Whitmore Parish Council Newsletter - October 2008
Return to Newsletter
Please either select a category below for a particular article or scroll down to read the whole Newsletter.
View a full list of Councillors and their contact details.
From the Chairman
The Whitmore Festival held in September was a great success bringing together all of the community. I would also like to thank the organisers of all the events. Undoubtedly significant effort and time was required in their co-ordination. Within the Newsletter you will find an article by Councillor Bill Murray who, you may well agree has shown much enthusiasm, for the Whitmore Festival. The questions that now need to be answered are "Should we do it again?" and if so, "How often?" Yours views would be appreciated.
The Parish Council has objected to the planning permission for a windfarm at Maer Hills. As a Parish Council we are not alone, with similar objections being lodged with Newcastle Borough Council from Hill and Chapel Chorlton, Maer and Aston, Loggerheads and Madeley Parish Councils. There is undoubtedly a need for alternative and renewable energy sources, but to erect wind turbines at the cost of destroying our environment is not acceptable to all the Parish Councils in the neighbourhood of Maer Hills. Over the next few months we will continue to declare our objection and to support the Maer Hills Protection Group.
The Information Centre continues to be a useful link with the community. Recently its use has extended to the provision of IT classes. There is a proven need for tuition in IT with the classes being oversubscribed four fold. Unfortunately funding is proving difficult. However we will work with the Village Hall to try and extend the running of the IT classes.
The Whitmore Festival brought together all of the community and in particular we saw the involvement of the younger generation such as the Young Farmers. Both the Parish Council and the Village Hall Committee would like to work closer with the young people. If you are a young person with an idea or would like to see a particular event happen or think we need additional facilities within the Parish, then please contact us and we will see whether we can make it happen.
Nick Hopper
01782 662323
Whitmore Village Hall
Find Out What's On at the Whitmore & District Village Hall.
PROTECTING YOUR BELONGINGSTwo items are shortly to be made available free of charge to Parishioners via the Information Centre in Whitmore Village Hall, to help them to protect their belongings from theft:-
1. "INVISIBLE MARKING" Kits:
These offer protection to valuables in the home. Each kit contains:-
- a special pen with which to mark your post-code on any valuables. The marking is indelible and invisible to the naked eye.
- an infra-red reader, enabling you to verify that the marking has been carried out effectively.
- instructions for use.
Six of these kits will be made available on a loan and return basis.
2. "JINGLE BELLS"
These are small bells which can be clipped to the Zipper of a purse etc, to offer protection against "pick-pocket" / "bag-dip" attack.
These items are being provided by the Newcastle Rural Locality Action Group (NRLAG), one of a network of such Groups which have been created recently. It consists of representatives from Staffordshire Police Department, Newcastle Borough Council, Aspire Housing and the Parish Councils of Chorlton, Loggerheads, Maer & Aston and Whitmore. Its primary objective is to provide a direct link between the member groups in order to contribute to the overall reduction in crime, the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour.
WARNING:
At the October meeting of the NRLAG we were informed by Staffordshire Police that there has been a significant increase, during the past 2 months, of thefts from gardens and outbuildings (Sheds / Garages) in our area. Please be extra vigilant in ensuring that items of value are securely locked away.
Councillor Ian Webb
01782 680522 |
Have you got time available during the day?
Would you like to contribute to road safety?
We are still looking for volunteers to become members of our Community Speed Watch Team. If you are interested and would like to discuss how you could make a contribution, then please call Alan Wilkinson on 01782 680820.
DOG FOULING
Newcastle Borough Council adopted controls in 2000, which made it an offence for an owner to allow their dog to foul any public place and not immediately remove the waste. These controls apply to almost all public places such as grass verges, pavements, churchyards, and public open spaces. The Borough Council have more than 3000 signs displayed reminding people of their obligations.
The fouling controls apply whether or not there are signs or dog bins in the area. Dog owners should carry a poop-scoop or other means with which to pick up and dispose of their dogs waste. The Borough Council does not currently issue fixed penalty notices however it does have a policy of prosecuting offenders. Dog owners should note that these controls apply to all the public areas within the Parish, and the Parish Council will ensure that the measures are enforced.
