Upload
others
View
5
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
February 2012
STRATFIELD MORTIMER
Parish Council
Newsletter
2
Contents
Annual Parish Meeting 2012 2
Superfast Broadband – Public Meeting 3/4
Grant Applications 5
Fairground Christmas Tree 5
Aircraft Disturbance on Remembrance Day 6
District Councillors Surgery 6
The Fairground – Hire charges & Diary 7
The Queens Diamond Jubilee 8
Police Office 9
Allotments Update 9
New Trees on the Fairground 9/10
Parish Council Precept / Budget 10/11
Change of Village Custodian 12
Boundary Hedge Trimming 12
Stratfield Mortimer Fairground Trust 13
Padworth Recycling Centre 13
Police Diary 14
Station Minibus Timetable 15
Parish Council Contact Information 16
STRATFIELD MORTIMER
ANNUAL PARISH MEETING 2012
This year’s Annual Parish Meeting will be held
on Wednesday 18th April 2012
at 7:30pm
in St John’s Hall, Mortimer.
More information and the Agenda will be posted on the public notice
boards and Parish Council Website nearer the date. The Minutes for
Previous meetings are available from the parish council web site
http://www.stratfield-mortimer.gov.uk. (Please Note: The 2011
Minutes will not be available at the meeting itself)
3
Super Fast Broadband?
Public
Meeting
Saturday 25th February 2012 at 10 a.m
Methodist Church Hall West End Road, Mortimer
Do you want Superfast Broadband?
West Berkshire Council is leading an infrastructure improvement
programme called “Superfast Berkshire”
(http://www.superfastberkshire.org.uk). The programme aims to
provide improved broadband capability across Berkshire. This means
that, within West Berkshire, there will be 90% coverage of better than
20Mbit/s by 2015.
To be able to achieve this West Berkshire Council (WBC) are asking
the parishes who will benefit to contribute towards the costs. The
contribution requested from SMPC would be approximately £20,000.
This cost would be spread over a 3 year period and would necessitate an
increase SMPC’s council tax Precept by this amount which would
equate to £3.85 per year being added to the Council Tax for each “Band
D property” for a 3 year period. SMPC wants to gauge public opinion
before committing to this expense.
The public event will include speakers, including the Head of ICT at
West Berkshire Council, and other knowledgeable people in this field.
There will be an opportunity to learn more about the proposal and to
ask questions of a panel of experts.
4
If you would like to put your point of view or raise a concern but are
unable to make the meeting please send your concern or opinion by
returning this page with your input to the Parish Council. (Parish Clerk,
Parish Council Office, The Library, 27 Victoria Road, Mortimer, RG7
3SH). Or hand deliver it through the Library letterbox.
Name: ......................................................................................................
Address: ...................................................................................................
Your comment
5
Grant Applications The Parish Council will consider grant applications from non-profit
making voluntary organisations or charities (not individuals) for items
or projects which will directly benefit the Parish of Stratfield Mortimer
and its inhabitants.
Priority will be given to smaller and more local organisations. Match
funding is not required
Application forms and the SMPC Grants Policy is obtainable from the
Parish Council Office or can be downloaded from www.stratfield-
mortimer.gov.uk
Completed forms must be delivered (in hard copy format) to the
Parish Council Office by noon on Thursday 29th March 2012.
Successful applicants should receive their grant money by 31st May
2012.
The total amount the Parish Council has made available for grants for
2012/2013 is £2,500; hence any successful application may receive
only a proportion of the amount applied for.
Christmas Tree on The Fairground
The Parish Council would like to thank everyone who helped and
contributed towards the Parish Council Christmas Tree this year.
Donating the Christmas Tree – Englefield Estates
Logistical Advice/ Putting up Lights etc – Mortimer Maintenance
Free use of Cherry Picker – Fenton Plant Hire
Ground Preparation for the Tree – Mortimer Garden Care
And...... for the village carol singing around the tree on the 17th
December would like to thank
Christians Together in Mission (TIM) for arranging the Carols, the
Conductor, Musicians and Carol Sheet.
Greenham Common Trust for printing the carol sheet
Burghfield and Sulhamstead Scouts and Mortimer West End Chapel for
loan of equipment on the day
6
Aircraft Disturbance on Remembrance Day.
Residents of Mortimer were upset and
enraged to be continually ‘buzzed’ by a
noisy biplane doing aerobatics during the
Remembrance Sunday service at the War Memorial.
