Essex puzzle enthusiast scoops £10,000 cash prize

A local puzzle enthusiast has scooped a £10,000 cash prize from the UK’s leading Prize Competition organisers, Prize Magazines.

Sheila Watkins from Hockley in Essex was presented with the cheque for £10,000 by Prize Magazines owners Tony and Judy Lane after winning the main prize in a national draw being run through their seven magazines.

Sheila, who is about to start receiving her pension later this year, said “What a brilliant boost to my pension! I plan to share some of the money with my family, visit friends in Portugal for my sixtieth birthday and go on a dream trip to Iceland. I have already treated myself to a Nintendo DS too!”

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‘Fair Shares for All’ Housing Allocation? - 365 is NOT a Fair Share in Hawkwell West

The story so far:

In the Summer of 2007, after the first public consultation, 32 Conservative Councillors met in private to allocate 2200 new housing units across Rochford District.  They came up with 365 for Hawkwell West and just 740 for the whole of Rayleigh.

The Liberal Democrats seem to have gratefully accepted the reduced allocation for Rayleigh and have not raised any objection yet to the allocations across the remainder of the District. Not surprising because any objection to what is going on elsewhere might lead to the Rayleigh allocation increasing !! 

But Lib Dem Councillor Chris Black, Leader of the Opposition at RDC, has written “We support a ‘fair shares for all’ policy for new housing in Rochford District.”

But how can 365 new houses in Hawkwell West be described as ‘Fair Shares for All’ ?  It is not Fair Shares At All !!

• A ‘Fair Shares for All’ policy would mean just 110 new houses in each of the 23 District Wards
• Rayleigh should have 1000 new houses not 740
• Hockley should have 330 not 36
• So why is one Ward in Hawkwell allocated 365?
• This would mean an increase in the number of houses in Hawkwell West by 25% Read more
  
  
  
  
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Rochford Square Plans

Comment from the Rochford Independent on the article in the Echo

So the shop keepers of Rochford Square don’t want it pedestrianised and they have been supported by 500 customers.  That should be enough for the RDC Chief to withdraw this idea.  The benefit of parking in the Square is not so much that it is free but it is convenient for the shops.  Even free parking elsewhere would kill off the idea of just popping out to local shops and the Somerfield close by.  Might as well go to the super centre supermarket then….perhaps.  And if Rochford is going to have free parking somewhere then the traders of other places will want free parking as well?

Villagers to fight housing proposal (from the Echo)

Villagers to fight housing proposal

By Geoff Percival

ANGRY villagers plan to set up an action group to oppose the building of 400 new homes in the area.

Rochford District Council’s blueprint for development until 2021 includes a proposal for 365 homes in Hawkwell, but only 36 in neighbouring Hockley.

The figure for Hawkwell had to be increased because of an agreement to cut the number of homes proposed for Rayleigh from 1,800 to 740.

The agreement followed fierce campaigning from Rayleigh residents, who complained the town would have taken more than half the district’s housing allocation.

Bullwood Hall Prison, Hockley in BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7059283.stm

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Local Residents in Hawkwell Meet to Oppose New Housing

The meeting was so well attended that the organisers, Jamie Popplewell and his neighbours in Mount Bovers Lane, asked Belchamps if they could move the meeting to the larger upper hall.  Luckily, Belchamps were happy to do this otherwise about 90 people would not have been able to get in because the small hall only held 60.

Over 150 concerned residents attended mainly because of the possible threat of new housing being allocated to the Mount Bovers field but also the threats to land at Thorpe Road and behind Rectory Road adjoining Windsor Gardens and Clements Hall.

Which Village Cops the Increase in New Houses from the Reduction in Rayleigh?

The Rochford Independent has been asked by residents to look at the original the housing allocations actually put forward to the public in the recent consultation and find out which parts of the Rochford District are the unlucky ones which receive the increase of 1060 houses from the Conservative Party resulting from the reduction in the allocation to Rayleigh.

• Rochford and Ashingdon increased by only 125 from 1000 to 1125
• Hawkwell and Hockley 400 (no change but Hawkwell West gets the lot !!)
• Smaller Settlements (Hullbridge,Canewdon,Stambridge & Great Wakering) increased by a MASSIVE 555 to 1055

Hawkwell Parish Council Opposes the loss of Green Belt for New Houses

Stuart Mennell
Clerk to Hawkwell Parish Council

Dear Stuart

I am writing further to our conversation this morning concerning the RDC public consultation on the LDF Core Strategy which took place in May and June of this year. 

As a District Councillor I informed residents by Newsletter that the RDC allocation to Hawkwell and Hockley was 400.  The District Council also released details of those landowners who had put their land forward for consideration of allocation for development.  You can find maps and descriptions on the RDC web site at http://www.rochford.gov.uk/rdc/main.asp?page=1101

365 New Houses for Hawkwell

365 Houses Allocated by Conservative Party to Hawkwell West but only 36 houses to Hockley

So far the only land put forward is all in Hawkwell West -  53.3 hectares = 1599 to 2665 houses at the density required by Government of 30-50 houses per hectare.

Where?

Off Thorpe Road (residential but ‘open to discussion’) 11 hectares = 330 to 550

South of Ironwell Lane 0.3 Hectares = 10 to 17

East of Clements Hall Sports Centre (‘residential or mixed use’) 14.6 hectares = 450 to 750

Magees Nursery, Windsor Gardens 3.1 hectares = 90 to150

So much for local consultation - Ignored !!

The Central Area Committee on 20 September in Hawkwell Village Hall considered a request by Hawkwell Parish Council for a Teen Shelter to be sited on the field adjoining Clements Hall Leisure Centre.  No details had been submitted before the meeting but the Central Area Committee was supposed to recommend this in principle to the Executive Board.  A large number of residents from Hawkwell West, my Ward, attended and some spoke out very strongly against this proposal.  Because no details had been submitted before the meeting no one knew if it required Planning Permission or not.  If it did not then the Chairman, also a Member for Hawkwell West but a Tory (Executive Councillor Derek (Steve) Stansby), said that the Executive Board would approve it.  Not so said an Officer and indeed Councillor Hudson, Deputy Leader of the Council, but the Chairman, wishing to push this through regardless of local opinion, the people he represents, insisted otherwise.  Under the circumstances I publicly voted against because it went against the views of residents and I had not even seen the details.  So much for local consultation.  Indeed I discovered in the Minutes of Hawkwell Parish Council that only 6 adults had attended their public meeting - so the rest,54,were young people and Parish Councillors.

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