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Theydon Bois & District Rural Preservation Society
The Society's Aims and Objectives:
Founded in 1943 to preserve the rural character of the countryside in and around Theydon Bois as an appropriate and natural complement to Epping Forest, the objectives of the society are:
- To resist all attempts of encroachment on the Green Belt.
- To preserve all public footpaths and right-of-way.
- To do such other things as may be incidental or conducive to the maintenance of local amenities.
Activities:
- Regular monitoring of Planning Applications (see our notice board on the wall beside the estate agents.)
- Organising walks from the Village Hall to explore the surrounding fields and forest.
- Two public meetings a year, in July (with AGM) and October, with illustrated talks on subjects of interest.
- A newsletter is published annually in May.
- Maintain an archive of photographs of historical interest.
- Create a photographic record of trees of interest in and around the village.
Officers of the Society for 2010 - 2011:
The following were elected at this years AGM to be the Officers of the Society for the coming year:
President: Mr. A Gillies Vice President: Mr. M R Chapman Chairman: Mr. P J Newton Vice Chairman: Mr. M Boyle Secretary: Mr. J. Watts Minutes Secretary: Mrs S. Warren Treasurer: Mr. G. Haslehurst Meetings Secretary: Mr. J. Watts In 2010 at the Society's AGM the Eric Thurston, then 91, retired as secretary after many years of service in that post. The new Secretary is Jim Watts.
There are also 12 Executive Committee Member places (at present with 4 vacancies). Officers or Committee Members can be contacted via the e-mail address below or further contact details are available on the village notice boards. The Society would be interested in hearing from people from the Village or surrounding area who would like to join the committee.
Society Membership: This is approximately 1,700 with members is most of our Village Households.
Annual Subscription is £1.00 per person or £2.00 per household
Foot Path Walks: The Society Organises a number of guided footpath walks each year to explore the fields and forest surrounding Theydon Bois. These are free and are usually on the 1st Sunday of April, May, June, July and September starting at 2pm from the Village Hall. Dogs are welcome must be on leads for times on some of the walks. Stout footware is advisable as the ground can be uneven and sometimes is muddy especially on some of the Epping Forest Walks. Walks last from 2 to 21/2 hours and cover a distance of about 4 miles, the September walk is slightly longer but can be left at a number of convenient places.
April 3rd 2011 Tracks – past and present.* May 8th 2011 Earthworks – ancient and modern. June 5th 2011 Country Estates – then and now. July 3rd 2011 Trees – old and new.* Sept. 4th 2011 Around the village boundary. * These walks have stiles to be negotiated.
The Preservation Society are also now starting to make details of their walks available as pdf's and the first two available are:
TB&DRPS WALK 01: Tracks - Past & Present (The walk of Sunday 3rd April 2011).
TB&DRPS WALK 02: Earthworks - Ancient & Modern. (The walk on Sunday 8th May 2011).
You are welcome to use these as an accompanying guide to the Society's walks or to try the walk 'under your own steam'.
Other Walking Links:
Loughton & District Historical Society - (For Epping Forest Walks go to the walks page)
Walking in Essex - Essex walks including Theydon & Epping Forest Walks - free to download.
Threats to our Village and the Green Belt:
10th November 2011 Car Park Appeal Closure Date Moved:
The Planning Inspectorate have now at short notice cancelled the Informal Hearing scheduled for 15th November ito the appeal.
Although the Planning Inspectorate initially refused EFDC's and the Society's request that the Appeal into the building of a commuter car park in the Green Belt on the site of the Old Foresters Club should be by a Public Inquiry they have now reconsidered. The amount of evidence submitted and general public interest make it more appropriate that a proper public Inquiry take place. As a result the closure date for submissions to the appeal has now been extended to 27th December and the Society urges all villagers who object to the proposals and have not yet made a submission to do so. Links to the Society's Original letter of objection as sent to EFDC and our initial further evidence to the Planning Inspectorate regarding the appeal are below. The Planning Inspectorate as yet have not set a date for the Public Inquiry.
The Society may be submitting further evidence before the new closure date.
Evidence Submission re the Appeal
8th August 2011 TB&DRPS Objection to the Appeal
Above is the link to the TB&DRPS Objection to the grounds for appeal by Parkeng Ltd. The closing date is now close on 10th August, but you can still make a submission to this appeal, the outcome of which is very important to the future of our village, via the Planning Inspectorate Website Just enter 2155393 into the Search Box to find the Appeal and follow the links to make a comment. This can be entered direct or as an attachment.
10th July 2011 As was to be expected Parkeng has appealed the decision by EFDC to refuse the building of a commuter car park in the Green Belt on the site of the Old Foresters Club.
The Appeal is to be decided by an Informal Hearing and a site visit by an Inspector although EFDC are trying to have this changed to a Public Inquiry.