SMPC took this complaint up on behalf of the community
and have been in communication with both the pilot and the airfield and
have now received the following apology from the pilot
‘I would like to offer my sincere apologies to the residents of
Stratfield-Mortimer for the disturbance on 13th November 2011 during
the town’s Remembrance Service. I am a passionate and caring person
and appreciate the significance of such a noteworthy celebration. Being
from the USA, and still familiarising myself with the UK calendar, I
was not aware until after I had landed of the potential to disrupt such an
important memorial service. Had I known, I can promise you that I
would not have taken to the air that day. I deeply appreciate the UK’s
rich culture and fabulous traditions and will forever be grateful for the
opportunity I have to live in this country. Again I apologise for the
disturbance and want you to know that it will not happen again’
District Councillor’s
Monthly Drop In Surgery.
If you would like to raise any issues relating to West Berkshire Council
business within the parish your Mortimer Ward District Councillors,
Mollie Lock and Geoff Mayes hold a ‘drop in surgery’ on the first
Saturday of each month between 10am to 11am in The Parish Council
Office at the back of Mortimer Library.
7
THE FAIRGROUND - Hire Charges for 2012 The Parish Council has agreed that there will be a slight
increase (2.5%) to the Fairground hiring charges for
2012. The daily hire charge for the Fairground will increase to
£76.87 per day.
However for ease of administration the hire charge for casual use of
the tennis courts will remain at £3 per hour for adults and £1 per hour
for under 16s per court.
Tennis court bookings and the key to the courts are held at McColls,
West End Road (£5 refundable deposit required). The Parish Council
would like to take this opportunity of thanking McColls for their
invaluable help and assistance in managing the bookings for the tennis
courts.
To enquire about booking the Fairground please contact the Parish
Clerk.
Fairground Diary 2012 The Fairground is already booked for the following dates:
Burnett’s Fun Fair Wednesday 9th
May to Saturday 12th
May
The Queen’s Diamond
Jubilee Beacon Event Monday 4th
June
J Lawson Circus Wednesday 6th
and Thursday 7th
June
Mortimer Fun Day Saturday 7th
July
Mortimer Fun Run Sunday 30th
September
8
HM The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
Local Council’s across England and Wales will be leading
celebrations (at the invitation of Buckingham Palace) to
mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
On Monday 4th June 2012 the aim is to light 2,012
Beacons throughout the United Kingdom. Stratfield
Mortimer Parish Council was formally invited by The
Royal Household to take part in the lighting of a Beacon which has
been accepted. The Beacons will be lit between 10pm and 10:30pm
on Monday 4th June with The Queen lighting the National Beacon in
London at 10:30pm that night. A special book listing all the beacon
sites for the Diamond Jubilee will be given to the Queen after the
event.
The Parish Council has set up a working party to organise an event for
the village on that day and will have something for everybody including
a Children’s pageant of Kings and Queens, local bands and musical
groups, children’s entertainers and the co-ordinated lighting of the
Beacon. Food and beverages will also be available.
All residents of the village are invited to attend this celebration
Monday 4th June 2012
The Fairground
6pm to 11pm Further details will be publicised on the Parish Council Website and
Parish Notice Boards nearer the time.
We will need a lot of volunteers to run this celebration event – if you
are able to offer assistance, either to help with setting up the event
or during the evening itself we would really like to hear from you. To
volunteer please kindly contact the Parish Clerk,Jayne Kirk at
[email protected] or 0118 9331955
9
Mortimer Police Office - Opening Hours
Mortimer Police Office will be open on both Mondays and Fridays
from 10 am to 2pm from 13th February. With further
volunteers coming forward it is hoped to open on
Saturdays as well in due course.
The Police Station is at Victoria Road, RG7 3SQ
For all Non Emergency calls to the Police please dial
101 - or contact Mortimer Police Office if applicable.
Allotments Update
The feasibility/negotiations for the provision of allotments within the
village are still progressing. If the Parish Council is successful a further
announcement will be made in a future newsletter.
New Trees on The Fairground
In the last newsletter the Parish Council explained the
necessity of removing the horse chestnut trees along The Street side of The
Fairground and this has now been done. No doubt everyone was sorry to see
them go, but the disease they had, “bleeding canker”, was gradually killing
them and making them dangerous. All the wood from them was taken away
and disposed of by incineration to reduce the likelihood of the infection
spreading.
10
The new lime trees have now been planted. The photo above shows
the official planting by the Parish Council Chairman, Rebecca Barker.
