Category Archives: News

Police Warnings

The Golders Green Safer Neighbourhood Team have passed on a couple of warnings:

Bogus Callers

Uniforms belonging to British Gas have been stolen.

If you are visited at your home address by someone claiming to be from British Gas without an appointment, do not let them in without checking with British Gas first on 0333 202 9802.

Keep your door securely shut, and if you have a door chain put it on.

Be aware of cold callers. If you’re not sure who is at your door, don’t open it. If you believe bogus callers are trying to access your home, call police on 999.

Check the identity of the caller by calling the company they are claiming to be from – i.e. gas, electricity, water or police.

Use the telephone numbers listed in your local directory or provided independently by your service provider or online on their website.

Do not use any telephone numbers provided by the caller – they may be bogus.

Catalytic Converters

We have had numerous reports of thefts of catalytic converters that took place in the last month in Golders Green, Childs Hill and Garden Suburb area.

The main function of a catalytic converter is to clean up the exhaust gases from an engine before they exit the exhaust pipe. It is a small piece/filter that looks like a honeycomb that the thieves are usually after.

Cars that have been targeted include the Honda Jazz and Toyota Prius. The converters in these old models are easier to access. Thieves jack up the car and saw the converter end to end in around 60 seconds.

When stealing a catalytic converter the muffler is disconnected, so your vehicle will sound very loud. Toxic fumes will likely be easy to smell. The vehicle should not be driven without the catalytic converter and instead it should be towed to a repair shop.

There are anti-theft systems, locks and alarms, which can be purchased online.
You can mark the metallic shell of your CAT. This may make it easier to be identified as stolen property.
Consider installing CCTV devices. They are also major deterrent and could cost less than replacing a CAT.

At times, these incidents have happened in broad day light. The best prevention is to raise awareness of the issue in your community, to keep an eye on your road and to immediately report any suspicious activities by calling 999.

Electoral Boundary Review

The Local Government Boundary Commission is carrying out an electoral review of Barnet Council. The deadline for making comments is Monday 3 December.

The aim of the electoral review is to recommend ward boundaries that mean each councillor represents approximately the same number of voters and to ensure that the ward boundaries reflect the interests and identities of local communities, as well as promoting effective local government.

Follow this link to have your say.

Cricklewood Tower Block?

Our sister organisation, NorthWestTWO, has drawn our attention to a proposal to build a 15-storey tower block in Cricklewood. The deadline for comments is 7 December.

The full details can be found at https://www.northwesttwo.org.uk/1-13/ where you will also find a link to Barnet’s planning site if you would like to comment.

Ben Tansley from NorthWestTWO writes …

The plan is to tear down the rather sad 3-storey block at 1-13 Cricklewood Lane (where the Co-op, Lucky 7 and others are) and the one behind it where the health centre is. They’ll be replaced by two 6-storey blocks and one 15-storey tower block.

Obviously this block would tower over everything around it and be totally out of keeping with the rest of Cricklewood. The developers’ answer is that the B&Q site and a lot more besides will all be redeveloped with about 20 new buildings! All that will hide their tower block and make it look small.

But they don’t own the B&Q site or the rest, nobody’s put in planning applications for it and Barnet council haven’t produced any master-plan for it. This is something the developers have dreamt up to justify their tower block. Of course, if this building’s approved, it will blight the land around it and limit the options for anyone thinking of building on it. Extreme-density, high-rise development will be that much more likely.

There’s a lot more wrong with this application – we haven’t even mentioned the transport issues, the lack of affordable housing, or so much else. You’ll find some of it on our website.

We don’t know yet when the planning committee will meet. They’ll only be able to accept or reject the application; they can’t strike a deal. If they reject it, the developers can appeal and then come back with a better plan. So if you want the Co-op building redeveloped but you don’t want a tower-block, do object to this application.

It’s worth remembering that this isn’t part of Brent Cross Cricklewood. The waste transfer station and the rail freight facility that were approved this year already had outline approval. A lot depended on them. This is different. The committee can reject it without endangering anything else; indeed, it’s the other way round. Local councillors Zinkin and Clarke have sat side-by-side and confirmed it has cross-party opposition. Six local residents associations stand together in opposing it.