Bob Haysom
01782 643496
WHITMORE FESTIVAL
An unquestioned success. Everything worked, ran on time with each and every event very well attended. All comments on-the-day were positive and encouraging with praise heaped on the very small number of people organising each individual event.
There seems to be a wish on the part of most, if not all, the people I spoke to, to see the Festival as a regular event with one lady saying that there ought to be an annual Festival twice a year! I would stick to annual myself if only to help the organisers.
So what comes next? The Festival came about as a wish to implement specific aspects of the Parish Plan and brought together hundreds of people over a nine-day period. We need now to look at other aspects of the Parish Plan such as public transport, evening/adult education and environmental concerns, all of which are highlighted by parishioners in the Plan.
Over the coming months the Parish Council intends to look at these aspects and hopes to call public meetings, if and when these meetings are appropriate.
The Festival and its aftermath are a separate issue. The format of the Festival is sound and there is scope to introduce new events and offer alternative venues in the future. Put quite simply, if there is an event that you think we ought to include and you personally are willing to organise and it runs within the civil parish, then let me know and I will ask you to become involved in next time's Festival. Also, if you want to help run something that ran this year then let me know. Which leads me to what I might call "the aftermath".
Some of the events that ran during the Festival could be run on a seasonal basis. For example, once a fortnight parish walks on summers evenings or a series of jazz nights during the winter, but for these to be viable we need help from people like you, and not (just) the Festival organisers. So, if there are events that you think ought to run on a seasonal basis and you personally are willing to help organise them, please contact me and we (the Parish Council) will do our very best to try and get these events organised.
At this somewhat belated stage we need to thank everyone who organised an event within the Festival – every event – and remember that it is now time for other people within our civil parish to become involved in the aftermath of this year's Festival and in due time the next Festival. To parody "Casablanca" we need to do more than just "round up the usual suspects", we need others as well and that includes the very enthusiastic group of young people who sought me out on the evening of the second Saturday wanting to hear more of "Spiral Architect".
Councillor Bill Murray
01780 680252
Staffordshire Wildlife Trust - North West Group
Programme of Illustrated Talks
2008
Friday 7th November – 7.30pm – Maer Village Hall
Nature Reserves of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust – Philip Knight
Friday 21st November – 7.30pm – Eccleshall Church Hall
Wildlife of Needwood Forest – Charles Brown
Friday 5th December – 7.30pm – Maer Village Hall
Wildlife of Northern Botswana – John Berrington
2009
Friday 16th January 2009 – 7.30pm – Eccleshall Church Hall
Birds of Florida – An illustrated talk by Dawn Osborn ARPS
Friday 6th February – 7.30pm – Maer Village Hall
Tree Legends and The Green Man – George Powell
Friday 20th February – 7.30pm – Eccleshall Church Hall
British Wildflowers of the Wayside – Shirley Burton
Friday 20th March – 7.30pm – Eccleshall Church Hall
An illustrated talk on Seabirds by Bert Coleman
Friday 3rd April – 7.30pm – Maer Village Hall
Falklands and their Wildlife – An illustrated talk by Ken Webb
Friday 17th April 7.30pm – Eccleshall Church Hall
Life Story of the Hare – An illustrated talk by Derek Crawley
WHITMORE VILLAGE HALL I.T. TRAINING
The latest I.T. Training course is under way at the Village Hall every Thursday morning (two sessions 09.00 - 11.00 and
11.00 -13.00) with 10 students. All ten students on this course are beginners.
The next course is planned for January and although we have some places booked, there are still places available. The format of the next course will be slightly different in that it will consist of eight lessons on consecutive Thursday mornings and will hopefully consist of six beginners on the 09.00 to 11.00 course and six improvers on the 11.00 to 13.00 course. However this is flexible depending on the experience of the applicants.
Contact John Pedley
on 01782 680985
WHITMORE VILLAGE HALL
INFORMATION
CENTRE
is open every Thursday
afternoon 2:00pm - 4:00 pm
to all local residents for
the following services;
- Photocopying
- Faxing
- Computer use (with internet access)
- General local information
Telephone: 01782 681037
or email:
johnpedley@whitmorepcinfo.plus.com |
|
Where will you go
with the Rural Runabout?
Group Outings
Supermarket
Garden Centre
Seaside
Call
01782 751 164
to start your adventure |
Return to Newsletter | Top of Page
|
