100th Anniversary of Epping war memorial

Wreaths were laid and the names of the fallen who are remembered on plaques on the memorial on the Town Green were read recently at a rededication service to mark the 100th anniversary of the Epping war memorial. Wreaths were laid and the names of the fallen who are remembered on plaques on the memorial on the Town Green were read at the service. John Duffell, a town councillor and Royal British Legion Remembrance Day organiser, said: "At the end of the First World War the people of Epping looked for a suitable way to commemorate the young men from the town who had given their lives for their country. "After much discussion a cross bearing the names of the Fallen was chosen. It was originally going to be erected in the market place, but it was decided that the town green offered a more prominent position." The £600 cost was raised by public subscription. The memorial was unveiled and dedicated on Sunday 8th May 1921. Mr Duffell said: "Sadly it was necessary to add more names after the Second World War. Two new tablets were fixed to the memorial and these were unveiled in November 1948. "In 2004, it was discovered that some names from the First World War were not included and these were added. More from the Second World War were added in 2009.” "Another name, added in 2009, was that of Georgie Sparks who had lost his life in Afghanistan the previous year." Mr Duffell added: "This memorial is now the focal point for Remembrance in Epping.

"There are 150 men from the town listed on the memorial. They fought and died in some of the most famous battles in history - Ypres, Loos, Gallipoli, Jutland, the Somme, Passchendaele and Arras in the First World War, and Dunkirk, El Alamein, Normandy, the crossing of the Rhine and Burma in the Second World War. "They are buried or commemorated in countries across the globe but on here they are all together." Wreaths were laid by Mr Pegrum, Mr Wright, Mr Duffell, Freemen of Epping Ruth Benjamin and John Batchelor, and Epping Town Council's Young Townspeople of the Year Julie Turrell and George Sack.

The service included a two-minute silence. service.

Don’t forget to visit our website: www.northwealdvillagelife.co .uk Or sign up to the Facebook Group www.facebook.com/groups/ Northwealdvillagelife Also on Instagram and Twitter

At Citizens Advice our largest area of work is in connection with state benefits of one kind or another. Many of the people we help used to be able to work but have had to give up because of long-term, debilitating health conditions such as fibromyalgia or depression. Often they are invisible conditions, which can make proving that you are suffering difficult. Having a diagnosis isn’t enough: you have to show the impact the condition is having on your life, such as your ability to walk or to do basic domestic tasks. The government’s system for assessing who qualifies for benefits is not, in our view, well-suited to people, and there are thousands of them, with this sort of condition. So if you know someone who is really struggling to get by financially because of a health condition encourage them to get in touch with us. Another group of people who we always look out for are people of pension age who may be eligible for a top-up on their pension called pension credit. The government estimates that about 30% of people who could claim this benefit are not doing so, almost certainly because they are not aware of it. It is well worth checking this out if you or your spouse is getting less than the full state pension. It’s easy to apply for it and it can mean you are automatically entitled to other benefits. Nowadays no pensioner should have to struggle financially. A third group of people we look out for are those who have come to the benefits system for the first time in their lives, usually because they have lost their job, or have greatly reduced earnings. We’re expecting to see more people in this group as the furlough scheme winds down. They may well have come to us for another reason entirely but our volunteers are trained to find out if there are other, related, issues. Many will have worked all their lives. They may well not have had good advice about what they should do. Regrettably, officials at the Department for Work and Pensions don’t always get it right and so people can be misled about their options. If you’ve lost your job you can claim New-Style Jobseeker’s Allowance. This is based on your having paid the required amounts in National Insurance. It is not enough for you to live on if you have children, or rent to pay, in which case you will need to claim Universal Credit as well. That benefit is also available to people on low earnings. The calculation as to how much you get is complicated and mistakes are made. You also need to bear in mind that the standard rate will go down by £20 per week in September. Existing claimants should be getting information about this by text or via their online journal. We’re happy to advise as to whether any decision is right and to help you challenge a wrong decision. Or you can check online at our national website www.citizensadvice.org.uk. If you want our advice we have a telephone service available from 9.30 to 2.30, Tuesday to Thursday. We hope to be able to offer face-to-face appointments in the not-too-distant future – watch this space. If we are busy when you call you will be connected to a backup service elsewhere in the country. They will try to resolve your issue but if they can’t they will arrange for one of our staff to call you back. The number is 0808 278 7855. Calls are free.

5,000 more LED streetlights to be installed across Essex

Essex Highways remains on track to install an additional 5,000 LED streetlights across the county by the end of August. Essex Highways’ LED rollout is well underway with 800 old streetlights currently being replaced across Essex each week. The move to LED will bring benefits for residents and the environment as the lights are more efficient, saving on average around 60% energy usage and thousands of tons of carbon emissions involved in generating electricity. The lights also contain negligible toxic materials and are expected to last 20 years, whereas half of all sodium lamps fail after five years and must be replaced. Replacing the current lights with LEDs will mean a better service and more effective use of taxpayer’s money. After 25 years it is estimated the net savings for ECC will be around £39 million. Over 5,000 replacements will be made by the end of the month and Essex Highways plan to complete 25,000 by Christmas. This three-year rollout is the final phase of Essex Highways’ LED replacement scheme, with 82,000 lights to be replaced in total on residential roads across Essex.

