Edward Hunt's Forest of Dean Miscellany

Today I added a link to the new Frederick William Harvey website.

An excellent site featuring the Yorkley poet.

On 21st March 2009, Winifred Foley died aged 94. Born Winifred Mary Mason, in the village of Brierley, her beautiful and truthful autobiographical books evoke life in and out of the Forest of Dean in the last century. She was the Forest of Dean's Flora Thompson. In "A Child in the Forest", she spoke with an authentic voice about the hardships and joys of being brought up in the Forest of Dean in the twenties. Her father was a miner and was not allowed to work for seven years due to his role as a leader in the General Strike of 1926. This experience, and the terrible impoverishment she had known, fostered her lifelong socialist views which she shared with her husband Syd Foley.

31st July 2008

Councillor Bruce Hogan proposed the following motion: -

The Forest of Dean District Council is concerned at the current controversy surrounding the decision by Two Rivers Housing to charge owner occupiers of former Forest of Dean District Council and Two Rivers Housing properties for grass cutting on former council housing estates.

This Council recognises that although it was not a party to the decision to levy these charges, the legal justification being used by Two Rivers is a clause in the deeds of conveyance originally drawn up by this council when the properties were sold.

The council therefore recognises that it has a moral, if not a legal, responsibility to use its best efforts to find a fair and equitable solution to this problem.

Furthermore, this council notes that there is clause in the deeds of conveyance of some, if not all, of the properties allowing for disputes over the level of charging for the maintenance of joint services to be settled by arbitration.

The Forest of Dean District Council resolves to:

call upon Two Rivers Housing to initiate procedures for disputes over the charging regime to be settled by free and independent arbitration.

call upon Two Rivers Housing to detail all the areas of grassland that it is expecting each owner occupier to contribute to the maintenance of, and details of the costings of the maintenance contracts.

facilitate discussions between Two Rivers Housing, the Forest of Dean District Council, representatives of the tenants and owner occupiers of the affected estates and relevant town and parish councils to find a more equitable way of funding the maintenance of open spaces which have amenity value for the whole community.

31st July 2008

Three public questions had been submitted for consideration. Members were informed that a supplementary question would be permitted on each question.

Each member of the public was requested to refer his or her question to the council, followed by an appropriate response from the relevant officer.

1.      Services on private estates

The following question was received from Amanda Sterry of 6 Mapledean, Cinderford: Services on private estates are paid for by Council Tax. Why aren't all estates paid in that way, as we all pay the same with in our tax bands .

Response from Tim Perrin, Chief Executive

Land owned by the County Council on the side of adopted highways on estates is maintained by the County Council and the costs reflected in Council Tax payments.

However, other small areas of land on private estates is cut by this council but paid for by the original developers through a commuted sum, not Council Tax.

Land owned by Two Rivers Housing on its estates is maintained by it and in the case of grass cutting the cost of this is charged to its tenants, but by virtue of the original individual sale contracts costs can also be recovered from owners of properties served by these areas. The grassed land in question is not owned by a council and therefore charges

for its maintenance cannot be reflected in Council Tax.

Supplementary question

A lot of land cut by Two Rivers Housing is land that has been adopted by the Highways Authority. Why should we be paying for services on adopted land?

Response from Tim Perrin, Chief Executive

The Chief Executive advised that the matter would have to be taken up with Two Rivers Housing.

2.      Two Rivers Housing

The following question was received from Eric Brown, 22 York Road, Cinderford: Why weren't conveyance documents and contracts changed from the Forest of Dean District Council to Two Rivers Housing at the point of takeover?

Response from Claire Brain, Principal Legal Executive

The conveyance documents/contracts do not need to be changed. They provide that the covenants will transfer to any successors in title.

Supplementary question

Does this apply to the third and fourth owner of the property?

Response from Claire Brain, Principal Legal Executive

The Deeds of Covenant are transferred to the next owner of the property.

3.      Two Rivers Housing

The following question was received from Aidan Lancett of 14 Rectory Meadow, Longhope: Tenants were given a vote before the transfer to Two Rivers Housing, why weren't house owners, especially as we are to be charged for services alongside tenants, and the fact we have financial stakes in our homes which the tenants to not?

