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Author: FVCA

Why Join Neighbourhood Watch

By registering with Neighbourhood Watch and joining the Fairfield Neighbourhood Watch Group you will be joining other residents working hard to reduce crime and building a stronger community.

As a member of Neighbourhood Watch you will receive national alerts and the Our Watch newsletter, which is produce 6 times a year.  Local Neighbourhood Watch news will be shared via Fairfield Village Community Association’s e-Circular, by posts on the Association’s Facebook Page, at the monthly residents’ meetings and in the quarterly newsletters.  You can subscribe to the e-Circulars by filling in the Subscribe to Newsletter form on the Community Association’s website, http://fvca.org.uk

One of the benefits of being a member of Neighbourhood Watch is discounted home insurance.  Some (not all) home insurance providers offer a discount to members of Neighbourhood Watch.  Cooperative Insurance are currently offering a discount of 10% off their Home Insurance policy if you quote NHW10 and buy the policy over the telephone, tel: 0800 781 1390 (t&cs apply).  Some providers ask for you to declare that you are a Neighbourhood Watch member by answering a question contained in their online form and some insurers will ask for proof that you are part of an active Neighbourhood Watch group. Discounts offered will vary and will depend on lots of other factors to do with your home as well. 

Should you make an insurance claim, policy providers may seek evidence that you are an active member of your local Neighbourhood Watch, e.g. displaying Neighbourhood Watch/SmartWater stickers in windows, attending local Neighbourhood Watch (Fairfield Village Community Association) meetings and get involved with crime prevention initiatives, such as property marking – so don’t lie about being an active member of a group if you’re not.

The Fairfield Neighbourhood Watch Group (covers the Village of Fairfield and the hamlet of Stoneybridge) is part of Fairfield Village Community Association, membership is open to all residents.  Unlike many other local Watch Groups, we do not charge a membership fee, operating by fundraising and seeking grant aid.  Please support the Community Association’s fundraising activities.

To join Neighbourhood Watch visit https://www.ourwatch.org.uk/ ock

  • September 9, 2019 by

Remembrance Service 2019

This year’s Remembrance Service will be held on Sunday 10th November, commencing at 10.45am.

Fairfield will be hosting the Royal British Legion and members of our community are being asked to join the parade, which is being led by a Piper and Drummer, leaving Fairfield Recreation Ground at 10.30am.

Like previous years, the Community Association would like a young person to lay the Association’s wreath. Please submit nominations to admin@fvca.org.uk

  • September 7, 2019 by

BURGLARY – Madeley Road, Bell Heath (Belbroughton Ward)

Between Saturday 17th August and Wednesday 21st August, intruders have entered two sheds and a caravan – all buildings searched and various items scattered around.

If you have any information on the above please report it to the Police on 101, quoting incident number 0651s 210819. Any information given will remain anonymous.

Please remain vigilant in your area, and report any suspicious circumstances, person or vehicles to the Police on 101, immediately.

  • August 23, 2019 by

Further Concerned Residents Querying NextDoor Neighbour Letters

More residents have contacted FVCA querying letters that they have received from Nextdoor Neighbour – please share the contents of this post and our article with your neighbours.

On the 18th July FVCA posted the following article http://fvca.org.uk/notices/nextdoor-neighbour-website/, which we encourage you to read.

The Nextdoor Neighbour website was founded in the USA and the operators have expanded to the UK; the site is operated and provided to you by Nextdoor EMEA Limited, an Irish company.

As you will read in our article there has been a mixed reception – from our understanding the majority of dissatisfaction is from the sharing of information with 3rd parties. The “local information” posted on the website is often well received.

[Local Information – We understand that the Neighbourhood people are joining includes Bournheath, Belbroughton, Clent, Dodford, Hagley and the surrounding area]

It would appear that residents are signing up to the website and letters are being sent out to their neighbours to encourage them to sign up to the website too. FVCA have spoken to a couple of people whose name appears at the bottom of these letters and they were unaware that these letters were being sent out, Nextdoor Neighbour claim that authority was given (see article).

Our advice to anyone wishing to join the Nextdoor Neighbour network is to read the site’s Member Agreement, Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines. We do not know whether there are privacy settings like Facebook.
  • August 3, 2019 by

Blocked gullies in Fairfield

Blocked gullies in Fairfield

We had previously received the following update regarding the blocked gullies along Stourbridge Road:

“There is a project in place to dig back the verges along Sandy Ln and jet the whole system, [Ringway] will look to cleanse all the gullies along the Stourbridge Rd from the main island that joins Sandy Ln up to the motorway bridge (by the nursery) at the same time.”