Comments in writing may be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate by 10th August. Any comments already made to EFDc will be transferred taken into account. Modifications of original comments can however be submitted and Theydon Bois Parish Council, Theydon Bois & District Rural Preservation Society (TB&DRPS) and Theydon Bois Action Group (TBAG) all intend to submit further responses challenging the grounds for appeal. Individuals who also have already made comments or those wanting to add to the comments recieved can write to:
Send three copies of your letter to;
Planning Inspectorate, Room 3/16 Eagle Wing, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol BS1 6PN
Stating reference; APP/J1535/A/11/2155393/NWF
Threats to our Village and the Green Belt (General):
The Committee of the Society is alive to the threats faced by Theydon Bois from various plans for development in Essex. In addition to monitoring all the weekly Planning Applications for our village and the surrounding Green Belt we have responded to: -
1) The Essex County Council's "Shaping the future of Essex and Southend",
2) The Southeast Region Airports Study,
3) The Harlow Development Options Study and
4) The Stansted/M11 Corridor Development Options Study.
5) The East of England Plan & it's revisions.
6) The Stansted Airport Expansion.
7) The Epping Forest Sustainability Appraisal and Habitats Regulations Assessment Scoping Draft Report.
In each case we have expressed, on behalf of the membership, our alarm at any possible despoliation of our rural setting; endeavoring to cite and object to those aspects that seem ill considered, or not considered at all, more particularly the lack of resources of water, health provision, transport infrastructure and the likely ending of oil resources by 2040 - as attested to by the UK Petroleum Industry Association.
We have always stressed the need for preserving the Green Belt, especially between Epping Forest and the open country to the east, both north and south of Theydon Bois.The East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) that developed the 'East of England Plan' was dissolved on the 31 March 2010 and no longer functions as an organisation. From 1st April 2010, much of EERA's work will be taken forward by a new organisation called the East of England Local Government Association - www.eelga.gov.uk but it is quite likely that much of the work that has gone into the 'East of England Plan' will still act as an outline for EELGA and Local Authorities including EFDC up to 2031.
The Regional Spatial Strategy for the East of England (RSS14) otherwise known as the East of England Plan includes a sub-regional strategy for the London to Cambridge Corridor, which includes the Harlow and Lee Valley areas - and of course Theydon Bois. It takes into account all the studies listed above.
EERA was East of England Plan Response: The date for submissions onthe East of England Plan closed on the 16th March 2005 and The Enquiry in Public started in November 2005 and is ongoing. The enquiry will look at the area covering Theydon Bois on the 14th & 15th February 2006. Both the Rural Preservation Society and the Parish Council made detailed responses to the proposals in the plan, but are not being allowed to give evidence at the enquiry. The East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) had a hugh response and had received more than 26,000 replies by the closing date. They commented that "All responses will be studied and form part of the Assembly's final analysis of the public consultation." Well we hope they REALLY take onboard what people are saying. We spoke to many village residents who took time to comment on the proposals in the plan and none could find good words to say for the proposals to build 478,000 houses in the East of England and the 11,000 in Epping Forest District. The destruction of the Green Belt and the affects on our Quality of Life were major concerns for our villagers. The body text of the Theydon Bois & District Rural Preservation Society's Response is now on the Society's East of England Plan page. This was entered under the Plan's various chapter headings with summaries and conclusions added.
N.B. The East of England Regional Assembly covers the six counties of Essex, Hertfordshire,
Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, and Bedfordshire. It is unelected, but the Leader of Epping Forest District Council is one of its fifty members.More on the East of England Plan Consultation can be found on the Society's
EERA Up Date Page
The Society is a member of The Campaign for the Protection of Rural Essex and have made contributions to editions of their journal, "The Essex Protector". We also belong to the The Campaign for the Protection of Rural England that deals with Country wide protection issues
Society News Items
13th April 2011 Blunts Farm Enforcement: It is over 5 years since the Enforcement Notices requiring the restoration of the Blunts Farm Site were issued. During that time the Society, the Parish Council, TBAG and many individual villagers backed by MP Eleanor Lang have kept up the pressure to have the land properly restored to something approaching its previous rural aspect. In January this year planning officers initially considered signing of the notices and the proposal came before the EFDC District Development Control Committee on 5th April. Following the speeches made on the night by Peter Newton the Rural Preservation Society's Chairman and the Parish Council Clerk, Sally Crone EFDC Councillors on the District Development Control Committee agreed that the Enforcement Notices on Blunts Farm should not only not be signed off, but that before the issue is given further consideration and only after officers feel the land is fully restored to the best that we can all hope for, a site visit is undertaken by councillors themselves. To view the EFDC Webcast of the debate follow the link and go to Index Point 14.
