November 2011 Archives

THE funeral of a Northwood soldier killed serving in Afghanistan will be held next week.

Private Thomas Christopher Lake, 29, of 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, was killed in an explosion while on patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of central Helmand.

Described as a 'loyal, fun-loving action man', he had seen success since joining the army two years ago. Friends and colleagues paid tribute to his dedicated service.

NORTHWOOD Hills is twinkling its way into the festive season after its Christmas lights switch-on.

Schoolchildren, residents and the borough's Mayor were among the crowd that gathered in Joel Street to mark the occasion on Saturday, organised by Northwood Hills Resident's Association.

RESIDENTS calling for parking controls near Northwood Hills station will have to gather support for another petition if they are to win their 10-year battle.

People who live near the station want councillors to install residents-only parking spaces, to stop rail commuters leaving cars in their roads all day.

Tolcarne Drive, off Joel Street, is particularly badly affected, while the problem is made worse in Harlyn Drive by parents dropping off Harlyn Primary School children.

Residents of Lichfield and Colchester roads have also complained of commuters taking up parking spaces and blocking their driveways.

TWO teenagers have got a taste for fundraising after securing nearly £600 for an Alzheimers' charity.

Benjamin Retter, 14 from Northwood Hills, and James Coleman, 15 from Northwood, took advantage of a recent trip with their Scouts group to the top of Snowdon in Wales to raise the cash for the Alzheimer's Society.

James's grandmother was diagnosed with the disease and the boys decided the trip would be a great way to support the cause
As well as the mountain climb, they took part in a scrambling (part climbing and part walking) session and went rock climbing.

PETITIONERS will call on Hillingdon council to change parking bays, which they say are dangerous because drivers have to reverse into them, at a meeting on Wednesday.

Residents living in Northwood Hills claim new bays in Joel Street put stress on drivers who may find it difficult to reverse into a narrow space and say cars would cause a hazard when leaving the bays.

But the council argues that reverse parking is the safest method.

A FORMER caretaker on the Guinness Trust estate in Northwood has been jailed for 19 months after admitting a sexual assault on a child six years ago.

Peter Cater, 57, of Iveagh Close, Northwood, also admitted inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and possessing extreme pornographic material.

A HOSPICE volunteer will get his five minutes of national fame when he features in a TV show on Monday night.

Len Turner, who has helped out at Michael Sobell House in Northwood for 20 years, receives a 'heart-warmer' prize during Channel Five show Celebrity Wish List next week.

Mr Turner, 93, who was runner up in the Community Champion section of the Gazette and Uxbridge College's Local Heroes Awards this year, was nominated by staff at the hospice.

PLANNING policies and procedures went under the spotlight at Northwood Residents Association's half yearly forum.

Nearly every seat at Northwood Methodist Church, Oaklands Gate, was filled on Tuesday night (1) as neighbours gathered to hear James Rodger, head of planning at Hillingdon Council, give a talk on how his department works.

He covered issues such as retrospective planning permission, when permission is needed for a building and the length of time it can take for a final decision to be made.

He also cleared up some common misconceptions about the planning process, such as why it can sometimes take so long for an application or an appeal to be heard and why some rejected applications are later overturned by government body The Planning Inspectorate.