Loughton Town Council

April 2010
The end of my interesting year as mayor is fast approaching but this is still a busy time for the town council. Towards the end of February I gave a presentation to Paul Banks, the new Headteacher of Roding Valley High School, on The Brook Project. He gave the project his enthusiastic support although needed to seek reassurances about the project not taking over land used for school sport. I agreed to mark up the fields so that he could discuss the areas concerned with the sports staff. Unfortunately bad weather intervened, followed by the Easter holidays so the mark up has had to be rearranged. It is coincidental that the District Council held a session on emergency planning at about the same time which considered a range of emergencies from pandemics to flooding! It was, however, reassuring to hear that the Councils at all levels have prepared well for any emergency- we hope!
One of our highlights of the year is the Civic Service. This year it was again held at Loughton Methodist Church but I wanted to do it a bit differently and involve more young people in order to pass on a sense of community to all ages in our community. As a result we had the choir of Staples Road School and representatives of youth groups providing us with readings and at the same time were able to provide that sense of occasion in which to present our Civic Awards. Overall it was judged a great success.
Early in March I was invited on a tour of Epping Forest College and later in the month took part in the Ofsted appraisal of the College following its poor showing in 2009. We were very pleased to hear that the Ofsted assessment noted huge improvements in 11 out of 12 measures. Our thanks go to Jeannie Wright, the new Principal, for such a remarkable turnaround in such a short space of time.
Also in March I was interviewed by the Loughton Youth Project live over the internet and I was pleased to be able to give the project my full support. They are doing a great job and I wish them well as they develop to their full potential. A litter pick was arranged across various locations in the middle of March with mixed public support. Councillor Murray and I organised one in Roding Road alongside The Brook but public support proved disappointing – a pity when one of the biggest complaints the District Council gets from the public is the level of litter on public land.
One annual fixture is the Loughton Music Festival to which the mayor is always invited. This year’s main guest was the Lord Lieutenant of Essex, Lord Petre, who was due to be met by the Chairman of the District Council. Unfortunately she was unable to come and I became the host assigned to look after the guest. By coincidence the guest speaker was Stuart Macdonald, a distinguished BBC producer with whom I had worked many years ago! The evening was, as always, most enjoyable and it was great to see so much young talent in our District.
During March we planned our first ever annual Mayor’s Charity event, this year settling on a fun run on the Roding Valley Recreation Ground. As a new venture we really had no idea of the level of support it might receive and were concerned that it could turn into a flop with little money raised for the charity, The Dream Factory, that provides treats for children with debilitating or terminal illnesses. Once planning started we began to realise just how much organisation needs to go into such events but it all came together in the end thanks to a huge effort from council officers, councillors and community groups including Loughton Athletic Club and Chigwell ATC who provided marshals for the running route. We were lucky with the weather and had an excellent turnout of over 60 runners, raising over Ł680 for the charity. Everyone had a great time and we could not have wished for more. All indications are that the fun run may well become a fixture in future years but that will be for a future town mayor to decide.
I will shortly be passing the mayor’s chain on to my successor and I hope that he or she finds their year as rewarding as I have. My thanks goes to the town council staff who have given me great support during the year and especially in the way they have risen to the tough challenges I threw at them without complaint!

February 2010
Efforts in February have been stepped up with the work on the Civic Service and the Mayor’s fun run intensifying. The Civic Service is now fully prepared and invitations have gone out. It will be slightly different this year as I wanted more young people involved. As a result, my short film of pupils from Staples Road School talking about friendship will be included in the service and the school choir will sing for us. The whole service will have the theme of friendship and what it means in today’s society.
We are also now gearing up for the launch of the publicity for the fun run on the 18th April which will be raising money for the Dream Factory, which provides trips and treats for children with terminal illnesses. Like all such ideas I did not initially fully grasp all the work that was involved in setting up such an event. The original idea that all the planning would be done by councillors as officers would be under pressure during that period has not entirely worked out but I am doing what I can to take pressure off them.
On 20th February the Deputy Mayor and I spent the day with EFDC Countrycare on land adjacent to the allotments Willingale Road surveying the site for a possible skateboard park and doing some site clearance with a view to creating a wildlife park in the area as well. It was a great day for getting some exercise with ideal conditions if slightly wet under foot (with amazing timing considering this year’s bad weather). There were about 8 people working most of the day but it was a pity more volunteers did not turn up, especially young people who stand to benefit from the work. Perhaps we need to consider how we go about publicising such events in the future. Grant funding for such projects is usually heavily dependent on the volunteer effort that is going in to it and this project will certainly need grant funding to match the money set aside by the Town Council to complete the job.
For some years I have been chairing a committee to restore The Brook as it passes primarily through Roding Valley High School grounds in Roding Road. This project has the support of both the Town and District Councils. After some delay caused mainly by the retirement of the headteacher it is now back on course with the enthusiastic support of the new headteacher. This will no doubt consume huge amounts of my time from now on and long after I cease to be Mayor!

January 2010
After the hectic run-up to Christmas, January is normally a quieter month but this year there has been no let-up, although I have to admit it is not all council business!
A major pre-occupation this month has been the Civic Service on the 28th February. I have wanted to do something a little different this year by getting more young people involved so they can learn about their council and what it does, and help instil in them a sense of pride in their local community. To do this I have invited the choir from Staples Road Junior School to sing songs about friendship and will involve young people more in the service. I have filmed some of the children from the school and asked them about friendship. Their answers will form part of the service and we will also show a short clip from a video about Haven House, our nominated charity. All this has needed editing and liaison with the minister, Revd Tony Morling. We are close to being ready now and I hope I have not been too ambitious, especially as the Lord Lieutenant of Essex as well as our local MP will be attending!
Whilst this has been going on I am jointly leading a team bringing together the Staples Road Infant and Junior Schools into a new Primary School and at the same time recruiting a new headteacher. This is a huge amount of work and although I am doing this as the Chair of the Junior School governing body and it is not a council responsibility, the Town Council clearly has an interest in the success of this amalgamation in order to support our local residents who have, or will have, children in the school.
Another much delayed and fraught project I am leading is the restoration of Loughton Brook as it passes through the Roding Valley High School playing fields along Roding Road. This has, after much delay due largely to the change in leadership after the retirement of the previous headteacher, been given the go-ahead by the property committee of the governing body of the school. I must now resurrect the scheme, which has been dormant for some time, and consider how to go about securing grant funding in order to complete the project. The design is more or less complete and just needs signing off by the governing body of the school, and a plan drawn up to involve the school in some of the volunteer work that will be needed which is part of the conditions for the funding.
Finally I am driving forward plans for our first Mayor’s charity event, a fun run on the Roding Valley Recreation Ground on Sunday 18th April at 10.30am. We are raising money for The Dream Factory which provides children with terminal illnesses with a treat, such as a visit to a theatre to meet the stars, or go to a football match to meet their favourite footballer. It involves a lot of organising but we are getting there. Put the date in your diary! You do not have to be a runner, you can even walk round if you choose! Application forms will be available on this website or directly from the Town Council’s offices.
So much for a quieter time after Christmas!

