Kingsway Villagers

I would like to make the Kingsway community aware that reports of a rogue trader have come to our attention in recent weeks. A few people have mentioned about someone taking their computer away for repair and later returning and telling them it can’t be repaired. Some of these people have in my opinion been conned into selling the item for a few pounds. After hearing about the faults with one person’s laptop it is clear this was an easy fix and would not have cost much at all to rectify. One person was told that her Nintendo DS was not repairable and this was never returned to her. I am sure this is theft even if it is a broken item.

This kind of behaviour is damaging to the community and for local businesses trying to provide a legitimate service.

I would like to urge people to ask to see proof of qualifications before allowing anyone to attempt any repairs on your electronic devices. I would also like to tell the residents of Kingsway and the surrounding areas that even if their item cannot be fixed it still remains their property and they are entitled to it back in the same condition as it was when taken away.  Search for a second opinion. This kind of thing was happening all the time in my previous location.

The people of Kingsway need to know that rogue traders are everywhere. In this present financial climate we all want to save money but the three people I have spoken to have lost their laptops and had to replace them at a cost much more than a repair would have been. Don’t throw it away along with your hard earned cash. Also faulty laptops and computers make good money when sold online so even if it is broken consider selling it yourself online before accepting a few pounds for it.

It would be interesting to hear from anyone who may have suffered regarding this con.

I have notice a lot lately, that dog walkers let their dogs roam Kingsway without their leads; thus they just enter residents’ gardens and at times leave their mess, only for the residents to clear the dog’s mess up.

The other day a dog came bounding into my garden and started to jumped up and down at my son at the front door. My son did start screaming, as he was frightened, only to be told by the dog owner to calm down. I was not happy with this comment and my son was clearly upset.

Surely dogs should be on leads and be in control by their owners, until they are at an open space for the dogs to run with full control of owners?

As many of us do not have gates, how do we deal with this situation or is this norm?

Can anything be done about this, as one day a child may get bitten or knocked to the floor by a dog, due to the children screaming through fright?

Is it just me or have any other residents been disgusted by the constant litter being thrown on the floor daily outside and all around the new Tesco Express store and the other units in the new local centre?

The reputation of Kingsway is bad enough already without inconsiderate people continuing to spoil the area for the decent hard working people that actually live here. To me it just reinforces the stereotype that some people who rent houses don’t give a damn about where they live, which in turn makes people who have bought properties like myself regret it as normal people I think, don’t wish to live amongst rubbish!

There is no excuse for it at all. There are ample bins on the parade outside of the shops, so really it’s just a matter of laziness, ignorance and complete disrespect to residents who want to live in a nice, tidy area.

To visitors it just helps confirm the stories, rightly or wrongly, that they have heard about Kingsway. As someone who has lived in a lot of areas around the city over 40 years, it’s the worst I have seen. Since I moved here, some people’s reaction when I tell them that I have bought in Kingsway is to laugh! So now I just say Quedgeley. No wonder the house prices are so low here when these people continue to make the place look such a mess. So hopefully most of you will agree with my point and the Residents Association should look into trying to sort this problem out, and make the estate a bit more pleasant for everyone, owners and renters, and help change the reputation of our village.

Friday, another refuse collection day. Green bin and recycling bin duly left out on the pavement for The Council to collect.

I got home at lunchtime to find that some inconsiderate (expletive deleted) had decided to dump 4 carrier bags of rubbish – not all recyclable by the looks of it – in the emptied green box. (This was obviously after it had been emptied as the dustbin men leave the lid under the box once they’ve taken away the contents).

I’ve had similar things happen in the past and on the first occasion just decided to add the waste to my own collection, but enough is enough; this time I phoned The Council.

They’re not only sending someone to collect the rubbish but, as this is considered fly-tipping, they’ll go through it to see whether they can track down the perpetrator – it must be someone local.

Let’s hope the selfish person who decided to leave their problem rubbish for someone else to deal with has left a receipt or envelope inside the carrier bags, so that The Council can track them down and prosecute them.

Obviously it’s impossible to watch over your rubbish until it’s collected, especially when most of us have to go to work, but this really is anti-social behaviour of the “I’m alright, Jack” variety. (Good job I’m a firm believer of “what goes around, comes around”).

Postscript (Saturday): The Council failed to act yesterday, which meant that overnight someone – probably kids – threw one of the bags of rubbish against the front door!

I’ve reported the incident to The Police, who will now be alert to people walking round Kingsway with bags of rubbish on collection days, and will get back to The Council with a further complaint.

Have you seen this Man?

A mother and her daughter suffered a nasty ordeal in between Marham Drive and Bodiam Avenue in Kingsway yesterday.

Information from Gloucester Neighbourhood watch is as follows:

On Tuesday 4th October 2011 at approximately 14:45 hours a female was walking with her two year old child on a public footpath leading across open ground, between Bodium Avenue and Marham Drive, Kingsway Gloucester. At this time she was subjected to a robbery where a purse containing £400 was stolen and a black Sony Ericsson mobile phone.

Please pay particular to the following and see if it rings any bells

The offender is described as:

• IC3 male, dark complexion
• Early 20′s
• 5’2″–5’4″
• Short black hair with a single line cut horizontally along the left hand side of his head just above the ear
• Wearing a large diamante ear stud in the left ear
• Slim Build
• Wearing a black hooded top, black jeans with a silver logo on the back pocket

Police are appealing for witnesses and asking anyone with any information to contact them on the non-emergency 101 but if you see the possible offender, do not approach as he may be violent, ring on 999 and quote incident number 266 of 4th October.

If you do see him, please pick up the phone and call the Police!

Hi Folks,

The Police have highlighted that there has been an increased number of thefts, both from houses and from the building sites. This has been highlighted in this post by chumly.

Please do ensure you secure your sheds to deprive the opportunity of theft, and also if you do see suspicious behaviour from people around your neighbour’s houses, do report it to the Police. I’m sure they would appreciate it if you save their bikes from being stolen.

Cheers,
Barry