Woolverstone News
February 28thth 2016
Dear All
Spring is in the air! The leaves are coming out on the willow on the road leading down to St Michael’s. The hedges are greening; nettles are growing. Bird song is changing; shifting to territory and mating mode. The explosion of energy which defines Spring is nearly upon us.I’m looking forward to watching and listening. It seems unbelievable that it has been two months since the shortest day! It must be time for our village Spring Clean…
P.C. Sam Gilkes and the Community Speedwatch Team training on 27.2.16
Speeding through the village
The Police have maintained their increased presence in the village with the SafeCam and have recorded around 100 vehicles in excess of the speed limit.
Great news! Our Community Speedwatch team undertook their training session on Saturday 27th Feb. It has taken years to get this far but finally we are there! Three or four members of the CSW team at a time will be undertaking Speedwatch sessions from this week. Hopefully, Woolverstone CSW will be another element that helps make our village quiet, calmer and safer.
We are able to train new members of the team ourselves. If you wanted to help record details or relay reg. numbers/make and model/ colour/type you would be really welcome as it will share the burden and responsibility. Plus, we will be able to cover more periods in the week. You just have to fill in a short application form which is forwarded to the Police for their records. If you would like to volunteer to be part of the Community Speedwatch Team, please get in touch with myself or Romy, Clerk to PC,on 780731 )
Woolverstone “Spring Clean” Weekend - 5th and 6th March
Our village “Spring Clean”, an annual tradition, is next weekend 5th and 6th of March.
The Big Rubbish Clear Up is on Saturday 5th March at 10.30 a.m. Meet outside Berners Hall. We have Hi-Viz waistcoats, litter pickers and bin bags.
If you can’t make the Saturday sweep, you can choose any area over the weekend, maybe the hedge opposite your home or a path along which you walk, or an area which irks you! Walkers can also help along the footpaths towards Freston, Chelmondiston and Pin Mill. Please let me know where you have been so we can keep a track of areas that haven’t been reached.
Please try to help out over “Spring Clean” Weekend and keep our village looking beautiful. It could be a family event to help our young people feel a part of their environment. If you can’t make the BRCU, you can always choose an area to adopt, and do that at some point over the weekend.
Over the weekend, I would also like to do a within Parish boundary footpath check and see if styles, gates and paths are clear and are in passable condition for people to use and enjoy. So, if you are walking along a footpath over the weekend, would you check the state of it, the accessibility and report back, with picture and location? If the footpath sign is not clear due to undergrowth, rotten post or some other reason please take a picture and location to include in your report.
Saturday Market at St Michael’s Church Woolverstone. March 12th. 9.00 – 12.30
Don’t miss the bacon butties! Delicious!! Made with bacon from Woody’s Butchers, Holbrook.
So, try and find time to pop down to St Michael’s Monthly Market, second Saturday of every month:
Coffee van with a variety of coffees
Crafts: jewellery, glass, wood, cards, furniture, knitting, crochet
Food: Woody’s butchery, cakes, sausage rolls, bread, fruit, veg, eggs, jams, chutneys, pastries, cheeses
Natural products
Plants, trees and bird food
Antiques and Art work
And take a chance for a good natter with friends and neighbours.
Make this part of your Saturday. Drop in and see what’s on offer!
Queen’s 90th Birthday
We will mark our Queen’s Ninetieth birthday celebrations over the weekend of 10-12 June 2016.
At the moment suggestions on the table are:
- Lunchtime picnic/BBQ centred on the Church, with use of the field
- Children’s games on Church Filed in the afternoon.
- Music and tea in St Michael’s in the afternoon.
- Lighting of a beacon in the evening (as we did for the Queen’s Jubilee) with BBQ/Hog roast/ and village photograph.
Of course, we could do all three. It would be great if someone would volunteer to run one section of the day, to spread the load.
If you have any other suggestions on how the village of Woolverstone might celebrate this historic event, or would like to help organise this event, please contact me, or Romy Blackburn, current Clerk to Woolverstone Parish Council.
Ganges update
The Parish Council has made an application for Judicial Reviewon the decision to grant planning permission for building 285 houses etc. on the former HMS Ganges site at Shotley Gate. Babergh District Council has compiled a reply to our arguments. These will now be seen by a judge who will decide whether there is a case to answer or not. If the judge decides there is no case to answer then that is where the matter will rest. We can take it no further and will have to take it on the chin. We will have to put our efforts into ensuring that, with a greater volume and intensity of traffic, that we can mitigate the impact - both domestic and construction - as best as we can.
We expect to hear the decision about whether we can go forward to a hearing in the next month.
If you want to know anything further, please make contact with me through my email address.
James Cartlidge MP for South Suffolk
Our MP is holding a surgery on 4th March in Holbrook Village Hall. 10.00 – 12.00.
It is strictly by appointment only. If you would like to talk to him about something the contact to make an appointment is: Or, phone 020 72194875
Village Questionnaire
Thank you so much to everyone who completed and returned their questionnaires. I now have 72, which is about 72% of the village households that have responded. If there are any out there still, please get them back to me as soon as possible as we are preparing for the next stage; the analysis and the report of the findings.
Village website
The village website is developing. You can find the minutes from PC meetings there:
We are trying to build in local interest and have added a gallery of photographs from around the village and on the river. Stewart Harris has set the ball rolling.
If you have beautiful photographs you would like to share, it would be great if you could forward them to Romy, who is our Web Master:
Clerk to the Parish Council
Romy Blackburn is retiring from her role as Clerk to the Parish Council in May this year. We are urgently seeking her successor. It would be beneficial if there was some time working in tandem.
If you think you have the qualities needed for this role and would be interested in this job, please contact myself or Romy. The sooner the better! It is vital we have someone in place in this role for the handover.
Potholes
There are a number of potholes appearing in the road through the village. If you notice one you can report it on the SCC website all the information you need is here:
Alternatively, you can let Romy know and she will report it. A photograph is really useful to go with the location.
Date for your diary
Ipswich High School is hosting a Girls Day School Trust residential weekend, which includes camping, between 12th and 15th July 2016. The school will not be open to Woolverstone residents over that weekend due to understandable safeguarding concerns. I would like to thank HIS fro allowing us to enjoy their grounds for so much of the year. It is hugely appreciated.
If you know your neighbour is not on the internet, or does not get this newsletter, please print of a copy and drop it through their letter box. If you know someone who would like to be on the mailing list please ask them to send me an email to the address below and I will add them to the group email list. Many thanks.
Best wishes
Simon Pearce. Chairman, Woolverstone Parish Council (780009. )
1