Chairman: Ray George 75 Bassett Green Rd
Secretary: (Elizabeth Hudswell)* 23 Leaside Way
Treasurer: Andy Sharvill

Street Representatives
Bassett Green Rd: Mike Farrelly 59 Bassett Green Rd
Ethelburt Ave: Michelle Hickling 100 Ethelburt Avenue
William Greene 49 Ethelburt Ave
Field Close: Vacant
Leaside Way: Valerie Laurent 43 Leaside Way
Stoneham Lane: Elizabeth Cox 11 Stoneham Lane
Summerfield Gardens: Angela Cotton 8 Summerfield Gdns

Tree Planting Sub-Committee
Robert Williams 74 Ethelburt Avenue
Julian Ball, 65 Ethelburt Avenue
John Pointin 67 Bassett Green Road

Ethelburt Avenue Road Improvement Group
John Dixon 34 Ethelburt Avenue
(Repair Team Organiser)
Mark Farnell 58 Ethelburt Avenue
Dan Hopgood 18 Ethelburt Avenue
John Scoates 38 Ethelburt Avenue
Noel Waterston 59 Ethelburt Avenue
Rob Williams 74 Ethelburt Avenue.

Non-Committee Representatives for Ethelburt Avenue
Una Chandler 19 Ethelburt Avenue
Ruth Hopgood 18 Ethelburt Avenue
Peter Martin 52 Ethelburt Avenue

*Liz Hudswell will serve as secretary until Christmas. Liz, who has been secretary since 2006, is resigning because of other commitments. We hope to announce the new secretary shortly.
Our longest serving street rep Angela Gilbert decided it was time to hand over to someone else. We wish to thank Angela for her excellent service as street rep for Leaside Way. In her place we welcome Valerie Laurent.

Swaythling Lawn Tennis Club will be holding its annual fund-raising Quiz Night at the Pavilion on the Park, Eastleigh on Saturday 6 November. Doors open at 7.00 pm with the quiz starting promptly at 7.30 pm. Tickets cost £7.00 and supper is included in the ticket price. Please bring your own nibbles, drinks and glasses. For further details of the quiz, or to book a place, please phone Sarah on 8055 4645.

The AGM took place in a new venue of St George’s School hall.
In his report, the chairman noted the successful Open Gardens Day which raised £40 for Tools for Self Reliance. He thanked all those who made the Midsummer Party a great success. A party for Leaside Way residents was held on their green in September. It looks as if this will become a regular feature.
During the year there were two interesting refusals of planning permission. The first arose from a resident replacing wooden windows by wooden windows made by Everest. Retrospective planning permission was refused and an enforcement notice issued. The second was the refusal of an application for a car-port. This appears to have been the first such application since the Article 4 Direction. Following the refusal, the householder collected numerous signatures of residents saying they had no objection to the car-port.
The treasurer presented the accounts for 2009/10. The balances in the general and the Ethelburt Avenue repair accounts were both healthy. A £150 donation from Woodhill Properties had been used for the Midsummer Party and voluntary contributions to the party amounted to £60. Following the treasurer’s recommendation, the meeting agreed that the subscription remain at £4 per household.
John Dixon gave a report on behalf of the Ethelburt Avenue Road Improvement Group. The number of volunteers had increased and there were three working parties per year. Ongoing maintenance was going smoothly but implementation of improvements was more of a problem. People were needed to take responsibility and drive them through. The meeting agreed that the Ethelburt Avenue fund remain at £30 per household.

Following the AGM, Eleanor Evans from Planning Aid South gave a talk on “Finding Your Way Through the Planning System”. She emphasised how important it is to get in early in the development of planning policy. By the time a document goes out for public consultation it is likely to be set in stone. She explained what is and what is not a material consideration. The adverse effect of a development on the value of your property is not material. It is also good to have a planning application considered by the councillors on the Planning Panel rather than the decision being taken by planning officers. To achieve this you need the support of a ward councillor and at least 5 objections. A petition signed by 1000 people is still only one objection. The same standard letter sent by many people is still only one objection. What one needs is different letters from separate addresses.

Her PowerPoint presentation can be downloaded via a link in the online version of this newsletter.   
Part 1    Part 2  as pdf files.

If anyone is interested in joining a mother and baby group please contact Anneliese Green at 49 Ethelburt Avenue, tel: 8067 9562 or email hcera@talk21.com

Well, everyone wants to go to Africa to see lions, zebras and giraffes but we’re stuck here in Britain. No exciting animals here you might think, but right outside your doorstep there is a whole world right under our noses. Just in my back garden alone, I have found ladybirds, caterpillars, hedgehogs, foxes, butterflies and around 40 frogs (it’s hard to count all of them).

Angela (my next door neighbour) even has newts in her pond. At Monks Brook there are loads and loads of slowworms and even the occasional lizard. I have been down there many a time; once I even managed to snap these pictures.

Remember to look up at the sky. There are lots of birds and if you’re lucky, you might even see a buzzard. So next time you are out and about in your garden or out locally and don’t know what to do, look out for wildlife because there is more in this world than you think!

Following a gating order made on 6 August, the cutway between Summerfield Gardens and Greenways is now closed by a gate. The order will be reviewed annually.

Families living around the large green in Ethelburt Avenue are invited to help with planting bulbs in the green on Saturday 6 November starting at 10am.
If you would like some daffodil or crocus bulbs to plant in other public areas of the estate, please contact your street rep or send an email.

I have a Crittal window available for anyone who might like it for maintenance parts. It is large and has two opening panels.
Email: hcera@talk21.com
A pair of sunglasses was left at the Midsummer Party. To reclaim ring 8055 6056.