BULLETINS – Summer 2023

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After a long winter,  the advent of spring rewarded us with vibrant displays of daffodils surrounding the pond. They were planted last winter and will continue to flower each spring. Daffodils were also planted around the entire estate, including along Trinity Church Road, as well as beautiful pink tulips in the area between Holst and Handel Mansions leading to the river. Wild-flower turf was added to each of the wildlife corridors which are already starting to flourish. All of these plantings were undertaken with sustainability in mind and will hopefully give us reliable natural colour for many seasons to come. 

As we move into the growing season, our new gardening team are busily working to repair the considerable damage from last summer’s drought, including replacement of the boxwood hedge between Holst and Handel Mansions. To mitigate damage from the increasingly hot and dry summers, we are applying woodchip and green-waste mulch (which Greenmantle produce themselves) to many of the borders and planted areas. In addition to helping to retain moisture, this mulch puts nutrients into the soil and reduces weeds. Our pond-maintenance company will be adding plantings to the floating islands.

Our tree surgeons have addressed damage done to our trees from storms and will carry on with more tree works again this autumn. Unfortunately, two trees were found to be infected with ash dieback, a highly contagious fungus from which the affected trees will not recover. For the health of other trees on the estate and those in surrounding areas, we were advised that the trees should be felled and removed from site. The board of directors are looking at options to replace the trees that were lost. 

The pond is home to a variety of waterfowl. Please help protect them by feeding them only small amounts of grain or birdseed. Foods such as bread and pasta can make the birds unwell and scattered food encourages rats and vermin, causing danger to domestic pets. Please keep dogs on a lead around the pond since wild birds become distressed by dogs running loose and can abandon their nests.

As always, please let us know if you have any suggestions to improve our beautiful estate.

April 2023

I know that many people have been extremely concerned about the muggings and break-ins that have taken place in the north of Barnes over the past few weeks. These crimes have been shocking, especially following the recent burglaries along the High Street. However, I would like to reassure you that the police are working hard to prevent further incidents from taking place. 
 

The Barnes team has been reinforced by officers from local forces in Twickenham and 999 Response Team officers have been directed to patrol the Barnes and Mortlake areas at night. I was also pleased to see that extra money has been made available to allow officers to work overtime shifts. This should ensure more manpower is on hand during the evenings and nights.   
 

While the deterrence aspect of the police’s campaign is welcome, I know that many will be wondering about the investigation and would like to know what is being done to bring these criminals to justice. 
 

The police have identified a group of individuals who they believe may be involved. These people are not residents of the borough and investigators are working closely with their colleagues from a neighbouring area to establish their involvement. 
 

I understand how concerning these incidents have been but I do have faith in local police forces to find and arrest those responsible. If you witness a crime you can report it at www.met.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/. If the crime is ongoing or you are in an emergency, always dial 999.
 

Kind regards 

Sarah Olney

Member of Parliament for Richmond Park 

Following a number of forced-entry break-ins on the estate in recent months, we ask that all residents are extra vigilant, report any suspicious activity to the police and, if need be, review security within your property.

If you live in one of the mansion blocks, you are advised that access to the building should not be given to strangers or persons whose identity cannot be established.

For information on burglary protection, visit:

https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/burglary-WIDEN

For information on car crime, visit:

https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/protectyourcar

Top tips for protecting your bicycle:

• Register your bike for free with www.bikeregister.com, the UK’s only police-approved cycle database. This will help police to find it if it gets stolen.
• Take a photo of your bike and keep it with the insurance details. Make a note of the make, model and serial number.
• When parking away from home make sure your bike is locked to a heavy-duty piece of street furniture and where possible with the lock or chain off the floor.
• Make sure the lock you use is independently tested (eg Sold Secure-approved), the correct size and difficult for thieves to access to break it.
• At home, lock bicycles in a secure garage or shed if you have one, using a good quality U-lock or chain and padlock to a ground anchor. Consider using two different types of security devices, as often tools to attack one type of device aren’t so applicable to others.
• Mark your bicycle frame with your postcode in two separate locations if possible, one of which should be hidden.

Following the Board's instruction to prepare a new Long-Term Maintenance Plan for the estate, on which future cyclical maintenance will be based, we are now in the process of reviewing the plan.

Our first area of focus is to ensure the continuing safety of the bat-house structure.  As this structure is more than 20 years old,  we have commissioned a structural survey to inspect the foundations and structural integrity. We are awaiting the report and advice.