New Village Hall meeting Saturday April 23
The Village Hall committee were pleased to welcome over 100 villagers throughout Saturday morning interested to learn more about the proposed new village hall and who were able to get a good idea from drawings and an ongoing screening of a slide show of how the exterior and interior will look . Chairman, Antonia Stratford gave a brief but comprehensive report of the extensive work which had been undertaken with others of the committee and with the architect to achieve the plans now ready to be submitted for planning approval. She was very hopeful that a great deal of the probable cost of £450,000 could be raised from grants. Considerable donations have already been received from the Heybrook family and Rectory Homes. Once planning permission is obtained, there are many grants which can be applied for.
There will also be future fund raising events in the village including a Street Party in June to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday, a Fun Run for children and adults in September, and a Murder Mystery evening with Thame players in October. There will be more details about these events in due course. Antonia has also signed up to Easy Fundraising and the Aylesbury Vale Lottery for villagers to help raise money for the hall. More details of how these work can be found on the Village Hall website.
The architect, Lynn Palmer, reported how she drew up a list of needs the committee told her the village hall must have. Several members of the committee had visited different new village halls in the area to get a good idea of how the hall could look. One of these halls was the one at Oving whose beamed interior and brick and wooden exterior was much admired. The new hall would have the possibility to have 2 halls which could accommodate two activities at the same time or be made into 1 large space with the facility for adding on an outside marquee. There would be a main entrance from the car park area as well as a side entrance which would enable the present main user of the hall, Chuf, to be kept separate and secure. There would be adequate storage space within the hall for tables and chairs and other day to day needs. Other large equipment, such as blocks for a stage would be kept in an outside container.
Jack Peeters, of Oving Village Hall, then gave the audience the benefit of his considerable and valuable experiences in funding and planning for the hall at Oving. It took many years of hard work from start to finish to achieve their aim of having a village hall, but despite many difficulties they now have a very attractive hall, award winning for its design and in constant use. A success story. A question and answer session finished off the morning and thanks from the floor was given to Antonia for the enthusiasm, time and hard work she has already given towards getting Chearsley a new village hall. The next stage is for planning permission to be sought and grants to be applied for.
John O’Groats to Lands End marathons.
Congratulations to Andy Persson, son of Paul and Ann of Dark Lane who successfully completed his aim to run 2 marathons each day for 17 days when he ran into Land’s End at 7pm on the evening of Sunday April 17 after leaving John O’Groats on April 1st. He had run a total of 874miles. Paul and Ann, his very proud parents were there to meet him and witness the event. Andy was running to raise awareness of and money for Frank Water, a Bristol based charity providing poor communities in India with sustainable sources of fresh water. Donations can be made at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/jogle50. Andy’s target is to raise £10,000.
Annual Parish Meeting
This was held in the Cricket Club on Monday April 18. Only six members of the public were present to hear about the past year of Parish Council’s achievements, and also to be updated with reports from other village organisations. The Parish Council’s year had started with the election of officers, resulting in the election of two new councillors, Paul Bown and John Howard, who replaced Clare Lazaruk and Sandra Towell who had resigned and who were both thanked for all the hard work they had given to the Council over the years. There were no reports available from either the District Councillor or County Councillor who were not present. Nor from the Police due to illness.
- Village Car Pool: Peter Allen reported that the Car Pool had had no requests for lifts in the past months.
- Village Hall Report: Michael Heybrook as the Parish Council’s representative on the Village Hall committee reported that they were very close to submitting plans for the new village hall for approval by AVDC. Villagers are invited to an Open Meeting to see the proposed plans and offer comments on April 23. A comprehensive Business Plan had been drawn up by Chairman, Antonia Stratford and a Management committee formed including Parish Councillors, Paul Bown, John Lewis and Julia Witcher. Subject to planning permission being granted, applications for fundraising grants would soon be made.
- Village Trust: The running of this had lapsed over the past year or more in part due to the sad death of its Treasurer, Steve Vear and to the ill health of Claire Lazaruk, the chairman. Nic Brown would contact Claire to assist her in getting this important village facility started again.
- Neighbourhood Watch: Since John Daishe, who gave a lot of his time as co-ordinator, had moved from the village, this had also lapsed over the past year or more.
- Cricket Club Report: The Club is thriving with grants secured for the purchase of new nets and side screens. Junior coaching has had to be delayed due to a waterlogged pitch. New players are always welcome. It was emphasised that the ground is private property, with no dog walking allowed and visitors are asked to treat the ground and facilities with respect.
- Chairman’s Report: Nic Brown looked back over the past year, starting with housing - Stoney Furlong looks attractive and will bring new residents into the village. All planning applications, are visited and considered by the Parish Council. There will soon be an application by Aylesbury Vale Housing Trust for a development in Winchendon Road, which would bring more much needed houses to the village.
