1) A paint additive called "Thermilate" provides insulation and fuel savings. Apparently you add the powder to your normal emulsion paint. In the UK it is recommended to paint the inside of your exterior walls. The additive is millions of tiny bubbles which have a vacuum inside to prevent heat conducting away and also reflecting radiant heat back into the room. I have not tried this yet but the science seems good and it seems a very painless way to insulate your house!!

See the web site http://www.thermilate.com

Possible 25 percent saving

2) When you replace your boiler, buy a condensing type and make sure that you have advanced controls. The difference between advanced controls and simple controls could be significant.
Another good alternative if your property is suitable is a "Ground Source Heat Pump" These take solar energy stored in the ground and heat your house at much reduced costs. Typically you get out three to four times the energy you pay for. Heat pumps are ideal for use with under floor heating which is the most comfortable type of central heating. If you use carbon neutral energy to power the heat pump then your heating will be carbon neutral. You could also run the heat extractor pipes near to the surface in your garden and have a free ice rink to skate on in the winter. This is why many public indoor swimming pools also have an ice rink. You get the ice free!

Possible 30 Percent or more saving with a condensing boiler and advanced controls.

3) Insulate your loft with advanced aluminium foil type insulation. This is much thinner than the wool type insulation. The problem with the wool type insulation is that it needs to be so thick that you cannot then floorboard your loft.

Possible 10 percent saving on your heating costs

4) Use an adaptor called a "power down" to eliminate "standby wastage" Plug your TV or Computer into the master socket on the device and plug your accessories such as DVD player or printer into the other socket outlets on the device. When you turn off your TV or Computer the other devices will be automatically turned off too. Also when your computer goes into power saving mode after you have gone off to make a cup of tea, the peripherals are temporarily turned off until you wake the computer up again. I got mine from eBay but they had an "e-on" logo. They were very cheap so shop around.

Possible 10 percent saving on your electricity bill

5) Talking about shopping around, why not save petrol and wear and tear costs on your car and use the Internet to do the travelling for you; I do, and save a fortune not only getting my products much cheaper but I am not wearing my car out. If I do use my car I always try to do "Round Trips" so I get all my shopping on one journey"

6) Fit energy saving light bulbs. These can often be obtained free from your electricity company or if you qualify from the local council. I even got given free some energy saving bulbs with my "power down" order.

Possible 25 percent saving on your electricity bill

7) Wash your clothes on a cool 30 degree wash. One woman used a washing machine with a broken heater for 5 years washing her clothes perfectly successfully in cold water without noticing!
After all, most clothes are only very lightly soiled unless you do a very dirty job in which case the 30 degree wash is still adequate for most purposes. And your clothes last longer.

8) Burn WOOD instead of fossil fuels like OIL and Natural GAS. Collect scrap wood in the summer months when it is cheap or even free. Buy a Wood Burning Stove. Or you could even grow your own wood if you have a large enough garden. Eucalyptus Nitens is a very fast growing tree. It does however need a lot of water. Wood is carbon neutral.

Possible 50 percent or more saving on your heating costs

9) Draught proof your house. A large percentage of your heating costs are caused by lost heat due to draughts.

Possible 40 percent saving on heating costs.

10) Turn off Lights, TV and other equipment when you are not in the room.

Up to 50 percent saving on your electricity bill is possible.

For more details and information on global warming also see Global Warming and Our Village.

11) Fit reflective insulating panels behind all radiators which are on the inside of exterior walls.

These will instantly make the room more comfortable, reduce draughts and save energy.

Possible 20 percent saving on heating costs.

12) Fit radiator shelves.

Again perhaps 10 percent saving on heating costs.

If you did all the things listed here you could drastically slash your energy bills.

Anti Social Behaviour in Rowhedge

06/07/2007

As in all areas in the UK anti social behaviour has been on the increase.

Here in Rowhedge thanks in no small part to the efforts of our new councillors we now have ways in which to tackle the nuisance.

You can report incidents over the phone or on the web and there are at least 4 groups which can deal with anti social behaviour in our Village.

In a recent letter to the Parishioners from Ken Jones the chairman of the East Donlyland Parish Council he highlights phone numbers and names of the groups responsible for dealing with anti social behaviour.

1) The Harbour Police Team are responsible for Rowhedge and can be contacted on 01206 762212 or on mobile 07801461695

It is important to report all crimes, disturbances and anti social behaviour because they will only look after areas from where they receive reports. It is also probable that funding is also related to the number of reports. Obviously if there are no reports then it is seen that there is no crime and hence the funding is not there.

So the message is Report Everything and make sure you get an incident number otherwise your report may not be registered.

2) Colchester Borough Council has set up an Anti Social Behaviour team.
The team can be reached on 01206 282581 and also you can report incidents over the Internet. The web address is http://www.colchester.gov.uk

3) Neighbourhood Action Panels

These can be contacted on 01206 717817

4)Neighbourhood Watch Group

This is chaired by Peter Moles who can be contacted on 01206 728615

So you have all these contacts and means to stop any Anti-Social behaviour in its tracks.

So please put the numbers on your mobile phone and when there is an incident you can get action taken as soon as possible to nip the problem in the bud.

Rowhedge Riverside Centre Partnership Launched

27th March 2008

At 6.30 pm on 27th March 2008 a well attended meeting was held at the Village hall to launch the Partnership between Rowhedge Villagers, Essex County Council, Colchester Borough Council and East Donyland Parish Council for the Rowhedge Riverside Centre.