December 2009
When you take on the role of Mayor the one thing that shines through when you are out meeting people is that, despite the doom and gloom put about by those who feel that society is breaking down, there are many great people out there giving their time freely to good causes which make such a difference to the lives of so many people. The Christmas card competition triggered the start of a host of seasonal events. Celebrations really got under way with switching on the Christmas lights in the High Road from the forecourt of St. Mary’s Church. This was preceded by performances from Staples Road School choir and musicians from Roding Valley High School in the Church to a capacity audience and an outdoor theatrical performance from the Loughton Youth Theatre where High Road crowds swelled numbers even in the chilly early evening. No doubt the distribution of mulled wine and mince pies helped the proceedings along!
The following day there was the more reflective and moving Light up a Life Ceremony at the war memorial in aid of St. Clare Hospice, supported by the Davenant Community Choir and addressed by the curate of St. John’s Church.
I attended a local government conference in London on the 2nd December. This concentrated on what we can do to support our local economy when our own funds are going to be tightly constrained. Amongst other items there was a useful presentation on the future of our local High Streets which are under a range of pressures from out-of town shopping malls to internet shopping. Should the character of our High Streets change to encourage more of a café culture rather than try to compete with the big shopping malls and the internet or should we seek to preserve our High Streets as an attractive environment where people can meet socially but also find shops that interest them.
Debden’s Winter Fun Day followed on the 4th December including switching on The Broadway Christmas lights. A good crowd was entertained by a choir from Willingale and Debden Park Schools and this was followed by a buffet at the Winston Churchill for guests of The Town Centre Partnership.
Another not to be missed event is the annual performance of the E15 Acting School panto at Christmas. This year it was Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the Looking Glass. It was so professional with superb performances from the cast, imaginative script writing and set design that it could have been performed in the West End! We can be fortunate to have such a specialised college on our doorstep which has launched the careers of many well-known performers over the years and has now become a faculty at the University of East Anglia.
The following day I was invited to the Grosvenor Drive Hall to see Kidz Club in action. What a wonderful experience to see such a packed hall of young children having the time of their lives and organised by such enthusiastic volunteers! The sense of community is alive and kicking in Debden! With such dedication we will hopefully have a new generation of youngsters that will also want to contribute positively to society. Unfortunately I had to tear myself away to dash off to the civic carol service at Epping Upland Parish Church, a thousand year old gem in our rural countryside.
During the week I also toured The Broadway and the High Road looking for the best dressed Christmas shop window. The decision was so close I had to go back a second time and then compare my choices with the other judges. Fortunately we all agreed! I am convinced that brightening up our shops at Christmas brings out the shoppers and lifts what can be a dreary month for weather.
The 17th December saw our inaugural tea dance at the Murray Hall, very much a toe in the water to see how it worked. It turned out to be a major success with around 60 people turning up to dance and enjoy tea and mince pies. They were asked to fill in a questionnaire and were universally enthusiastic about the event and the location. Since then a couple have volunteered to run a monthly tea dance in the future so I am sure it will become a regular event in the Murray Hall calendar. Couples came from far and wide for this tea dance but next time we hope to attract more local people.
Just two more events to go, another civic carol service at Broxbourne on Sunday and presentation of the cups to the winners of the best dressed window competition on Tuesday before the Christmas break overtakes us.
After all the downbeat news about the economy and climate change it is time to indulge in a little celebration and put those problems behind us for a while.
I wish you all a Happy Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

November 2009
Requests for a Mayor’s presence at various activities always rise as we approach the winter months and Christmas in particular. This season events kicked off with an invitation to the Civic Service at Broxbourne on the 4th October which was widely attended by Mayors from a wide geographical spread around Hertfordshire and South West Essex, and included the Chairman of the Epping Forest District Council. As one Mayor put it, he had never seen such an assembly of the ‘chain gang’ in one place before. It was a lovely service and I was most impressed with the parade of banners from so many organisations, from the scouts, guides, and so many other mainly youth groups.
One of the most important meetings for me was the AGM of the CAB at Epping on the 20th October. As a result of the credit crunch they have seen a huge upsurge in clients. Not only did they have insufficient qualified staff to cope with the demand but also had to cope with small and unsuitable premises to interview their clients. Sitting on a District Council committee that has been investigating the credit crunch to see how we can help residents through their difficulties I learned to appreciate how much effort the CAB has put in to supporting so many people facing difficulties with meeting their financial commitments.
One of the decisions a Mayor has to make is whether to have a Civic Service and, if so, where to have it. Following the success last year I decided to repeat the same location but this year I hope to place an emphasis on youth. This will require considerable planning and I held the first meeting to discuss our approach with the Minister of the Methodist Church in Loughton towards the end of October for the service which will take place at the end of February. A new innovation this year is a Mayor’s charity event; probably a fun run on the Roding Valley playing fields, to raise money for The Dream Factory which provides days out and treats for children with terminal conditions, which I hope will tie in with the youth theme at the Civic Service. A number of supporters have agreed to help with this and our first meeting is arranged for next week.
A highlight for the Town Council at the end of October was the Roding Valley Recreation Ground activity day. Amongst other things a temporary skateboard facility was provided on the tennis courts to sound out the interest of young people in such a facility on a permanent basis and consultation as to where it should be. About 200 young people turned up and put the facilities through their paces (mostly bikers it has to be said as the ground was too uneven for skateboards) and the day was rated a huge success. The Council will now review the information it has collated and will press ahead with the project for which it already has earmarked funding.
On a more sombre note I attended the Act of Remembrance for Armistice Day at the war memorial at 11am on the 11th November, a short but moving ceremony. It was really pleasing to see how effective the cleaning of the war memorial had been. All agreed it was money well-spent.
The next day I was pleased to attend Epping Forest College with the Deputy Mayor and the Deputy Town Clerk to talk to the Principal and the Chairman of Governors generally about its place in the community and ascertain the improvements since its poor Ofsted report a year ago. It was really pleasing to receive a very up-beat report of the inspection just carried out by Ofsted which rated the College as ‘satisfactory and improving’ in 11 out of the 12 areas examined with very favourable comments, which is a huge improvement in just a year. The commitment to work with the community and to become the College of choice for local students was also very encouraging. We followed this with judging the Christmas card competition where we had record entries from Infant and Junior age groups although sadly nothing from senior schools and only one adult entry. Judging was an enjoyable task and it was a difficult choice but in the end we chose an Infants entry for the Town Council’s Christmas card.
The next month promises to be very busy in the run up to Christmas and we are hoping for a much improved Christmas lights display compared to last year where some problems were encountered.

