PLANS for two new phone masts in Ruislip and Northwood have been thrown out by councillors.

Vodafone and O2 had hoped to install one 14.8m high mast on the roundabout at the junction of Kings College Road and Park Avenue.

Radio equipment was also needed and the installation was supposed to nestle between trees.

But councillors on the north area planning committee followed recommendations by officers who said the mast should be refused because it would be unsightly.

And the two phone companies were disappointed again when an application for a mast outside car dealership Autocentre, in Pinner Road, was also turned down for a similar reason.

SCOUTS from Ruislip, Eastcote and Northwood carried out their most successful Christmas card collection scheme to date.

Explorer Scouts, aged 14 to 18, hand delivered Christmas cards in the area throughout December.

They charged 20 pence a card and picked them up from various shops and outlets.

From Anila Hashim
Northwood

My father, Ali Raza Lakhani, was the sweetest kindest man on earth

He was taken from us on the 30th of December. The time we had with him were full of love, kindness and support for anything we wanted to do in life. He always advised us and as we grew up he was not shy of taking advise from us either.

He was always ready to help people and he truly loved by the principle that if you give with one hand the other hand shouldn't know.

He started charity drives and also encouraged others to be involved in charity work. He started the blanket drive for the poor communities of Kashmir providing blankets where the weather is very cold most of the year.

He believed in eduction and many came up to us to tell us how he helped them better themselves when he got them into education.

In later life he saw the plight of elderly who did not have regular meals as they didn't have any family. He started a successful tiffin project to feed such destitute elderly who now get meals on a daily basis.

He also saw the need for our community elderly to be active and social and not be just sitting at home and hence started the senior citizen group who regularly went on outings and socialising as well as a day care centre for elderly to meet up with each other and break the monotony of life.

There is so much more to write about him as he achieved so much. He has left behind so many legacies which make us so proud of him.

A lot of his charitable work is still coming to light whereby he was helping without expecting any thing in return. He would be missed and loved by many not just his immediate family

He did so much for his community that if I could do even 10 per cent of it I would consider myself lucky.

Someone who lives in so many hearts cannot be thought of as dead. He is alive in so many hearts.

PART of a main road in Northwood has been closed while essential work is carried out on a gas main.

National Grid engineers were called to Green Lane, at the junction with Dene Road, after reports of problems with gas pressure in the area.

The problem was caused by a build up of debris found in a section of the gas pipe.

AN open space in Northwood Hills could be transformed to include a wild flower meadow and viewing point.

Hogs Back open space, off Northwood Way, has been the focus of improvement works by Hillingdon Council in recent weeks.

Invasive saplings have been cleared away and branches trimmed back, with a group from 1st Northwood Scouts, who meet nearby, also helping to clear the land.

Now the council wants to spruce up the land even further and has developed a five year plan.

It will be discussed with residents at an upcoming meeting.

A PLAN to install a phone mast in Pinner Road will be discussed at a council meeting on Tuesday (Jan 10), with officers recommending the committee reject the proposal.

Mobile companies Vodafone and O2 hope to put up the 15-metre high pole and other equipment in the pathway next to Autocentre.

It is the second time the companies have applied.

But a report due to be presented to the north area planning committee says the pole's height, position and design would make it unsightly.

PATIENTS who think they may have been fitted with controversial PIP breast implants following surgery at Northwood's Bishops Wood Hospital should get in touch with their surgeon, health bosses are warning.

The implants, made by now-defunct French company Poly Implant Prothese, were pulled from the market last year in countries around Europe and South America amid fears they could rupture and leak silicone into the body.

French authorities have found a rupture rate of five per cent in the implants and recommended they be removed.

But the British Government has said it has found no evidence to suggest that removing them would be justified.

PLANS for seven new houses in a Northwood street were given the thumbs up by councillors, despite 13 objections and a petition from neighbours.

An individual developer had applied to knock down two houses in Thirlmere Gardens and build the terrace of three-bedroom homes in their place.

Neighbours submitted a string of concerns to the council about the development, ranging from fears that it would be detrimental to the character of the area, to worries that it would put an extra strain on the sewerage system and that construction work would harm residents' health.

A NORTHWOOD hospital donated vital equipment to remote parts of Kenya.

Bishops Wood Hospital, Rickmansworth Road, collected 45 stethoscopes and other medical supplies worth hundreds of pounds for Malindi General Hospital in the south-east of the African country.

The gift was organised with the help of charity The Kenyan Aid project and dropped off in person by one of their volunteers, and a former patient of the private Northwood hospital, Alan Brereton.

CO-OPERATIVE Travel in Northwood is one of two branches in the borough which could close next year.

The travel agent, in Clive Parade, and another branch in Swakeley's Road, Ickenham, are among 200 stores earmarked for closure by parent company Thomas Cook.

The holiday firm merged with the Co-operative's travel arm earlier this year.

Four staff work at the Northwood branch and three at Ickenham.