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Please either select a category below for a particular article or scroll down to read the whole Newsletter.

• Chairman's Introduction
• Village Hall Refurbishment
• Whitmore & District Horticultural Society
• Information Centre
• What's On at Whitmore Village Hall
• New Village Agent - Debra Burns
• Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour Figures for Greater Whitmore Neighbourhood Area
• New Year's Eve Dinner and Dance
• IT Training at the Village Hall
• Rural Runabout
• WANTED! Parish Councillor
• X64 Bus Again
• Christmas Recycling
• Whitmore Parish Housing Needs Survey

View a full list of Councillors and their contact details.

From the Chairman

I hope you find the latest edition of the Newsletter interesting. It contains some useful information as well as Notices for up-and-coming events. The Newsletter highlights just how active our community is.

All the community organisations need new faces, whether it is the Whitmore Village Hall Committee, Whitmore & District Horticultural Society or one of the local clubs. With the dark nights now with us you might have time to support the community or at the very least take part in some of the events.

We are very lucky that we live in a community that is friendly, relatively free of crime with some of the finest countryside on our doorstep. There are issues, as we all know, particularly road traffic and the A53. The Parish Council is committed to maintaining this wonderful environment. If like us, you are passionate about our local area, then why not join us as a Parish Councillor?

A vacancy has arisen on the Parish Council following the recent resignation by Ken Allman. I would like to thank Ken for his contribution and wish him success in his new ventures.

We always welcome feedback and will try and respond to all the comments made. Sometimes we find ourselves frustrated, for example, getting BT to maintain the grass outside their telephone exchange in Fairgreen Road to the standard we expect takes some considerable effort. Contact details for all the Parish Councillors are shown on the back page of the paper version of the Newsletter or available online from the Local Councillors Contact Information page. We would be pleased to receive comments.

I would also like to remind everyone that all Parish Council meetings are open to the public. We have a 15-mintues slot in the agenda where parishioners can speak and raise any concerns they may have.

Nick Hopper
01782 662323
nickhopper@whitmore.village.uk.net

VILLAGE HALL REFURBISHMENT

The Village Hall Committee has nominated a builder for the refurbishment of the toilets. The total cost will be around £25,000.00 and we have secured grants of £5,000.00 from the Staffordshire Foundation Grassroots initiative and £10,000.00 from the Lottery Awards for All. We have the balance in our funds and the work will start in January, hoping to complete by mid February. The final phase of the current development will be the new entrance, meeting room and Information Centre.

The total cost will be £120,000.00, and we are seeking Grant Funding from several sources.

When we have completed the toilets, we shall have residual funds of £20,000.00 to kick-start the project. Under the terms of the Planning Approval, we have to have started work by December 2010; otherwise, we shall be required to re-submit our application. Any contributions or suggestions for fund raising will be welcome. The Hall belongs to the Community and the Committee are working hard to improve the facility for future generations.

The Management Committee has recently been accredited with the Hallmark approval by the Community Council for Staffordshire. This award recognises that the Hall is well managed and complies with its Charitable Status. We are very pleased to have achieved this recognition of the voluntary work we carry out on behalf of the Community.

Please contact Chairman Keith Willingham 680944 or Secretary Don Lawton 680371 if you would like to join the Committee or have any suggestions for funding the next phase of our development. Thank you in anticipation.

Don Lawton
01782 680371

Whitmore & District Horticultural Society

THANK YOU! A big thank you from the Show Committee to everyone who took part in and helped at this year's Annual Show held on 13 September. The Show, organised by our all-new Committee, proved to be a great success! Watch this space for details of next year's Show.

New Talks for 2010

The Society will be hosting two talks in the New Year, both being held at the Village Hall. If you are interested in growing vegetables or flowers, or fancy having a go, then these talks might be of interest to you:

12 January 2010 – Vegetable Growing.
A talk on all aspects of vegetable growing with hints and tips on showing. Our speaker, Bernard Brown, has many years experience as a National Vegetable Society Judge.

9 February 2010 - Flower Growing by Helen Harrison.
A talk on flower growing with hints and tips on showing.

Everyone welcome to come along (you don't have to be a member). Start Time: 7.30 pm. Refreshments served.

Contact Mike Deaville on 01782 681049.

WHITMORE VILLAGE HALL INFORMATION CENTRE The Information Centre is open every Thursday from 2.00pm to 4.00pm Photocopying ~ Use of Computers ~ Faxing Printing ~ Internet Access ~ Local Information Parish, County and Borough Council Contacts In addition we are now able to offer the following service: Bus Pass photographing and forwarding by Internet to Local Authority for issue (normal delivery time is about a week) Please drop in to view our improved Village Hall, Kitchen, I.T. Training and Information Centre, if only for a chat. John and Audrey Pedley 01782 681037 (2pm to 4pm Thursday)

Whitmore Village Hall

Find Out What's On at the Whitmore & District Village Hall.

NEW VILLAGE AGENT - DEBRA BURNS

Following the resignation of Derek Pitt, Debra Burns has been appointed as the new Village Agent for Whitmore and Madeley.

Debra was brought up in Whitmore and her family has had connections with the area for over 50 years.

Her role as Village Agent is to support the local community with practical help and advice. She is particularly interested in projects which engage the elderly and young people.

