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Mortimer Village News
TH E N EW SL ETT ER F O R W I G MO R E , L E I N TH AL L ST AR K E S , EL TO N AN D P I P E ASTO N
Issue Mar 2018 www.mortimervillages.co.uk
Forestry Commission and Forest Holidays
Some residents may have visited the exhibition by the Forestry Commission and Forest Holidays in the Wigmore Village Hall on the 27th Feb.
The proposals are to build a number of lodges in Mortimer Forest above the Vinalls Car Park. The cabins will range in size from 1 bed to 5 bed and will be located within the
existing tree growth area.
Planning permission has not yet been submitted so the precise details of the proposal are not available.
The claims made by the two organisations include: local jobs will be created, increased
opportunities for local food producers, enhancing the existing forest amenities and generally supporting tourism in the area.
Details may be found on
https://aboutus.forestholidays.co.uk
You will have an opportunity to comment on the proposals once the planning application has been submitted.
The parish council will ensure details of such applications are accessible to residents.
Full details will also be found on the Herefordshire Councils web site under the planning portal.
If you wish to contact the organisations concerned about this proposal then you can
email to: [email protected]
Inside this edition: St James update Neighbourhood Plan up-date Village Hall modernisa-tion Muriel's 100th Birthday Mobile Post Office VH IT facilities Gardening Club Community Field and more……..!
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Your parish councillors are:
Wigmore
Bryan Casbourne MBE—770155
Vic Harnett—770445—Chair
Jenny Johnson—770162 ([email protected])
Helena Leclezio– 770679
Vacancy
Leinthall Starkes
Alan Dowdy—770121
Graham Probert—770543
Elton
Gill Bilbrough—770654
Pipe Aston
Clare Major—770588
County Councillor
Carol Gandy—780583
Parish Clerk
Jano Rochefort - 770282
Mortimer Village News
Snippits from your parish council
The parish council have been in discussion
with Hereford Council on the question of
introducing means of slowing traffic
through the village. Some agreement has
been reached on the use of a 40 mph
buffer zone either side of the existing 30
mph signs. The existing signage will be
improved by adding the yellow back-
ground plates to the speed signs. There is
also a possibility that a “pinch point” can
be introduced on the A4110 which will
also act as a pedestrian crossing point.
With the resignation of a parish councillor
the community has decided that they wish
to have an elected councillor rather than
someone who could be co-opted to the
council.
This election has now been set for the
12th April 2018 and notices have been
posted around the village.
Further information may be obtained from
www.herefordshire.gov.uk/elections
Due to the very difficult
weather conditions the
annual village clean up
has now been deferred
until later in March.
Details will be available
shortly.
WHAT IS TAI CHI?
There is much more to tai chi than I can explain in one sentence but the reason I
study and teach this wonderful Art is that I enjoy the flowing movements which bring a
sense of tranquillity and purpose. Numerous studies have shown that tai chi
improves muscular strength, flexibility, and improves overall quality of life and well
being. The overriding reason I love tai chi is because it feels good! And it’s fun! Our
Wigmore class is small, friendly and students learn at their own rate.
Classes are currently held on Mondays,
10.30 am to 12.30 pm (beginners 10.30 to 11.30 am), Wigmore Village Hall. It takes about eight weeks to feel the benefits and
students can join at any time.
For further information ring Jan on 01568 770 258.
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Draft Wigmore Group Parish
Neighbourhood Plan
The fourth draft Wigmore Group Neighbourhood Plan
has now been reviewed by residents and a number of
queries raised in connection with the number of new dwellings required, the use of Moor
View as a potential site for new housing, traffic congestion on Ford Street as a result of
additional housing, the role of the school in assisting the resolution of a parking problem
during term time, the need to include support in principle for areas such as the
conservation area, the castle and others.
All comments have been passed to the WGPC for consideration and where appropriate
amendment and clarification.
Following the next WGPC meeting on March 12th a further NP committee meeting will be
held to discuss any changes to the plan proposed by the WGPC. This committee meeting
will be open to residents—further information on dates and times will be circulated later.
IT facilities at Wigmore Village
Hall
We now have laptops, a projector and
screen, and a pa system available for use
in the village hall. Broadband and wifi is
available throughout the hall and residents
are welcome to make use of these
facilities. Please contact Jenny Johnson on
email or by phone. Details are shown on
page 2.
There are restrictions as to how much data
can be downloaded over our broadband
connection and there may be a deposit/
charge for the use of equipment.
