January News

Up Hatherley Parish Council January 2023

We enjoyed a very successful carol service on Christmas Eve on Fernleigh Green, with the Salvation Army band, Father Mark Catherall saying a prayer, around 300 people attending and, for the first time in 3 years, the return of the mulled wine!. We also had another successful tree decorating competition with some marvellous home made decorations. Congratulations to all the children who entered the competition.

By the end of the year, our Platinum jubilee projects were completed with the Chairman’s benches installed on the open space by Chargrove Lane and soon we will have the electricity connected to the new light in Cheriton Park, making these spaces better for pedestrians, allowing people to sit and rest and improving safety in the evenings.

On a sad note, we hear that Harry Welsby, a former Parish Councillor (who was in the picture of the 1994 council we published in the 2020 magazine) and regularly attended our meetings, has passed away. Our condolences to Angela and Harry’s family.

On Tuesday January 3rd at 7.30, the Parish Council met at the Village Hall – this is an important meeting in our calendar, as it is the meeting when we agree our budget for the forthcoming year and decide what precept we make and which projects we can support in 2023/4. We will be considering our spend on a wide range of projects where the Parish Council can make a difference to Up Hatherley. Meetings are always open to the public, so if you have never been before, please join us- our next meeting is on 7th March.

One of the projects the Parish Council has supported is the Lakeside Community Project which is entering its third year, moving to a pantry system and providing help with food and household items to local households every Tuesday from 11.30 to 12.30 in St Margaret’s Hall Annex. The project has been made possible by the many volunteers that help, by Morrisons, its community champions Andrea and Jane, generous customers paying for bags of goods, individual donors and the wonderful Lakeside Takeaway who provide bags of potatoes and a range of vegetables for Christmas.

During December, we were busy distributing our annual magazine The Record, masterminded by Peter Worsley, our Vice-Chairman. It’s a labour of love and we have had some very positive feedback on its content – particularly the historical content where we have been able to shed some light on bygone Up Hatherley and readers have been able to fill in the gaps with local knowledge.

Our 5th annual Bike Security Marking event will take place in the Village Hall on Saturday 14th January 10am to 1pm. UHPC meet the cost and the brilliant Police Community Safety team mark the bikes (and scooters) and register them on the National cycle database. We see bikes and scooters of all shapes and sizes and over 100 bikes at many of our past sessions.

Happy New Year from all of us at Up Hatherley Parish Council.

Sarah Bamford (Chair)