Village Design Statement Consultation
The Village Design Statement (VDS) is taking shape and the team would value your views - join us in the Reading Room on Saturday 15h or Sunday 16th between 10am and 2pm for a drink and consider our proposals for the Avon Dassett VDS.
If you have an interest in shaping the future development of our village, please spare time to come along and share your views or, altrnatively, contact Jill McLean (690710) or Steve Mullane (690091) for further information.
'A village design statement sets out clear and simple guidance for the design of all development in a village, based on its character'
Avon Dassett Soapbox Derby
The popular Soapbox Derby took place in the village on Saturday 13th June.
New County Councillor for Avon Dassett
The results of the June election of 2009 were as follows:
David Booth 1143
Jessica Pinson 325
Chris Williams 1561 Turnout 48.89%
Therefore Chris Williams as been elected as the County Councillor responsible for Avon Dassett. On behalf of the village, Avon Dassett Parish Council would like to thank the outgoing County Councillor, David Booth for everything he has done for the local community and to wish him well for the future.
Good News For The Avon!
The Avon in Avon Dassett has just come 11th in the Morning Advertiser 'Top 20 UK Pubs 2009' poll. To read the full Morning Advertiser article please follow this link.
Postcard Competition
There were some fantastic entries for the Postcard Competition. To see them all please click here. They are also on our homepage. The winners of the competiton were: Sara Lyth, Graham Rice, Sandra Rice, Andrew Rutherford and Sarah Rutherford. Four of the photographs will be made into postcards and one will be the Christmas Card for 2009.
Avon Dassett Parish Council would like to express their thanks to all who entered the competition; the judges: Jill McLean and Roger Newman; and Cllr David Booth who presented the prizes and rosettes.
Recent Website Updates
The village website continues to thrive with new content being added regularly. Please contact us with any comments or suggestions for items that may be included. Recent additions include:
Church Bells Ring Again!
After decades of silence, the bells at St John the Baptist Church pealed on Saturday 21 February at 3.00 pm. Visitors to the church were also able to see the newly restored spire. The bell ringing event was held to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Churches Conservation Trust. The church bells were professionally recorded and will be turned into a ringtone for mobile phones. The event has been widely covered in the national press and on the local BBC news. To hear the bells of St John's for yourself click here for a short extract (40 seconds) or here for a longer one (170 seconds).
Update!
Having enjoyed a special day in February, covered by the BBC, when the bells of St John the Baptist Church were rung for the first time in decades, we have organised a repeat ringing to celebrate the saint's day on 24th June. The bell ringers have kindly agreed and will be here at 6.30pm There is still work to be done on the bells so they will not be swung over but will still make a lovely sound. The church was consecrated on this day in 1869, the same year the bells were made in Birmingham.
Everyone is welcome and it will also be another chance to see the wonderful restoration carried out by The Churches Conservation Trust.
Avon Dassett Welcome Pack
Avon Dassett Parish Council would like to thank Mary Edgington and Sandra Rice for compiling the superb Avon Dassett Welcome Pack. The Welcome Pack, which was produced with the aid of a Parish Communication grant from Warwickshire County Council, has now been delivered to all households in the village. If you have any suggestions for content or amendments please contact Sandra Rice.
Avon Dassett on Flickr
Pictures of Avon Dassett are now being uploaded onto our Flickr site. Recent photographs include pictures of the village in the snow. Please join the group and add your own favourite images of the village.
Freedom of Information Act
Avon Dassett Parish Council have published details of their compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. Please follow this link for more information.
Floods
Avon Dassett experienced heavy flash flooding during the afternoon of Friday 12th September. The Parish Council have recently been awarded a grant from the District Council for a pump which will help households at risk of flooding. The Parish Council issued the following statement on November 12th:
"On 12th September this year 12 houses were flooded in the village as we suffered extreme rainfall on top of already saturated ground. Extensive damage and significant stress was suffered by the occupants as a result.
Avon Dassett's drains are not functioning as well as they should be and Warwickshire County Council has scheduled routine maintenance works to take place in the near future. However, at this moment we do not know when this work will be carried out.