Response from Tim Perrin, Chief Executive:

The whole of the consultation process for the Large Scale Voluntary Transfer was prescribed by the relevant Government department. They had to be assured that we had complied with the rules before they would let us formally proceed with the transfer of the housing stock to Forest of Dean Housing. Only tenants were allowed to vote in the   ballot. There was no provision for owner-occupiers to be involved in this process.

Supplementary question

Why were owner-occupiers not consulted or allowed to vote?

Response from Tim Perrin, Chief Executive:

Owner-occupiers were not entitled to a vote under the transfer legislation. Only the secure tenants of the council, where tenancies allowed them to occupy the properties being transferred, were entitled to a vote.

Forest Review ? July 30th 2008

Update on Two Rivers Protest

A meeting for Two Rivers residents is being held in Cinderford to update protesters about progress with the council and the housing association.

The gathering will be on Wednesday, August 6th at the Miners Welfare Hall, Cinderford at 7pm.

Representatives from the group met Two Rivers on Tuesday evening and will meet with the district council on Thursday evening.

Spokes woman Amanda Sterry said: ?This meeting is for everyone who lives on a Two Rivers site. We won?t pay and are going to keep on Fighting.?

Here is an interesting question from Carol Herschell who has asked about Cholera in the Forest of Dean

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nY3FJg49w74C&pg=PA313&lpg=PA313&dq=%22Forest+of+Dean%22+Cholera&source=web&ots=rETDVkeZlc&sig=34S-HSJ6Aei-4jA7K9qgA-54Xr8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA313,M1

Forester - 24th July 2008

According to this week?s Forester, District Councillor Lynn Sterry has joined the protest against the Two Rivers grass-cutting charges.

She says of grass cutting charges: ?It is the largest scale injustice to affect people in the Forest since I?ve been on the council.?

?The council need to take responsibility as they screwed up at the very beginning when the houses were transferred to Two Rivers.?

?I?ve emailed Tim Perrin, the chief executive at the district council. He was the officer who led the research at the time of the transfer and should be held responsible,? said Lynn.

Two Rivers Housing residents continue their fight against maintenance fees.

There is massive opposition to the introduction of these charges by Two Rivers Housing. (Around 3,500 tenants and 2,100 owners are believed to have received notice they will have to pay for services such as grass cutting and hedge trimming.)

Amanda Sterry, Eric Brown and Aidan Lancett met with Two Rivers officials on Wednesday. They passed on the message that we are not prepared to pay. A further meeting is being arranged.

In the meantime, they will be reporting back at a meeting to be held at:

The Miners Welfare Hall, Cinderford at 7pm on Friday 4th July.

 PLEASE JOIN US THERE.

TWO Rivers residents will take their fight against maintenance fees to the streets of Cinderford this week.

Angry homeowners will march up Cinderford High Street at 11am on Saturday in a protest against grass cutting charges.

Cinderford mayor Max Coborn and district councilor Graham Morgan revealed the protest at a mass petition signing at Cinderford Miners' Welfare Hall last Friday.

Hundreds of people from across the Forest flocked to the hall to support the campaign, which is growing by the day, against maintenance costs.

As well as the petition signing, a number of speakers took to the stage to advise the packed hall on the planned action against Two Rivers.

Graham Morgan read out a solicitor's letter to a Two Rivers' resident which advised homeowners not to pay the maintenance fees.

?My advice is don't pay and keep fighting,? he said.

Longhope resident Aiden Lancett then took the microphone.

?A solicitor from London rang me this week and he told me the conveyance is not worth the paper it is written on,? he said. ?He said the best thing to do is go to a top barrister.?

Mr Lancett's comments were greeted with roars of approval by the crowd who were told a committee will be formed to represent them following the march.

The evening was organised by Amanda Sterry and Jackie Faulkner.

?We were amazed to have a few hundred people here. The feeling against Two Rivers is astronomical,? said Amanda. ?If we all stick together on this we will beat Two Rivers,? she said.

In a separate development MP Mark Harper is to meet Two Rivers bosses and homeowners tomorrow.