We held our AGM last month at the Lido and I would like to thank those who attended it was a fabulous turn out and much appreciated. We would like to thank all those who gave prizes for our raffle and bought ticket in aid of the British Legion we had a great response and it was agreed to all that we would round the amount we give to £120.

The current Committee were voted in position unanimously, with the exceptions of both Gordon DALLAS, and David SEAMAN who stood down. I would like to thank both of them on behalf of the Friends for their assistance and commitment to the Lido and am delighted they both continue as members and are still there to give their support and experience in the future. David especially has made a difference by taking on the Splash Pad and new Toilet block projects. He was one of the founding members of the Friends and is still a driving force in much that we do.

As part of the Chairman’s update Pat Tavener submitted a report to the environmental agencies investigations around the water level and the feasibility of the car park proposals. This was incredibly informative and it would appear the current water levels cannot be raise and therefore any alterations at the Lido will have to be done without causing a rise in the water level. This would have an effect on the height and flood risk to the proposed car park. A detailed summary of this report was taken by local reporter James Cracknel of the Gazette who published this in last month’s paper. To date the Council have not resubmitted the planning application. We will continue to monitor this as the water level and flood risk is only one of many objections that we have against this proposal.

Staffing was raised as a concern by members, we will continue to highlight this with the Council and have asked for a senior manager to attend the Management Advisory Group to explain the lack of a dedicated member of staff. Please if you see any Anti Social Behaviour, Fly Tipping or anything else which concerns you report it to the appropriate authority the Police or the Council but can you e mail us with the reference number so that we can keep a record.

I have apologised to the Friends as the phone number is out of action, I have tried to get the same number restored but this cannot be done a new number will be published shortly.

We are holding a LITTER PICK DAY on the 9th JULY at 0900hrs meeting in the Lido carpark. These have always been good days and are an opportunity for us to get together and give something back to the Lido. We will be meeting for a coffee at 11am at the Waters Edge, so please join us there if you are unable to Litter Pick all are welcome.

Finally a big thank you to the Committee for all there hard work in the past year.

Vicky

I would like to clarify the Friends position on the water level at the Lido. It has come to my attention that Hillingdon Council have claimed that we asked for the water level to be raised and that we had an input into what the level should be.

This is totally incorrect. The Friends of Ruislip Lido have asked that the water level be properly managed and that the water is not just allowed to be let out without some monitoring.

We have especially requested that during certain times of the year it is maintained at a constant level; this being frog and toad spawning and the nesting season. However what that level is, is a matter for the engineers not us. We just want them to manage it properly during the Winter negating the need to drain it during the Spring unless of course necessary due to unforeseen weather conditions.

We have challenged the remarks made by the council at the Management Advisory Group.

Vicky Brownlee
Chair FORL

Our meeting in January was a huge success, we would like to thank PC Simon Underwood for a very informative talk around the Dangerous Dogs Act. I gave an update to our members around the Council plans and that at this stage there is little going on. We await the full environmental report to see what if any of there proposals are feasible and then if they resubmit the planning permission we will act accordingly.

We held a vote with all those present at the meeting and there was a unanimous decision for the Friends of Ruislip Lido to have two priorities.

1. Campaign to get Sean reinstated as permanently based and responsible for the Lido.
2. To continue the fight against the proposed car park at the back of Willow Lawn.

I would like to thank every one for their continued support and look forward to the Summer months.

Vicky BROWNLEE
Chair FORL

Dear friends

You are invited to join our winter meeting at the green boathouse at Ruislip Lido on Thursday 27th January 2011 at 7.30pm.

We have a guest speaker who is a dog legislation officer.

I will be giving an update on current issues around the Lido and it is an opportunity to give your views.

Please join us for a glass of wine or a cup of coffee.
Vicky Brownlee
Chair Forl

Due to the severe drop in temperature and icy conditions the Friends of Ruislip Lido� have purchased a number of ‘mixed corn’ sacks.

The wildfowl are being fed from this corn supply twice a day in order to build up their strength and help them survive this inclement snap.

We will continue to do so as long as the harsh winter conditions persist.

Great news!

The current proposal for car parking at the Lido has been withdrawn and Hillingdon Council will have to re-submit their planning application to incorporate ‘access & exit points’, identify a new flood plain area to compensate for building on the current flood plain.

