Les was a champion of the common person, very loyal and protective to his friends and especially to his beloved family, who were constantly at the heart of his life.
Over the last 60 years many in Swindon have benefited from his strength of character and doggedness. Never giving up on a problem big or small or turning his back on someone in need, his door was always open at work and home.
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If Les didn't have the answer you could bet that he knew someone who did and he was blessed with a special gift of persuading' people to take the right action.
Never afraid to say what he thought was right, or afraid to say sorry if he was wrong, the community council and the area and people it covered benefited by an immeasurable amount when he retired from a lifetime of Union work within the council, leaving him free to give his full commitment to the area he had lived in since moving here from Yorkshire during the 1940s.
There can be no doubt that Yorkshire's loss was certainly Swindon's gain and anybody who ever met Les, and it was many, will never be able to forget him. He was a truly remarkable, influential and irreplaceable man, his memory will live on and he will be greatly missed by all at the Community Council and everyone else that knew him.
K Leakey.
Secretary BSACC.
Letter from Swindon Advertiser
Tuesday 29 May 2007
Real champion of the people
Monday 28 May 2007
HOME FIRE SAFETY VISIT
If you would like a FREE Home and Fire Safety Visit, Please contact:
The Fire Station, Drove Road, Swindon, SN1 3AD
or call: 0800 389 7849
or visit: www.fire.gov.uk
or visit: www.fire.gov.uk
Please Note: Any alarms or advice given to householders is on a goodwill basis.
Responsibility for maintainance of smoke alarms lies with the householder.
ARE YOU READY - FOR A SMOKE FREE SWINDON
Smokefree legislation will be coming to Swindon from 1 July 2007
Will you need to do anything to comply with the new requirements?
To find out, register at www.smokefreeendgland.gov.uk
or by calling the free information line on 0800 169 1697
DID YOU KNOW?
Smoking rooms will not be allowed. Most premises, even those
currently smokefree, will still need to display signage.
SWINDON ADVERTISER - LES HORN TRIBUTE
By Matt Jackson
LES Horn, a tireless community campaigner and one of the town's most colourful political characters, has died, aged 85.
Friends and colleagues have expressed their sadness over the loss of Mr Horn, who was taken to Great Western Hospital last Monday with kidney problems.
He died on Saturday morning, and since then those who knew of his dedication to the people of Central ward and Broad Street Area Community Council have paid tribute.
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Former mayor Mike Bawden first met Les in 1970 during the dirty workers' strike, when the sewage works in Barnfield Road ground to a halt.
They negotiated from different sides of the political spectrum while workers and the council argued over pay and working hours.
"It was a time of crisis in 1970, the lack of work at the sewage works meant the River Thames was being polluted," he said.
"Les was the senior shop steward for the National Union Of Public Employees and I had to meet with him at all times of day and night to try and resolve the dispute.
"What became clear very quickly was that we were strong political opponents, not least when stink bombs were thrown into a council meeting about the row.
"But we formed a very strong personal friendship which carried on for more than 35 years.
"Les was very straight with people he dealt with.
"If he didn't agree with you he would fight tooth and nail to obstruct your plans, but if he thought it was the right thing to do it would be done with no fuss at all.
"He cared deeply for the Broadgreen area of Swindon and was always there at council meetings to make sure that his ward got a fair hearing."
John and Beryl Phillips worked with Les for years on Broad Street Area Community Council.
Beryl will remember the work Les did to tackle prostitution in the area.
She said: "He was a great, straight-talking Yorkshireman and he took that into the work he did.
"If he thought there was a problem or something that needed to be done he would get to work straight away.
"He campaigned to keep green space around the County Ground during discussions about the stadium redevelopment, and played a major role in the Streets For Living campaign."
Derique Montaut knew Les from his regular attendance at council meetings.
The Labour ward councillor for the central area recognised his commitment.
He said: "Even if it was a minor meeting he would be there with the same enthusiasm.
"He was a deeply committed old Labour figure and the town is poorer for his passing.
"There have not been many people like Les and he will be sorely missed."
Karen Leakey worked with Les until the end of last month, staging a cohesion event on April 28 through the Broad Street Area Community Council.
Karen said: "It has been a privilege and honour to have worked with Les and he has inspired me to continue with his work."
Sunday 27 May 2007
Les Horn
I have been asked to write a few words on behalf of the Broad Street Area Community Council concerning our long time Chairman and friend Les Horn who sadly passed away last week.
In his memoirs, Les wrote that: "I was born into a way of life of sharing and giving help when one can without looking for reward, I have found that one gets more pleasure from giving than taking and if many others would share this practice the world would be a much better place to live"
Saturday 26 May 2007
Very Sad News
Les will sadly be missed by everyone and has left a big hole.