The aim was just to launch the partnership and not to discuss at this stage what the Rowhedge Villagers would like or not like. Further meetings and consultations are to take place so that the Villagers can have a say about what should go on the Rowhedge Riverside Centre land. Please keep an eye on the local notice boards and you can spectate at Parish Council meetings if you wish.

Previously plans were draw up in advance and submitted to the Villagers as a foregone conclusion anyone with different ideas was considered to be "Anti" or a trouble maker and were thrown off of any committees.

This time it will be different. You will really be asked for your views on what you would like.

Unfortunately the 106 agreement which was negotiated with the developer states that there has to be a "heritage centre" built on the site or the land will revert back to Redrow Homes who would then build homes on the site. The danger here is that they might want to build three story blocks of flats.

106 agreements are soon to be phased out exactly because of situations like this one.

It is like a man saying to his wife "I am going to buy you a birthday present dear, which motor racing book would you like?". Yes, she has a choice but not exactly a free choice.

Anyway let us hope that due attention will be paid to the wishes of the present Rowhedge Villagers for the benefit of the Village and its future.

Very soon there will be a major development taking place on the site of the Rowhedge Port. This will provide about 4000 pounds, per new home built, to the local community for infrastructure and other projects. If say there are 1000 homes built then that would mean about 4 million pounds of funding available. The ports site would be a much better site to house a heritage centre and the centre could also include boating and sailing as part of Rowhedge's Heritage.

Very few young people who learn to sail end up going off the rails. It gives them a new outlook on life.

Bearing this in mind and that there has to be a heritage centre of some sort on that site, some possible options are: -

1) Have a heritage garden on the site.

2) Have a heritage memorial on the site.

3) Build a very small heritage centre on the site and build a better one on the Rowhedge Port development site later.

4) Do all three of the above to make sure we have satisfied the 106 agreement and knock down the very small building at a later stage.

5) Build a large two story Heritage Centre on the present site and suffer from all the parking problems and dangers of the river to people who visit. Without proper barriers along the quay an adult or child will soon fall into the river at night or worse into the mud and be drowned as the tide rises.

Choose wisely because you may have to live with the decision for the rest of your life.

Global Warming and our Village

24/01/2007

If we believe that Global Warming is caused by man then there are many things which we can do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However even if we do not believe man is causing the global warming then there is still an energy crisis looming. Britain and many other countries in the world rely on unstable foreign nations for their energy supplies so to avoid being without energy in the future we have to find alternative ways to make our own energy in the UK. Because of this, saving energy is vital. China and India to mention just two developing nations will dwarf our needs for energy and resources. Britain will become insignificant as far as the world is concerned.

It is possible that in the future, Nuclear Fusion, may provide us with all the energy we need but this is by no means a foregone conclusion. Until then we need to find ways to reduce our energy needs or find alternative sources.

At present Bio Energy and Tidal power seem to be the most promising methods for producing our own energy, whereas wind, solar and wave power are very unreliable and generally do not live up to expectations.

Just a quick note on how long it could take for various energy saving measures to pay for themselves. Data referenced from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

1) Solar heating, up to 208 years
2) Double glazing, up to 124 years
3) Condensing boiler and new plumbing/cylinder, up to 38 years
4) Cavity wall insulation 5 years
5) Loft insulation, 13 years

Considering on average we spend only 16 years in any one property, items 1 to 3 will never pay for themselves. Not only that but the products have a design life much shorter than the payback period.

So read on as to how you can effectively save energy. And don't think that having a wind turbine on your roof will do the trick either.

A note on Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Carbon dioxide is a natural gas given off by most living things. The sea gives off huge amounts of CO2 as does virtually all plant and animal life. All life on Earth is carbon based so we can say that without CO2 we could not exist. When we burn fossil fuels we release the CO2 which was stored millions of years ago by fossil plants.

There are grants available and expertise for instance take a look at the following web sites.

DTI Lowcarbonbuilding site http://www.lowcarbonbuildingsphase2.org.uk/

DTI's microgeneration homepage	www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sources/sustainable/ microgeneration/index.html
Community Renewables Initiative	www.countryside.gov.uk/LAR/Landscape/CRI/index.asp
Carbon Trust	www.carbontrust.co.uk
Energy Saving Trust	www.est.org.uk
Micropower Council	www.micropower.co.uk

Building Design (The most important and easiest way to save energy)

Building design plays a major part in determining the energy efficiency of a building. Just changing where the windows face can make a very big difference. Shutters can be fitted to windows and if closed at night they can reduce heat loss. They can also be closed during the day on the side of the building which faces the sun thus preventing the building becoming too hot in the summer months. It is possible to automate the shutter systems and very little energy is expended in the motor systems used to open and close the shutters.

Double or preferably Triple glazing can save a large amount of heat escaping or entering the building via heat conduction while letting in sunlight and heat if needed.

Roof insulation can also prevent more heat from being lost through the roof in winter and can help keep the building cool in summer.

Cavity wall insulation prevents heat escaping but it is also possible to fit insulation to the inside of buildings which have no cavity wall.

Heat exchangers can be fitted to ventilation systems so that heat is not lost.

Energy saving light bulbs can reduce lighting electricity costs to less than a fifth if the bulbs are used throughout the whole building. Energy companies often give free bulbs to people who ask or can point you in the direction to obtain some free energy saving bulbs.

Micro Generation is an idea that is catching on. This is where the energy needed for a building is provided on site. An example of this is that you can use Gas or Bio Fuel very efficiently to generate electricity on site thus removing the losses associated with electricity distribution. You can even sell excess electricity back to the power company.

Bio fuel can be made from wood, crops or farm waste products and bio diesel can even be made from old cooking oil from the local "chippy".

