Category Archives: News

Our online newsletter archive

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Did you know that, as each newsletter is published and delivered to Association members by our wonderful street stewards, we upload the previous one to the website archive?

Obviously, for a £2 per annum subscription, you can get the newsletters hot off the press. For no extra, and at your choice, the Association will keep you updated with more immediate news by email.

Colne Valley Viaduct – design consultation

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HS2, via its contractor ALIGN, has submitted a planning application for the design of the Colne Valley viaduct. The details are available to be viewed on the London Borough of Hillingdon website:

https://planning.hillingdon.gov.uk/OcellaWeb/planningDetails?reference=74320/APP/2019/3187&from=planningSearch

Because of the HS2 Act the council has limited powers but there is a public consultation which ends 6 December and the Council would like your comments, even a simple yes or no to the proposed design.

You can enter your comments on the website using the link above.

As the proposed 3.4 Km viaduct crosses into South Bucks a similar exercise is taking place there.

The Colne Valley’s environment is important to us all; it is a source of drinking water and provides a major recreational area for all our communities. The viaduct with its 52 piers will be highly visible and crosses the Mid Colne Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Local Wildlife Sites, Broadwater Lake Nature Reserve, River Colne, Long Lake, Korda Lake, Savay Lake, the Grand Union Canal, Harefield No. 2 Lake and a Local Nature Reserve and ancient woodland to the north.

The HS2 Select Committee, during our petitioning at parliament, stated that … the Colne Valley viaduct will be the most significant visible engineering feature of the HS2 Phase One route… It will have international significance and its design should reflect that…

There is an immense amount of detail in the application but many aspects of construction and mitigation will be subject to later applications. The computer-generated images provide highly idealised views but it is very difficult to visualise its overall impact; such structures also deteriorate with weather and vandalism. The questions you may wish to consider are:

  • Do the plans give a good visual representation of how the viaduct will fit in with the local landscape of the Colne Valley?
  • Does the concrete design achieve the aim of having have international significance (i.e. looking architecturally good and aesthetic)?
  • What will the impact be on walkers and other users of the park?
  • How well do you think the design will stand up to the ravages of time?
  • How well will the design resist graffiti and vandalism?

Thank you in advance and please feel free to forward a link to this page:

https://ickenhamresidents.co.uk/2019/11/14/colne-valley-viaduct-design-consultation/

The more objections the better.

 

New laws for drones above 250g

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If you are responsible for, or fly, a drone that weighs more than 250g (just over eight ounces), you will now have to register or face a fine of up to £1000 under new CAA regulations. Specifically:

  • anyone who will fly must pass a theory test to get a flyer ID
  • the person that’s responsible for the drone or model aircraft must register to get an operator ID

Children and adults wanting to fly the gadgets from November 30, 2019, will have to take the test to show they can do so “safely and legally”.

More information here: https://register-drones.caa.co.uk/