October 2009
September commenced with my attendance at the inauguration service for the new vicar, Revd. Malcolm MacDonald, at St Mary’s Church. The church was full and the town gave him a warm welcome. Unfortunately a slip in the proceedings meant my carefully prepared speech fell by the wayside but I am sure it was not missed! After a holiday on a yacht for the first time in my life around Turkey with a team of other amateurs I now regard myself as lucky to be here to complete my term of office! It was certainly an exciting holiday but one I am not sure I shall be repeating!
On return it was immediately back to work, hitting the ground running. I attended many meetings including the new Local Highways Panel at the District Council where we discussed how funds devolved down to District level from County would be allocated to local highways schemes and joined a committee looking at how the District wishes to respond to Government consultation on the issues that arose from the extensive flooding in the Country in 2007 (parts of our District are prone to flooding). I supported the new LINk organisation which replaces the old Patients Forum. As LINk covers such a wide geographical area (Essex and Southend), discussions centred on how local people can be engaged with the process and make their views known about local health service provision. All members of the community are automatically ‘members’ of LINk and have a right to attend all meetings and to be heard although it is meant to look at strategic issues, not personal issues which should still be taken up through the hospital complaints procedures. Current issues are the discharge arrangements at hospitals, particularly for the elderly and infirm and, locally, cross- border issues between London and Essex. A public meeting has been arranged at Murray Hall on the 13th October between 5pm and 7pm for anyone who is interested.
I attended the Essex Wildlife Trust open day at the Ingrebourne Valley site in Hornchurch. The site is on the old WW2 airfield and some remnants are still visible. The local streets are named after famous pilots from that era including Douglas Bader. The area has now been made into a wildlife habitat by EWT and some unusual species are returning to the area including water voles, and many species of birds, some quite rare. The site is much valued by the local people and money has just been raised for an impressive interpretation centre. If the one planned for our own Roding Valley Meadows site is anything like as impressive it should bolster the popularity and educational value of our Meadows immensely as well as assisting the warden to manage the reserve more effectively. Unfortunately, our own Meadows have suffered badly from vandalism this year and it is sad that some local youths do not value what is on their doorstep and realise that the damage they do in the end hits the pockets of their parents to put right. It is a difficult area to police but we hope the local users will be the eyes and ears of the community and report any suspicious activity to the police who have promised a quick response to calls.
The Loughton Brook restoration project, which I Chair, is grinding on slowly. This is mainly because engagement with the school, which owns the grounds, has been slow and difficult, the summer holidays imposing a necessary but unfortunate delay; however, the Environment Agency has given its support, insisting on only some minor changes that can easily be accommodated. We are waiting for a response from London Underground about changes to the station footpath but it has to be said they are a tortuously difficult organisation to engage with and we are still awaiting a response from them after several months of exchanges of e-mails.
We are approaching that time of year when the combination of Halloween and Guy Fawkes can lead to mayhem on the streets. Last year the police were able to keep things under control very effectively but it would help them immensely if parents could monitor their children’s access to fireworks as well as be aware of what they are up to on those nights.
On the Roding Valley Recreation Ground we are looking forward to events planned for half term including a temporary skateboard facility on the tennis courts, and in the longer term the council is working on a new project – the installation of an outdoor gym suitable for all ages.
This has been an exceptionally busy few weeks, not all perhaps directly Town Council business but certainly tackling issues that are of direct relevance to the residents of Loughton. It is so easy these days to criticise what is wrong with society but it is harder than ever to get people to commit the time to do voluntary work. We should, however, keep it in perspective and it is immensely satisfying when I see so much being achieved by many people who are our unsung heroes doing voluntary work in our community.

August 2009
Already the evenings are starting to close in and our promised glorious summer passed us by again. Inevitably Council business slows a little during the holiday season but some of our major events take place during the summer and the highlight of this summer events season has to go to Debden Day attended by the Chairman of Epping Forest District Council and myself as guests. Credit must go to the organisational ability and drive of the Chairman of The Broadway Town centre partnership, Dave Stannard, but also to the team of people who give up much of their time to make the day a success. It was especially important this year as it was the official opening of the refurbished Broadway and because the traders were determined to pick themselves up after the combined effects of the disruption of the road works and the recession. I was particularly pleased to be able to introduce our guest of honour, Sapper Jake Luton, who was mentioned in dispatches in Afghanistan for clearing mines for about 11 hours on his own in temperatures of around 40 degrees in order to clear a way forward for his troop to move forward to a new position. I was proud, on behalf of the Town, to present him with a certificate from the Town Council recognising this singular act of bravery.
This year the teams of performers, with Oliver as the theme, were simply outstanding and the “Debden Has talent” spot proved just how true that was. I was particularly impressed by the free carvery for about 100 of our elderly local residents at the Winston Churchill which did more than anything else for me to demonstrate the community spirit of the people of Debden. This is a community event and it is gratifying that most political parties respected the nature of the event as a fun day and not one for party politics.
Another enjoyable event this summer was judging the best allotments in Loughton with the help of the Chairman of the Environment and Heritage Committee, Caroline Pond and the Deputy Town Clerk, Shirley Haynes. It was a tough decision as there were many plots of a high standard and I felt I had to go back a second day to confirm my selection. It is gratifying to see so many people, not just growing their own impressive fruit and vegetables during the recession, but also putting so much effort into creating an attractive appearance by using their plots in creative ways.
The Council itself has remained busy during the summer and after a successful grant application we will shortly be getting a new playground in Westall Road and plan to follow this with an outdoor gym on the Roding Valley Playing fields suitable for all ages.
Finally, slightly unusually, was the invitation to the Bengal Spice Indian Restaurant in Loughton, which was celebrating the international award held in Barcelona of The Curry Chef of the Year to their executive chef. The lunch that followed the presentation certainly demonstrated that the award was well-deserved!

