JUNE 1998

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Annual General Meeting of the Executive and Area Committees was held as advertised in previous issues of The Resident and the following Officers were elected for the forthcoming year:

WEST AREA COMMITTEE

Approximately 50 people attended the meeting and heard Mr Peter Bulman, Business Planning Manager of Great Eastern Railway Limited (GERL), talk about the rail services for Billericay. He commenced by giving the results of a survey which showed that Billericay station was the fifth most important in the GERL area of Essex with 50,000 trains using it every year. Another interesting statistic highlighted by the survey was the characteristics of the people using the railways in the peak hours viz:

HIGHER CLASS              54% WERE IN THE SOCIAL GROUPS A&B

AMBITIOUS                 24% CORPORATE CAREERISTS

YOUNG                     35% IN THE AGE GROUP 24 - 35 YEARS

GOING TO WORK             97%

LOYAL                     65% HAD BEEN WITH GERL OVER 5 YEARS

NEW                       10% HAD JOINED THIS YEAR

The survey also showed that off-peak travellers were from all age groups and used the railway mainly for travelling to work.

Mr Bulman, in discussing future plans for Billericay, confirmed the statement in the April issue of The Resident that by the end of the year a lift for the disabled would be installed on the London bound platform. The Residents' Association, and others, has campaigned for some considerable time for both platforms to be made accessible to disabled people and is particularly pleased that this objective will now be achieved.

Addiional parking for 80 vehicles is to be provided in the existing car park and new cycle racks which will increase the number of places for cycles to forty will be available by the end of September.

 In conclusion Mr Bulman said that a new timetable would be implemented commencing on Sunday 24 September which would increase the number of fast trains to London to three per hour, stopping at Shenfield, Stratford and London. Attempts would be made to introduce "Through Ticketing" involving Eastern National and Thamesway who should see the railways not as competitors but as partners. Thought had also been given to introducing a GERL owned taxi system but this scheme has to be given more consideration before becoming fact.

In his report the Chairman, John Buchanan, identified as "the single most significant achievement of the Association in the last year" the formation of the Billericay Twinning Association BTA. Because he believed that much misleading information about this event was evident he then proceeded to outline the circumstances leading up to the birth of the BTA and concluded by saying that the Twinning Charter would be signed in St. Mary Magdalene Church, Great Burstead on Monday 7 September.

The Christmas Lights were also discussed with the warning that since the festoon cable had almost reached the end of its useful life unless money was available to buy new cable there was a distinct possiblity there would be no illuminations this year.

The formation of the Town Council and of the four Parish Councils was mentioned along with the involvement of the Association in planning matters in the town in particular St Andrews Site and the site of the Waitrose store. Mr Buchanan concluded his report with thanks to all the people involved with the regular activities of the Association.

The Secretary, Mrs Maureen Dann, informed the meeting that Basildon District Council had written to confirm that some of names suggested by the Association for roads through the housing development on St Andrews Site had been approved by the Council and the Post Office viz:

ST ANDREWS DRIVE - named after the hospital.

BURNS CLOSE - named after the Burns Unit,

DAWSON MEWS - named after a professor who worked in the Biochemistry Lab.

GREY LADY PLACE - named after a ghost who allegedly haunted the hospital.

NEEDHAM CLOSE - named after a lady whose father was in charge of the workhouse.

COULTER MEWS - named after a person who donated money to the IT Ward and named Coulter Ward

LANGDON MEWS

The meeting concluded with light refreshments and informal discussions.

CRUNCH TIME

The Crunch will be visiting the following locations between the hours of 9.00am and 12.00 noon:

At these locations there will also be a "Green Crunch" for separate disposal of green garden waste.Telephone 01268 294949 for information regarding recycling and waste disposal facilities.

Bring along your garden refuse and general rubbish. Not suitable for oil, paint and other waste liquids, please speak to the driver about disposal of these items.

STRAWBERRY TEA TIME IS HERE

The Billericay Fund Raising Group of St Luke's Hospice is holding its Annual Strawberry Tea at 110 Kennel Lane, Great Burstead on Monday 22 June 1998 from 2.00pm to 4.30pm. This will be the fifth year in succession that we have had the use of this beautiful garden. An admission fee of £2.50 per person covers the cost of the tea of fresh strawberries and cream, scones and jam and cakes. Stalls and raffles have been arranged. Guests are asked to bring their own garden chairs. All proceeds will be used to help the hospice to fund its ever increasing day to day running costs.

The Hospice is also planning to have a stall at the Billericay Fun Day which is being held at Sun Corner on Saturday 27 June. We look forward to seeing you all at both these events.

SATURDAY 13 JUNE - 10.15am to 12.00 noon. THE NATIONAL CHILDBIRTH TRUST NEARLY NEW SALE - SOUTH GREEN MEMORIAL HALL. Refreshments available. Admission 50p.

MONDAY 29 JUNE at 7.45pm at THE DAY CENTRE. NORSEY WOOD SOCIETY. PUBLIC MEETING.

"A WILD FUTURE FOR ESSEX - THE ESSEX BIO-DIVERSITY ACTION PLAN "

A panel of experts including:

Beverley MacLean - Assistant County Planning Officer
Gillian Thompson - Bio-diversity Officer, Essex Wildlife Trust
Karen Bamford - Environmemtal Co-Ordinator, Basildon District Council

will explain the ideas first muted internationally at the Bio-diversity Summit Meeting in Brazil and what the implications are locally. An open meeting and all will be welcome.

SATURDAY 13 JUNE - BILLERICAY LIONS CLUB - "MUSIC FROM THE LAKE CONCERT" at LAKE MEADOWS, BILLERICAY.

This will be the third year that Billericay Lions Club has run this event which has been a resounding success. In the previous two years over £25,000 has been raised for local charities and nearly 7,000 people have been entertained.

Music from the Lake is an Open Air Concert, the music as in the last two years will be provided by The Brentwood Philharmonic Orchestra, the programme will consist of a blend of light classics, swing from the big band era and themes from the popular musicals of today.

We have already received advanced booking for this years concert so demand is likely to be high. Tickets are available now and numbers will be limited because of spectator safety.

The event will run between 7.00pm and 10.00pm and entry to Lake Meadows will be from 5.00pm. Spectators are encouraged to bring along their tables and chairs, fancy dress, picnics, wine and candlelabras and settle by the magnificent lake to enjoy a memorable evening culminating in a stunning firework display.

Tickets can be ordered through the Billericay Lions Club Credit Card Hotlines daily before 9.00pm. The numbers are as follows:

01268-451570, 01277-634040, 01277-840024

Advance tickets are £9.50 per person (please add 50p for postage) On the day prices will be £12 per person. All programmes will be FREE on the night.

For further details please ring the Lions Answerphone Line 01277-631835

Alternatively tickets may be bought from the Billericay Lions Club Saturday Stall located outside Somerfield Supermarket in Billericay High Street.

THE RESIDENT is published by Billericay District Residents' Association Editor - Trevor Stansfield, 174 Perry Sreet, Billericay, Essex CM12 0NX. Tel: 623519 E-mail:vice.chairman@bdra.org
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