Community, Parish Council & Village
The final draft of the Village Design Statement (as submitted for approval) is now on-line for those wanting to review it before the Annual Parish Meeting on 25th May. Once adopted, this document will be used to guide decisions on planning and developments within the Parish boundaries.
… at the Annual Parish Meeting on 27th May at 7pm and have a chance of a free pleasure flight for two into the bargain!
This meeting gives you a chance for informal discussion with your parish councillors, to be updated on the village design statement, find out more about local broadband and learn more about the new MUGA management all in a convivial atmosphere with light refreshments being served.
The meeting takes place in the John Lampon Hall adjacent to Orpen Hall.
Sadly Chris Stevenson’s attempt to cycle from Lands End to John O’Groats came to an abrupt end in a Devon country lane when, as Chris reported on his trip journal:
“I crashed heavilly, after a dog charged out of a driveway right under my wheels (the dog is fine!). At Barnstable A&E, I have been officially told that I have a broken collarbone, bruising to my right side etc. Oh yes, I also landed on my head too but the helmet saved me.”
It is Chris’ intention to try again next year so please watch this space and be prepared to dig deep then.
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| Typical cycle route |
Local Parish Councillor Chris Stevenson will be attempting to cycle the 1,000 miles or thereabouts, from Land’s End to John O’Groats between 30th April and 13th May. As well as being a personal challenge, Chris will be raising some sponsorship for St Helena Hospice. Chris will be cycling with Erwin Deppe, a work colleague who works closely with him at Essex County Council.
Sponsor
If you would like to sponsor Chris please indicate this by email by clicking this link and saying simply “YES” and the amount you would like to sponsor. As a suggestion you could sponsor Chris 1p per mile which would equate to about £10, or just nominate the amount you would like to donate. You don’t need to do this before they start, anytime in the next few days would be fine. Chris will contact you after he has (hopefully) completed the ride to ask for your donation.
Progress
If the technology works Chris will be posting details and photos of his progress to Facebook and you should be able to track this by clicking on this link.. You don’t have to have a Facebook account to view this information!
Thanks for any support, and let’s hope the weather is kind to them, and the wind keeps off when climbing the Scottish hills!
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| Original cast from Chichester production with Penelope Keith |
… by Richard Everett is the Orpen Players’ spring production between 12th -14th May. This comedy is based around Grace, a clergyman’s wife, who upon his (Bardolph’s) death breaks her strait-laced character to do and say exactly as she pleases:
Sunday 1st May there are two opportunities to visit Hillhouse Wood guided by Joe Firmin & Philip Smith. In the morning (starting 10am at the Old Church) Joe and Philip will lead a walk to see numerous spring birds including chiffchaffs and other warblers, spring butterflies and wild flowers.
Recycling and rubbish collections will take place one day later than usual over the Easter and early May Bank Holiday period, as in previous years.
From Good Friday 22 April until Saturday 8 May all recycling and rubbish will be collected the day after your usual collection day.
This also means that if your usual collection day is Thursday, you will receive a collection on the Royal Wedding Bank Holiday Friday. If your usual collection day is Friday, you will receive a collection on Saturday for three consecutive weeks.
Please remember to put your recycling and rubbish out by 7am on the morning of your collection day. All collections will return to your normal day from Monday 9 May.
Click here for more details about collections over this Bank Holidays period.
1st Class Broadband!Thanks to the Parish Council and the Parish Plan group working together to achieve a common objective, West Bergholt now has access to high speed broadband services through its community broadband partner County Broadband Ltd.
In 2010 the village chose County Broadband to supply broadband services into the village totally independently of the BT services taking the speeds from an average of 500kbps to up to 8Mbps as required by the user. The charges for village residents and businesses are comparable to those charged by other broadband suppliers. By not being dependent on BT for the link between the broadband exchange and the home or business, the speeds provided are much faster and in line with modern user demand.
Speeds in excess of 20Mbs are now available to those needing higher performance and these will climb still further to meet the demands of our village in the years ahead.
If you require more information on broadband or would like to take advantage of the community provided service then contact County Broadband directly on either 0845 686 5000 or through their website at http://www.countybroadband.co.uk/
Remember that as this is a community broadband service that the village receives a small return on the original investment for every village user connected to the service. The money can then be used by the Parish Council to improve other needed services in the village.
‘The Wildlife Man’ – Barry Kaufmann-Wright, delighted his audience at the March meeting. He spoke in depth on ‘Wildlife in the Garden’ punctuated with humorous anecdotes and experiences drawn from his long career as an Essex Wildlife Crime Officer. After his presentation of slides on both the friendly and the lesser welcomed garden visitors, members took the opportunity to purchase greetings cards and books by Barry, including his autobiography.
Next month is our ANNUAL PLANT SALE on Monday 18 April at 7.30pm. Arrive early at the Orpen Hall to bag the bargain plants and garden bric-à-brac items. Any donations would be gratefully received at the hall at 5.00pm on the sale day.
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| Wickham Place Farm Gardens |
Join us on our summer outings to:
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| Beeleigh Abbey Gardens |
For details on our meetings and outings contact the Chair – [email protected] or the Treasurer – [email protected].
If so why not join the west Bergholt Care Network at their AGM? The AGM will be held at the Methodist Church Hall on Tuesday 12th April, 2011 at 7.30 pm. All volunteers and prospective volunteers are very welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be served on arrival. The short business meeting will be followed by an opportunity to ask any questions or find out more about how the Care Network operates.