Will post a tribute to Les at a later date.
Monday 21 May 2007
Amazing people of Broadgreen
Grace Walker aged 89 years of Salisbury Street held a Giant Tea Party on Friday in aid of the Blue Cross Animal Shelter in Burford.
Grace is a big cat lover and felt this was a cause close to her heart. Grace spent many hours finding donations and writing letters. A raffle was held, with fun and games for children, tea and cakes were also served and people paid a donation. Grace also sold many items – most with an animal theme. The weather stayed good and the Town Crier, as well as the Neighbourhood Police Team and many residents turned up.
By the end of the day Grace raised over £400.00 – amazing.Bristol Rovers Groundshare
MEETING WITH SANDY GREY STFC RE BRISTOL ROVERS GROUND SHARE THURSDAY 17 MAY 2007
PRESENT Sandy Grey - STFC, Councillors - Darker, Wright and Montaut, Kevin Leakey - Secretary BSACC, Michael Rimes - Committee BSACC.
MINUTES
SG: Have talked to a supporters group and they are 80% in favour of a ground share happening BW: He has dealt with the Trust STFC and they are mostly against a ground share happening.
KL: Community Council do not wish to see this happen. Have failed to so far find anyone, fans or not, who thinks a ground share with Bristol Rovers would be a good thing. This is from people not only in the vicinity of the County Ground, but also across the town. The only positive thing a number of people had to say was it could help STFC financially as they are in trouble.
People are concerned that there will be traffic and parking problems happening every week. People tend work around Swindon’s home matches- if they go out, they may not be able to park when they get back so they either do not go out, or they stay out until after the football has finished having to do this every week is a lot to ask. With Bristol Rovers behaviour problems of recent years, residents are extremely worried about their safety and the prospect of damage to their properties.
SG: Will be good for businesses in the town, as Bristol crowd will spend extra money. KL: Our concerns are how residents will be affected, not how much money a business will be able to make. Residents life will be disrupted every week from football, it is also very noisy especially for people living directly around the stadium. While we all have to accept that disruption will happen on Swindon’s home games, it is not acceptable to have to put up with it every week.
SG: Are looking to bus in around 1000 fans and expect crowds of 2500 to 4000 at each match Rovers have home crowds of around 4000 to 6000 maximum. Swindon has crowds of around 7000 so it will be a lot less fans in town for Bristol matches.
SG: Do understand that families will come by car-will encourage them to use park and ride KL: STFC do not do this for Swindon fans now, why would Bristol fans use the facility.
SG: Police budget to be paid for by Bristol, not only in the ground but the whole policing bill – Swindon and Wiltshire residents should not have to pay for this.
If Bristol Rovers go up a division then crowds are likely to be much bigger than the 2500 to 4000 talked about how many is this likely to be?
SG: Still think that even if this happens, crowds will not exceed 4000.
SG: The Police are not too worried about problems. They envisage that any ‘teething’ problems will only last for the first month; -2 matches - then the novelty will wear off and crowd numbers will drop. KL: This is all speculation, no one actually has any idea how many people will come down to watch Rovers play.
SG: Bristol Rovers FC say fans that cause trouble at football are not Rovers fans. KL: Rightly or wrongly if they come to Swindon and cause trouble because Rovers are playing here, they are still connected to the club whether they are Rovers fans or not.
DM: There will be an increase in rubbish, STFC should recognise this and pick up the bill. SG: STFC already pay a large rent to the Council, as their profits increase so does the amount they pay to the Council. So they should not have to pay any extra.
DM: May be the Council should pay for the extra cleaning!!!
BW: Can accept the principle of ground sharing with other sports, but sharing with Bristol Rovers who have no allegiance with Swindon is completely different from, for example Swindon Hockey Club using the ground. This would not cause residents any of the problems that Bristol Rovers could cause.
BW: Extra revenue that comes into the town because of Rovers fans coming here is likely to have to be used to fix broken windows etc. Police cannot stop this happening; they can only do so much.
BW: STFC should be aware that should the ground share go ahead, the Broadgreen area has direct contact with their police teams who are very active in the area. Any problems that happen in the area will soon find their way to the police and residents will expect action to be taken.
Who will pay if there is trouble and damage is done to residents properties and cars etc.
SG: Any problems that go on outside the ground are not the clubs responsibility; they cannot be expected to pay for this SD agreed with SG that this is not STFC’s responsibility. KL: Pointed out that although it is the case that residents have to begrudgingly accept this when STFC play, it is completely unfair that residents should have to pick up any costs because another football club are sharing the County Ground, STFC will be making money and residents will pay the price.
