By joining OCRA you are strengthening the residents' collective voice
with our Managing Agents, helping us to help you. Membership is
only open to Tenants or Leaseholders of Oakwood Court.
If you live in Oakwood Court and forgot your website password or don't have one yet, please email lisa.ocra@gmail.com.
Oakwood Court is staying at home!
We all have a collective duty of care to each other to stay at home unless it is absolutely necessary in order to reduce the transmission of Covid-19.
The residents of Oakwood Court are working together, while staying apart, in order to help each other get through these extremely challenging times. We have mobilised an abundance of amazing volunteers to help our neighbours in self-isolation to buy essentials, walk dogs, run vital errands, and receive friendly phone calls to make sure they're okay. Even if we're young and healthy, we should all practice social distancing, stay at home as much as possible, and only go out if it is absolutely necessary.
Residents should check occasionally for updates on this website. That way we can continue to communicate with you without distributing hardcopies, which is costly and time-consuming.
Volunteers help residents in self-isolation, over 70's, and anyone with an underlying health condition
If you are a resident of Oakwood Court who needs to stay home, we have an abundance of wonderful volunteers to help you buy essentials, walk dogs, and run vital errands. They also make friendly phone calls to check in on how you're doing while you're in isolation at home.
Please use this service whenever needed. It's not just about your own health, it's about protecting us all, decreasing the pressure on the NHS, and getting through this as best we can by working together, in isolation, to reduce the transmission of the virus.
Advice for volunteers
The government has published these guidelines on the gov.uk website, to help all volunteers stay safe in these challenging times.
Neighbourhood food delivery tips
Here are a few recommendations from residents about delivery options that are available to us locally.
If you want to order groceries, take-away food, or wine, take a look at these fantastic suggestions from our neighbours. If you would like to add your tips to this list, please email them to lisa.ocra@gmail.com.
Supermarket opening hours
Our local supermarkets are all trying to cope with steep rise in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some are providing exclusive access to seniors and other vulnerable people for the first hour of trading in the morning, others might close earlier than usual in order to stock their shelves.
Please continue to check their websites for the latest opening hours and restrictions, as these are likely to change as this situation evolves. And remember to always buy responsibly!
Visit their websites for the latest info:
Social distancing with the porters
Please do NOT visit the Porters' Office in person in order to reduce all face-to-face interactions and comply with the vital social distancing required at this time.
If you need to speak to a porter, please RING or EMAIL them. Deliveries will be left OUTSIDE your door as soon as possible.
The Freshwater Office is closed until further notice, but their employees are working from home and will do their best to assist residents throughout these challenging times.
Advice for parents
Our resident child psychologist has kindly provided some helpful information for families with children who are worried about the virus, or trying to cope with our new isolated lifestyles, social distancing, extra hand-washing, and the challenges related to the closure of schools.
If you would like to chat with her, please email lisa.ocra@gmail.com and we'll put you in touch.
Clap for Our Carers
Thank you to everyone who helped give the NHS a fantastic standing ovation from our windows and balconies on Thursday, 26 March for the nationwide "Clap for Our Carers".
This is a national campaign to show all our nurses, doctors, GPs and carers that we are grateful for their ongoing hard work and fight against this virus.
Social distancing - the new normal for EVERYONE
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Stay 2 metres/6 feet+ away from others.
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Work from home whenever possible.
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Avoid all unnecessary travel.
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Stay away from crowded places and social venues.
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Avoid gatherings with friends and families wherever possible.
Who must self-isolate and for how long?
Please click below for useful information from the NHS and BBC websites, which explains when you need to self-isolate and for how long.
If you are unwell, please double bag your rubbish before putting it out for collection. We need to protect our porters too!
General reminders:
Items left in common parts
Residents are reminded that NO ITEMS SHOULD be left outside their front doors, including shoes, pushchairs, bikes, scooters and umbrellas. Residents found ignoring this may be fined and the items may be removed without notice.
We are allowing a temporary exception to this for volunteers leaving food and essentials OUTSIDE the front doors of residents in self-isolation, but please ring or text them so they can bring the items inside as soon as possible.
Porters will also leave parcels OUTSIDE the front door to your flat in order to comply with social distancing guidelines.
Rubbish collection times
Rubbish and recycling must ONLY be put outside residents' front doors during the collection times listed below. Residents who are found disregarding these rules continuously may be fined.
- Monday - Saturday (6.30am - 9.30am)
- Sunday (6.30am - 10.30am)
Please DOUBLE BAG your rubbish if you are self-isolating to help contain the disease. The virus can live on plastic for up to three days.
Please FLATTEN AND BREAK DOWN your boxes. By doing this we can help the porters clear the rubbish more quickly.
Don't buzz anyone in unless you know who they are
As more residents will be arranging deliveries over the coming months, there is more opportunity for scammers to pretend to be making deliveries. If your bell rings and the caller says they're delivering something for someone who isn't home, direct them to the porters. DO NOT open the door to strangers.
Considerate neighbours
Let's all do our best to be considerate of our neighbour throughout this challenging period of self-isolation and self-distancing. Many residents are working from home and schools are all closed, so more people are at home than under ordinary circumstances. Stress levels are particularly high, so please do everything you can to help us maintain a quiet and peaceful community.
OCRA AGM
The OCRA AGM is being postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. We will reschedule another date once the coronavirus crisis is over.
Donate to OCRA
You can make a donation to OCRA by
debit card, credit card or PayPal. Simply click the yellow button below.
Alternatively, you can donate by cheque. Cheques should be made payable to "OCRA" and sent to Kate Cullinan at 25 Oakwood Court. Please write your full name, flat number and email address on the reverse of your cheque.
Cycle lane update
TFL has modified their cycle lane proposal, but it still doesn't address the underlying problems of increased congestion and pollution, as well as the knock-on effect of additional rat-running, which is expected to rise through the residential streets in our area.
OCRA and many other residents' associations believe that additional cycling in quiet side streets is vastly preferable to the upsurge in vehicular rat running which TFL's revised cycle lane would certainly cause (as TFL openly admit).
We invite all residents to express their views to the Council, TFL, and SOS, regardless of whether they are for or against this proposal. Please email all of the following people:
Please include your name and address on all correspondence to show that you are from the local community, and avoid accusations of double-counting. For further info please visit the Save Our Streets (SOS) website:
