Winter Bird Walk 2015

Next Saturday 7th February, sees the first guided walk of the year in Hillhouse Wood, lead by Steve Hallam in and around the wood, walkers can expect to see a range of resident woodland and meadow species as well as some winter visitors. Who knows what you might see but, to quote the Essex Wildlife Trust talking about Essex Woodlands:

Our woodlands come alive at dawn – tawny owls hoot to each other, and wrens, blackcaps and warblers fill the air with song. Great spotted woodpeckers, treecreepers and jays visit broadleaved and mixed woods, while goldcrests and rare crossbills flit between the trees of conifer forests.

Typical woodland wildlife in Essex includes: Tawny owl, sparrowhawk, great spotted woodpecker, treecreeper, nuthatch, jay, blackcap, garden warbler, nightingale, goldcrest, coal tit, crossbill, firecrest, roe deer, red deer, badger, fox, grey squirrel, red squirrel, wood mouse, dormouse, bluebell, wood sorrel, early-purple orchid, wood anemone, dog’s mercury, primrose, herb-Paris, red campion, oak, ash, beech, field maple, hornbeam, birch, Scots pine, lesser stag beetle

Meeting at the Old Church at 9:30am (weather permitting), you are advised to wear stout footwear and warm clothing and to bring a flask of hot drink.

January 30, 2015

BHYFC Results w/e 25th January

Bergholt Heath YFC – Results w/e 25th January

St Edmunds vs BHYFC U10s

As this was the last week of the winter break Bergholt Under 10’s arranged another friendly to keep the boys fit and ready for the first “league” match next week. So they made the short trip to play St Edmunds who they played earlier in the season in another friendly. In that game St Edmunds came out on top so Bergholt went out looking to even up the score.

The opening exchanges were even with both teams playing some nice football and were always looking to pass the ball around despite the heavy pitch. Because of the evenness of play Bergholt were able to show their attacking flair and the defence were joining in to, in particular Joseph who was having a lot of good possession down the Bergholt left.

The Bergholt manager encouraged Daniel to mix up his distribution and sometimes roll the ball out to the wide defenders rather than always kick the ball. This was working well until he rolled it out to the midfield who were not switched on to this new tactic. The St Edmunds player got the ball just in the Bergholt half and ran through and fired a low drive into the bottom corner of the Bergholt net.

To their credit the Bergholt boys keep their chins up and looked to get back on levels terms as soon as possible and got their reward when Eddie fed a superb ball right through the St Edmunds defence for Oliver to run onto. With just the keeper to beat Oliver didn’t panic despite the ball coming to him on his unfavoured right foot and his shot rocketed past the keeper for the equaliser. The HT score of 1-1 was very reflective of the fact that despite the picking the ball out of the net, both keepers didn’t have to deal with any other goal-bound efforts as both sides cancelled each other out.

The half-time chat from the Bergholt manager was more about keeping the boys calm after the goal as it was clear to them that this was a winnable game. He also commended the midfield who were working their socks off and tracking back when required.

The second half was more of the same as each side continued where they had left off from the first half. So the next goal was going to be all important and it went to Bergholt when a break away saw James and Freddie free and the former got his fourth of the season. So it was then St Edmunds turn to get back on level terms and that they did when the Bergholt team forgot the tackling training they had only had the day before and the St Edmunds attacker was able to stroll through unchallenged and despite Daniel getting his hands on the shot, the power saw the ball end up in the Bergholt net.

This ended up being the last goal of the match as both sides had their respective keepers to thank in the last five minutes – Bergholt when Daniel did really well to push the ball away when the shot was bound for the top left-hand corner, and St Edmunds when their keeper got his hands to James’s last minute shot.

Final score 2-2, which was a fair result given the equality of both teams

FC Clacton Reds vs BHYFC U16s

Another trip to Clacton in the Colchester Open Cup on a cold and windy Sunday, to play on a pitch that was showing significant wear from the match immediately beforehand.

The match started evenly with both teams finding the pitch difficult to play on due to the divots it had sustained from several previous matches which made passing and control extremely difficult. In an open first half both teams had half chances but the strikers were finding it difficult to connect cleanly with the ball as it bobbled around, so both ‘keepers were largely untroubled. HT: 0-0.

The second half saw Bergholt start to impose themselves on the match more and despite not being able to play their normal passing game, the strikers were seeing increasing amounts of the ball and but for some last ditch committed tackling and some wayward shooting, the away team could have been 2 or 3 up by mid way through the half. As it was, a hopeful ball forward, against a Bergholt defence that had seen both full backs withdrawn, saw the revised back line caught very square and the ball fell kindly for the home striker to left the ball into the net with some ease for 1-0. This set back rocked Bergholt and for the next 5 minutes it was all Clacton, but back the visitors came and yet again chances were being made but not taken, with 3 one-on-one’s not taken. On an increasingly rare foray forward Clacton gained a corner and from the kick the ball was headed against the bar, half cleared, shot again with the defender clearing off the line only for the ball to hit the post, hit him again and go in off his knee for 2-0 to Clacton.

Again Bergholt came back and Ronan was put clean through and looked to have a clear shot on goal when the defender appeared to clip his heals from behind, but the referee did not see a foul. Finally with 5 minutes remaining Tyler again got free in the inside right channel and this time did get a clean shot away to put Bergholt on the score sheet. It was now all Bergholt and Sam had an opportunity to score but it was on his weaker right foot so he missed the target. The final action saw Conor M beat one challenge in the box but he was squeezed out when trying to find the room to get his shot away.

Final score: FC Clacton Reds 2-1 Bergholt Heath

Bergholt Heath man of the match: Connor Welfare. On a day when outfield ball control was missing and the increasing wind made anything in the air difficult, the Bergholt keepers positioning and handling were back to their best.

Next weeks fixtures, Sunday 1st February:

Lawford Junior vs Under 8
Under 10 vs Long Melford, KO 11.30am
Under 12 vs Colchester Athletic, KO 10am
Under 16 – no game

January 24, 2015February 20, 2015

Premises & Recreation – 8th January 2015

The Premises & Recreation Sub-Committee of West Bergholt Parish Council met on 8th January to consider a range of issues and decisions affecting the Premises and Recreational facilities under their jurisdiction. Updates on New Year’s Eve & December’s table-top sale events at Orpen Hall, security lighting and the possibility of Film Nights. The formal report to the Parish Council is as follows:

Premises & Recreation Report

Sub-committee meeting held on Thursday 8th January 2015 at the John Lampon Hall

Councillors present	Phil Walby, Jenny Church, Murray Harlow
Apologies	Rosemary James, Rachel Howard

Victoria Beckwith Cole in attendance.

1.	Orpen Hall
	a) The letting on New Year’s Eve went well. Vicky opened up and closed up on the evening and again the next morning for the hirers to clear up. It was suggested to repeat the event next year as it was so successful. Proposed to ask Rachel if she would be interested in planning this.	RH
	b) The locking chairs in the Hall now work efficiently – Vicky will demonstrate how to set them out for the Orpen Players.	VBC Agenda item
	c) The cleaning is improved. Vicky will review contract with the cleaners.
	d) The outside security lights on the 4 corners of the Hall will be to LED. The cost is quoted as £484 + VAT. Vicky to deal with this.	VBC
	e) The table top sale held in the Hall in December was very successful. Vicky proposed that it could be repeated in future as a PC fundraising event.	VBC
2	Practice Goal Area
	Ivor has completed the preparatory work and needs to be paid for this. He is waiting for an invoice for purchasing “turf”. A better system would help considerably and the work would be completed more quickly. Phil suggests a transfer of money rather than waiting for a cheque.	PW Agenda item
3	Film night
	Phil will arrange to discuss with Bernard about this project.	PW
4	Play equipment
	Phil will talk to Ivor about what is required to make all play equipment safe. The areas of concern are all low risk.	PW
5	Football Club
	The club has a problem with having access to the MUGA to retrieve balls that have gone over the fence. They need access to code on a regular basis.	PW Agenda item
6	Community Aging Services
	Visited recently to assist with welfare for residents in the village. A successful and beneficial outcome to visit.	Agenda item
7	AOB
	Agreed to organise a contract for a mobile phone for Vicky’s use.	PW
	Date of next meeting – Thursday February 12th 2015 in JL Hall

January 23, 2015

BHYFC Results w/e 18th January

Bergholt Heath YFC – Results w/e 18th January

BHYFC U10s vs Lexden saints Blues

The winter break seemed an ideal opportunity for Bergholt Heath Under 10’s to get some practice in playing a 9-a-side match in preparation for the forthcoming U11 season where they move to the bigger pitch and have the fun of offside. So the manager arranged to play old friends Lexden Saints Blues.

Lexden Saints arrived at Bergholt in really good time and so had plenty of pre-match warm-up and instruction and it showed as within a minute they were one-nil ahead as Bergholt’s rustiness showed. However, Bergholt shook themselves down and were soon getting into playing after a four week break. Both teams looked to pass the ball well on the larger pitch and a lot of the play was on the deck. Lexden strength was down their right hand side and Joe was very busy at left back. Lexden were the more attacking team and were offside a few times and Bergholt had Daniel in goal to thank on a number of occasions with some excellent saves to keep the score at 0-1 at half-time.

