Parish Plan

The Parish Plan is an on-going activity reflecting the wishes of the parish. Items covered include:

Traffic and Parking– Volunteers came forward to spearhead action on these issues-among the most vital according to replies to the Plan survey. Further help will be needed- publicity for this will follow.
Crime Prevention – although many participants felt that crime levels in the village were fairly low, nevertheless any crime should concern us all. Active Neighbourhood Watch schemes exist in some parts of the Village, and is is hoped to extend these to other areas.
Helping the Elderly and Infirm – with no local shop, many survey participants thought that assistance with shopping might be welcomed by people unable-for whatever reason-to get to the shops. Some folk are being given regular help by relatives and by neighbours,others who might need help would have to be identified.There was interest from potential volunteers. It remains to be seen whether there will be significant “take-up”from people who could be assisted in this way.
Ridgeway Link – a discussion on this organisation followed naturally from the previous topic. Most people present had little knowledge of the workings of Ridgeway Link, and it was decided to try to find out more,. and to give as much publicity as possible.
Church Bells Restoration – one point from the survey that had come out clearly was the wish of many participants to hear the bells of All Saints’ ringing again. Our Churchwarden and the Church Architect attended the Meeting, and explained clearly the disadvantages of the ancient and historic peal of bells and the bell frame, and the difficulty of restoring them into a ringable condition; also the structural problems of the tower itself were mentioned. While a scheme to insert a new bell frame and re-hang the bells might be feasible, especially if the existing frame were preserved, there might be resistance from the Church hierarchy and from conservationists. The Churchwarden and Architect were assured of support by participants at the Meeting, indeed a small number of villagers have started already to learn the art of bell ringing. Possibly a group of supporters could be formed.
Composting and Smallholding – it is hoped that a Group may be organised to look into the possiblity of a Community Composting scheme and the establishment of a Community Smallholding.
Allotments – there is enthusiasm to re-vitalise the Parish Allotments, which are only partly utilised and have the major disadvantage ( perhaps less problematical this year!) of no laid- on water supply. This project will require both persistence and funding, and Parish Council involvement. Please would anyone interested kindly contact me.

The topics rated “Two” and “Three” in priority were not discussed in detail as we ran out of time. Details of future meetings or initiatives will be given as soon as possible.

Adrian Moore

01793 790391

adrianmoore@hotmail.co.uk