July 2009
Early June saw Local and EU elections which kept Councillors and their supporters busy at a time when the public view of politicians was at an all time low. Although I am happy to say that local politicians have not been tarred by such scandals it did lead to some interesting encounters on the doorstep! After the effort of the elections I felt I deserved a short break in Wales where the weather was mostly kind.
Epping Forest College held its open day on 29th June and I think all visitors were impressed both by the facilities and by the enthusiasm of the staff and students. There is a genuine sense of pride returning to the College, helped of course by the great new facilities. This was followed by its award ceremony on 2nd July for outstanding achievements by both students and staff, a relatively new innovation which I strongly support. The awards were presented by the Chairman and Leader of the District Council which gave the evening a real sense of occasion and it was good to see so many high achievers, especially those with, in some cases, considerable outside commitments or responsibilities.
On the 3rd July I attended an exciting cricket match at Loughton Cricket Club, which was celebrating its 130th anniversary, between a junior eleven and a visiting Maori team from New Zealand. There was also a display organised by Business Link to give help and advice to local businesses that are experiencing difficulties during the recession, which I understand was a great success. I was back there again on Sunday 5th July for the annual Howzat town event which unfortunately was not well attended this year. In particular the turnout for the extremely good jazz band in the evening was tiny. We must do more to promote this event next year.
The 9th July was the sad occasion of Councillor Malcolm Woollard’s funeral. He had lived in Buckhurst Hill almost all his life and dedicated much of that time to the local community in many ways, not least by his membership of the local operatic society of which he had been a stalwart member for many years. He will be very much missed, not just by his friends and constituents in Buckhurst Hill, but by his colleagues at the District Council too where his passion for the whole of our District was evident at so many of our meetings.
Allotment judging is a new experience for me and little did I know what I was letting myself in for! I thought a casual stroll round the allotments for an hour or so would soon highlight the exceptional ones. In the end it took a whole afternoon just to cover two of our allotment sites and then Councillor Caroline Pond (the other judge) and I both felt the need to go back a second day to re-visit our favourite sites before finally agreeing the winners. We still have some vacant plots but it is good to note that there has been more recent interest in taking on an allotment. It not only saves money but it gives you a supply of fresh produce and you can derive great enjoyment and satisfaction in growing your own at the same time.
Oakview School had its fun day on 18th July and I was pleased to be asked to open it as not only was it a good cause but the organisers had put in a tremendous effort to raise funds for a school which makes huge efforts for those less fortunate than ourselves. It included a talent competition in which our MP, Eleanor Laing, my wife and I were all judges. With only two entrants it was quite an easy decision to have two equal winners! Once again it was a pity there was not greater support for this excellent cause from our local population.
The whole of the following week saw me helping to run a holiday club for young people where, amongst other things, I took groups swimming every day. Although not Council sponsored, this is an important week in my calendar as it really provides an exciting week for children just starting their school holidays. It was exhausting but really enjoyable.
As we head into the holiday season perhaps life will slow down a little but somehow I doubt it!

June 2009
A month into the job and one of my first appointments, Ladies’ Day, organised by the Epping Forest and Commons Committee of the City of London, was most rewarding and informative. Not only was it a beautiful day for a tour of part of the Forest to see the work carried out by the verderers but I also learned much about this wonderful heritage and resource on our doorstep, something so many of us take for granted. Yet if it was not for the foresight of influential and dedicated people in the late 1800’s we might, today, have been facing the prospect of losing it forever under a sea of new housing or other developments. Many of us do not realise what a unique heritage it is with over 50,000 veteran trees over 300 years old, and 6,000 acres of land so close to London, including plains, ponds, lakes and woodland. The exciting news is that they have been successful in obtaining a significant lottery grant to restore the Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge, where Henry VIII wooed Anne Boleyn, and the adjacent Retreat; as well as the implementation of a new strategy for signage, roads, grazing, bridleways and transport. Developing stronger links with the towns, including Loughton, is a high priority and we hope to be working closely with them over the next few years as the plan unfolds. It is a local treasure of international importance that perhaps we do not always appreciate as much as we should.
As the year progresses we are seeing the effects of the recession biting ever deeper and this is impacting on the lives of many of our residents and businesses. Seeing the shutters going up at yet more shops is a depressing reminder that some of us are falling on tough times. It has never been more important than now for the community to pull together so that we are well-placed to capitalise on the situation when the economy begins to pick up. For those in real difficulty with debt or other problems the important message is to seek help early before it gets out of control and most of all steer clear of loan sharks. Whilst the Town Council has limited scope, your local councillors can advise on where to go for help, including the CAB and the District Council who will be able to advise on whether you are missing out on Housing or Council Tax benefits. I am also working at the District Council to try to find ways in which we can help people in trouble, including the possibility of joining a Credit Union which gives low interest loans and has regular savers accounts.
Meanwhile we should all be supporting our local shops. There is no doubt some of our shops are struggling. They need all the help they can get. The Broadway has a vigorous Town Centre Partnership and they have been going through a particularly hard time with the total closure of the Broadway for a while during the enhancement scheme at the worst possible time in the recession, but they are pulling together to bring their shopping area back up to profitability. Their joint efforts for Debden Day, on 29th August this year is an example of what can be achieved when communities pull together. We need an equally vibrant High Road Partnership too. To that end on the 3rd July at Loughton Cricket Club there will be a Business Link event to promote jobs and provide business advice in the Town and on Sunday 5th July the Howzat festival will take place at the same venue after the farmers market, two activities on the same day not to be missed. Come along with the children, have some fun and support your town.
Finally some of you will have seen the display in the library or at St. Michael’s Church of the proposed restoration of Loughton Brook as it passes through Loughton in Roding Road. Thank you to all those who filled in the questionnaire which came out almost unanimously in favour of the scheme. Details still have to be worked out but the scheme in principle has the support of Roding Valley High School, the Epping Forest Conservators (establishing one of the Town links to the Forest referred to above) and the Environment Agency. It is likely to involve teams of volunteers to carry out much of the restoration work. It is a great way to support your community and very satisfying. If you are interested contact me through the Town Council.

