Forum for your Goldsworth Park Discussions

GOLDSWORTH PARK COMMUNITY MESSAGES

IMPORTANT NOTE: These views represent the views of the submitters only and do not reflect the views of the GPCA. In fact this website and the GPCA hold no particular view! We and the GPCA aim to be impartial. To post a message here email us at goldsworthpark@yahoo.co.uk though be aware it is subject to approval by us and a time delay. The GPCA also has a notice board by Waitrose and it is updated often. Notices about elections and some events are on the Woking Council Noticeboard opposite it. Local adverts can also be found in Forbuoys window and in Forbuoys there are surplus Goldsworth News copies.

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April 2006

Mr Editor

In the belated March edition of Goldsworth News 2 pages were taken up by Woking Borough Council questionnaire entitled Goldsworth Park Recreation Ground Consultation. My point being that residents have previously been asked to jump through this loop.

The result previously identified an urgent need for public toilets and improved habitat for Wildlife, amongst other items

Regarding Wildlife habitat, plans were drawn up and put on public display and we were also told funds were available.

With reference to Public Toilets a meeting of the consultative committee in 2005 again confirmed their urgent need.

Perusal of the questionnaire in Goldsworth Park News, I read with amazement some of the questions asked.

Section 6

Why do you visit this place?

Amongst the options listed was visit with Sea Cadets. Currently they have very little presence Just boats on water.

Question 7

Asked does this area of open space suffer from any of the following: -

One item stated to do some fishing. One cannot imagine how this point is relevant amongst questions as Vandalism, Dog fouling and Litter.

Finally we were asked to identify ethnic origin. What relevance is this question to the use of public open space?

Peter Winter

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Join the Wheelie Bin thread at the Woking Forum. Be aware it is a long thread! 

http://www.woking.gov.uk/forum?thread=000042E90B09.C0A801C2.000041AE.0001

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Lockfield Drive Pot Holes. Concerned about the holes in the road? Join the Woking Forum, but remember SCC maintain the roads now not WBC.

http://www.woking.gov.uk/forum?thread=000044297BD1.C0A801C2.00000150.0019

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Lockfield Roadworks Forum. (Surrey County Council are the owners of this work, not WBC). Read what other Woking residents are saying about the works here at the Woking Forum.

 http://www.woking.gov.uk/forum?thread=0000441FB9F1.C0A801C2.00007EE7.002A
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Feb 2006 Wheeled Bins

Of course they are an eyesore if they are put where the Council thinks we can put them, i.e. in the front garden for all of us who live in mid-terrace. However, it is absolutely necessary that we deal with our rubbish in a more eco-friendly way. So I found it all the more annoying that WBC made no effort to think about finding more suitable places for the bins and instead of providing every household with two bins made provision for larger ones. We don’t all need two bins. They say these odd empty green spaces by garages are council property and therefore one can’t put bins on them. But they have no qualms to ask us to put their council property on our private gardens. Equally to say that such conspicuous bins would be vandalised is nonsense too. The whole thing needs education and proper research all round, neither of which has been done, and we are the losers. Goldsworth Park residents need to voice their concerns much louder and what about our councillor, what can he do to avoid the estate going down hill aesthetically?