4th April 2011 2011 Walks: The Rural Preservation Society's 2011 series of Monthly Guided Walks from Theydon 'kicked off' on 3rd April with the walk "Tracks - Past & Present" led by the Society's Chairman Peter Newton who is a font of knowledge on the local area. Again this year the walks are proving very popular with both old and new members of the village community attending as well as visitors from farther afield who have found information on the walks here on the Website. The next walk is on May 8th and the full list for 2011 can be seen above.
1st April 2011 2011 Newsletter & Subscriptions: The Society's Newsletter for 2011 has now been published and is being distributed by our team of volunteer subscription collectors who will try to find you at home, and will call again if you are out. Subscriptions remain unchanged at £1 per person or £2 for the whole Household. This year the Rural Preservation Society & the Horticultural Society volunteers will be distributing both Newsletters/Programs and collecting both sets of subscriptions in some roads.
1st April 2011 Car Park at Old Foresters Reused: The Planning Application ( EPF/1134/10 - Location: Land off Abridge Road, ex Old Foresters Club. Proposal: The creation of a commuter car park providing 178 car parking spaces (including 13 disabled spaces) has been refused by EFDC Planning Officers without the need for it to go to committee. The
Society’s detailed objections to this Car Park were circulated to EFDC Councillors as well as being sent to the planning department and many villagers raised their own objections to the development of this Green Belt site. While we are pleased at the refusal we expect that an appeal will be forthcoming. Enforcement Notices already apply to this site and a further/different application has been made for the e"rection of single and two storey buildings and retention of existing buildings in new locations on site in connection with the proposed use of the site for training and leisure purposes for children in foster care and carers".9th July 2010 Scoping Report Consultation - The Society's Submission:
Theydon Bois & District Rural Preservation Society has now made its full response to the Epping Forest Sustainability Appraisal and Habitats Regulations Assessment Scoping Draft Report March 2010 consultation. you can download a pdf copy here. TBAG have also made a full submission and a following addendum available here.
10th June 2010 Scoping Report Consultation Now Extended:
TBAG and Theydon Bois & District Rural Preservation Society wrote a strongly worded letter to EFDC on 28th May and asked that they extend the consultation currently being undertaken as part of the Local Development Framework (see below). This is an important report that lays the foundations for land use and development in the district for the next 20 years.
We were informed on Monday that it has in fact been extended until 9 July.
Please take five minutes to do your bit to ensure Theydon Bois, a village that is surrounded by Green Belt, is not left more vulnerable to large scale inappropriate or unsustainable development by completing the questionnaire.
29th May: EFDC Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report & Questionnaire.
You may be aware that EFDC is currently consulting on a Scoping Report that has the potential to affect our village. In the 141 page report, Theydon Bois has been highlighted as having a low to moderate sensitivity to change, Theydon Bois Rural Preservation Society and Theydon Bois Action Group both believe this to be an inappropriate characterisation and have therefore prepared a basic response to the online questionnaire to aid residents and add weight to the detailed responses that we are both preparing.
Download Scoping Report Questionnaire Guidance Notes (Word Document).
The Society and TBAG have jointly requested an extension to the present deadline, but this may not be agreed to so please try to respond by Friday 18th June to the online questionnaire on the EFDC web site.
EFDC Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report available on EFDC web site.
We urge you to make a response to this report. If the village is characterized as having a low to moderate sensitivity to change and this is adopted as part of the new Local Development Framework, it may make it difficult to oppose inappropriate development in the future. The suggested questionnaire answers in our Guidance Notes are not comprehensive but provide a basis to help residents make their own response to this very important consultation. We also have some serious reservations about this consultation process and are highlighting our concerns with this directly to EFDC.
Theydon Bois Millennium Memories
The Society has a DVD that runs for 35 minutes entitled "Theydon Bois Millennium Memories". This DVD was produced by Class 5W of Theydon Bois Primary School in a joint project with the Preservation Society. The project was funded by a Millennium Festival Awards for All Lottery Grant.
The video comprises extracts from over 5 hours of interviews with Jim Axon, Kate Coulson, Bob Day, Jeremy Dibble, Pam Dibble, Jean Elderton, Doug Gooch, Doreen Grimwald, Anthony Purkiss, Queenie Strickland, and Eric Thurston. The interviews were carried out by the pupils. The video is in nine sections: Schools, World War 2, Houses, Farming, Retreats, Shops, Police, Events and The Village.
We are grateful to the interviewees, staff of the School and members of the Society for their help in making the video.
The project was developed and coordinated by Hugh Meteyard, Head of Waltham Forest Schools Media Resources Unit.
The original production run of the DVD has now sold out but further copies may be available from the Society at a cost of £7.00 plus postage & packing.
For further information about The Theydon Bois Village Preservation Society or its events: Telephone 01992 813708
or E-mail: Jim Watts
Last Updated: 10th November 2011