In the meantime, we are asking all householders with a drain outside their property to keep an eye on the condition of that drain, clear it of leaves as necessary and report any malfunction to a parish councillor. All parish councillors and members of the village's Neighbourhood Watch Network will also be regularly monitoring the condition of the drains.
Working together we can try to minimize the damage and misery caused by recent flooding and with more villagers aware of the potential problems we stand a greater chance of intervening earlier to accomplish this. Avon Dassett Parish Council"
Housing Needs
The Avon Dassett Housing Needs Survey completed in June 2007 identified a need for 3 new affordable homes for local people. The homes needed are 2-bedroom houses to rent from a housing association. The Parish Council want to explore the level of support there is in the village for a development of 3 new affordable homes for local people. The Housing Needs Survey indicated a certain degree of support, only 41% of households returned their survey
The Parish Council carried out a further survey in June. The results of this survey were counted and verified at the Parish Council meeting on Monday 7th July. The results are as follows:
- Votes for a development of 3 affordable homes = 47
- Votes against = 22
- Spoilt papers = 1
- 70 returns out of 100 surveys delivered
Charles Barlow, Housing Needs Enabler asked landowners to contact him if they were interested in selling land to be used for the social housing. He did not receive a response. Therefore the Parish Council are seeking further views from the village about the way forward. Please contact us
Parish Plan
Avon Dassett Parish Council would like to formally thank Sandra Rice and the Avon Dassett Parish Plan Steering Group for the production of a very high quality, interesting and informative Parish Plan and Action Plan. The launch of the Parish Plan on 9th March was the final stage of the project which has taken two years to complete.
The Parish Council will be working through the Action Plan in the coming year. Please look out for news of our progress.
On the same day we were also delighted to launch the 'Avon Dassett Village Web Site'
The Parish Council also used the opportunity to put on a display of their work. As well as showing what actions they had taken on various issues highlighted in the Parish Plan, there was also a lot of information on the work the PC routinely carry out on behalf of the village. Please look out for more information in the Compton Chronicle, on village notice boards and on our web site in the coming months.
If you are interested in piloting a 'Village Shop' please contact Margaret Maughan
Anyone experiencing problems with poor water supply should contact Margaret Maughan
Anyone interested in helping to develop a Village Design Statement for Avon Dassett please contact Steve Mullane 690091
If you are interested in being part of the Neighbourhood Watch Network in Avon Dassett please contact Lily Hope-Frost
Parents interested in forming a management group to work with the Parish Council to maintain and develop the playground should contact Ali Fraser
New Activities
Parents and young people with new ideas for activities which could be piloted in the Reading Room should contact Sarah Richardson
Anyone who wishes to start up a new club or activity for adults please contact Jill Burgess
If you are interested in helping to organize and run a village sports day please contact Pete Wallace 690628
The following new groups are now looking for members
- Local History Group. Organizer - Jonathan Davies 690554
- Art Group- Monday afternoons. £2 per session. Please bring own materials. Organizer- Diane Anderson 690245
- Tennis Club- Wednesday mornings. Organizer - Diane Anderson 690245
- Sewing Group- Organizer - Thelma Watts 690362
On 9th March a children's sugarcraft workshop was held in the Reading Room. This proved to be a very popular event and as can be seen below the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Many thanks to Wendy and Ann for organising the workshop.
On 23rd January the Trust held an Open Day at the church so that villagers could find out more about the work that was being carried out. The architect and stone masons led a tour of the site including a climb up the scaffolding to the top of the steeple!
Many people will be aware of the essential work that is currently taking place to renovate the spire of St John's Church. The work is being managed by The Churches Conservation Trust.
The work is expected to be completed by June 2008. The Parish Council are investigating the use of the church building by the community with The Churches Conservation Trust.
Alistair Fraser resigned at the AGM of May 12th 2008 due to his other commitments. Peter Wallace also stepped down. The Parish Council would like to thank them for their contribution to the village and the Parish Council. In particular, they would like to thank Alistair for chairing the Parish Council over the past two years.
As there was no request for an election, David Hutt and Graeme Miller were co-opted on to the Parish Council at the meeting on the 7th July. The Parish Council would like to thank all the candidates who put themselves forward for consideration.
Graeme Miller subsequently decided not to sign the declaration of office. The vacancy was re-advertised according to instructions received from Stratford District Council. Andrew Rutherford was co-opted on to the Parish Council at the meeting on 11th August.
