By Carl Phillips, Chair
It was a very sad day on Thursday 8th September when we all heard of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. A bit of a shock too. It seemed she would go on forever. We will miss her. Now, we must support Charles, King Charles III, he has an unenviable task of following in her foot-steps. We wish him well. GOD SAVE THE KING! *************************** Currently, we are still in the (unending) process of setting up a separate bank account for collecting subscriptions (now £5.00 per house) for the Residents’ Association. Shortly, there will be a newsletter, delivered in the usual way by your road stewards, explaining that this is an additional way of paying. You can still pay the stewards directly if you do not want to pay online. We are still looking to find some volunteers to monitor a Facebook page we have nearly set up. Call me – Carl Phillips – on 07850 722379 – if interested. *********************** The high street is managing quite well at present. It even featured in a piece on BBC TV London News (w/c 5th Sept). The reporter interviewed Mocha D owner Enko, about the difficulties faced by small businesses in terms of rising energy costs. The report also described Shepperton as “a busy high street with many small businesses”. Exactly!! And they all need your continued business. So, SUPPORT and USE your local high street…as much as you can!! These are difficult times for all. We have some movements in the Barclays Bank building with the “Wool Shop” beginning to take shape in one half and the possibility of another business opening in the other half. This one is still the subject of consultation. The Burger Bar ‘Smoky Boys’ looks to have been delayed yet again. Building setbacks has sadly pushed any opening towards the end of the year. But it is coming! On the planning front, the Studios extension work ploughs on, with the building site now in full view. Heavy traffic issues continue to cause concern and these are brought up at the Studios / Local Community meetings. The Esso pipeline work is also now beginning to extend across the Laleham Road and also Ashford Road. This will add to traffic issues over the coming weeks in that area, already affected by the Studios work. The Local Plan (housebuilding strategy) consultation period is now over and, hopefully, many of you have had some input. Good news! Work on the M3 sound barriers has begun, at long last. This project should take a number of weeks, leading up to Christmas. Finally, our committee colleague, Bernard Troop, who organises the road stewards regarding collection of membership subs and delivery of newsletters during the year, is looking for some new volunteers for stewarding. Some of the streets we are looking to cover include Manor Farm Avenue (part); Briar Road; Greeno Crescent; Sheep Walk and Watersplash Road (part). It only involves activity 2 or 3 times a year. If you are interested in helping out here – again, call Carl Phillips on 07850 722379. CHRISTMAS is Coming….and I am starting to take orders for the trees and lights for the high street shops, a sometimes arduous task. But we will get there. By December the lights will shine! BIG TREE NIGHT is on Wednesday 14th December. Many Thanks. … and remember …. YOUR HIGH STREET NEEDS YOU!!