Congratulations to our latest winners: 1st Prize to Anne Littlejohn, 2nd Prize to Rosi Jordan and 3rd Prize winner wishes to remain anonymous.
We really need more people to join our 100+ Club! If you’re interested, please click here: https://rickmansworthresidents.org/100plus
Our Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday 17th June at 8pm in the Batchworth Educational Centre, Batchworth Lock, Rickmansworth. All are welcome but only members are allowed to vote. Refreshments will be available after the meeting. Please park in Church Street, Moor Lane or Tesco.
The agenda will be:
A local resident has started a petition for more to be done about the crossing on Batchworth Bridge:
Hertfordshire County Council sent us a copy of their report here.
We’ve since noticed a cheaper alternative – a Belisha Beacon spotlight which can fix onto existing poles, so no need for expensive footings to be dug out. This solution has been used in Somerset, Gateshead and Newcastle councils, as per our contact at one Belisha Beacon Spotlight provider. We’ve sent their details to HCC to investigate further.
Batchworth Community Council (BCC) would like to invite you to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D Day at Eastbury Recreation Ground on the 6th of June at 7pm.
www.batchworth-ecc.gov.uk/event/d-day-80th-anniversary
If you’re looking for a 2024 cycling challenge, how about The Tour de Ricky 2024 on 1st June?
There’s a whole five months to prepare for one of our 50, 100 or 200km rides from Woodoaks Farm in Maple Cross.
The rides are deliberately simple, not for profit affairs using a format known as Audax cycling. There’s a maximum speed (to discourage racing) and the emphasis is on tackling a challenge in good company and maybe making a few new friends along the way. Riders are self-supporting and mostly help each other out if anything goes wrong… although having the Watford Cycle Hub team and Freewheel on hand at the start usually ensures that everything goes smoothly.
Along the way, you’ll navigate down mostly quiet lanes, calling at a few stops to fuel up on cake and tea before returning to the farm for a celebratory cuppa (or something stronger in the onsite brewery).
The tiny entry fee goes to good causes. You’ll be supporting the Soil Associations’ Woodoaks Farm (our hosts), the Watford Cycle Hub (whose fantastic value training and workshops keep so many of us on the road), World Bicycle Relief (who bring the power of the bike to help developing communities in places like Kenya, Uganda, Columbia, Indonesia and Sudan) plus Willesden Cycling Club.
Signing up couldn’t be easier – pick the distance that interests you and follow the links on the Tour de Ricky website. You’ll be taken to the log in page for Audax UK where you’ll walked through the steps needed to join the ride. There’s a personal declaration (so we don’t get sued if you break Hertfordshire or get arrested for sugar fuelled rioting), so your friends will have to sign up individually. But the T&Cs are quite simple so reading them won’t take you very long – please note that places are not transferrable between people.
We always get a great turn out from families and groups of friends and many of the solo riders comment on the welcome they have had from the groups they meet on the road.
Don’t hang around; we expect to sell out again; it is not always possible to sign up on the day and you can’t take a friend’s place.
Plus, if you can’t manage one of the audax rides, keep an eye on the website of SPOKES, the SW Herts Cycling Group – they’ll be running shorter, guided rides on the day from the farm so you can still join in the cake-based fun.
If you have any questions at all, do get in touch – if we can encourage you to ride or help out we’ll do what we can.
Liam FitzPatrick
Cancer Out Cancer (CoC) is public campaign developed by patient members and supported by MacMillan Cancer Support. This local volunteer-led campaign aims to not only improve people’s understanding of cancer, but also encourage everyone to take action to promote their health. This can then be taken one step further by spreading the message with friends, family, colleagues and neighbours.
You are invited to a 60-minute Cancel Out Cancer Zoom session on Tuesday 21 May at 11am. To register: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cancel-out-cancer-21-may-tickets-895207027317 a link will be emailed to attendees in advance of the session.
This session will cover:
If you have any questions or would like to find out more before booking a place on the session, please email hweicb.engagement@nhs.net.
The RDRA attends every Sunday Market in Rickmansworth High Street so hope you see you there between 10:30am and 2:30pm!
The RDRA have a stall at this free community event on Saturday 18th May, please join us and many others for a fun-packed time from 10am onwards. We’re particularly looking forward to going up the church tower and parachuting a teddy bear from the very top! Further activities on Sunday 19th May, from 12 noon – have a look at their posters below.
Posters:
Following conversations with residents at the last Sunday Market, it’s always a good idea to keep an eye out for planning developments in your local area. To do this simply go to the Three Rivers website and search planning or click link below:
https://www.threerivers.gov.uk/services/planning/search-comment-planning-application
The Government target of 11k houses to be built in Three Rivers was reduced down to 4k houses and now called New Local Plan.
Sites earmarked for development in Rickmansworth are on pages 44-48 of this document:
https://cdn.threerivers.gov.uk/files/2023/10/98854f00-74b5-11ee-b56c-7b53d1ba03b1-_Regulation%2018%20Part%20Four%20Consultation%20Document.pdf#page=44
Earmarked developments are marked as green on this map below (red=rejected):
https://cdn.threerivers.gov.uk/files/2023/10/eec2fc90-74b6-11ee-b56c-7b53d1ba03b1-Appendix%203%20-%20South%20West%20Area%20Map.pdf
Futher information on New Local Plan can be found here.
This New Local Plan will be formerly published in Sept/Oct 2024, then submitted to Secretary of State in Feb/March 2025, then adopted in March 2026.
St Albans Patient Group and the Herts and West Essex ICB have organised this event on Wednesday 15 May, 6pm. It will be presented by Amanda Budd, Lead Nurse for Patient Care and Experience.
Thursday 16 May, 6.30pm – 7.30pm
The Herts and West Essex ICB Patient Engagement Forum has organised this session for National Mental Health Awareness Week (13 to 19 May). The free session is being held online and will offer the chance to start the conversation about mental health.
Speakers will include a representative from the charity MIND and a local GP – there will also be a Q and A session. Register for the session.
Wednesday 29 May, 6pm
St Albans Patient Group, with the Herts and West Essex ICB Patient Engagement Forum have organised a session on St Albans Elective Care Hub. This new centre at St Albans City Hospital is for planned surgery to provide faster access to some routine operations for patients in Hertfordshire and west Essex. This is to reduce waiting lists for people who have been waiting for a long time to have their operation.
Join the meeting to find out more about the new centre.