Heating

Fact: Every part of Europe requires buildings to be heated in the winter months, yes even in Spain buildings are heated from October to April. with similar or even greater energy costs to the UK. Also in the hottest parts of Europe, extra energy is required in the summer months to cool buildings to an acceptable level.

There are various ways to heat or cool any type of building but the most convenient is a mixture of technologies.

Burning wood is a very good way to help the environment providing the wood is from a "renewable" source. This means that providing more trees are being planted to replace the ones you are burning then the carbon emissions are zero. This is because the new trees reabsorb the carbon you are releasing and the carbon balance of the planet is not adversely affected. Wood is commonly burned as wood pellets or sawdust but can be burned as logs. There are many types of wood burners and boilers on the market.

Burning fossil fuels like Coal, Coke or Oil is considered bad because it is releasing extra carbon (which was laid down millions of years ago) into the atmosphere .

Even planting more trees on its own will not help the situation in the long run because these trees will eventually die or be burnt and will release the fossil carbon back into the atmosphere thus maintaining the imbalance.
The only way is to reduce our fossil carbon emissions to a reasonable level and plant more trees or biomass to use as a replacement fuel. Burning wood and biomass is probably the safest option because it produces carbon dioxide mainly, which is the least potent of the greenhouse gasses. Methane for instance (produced by composting) is many times more potent a greenhouse gas than is carbon dioxide(CO2). Producing methane is ok providing it is then burnt to release the CO2.

Luckily there are many ways to save the planet, from using bio fuels such as bio diesel, bio ethanol and biogas in our cars to using tidal power and "Carbon Capture Technology"

We should not have to give up flying and driving if we make massive carbon emission savings in industry, offices and at home. We also of course have to persuade North America, China, Africa, South America, India, Asia, Russia, etc, etc. to do the same. Otherwise our efforts are going to be futile. However if we do not take the moral high ground and lead the way they will probably not do very much.

Ground Source Heat Pump heating and cooling

Ground Source Heat pumps are little mentioned but the technology is well proven. Heat Pumps are the most efficient way to heat and cool buildings but they do have some fuel running costs and installation costs are slightly more expensive than gas or oil heating systems. They are however a very good option due to grants being available and the low maintenance required (Fit and forget) compared with the yearly service which Oil and Gas boilers require and they have a much longer life expectancy. They can also be reversed to cool the building in summer time. Heat pump systems at the moment often require a long trench to be dug to take the pipes which extract heat from the ground so it is better to fit the system to new buildings or buildings which are next to a large enough plot of suitable land. They are a very good option for new builds especially because the heating is normally the under floor type which is very comfortable.

Advantages

1) Very low maintenance
2) Reasonable installation costs and grants available
3) Reliable output and not weather dependant
4) Very efficient
5) Can be used for cooling also
6) Most suitable for under floor heating and cooling (Very comfortable)
7) Low heating costs
8) Can be run on bio fuel/gas or green electricity

Disadvantages

1) Best fitted during initial building phase (But can be retro fitted providing the building fits the criteria)
2) Requires a long trench to be dug (But this is not necessarily so)
3) Under floor heating is the best way to use this system at the moment (but technological advances are being made so potentially there is no reason why radiators or other methods cannot be used)
4) Still needs energy to power the pump but this could be via a "green electricity tariff" or from a bio gas/fuel pump thus reducing carbon emissions to near zero

Transport and the Internet

The Internet is Green

Think "Do I really need to make that trip?" " Can I do the same thing over the Internet?"

60 percent of business meetings can take place over the Internet as opposed to meeting face to face which involves travel.

You can buy anything over the internet and get it delivered to your door.

Also you can shop around for the lowest price on the Internet and then only make one car journey to the shop if you really need to. No need to drive all over town comparing prices.

Why not get an Internet phone and talk to your friends for nothing rather than drive round everywhere. There are really good phones on the market now which need no computer and connect straight into your ADSL router hub using VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol).

These phones are called SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) phones and work with any SIP provider such as Voipstunt.com and Sipgate.co.uk there are many other alternative providers. In many cases such as with Sipgate.co.uk you can get another local (Colchester) number or even choose one for another area ( e.g. London ). Of course you can also alternatively buy a headset and use your computer to connect to these VIOP SIP phone providers.

SIP is an international standard so SIP should work in any country.

The benefit of this is that your callers can make a call at local rates to your SIP phone regardless of where it is.

There are SIP phones that can connect to several providers at once. So you can for instance get incoming calls through a different provider than your outgoing calls for pricing benefits.

There are other systems of course like SKYPE and BT but normally the phone is tied into their system and is not so flexible.

Transport

Make "Round Trips". Plan ahead so that you do all the things you want to in one round trip. This will give you considerable fuel and maintenance savings.

The less you drive your car the less it will wear out and you will make savings on brakes, tyres, and oil changes etc. Your car will also do less mileage and so be worth that much more when you sell it!

The car and the plane are here to stay and they are very convenient ways to travel.

The technology will soon make cars and planes much more efficient but we will still need to save energy in other areas so that we can enjoy our cars and cheap holidays.

Choosing cars which are very efficient is also a good way to help the planet. Think, do you really need your car to be that big. Some do need big cars of course such as for carrying the disabled and their equipment or if people have large families but some people just buy a big car as a status symbol. Remember if you want your children to have a planet to live on in the future then it would be wise to act now.

Parents: Remember how much effort you put into getting your child the right education? Now think that if we do not do something Now about our environment then they will not have a future in which to use that education.

Use your car less. Try planning your trips so that they are "round trips" one trip in which you do all the things that you need.