If residents are seeking training in any
aspect of using IT and broadband then it
may be possible to arrange some training
sessions in the hall. Please let Jenny know
of your needs.
Sequel to the Wigmore—Then
and Now book
Over the past few months various new
topics have been suggested as a sequel to
our original book. From the information
gathered we would like to focus on people
and families who have lived in Wigmore
over time.
Many of our historic buildings have hidden
lives behind them and we would like to
bring these together in one place.
In order to undertake this we need the
assistance of residents and families in
uncovering the lives of people particularly
those over the past few hundred years.
If you are interested n this please contact
the editor– details on page 9.
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Mortimer Village News
Wigmore Village Hall You should by now have seen the improvements so far to the village hall - we have fitted
new main hall lighting (which can be dimmed), uplighters on the wall which can now be
switched on/off adjacent to the main hall entrance doors, outside PIR lights over the main
entrance and committee room doors, new double front doors, and PIR operated lighting in
the entrance lobby and toilets.
We are also in the process of seeking additional funds to complete other planned changes
for the hall which includes new internal doors. All these improvements go towards making
this essential village asset a more attractive and useable one.
In addition we have reviewed the area at the back of the hall and agreed some plans to
turn this into a usable and attractive space.
If you are interested in joining the village hall committee or simply assisting
with a range of village hall activities then please contact Jenny Johnson on
either email: [email protected] or tel: 770162
We have a number of very sturdy heater guards (above) that covered the original gas
heaters in the village hall. If anyone has a use for these items then please contact Jenny—details below—who
will consider all offers!
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From Carole Gandy—our county councillor From a weather point of view it has been quite depressing with snow, gales and heavy rain and unfortunately the frosts we have experienced has only caused more degradation to our local road network. However part of the ongoing dispute with Amey, the contractor prior to Balfour Beatty has now been resolved and Herefordshire Council has received £5.5 million with more to follow which I have been assured will be spent on road resurfacing and repairs during 2018/19. I will do everything I can to ensure that Mortimer ward gets its fair share of this money. I have also attended the two open meetings organised by the parish council to consider the draft proposals for the Wigmore Group Neighbourhood Development Plan. If you still have any concerns or queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me. Myself and a parish councillor will shortly be visiting Wigmore School to chat to Wigmore children about the sort of leisure facilities they might like to see in the Wigmore area. We do not wish to raise expectations but we do believe that more could be provided for young people in the area. You will by now have read that Herefordshire Council has taken the decision to raise their portion of the Council Tax by 4.9% of which 2% will be ring fenced for Adult Social Care. We recognise that for some this increase may cause some hardship as overall as a County many of our residents are on low incomes. If you are such a person or family, please check with Herefordshire Council as to whether you are entitled to a reduction under Herefordshire Council’s Council Tax Reduction Scheme. I believe that a council’s first responsibility must be to look after its most vulnerable residents and therefore, with an increasing elderly population and the need to increase the Childrens Services budget by £2 million whilst maintaining other essential services, difficult decisions had to be taken which I support. Our hospitals, GP practices and Adult Social Care have been under great pressure this winter, in fact it is now becoming the norm throughout the year. If you have any suggestions on how such services can be improved or you require information about how to access local health and social care services do not hesitate to contact Healthwatch Herefordshire on 01432 277044 or email them at [email protected] who are there to help you. They may also use your views to make recommendations to influence and improve services in the future. Leintwardine Library is a vital service for many people in parts of Mortimer ward and very well used but for some who are less mobile it may seem that their library service is no longer accessible to them. Herefordshire Library Service offers a home delivery service which provides books and talking books for those who due to age, frailty, mobility or disability cannot access a library. The service is also available to carers of people within the above categories. You may borrow a maximum of 20 books and 12 CDs at any one time and the service is free. You will be visited every 6 weeks on the same day of the week. If you are interested please contact the Delivered Library Services staff on 01432 260645. As always please do not hesitate to contact me if you have a problem, or just want a chat. I am also always happy to visit you if that would be easier. Just telephone 01568 780583 or email [email protected]
Editors note: Wigmore village hall has a “bring a book, take a book” facility just inside the entrance to the hall. It is open everyday and you are welcome to browse the books we have available.