May 2009
At this year’s Annual Council meeting on 20th May, I was privileged and honoured to be elected as Town Mayor. In my inaugural speech I promised to do all I can to further enhance the reputation of this Council in the coming year as one that puts the citizens of our town first. I also paid tribute to the work of my predecessor, Cllr Chris Pond, as he served during what was a very busy year for the council.
It started with the Council staffing re-organisation, which thanks largely to his hard work went ahead very smoothly. If you are a regular visitor to this part of our website you will be aware that Chris attended a huge number of events in his year, about one a week he tells me, in order the raise the profile of the Town Council and this has proved very successful as far more people now know who we are and what we do than ever before. His duties included presenting a 100 year old resident with a book, a royal visit, a blue plaque ceremony to celebrate a royal mistress (if that is the right word) and kicking a football with Trevor Brooking – I would have liked to have seen that! As a result of Chris’ dedication, the Mayor is being seen as associated with the Town rather than the Council which is as it should be.
The highlight of the year was probably the Civic Service and I, for one, admit that whilst I supported a civic service I did have some reservations about the civic awards being handed out at the service. In fact, both the service and the giving of the awards at the service proved very successful, thanks in no small measure to the organisational skills of the Town Clerk and her staff. It did much to raise the profile of this Council, and it is something I intend to repeat this year.
The Mayor’s notes on the web were a new innovation last year which I hope to continue but I could never be a match for Councillor Pond’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the history of Loughton so I guess I might still be leaning on him from time to time to put my contributions into context.
Many of our residents will face a difficult time in the coming year as a result of the current financial crisis and our first priority must be to support them in any way we can although we have to accept that our direct powers are limited. However, we may be able to find ways of supporting businesses, particularly in the Broadway, who have been having such a tough time during the refurbishment works. We have a strong and respected voice in the community and will continue to lobby the District and County Councils to encourage them provide more support to our hard-pressed traders so that our High Streets can return to the vitality they once were. In that context I feel it is essential that we re-launch the High Road Town Centre Partnership this year perhaps under a different name, and hopefully make it as vibrant as the Broadway TCP. There is no doubt that these partnerships are one of the keys to regeneration that our High Street sorely needs. Coupled with that, we need to keep vigilant to deal with litter, graffiti and fly posting in the town as these combine to drag people’s perceptions of place down and I would like to see every councillor dealing with any violations they come across as swiftly as possible, although not personally of course. EFDC is providing an excellent environmental service now so let’s use it. Just last week I had graffiti removed, some alongside the path to the swimming pool which was very offensive, within 48 hours of it being reported and this week I have reported the graffiti on the side walls of Oxygen and Timsons in the High Street.
There is so much I would like to do during my year in office but I am also a realist. If I can achieve anything in this year of office I would like to see an increase in the sense of pride in our community but this will require all of our councillors to be pro-active in our communities and not just reactive when we receive complaints. We also need to keep up the pressure on other bodies that should be looking after our interests. By that I mean County to complete the High Road enhancement scheme, the District to complete the parking reviews in Debden in particular and the PCT for perceived health inequalities in our town that has areas of deprivation as well as considerable wealth. Of course there are others, not least Epping Forest College which had such an appalling Ofsted report this year and is so much in debt it has been forced to close the Debden Community Centre and sell off Loughton Hall, depriving our young people of a popular and well-supported sports facility. Some councillors, me included, have been very vocal in criticising the College and I like to think that thanks to our intervention EFDC now has been given observer status on the governing body and County are on the case. We have every expectation that this status will become a full governor in time which is a start. Meanwhile, we still need to be vigilant that the College, which is in the centre of our education system locally, continues to improve. It needs to be the college of choice for our youngsters and perhaps this is the turning point!
In other words we should not only do what we can but also identify what we feel others should be doing and lobby them accordingly. I sometimes think these other organisations have neglected Loughton, perhaps because we are near to London, forgetting that we are the largest town in our District.
I will end my first Town Mayor’s notes before it sounds more and more like a sermon than an acceptance speech and look forward to serving our local community as Town Mayor in what I sure will be another busy year.

April 2009
This is the last Town Mayor's Notes from me as the Annual Council meeting on 20 May will elect the new mayor for 2009-10.
Spring has been wonderful in Loughton this year. Two weeks of clear, sunny weather, have brought out the blossom, and the Roding Valley, for instance, is covered in hawthorn blossom and wild flowers. Gardens have been superb, with the spring flowers everywhere making a fine display. And I would like to applaud the gardens in the Town, ably tended by the EFDC parks department, and the Town Council's flower baskets in the High Rd.
It has been a good fortnight for a number of civic events, such as the commissioning of the new disabled fishing platform paid for by the County on the Roding Valley Lake (the platform is in Loughton but the fish are lurking in Chigwell, as the boundary is very strange hereabouts), the inauguration of our new flagpole on the Town Offices, for which we had a short ceremony on the morning of St George's Day. The first Loughton Citizenship awards were given at the Civic Service in the Methodist church on 23 April - and two acts, one of great extempore bravery by John Davis, after a bad car crash on the B1393, and the other to Audrey Bowles for 25 years sustained service to disadvantaged youngsters at the College. Such service is what binds a community together and makes it a good place to live.
The Loughton Festival has been going on, and has attracted many people to the various events, which include walks, lectures, poetry readings and a showcase, where Loughton societies and organisations set forth their programmes and publications in the Loughton Club in Station Rd.
We also had an evening of performance in the Murray Hall, which was a tribute to the entertainer, Stanley Holloway, who died in 1982. I'd like to see the Murray Hall used more for this sort of community event, and it was an excellent cooperation between Town, District, and County council staff.
I've been to a few other councils' civic services and events, too. Some have been rather triumphalist and impressive, others more modest and friendly, as I have tried to keep our events over the year. I've much enjoyed my year as Mayor, and would like to thank the Town Council Staff and in particular Joan Innis for their invaluable support.