The second half was more open than the first as the longer match period started to take it’s toll. Bergholt played some decent football and created a few efforts on goal, the best falling to Theo who failed to put the ball into an open goal, but they didn’t manage to get on the scoresheet. Some indecision in the Bergholt ranks and the stronger opposition saw Lexden Saints add a few more to their first half goal tally and come out the worthy winners.

Overall, despite the defeat, the Bergholt manager was happy with the first foray into 9-a-side football as there were a number of positives from the game and also it highlighted a number of areas for him and the coach to work on in the coming months which was the object of the exercise.

Bergholt Heath player of the match: Nicholas Barnes – an excellent performance leading the Bergholt frontline.

Gt Bentley vs BHYFC U12s

The Under 12’s were in action away to league leaders Gt Bentley, and were somewhat swamped by a home team that ran out 6-0 winners.

Long Melford vs BHYFC U16s

The Under 16’s were also away, to Long Melford, with new signing Sam Joyce on the bench for his first game. The game started evenly with both teams keen to play after a few weeks absence due to the weather. Long Melford made an early breakthrough after around 10 minutes with their first attempt when Joe miss-timed a defensive header which dropped neatly for the striker to pounce on and lift into the top corner of the net, when the loose ball could have gone anywhere! Bergholt did not let their heads drop and were trying to force their way through a packed midfield and defence, without a huge amount of joy, although Jamie and Luke twice combined well down the left to create half chances. Mid way through the half saw Sam come on for his debut, along with fellow forward Tyler, and immediately the game changed with these two players in particular pegging the home team back with their direct runs and speed that resulted in some desperate and panicked defending. One such attack saw Sam draw the defence away to create space for Conor to run into and as he wasn’t closed down he unleashed a superb shot from just outside the area into the top corner for the equaliser. The final 5 minutes of the half was all Bergholt and the whistle came just at the right time for the home team to regroup.

The second half started with some changes for Bergholt which saw them loosen their grip on the match, however Long Melford were no longer much of a threat and Connor in goal only had one save of note to make, whilst Sam brought out a superb one handed diving save from the home ‘keeper to keep the scores level and there were a few other half chanceswhich suggested if there was going to be a winner, it would be for the visitors. However the game finished as a crediable draw – Bergholt’s first of the season. FT: Long Melford 1-1 Bergholt Heath.

Bergholt Heath man of the match: Conor McLaughlin – all action midfield display capped by a fine strike for the Bergholt goal.

Next weeks fixtures – Sunday 25th January:

Under 8s – no scheduled fixture
Under 10’s – no scheduled fixture
Under 12’s – no scheduled fixture
FC Clacton Reds Vs Under 16, COC R1, KO 12.30pm

January 23, 2015

Environment & Highways – 8th January 2015

The Environment & Highways Sub-Committee of West Bergholt Parish Council met on 8th January 2015 to consider a range of issues and decisions affecting the general environment and highways within West Bergholt. Updates on traffic safety, village ponds, pot-holes, dog bins & poo, beacon, & grass cutting. The formal report to the Parish Council is as follows:

Environment & Highways Report

Sub-committee Meeting held on Thursday 8th January 2015 in John Lampon Hall

Councillors present	Harry Stone, Murray Harlow, Jenny Church, Phil Walby
Apologies	Rosemary James, Rachel Howard

1	Grass verges
	Grass verges need cutting/trimming/tidying. This will be arranged when weather permits	HS
2	Village handyman
	The use of a chit book needs to be made to work efficiently. We do not always know when Steve has completed jobs. Harry to follow this up.	HS
	There is going to be an appraisal system for employees instigated.Methodist Church has requested help with hedge cutting. Harry to arrange for Ivor to do this.	HS
3	Village Ponds
	Lexden Road and Queens Road ponds have been cleared by TCV and the vegetation removed by Norhurst. Both are looking really good. Hall Road pond needs attention. Jenny to contact Carla Davis.	JC
4	Traffic Safety Plan
	20mph signs to be put in place along New Church Road and School Road in February. A message from Sonja Church to say the yellow lines will be installed anytime now.	Agenda item
	There has been a problem in New Church Road by the new houses being built as the builders have been parking their trucks and lorries and creating a problem at school time in the mornings.
5.	Potholes
	There are problems at various places in the village. Highways need to be informed.
	A drain cover uplifting is a problem in John Lampon Close. Harry will report this.	HS
6	Dog bin
	Check with Val about the order of a bin for Brewery site.
	Problem with dog fouling in the village. Complaints have been received. Plan to organise an “anti-dog pooh” campaign in February. Item for bulletin, posters.	JC & MH
	Ask Marcus to refer to dog warden at CBC	HS
7	Beacon
	Now to be installed by village sign at end of Chapel Road by Steve. The wording for a plaque agreed. John Gili Ross will arrange this.	Agenda item
8.	Grass cutting
	Sub-committee agreed to carry on using our current arrangements for grass cutting
9	Areas of work in village
	Plan to produce a map showing sites of our responsibility in the village.	HS
10	AOB
	a) Noise abatement team from CBC have been called out but unfortunately the PC hasn’t been informed of this. It would be useful for us to know.
	b) The rangers from CBC are asked to carry out tasks but we never can be given a date and we are not informed when the work is completed.
	Date of next meeting – Thursday 12th February 2015 in JL Hall