On Friday 2nd August we received the following update from Worcestershire Highways:

“Ringway … are looking to have the work completed by the end of September, this is due to the permits needed to be obtained, and the length of notice we need to give to obtain them.”

“Several operations will be carried out, overpainting of the carriage markings (where needed), cutting back of the verges and jetting of the drainage system, plus any other maintenance issues that can’t be done without traffic management.”

  • August 3, 2019 by

Reminder to lock out thieves during the hot weather

Police are reminding people not to leave their home open to thieves this summer as the country basks in hot weather.

With the onset of the school summer holidays and the hot weather it can be easy to forget to take a few home security measures, yet open windows and doors are often an open invitation for thieves.

Simple steps such as closing a window when you go out and locking doors can make all the difference and help prevent a house being targeted.

Holiday makers are also advised to take time to consider home security before they go away to give them peace of mind while they’re on holiday.

The advice forms part of We Don’t Buy Crime, West Mercia Police’s response to tackling serious acquisitive crime which includes crimes such as burglary and theft.

Sergeant Ram Aston, from the We Don’t Buy Crime team, said: “We Don’t Buy Crime continues to go from strength to strength with more and more areas signing up as part of our towns and villages initiative which sees whole communities protected by forensic property marking technology which acts as a great deterrent to criminals. So far this year we’ve seen some considerable reductions in house burglaries but this doesn’t mean we’re complacent and we want to make sure everything is being done to help prevent someone from becoming a victim to thieves.

“Crime prevention is absolutely crucial and anything residents can do to help protect their home can help make a difference. It can be easy in the summer months, especially when the weather is warm, to forget you’ve opened a window or left the back door open before you go out or go to bed. It only takes a few moment to double check but could help prevent your home being targeted. If you’re in the back garden, make sure you haven’t left any ground floor windows open at the front of the house and always make sure valuable items, such as car keys, mobile phones or wallets, are not in easy reach of an open window.

“If you’re going away make sure the house is locked up before you go and the burglar alarm is set. Hide any valuable items from view from the outside and don’t leave anything in the garden that could potentially be used to gain entry into your home. Be mindful of where you store your wheelie bin too and consider if it could be used for someone to climb on and access an upstairs window or used to climb over into the garden. If you’re leaving the car at home and have a garage, park it in the garage while you’re away rather than on the drive and if you’ve got gates close and lock them with a good quality lock.”

In addition to We Don’t Buy Crime towns and villages police carry out a range of covert tactics to catch thieves and work with second hand stores to make it more difficult for thieves to sell on stolen goods.

Sgt Aston added: “We Don’t Buy Crime essentially aims to put criminals out of business and we have a range of tactics at our disposal which are both overt and covert to not just prevent acquisitive crime in the first place but catch those who are responsible when they do happen and want to send a clear message to thieves that we are utilising a range of methods to target them.”

For more crime prevention advice visit https://www.westmercia.police.uk/article/1955/Home

  • July 27, 2019 by

Attempted Burglary in Mill Lane

Attempted burglary between 1140 and 1210 yesterday, Thursday 18th July, on Mill Lane, Wildmoor. Thankfully they did not gain entry.

Please be extra vigilant and report and suspicious activity to the police calling 101.

PC Kelso. SNO. Bromsgrove North and Rural.

  • July 19, 2019 by

Improvement Works at the Village Hall starts Monday

Over the next two weeks decorators will be at the Hall repainting & re-varnishing internally.

Whilst work is taking place there will be no activities. Weekly evening activities will resume Monday 5th August.

Then during the rest of August work will take place to install external CCTV, improve lighting over the car park and along the entrance plus installation of a projector, sound system and media player.

The CCTV installation & operation will be fully compliant with relevant legislation & ICO guidelines, the Village Hall policy will be available on the village website on the Village Hall web page.

This Autumn we will see the start film nights and afternoons. Full details in the next FVCA newsletter.

Over the car park low energy, LED, lights will now come on automatically when it goes dark, remaining on until it becomes light. This will improve Hall User safety.

  • July 19, 2019 by