The new wheelie bins have now been delivered. If you have not received your bins then please contact StreetScene on 01926 260827. The new collection day is WEDNESDAYS from 6th August. For more information on the recycling arrangements please click on this link.
The new arrangements have been very successful with 55% of waste recycled in the first two weeks of the new programme. Stratford District Council are looking at the possibility of replacing the large refuse wheelie bins with smaller ones in the future.
A reminder that collection of garden waste will be suspended (FOR THIS YEAR ONLY) from 1st November 2008 to 1st April 2009.
The Environment Agency has produced three flood guides for the general public. The guides give practical advice on preparing for a flood and what to do during and after a flood. The guides are currently available by telephone order to Floodline 0845 988 1188, and from their website. They can also be downloaded from the Environment Protection Unit website at Warwickshire County Council.
Warwickshire County Council Post Office Closures
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Statement from Warwickshire County Council
Warwickshire County Council has met with District representatives, as well as other regional authorities to discuss the implications of post office closures. We have arranges to meet with Post Office plc on May 2nd to explore ways that we can minimise impact on communities if their local Post Office is listed for closure. On June 24th, Post Office plc will announce the closure programme proposals for Warwickshire. It is only then that we can measure the potential impact on communities and make recommendations to Council for consideration. We will have six weeks consultation period to make any representation to Post Office plc. Warwickshire has already taken a lead by introducing a Post Office into the Shire Hall One Stop Shop area- to be opened in late April.
We have informed Post Office plc that there are a range of outlets including community centres and one stop shops that could possibly deliver post office services. We do not want to see essential local services such as post offices close, which is why we want to talk to Post Office plc and examine how we avoid post office closures.
Furthermore we would like to seek some commitment that Post Offices plc would make funding available to support any necessary adjustments to public services where post office closures will have an adverse impact on the well being of the local community affected.
We currently provide part funding to Warwickshire Rural Community Council (WRRC) to sponsor a business adviser, who is able to visit and offer help to rural post offices and village shops, contact Steve Patalong stevep@wrccrural.org.uk. We will continue to do this through 2008/9 provided that we have availability of budget to support the current contributions to WRCC, and funding from Warwickshire Rural Access to Services Partnership (WRASP) and other sources.
Avon Dassett wins a Silver Award in the Best Village Competition
On 1st November 2008, Avon Dassett was awarded a silver certificate for entries in the newly formatted Best Village competition, sponsored by Calor and organised by Warwickshire Rural Community Council. The village entered the Parish Plan in the Community Projects category and the website in the Communications category. However, the Parish Council is campaigning for the return of the Best Kept Village format which it feels is more appropriate for rural communities.
Parish Council Grant Successes
The Parish Council have recently been successful in three grant applications:
- From Stratford District Council, for a pump to help in alleviating the effects of flash flooding
- From Warwickshire County Council, for a communications grant to fund a village Welcome Pack and enhance the website
- From Warwickshire County Council, for a Public Realm grant to provide a noticeboard, benches and a wildlife area by the bus shelter.
Floods
Avon Dassett experienced heavy flash flooding during the afternoon of Friday 12th September. The Parish Council have recently been awarded a grant from the District Council for a pump which will help households at risk of flooding. The Parish Council issued the following statement on November 12th:
"On 12th September this year 12 houses were flooded in the village as we suffered extreme rainfall on top of already saturated ground. Extensive damage and significant stress was suffered by the occupants as a result.
Avon Dassett's drains are not functioning as well as they should be and Warwickshire County Council has scheduled routine maintenance works to take place in the near future. However, at this moment we do not know when this work will be carried out.
In the meantime, we are asking all householders with a drain outside their property to keep an eye on the condition of that drain, clear it of leaves as necessary and report any malfunction to a parish councillor. All parish councillors and members of the village's Neighbourhood Watch Network will also be regularly monitoring the condition of the drains.
Working together we can try to minimize the damage and misery caused by recent flooding and with more villagers aware of the potential problems we stand a greater chance of intervening earlier to accomplish this.
Many thanks for your anticipated assistance with this ongoing issue.
Avon Dassett Parish Council"
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