http://www.thisistotalessex.co.uk/brentwood/BRENTWOOD-Microchip-plea-pet-owners/article-487177-detail/article.html

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On the phone to my mum and suddenly she said “There’s a dog walking down the road on it’s own”. She dashed off to see what was happening, with no phone call after a minute or so I knew there was a problem so I shot over there (with spare lead and collar).

When I got there she had, with neighbours Alan & Judy, managed to catch said mutt and they were all in the garden with him. He was a huge Staffy, but friendly and happy.  He seemed well looked after so I hope he is reunited with his owners.  I will keep you posted.

As I’ve said before, a micro-chip would have enabled the dog warden to ring up the owner straight away.

UPDATE: Doggy reunited with owner and, even better news, when they scanned him again at Wallace Kennels he WAS chipped so the owner was contacted straight away!

Dear Editor

Such a very one-sided view of the Conservatives’ refusal of planning permission for a Multi Use Games Area at Sawyers Hall College appeared in the Gazette (5th November) that the balance has to be sensibly redressed.Opposition councillors were particularly surprised to see this rejected as it was fully supported by the Conservative Mayor of

Brentwood, Cllr Dudley Payne, who sent a statement, read out in support of the application.Liberal Democrats have a strong record of standing up for the Green Belt, but a facility which would encourage young people to participate in sport is certainly not harmful to the green belt and, in our view, would be welcomed by the many residents who tell us there is nothing for their children to do. The application complied with all the relevant policies and was, therefore, recommended for approval.

Specifically, it was considered that the proposed development of a sports pitch would not have an unacceptable detrimental impact on enjoyment of the countryside, would not have resulted in the permanent loss of the best or most versatile agricultural land, would not have an unacceptable detrimental impact on a SSSI, a County Wildlife Site or an area of special landscape and would not have required unacceptably prominent ancillary facilities.Yes, it is appreciated that fencing and floodlighting would be required but not to an unacceptable level. The site benefits from existing tree screening and the fence constituted netting, not a palisade fence.

It’s a shame that the Conservatives did not apply the same attitude to the retrospective application for two classrooms on the Green Belt (recommended for refusal and approved by them) when we were considering an application for Woodlands School.

Cllr Karen Chilvers

Liberal Democrat Councillor, Brentwood West

It’s been really great this year to see how many young people are proudly wearing their poppy and wonderful to see hundreds of people involved in this service in the town.

“Dear Cllr Ms Chilvers

I am pleased to say I was able to catch a bus on Friday from the old Kavanaghs Road bus stop - thank you for all your help.

I hope whoever changed the stop is made FULLY aware of all the inconvenience and cost in time & money their “idea” had caused.”

I’ve certainly already made that point and I’m pleased to be able to have played a part in getting this result.

We all favoured residents parking so we were very surprised when the recommendation came back with a mixture of double yellow lines and residents parking.  In my view, and in the view of a number of objectors, this would compound the problem even further and make parking difficult for Firsgrove residents.

I’m pleased to say that I have, at tonight’s Highways Panel, been able to convince the committee to go back to the drawing board and revise the proposals.  I hope this means we will get the residents/permit parking that we all want.

- make use of timer switches to have lighting come on within properties if they are going to be empty in the late afternoons and early evenings

- ensure that vehicle keys are never left in view of doors or windows

- make sure that UPVC doors are correctly and fully locked. This means turning the key in the lock as well as lifting the handle in most examples of this type of door. If the handle is lifted and the key not turned, the door may not be fully secure. Having been burgled a few years ago I know what a distressing experience it can be so do what you can to keep yourself safe.

In the end, the live music licence wasn’t granted at this stage but I have high hopes for what they want to do in the evenings.  Not, as some may fear, a rowdy wine bar but the opportunity to sit down and enjoy a meal and a glass of wine.  I hope that this is a positive addition to the area, and I will be keeping a close eye in case it causes any problems, but this could be a benefit to the area.