To show to the committee how unacceptable this is, more voices are needed.

Buses in the Edgware Road

TfL has just launched a new Low Emission Bus Zone in the Edgware Road (Staples Corner to Maida Vale) area.

The zone runs along Edgware Road by Staples Corner bordering the North Circular (South side), Cricklewood Broadway, Shoot-Up Hill, Kilburn High Road to the junction between Maida Vale, Elgin Avenue and Abercorn Place.

There are now seven such zones, and TfL is aiming for 12 Low Emission Bus Zones for London by the end of 2019, helping to clean up London’s toxic air.

For more details, visit TfL’s bus improvements page.

Golders Green Ward Survey

The below link gives you access to the Golders Green Ward Survey for October 2018, so you can tell the Ward Panel, the police and the local council what the issues in your area are.

http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/GGRsurveyOCT2018/

Let us know so the Ward Panel members in collaboration with us and Barnet Council can try to solve the problems and make Golders Green a safer place to live

Fraud Warning

Our local police neighbourhood team advise:

A number of similar frauds have occurred recently.

The victim receives a phone call from someone who appears on their phone to be their spouse or partner. But it is not their partner on the phone. Instead, someone else states that they have been arrested for money laundering, and that an amount of money must be deposited via a bitcoin ATM machine in order for them to be released. (Bitcoin is electronic money.)

The victim is instructed to attend a bank, withdraw money in cash, and make a payment of up to £1,000 via a bitcoin ATM machine in a specific location. Payments are made using a QR code sent to their phone via WhatsApp.

On all occasions the victims’ partners are unaware of what has happened.

Please be aware of this type of scam and other telephone frauds. Do not let these people take advantage of you!

Stay sharp!

Subscriptions

Don’t forget that you can pay your annual subscription by direct bank transfer – account name: Golders Green Estate Residents Association, sort code: 30-93-50, account number: 07167465. Please use your surname, post code and house number as reference, and let the treasurer know.

If you would like to pay for more than one year in advance, the details are as follows:

1 year: £12
2 years: £22 (saving £2)
3 years: £30 (saving £6)
4 years: £36 (saving £12)
5 years: £40 (saving £20)

Unsure when your current membership expires? Ask the treasurer.

Relocate Donoghue Campaign

Donoghue’s is still a concern for all of us in the neighbourhood. Please support any initiatives to draw attention to the issues it causes.

In particular, do please continue to advise the Environment Agency (telephone 0800 80 70 60 day or night) if you see or hear any problems on the Donoghue site or on its vehicles (e.g. loads with no cover, excessive noise or dust). A photo always helps.

Donoghue’s planning permission allows them to work only on Mondays to Saturdays from 7 am to 6 pm. They are not permitted to work on Sundays or Public Holidays. If you witness any works on the site outside the permitted hours, please take a photo if possible and let the committee know.

If you see any of Donoghue’s vehicles committing any parking, speeding or other traffic offences, please take a photo and report it to the Police (telephone 101).

The Environment Agency recently commissioned a thorough site audit which highlighted a lot of ways in which Donoghue’s are potentially or actually in breach of their permit. One significant fact is that they are storing on site more than 3 times the amount of waste that they are permitted to. The Donoghue Out team are following this up. You can download and read the EA’s most recent newsletter EA Donoghues Newsletter Dec 2017 (PDF – 297 KB).

Finally, you can read a letter from the Health and Safety Executive that was sent to our MP, Mike Freer, in February HSE Report Feb 2018 (PDF – 346 KB).

Christmas Party

Thank you to everyone who supported our Christmas party in December, whether it was by offering a raflle prize, decorating the hall, catering, or just being there!

It was a fantastic opportunity to relax and to get to know one another a bit better.

Palace of Westminster Visit

We are grateful to our local MP, Mike Freer for organising the tour of the Palace of Westminster in February.

About 30 of us were able to attend. We were entertained by an impromptu speech from the Speaker, John Bercow, after which Mr Freer led us on an informative tour of Westminster Hall, with its magnificent hammer-beam roof, and the House of Commons.