New waste collection calendar

Note that from the 1st of June paper and cardboard waste will only be collected every two weeks

REMINDER OF LERA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

To be held on Tuesday 19 May 2015 in St Andrew’s Community Hall (Main Hall), Burnt Ash Lane, starting at 7 30 pm

We are delighted that we will be holding our AGM this year in the new Community Hall. We do hope that you will able to attend the meeting and experience this important new local amenity. Even if you are not currently a member of LERA, you are very welcome to join us.

The AGM provides an excellent opportunity for our members to get together to talk about local issues and hear from speakers representing community services. This year we will be electing a new Chair for a 3 year term as Iliya Ingram, who was elected last year, had to resign as she moved away from the Estate. We are pleased that Stephen Hodges of Leamington Close has agreed to stand for this post. Also, Diane Bex and I will be standing for re-election to our respective posts as Treasurer and Secretary.

During the past year we have continued to work on behalf of our members to ensure that LERA has a voice in community affairs and to promote improvements to the safety and cleanliness of our Estate. We have maintained our engagement with our local Councillors and Bromley Council on a variety of issues, and contributed to public consultations on such topics as the Council’s budget planning and maintenance of the Borough’s trees.

Could you manage a Bromley library?

Community management of libraries

Bromley Council is seeking community groups and organisations to manage one or more of the following libraries:

• Burnt Ash
• Hayes
• Mottingham
• Shortlands
• Southborough
• St Paul's Cray

We are  keen to work alongside community groups to provide tailored library services and there is an opportunity for communities to think creatively and innovatively about how they could better deliver library services for their benefit. 

The council welcomes proposals that provide benefit to your group or organisation as well as the wider community.

If you are interested in managing one or more of these libraries, you can find out more by downloading an information pack.

To register your interest, you should download, complete and return an application form using ProContract the council's e-procurement system.

Download or view a guide explaining how to use the e-procurement system. 

Please make sure you have read and understood the information pack before you submit your form.

The closing date for registrations of interest is 26 June 2015.

If you have any queries, please check the frequently asked questions, or you can contact us at community.development@bromley.gov.uk

We look forward to hearing from you.

Opening Ceremony for St Andrew's New Church Hall

Hedgehog Awareness Week - How Can You Help?

Hedgehog Awareness Week runs from 3rd-9th May 2015 and lots of hedgehoggy events are being organised all around the country!

Hedgehog Awareness Week is organised by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and takes place every year. It aims to highlight the problems hedgehogs face and how you can help them.

The information below is a plea from them and together, we can all make a huge difference.



This year efforts are focussed on gardeners - there is so much that we as gardeners can do to help the hedgehog, very simple things like:

• Ensuring there is access into the garden (all that is needed is 5" square gap).
• Checking areas before strimming or mowing.
• Moving piles of rubbish to a new site before burning it.
• Ensuring netting is kept at a safe height.
• Checking compost heaps before digging the fork in.
• Stopping or reducing the amount of pesticides and poisons used.
• Covering drains or deep holes.
• Ensuring there is an easy route out of ponds and pools.

So you can do something this week to make a difference to these gorgeous little creatures.

Bluebells in Elmstead Woods

Yesterday was a great day for a walk round Chinbrook Meadows and Elmstead Wood. Well worth the effort to visit the wood as the display of bluebells is at its peak at the moment.

Being charitable we could assume that this other picture shows a piece of modern sculpture - a skeleton of a motorbike contrasting with the bluebells themselves.

Not as good as the chainsaw sculptures in another part of the wood. 

See our previous post of some other sculptures at :-

http://leralink.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/if-you-go-down-to-woods.html

LERA Litter picking event at the green on New Street Hill

The event took place yesterday, Sat. 2nd May 2015 from 2.00 pm and 4.00 pm. It was a great team effort by all volunteers taking part. They had to battle rough terrain, stinging nettles, thorny brambles and other forms of “aggressive vegetation” to clear out litter.

A big thank you to Michelle, who did a “morning shift” before the main event in the afternoon. Also to Peter, Lins, Peter, Wendy, Stephen and Michael who took part and other residents that expressed their wish to attend other proposed dates.

I would also like to extend a big thank you to LBB Street Cleaning services and Kier contractors, who, promptly, supplied us with litter bags, litter picking sticks and agreed to make a special weekend pickup for the collected litter with their vans.

Click on picture to enlarge it

It took about 2 hours to do what we considered a first clear out. As you might be to see from our picture, items recovered were of various nature to include beer cans, spirits bottles, building materials and enough car parts, such as tires and wheel covers, to build our own car…;-). A second clear out will take place when vegetation has receded in Autumn/Winter, perhaps just after the leafing season, either in November or next January. Details will be posted on Facebook and our website.

It is LERA's intention, at this stage, to hold regular events to preserve and maintain this great green space for wildlife to prosper in and residents to enjoy. We are very lucky to have this green along with other woodland areas near and around our estate. This should send a clear message from residents to fly-tippers and other inconsiderate individuals. Our residents will not tolerate those who feel that this area is an easy target that can be used as an open air litter bin.

LERA hopes to possibly extend the process to other green areas around our estate that do not fall under the LBB scope of responsibility and to hold regular events to preserve and maintain them.

Sandro Gor
Street Cleaning Issues Coordinator