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Feb 2006 Wheeled Bins

Wheelie bins are – A hideous eyesore, imposed on residents in an area designated as a “park” where we as individuals have to apply for planning permission for the slightest alteration to our properties or gardens in case it detracts from the appearance of the area!  Heavy and inconvenient to drag around. There are sacks that we could use but W.B.C is hoarding them and refuses to let us have any despite numerous requests in my neighbourhood.  Why say that sacks are available but then do everything possible to prevent us having them.  If indeed sacks are so unworthy of use why on earth has W.B.C obtained a supply rather than stating that none are available? Also in that case why are sacks provided for the recycling of garden refuse which incidentally is the heaviest waste and where sacks split quite easily-perhaps we will soon have a third bin to add to our collection followed by a fourth for collecting glass soon after!  Although I am all for recycling and have been doing so for a number of years the imposition of these hideous objects (around 20 of which I will probably have to view from my window) is doing nothing to endear me to this project. Come on W.B.C listen to those who pay your wages.
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Jan 2006 VANDALISM.
This is an old topic, but perhaps worth raising again. Living next to the foot path around the lake, we probably get as much vandalism as most in the park. To date, we have had graffiti painted on our fence, eggs thrown at our window, and dog faeces (albeit wrapped in plastic bags) thrown into our garden.
We feel particularly helpless against this type of behaviour, because it is random, carried out in the dark and carried out by people much younger, fitter and fleeter of foot than we are. The police are powerless and if we threw eggs back and actually hit one of the perpetrators, we would doubtless be punished.
I believe that this type of vandalism is merely an extension of the litter dropping culture in which we now live. The bushes we try to plant outside our fence are full of discarded cans, bottles, cigarette packets and other disposals of an even less tasteful nature. It is too easy to get away with litter dropping, but perhaps if we, as a society started to get tougher with this aspect of our culture, then other forms of antisocial behaviour might be easier to manage. It has worked in other countries, such as Singapore and Denmark, where litter dropping is now unheard of and the knock-on effect is similarly more pleasant.
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Pre 2006 DO YOU KNOW A GOOD GARDENER?
Hi, I've recently moved to the Park and am looking for a reasonably priced, reliable gardener. Having looked in the Yellow Pages I see there are a huge list of gardeners, but I don't fancy taking pot luck! Can you suggest a way I can source this information.
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Pre 2006 Dogs
Hello, I'd like to raise a topic for discussion, possibly inclusion in the newsletter. Isn't it about time that it was made compulsory for dog owners to keep their dogs on leads while walking around Goldsworth Park Lake? I live just off the lake. I, not to mention my poor cats who like to sit outside in the sun in my front garden, are constantly bothered by the dogs of selfish owners who let them off the leash to run up the paths from the lake into our gardens. One dog, a particularly aggressive Doberman comes into my garden every single day, terrorises my cats and leaves his calling card all over my lawn. I'd love to know who the owner of this dog is, but the owner is nowhere to be seen. Needless to say, I'm sure they wouldn't be willing to pay for the clean-up operation in my garden, not to mention my vets bills should it get hold of one of my cats. It makes me extremely mad that these selfish people have no regard for the fact that this is a residential area and not a playground. If they want to let their dogs off the leash, why can't they take them to a park or something? I dread to think of the consequenses of one of these dogs attacking a pet, or worse still, a child.
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Pre 2006 Garages and Fences
I am writing concerning an area of grass opposite my house which has been taken over by around 20 teenagers each day to kick a football against the garage wall and whack a golf ball up and down the green. Whilst I have no problems with young children playing over the road, these adult kids are causing damage to the garages, grassed area and surrounding cars, not to mention the frequent emergency stops where they have no road sense. at the bottom of our road there is a football area with goals but they seem not to be interested in using it. is there a department that deals with this type of problem or can the green be declared a no ball games area & give the grass a chance to regrow?
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Pre 2006 Landgrabbing
Walking around the Park, I am surprised by how many land encroachments seem to be taking place. One I see often, though only one of several, is at Rosewarne Cl./Muirfield Rd. The pattern is typical: 1. plant a shrub on the common ‘green’. 2. Dig the turf twixt it and your garden. 3. Plant flowers, shrubs etc. 4. Gradually remove the original boundary wall of the property. Bingo: an extra 10 or 20 sq. metres added to your garden, from what was communal land! And no-one seems to care.
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Pre 2006 Encroachment
Re the comment about encroachment - many of the houses around the lake actually own the "common land" behind their fences. They are entitled to plant there.
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Pre 2006 Wheeled Bins
I have followed with interest the ongoing debate regarding the implementation of wheeled bins in the Goldsworth Park area.
When I moved to the south, two and a half years ago, one of the first things that struck me was the outdated method of waste collection. Wheeled bins had been in use "up north" for around the past ten years and prior to that standard black plastic dustbins were used.
Now let me give my perspective on a number of the issues which have been raised:
The bins are too difficult to maneuver. My parents and a number of their neighbours, have a series of 5 or so steps between their properties and the pavements. The bins have to be left on the pavements every Friday and not one person in the area complained. In my opinion they are not at all difficult to maneuver, and although they may be heavy to lift when they are full, that's why they have wheels. It amused me how many people complained about how difficult they were to use before they had even arrived.
I accept that there may be a minority of old/frail people in the area who would have qenuine difficulty in moving the bins, but surely the sense of community in the area is not so dead that a neighbour can not assist once a week?
The bins block the pavements and what happens if I go away? The bins do not take up the whole of the pavement and also I have noticed that the council have been collecting them from outside properties. Also very few pavements are heavily used on Goldsworth Park and those that are, are generally not located in areas where bins would be collected from anyway.
Regarding the putting out and bringing in of bins when your away, well I suggest you take a look at community spirit again.
The bins are unhygienic and will smell. Not if used properly, in 10 years of use my parents have not had this problem, the bins seal well and if everything that goes in to the bins is bagged (as I see it not difficult as my kitchen bin is the only one which smelly items go in to and it always has a bag in it) there is even less of a chance of odours. If the worst comes to the worst the bins are easy enough to clean with a hosepipe and in the North there are various companies which will clean the bins for a small cost.
Have people already forgotten how grimey the existing binstores are? I have lived in a couple of locations on Goldsworth Park and have found without exception that the bin stores are thoroughly unpleasant places. Occasionally items will be dropped and bags will split, this will eventually build up as very few people actually clean the stores. In my opinion this build up of grime presents a considerable problem when compared to a faint odour emanating from a wheeled bin.
There is not enough room for the bins. Here is one of the few areas where I agree there are issues. However I do not feel it is as much of a problem as it has been made out to be. I live in a 1 bed Cavalier stile property and can confirm there is plenty of room at the side of the house for the bins, I am also well acquainted with the Decon style 1 bed properties and am sure their is also sufficient room for bins there.
I feel that the majority, if not all of the problems regarding space are related to the flats/maisonettes in the area. I have 2 simple solutions to this. Both involve demolishing the existing bin store walls but keeping the hardstanding areas.
Option 1 would be to provide the smaller bins to flats/maisonettes and store them in the opened up bin store areas. When I lived at home with my parents the three of us coped easily with a small wheelie bin so surely a single person or even a couple in a flat could manage easily.
Option 2 would be to provide 2 large communal bins, 1 for waste and 1 for recycling (like those used for shops) to each block of flats/maisonettes and store these on the opened up bin store areas.
All in all It seems to me that a mountain is being made out of a mole hill, and the few real issues which have arisen have been blown out of all proportion by a minority of people. In my opinion Woking Borough Council has done the right thing, there are perhaps a few wrinkles that need to be ironed out but nothing which can't be dealt with easily.

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