last months Forum, your Councillors wrote to the Executive of RAW.

Today your Councillors jointly received a letter from R.A.W. It is marked private and confidential and is not released to any third party. We have asked Brenda if it may be read out to the Forum this evening either in full or an agreed abridged version of the letter, but these requests have been refused.

So your Councillors must proceed as follows:

Any attempt to discuss or influence events concerning RAW business may be prejudiced to ongoing legal investigations. Accordingly any attempt to do so may be interpreted as witness intimidation or perverting the course of justice. Therefore we will not allow any discussion, votes etc. on RAW matters and we therefore recommend that any concerned RAW member contacts Brenda Smith directly. For the time being there is nothing more your Councillors can do on this matter.

It is our intention to continue with the Councillors Forums for the time being, as a vital resource for the residents and we would of course, welcome our involvement in any Residents Association connected to Westborough Ward.

We now move onto the Agenda for tonight’s Councillors Forum.

top of page

Jubilee Beach

There is good news for people with disabilities. The council have now built a wheelchair ramp onto the Jubilee beach. This is next to the fountains. This now means that wheelchair users can get onto the beach.

Unfortunately they have done away with the parking space next to it and there are no wheelchair accessible places nearby. There is room next to the fountains and this could be allocated as a 90 degree parking space that wheelchair vehicles need.

The car parks can’t be used by wheelchair vehicles due to the height limit. I hope that this will be done in the future.

Peter Duncan

top of page

Prittle Brook

I often walk along the brook as a form of exercise. I have noted that the council have surfaced this with loose gravel. I have observed that cyclist skid quite dangerously when they brake on the loose gravel. All the other cycle paths in the town have a tarred surface and I wonder why this form of surface was chosen. Do any of you know the reason for this?

Peter Duncan

top of page

Airport Rail Station

With regard to the subject matter, when the Airport first announced the building of a rail station at Southend Airport, i wrote to Southend Council, Rochford Council, Essex County Council and Thames Gateway suggesting that as the surrounding area is served by two/three bus services which pass the airport/proposed new rail station, once the station is open there will be residents from the surrounding area wishing to use the station. Therefore would there be a bus interchange facility on the road coming from Warner's Bridge to Rochford. Each authority passed the buck, but it would appear that Rochford says no because they feel that if a bus interchange facility was built on land between the new rail station and the road it would destroy the small area of green between Southend and Rochford thus possible reducing the visible independence between Rochford and Southend.

It is for you to decide if this is true, however the argument could be put that with the large amount of housing in the area both sides of the airport then the amount of residents who will use the airport rail station will increase and as every train leaving /arriving at Southend Victoria is booked to stop at the airport rail station i think my argument is justified.

Alan Grubb

Hi all,

I drove to the new terminal, it is not far from the Warner’s Bridge roundabout, possibly 200 metres or so I did not measure it, the roundabout is around 100 metres from the existing bus stops. So for the vast majority of people it is closer than long term parking at Heath Row, Gatwick or Stanstead, well within walking distance. Currently there is a bus from the station to the old terminal, so if they are running a bus for that, around 400 metres in all I guess they may run a bus to the new terminal from the bus stops. If not I guess there will be loads of airport trolleys on the footpath.

Dave Batter

top of page

Weight limit on A1158

There was some discussion with Cllrs on the subject of heavy vehicles using this road, better known as Westbourne Grove. The road is fairly wide as you know on most of the northern section but narrows severely in the stretch from Fairfax Drive to London Road.

I drove along A127 to the slip road looking for signs, they are not too clear & in my opinion poorly placed, I use that slip road often, had not seen the signs before. So it is plain why they seem to be ignored, perhaps the Cllrs will get this matter sorted before one of the tank transporters take out a few cars near London Road

Dave Batter

top of page

RAW website

This has been updated

top of page

AWR Minutes

None this month

News reports

Echo June 2^nd [the RAW implosion]

Councillors reports

To follow! It is advised you do not hold your breath

Sites