More kerbing is now in process; traffic calming is still an issue; the closure of the Cuddington bridge was a difficult time with the village having little warning. Nic commented that as a courtesy the Council should be given notifications in advance of any road closures affecting the village even if there is this information available online. The flood which occurred in heavy rain in the road by the bus stops had now been stopped; the Council supported signs advertising the Cricket Club, Chuf, the pub and the shop; a new notice board would very shortly be put up, and a new bus timetable to be moved to the bus shelter; a defibrillator would soon be installed; the exact siting of the new flagpole would be made in the War Memorial area where the hedge and trees had been cut.
Horse Chestnut tree - further tests revealed that the tree is in decline and it would have to be replaced in 10 or 20 years. It would need careful management and pruning. A memorial tree to Steve Vear had been planted on the village green. Turning to the coming year, the question of devolution and what it will mean to Chearsley will have to be considered and understood. This is when more power and responsibility is given from the local authority to the Parish Council. Anticipating extra costs, the precept has been increased this year and will probably continue to rise to cover future improvements and maintenance in the village. Traffic management is another great concern and meetings will be arranged with local authorities and possibly other villages for discussions. - Finance: The Council’s budget had been exceeded this year and reserves were poor. The increase in the precept was therefore necessary and to cover anticipated extra costs to cover devolution matters and future works to protect The Green and other areas. The auditors of the Council’s accounts had commented “better than most in having a budget and monitoring it”. In conclusion, it was lamented that so few villagers were in attendance at the meeting and at all monthly meetings. The council welcome comments and support and feel that villagers have little right to complain at the work of the Council if they don’t come to the meetings to find out and comment on what is planned. Finally, to keep more villagers informed of the work of the council it was suggested that the Draft Minutes could be regularly put on the Chearsley blog.
Are Chearsley villagers aware of this facility? I could well be wrong, but I think it was Jock Scholefield who used to live in Chilton Road, who initiated this scheme over 20 years ago. He was in the very least its organiser for a number of years. The scheme offers lifts for villagers who for one reason or another do not have their own transport and need help to get to a doctor’s or other appointment. There is (or was) a pool of volunteer drivers who can be called on. For the past year or more the scheme has not been used. Perhaps this shows that neighbours and friends are fulfilling this need. The Parish Council would like to hear from anyone who would like to take advantage of this scheme.
Neighbourhood Watch
All police messages and alerts are now posted on the Chearsley website which has really made the Neighbourhood Watch scheme obsolete. Not everyone has access or uses computers and the Parish Council would like to hear from anyone who would be interested in getting a Neighbourhood Watch scheme going again in the village. The scheme is a partnership of the community with the police and others to make neighbourhoods better places to live, to help people protect themselves and their properties, to reduce the fear of crime by means of improved home security, promoting greater vigilance and accurate reporting of suspicious incidents to the police and fostering a community spirit. It would mean liaising with the Police with any information they have and distributing it around the village.
Appointment of New Vicar
Richard Phillips, who is currently curate at Holy Trinity Church, Walton, Aylesbury will officially take up his post in September and will be formally licensed by The Bishop of Buckingham in St Mary’s, Long Crendon. Richard is married with 3 children and will move to the vicarage in Long Crendon at the beginning of July when he will begin to get to know people and start to do some initial planning, whilst fulfilling his commitment to Holy Trinity in Aylesbury. In addition to the broad experience gained at the busy parish in Aylesbury, Richard will bring a wealth of life experience. After graduating from Cambridge, he qualified as a chartered accountant and worked in industry for 13 years, rising to directorship level in management. Richard is keen to get out and engage with all his parishioners, so look out for him and introduce him to Chearsley life. More details about our new vicar can be found on the St. Nicholas website.
Celebrating the Queen’s 90th Birthday - Sunday June 12
The Village Hall Committee would like to invite all the children in the village to a good old fashioned street party to celebrate the official birthday 90th birthday of our Queen. A barbecue at The Bell will be available from 12.30pm onwards and tables with a picnic lunch of sandwiches, crisps, nibbles and cakes for the children will be sent up in front of The Bell (complete with obligatory Union Jack bunting and decorations)
If you would like your child to have a place at the picnic table, please let the organising committee know by email how many children you would like to come to the party so they have an idea of how many to cater for. The cost is £2.50 per child. Please email chearsleyvillagehall@hotmail.co.uk.
The Bell Bingo
It is very nearly the first Tuesday in the month when the monthly Bingo for good cash prizes will be held at The Bell on May 5. Eyes Down at around 8.30pm. Bingo players can take advantage of having a meal at The Bell for a special Bingo player price.
St Nicholas Church Services:
- Sunday April 24 Family Service at 10am
- Tuesday May 3 Bingo at The Bell at 8.30pm Good Cash prizes
- Sunday May 8 Monthly Quiz at The Bell