March 2009
Loughton is enjoying a perfect spring. The padded coats, scarves and gloves are still on the coat hooks as a reminder of the sub-zero winter, but March has given us May weather, reaching 60°F (~16°C ed) some days. As I type this, the leaves on the amelanchier outside are bursting into leaf, and a green-gold haze has appeared on the forest trees as their buds swell. I've just done a filmed interview for the BBC on some of our Forest customs - whether they use it or not is another matter - but it reminds me how closely the Forest and Loughtonians have been linked over the centuries. Our Forest is not a great, wild, deserted, untamed place; it has been managed over the centuries to provide a source of fuel and, through grazing of cattle and pannage of pigs, food as well. Lopping was stopped in 1879 (though the survival of the Forest owed much to the tenacity or stubbornness of the Loughton people - that is why the Town Council honoured the chief lopper, Thomas Willingale, with a blue plaque) and grazing died out after BSE.

At the March council meeting, we considered a motion regretting the current state of Epping Forest College, following its recent dreadful OFSTED report and the (temporary?) closure of the Debden Community Association sports hall, which is on college land. The Council unanimously agreed to seek to meet the governors and our MP, Mrs Laing, to express the views of the town, some of which were most eloquently put by councillors. We are desperately concerned for young Loughton people who are having to seek post-16 courses a long distance away. Only one of our three secondary schools has a sixth form, and one school governor reported how many young people had approached her worried about the range and standard of courses offered at our college. The Town Council has no responsibility for the college, but it does have a responsibility to our community to convey their concerns to those who may be in a position to act. We are glad to see many of the sports clubs affected by non-availability of the Sports Hall, which was largely paid for by public subscription, have found another home at least temporarily, but we hope they can be accommodated back in the DCA hall as soon as possible.

February 2009
The occasion of a lunch with the Loughton Probus Club where I was the speaker got me thinking about two things connected with our town, the history of its local government, and the degree to which all local voluntary organisations seem to recycle the same people.
Loughton was, of course, an ancient parish. As Luccastun, with Alrewaton and Tippendune (Alderton and Debden) it appears in the Domesday book, itself a sort of prototype Council Tax valuation roll, compiled so King William knew who to tax and how much. But it has been part of various larger units; the county of Essex the whole time, and the Hundred of Ongar. When parish and district councils were created in 1894, we were a parish of our own - and how keenly the first elections were fought! -- and for wider purposes, part of the Epping Rural District Council area. Towns which were emerging were created Urban Districts, out of the RDC; in Essex, for instance, Epping got its UDC in 1896, Leigh in 1897, Brentwood in 1899, and Loughton in 1900.
The trouble with larger units is that local concerns can get submerged. Loughton UDC was amalgamated with Buckhurst Hill UDC and Chigwell parish from Epping RDC in 1933. The story goes that Loughton and Buckhurst Hill could not agree on a name, and so the prize was tossed to the junior partner, the new boy, Chigwell. A big mistake! The very names of Loughton and Buckhurst Hill disappeared from the maps, and people got completely mixed up to find the Chigwell UDC offices/town hall in Loughton, and the Buckhurst Hill High School in Chigwell.
So names are important. I get very cross when Epping Forest District is referred to as "Epping", something of which the County Council is frequently guilty, and I am keen to reinforce the sense of place and civic identity for Loughton, which lots of local societies, like the LADS, the Probus Club, the Historical Society, the astronomers, etc, all do.

An interesting point was made at the Probus lunch, by a gentleman who was engineer and surveyor to the old UDC in the 1950s and 60s. At that time, the garden of the old house called the Shrubberies in the High Road, which fronted the shopping street, was laid out as a public garden, with seats and flower beds. The Council had the option to buy it for Ł22,000. The relevant committee voted the proposal through, only to have it overturned by Full Council. And on that site was built in 1963 the then huge Coop supermarket, now Centric Parade, and the process of uglifying the High Rd took an inevitable further step.

All voluntary organisations need person-power, not just to attend meetings, but to organise. Almost everybody at the Probus lunch was active in some other field, some in many societies. To anyone who is reading this, and who takes little or no part in wider activities -- get volunteering! Your town needs your effort and experience, and you will find it amply rewarding. There are so many clubs, churches, societies, pressure groups in Loughton there is bound to be one in which you can use your talents.

January 2009
A happy new year!
This January, we seem to have gone from very dry and very cold weather to wet and (reasonably) warm. Because Loughton is built on hills, walking or driving on unsalted roads or pavements can be very hazardous. The Town Council has tried to make up for the fact that Essex County Council seem to forget some of the county is hillier than Duke Street Chelmsford, and thus don't pre-salt any roads which are not primary routes or bus corridors. We provide grit and salt bins at some of the junctions in hilly parts of the town that residents have told us are the most dangerous, and I have been pleased to see that people have been making good use of them.

I gather that twelve million people watched the Christmas 2008 Eastenders episode - but how many knew it was filmed in Loughton? The location was Connaught Water, which a lot of people assume is in Chingford. It is not. By a quirk of the boundaries, the lake is shared between Loughton and Waltham Abbey, and the actual boundary line follows the actual course of the Ching Brook before the lake was made in the 1880s. In fact, one might be forgiven for not knowing the boundary, since although the Welcome to Essex sign greets you on the A1069, the Loughton sign is missing, and we've asked for it to be replaced.