January 21, 2015July 26, 2015

Women’s Institute January Update

WI Craft with Flowers

The December meeting took on a craft theme. Members were advised by the Colne Valley Flower Club president, Pat Sharman, and with the aid of greenery, decorations and candles, individual Christmas Rings were made. It was a great success and even the less ‘green fingered’ ladies were pleased with their results.

Members provided savouries for the supper which followed and the evening concluded with a grand raffle so large that everyone received a prize. A fitting end to another enjoyable year.

St Petersburg

The president welcomed members and a visitor to the January meeting. Following the business, Susan Leng gave a talk on St Petersburg with slides.

The competition was My New Year’s Resolution, which were read out to great amusement and members voted with coins. These were collected for ACWW. The evening concluded with slides covering our many WI activities during 2014.

More details about the West Bergholt WI are on our webpage.

January 21, 2015

Local Health Forums – Get Involved

The Health Forum

The NEE Health Forum is a largely enthusiastic and committed body of people who are interested in health matters. They are all people who have registered as public members of North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group.

The Health Forum is not formally part of the Clinical Commissioning Group, but members of the Health Forum Committee are invited to be part of all decision-making meetings within the CCG so that they can obtain and reflect the views of people from North East Essex to the group in a timely way. The Clinical Commissioning Group wants the Health Forum to be as inclusive as possible, and so the criteria for eligibility are very broad. There is more detail on the Join the Health Forum page of their website.

Members of the Health Forum are able to vote for the Health Forum Committee. The Health Forum Committee has a number of sub-groups which are looking at specific health related issues. The Health Forum does not have any legal powers, but has been given local powers by the CCG. It works very closely with Essex HealthWatch, who do have legal powers.

Their important reports, including local Health Forum meeting dates, agendas and minutes and similar material relating to the Health Forum Committee can be found on their site in the Library.

The Health Forum issue monthly newsletters, Forum Focus, in which numerous local & national health issues are discussed – they can be accessed in the forum library. The most recent edition can be downloaded from :

Forum Focus January 2015

Get Involved at Local Health Forums

The Health Forum holds local meetings which any public member of the CCG can attend, regardless of where they live. The 3 local meetings are held at Colchester;Harwich; (rest of) Tendring – this is usually held in Clacton.

The next meetings are being held on 2nd, 3rd & 4th February (2pm – 4pm) respectively. The agenda vary slightly both from meeting to meeting but also by location, but will typically include items such as those due to be discussed in the February meetings:

NE Essex Community Pharmacy Scheme
CHUFT Cancer Services (Clacton & Harwich only)
Borough GP Care Advisory Service (Colchester only)
Carer Strategy Consultation
General Q&A

These meetings give Health Forum members a chance to receive presentations and ask questions relating to key health care issues and services in their area. They are also to raise concerns with the NEE CCG staff directly and Health Forum Committee members.

The Agendas for the local meetings are set by the Health Forum Committee who request speakers on the subjects they believe local people want to hear more about. The CCG supports the Health Forum Committee by finding suitable speakers and health professionals that are in a position to answer relevant questions.

All three local meetings are usually held within a week of each other and they occur bi-monthly (every other month). The dates of future meetings can be found on their events page.

The agendas and minutes of the Local Engagement forum are published in their Library under Health Forum.

January 19, 2015January 18, 2015

Colchester Local Plan Consultation

CBC is in the process of creating a ‘Local plan’ and have started the consultation process, The Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group will be responding to this consultation as will the Parish Council. A separate consultation on the Neighbourhood Plan is planned for the end of February to mid April. For those interested in contributing directly the Borough Council recently issued the following notice:

Colchester Borough Council has started work on its new Local Plan for the Borough covering the period 2017-2032.