With the care they are to receive it should not be many years before
they grow into good-sized trees and restore the appearance of
southern edge of The Fairground The Parish Council would like to
thank Arthur Cullen, Senior Tree Officer, West Berkshire Council for all
his help and advice with the project.
No increase in 2012/2013 Parish Precept The Parish Council has agreed its budget for 2012/2013 and is pleased to
announce that for the third consecutive year there will be no increase in the
Precept requested from West Berkshire Council. This is to remain at £88,000;
this equates to £51.57 per band D household per year which is collected
through the Council Tax.
The Parish Council’s 2012/2013 Budget is shown on the next page.
11
12
Change of Village Custodian
Mr Terry Hall left the Parish Council post of Village Custodian at the
end of January. The Parish Council would like to sincerely thank him for
all his time and effort, particularly in keeping The Fairground and
Cemetery safe and tidy and wish him Good Luck for the future.
The Parish Council welcomes the new Village
Custodian, Mr Mark Bradberry. Mark has lived
in the village since 2007. Having recently retired
and with more time available, Mark is keen to
be involved in the village community and now
feels he can do a little more. Please do stop and
say hello if you see him on The Fairground or
working around the village.
Boundary Hedge Trimming The Parish Council is concerned that some hedges on private land are
overhanging and obstructing either the highway or pavement
and request that householders keep their boundary hedges
trimmed for the safety of road users and pedestrians
and to keep the village looking nice.
13
Stratfield Mortimer Fairground Trust This local charity is the Freehold Owner of The Fairground which it
leases to The Parish Council.
The charity has a small financial surplus. In accordance with the aims
of the charity, money is available to residents of the Civil Parish of
Stratfield Mortimer who are in conditions of need, hardship or distress.
In the first instance applications should be made to 0118 933 2274.
Padworth Recycling Centre
A reminder that the site is now open. This site is for recycling only and
cannot accept general rubbish or furniture.
The site is open 7 days a week and operated by Veolia Environmental
Services.
Monday - Friday 12:30pm - 6:00pm
Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays 8:00am - 6:00pm
Christmas Day
Boxing Day (26th December)
New Year's Day
Closed
Site address:
Padworth HWRC, Padworth Sidings, Padworth Lane, Lower Padworth,
Reading, Berkshire, RG7 4JF
The centre is for recycling only and will not
accept:
General rubbish, Gas Bottles, Asbestos,
Household chemicals, plasterboard
14
Police Diary January 2012
Crime Snapshot Local Area
Over the Christmas period it was fairly quiet in all
the local the parishes . Anti-social behaviour was
down in all areas and New Year’s Eve passed without incident.
Crime levels remain constant with a very slight rise in burglaries. I would
encourage everyone to ensure that their sheds and out-buildings are secure
as these often get neglected at this time of year and can become insecure.
Rural crime across the Local Police Area is on the rise and police over
the next few weeks are running operations in conjunction with local
landowners to target thieves who are operating in this area. Again we
urge people to be vigilant and report anything suspicious on our new
number 101 or 999 if a crime is in progress. We are also encouraging
people to join text alert and community messaging schemes and
anyone interested should contact me at Pangbourne Police Staion on
0845 8 505 505.
Changes in Officers
I am pleased to advise that a new permanent replacement has arrived
for Police Community Support Officer Robert Hubbard Clark who has
moved on to a new area. His name is Patrick Baker-Jones and he is very
keen and looking forward to meeting you all.
Inspector Andy Ward is moving on to a new area at the end of the
month. I will let you have the name of the new inspector in due
course.
Neighbourhood Sergeant Sue Aufiero
15
Mortimer Link Minibus Service to Station If you are a regular or occasional user of the train please consider using
the mini bus to the station to help secure future funding and preserve
this community facility. The service is funded by a 69% grant from
WBC and 31% from SMPC.
16
PARISH COUNCIL CONTACT INFORMATION
Mrs. Jayne Kirk, Parish Clerk
Parish Council Office
The Library
27 Victoria Road
Mortimer
RG7 3SH
Tel: 0118 933 1955 – Fax: 0709 2310443
(Mail may be left in the Library post box)
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.stratfield-mortimer.gov.uk
Minutes and Agendas of Council meetings, as well as other Council
information can be viewed on the above website or on the Parish
Council notice boards which are located outside the Post Office and
the Library.
The Parish Council Office is open:
Tuesdays & Thursdays,
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
The Parish Council sincerely thanks Spratley’s of Mortimer for their
partial sponsorship of this newsletter