12:53pm Friday 12th March 2010
By Edmund Tobin
CHIGWELL is rightly famed for its palatial housing and visible affluence but there is a quieter community side to it too none more so than on the Limes Farm Estate.
When Limes Farm was first constructed in the late 1960s it drew widespread attention, and attracted many new residents.
Eric Simmonds, 72, was one of the very first people to move in when he brought his family from Buckhurst Hill to a property in Limes Avenue in 1969, where he has been ever since.
He said: “It was better accommodation for us. We had a growing family and there was a council house available. We were vetted before we came here. I worked for the post office and you had to have a good job before you could get here.
“It was big news at the time to have a council estate in Chigwell. It was front page stuff. Extra houses have been built since then and of course 90 per cent of the council properties are private now, and we've got a nice new bus route. It seems to be working ok.
“Limes Farm is underrated. It gets its problems same as anywhere else but we wouldn't have stayed here with a young family if it wasn't comfortable.”
Limes Farm Community Association has been looking out for the estate since it formed from the ashes of the old residents' society there over ten years ago.
It organises sporting and community events and is currently in negotiations with the district council to expand and improve the facilities at Limes Hall.
Current chairman Kevin Norwood, 35, said: “I moved here six or seven years ago. It's got some nice spaces and property is cheap compared to some other areas.
“It's a quiet estate. People know each other probably more than in other places. You know your neighbours, and kids play outside- that doesn't happen in other areas.”
Arthur Anderson, 79, of Limes Avenue, has been an active member of the Association since 2000.
He said: “I came over in 1972 when they were still building it. My wife wanted a small job and she saw an advert at a laundrette which is where the medical centre is now. She got the job and started coming from Newbury Park. She saw the houses and we liked them and I've been here ever since in the same house.
“It was completely council housing in the 70s, then Maggie Thatcher came in with the right to buy houses which people did. It means they take pride in where they live, and that's been a major plus.”
Limes Farm hit the headlines for the wrong reasons in 2007 when teenager Jack Large was stabbed to death there outside an unmanned police station.
The estate has moved on since that time, and residents have noticed a better police presence.
Mr Anderson said: “It was obviously a trying time for everyone when that boy was killed but at that time the police got together with people to form an action group and it's made a big difference. We've never had any problems. We've got good friends and good neighbours here.”
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