DM: May be club could pick up some of the costs if damage occurs.
MR: The only way this could work is if the whole crowd is bussed directly to the stadium and bussed out again after the match without anybody ever leaving the ground, then nobody could cause trouble or damage or parking problems, which would never be feasible.
DM: This happens on the continent, but many people ignore it.
Sunday 20 May 2007
BROADLY SPEAKING JUNE 2007
Newsletter for the Broad Street Area Community Council
Residents young and old and from many different cultures, recently came together to celebrate the diversity of the Broadgreen area.
In the main hall many varied groups and Council departments connected with the area displayed information about their organisations, while entertainment was provided throughout the afternoon by Swahili dancers, a Gospel choir and solo singers.
For the under ten year olds there was a fancy dress competition, as well as a bouncy castle and a mini sports event where many children enjoyed the egg and spoon and sack races. For their efforts they all received a medal. They also took part in a chocolate egg hunt around the field.
A handful of the committee also provided free of charge, hot and cold food from a number of different Countries.
Sport proved to be a great way of bringing everyone together. The 5-aside football event was very popular. Community sports coach, Doug Imrie the tournament organiser worked extremely hard. As well as co-ordinating the fixtures and league table he also refereed most matches and even played for the Police team who were short handed. With so many teams taking part, the tournament went on far longer than expected, but thanks to a draw against the Asian Youth team, in the very last match of the afternoon the Police managed to lift the trophy.
Finishing off the afternoon was a tug of war competition, this proved very interesting for the referees, each time their backs were turned, extra people grabbed the rope. It was all a good laugh though and was eventually won by the Goan group who were unbeaten.
The event was so successful that subject to funding being found, the BSACC will put on a similar event in 2008.
There has been a rather disturbing increase in the number of burglaries committed in the Broadgreen area. Please be especially alert to anyone who appears to be behaving suspiciously or trading door to door.
If you live within the BSACC area then you are more than welcome to attend our monthly meetings held in the lounge at the Broadgreen Centre on the second Wednesday of every month. 7.00 pm for coffee and 7.30 pm start. Next meetings on the 13th June and the 11th July. Keep up with what is happening in our area at www.broadgreenlife.blogspot.com or email us at broadstreetcc@hotmail.co.uk
Saturday 19 May 2007
Police Warning to all Householders
POLICE WARNING TO HOUSEHOLDERS
- There has been a disturbing recent increase in the number of burglaries committed in this area.
- These crimes are being actively investigated but everyone can help to reduce the risk of further attacks.
- Methods of entry has included forcing doors and windows, although in some cases entry has been made because the house was left insecure while the home owner was out. Please be aware of the increased risk and help reduce crime and protect your own property by making sure that your house is fitted with good quality locks on all external doors and windows and use them at all times. Most burglars are opportunists so remove the opportunities and make life hard for the criminal. Be security conscious and please:
- Consider installing an intruder alarm system.
- Install security timer lights inside your home.
- Postcode your property and keep a written record of serial numbers, makes and models. If you have valuable jewellery or antiques, keep a photographic record.
- Traditionally, small communities have always looked out for one another, so please be especially alert to anyone in your area who appears to be behaving suspiciously or trading from door to door.
- Record descriptions of such people and any vehicles that they may have with them and contact the Police on 0845 408 7000 or dial 999 in an emergency.
- Please pass this warning on to your friends or relations as security is the responsibility of us all.
Home security advice can be obtained from Swindon Police Crime Prevention Department on 0845 408 7000 or by visiting www.crimereduction.gov.uk on the internet.
Friday 11 May 2007
PLANNING APPLICATION
Haydon Street Working Mens Club
Change of Use from Working Men's Club (Sui Generis) to Restaurant & Takeaway (Classes A3/A5), ancillary staff accomodation & external alterations.
WHEELIE BINS IN THE BROADGREEN AREA
Had a chat with the SBC wheelie bin 'salesman' at the cohesion event at the Broadgreen Centre on the 28th April.
All households around the Broadgreen area will have wheelie bins except Manchester Road and County Road, being busy main roads, they will take too long to collect. Unsure how they manage to collect the hundreds of bin bags at the moment.
They envisage the smaller size wheelies being suitable for the front gardens of terraced houses. If people accept the smaller ones, they will be able to have an, as yet, unspecified number of extra recycling boxes free of charge.
How will people who have a bit of greenery in the front garden and have no space for any size wheelie bin, store theirs. Each household will be able to discuss this with the new 'rubbish czars', they will be able to 'help' people with their problems.