Can you walk to the shop? Why not? It will keep you much fitter and help reduce that waistline.

Solar Heating

Solar heating is generally expensive and does not work when it is cloudy. "It all works fine till the sun don't shine". Even in the hottest parts of Europe solar heating does not work well when it is most needed and that is on the cold cloudy days.

Disadvantages

1) High initial cost
2) It can take up to 208 years to pay for itself.
3) Unreliable output dependant on weather.

Wind Power

Wind power is the most widely known technology. The disadvantage is that when the "wind don't blow, the thing don't go". Due to this unreliability, relying on wind power will eventually lead to very serious black outs the like of which we have not seen for years. Unfortunately wind power is not the answer to our energy problems.

Read "A Case Against Wind Farms" by the Country Guardian.

Here follow two extracts from the document:

Wind Turbines and Carbon Dioxide - a case study.

A large turbine in Gloucestershire saves less than the amount of CO2 produced by just one articulated lorry.

At Nympsfield in Gloucestershire a single 500 kW gearless Enercon turbine was commissioned in Dec. 1996. Its annual output is about 1.11 million kWh (Tilting at Windmills BBC 2, 2.2.99). Since the turbine generates not only during the day, when it might displace oil- or coal-fired generation, but also at night when mainly nuclear and gas generation are operating, it is logical to assume that it displaces a mix of fuels, rather than only coal or oil. Department of Trade and Industry figures indicate that the 1995 generating fuel mix produced an average of 620g. of CO2 per unit of electricity generated. Thus we can calculate that the Nympsfield turbine saved about 688 tonnes each year, or 0.078 tonnes per hour.

An articulated lorry travelling at 50 mph along a motorway produces 0.08 tonnes of CO2 per hour. Given the uncontrolled growth of road traffic, the erecting of turbines is a futile exercise. How many turbines would we have to build each year to merely to keep pace with traffic growth?

WORSE STILL

C. THE PROBLEM OF INTERMITTENCY

Wind is an intermittent source of power and the only form of energy generation which we cannot control. If there is no wind, there is no generation; if there is too much wind the turbines must be shut down or they will be blown over. At the moment UK turbines generate only an insignificant trickle - less than 100 MW on average from nearly 50 wind "farms", towards an average demand of about 43,000 MW, so that their intermittent supply causes no problems for consumers - indeed those who manage supply simply ignore their existence.

If ever the wind industry gets its way, however, and builds the 22,700 turbines necessary to produce 10% of our supply, there would be major implications. For example, on January 7th 1997 demand in the

peaked at 53,000 MW. The British Isles were covered by an area of high pressure and there was no wind. Had we been relying on wind to provide 5,300 MW at that point, there would have been widespread power cuts and 10% of the population would have been without electricity on a cold winter evening.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The higher the turbine is fitted the more wind it gets, so increasing the energy output.

Most wind turbines give much less energy out than is initially expected so are better suited to providing low power to charge batteries for special uses.

Other disadvantages are

1) High initial cost
2) Noise if near to or fitted to a residential building
3) Visual impact
4) Typically it takes 29 years to pay for itself
5) Unreliable output dependant on weather

Building wind farms out at sea or in the countryside is not as good as it first looks.

1) The wind farms are ugly and devalue the countryside and coastal areas
2) They cost much more to be built at sea or in remote places
3) The distribution losses are high because of the large distance the electricity has to travel to the place it is needed.

However building wind farms in industrial areas is a better idea.

1) They cost less to build.
2) The distribution losses are low because the power is generated where it is needed
3) The turbines actually improve the look of the ugly industrial areas and are in keeping with the surroundings.
4) The turbines towers can be built higher to take advantage of the winds high up while still costing less than turbines built in remote places.
5) Servicing is easier because the turbines are more accessible.

You can sign an E- petition if you agree with these arguments and do not want to see wind turbines out at sea all the way from Walton-on-sea to Southend-on-sea and off virtually every other coast that you will visit.

Click on the link below and follow the instructions.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/wind-in-industry/

The petition states

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Build wind
farms in industrial areas not on the coast or in the
countryside.

New Shelter Appears in Rec

17/07/2006

The new Youth Shelter in the rec.

The project cost 6000 pounds and was funded from various sources and by money raised by the youth group. The shelter was officially opened by Councillor John Jowers on Sunday 30^th April 2006

From the left Corinne Green, Keely Rendell with Jade Collins, Sophie Thrower, Jade Holbrow.

Corinne Green and Keely Rendell along with Janet Clout and Jim Lock are the four adult regulars running the Youth Group at the village hall. Councillor Michael Lilley (Lils) also drops in to help on occasions as a representative of Parish Council

The history of the project and how it was funded is explained in detail in the following press release by the Rowhedge Youth Development Group

Early in 2004 local groups and committees were invited to a meeting with councillors and the police to discuss nuisance behaviour amongst our youth. Following on from this the Rowhedge Youth Development group was formed whose first objective was to discuss this behaviour with our youth.
After talking to them they explained that wherever they chose to meet in groups of more than three, they were perceived as being a nuisance. The places they liked to meet were public seating or anywhere sheltered from the rain, so the idea of a youth shelter was born.
Once the subject was researched it was found that reports and findings from the Home Office and police have confirmed the positive impact Youth Shelters have in reducing the fear and incidence of youth crime and anti-social behaviour.

The money for the shelter was raised as follows:-
Grant from Local Network Fund, grant from East Essex Forum, first prize at the Colchester Youth Awards, Bits'n'Bobs sale, quiz competitions, sponsored walk, sales of donated items on ebay, 'spare change' pots and donations.

