The dates for the next three road maintenance working parties are as follows:

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Upper Team: 23rd November 2019 (Houses 58 to 102 and 67 to 111)
Middle Team: 15th February 2020 (Houses 30 to 56 and 41 to 65)
Lower Team: 9th May 2020 (Houses 2 to 28 and 1 to 39 ).

Reminders will be sent out for each team a week beforehand. If you are not on the current mailing list and wish to be so, please contact John Dixon at 34 Ethelburt Avenue,(tel: 8055 0064 or email: jdd at soton.ac.uk).

Please observe the advisory speed limit of 10mph for Ethelburt Avenue. Stopping distances are increased on gravel.

Roofing Building and Maintenance. Ring Dave Mob: 07964 154022 Tel: 023 8194 1500. For repointing a chimney using lime mortar.

[see Appraisal and Management Plan, Policy BGE10, page 19 – Ed.]

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Around 90 people were at the barbecue on a very pleasant afternoon. The barbecue chefs were again Ken Hickling and Mark Wakeling. Josephine Wakeling supplied the vegetarian meals. For face painting, we thank Lizzie Cox and her merry band of helpers. Sue Kench and her two girls ran the children’s games.
Many of you observed the request to bring your own plates etc. So we cut down significantly on the use of disposable plastic and produced less waste.

There are many residents we do not see at this annual event. Would you like to have something different? Tell us what you think.

The Herbert Collins Estates Residents’ Association will require a new honorary treasurer in the near future. The duties include receiving subscriptions collected by the street representatives, plus payments for the Ethelburt Avenue Road Fund, paying these into Barclays Bank (the University Branch is the nearest) and keeping the necessary records. In addition, you have to make occasional payments, usually by cheque. You will prepare the annual accounts to present to the annual general meeting of the Association. As treasurer you will be a HCERA Committee member.

This is not an unduly onerous position, and gives you the benefit of being kept informed of all matters concerning the Association and the Estate.

Geoffrey is moving from the area. If you would like to offer your services please email HCERA.

Driving through Eastleigh and Chandlers Ford recently, I noticed that Eastleigh Borough Council have started planting some of the verges with wildflowers, managed by their StreetSmart team, and I thought how beautiful they looked.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could encourage Southampton City Council to do the same down Bassett Green Road and on the green in Stoneham Lane? They could run the whole way from the shop to Leaside way. Not only would it really enhance the area and look beautiful, it would be good for insects, butterflies and bees and reduce the need for the Council to mow the area thereby saving them money.

There is a Road Verge Campaign, plantlife.love-wildflowers.org.uk/roadvergecampaign encouraging councils to do this. As residents, could we get together along with HCERA and make a suggestion to the Council to do this? There is also an online letter you can sign which will get sent to the City Council. The more of us that do this, the more likely they are to listen.

In the last Newsletter, we said “the sale was about to be completed”. We spoke too soon. Two days
before the scheduled date, it had been suspended for an extraordinary and technical reason. A search had revealed an entry in the Land Charges Register made in 1950. This relates to just one house, and is an Estate Contract to buy it, when built. It was built and the buyer lived in it for the rest of his life, dying in 1977. The entry should have been removed in 1951 but wasn’t, and the solicitors want it removed before we complete. You can guess the rest of the story. Now in late July, documents to remove it are going to the Land Registry. Hopefully, completion will be very soon.

Woodhill Properties have agreed that in the meantime, we will deal with any requests for alterations. For enquiries please email.

The Association’s AGM is scheduled for Tuesday 15th October at St George’s School commencing at 7.30pm. Residents will be sent notices confirming the meeting about two weeks in advance.

The meeting may decide to appoint a director of Herbert Collins Estates Limited. So that it can be included in the notice of the meeting, nominations must be emailed to HCERA by Monday 16th September. Nominations must include the name of a proposer and a seconder and a statement that the nominee is willing to serve, if elected. Please ensure that you receive an acknowledgment of your email.

We have decided not to have an invited speaker this year to give more time for discussion and an opportunity for residents to meet.

Thanks are given to all who contributed to the collection and musical evening for Christian Aid. With gift aid, the amount raised was £341.19. The people who get the benefit are grateful; so am I.