The Planning Policy team will be running the Issues and Options Consultation from the 16 January 2015 until 27 February 2015 at the following locations:

Tiptree Community Centre – Saturday 7 February 2015 (10am-2pm)

Mersea Centre (MICA) – Wednesday 11 February 2015 (4pm-8pm)

Wivenhoe Scout & Guide Hut – Saturday 14 February 2015 (10am-2pm)

Hythe Community Centre – Monday 16 February 2015 (12 noon – 8pm)

Great Horkesley Village Hall – Saturday 31 January 2015 (10am – 2pm)

Marks Tey Village Hall – Saturday 21 February 2015 (10am-2pm)

In addition to the above drop in sessions there will also be additional consultation drop is sessions at Colchester Library (Saturday 17 January 2015 10am-2pm & Tuesday 27 January 2015 2pm-6pm) and at Asda (on 24 January 2015 10am-2pm).

For those interested in attending you might want to access some of the project teams documentation inn advance, if so please visit the Colchester Borough Council website.

January 16, 2015

BHYFC Results w/e 11th January

Bergholt Heath YFC – Results w/e 11th January

BHYFC U8s & U10s

Both the Under 8 and Under 10 teams are currently enjoying their mid-season break, leaving the Under 12 and Under 16 teams the only ages due to play during January.

Feering Falcons Reds vs BHYFC U10s

On a chilly blustery morning the match began with the game moving up and down the pitch. There were a few nervous moments at the back for both teams as hurried clearances were missed but these improved as time moved on. Slowly Bergholt got more of a grip on the game and balls were played through to Ryan up front. He latched onto a few but his pace left him unsupported and he was unable to go it alone. A couple of shots went off target but the breakthrough looked likely. Eventually Bergholt took the lead. Jonah dribbled into the box and was brought down for a penalty. Jonah placed the ball and thumped it home for 1-0. With time nearly up in the first half, Feering pumped the ball into the box and a scramble ensued, it should have been cleared but ended up in the net.

No need to panic as with the second half to go and the slope advantage it looked like just waiting. The second half was all one way as Bergholt tried to take the lead again. Sometimes the boys were a bit selfish on other occasions they were rushing the play. When Bergholt did pass it around things were looking fine but that penultimate ball was just missing. Falcons parked the bus so on the occasions Bergholt did break through it was met by a wall of red defenders. Jonah had an opportunity on the edge of the box which he skied and Ben put a slightly harder chance wide. With time pushing on Bowen was pushed up front for a second forward as he was not needed at the back. The best chance of the game fell to him near the end when a ball played into the box finally found someone. With just the keeper to beat he chose to hit it first time but the keeper made a great save.

Final score: Feering Falcons Reds 1-1 Bergholt Heath

A frustrating game to watch as Bergholt had the better possession but just not that killer finish.

FC Clacton Reds vs BHYFC U16s

The Under 16s were due to play FC Clacton Reds away in the Open Cup but the match was postponed due to a water logged pitch.

Next weekends fixtures, Sunday 18th January:

Great Bentley vs Under 12
Long Melford vs Under 16

January 14, 2015January 13, 2015

Colne & Blackwater Estuaries

The impact of challenges facing the Blackwater and Colne estuaries now and in the future.

Graham Underwood, Professor of Marine and Freshwater Biology at the University of Essex, is speaking in West Mersea on 20th January on the subject of ‘The ecology and future challenges to the Blackwater and Colne estuaries’.

The estuaries, which are a significant feature of the Essex coastline, have been extensively studied over the past 40 years. The talk will summarise the current state of the ecology of these important coastal habitats, and consider the impact of ongoing environmental changes such as climate change on their future functioning.

Professor Underwood has himself been researching this part of our coast for the past 23 years. He is an expert on coastal and shallow marine systems and has undertaken research on rivers, seas and lakes from the tropics to the frozen oceans. He has been a member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Panel for Marine Conservation Zones which recommended the designation of the Blackwater-Colne estuaries as a MCZ. He also sits on various boards of the Natural Environment Research Council and is currently a member of the Environment Agency’s Regional Flood and Coastal Committee. Professor Underwood is Executive Dean of Science and Health at Essex University.

Chair of the Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group (BANNG), Professor Andy Blowers, who will chair the meeting, said: ‘We are delighted to bring Graham Underwood to Mersea to enlighten us on the present and future state of our rivers and the challenges they face. One of our major concerns has been to protect the marine environment from the threats posed by nuclear reactors and radioactive waste especially in an era of sea level rise and warming inevitably resulting from climate change’.

The meeting will be held at the Museum, High Street, West Mersea at 7.30pm. (Entry £3 including refreshments.)