The location and design of the shelter was discussed with our youth, Parish Council, Colchester Borough Council and the police.
The shelter is not just for young people it's a good spot for watching the world go by! However it is designed for sitting in and any piece of equipment is a potential hazard especially if it is used incorrectly.

The development committee will soon be ready to start all over again on another project so if you can volunteer to help and offer any ideas or suggestions please let us know at our next meeting. The details of this meeting will be advertised as usual on the notice boards and at the post office.
Rowhedge Youth Development Group

The Rowhedge Youth Development Group committee members are at the time of writing.
Francis Wadley, David Rendell, Keely Rendell, Corinne Green, Laura Simons. If there is someone missing then please email sales@rowhedge.com and we will correct it.

The following are some of the other groups and people who were involved in initial discussions which led to the formation of the Rowhedge Youth Development Group.

The Parish Council
Police
Football Club
School
Youth Group
Church
British Legion
Borough Councillor Andy Raison

The shelter has solar powered lighting. The batteries store the charge during the day and power the lights at night.

On the same note of the youth of the village, there are moves afoot to set up a "Youth Council" to enable the Parish Council to hear the views of the younger parishioners.

Rowhedge Heritage Trust Temporary Building on Lion Quay

17/07/2006

All well and good but! Rowhedge.com thinks:

Having read the article in the Donyland Dispatches Spring 2006 Rowhedge.com askes:

The question is: Why is the chairman of the Rowhedge Heritage Trust (Mike Coppin) not a resident of Rowhedge? It is well known that Mike is a local politician but does not live in our parish and so surely will not have to pay any increase in rates as a result of any action by the trust? Does anyone else in the village agree that we should be controlling our own destiny rather than handing it over to outsiders?

This is the biggest project for quite a while and so will affect the people who actually live in Rowhedge the most, after all, it is the Rowhedge Heritage Trust.

The Floating Pontoon

23/07/2006

The arrival of the floating pontoon has made a big difference to the waterfront.

Thanks to Alex Midlen who successfully obtained the grant from the EU and the Maya 2 project to make it possible.

On a more serious note:

It must however be noted that the pontoon has no gate.
However signs have now been put up on the pontoon warning of deep water and strong currents and there is a notice which states in the smaller text that the pontoon is not to be used for swimming activities. There are also warning signs on the lamp-posts next to Lion Quay about contamination in the river.

Recently a near fatality occurred when a father dived in to save his son who got into difficulties whilst swimming from the pontoon. Luckily the man was revived, having already drowned, by the efforts of the many people around at the time and his son was saved also. However several lives were put at risk including those of the gallant rescuers.

Warning: The river can be a very dangerous place if not treated with respect and used in the correct way with the right equipment. Swimming in the river is always going to be dangerous due to the strong and varying unpredictable currents. The river is also contaminated with sewage from time to time and with toxic chemicals leaking from land fill sites. The advice of Rowhedge.com is never to swim in the river, it is too dangerous. Also by swimming in the river you are encouraging other weaker swimmers in to the water which is putting them at serious risk!

The Floating Pontoon came about, to benefit not only boats on the river, but also the Wivenhoe Ferry which can now let passengers disembark without them having to tread on the often muddy planks at the old jetty. It also gives the quayside a touch of character.

It was officially opened on the 30th of April 2006 as you can see from the picture of the notice screwed to the pontoon.

The Bike in the River Phenomenon

18/07/2006

Apparently it is now quite common to see a pushbike abandoned in the river just under Lion Quay
This one mysteriously appeared on Monday evening 17 July 2006.

Councillor John Sharp fishes them out on a regular basis apparently.

We are led to believe they were owned by young people and abandoned.

The strange thing is that it is always in the same spot, always in the river at the middle of Lion Quay.

Is this some kind of youth ritual?

Does anyone know why?

Litter

Update 18/07/2006

It is not possible to tell what lies under the undergrowth but there seems to be generally less litter about so well done and keep it up you Rowhedgians.

The Steam Yacht Fedora

07/09/2006

Paul Barnard is searching for information about the steam yacht "Fedora"

Here follows an extract from his email to Rowhedge.com.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I wonder whether your could find space on your website to appeal for any information regarding the steam yacht Fedora, which was captained by my great grandfather Turner Barnard, son of Thomas, on a long voyage 1897 to 1899 for Lord Newborough. On board was Turner’s son, Henry Daniel Barnard, aged 19, my grandfather, whose diary/log I have for 1899 covering the journey home from Penang to noor at Wivenhoe.

>>Turner is buried in Rowhegde churchyard, whilst HDB is in Colchester cemetery.>>

Any information would be greatly appreciated

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Please email phbarnard@aol.com if you can help.

Thanks, The Editor, Rowhedge.com.

Dogs

Update 25/02/2007

If you do not like to see all the dog mess around our Village and find it very unpleasant then you can now sign up to an online petition to Number 10 Downing Street asking for the Government to do more nationally. I found this petition while signing up for the petition against road charges.

Click on the link below and follow the instructions. You will then receive an email with a link which you will have to click on to sign up. And if you think the editor of rowhedge.com is biased against dogs then you are wrong because have had dogs in my family before and I loved them very much.

Incidentally the petition was drawn up by a person who owns two dogs themselves!!

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/DOGFOULING/

Please cut and paste this link and email it to all your friends and family so that we can make the government really do something about it.

Lets make Britain a much more pleasant place to live, after all life is hard enough anyway.

This is what the petition says:

Dog fouling is consistently one of the highest sources of complaints by the public to MPs, local councillors and local authorities. Estimates put the UK dog population between 6.5 and 7.4 million, producing 1,000 tonnes of faeces every day.

The Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 allows local authorities to designate any public land as poop scoop areas where dog owners must clean up after their pets. Under the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 failure to clean up dog fouling is an offence subject to a maximum fine of £1,000

Update 24/01/2007

And what is happening in Rowhedge?

Most of the footpaths in the village have been fouled by dogs mess recently. This includes not only the paved footpaths but also the country footpaths.

On one short walk the Editor counted 7 instances of dog fouling. Surely by now the message should have got through but this anti-social behavior is still continuing.

Dog owners please note that fouling of public places and footpaths could lead to a fine of £1000 pounds and you may also get an ASBO order against you.

Note the term "Public Places" includes the Recreation Ground.

Perhaps a group of responsible dog owners could get together and police the dog fouling situation and put an end to the irresponsible minority who allow their dogs to cause a nuisance and give dog ownership a bad name.

Update 17/07/2006

There is still dog mess around the village, in the Recreation Ground near where the schoolchildren play and by the new blue shelter.

Update 17/06/2003

Dog fouling is still a very big issue in the village. There are moves to ban dogs from the Recreation Ground and other public spaces because of the continuing problem of dog fouling.

08/04/2003

I am often accosted on my countryside walks by dogs not on a lead. These are often large and intimidating. The owners do nothing to control them and seem to take pleasure in their threatening behaviour. I ask that all dog owners make sure that their dogs are under their full control when out walking and that they are not allowed to intimidate members of the general public out walking the countryside. Please do not allow your dog to jump up at strangers or even to pass within a threatening distance.

Many thanks in advance for your cooperation.

Footpaths

Update 24/01/2007

Dog fouling of footpaths still continues unabated See under "Dogs" above.

Update 17/07/2006

The footpath around Rowhedge Port has now had the weeds cleared but the other paths are still overgrown
It is very important to keep our footpaths clear because they are used by people to keep fit which will save the NHS money and reduce queues.
In many cases paths become blocked where the ground has been recently disturbed such as by ploughing or by building work or redirection of paths. Old undisturbed paths seldom become blocked because weeds do not like to grow in compacted soil or stony ground. However overhanging branches affect all footpaths and need to be cut back on a regular basis.

The Editor has contacted Colchester Borough Council regarding this issue in the past

The following is a useful C.B.C phone number for Footpaths : 01206 282714

Overgrown footpath on the John Brunning Walk

Another section of the John Brunning Walk

Rowhedge Port Development

17/06/2003

Rowhedge Port

It has been estimated that the port development would be worth in the region of 60 Million Pounds.

The planning gain to Rowhedge should be several million pounds. It is Rowhedge.com's avowed aim to make sure that Rowhedge gets every penny it is entitled to, from this development. No stone will be left unturned. So please support Rowhedge.com in any way you can.

There is now a document outlining roughly the plans for the site. Copies of this document can be found at the Anchor public house, the Albion public house, the Co-op, and at Saint Lawrence C of E Primary School.. It is also supposedly available from Colchester Councils web site www.colchester.gov.uk ( if you can find it! :-)

The Document is called an SPG or Supplementary Planning Guidance document.

You can E-mail your views to:-

karen.syrett@colchester.gov.uk

Or phone her on 01206 282476

Rowhedge.com objects to the term "affordable housing"

The SPG for Rowhedge Port Development states that 25% of the proposed properties will be for "affordable housing". With 500 properties proposed then on that basis, 125 will be classed as "affordable housing". George Orwell would have loved this term!

The term "affordable" seems to be used to camouflage the real purpose behind allocating 25% of all new properties this way.

Recent experience has shown that the properties will not be for the use of Rowhedge villagers but will be used as a convenient dumping ground for people with social problems from outside of the village.

If any young people think that they will be able to afford any of the new "affordable housing" then forget it on the basis of recent experience in Rowhedge. The housing will much more likely go to problem cases outside of Rowhedge.

The editor of Rowhedge.com's next door neighbour was made homeless when her landlord sold her rented accommodation prompted by rising house prices last year. She applied for an "affordable" property on the Marsh Crecent Redrow development and was turned down. Despite having help from the local councilor she was still not allowed because she did not have enough points.

1) She was brought up in the village and lived in the village.

2) She was being made homeless.

What does a Rowhedge person have to do to be able to get one of these "affordable" properties in Rowhedge?

The answer is of course that out of the 20 properties available, only one was offered to a local person.

Rowhedge.com feels that it is very important to utilize to the full, the great facility we have which is the River.

At the moment the youth of the village have nothing to occupy their minds and bodies so they hang around the streets.

We need to provide proper sailing and boating facilities which will open up sporting and employment opportunities for the youth of our village.

At the last Olympics Britain's main gold medal winning sports were Yes you guessed it! Sailing and Rowing. And what facilities do we have at the moment? Yes you guessed it, very little.

Let's all work together to get some proper sailing and boating facilities for Rowhedge. Let's get our Heritage back.

What about the school?

It is unacceptable to extend the school or to build upwards so the port development will also have to fund a new school. At the moment the council have no plans for a new school.

Again e-mail or phone Karen Syrett (details at the beginning of this article)

What about the Port Development funding a swimming pool?

Follow this link to read about how a swimming pool could be a workable idea.

We are told that there will be details regarding the Port Development on display at the Rowhedge Regattta on July the 19th 2003

26/01/2003

As most people are aware there is a strong possibility that the Rowhedge Port area will be developed for housing. I am assured that the village will be consulted in the near future about this. More on this issue to follow as events unfold. The Rowhedge Residents Association have representatives who are attending meetings on this issue.

