Parish Council March 2018 Update

UP HATHERLEY PARISH COUNCIL UPDATE

We have just installed a defibrillator on the outside of the Village Hall and arranged training on its use for representatives of our regular Hall user groups plus 5 Parish Councillors. Hopefully by the time you read this the defibrillator will be registered with the emergency services at which time it will be possible to ring 999 in the event of a cardiac emergency and the ambulance service will be able to give you a code to access the defibrillator and guide you through how to use it. It is a fool proof piece of kit, and it will not deliver a shock if it detects a pulse, so it cannot do any harm.

We have set a budget for 2018/19 that means none of our existing residents will face any increase in their Council Tax bill from the Parish Council. The average Band D property will pay a little under £10 for the full year (just 20p per week). Despite this we are expanding what we intend to do. We plan to carry out improvement works to both Fernleigh and Long Mynd Greens and to the Village Hall. We also hope to be able to provide some financial support to key projects being undertaken by our local schools (Lakeside and Greatfield Park) and also funding for schemes in our local green spaces.

A new Parish Council is elected every 4 years and the next elections are on the 3rd May coming. So, the next meeting of the Parish Council which takes place on 8th May 2018 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall, Cold Pool Lane will be the first meeting of a new group of Councillors. May I take this opportunity to thank those who have served for the last 4 years for all their hard work and extend particular thanks to Ged Cassell and Chris Mason who have indicated they will not be seeking to re-join us.

Hopefully you have recently received a leaflet from us about Neighbourhood Watch. Just to remind you that further to this we will be holding a meeting in the Up Hatherley Village Hall at 18:45 on Wednesday 28th March 2018 to answer questions. We expect the Local Police Sergeant &/or PCSOs to attend.

Other upcoming Parish Council events to note. Firstly, our annual ‘Beating of the Bounds’, a 3-4 mile gentle stroll around Up Hatherley’s historic boundary setting out from the village hall on Sunday 6th May at 2pm with tea and cakes served in the Hall after the walk. Secondly the Parish Council summer garden competition for which entries are now available on the new website or hard copies will be obtainable from most local shops. Judging will take place between 9th and 16th June.

Don’t forget to take a look at our new website and let us have your views on the site but also any other ideas that you feel could improve how we communicate with the residents of the Parish. You can continue to contact us in the normal ways, but we are also looking to utilise social media to help reach out to as many of our residents as possible. To start us off with, we have opened a Twitter account (@UpHatherleyPC) so please follow us.

Adrian Bamford – Chairman