EastSheenMatters

A better Sunday morning. But which poor s*** are suffering today?

Or perhaps they have noted our complaints and flown higher?

🤔😒😶‍🌫️🙄🤑

If you lodge a complaint you might be lucky enough to get reports on noise but they are for 2024.

They tell us nothing about why it has been so much worse recently.

Many of you may know of car theft from driveways locally. Most recently two in Richmond Park Road. In that context – and see advice at the end of this post.

The ringleaders of a “highly sophisticated” car theft gang who stole 107 high-value vehicles worth more than £2m over an eight-month period have been jailed at Southampton Crown Court.

The gang stole cars mostly from driveways while their owners were asleep.

The gang used signal boosters to trick keyless ignition vehicles that the key fob was close by so it could be unlocked and ‘signal jammers’ to prevent vehicles from being locked in the first place, with the owner unaware the key fob had not worked.

They would then “return in the middle of the night to drive the unlocked cars away,” a Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said.

They took the cars, 76 of which were stolen from addresses in Hampshire, 28 from Dorset and three from Wiltshire, between February and October 2023, to a “chop shop” to be stripped for parts.

The makes included Land Rover, Range Rover, Jaguar, Mercedes, Audi, Bentley, Lexus, Hyundai, Citroen and Ford as well as motorcycles and Ford vans containing thousands of pounds worth of tools.

The ringleaders were jailed for 56 months and 64 months respectively at Southampton Crown Court on Thursday. They were both convicted of conspiracy to steal motor vehicles, conspiracy to handle stolen goods, and possession of criminal property.

Advice from local Neighbourhood Watch:

General suggestions include:

hard-wired (ethernet) instead of WiFi data transfer models;

local (in camera) storage;

overlapping CCTV coverage (eg a high mounted overview CCTV device that includes the key approaches to supplement a doorbell camera;

security lighting as a deterrent.

All that said though, obviously there is extra cost and hassle if aiming for full ‘belt & braces’ surveillance, so any CCTV at all, or other security, still reduces risk. And as always with this crime type: if you have a vehicle of similar model, consider any additional security precautions as sometimes these criminals target a particular model for a while. Today’s model was a white iX Sport BMW EV.

With thanks to Andy Lindesay

What precisely are the misleading aspects of Heathrow’s self publicity and response to complaints?

If you do complain you may get a response like: “We appreciate that early-morning flights can be disturbing for local residents and Heathrow is continuously finding ways to reduce aircraft noise. For example, we provide a strong financial incentive for airlines to use the quietest planes available, including in the early-morning period, through the use of variable landing charges.”

One response has to be: ‘You would not know it’! The eight planes that arrived between 920am and 930am on Sunday 5th October completely ruined a beautiful sunny morning. They were all the largest type and flying at the lowest possible elevation.

Why would these airlines be bothered? Easyjet might benefit but it is dishonest and disingenuous of Heathrow and their ‘Customer Relations’ to suggest that financial incentives make any difference to the global airlines.

And the searches I have been able to make do not provide information about noise.

What would be really useful is to have someone in the know to provide honest information. Any air traffic controllers out there?

Sunday 12th October 2025 930am – 1130am

The Friends of Sheen Common and Habitats & Heritage are organising an autumn litter-pick of the Common on Sunday 12 October.

Please join if you can to give the Common a thorough clean-up after all the use it’s had over the summer. Bring the whole family – it’s a fun activity for kids too!

The litter-pick will run between 9.30 and 11.30 am but you are welcome to do it for a shorter time if you prefer. Light refreshments will be offered at the finish.

If you plan to join the Friends please email cleansheen@habitatsandheritage.org.uk with the names of participants so they have an idea of the numbers to expect on the day.

You will then receive details of where to meet, safety guidance etc.

Friends of Sheen Common

Thursday 9th October – Sheen Live Jam: 1 Year Anniversary Special!

We’re celebrating one year of Sheen Live Jam this Thursday with a special Fleetwood Mac theme.

Expect some great covers, a buzzing atmosphere, and all your favourite hits – music from 7pm

Barnes Home Guard Club 76a Richmond Park Road, London SW14

EastSheenMatters drew attention to this application on 2 October. Cllr Julia Cambridge has now written to say that she has received resident correspondence on the matter.

She says: ‘If you wish to contact ward Cllrs of East Sheen please do so and we will hear your concerns or queries.’

Contact Cllr Cambridge at Cllr.j.cambridge@richmond.gov.uk