Local Authority

TWO motorcyclists were rushed to hospital in separate accidents over the weekend.

One crash took place at 6.30pm on Friday on the Uxbridge Road at the junction with Boscombe Road, Hillingdon.

A motorcyclist was involved in a collision with a car, and a man in his 40s, was rushed to Charing Cross Hospital with a shoulder injury.

Paramedics also attended a separate accident on Saturday at 5.30pm at the junction connecting Woodstock Road and Swakeleys Road, Hillingdon.

Again, a motorcyclist and a car were involved in a collision, and paramedics attended.

A 32 year-old was taken to Hillingdon Hospital, in Pield Heath Road, suffering a leg injury.

Were you witness to either accident?

A LIVELY pub has been taken to court and fined for making too much noise- and both the licensee and premises supervisor have been left with criminal records.

Neighbours at two separate addresses in Hillingdon and Uxbridge have also been slapped with a fine as part of a crackdown by Hillingdon Council.

The Hillingdon Arms pub, in Sutton Court Road, Hillingdon, was first reported to the council's noise team in May 2008 when neighbours complained about loud music.

CONTROVERSIAL plans for a supermarket to be built on an old pub site in Hillingdon have been resubmitted.

In August, plans were put forward to build a superstore in place of the former Oak Tree Pub, in Ryefield Avenue, Hillingdon, which currently lies derelict.

A campaign was launched against the plans by shopkeepers worried about the effect it would have on their trade, and residents in the community, who felt the site could be put to a better use, with parking also a concern..

In September the plans were thrown out on a technicality by councillors, who agreed at a planning meeting that the drawings did not match up with the requirements.

However, a new plan has now been submitted, for the supermarket, and like before, for flats above it.

Residents have already told of plans to fight the new planning application, and are believed to be gathering signatures to a petition.

Constance Evans, 88, chair of the Oak Farm Residents Association, said: "We could have something better there, the pub site would be ideal as a leisure facility, for the elderly during the day and for youngsters in the evenings.

"A supermarket would adversely affect our local shops, once they go, they won't come back, we have fantastic shops round here including a butchers and an excellent hardware store."

What do you think of the plans? Are you opposed to a supermarket on Ryefield Avenue or are you in favour? Leave a comment below

IT HAS been revealed that a speed camera in Hillingdon which was felled, was in fact the result of a drunk driver crashing into it.

It was originally thought that the Gatso in Long Lane, Hillingdon, was lying prone on the side of the road after an act of vandalism by a disgruntled motorist, with Hillingdon police unable to provide information otherwise.

However, a witness to the crash, which took place on December 27, has revealed that a driver of a Land Rover in fact ploughed into the speed camera at high speed.

Nicki Couch, of nearby Windsor Avenue, Hillingdon, said: "The driver of the Land Rover had been driving under the influence of alcohol and had in fact collided into the speed camera, whilst managing to completely write off a silver Vauxhall Corsa belonging to an elderly resident of Long Lane.

"I actually called the police at the scene of the accident and my father and my sister's fiance had caught up with the driver down by Oak Farm Library and held him there until the police came.

"To see that someone had written to the Gazette saying that the speed camera's are not wanted there, to be honest, horrifies me and obviously it is needed following the event mentioned above.

"If someone had in fact been in that Corsa, I can assure you that they would not have survived."

The road stretches between Uxbridge and Ickenham, and has a speed camera near to the junction with Oak Farm Primary School.

Ms Couch added: "I think that the need for speed camera's along Long Lane and other busy roads is completely essential to ensure the safety of all road users and pedestrians, not forgetting the fact that this speed camera was directly opposite a popular primary school."

Swindon Council recently caused controversy by becoming the first local authority in England to axe speed cameras claiming they do not save lives, although Hillingdon Council, who have been running a hard hitting anti-speeding campaign over the past few months, indicated they have no plans to follow suit.

What do you think about speed cameras? Are they essential to cutting down on accidents? Leave a comment below

A SPEED camera in Hillingdon was ripped out from the ground by a disgruntled motorist.

The Gatso in Long Lane, Hillingdon, was ripped out presumably with the help of heavy machinery, and is lying prone on the side of the busy 30mph road.

Gazette photographer Toby van de Velde said: "It looks like somebody has just wrapped a chain around it and yanked it out."

The road stretches between Uxbridge and Ickenham, and has a speed camera near to the junction with Oak Farm Primary School.

Mukhtar Ali, from Iver, who uses the road daily, said: "The camera has been completely uprooted, it is very good news.

"I think it is a message for Hillingdon that speed cameras are not wanted here."

The camera is 50 yards from the shrine to Terry Hobson, the driver who died on the road on New Years' Eve 2008, who crashed into a tree while being followed by police.

Swindon Council recently caused controversy by becoming the first local authority in England to axe speed cameras claiming they do not save lives, although Hillingdon Council , who have been running a hard hitting anti-speeding campaign over the past few months, indicated they have no plans to follow suit.

Police are believed to be investigating the incident.

What do you think? Should speed cameras be axed?Leave a comment below...

PROPOSALS have been lodged to convert a small bedsit into a 19 room hotel.

The hotel would be sited in Hercies Road, Hillingdon, and Hillingdon Council are currently considering the application.

A ROAD is to be closed off for two months to carry out gas main replacement works.

Court Road, in Ickenham, will close from next Monday (September 28) for up to two months.

BUSINESS owners have been defeated by residents in their bid to introduce a stop and shop parking scheme outside their shops to boost trade.

Residents objected to the plans as it would have meant a loss of several key parking places close to their road.

PROTESTORS who campaigned for renovations to their golf club to be refused are celebrating after the plans were withdrawn.

The plans for Uxbridge Golf Club, in Harvil Road, Ickenham, caused uproar among members, and the communities of Ickenham and Harefield, at both ends of the road.

A NEW doctors surgery been given a long awaited green light- improving conditions for medical staff and patients alike.

Permission for the new surgery at Parkway, Hillingdon, was granted by councillors last Tuesday, four years since the plans were first put forward.