The River and Sailing

Sea Scouts?

17/07/2006

Praise must also go to Richard and Tracy Barrett who started a Sea Scout Troop.

See the Regatta section and see the pictures of the Pioneer crossing the line first in the smack race with all the sea scouts on board.

..................................................................................

Riverbank clean ups

Update 17/07/2006

The riverbank has had another clean up thanks to Councillor John Sharp

Take a look at the first riverbank clean up in 2003

Eight people turned up for the Second River Clear Up. A large amount of rubble glass objects and scrap metal objects were removed from the River. Thanks again to all those who turned up and helped for making our Village a better place to live.

The Second River Clear Up begins
Who could think of doing anything better on a Sunday morning?

02/07/2003

Rubble on the river bed directly adjacent to the Redrow site.

26/04/2003

River Clear up by the Rowhedge Residents Association, Moorings Association and villagers.

Mahogany door and car wheel with tyre

The remaining bags which had been left for collection and three fridges, tyres, gas bottles etc were cleared a week later by BTCV a voluntary organization and many thanks to them for their efforts. They also cleared other rubbish which remained.

BTCV clearing up the top end of the river by Fieldgates

So now the river bank is clear (for a while).

The Rowhedge Residents Association will be organizing another clear up later in the year which should keep the river clear of rubbish and make our environment much more pleasant. .

Pressurised building foam canister

Discarded bin bag full of rubbish by the mud moorings

08/04/2003

The river bank clear up on Sunday 6th April was a huge success. The river bank was cleared of all rubbish from the start of the mud moorings all the way to Colchester; along a one and a quarter mile stretch of river. A complete skip full of rubbish was collected and there is another quarter of a skip full in bags and piles awaiting collection by the environmental services. The rubbish included at least five gas bottles, many old car tyres, hundreds of plastic bottles, tin cans, two fridges, two mahogany doors, glass bottles and an old ladder.
Here are some pictures I took at the time

Petrol can and tyre

Ladder and gas bottle

Gas bottle

Fridge and plastic containers

Another fridge

Wildlife

08/07/2003

A butterfly seen along the John Brunning Walk, 8th July 2003

26/01/2003

It is thought that there are now two seals in residence in the river Colne. I have seen at least one myself many times both up and down the river and at Rowhedge and Wivenhoe. One of the seals has been given the name "Dunlop" because it looks like a old car tyre on the mud. There seem to be less swans now, especially near the Anchor Pub. This is probably due to the notices discouraging the feeding of swans. Last year "youths" were seen with air riffles shooting the Swans and other wild life from the Wivenhoe bank side of the river. This was reported to the Police at the time by mobile phone and with several phone calls but the Police did not attend because the incident took place in an area that did not have a road nearby. Apparently police computers can only log a call if there is an identifiable road nearby. This appears to rule out Police attending crimes in 99% of the country.

The Post Office

17/07/2006

The Post Office can be found next to the "Crows Nest"

Opening times from the notice-board outside are:-

Mon, Tue, Thurs, Fri : 9.00 - 1.00 and from 2.00 - 5.30

Wed and Sat 9.00 - 1.00

The Post Office!

The Slipway

14/01/2006

The Slipway which is now finished

There appears to be a legal issue with the land in front of the Slipway. Apparently it is still privately owned so that access to the river is barred. So the village has a Slipway which has been finished since June 2003 but we cant use it!

Rowhedge Regatta 2007

09/07/2007

The 2007 Rowhedge Regatta was held on Saturday the 7th July

The Weather was good with sunny spells. A few drops of rain were felt at one time but this amounted to nothing and to a sigh of relief the good weather prevailed

The smacks and sailing boats did find the lack of wind prevented many from making it up the river which was in stark contrast to there being too much wind over the last month!

Crowds throng the Quays crabbing and waiting the arrival of the sailing boats

A smack arrives at last.

And Malcolm Goodwin did make it up the river to win the Brightlingsea One Design class showing us that his remarkable sailing skills are still much in evidence.

There were several other races including a rowing race and a couple of canoeing races.

Incidents were few with only a couple of canoeists needing to be plucked from the water by the Wivenhoe Sailing Club rescue boats who kindly provided rescue boat cover for the day.

There was no ice cream shortage and the event was another success story with the weather again coming right on the day.

Should Rowhedge have a Swimming Pool?

26/1/2003

How about this style?

Or these?

Should Rowhedge have a swimming pool?

Swimming is a most healthy form of physical exercise which exercises all muscle groups in a gentle way and is very therapeutic for people recovering from physical injuries, bad backs etc. It is also very refreshing and cools the body core temperature, which would be a boon during our increasingly hot summers.

Many people in the village would be in favour of a swimming pool with attached health club. What a wonderful place to meet your fellow villagers over a coffee while exercising away those unhealthy flabby bits! However there is no question of a fully staffed pool run on a business basis because the village is too small.

However a pool about 10 Metres by 5 Metres would be easy to run on a volunteer basis.

The whole thing would have to be run as a club with membership fees and would probably be open only half the year in the evenings. However heating the pool in the winter could be a possibility at economic rates using modern heat pump technology, something of which most people know very little about. However heat pump technology is widely used throughout the world in countries such as Sweden, Norway, Canada and Scotland.

What about costs? Swimming is a very popular pastime and people are willing to pay good money for good local facilities.

As an example suggestion: With just 200 members paying 100 pounds per year each, would raise twenty thousand pounds a year. Easily enough to run a pool. My guess is that there would be more members that that!

How would it be funded?