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St James re-ordering project
A number of outstanding matters are currently in
progress and these include:
• Local authority planning permission decision now due end of March 2018
Note—the Local Authority planning permission is chiefly concerned with those external
changes to the building, its change of use , and traffic management proposals
• Resolution of the lease between the Church and the CIC
• Additional funding from other non lottery sources
• A faculty granted by the Diocese
Note—this faculty covers those areas of change within the church building
All the development work for the project has been completed successfully and a final
report on this work presented to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
In mid March 2018 the Round 2 application (the build phase) will be submitted to the
Heritage Lottery Fund. This covers the implementation of the plans developed in round 1.
It is expected that a response to this submission will be given by mid June 2018.
It is to be noted that HLF rules have changed since we started this project in 2015 and
our Round 2 submission will now be decided by the National Heritage Lottery committee
rather than the West Midlands committee as was originally intended. This does mean
that we will be in competition with many other projects across England rather than just
our local area.
If we are successful then we come under EU rules regarding the awarding of contracts.
We will be required to publish a tender for this work in the European Journal and we will
then select a main contractor from the responses. All this will take time so it is unlikely
any work would be able to take place before the end of 2018.
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There is no business like
‘Snow Business’…
Despite the snow drifts, school
transport being cancelled and early
closures the show still went on!
The Wigmore school production of Oliver has
been incredibly well received with sell out
audiences on the rescheduled Tuesday and
Wednesday evenings. With the staff’s
assistance over 70 pupils were involved in a
performance worthy of the West End. Pupils
were on the stage, front of house and back
stage. One pupil became so proficient in his
role of lighting engineer he lit the whole
performance with the aid of our
professionals for Mondays performance.
This year lead roles were provided with small head microphones and this enhanced the
performance and gave them more confidence. The upgraded sound was provided and
managed by a good friend to our school community, Andrew Boulton. He spent hours
balancing the sound and working closely with our director, Kay Foreman, getting the cues
right, setting up audio for the orchestra and showing the pupils how to wear the mini
mics.
Our pupils yet again showed off their commitment and talent each night.
There were many people behind the scenes who put in hours of effort free of charge and
many companies have been generous with sponsorship, advertising and allowing us to
rent equipment, props and costumes longer than agreed as we switched and swapped our
performance nights to compensate for the snowy weather.
Each evening the audience left amazed and full of praise for the production. They were
blown away by the fantastic efforts of everyone involved. So next time you see a poster
for a school show it is money well spent on a ticket to come along.
Mannequin dressed as Fagan in the foyer at Wigmore
High School
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Wigmore and District Gardening Club
As always, our Christmas dinner at The Riverside Inn was a jolly and
noisy event – give our members a party popper and a rocket balloon
and they all revert to childhood! The food was again delicious and
swiftly served to the 45 members who were squeezed in. I don’t know
how they manage to do such a super service, given that the upper
restaurant was also open and fully booked.
At the AGM in January, Joy Ardy offered to take over as chair, and
several other members volunteered to join the committee (ask a busy
person…). We thanked Ken and Merilyn for all they have done over
the past few years, and wish them better health for the future, and we
thanked Mark Paviour for the entertaining speakers he has booked for
us.
Coddington Vineyard
We had a fascinating talk in February from Imogen Sambrook, who is currently the project manager of the
Fishpools Valley Restoration project at Croft Castle for the National Trust, which aims to restore the valley to its
18th century picturesque beauty.
She used LIDAR images to show us all the lost paths and viewing points, and clever overlays showing before
and after shots of the valley and pools.
On Monday 15th February, we had our first shared car trip to Coddington Vineyard to see their snowdrops. We
were given a most interesting talk by owner Sharon Maiden about the gardens and their vineyard as we were
shown around, and then a scrumptious tea and unexpected wine-tasting in their beautiful barn, which was
decorated with fairy lights. Needless to say, several bottles of their wine were purchased, along with some rare
Wendy’s Gold snowdrops.
Our next meeting is on March 15th when Duncan Coombs, a lecturer from Pershore and Warwick Colleges, will
speak to us on the subject of “Pandas and Bamboos: Plant-hunting in Yunnan and Sichuan”. This will be
followed by a car-trip to Stokesay Court for daffodils and tea on Weds 28th March.
We normally meet on the third Thursday of the month at 7.30 in Wigmore Village Hall and our car-share trips
usually leave the village hall at 1.30, but please check the programme as this year some leave at 1.00pm. We
are a very friendly bunch of locals, of all stages of expertise, from the utter beginner to those who open their
gardens for charity! Just come along and join in. The programme is on display in the window of the village shop.
We have recently had some very sad news of the death of one of our members, John Gresham. John and Gillian
moved to the village only a couple of years ago, but John had become a very positive member of our community.