Parish Council Garden

It’s hard to believe that it’s now 12 months since I last sent out an update regarding the village garden at the parade of shops in North Weald. Last year was a very difficult time for everyone and we were unable to properly maintain the garden as would have wished. However that is all behind us now and we are back to regular weeding and planting this year. A number of the plants are now getting past their best and we intend to plant new ones over the next few months. The maintenance of the garden has now been taken over by Gary Woods who also maintains the flower beds at the cemetery and we would like to give a huge thanks to our previous volunteers, George Mulliner, Margaret Mulliner and Daphne Buckley who have spent many backbreaking hours weeding over the last 5 years. I would like to pass on our immense gratitude to our local business sponsors namely: Stuart Poulton—The Family Funeral Directors Greenacres Woodland Burials Davis Homes—Estate Agents Cinnamon Indian Restaurant LVM—Painters and Decorators North Weald—who are new to our team of sponsors

And last but not least North Weald Bassett Parish Preservation Society who maintain the box garden on the village green at Wheelers Farm Gardens for their continued support over the next 12 months 2021/22, which is greatly appreciated.

Cllr Alan Buckley Chairman North Weald Bassett Parish Council Epping Forest District Council’s community gardening project in North Weald kicked off in April 2021. Since this time, volunteers have been working hard to transform their plot at Wheelers Farm. With guidance from EFDC Community Development Officer Victoria Robertson, Clare, Nicola, Christina and her three children have been able to learn and grow together. The good news is, there’s room for plenty more to come along! Parish Town Clerk Susan Du Luca has been a major contributor to the allotment’s success as she has been responsible for helping the team gain access and work with local tradesmen to prepare the site before it was ready for the delivery of four tons of soil which later became the fantastic raised beds you see today. All of this would not be possible without the funding secured with the support of Councillor Bedford. On Thursday July 29th, the group had a chance to speak with local councillors and staff at Epping Forest District Council about the no dig style they have adopted on the allotment. A wide variety of produce was on show including pumpkins, sweetcorn, runner beans and tomatoes to name a few. If you’d like to learn more about sustainable, no dig growing you can get in touch with Victoia .at vrobertson@eppingforestdc.gov.uk to express an interest in joining a session. The group meets every Thursday, 2-4pm.

Specialising in plastering, external rendering and K rend

IMPORTANT Defibrillators

Recently I understand defibrillators from both Thornwood and North Weald have been needed to help people who have become unwell whilst awaiting emergency services. So to ensure all residents are aware of the location of our defibrillators, here are the details. Once you ring emergency services to inform them of someone needing emergency assistance, they will give you the code required to access the defibrillator looked in coded cabinets. North Weald:- Outside the Methodist Church Hall. Thornwood—Outside the Parish Hall.

Kitten rescued from under floorboards

On 13th August, Station Manager Steve Wintrip from Ongar Fire Station rescued a kitten that was trapped under floorboards in Ongar in the morning.

The curious cat had been exploring when she became trapped under the floorboards.

Steve rescued the kitten by 12:27pm and she was left in the care of her owner.

The kitten had yet to be named and her owner asked Steve if he wanted to name her. He called her Millie and left her happily eating her food.

Could you be an on-call firefighter? - Ongar Fire Station is recruiting on-call firefighters. If you live or work within 5 minutes of Ongar Fire Station, you could be paid to protect your community as an on-call firefighter.

Local councillors are being asked to urgently approve the provision of housing for Locally Employed Staff (LES) who worked for the UK and risked their lives alongside British troops in Afghanistan. The move comes in response to an urgent Government request to all councils to support the relocation of Afghan refugees following the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.

Epping Forest District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing, Councillor Holly Whitbread is asking councillors for support with an offer of 2 family-sized homes for the Government relocation programme. Other Essex councils are making similar offers while Essex County Council coordinates the local contribution to the national response. Councillor Holly Whitbread said: "Many of the people working for the British Army and associated agencies in Afghanistan are good English language speakers, although members of their families may not be. Many will have experienced trauma and loss.

"All will receive support as they seek to rebuild their lives with the aid of the resettlement programme."

Subject to no objections through the Council’s internal decision call-in process, Councillor Holly Whitbread’s report recommends:

To actively support the British Government’s Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and welcome Afghan Locally Employed Staff (LES) who have worked for UK and risked their lives alongside British forces in Afghanistan, and are now relocating to the UK with their families following NATO’s decision to withdraw military forces from Afghanistan 1. To work collaboratively with Essex County Council (ECC) to provide a co-ordinated response to the Government’s urgent appeal to assist with accommodation and support for approximately 3,000 affected adults and children by September 2021 To offer 2 qualifying LES households fixed term tenancies of Council owned homes of a suitable size, on the understanding that ECC will administer the 12-month Government funded support to enable the households to integrate and become self-sufficient as soon as possible