The Town Council has set its precept. This year, we are asking for an increase much less than the rate of inflation. We have been able to do this by good housekeeping, and using some reserves, because we know the economic situation is making it difficult for many of our residents to make ends meet. Quite a few shops are empty in the High Road, not so many in the Broadway, where rents are at a lower level. Our two Woolworths closed with all the rest in early January, and quite by chance, the Historical Society's Newsletter this month contains some memories from a Loughtonian who recalls the sense of wonder the High Rd Woolworths engendered when it opened in 1937. Nothing like it had been seen in the town before.

We also received the news that our Quality Status was reaccredited - one of the first to be gained in the county. I am very pleased to see what we try to do for the people of Loughton being recognised, and we will hope in the coming years to do even more, especially if jobs are handed on by the principal authorities.

December 2008
Like all Loughtonians, I was very saddened to learn of the death in Afghanistan of 19-year old Marine George Sparks, who lived in Theydon Mount, but who as a boy attended Debden Park High School here in Loughton.
My father served in the Marines, who are often the forgotten service, whose work is much less well known that that of the Navy, Army, and Air Force, but who for 300 years have served their country faithfully, often in the most difficult of circumstances. My mind goes back to another Marine, with the same surname, Bill Sparks, one of the cockleshell heroes, whose house in Loughton is marked by one of our blue plaques.
George Sparks died in the service of us all in a faraway country. We are proud that he grew up among us, and immensely sad that he died bravely doing his country's work in the most dangerous of circumstances.
Our thoughts and prayers will be with his family and comrades during the funeral service on 13 December.
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A week before Christmas, and most of the pleasant duties a mayor has to perform before the season are over. I was pleased to switch on the lights in both the High Road and the Broadway, to judge and then present the prizes for the Christmas Card design competition, to help judge and then take round the cups for the Best Dressed Window contest, and to attend various other events, such as Light up a Life. Despite the recession, the Christmas spirit seems alive and well in Loughton.

One of our important Loughton facilities is the E15 Acting School, University of Essex, as I have mentioned in these notes before. Their performance base in our town is the Corbett theatre, which is also, by a strange quirk, Loughton's oldest building, but it has been on its site in Rectory Lane only since 1966. For the previous 500 years, it stood on a farm at Ditchling, near Lewes in Sussex. Today, I met a group from Ditchling, who told me how in the 60s, what was to become a building site was rescued by the community to form a village green, but the barn on it had to be disassembled and sold to defray the land purchase cost. That barn was bought by the Acting School, with the help of Harry H Corbett, and re-erected 65 miles away in Loughton, to become the Corbett Theatre. A most interesting story, especially as we in Loughton are trying to create five village greens to prevent any possibility of their being covered with houses! The timbers of the old barn that for centuries resounded with the sound of flail and hay cart now resonate with the comedy or pathos of the production. I wondered what the Sussex yeoman who had the barn built would have made of the remnants of the pantomime giant that adorned the old place today?

I was then able to take the group on a walk round one of the three Loughton conservation areas, to point out something of the architecture, historical interest, and the views, both over the Forest and over London, that our hills afford. I think we were a good antidote to the "flat, boring, Essex" fable.

May I take this opportunity of wishing everyone a very happy Christmas? I'd also like to thank the town council staff for their hard work, support, and general cheerfulness in what has been a year of great change for them. Public servants, generally, are often criticised, but our staff at LTC are really first rate.

November 2008
November is always a busy month, and November 2008 was no exception.
The month started with the twice-yearly parishes' public transport meeting, held this time for Harlow and Epping Forest in our own council chamber. In 2007, the bus operators decided, without any consultation, to move the long established main bus stops by Sainsbury's at Debden to a remote location a quarter mile away, and 500 yards from the station. This has been the worse decision in a decade for the travelling public, especially the aged or infirm, but it has taken an age and literally tens of meetings and phone calls to get it all reversed. The District Council has now given permission for the bus shelters in Torrington Drive to be moved, and with any luck, this will be the linchpin of getting the situation righted. But things move so slowly, especially when 6 different organisations are involved.

I was proud to lay the Town Council's wreath at the War Memorial on Remembrance Sunday, and to be present also at 1100 on Armistice Day itself. By next year, I hope we shall have re-laid the pavement by the Memorial, and cleaned and renovated the column itself in time for its 90th birthday. It was designed by the Loughton architect, Thomas Weatherall, and unveiled in the summer of 1920. A few years ago, we added the names of the WW2 dead, and of course, in 2005, we inaugurated a civilian war memorial too, on the site of one of the worst incidents, at Loughton Police Station.

This year, we have instituted citizenship awards, and I would like to encourage anyone who knows, for instance, of a dedicated volunteer who has benefited the people of Loughton over the years, or one who has, by a single act of bravery, helped Loughton people, to make a nomination. You can download a simple form here.

November ended with the switch-on of the High Road Christmas lights. Last year various factors combined to make the High Road "dark". This year, the newly re-elected Town Council decided it would not suffer the dozens of complaints received in 2007, and quadrupled the grant to the Town Centre Partnership, who erect and organise the lights. A good job we did, considering the difficulties some traders are in, and their consequent inability to fund much of the display themselves. It was a great pleasure, therefore, to switch them on, after a spirited performance of carols by Staples Road School, and a drama by Roding Valley High School. This coming month I will also be switching on the Broadway lights on Friday 5th December at 4.30pm and leading the Light up a Life ceremony on Saturday 6th December at 4.30pm at Kings Green.

Our Christmas card competition attracted many more entries than usual this year, and a striking computer-assisted design based on our landmark, the Lopping Hall, by Jason Walton was the overall winner. But all the entries were excellent, and you can see the class winners and a selection of the entries on display at the Loughton Library until 8th December.

I was glad to read that government support for Citizens' Advice is to be increased. I hope some of the extra cash will come to Loughton, where the Town Council has supported our local CAB markedly over the years. That brings me on to LTC grants for all voluntary groups and local charities, for which the deadline for applications is 31 December. So fill in your forms now! They can be downloaded here.