Debra's background has predominantly been working with young people on Government funded contracts which included New Deal, Entry to Employment and Supporting People. She is a qualified trainer and has worked closely with secondary schools as a school mentor.

If you would like to contact Debra for a chat or for advice on community projects or funding issues, she would be very happy to hear from you.

Telephone 01785 242525 to speak to Debra or email debbieburns123@hotmail.co.uk.

Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour Figures for Greater Whitmore Neighbourhood Area

Robert Haysom
01782 643496

I.T. TRAINING AT THE VILLAGE HALL AI.T. Training courses for (a) Beginners and (b) Publisher are underway at the moment and planned to finish on 3 December 2009. We are intending to run two "Improvers" courses in the New Year starting on 14 January 2010; one from 9.00 am to 11.00am and the other from 11.00 am to 1.00 pm. These courses will be of 6-week duration and we shall try to arrange the courses to suit the needs of the students. Future courses will be of 6-week duration on Thursday mornings in two sessions: (9.00 am to 11.00 am or 11.00an to 1.00 pm) and will be tailored to suit the students' requirements. We are now operating in our new premises in the greatly renovated Village Hall. If you haven't visited yet it's well worth the trip. Contact:- John Pedley on 01782 680985 or Wendy Wood on 01785 859413.

Where will you go with the Rural Runabout? Group Outings ~ Supermarket ~ Garden Centre ~ Seaside Call 01782 751164 to start your adventure

Identity – man or a woman – we don't know ... yet REWARD £ Nil – not even a duckhouse on expenses BUT: the Parish will gain if we can fill the current vacancy for a PARISH COUNCILLOR. The people of the Parish will be worse off if we don't. By all means, moan and complain about the Parish Council, what it does, doesn't do, should do – but do your moaning from the inside and from a position of knowledge. Do it as a Parish Councillor and make a real difference to the well-being of our community. Interested? Half interested? Inquisitive? Intrigued? Phone Bob Haysom (Parish Clerk) on 01782 643496 or any of the Parish Councillors for an informal chat, if only to find out just a little bit more of what being a Parish Councillor entails.

X64 BUS ... AGAIN

Good news: the bus into Hanley now goes via Stoke Road and the end of Station Road with a Hanley-bound stop almost opposite the motorbike shop and a Newcastle-bound stop by the motorbike at the end of Station Road. A marked improvement for people who want to use Stoke Railway Station, and for Staffordshire University students.

The X64 thus links Shrewsbury and Stoke stations. The first weekday bus to Shrewsbury arrives outside the Station at about 8.45 am (Sheet Anchor at 6.59 am, changed at Drayton for 7.39 am) the first bus to pass the end of Station Road, Stoke at about 8.40 am is the 8.07 am (Sheet Anchor).

I have used both the X64/Shrewsbury and X64/Stoke links – very civilised.

Bill Murray
01782 680252

Your kerbside recycling service collection dates for Whitmore, Baldwins Gate, Acton, Butterton and Whitmore Heath during the Christmas period are:

If your collection day is a Wednesday:

• Wednesday 2nd December
• Wednesday 16th December
• Wednesday 30th December

If your collection day is a Thursday:

• Thursday 3rd December
• Thursday 17th December
• Thursday 31st December

These dates are on your kerbside recycling service calendar.

Did you know that you can recycle Christmas cards, gift and toy cardboard packaging for the first time on your kerbside collection service?

Your Christmas cards, gift and toy cardboard packaging can go in your green bag for cardboard. If you have extra cardboard which you cannot fit in your green bag, make sure it's torn down to the size of the green bag. Your extra cardboard can be put alongside your green bag on your kerbside recycling collection day. You can tie it up with string or weight it down with a brick to stop it blowing away and to keep it together.

During the Christmas period your black bin collection for non-recyclables will be brought forward by one day during the weeks commencing Monday 21st December 2009 and Monday 28th December 2009. Normal collections will start again on Tuesday 5th January 2010

If you need a collection calendar or more information about the kerbside recycling service please call our customer services helpline on 01782 742592 or email us at customerservices@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk or visit our website at www.newcastle-staffs.gov.uk (opens a new browser window) to find out more.

Thank you for recycling for Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Whitmore Parish Housing Needs Survey

In August 2009, Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council in partnership with Sanctuary Housing posted 643 housing needs survey forms with pre-paid envelopes to every household in the parish of Whitmore. 189 forms were returned with a response rate of 29%. As with any survey one may question how representative the feedback obtained is, but a 29% response rate for a postal survey is considered to be successful from a data collection perspective and can provide some informative and valuable data regarding views of those canvassed.

The returned forms are now being analysed by the Housing Strategy Team, in order to establish how many households within the Parish have identified themselves as in housing need and the circumstances causing that need.

Those findings shall then be presented to the Parish Council, to enable them to consider the information and if necessary discuss matters and future options with members of the Housing Strategy Team at Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council.

Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council will also individually contact each household who has highlighted any housing need and will invite them to discuss their personal housing options further at Newcastle Housing Advice (NHA), a service operated by Aspire Housing on behalf of the Borough Council offering free housing options and homelessness assistance to residents in the Borough.

Unfortunately some of the completed forms were returned with no personal contact details and so Caroline Abel, Housing Strategy Officer at Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council would request that anyone who completed a form, identifying a housing need or wishing to receive a copy of the report, get in touch with her by calling 01782 742456 or emailing caroline.abel@newcastle-staffs.gov.uk.

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