He was a jovial and dynamic man, always quick to volunteer his help for many kinds of activities from drawing up
plans to mending roofs. He will be very much missed.
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Mobile Post Office @ Wigmore
Monday 11.00 to 12.30
Tuesday 15.00 to 16.00
Wednesday no attendance
Thursday 13.30 to 15.00
Friday 10.30 to 12.00
Saturday 10.30 to 12.00
Mortimer Village News is published by Wigmore Group Parish Council.
The next edition is June 2018 with a copy date end of May 2018
Editor: Bryan Casbourne Email: [email protected]
Any opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors concerned and not necessarily those
of the Wigmore Group Parish Council
Funding for the parish
Quiet period for funding—although we
have submitted funding requests to
continue with the internal modernisation of
the village hall.
Wigmore Mobile Post Office
As residents will be aware the Post Office is proposing a num-ber of changes to the days that the mobile Post Office will
visit Wigmore.
At the moment the Post Office van visits on 5 days per week, Mon, Tues,
Thurs, Fri, and Sat.
The proposed change will mean that the Post Office van restricts its visits to Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays.
There is an opportunity for residents to comment on these new arrangements
by going to:
postofficeviews.co.uk and look for Kington—HR53DJ—158618
Last date for comments 28th March 2018
For anyone not aware of the Post Office van’s location, it parks next to the Community Shop in Wigmore.
Potholes
We think we are badly off when it comes to
repairing pot-holes………………?
A breakdown by county in the UK shows that for minor roads Surrey leads the way with some 6000 + outstanding reported potholes waiting to be
filled.
In fact most of the top 10 counties with major
backlogs are in the “affluent” south!
Remember you can report a pothole direct to
Hereford Council by going to
www.herefordshire.gov.uk/report-it
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Bury Lane community
playing field
W*A*N*T*E*D
A local resident to take the lead in
managing the development of the playing field alongside Bury Lane.
We are looking for someone to head up a group of other residents and parish councillors
to organise surveys, plans and submission of applications for funding to enhance this
village asset for the benefit of all residents.
Agreed expenses will be recoverable and assistance given in preparing grant applications.
For more information please contact Jano Rochefort, our parish clerk, details shown on
page 2.
Muriel Tonkin -100 year birthday celebrations
Its not often we have a resident who celebrates their100th birthday…………!
Here we have Muriel Tonkin celebrating earlier this year with her friends and a birthday card from HM The Queen
In past years Muriel played a major role in Wigmore as a member of the Village Hall Trust.
Muriel celebrating with friends and
colleagues
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There is plenty of room at Wigmore Village Hall
• £15 per hour • No charge for clear up time • 100 piece dinner service • Modern kitchen
Contact:
[email protected] or 01568 770162
or message us on our Facebook Community page—Wigmore Village Hall
Children’s Party?
Jumble Sale 2018
This years jumble sale will be on Saturday April 21st in Wigmore Village Hall starting at 1pm.
The organisers are looking for help with this event so if you would like to volunteer please contact Jenny Johnson as shown above. Jumble may be left in the village hall lobby during the week prior to the event. If you need someone to collect then please ask Jenny who will be able to make arrangements. Residents who would like to contribute cakes, other delicious snacks and raffle prizes for the event again please let Jenny know. On the day before the sale we would like helpers at the village hall to sort and arrange our jumble in readiness for the Saturday.
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Wigmore Castle Flowers at the Show St James Church
Future of the Wigmore Village Show
Ken Wade, our inspiring founder and successful chairman for the first three years of the
Show has had through ill-health to stand down from this role. The committee of the Vil-
lage Show is sorry to tell you that the Show cannot go on without new blood to help drive
it forward.
We know that a number of enthusiastic and expert producers of fine garden produce and
of handicrafts, together with practitioners of other skills have supported our first three
events. We believe that you, our community, feel that the Show has been something
that you and your children have looked forward to and have enjoyed participating in.
Many village people have said to the committee how in their view the Show has helped to
bring people together as a living community in a way that other events have not been
able to do.
We are thankful to Ken for having the drive and energy to start us off but we now need
fresh ideas and fresh inputs from our community. We would like to see all of you to offer
any support you can at an evening meeting in Wigmore Village Hall on Monday 26 March
at 7.30 pm. Please bring your ideas and hopes for our future village produce shows and
tell us that you will join us so we can develop them together. There will be refreshments
in the Hall afterwards.
The event to remember : 26 March at 7.30pm! Don’t forget to come and help!
