Sincere thanks, in his absence, to Mike Gordon for his dedicated service as deputy Chair, contributions during and following meetings and his hours of work on the Newsletters during periods of lockdown when we were unable to have face to face meetings.

Sincere thanks also to Andy Cordingley for his involvement during committee meetings, including reporting HS2 lorries using the wrong route as well as his assistance in preparing and clearing the room for meetings.

Wendy Rice-Morley who has diligently served as HTRA secretary, displaying posters to advertise our meetings, recording minutes, and distributing them when they have been finalised. She has also taken an active role as part of the committee being a strong advocate for aspects of road safety in the village specifically leading in raising a petition for a zebra crossing or an island in Rickmansworth Road just past the Baptist Church where speeding is a persistent issue (and two accidents have been evidence of this). This petition was presented at the LBH and has proved successful. We have been informed that money has been allocated for the construction of an island and the tendering process is being undertaken.

Helen Conchar – Alongside her attendance and involvement at committee meetings Helen, as Treasurer, has implemented the use of the new documents and checks that have been implemented and produced the Annual Finance Report and arranged for its inspection by an independent qualified person. We hope that her numerated notes to the finance report will prove useful.

Ray Davis for his resilience and persistence in liaising with the police and keeping residents up to date
with information he has been able to obtain. He has also participated fully as a member of the committee including reporting on areas of speeding (Police) and fly-tipping (LBH) and following these up with officers. We have raised the issue of speeding with the police and more speed checks are now
taking place.

Derek Kent supported by Gillian Kent has, as well as being fully involved in committee meetings, undertaken the role of analysing the planning applications each week. He then distributes the link to the LBH website to other committee members with specific reference to the ones related to Harefield, including South Harefield, as these were not being covered by Ickenham Residents Association. He also states his thoughts on the applications for others to also feedback to him. He has responded with
comments to the LBH planning department regarding applications when it has been deemed appropriate and has produced a spreadsheet for members reference that they can use for reference or to investigate applications themselves.

We have been keeping a watchful eye for any planning application/s regarding any development/s at Widewater Place but none, to date, have yet been received.

Jenny Shave, Tina Wane and Jacky Metcalfe have all played an active role on the committee both raising issues and sharing their views during discussion.

Tina has been keeping a watchful eye on aspects of the environment, most recently in connection with the horses in a field by fine bush Lane – although not part of our ‘patch’ she and I have highlighted the issue with Cllrs and our MP and Mani, who is now in Ruislip, in the hope that they will be able to get
something done.

Jenny and Jacky have recently taken on the role of liaising with the Harefield Practice to provide residents with up-to-date information. Following an email notification to the practice Jacky has made a direct in the surgery approach and left a note requesting a meeting. This has, as yet, not been
responded to. We have been informed that Ms Franklin, the manager, has left and the gentleman who has been covering on Wednesdays is taking up the full-time position in May. The latter is yet to be confirmed.

Some of the other key issues that the committee have discussed and actioned on behalf of residents have included:

The condition of the road surface at the entry to the Harefield Practice and the Harefield Hospital. The LBH part has now been resurfaced.

The ongoing issues of drivers mounting the pavement adjacent to the Harefield Practice and Harefield Hospital and driving along it. We have received reports of vehicles brushing the bag a pedestrian was
carrying and another where the person had to move over into the fence. We have been informed that this is again being investigated. The curb is currently low which makes mounting it too easy but the cost of replacement when the road surface is good is too great. The installation of bollards would narrow the path too much. A meeting to discuss other possible options may be required.

We arranged a visit for residents to the HS2 Align site which received positive feedback. I have recently received a request asking if we will be arranging a further trip.

HS2 staff parking along Moorhall road - Participation in HS2/LBH/Residents Association virtual meetings has resulted in the single yellow lines along Moorhall Road.

The same virtual meetings have included the mud on Harvil Road and Breakspear Road South. There is now a weekly audit of conditions on Harvil Road being carried out for LBH Officers with the help of HS2/SCS. Conditions along the road are evaluated by LBH and if additional cleaning is required, they can then be targeted. Businesses along Skip Lane have also been visited and there is the possibility of the Anti-social Behaviour Team being involved in auditing them.

Reporting of lorries using wrong routes has led to the installation of HS2 ANPR cameras as part of the HS2 Vehicle Route Compliance System being rolled out in Hillingdon. Cameras will be configured to only capture data related to HS2 lorries, no other vehicle data will be captured or stored. System is being tested and is expected to be ‘live’ around May 2023.

Members of the committee also report issues such as unsightly or hazardous pavements/ the pond; location of drug dealing sites and anti-social behaviour such as off-road biking on inappropriate sites when we are made aware of them.

The Committee have reviewed aspects of Finance with the review and implementation of the Expenses Claim Form; the chair signing off and dating the bank statements that have been checked and the introduction of the numerated notes to the Finance Report to aid clarity.

As part of some of our committee meetings the Committee have reflected on the resilience and commitment regarding the HTRA and subsequently reviewed the HTRA Constitution. Following detailed discussion, we made amendments to the Constitution. We have now consulted on these
amendments, both at a general meeting and in electronic format during a consultation period. Following the ‘in person’ general meeting further amendments were made and included in the ‘e’ consultation.

A current action on behalf of residents relates to the canal near Peerless drive. I received an email from a resident expressing concern about the clearing of the bank and what they had been informed was due to happen. Following enquiries of the Canal and River Trust I have been informed that:

‘West London Community Moorings (WELCOM) have approached the Canal and River Trust with regards to entering a lease for a new mooring location on the Grand Union Canal accessed via Trust owned land. Their application has been approved in principle. WELCOM are now required to approach
London Borough of Hillingdon in respect to appropriate approvals, including planning permission. The Trust are unable to grant rights without confirmation of the required planning process. If planning permission is required, then local residents will be able to comment on the proposals.

Regarding the site clearance, approvals have been provided by Canal and River Trust Environment team for bramble removal so that site investigations can be undertaken by the group.’

No planning application has been displayed on the LBH website.

Your committee have, during the year, returned to the issue of developing an HTRA website, the maintenance and costing of a website and possible content. This year Jenny Shave offered to try and keep a site updated and we explored the costing by approaching three possible developers. Following
discussion, we have engaged *Andrew Kent, who works in Harefield to develop a website for HTRA. We will be consulting members on thoughts re content.

*Andrew Kent is the son of Derek and Gillian; they both declared an interest and did not take part in the discussion re allocation of engagement. (This scenario may be another item that needs including in the Constitution in the future).

It had been agreed that the purchase of a laptop would be beneficial for the association and appropriate specifications and some costings obtained but when the current secretary related that she prefers to use her own PC the decision was made the defer the purchase.

This does not cover all aspects of the work undertaken by your committee, but I hope that it provides a picture of the breadth of work undertaken and the persistence sometimes required.

Janet Brown