Chigwell Row Community

Over 50 local people crammed into a small hall at Chigwell Row Infants School to discuss proposals for an impending expansion of the school to alter it's current use to include for some primary places.  We wrote about these proposals earlier (click here) . Mr Chowdhry visited the meeting for a short while as he had to rush of to some Essex Police workshops at Epping Town Hall later the same evening.  Despite having sent across an email with a number of questions for the developers and the school management the email was not read out - so it was fortunate to some extent that he attended. Mr Chowdhry, wanted to ensure that the consultation had been undertaken correctly and asked about how news of the meetings was shared with the community.  The school described how they had sent letters personally to homeowners close to the school, had published the details for the meeting in the local media and had corresponded with parents of children at the school. It would seem ...

A local resident of Retreat Way has asked us to report a major pothole on her road.  The woman is a pensioner and has had to walk through the rather dangerous hole several times when vehicles have been parked on the road. Mr Chowdhry visited the site of the pothole and find numerous major potholes in the vicinity and have already asked Essex council to review and rectify the matter. He said: "The AA annually reports on the amount of vehicle damage, lower fuel efficiency and accidents caused to pedestrians and vehicles as a result of poor road surfaces.  Read BBC News article (click here) "They believe that the number of potholes in the UK is a national embarrassment and I concur. "I personally believe that Essex Council should be considering an increase in the planned maintenance budget for our roads. "Most councils lose more money in claims than the equivalent of their planned maintenance budget yet parking charges and other road related costs rarely ...

Consultation on Chigwell Row Infant School becoming a Primary School   Why is there a need to change Chigwell Row Infant School from an infant to a primary school?  Chigwell Row Infant school currently provides places for up to 90 children aged 4 – 7. At age 7 parents have to make formal applications for their children to transfer to other schools within the local area. Local parents have expressed the view that they would like their children to be able to attend a primary school rather than having to change schools at the end of Year 2. Some families are unable to access places in nearby primary schools of preference due to them being fully subscribed. As a result, some families leave Chigwell Row during Year 1 and Year 2 which means the schools has a number of spaces which in turn has an impact on the school’s ability to deliver and rich and rounded curriculum. As a result of this, Chigwell Row Infant School has seen a fall in applications and admissions. If Ch...

The information below was shared by Vicar Paula Preston of All Saints Church after a warning was shared to congregations across Essex.   Essex Police are concerned about an increase in Courier Fraud and local police have described how such scams operate below: Courier fraud occurs when a fraudster contacts victims by telephone purporting to be a police officer or bank official. To substantiate this claim, the caller might be able to confirm some easily obtainable basic details about the victim such as their full name and address. The caller may also offer a telephone number for the victim to telephone or ask the victim to call the number on the back of their bank card to check that they are genuine. In these circumstances, either the number offered will not be genuine or, where a genuine number is suggested, the fraudster will stay on the line and pass the victim to a different individual. After some trust has been established, the fraudster will then, for example, ...

Residents of Chigwell Row converged at a meeting at All Saints Church, Romford Road to discuss local community matters on Wednesday 15th January. The meeting was coordinated by Wilson Chowdhry, PC Joanne Kerly, Vicar Paula Preston and members of the former Chigwell Row Residents Association in response to a desire to link local services, build community input and engagement and tackle crime together. The meeting was presided over by Wilson Chowdhry a local resident, who introduced Vicar Paula Preston who authorised use of the church hall for the meeting. Rev Paula described a desire for the church to be more involved in the local community and opened proceedings with a short prayer. L-R Wilson Chowdhry, PC Kerly and Vicar Paula Preston Local crime was a major trigger for the meeting and led the initial discussion.  PC Kerly explained that Epping has two teams one with 5 officers and one with 7 officers, in addition to this a town centre team of 4 officers p...

Pudding Lane was shut off this morning with signs that said 'Road ahead closed'.  After contacting the local police we discovered that the closures were due to 5 car accidents on Saturday. Late this evening Mr Chowdhry travelled along the road to acertain how bad the damage to the road was, for the purposes of estimating a time for its reopening. Though the closure signs remain (timed at 21:16 on 20.01.20) the accident vehicle(s) have now been removed. It would seem some of the yellow warning arrows near the most dangerous bend in the road have still not been repaired.  In fact the damage to the supporting poles and signs themselves is quite significant which may be deemed a serious risk. This said, as the signs require only a minor repair Mr Chowdhry hopes that the road will be reinstated early tomorrow at the latest. Mr Chowdhry, is no expert on these matters and is not aware if such signange will be available on demand, but the remedial works thems...

Residents of postal codes areas IG5, IG6 and IG7 which includes areas such as Chigwell, Hainault and Barkingside were without water from 5pm till 11:30pm, after a series of faults within the Thames Water Supply system. At 5.30 local Epping Forest Community Champion Wilson Chowdhry contacted Thames Water seeking advice on the loss of water and when normal water provision would resume.  Mr Chowdhry was advised by an operator that a 'booster had tripped' and told that an engineer had already been sent out to resolve the matter. Mr Chowdhry pressed the operator on how long it would take for any repair and reinstatement of the water provision and was advised to expect at least 3 hours before water would be available in local homes.  At this point the operator also advised Mr Chowdhry that a major burst had also occurred which had further complicated the remedial works. Mr Chowdhry was told that he would be given text message updates on how the works were progressi...

No water from Wilson's tap! Homes in the postal code regions of Chigwell, Barkingside, Hainault and other such areas have been without water for the last hour. Mr Wilson Chowdhry contacted Thames Water about the issue and has been told that a 'booster has been tripped' and that local residents will have to wait a few hours before water resumes. Wilson asked how long it will take for the return of water and the operator was reticent to inform him, after some pressing she intimated that it would take an estimated three hours and confirmed that engineers had already been dispatched. Wilson has also been informed that unfortunately a major water burst has also occured which only exacerbates the existing issue. We will keep you informed of progress. You can get more assistance and receives text updates by contacting Thames water on 08003169800