The FORL petition will still be valid for any future planning application hearing. A date for the new Planning Hearing has yet to be set but we will post the date once we have heard back from the Council.

A big thank you to all members of the Friends of Ruislip Lido for your support in raising objections to the original, ill-conceived proposals.

The Friends of Ruislip Lido ran a stall at the RAFBF funday and is delighted to have raised £250 for the fund by various raffles and guess the weight.� Thanks to Les for bringing the Spitfire wheels for the guess the weight competition – the weight of each wheel is 28 lbs 12oz.

See photos

Hillingdon Council have a Climate Change Strategy.

Thanks to Carolyn Towner for reviewing the document and identifying the following points which aren’t compatible with tarmacking the Lido.

Forward
1.1 Hillingdon prides itself on being one of London’s greenest boroughs … Therefore a key objective of our Sustainable Community Strategy is to ‘protect and enhance the environment’ in Hillingdon … successes to date include the achievement of 10 Green Flag awards for our parks.

Objective 4:
To reduce and minimise the emissions in the borough associated with transport (particularly road transport) through the council’s travel planning function and its own activities and to encourage residents and members of the business community to use more sustainable modes of travel.

The climate change challenge:
4.10 Closer to home, there are likely to be problems in Hillingdon related to flooding, either from rivers, the Grand Union Canal, sewers or surface water.

Climate Change in Hillingdon
6.3 Calculated on a per-capita basis, Hillingdon has the fourth highest carbon emissions of the thirty-three London boroughs, behind the City of London, Westminster and Tower Hamlets. The quantity of emissions attributable to each borough varies greatly across the UK and London, which is mainly due to variations in the level of commercial and industrial uses located within the local authority area. It should be noted that emissions from aviation fuel and motorway travel are excluded from the figures.

Raising awareness
7.10 Climate change is likely to be the greatest challenge faced by the UK this century.
7.14 On signing the Nottingham Declaration the Leader of the Council confirmed his commitment by stating “small changes can make a big difference”.

Adapting to impacts
7.16 The impacts of these changes in weather patterns that are already beginning to be observed in the UK are heatwaves, water shortages and flooding events. This has impacts on people but also on biodiversity as the changing weather patterns affect the survival of plants and animals that in many instances are not evolved to suit the new conditions.

Hillingdon’s focus on adaptation:
7.25 The council’s civil protection service deals with emergency planning and business continuity for emergencies and disasters. Historically, neither flooding, heatwaves nor droughts have frequently or significantly affected the borough. However as these events are likely to increase in frequency and severity, there is a need for greater understanding of the threats they would pose … there is a need to continue to protect the open spaces and vegetation that the borough already has in recognition of the increasingly important role that these will have in adapting to climate change.

Reducing emissions
Transport� Objective
To reduce and minimise the emissions in the borough associated with transport (particularly road transport) through the council’s travel planning function and its own activities and to encourage residents and members of the business community to use more sustainable modes of travel.

Hillingdon’s focus on transport:
7.35 In conjunction with Transport for London (TfL), Hillingdon continues to look at ways of improving the public transport network across the borough. This approach is complemented by encouraging a reduction in road traffic through increased usage of sustainable transport modes such as walking and cycling.
7.94 Another key aspect of planning with relevance to climate change is travel demand management. This involves mechanisms such as … restricting the provision of on-site car parking in new developments

Hillingdon Council have launched a Ruislip Lido Update Web Page which will be updated as required throughout the progression of the planned proposals.

For ease of reference, you will also find a link from the web page which will direct you to the Ruislip Lido Proposed Overflow Car Park Planning Application and associated documents.

To express your views on the car park planning application do it on-line, it’s so quick!

• Visit www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=10058
• type in or copy and paste in the Application Number field
  1117/APP/2010/1997
• click the search button
• click on the highlighted 1117/APP/2010/1997 under Application Ref
• click on “You may comment on this application” to submit your objection

Please express your view above even if you’ve signed a petition, we need both the petition and your objections.

FORL has been informed that the Planning Application for the proposed Ruislip Lido Overflow Car Park is now ready for submission.

If you would like to be consulted please send your full address details (including postcode) to Lyn Summers at Hillingdon Council.

FORL are opposed to the car park.� If you are also opposed and would like to help us by obtaining opposition signatures please download and print the Car Park Petition. Once completed please contact FORL on 07804 626 007 to arrange collection of the forms.