We will not have to worry about moving the wheelies for collection, as the bin men will pull the bins out of front gardens, down the step and put them back after emptying. Perish the thought of this happening, they are not exactly careful picking up and putting back the recycling boxes.
We will be given 4 free SBC clear plastic bags for our fortnightly plastic recycling. These should last residents in their estimations 6 months (4 bags, last 6 months, fortnightly collection. Clever maths that one!) They are only giving out 4 because they want to make sure they are full right up before people put them out for collection. After that we will have to purchase more from the Council!!!
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD AT BROADGREEN ON WEDNESDAY 11th April 2007
MATTERS ARISING: A resident of County Road has never seen any mechanical sweepers in the back alleys and even if they wanted to clean them in this fashion they would not be able to get down them because of the constant fly tipping.
POLICE REPORT: PCSO Cook reported back on the 3 major problems identified in the area. (1) Speeding vehicles. The police have been ticketing cars that are not taxed, insured or are speeding in the area. Recently a car was towed away for constantly speeding, a fine had to be paid for the vehicles release and if caught speeding again will be confiscated and crushed. (2) Drugs. They continue to fight the problem of illegal drugs and have had success with the conviction of a cannabis dealer. (3) Prostitution. There was a 3-day operation recently, aimed at targeting kerb crawlers and a number of them were arrested. As part of the ongoing situation the police are engaging with drug workers to help solve the problem from a different angle.
In March the Broadgreen NPT put together a newsletter detailing the above, they are available at the police point at the Broadgreen Centre. There was a general agreement by residents attending the meeting that it would be a good idea if these newsletters were delivered to every household in the area. PCSO Cook will look into this but the cost may make this impossible. But will put them in local shops for people to take and read.
Police are carrying out a consultation in the area, asking for people’s problems and concerns. This will then be put on a database to target particular problems.
Following the armed robbery on the shop in County Road, we were asked if we felt there was any more tension or worry in the area. The consensus was ‘no more than usual’.
The main concern was the media generally putting the area down in their reports. Calling the area a red light district and as quoted on radio 4 news, a ‘rough area of Swindon’ gives the impression that Broadgreen is a run down and deprived area and discourages families from wanting to live here.
Cars and vans are still parking on paths and in alleyways as well as lorries parking for long lengths of time while delivering to shops. Police do challenge all these problems when they come across them, and recently specifically targeted the alleyways.
A report from a resident to the police some 3 weeks ago, concerning an incident where they had nearly been knocked over by a taxi and subsequently verbally abused by the driver has not been followed up despite registration and taxi details being given to the police. PCSO Cook will follow this up.
Fly tipping is still a major problem in the area. Police have to catch people in the act, and is a council problem.
CORRESPONDENCE:
- Cllr. David Wren – Full weekly recycling will begin end of July, we will all receive a second orange box at the end of June so we can recycle glass, cans, textiles, foil and paper. Not sure if we will have a fortnightly wheelie bins or a restricted bin bag collection, still to be sorted, but it will be rolled out from September onwards.
- Swindon Services – No reply on the possibility of mechanical cleaning of alleys.
- Rod Bluh – Reassurances that no decisions, discussions or promises of any kind have been made to STFC concerning their plans for the County Ground. He also clarified that their proposals have only been discussed in outline and nothing has been seen, although The Council will consider any sensible proposals at anytime which can take account of the needs of the town and the neighbouring community.
- Gillian Morris and Anne Fisher (SBC) – Both are taking early retirement at the end of March. Sent a thank you to all colleagues in the voluntary sector that they have worked with through the community grants.
PLANNING
S/06/2962/HD- Change of use from Class A1 (retail) to Class A3 (restaurants and cafes). REVISED PLAN, 18 Lagos Street.
CHAIR REPORT: Hopefully the Cohesion Day on the 28th April will see plenty of people come together and enjoy a fun afternoon. The cohesion committee have had 4 meetings and with only £1100 have, with prudence and thrift, pulled the event together.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS:
- Garage behind County Road-causing all sorts of problems with cars being constantly repaired and parked in the alleyways. There is also a build up of oil in the alley and used oil is being poured down the gully drains. Les will take this up with the environmental dept. and will ask the police to carry out checks on the vehicles in the alleys.
- 10 pm extension of residents parking. Should be implemented within the next 2 weeks-Les to chase up.
- 51 Manchester Road-Still people using the café after 11pm closing time.
- Waste baskets in the Broadgreen Centre would be a good idea to keep the litter down. Also more drunks are again spending hours on the benches in this area.
- 154 County Road-garage at back of properties being used to repair cars- Planning enforcement looking into this.