Well the imminent Rowhedge Port Development will make large sums of money available for local projects (See the Rowhedge Port Development item)

Other ideas?

What about a Jacuzzi? or a hot tub? or even as part of a Rowhedge Health club?

What a nice idea?

Local Elections on June 10th 2004

21/06/2004

There was a 51% turnout and four candidates supported by Rowhedge.com were elected

These were Peter Byham, Michael Lilley, Christine Sharp and John Sharp.

Congratulations from Rowhedge.com Lets hope that the message has got across to existing councilors that the the election of the above people should inject more transparency and the professional business like approach to our Parish council that the villagers demand.

Voting was as follows:-

Those elected:

Mike Lilly 449
Barbara Sanderson 422
Mike Blowers 403
John Sharp 388
Christine Sharp 384
Linda Peircy 317
Nick Baker 314
Peter Byham 296
Diana Collyer 282

Two Councillors Resign

Nick Baker and Barbara Sanderson resigned at the Parish council meeting which was held on February the 8th 2007. Nick Baker had been chairman.

The new Parish council makeup at the moment is as shown below.

Ken Jones (Chairman)
John Sharp
Peter Byham
Christine Sharp
Diane Collyer

Amy Carter (Clerk)

With some new blood in the council there should be plenty of action over the next few years to improve our Parish.

Should Rowhedge have a Yacht Club?

10/06/2003

Rowhedge.com says YES

Why?

Because our river is under utilised. We are very lucky to have a river running by our village but we have no yacht club or proper sailing or boating facilities. Many villages would give their "eye teeth" to have a facility like our river. Our young people could benefit greatly by having a Yacht Club and more river activity facilities. We complain about young people standing around in groups but what else is there to do?

Wivenhoe has a very nice Yacht Club and two wide and long slipways.

Mersea has two yacht clubs and a very useful long floating pontoon. not to mention access to several wide slipways.

Brightlingsea has two yacht clubs and very good wide launching facilities.

Rowhedge has two very narrow and steep slipways and that is all. The ferry hard slipway being unusable due to silting up and the slipway on what was once Ian Browns Boat Yard is very steep and narrow.

Young people could benefit in many ways by taking a much more serious approach to utilizing the river to the full extent.

Youngsters in Wivenhoe, Brightlingsea and Mersea have often landed good jobs all around the world through their boating activities. Young people would get the chance to become water activities teachers (Well paid). craftsmen, sailors, canoeists, rowers etc

Considering that our most prolific medal producers in the Olympics last time were Sailing and Rowing one would think that the people of Rowhedge would be all for providing more river activities.

If you think this makes sense then please talk to as many neighbours and friends as possible. This will be our last chance to get these kind of facilities.

After the imminent development of Rowhedge Port there will be no more land available along the riverfront and certainly less grants around after the development takes place.

We need to get public opinion round to this way of thinking soon before it is too late so please do your best.

The Wivenhoe Ferry Trust

17/07/2006

The Wivenhoe Ferry Trust runs a ferry from Wivenhoe to Rowhedge and Fingringhoe during many weekends and bank holidays in the summer months.

The ferry with passengers disembarking onto the floating pontoon.

Timetables can be purchased from the ferry itself or from the "Crows Nest"

Fares at the time of writing were

Wivenhoe to Rowhedge £1
Wivenhoe to Fingringhoe 50p
Fingringhoe to Rowhedge £1
Fares apply the same in each direction as there are no return fares.

Children 5-15 half fare
Dogs Free
Bicycles 50p

Chairman of Parish Council suspended and four other Councillors censured for breach of the Parish Council's Code of Conduct.

20/01/2006

The Councillors were:

Nicholas Baker -- Suspended for 6 Weeks
Diana Collyer -- censured
Linda Piercy -- censured
Barbera Sanderson --censured
Michael Blowers -- censured

This was a result of an investigation and Hearing by the Standards Committee of Colchester Borough Council into the conduct of 5 East Donyland Parish Councillors. The following information should give some explanation.

The 5 councillors were found guilty on the 5th January 2006 of breaching the code of conduct. By voting £3000 of Parish Council Money to the EDCA (East Donyland Community Associaton) whilst having a Prejudicial Interest in breach of the code of conduct. The EDCA runs the village hall. All five councillors had failed to declare that they had a Prejudicial interest in the £3000 grant application. All five were either members or Trustees of the EDCA management committee.
In the case of Nicholas Baker who was chairman of the Parish Council, it was also taken into account that his Wife was a Paid Officer of the EDCA at the time.

More detail follows:-

As reported in the Evening Gazette on the 6th of January and the Essex County Standard on the 13th of January and also from Colchester Borough Council in the public notices section of the 13th of January edition of the Evening Gazette on page 51.

On the 5th of January 2006 the Standards Committee of Colchester Borough Council, held a hearing in respect of the above issue. As a result, Nicholas Baker, the Council Chairman was suspended for six weeks and four other Councillors, Diana Collyer, Linda Piercy, Barbera Sanderson and Michael Blowers, were also found in breach of the Parish Council's own code of conduct and were censured. In addition the five Councillors named will be required to undertake training, on the Code of Conduct, to be specified by the Standards Committee.

The committee particularly noted that the five Parish Councillors concerned were also either members or trustees of the EDCA's management committee at the time of the Parish Council's Policy and Resources Committee's consideration of the Grant application for 3000 pounds by the EDCA.

The sanction upon Councillor Nicholas Baker was considered to be commensurate with the role he played, as Chairman of East Donyland Parish Council at the time of the grant being considered and additionally that for a period of time (including at the time when the grant application was considered) his wife was a paid officer of the EDCA.