October 2008
October has seen the issue of Debden's green spaces rumble on - now the District Council has apparently decided not to consider specific suggestions for development sites just yet, but instead, first to develop a wider brief on where in the District, and how much development might be expected. Strange they didn't do this before the August decision to put forward our green spaces! When I attended the play devised by the E15 Acting School on 18 October about the saving of Epping Forest, I was rather forcibly reminded that the fight to save green spaces, started in 1865, still goes on today! Meanwhile, the Town Council is collecting evidence for the registration of some of them as village greens -- this request for information will feature prominently in the next Think Loughton. The more evidence we can bring the better, and I was heartened to meet a lady the other day who took children to play on two of the greens at least 40 years ago, with no notices even then prohibiting games of any kind!

Talking of games, it is well known I cannot tell one end of a football from another, but I was very pleased the other day to meet Sir Trevor Brooking, who kindly came to Loughton to unveil the blue plaque to Ron Greenwood on 22 Brooklyn Avenue, Ron's first house in the town. Sir Trevor and I were near contemporaries in two different Essex grammar schools, he at Ilford County High, and me at the Monoux. Now I know why we generally lost at soccer to Ilford CHS.

We have decided to mark those who give special service to the local community - and acts of bravery as well, by making new citizenship awards. The details of these, to be awarded in March at the Civic Service, will also be in Think Loughton.

In November, we mark the fallen of conflicts by two commemorations at the Kings Green War memorial, and I shall be honoured to lay the Town's wreath. These are always moving occasions, made more poignant by the fact that Loughton people are still serving their country and facing great danger at the present time; I was pleased to come across at a recent reception for returning troops a constituent who had served in Afghanistan, with all the perils that entails.

September 2008
The quick reaction by Town and District Councillors to the attempt I described in August to designate open spaces on the Debden Estate for possible future development proved positive. Five of the District Councillors who also sit on the Town Council called in the decision, and the call-in was upheld by the EFDC Overview and Scrutiny Committee at a well-attended meeting held on 28th August 2008 with over 120 concerned residents in the public gallery. The webcast of the meeting can be viewed here.
This does not mean the battle has been won, but the concerted action meant that the attempt to get the decision out during the holiday month failed, and the cabinet member will have to reconsider.
September is the month when local council activity recommences in earnest, and our Environment and Heritage Committee decided to back up the actions of its District Council members by starting the process to register most of the open spaces that were threatened, and a couple of others, as village greens. This is a long and tortuous process, and success is not guaranteed, but it does demonstrate the strong support that exits in Loughton for the retention of these greens.
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Long-serving town councillors were saddened to hear on 22 September of the death of former Labour councillor, Mike Sellears. Mike was elected for the old Debden Green ward in 2000 and served until 2004.
He was a life long amateur football enthusiast, particularly interested in youth football; and one of his main concerns on the council's former Environment Heritage and Leisure Committee was sporting facilities.
Mike was liked and respected by councillors of all parties. We knew he had been in poor health, but were shocked to hear of his untimely death. Our sincere condolences go to his family.
I shall represent the Town at his funeral at 1400 on Friday 26th at St Mary's Church.
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I attended two very different appointments on 26 September.
The first was the funeral of Mike Sellears, at which the Town Clerk and several other councillors and former councillors were present also. It was a moving occasion and was attended by over a hundred people, a big component of which was former players from Border Rangers, the team "The Gaffer" had been associated with for over 30 years and to which he gave such time and effort.

The other event was an open-air lecture in the Forest to University of Essex E15 Acting School students, about the events leading up to the saving of Loughton's forest as an open space, and the many and varied attempts the landowners made to enclose and build on it. The very lively and intelligent students were researching and writing a play on this theme, to be performed in the Forest on the afternoon of 18 October. ( http://www.east15.ac.uk/ ) Do come along! Though I could answer many, I was stumped by a few of their questions, and they were most intrigued by my trusty billhook, which I took along as a prop. The billhook was the principal tool used by the loppers, which has almost entirely fallen out of use. If there is a symbol of Loughton, the billhook is surely it!
The defence of open spaces is of course a very current issue, as my earlier entries in these notes will show. I hope the District Council cabinet member, who has now to reconsider his decision to list the Loughton greens for possible building, will do the honourable thing and withdraw them from consideration entirely, in the face of the Town Council's and local residents' implacable opposition to this idea. For just as in the 19th century, Loughtonians were determined to save their open spaces, so they are now.

August 2008
August is a quiet month in local council circles, but there have been a few planning applications and decisions which have caused some concern, plus a proposal slipped in from the District Council to put forward in the "call for sites" for development some of the open spaces on the ex-LCC Debden Estate. This does not mean they will be built over immediately, but it does mean, if the decision is unchallenged, they will go on a list and may be regarded as fair game.
The open spaces in the north of our town are greatly prized, for informal sports and recreation, walking the dog, and generally allowing the 650 acres of Debden to breathe. They were deliberately designed in to make the estate a "garden city" in the best mid-20th century architectural tradition.
The Town Council has been discussing whether to attempt to designate some of these greens as "village greens", and has taken a decision in principle to do so. Land in Loughton is under great pressure, particularly when development land can change hands for in excess of Ł2m an acre, so the Town Council, as the only truly Loughton representatives, will defend the greens staunchly.

July 2008
We have recently taken delivery of the new silver chain made for the Town Mayor to wear by Vaughtons of Birmingham. Some councillors have said spending Ł1000 on the chain is a waste of money, but the importance to me of the chain is the dignity it gives to the Mayor's office and the town; not, of course, to the person.
I well remember, when Mayor before, giving a centenarian a present from the Town on her 100th birthday. The very astute lady, having been warned over the years of deceptions and scams of all sorts, immediately replied "If he's the mayor -- where's his chain?". The chain and office of town mayor is central to my desire to make our council relevant in all possible ways to our town, and to restore something of the civic pride of Loughton, which has been so lacking in the past.

In similar vein, I attended last week the AGM of one of Loughton's less prominent, but very worthy charities, Rider House in the High Road. Affiliated to the Abbeyfield Society, this is a house adapted to provide homes for 9 less able, but still independent living, elderly people. They provide living accommodation, plus well refurbished and comfortable shared areas, cooked lunch, and service, all for less than Ł250 a week, and within a couple of minutes of Loughton's excellent shops and facilities. A small paid staff is aided by a dedicated group of trustees and volunteers.
For information about Rider House, vacancies, and facilities, call 020 8418 0482