No Jim, I don't live in the area but my husband was born in his parent's bedroom on the Woodlands Estate, and lived there until we got married. His parents are still there. Before that, it was his his Grandparent's home. My in-laws haven't moved on because they like living in the area they're in and have all the regular reasons for it, like great transport links, social life, local theatre, doctors, a hospital near to hand, libraries, and when my husband was a boy, good schools, (the arguement for catchment areas has always rumbled on) Cubs, Scouts, and other sundry after school activities. I can remember turning up there 22 years ago to meet my prospective in -laws, and commenting to my husband aboout the smell, his reply was that it was a "healthy" smell, and it had always been there, and they just got on with it. Not a matter of complacency or neglect, but simply people bringing up their families and getting on with their everyday lives, and maybe this is the case nowadays with the majority of people, the houses on the estate and the surrounding areas are looking pretty good and well kept, people are obviously proud to be living there and possibly not too strung up about their resale prices. I've no doubt the pong has got worse over the years, but might it not have something to do with the general workload of the sewage works increasing over the years with all the new builds and home improvement in the area which all have at least one toilet, if not two? Me? I lived slap bang next to the Hogarth Roundabout when I lived in Chiswick. Originally not through choice, I'm a Council House Kid by birth, and the genuine Chiswick article. Since the block I was bought up in was built in 1951/2, the tenants had to endure more and more traffic and congestion - 40 foot articulated lorries were no fun rumbling past ageing Crittal windows which the Council replaced with triple glazing about 12 years ago, and a flight path right over the top of the properties, which although not as low as Isleworth or Hounslow, still sent vibrations through the house when Concorde and older styles of jet engine flew over, every day of the week. And as you say, this is all a disgrace, and as you say, there are no noise controls whatsoever all the way up to Harvard Road and its environs or beyond! And we were never offered any insulation against noise from the aircraft either! I totally agree with you! Again, my parents chose to stay in the area because that's where their employment, friends, doctors and my schools were, they got on with their lives. When I left school, my choice was to work at a Company based at the Hogarth Roundabout, and I am still there, thirty-one years later. When I married my husband, and we had a choice where to live, we opted to buy a flat on the estate and keep an eye on my parents who were not enjoying the best of health. Now we're in Brentford (and it's not a "gentrified" part, I think it may be the part that you commented on in another forum posting). Again, we are employed locally, our social life is here, our friends are here, we have great transport links and are watching the various developments going on in the town with interest. I enjoy living in the area. I also enjoyed being in Chiswick.Like you Jim, I can remember what it was like round here - remember the gasworks in the High Street and how smelly they could be at times? With respect to everyone who lives in the Mogden area, we seem to all be living in times when litigation seems to be the only option, and I think that's quite sad, not to say that sometimes it may need you to take out a type of insurance policy with regard to no win no fee cases. I certainly don't think people should lump it as you suggest. I'm commenting on the fact that these are the times we live in and even if we were all fortunate enough to move to an idyllic life in the country we'd encounter problems ... like manure. If we moved to the coast we'd have to get used to the smell of seaweed dumped on the beach by the tide every day. But who would you sue if you encountered this?
Christine Hooper ● 7170d