Tuesday 23 March 2021

Chearsley Business Directory Scheme

Following research among the community in recent weeks, the Parish Council has launched an initial version of a ‘Chearsley Business Directory’.

The Chearsley Business Directory Listing

The Chearsley Business Directory Scheme

It comprises details of businesses in Chearsley, based on the following criteria:

   

  • Businesses owned by a Chearsley resident
  • Businesses operated by a Chearsley resident
  • Businesses located in Chearsley village

The Parish Council wishes to help our community in as many practical ways as we can, and our message to all our residents is always to look for a supplier of goods and services within our own community as well as looking further afield.

 

The directory will be updated from time to time and if there are businesses in the village, other than those already listed and which meet the above criteria for a listing, we would ask them to contact John Howard – jnh@dbmc.co.uk 07970 651326 or fill in the application form.

Friday 19 March 2021

Sunday 14 March 2021

March Parish Council Meeting

The monthly Chearsley Parish Council Virtual meeting will be held Monday, March 15, 7.30pm. It can be viewed live at https://youtu.be/7zaKcHKgcS0 or as a recording after the meeting. Please send questions or comments to chearsleypc@chearsley.com.

Friday 12 March 2021

Wednesday 10 March 2021

Chearsley Good Neighbours Update

It is over a year since Chearsley Good Neighbours was set up. Those needing extra support in the village have been very appreciative of the assistance of volunteers, and I know a lot of new networks and friendships have been established.


With the changes to the restrictions it is time to think about how we progress. CGN was set up after Alicia Howard asked me if I would set up a group to take village residents to medical appointments, and I gladly agreed and had excellent support from Alicia, John Lewis and Nic Brown.  When Covid-19 hit us, I agreed to coordinate a wider response with shopping, prescriptions, telephone support etc. Within a couple of weeks I had around 70 volunteers. The CGN has worked well, thanks to the responsiveness of the volunteers. 

I suggest that from the 12th April, when shops reopen and life begins to return to how it was before, I will be closing this particular group of volunteers.  I feel confident that the spirit seen in the lockdown will continue, and that we will still be helping our neighbours. 

I will keep the list of volunteer names and it maybe that we need to pick it up again in the winter, and I am willing to do this. Please, do let me know if you would like your name to come off this list now. I am contacting those who have needed assistance to assure them of ongoing support if needed.

However, I have decided that I won’t be the person to coordinate drivers to take residents to medical appointments, but I am willing to assist when somebody else steps forward to take on this responsibility. Please email Nic Brown at nicb@chateaubrown.com  or John Lewis on JohnLewis@Chearsley.com if you would like to volunteer or discuss this. 

So - a big thank you to you all, I have met a lot of extremely kind and generous people through the group and look forward to getting to know you better once lockdown ends. 

Susan Olding
Orchard Close

Monday 8 March 2021

Chearsley Litter Pick March 2021

 As you can see, the ‘spoils of victory’ of this year’s Litter Pick were as impressive as ever.


Our village lanes do seem more ‘litter free’ than in previous years, but the banks, verges and ditches on all the approach roads to our village were once again in a dreadful state, full of a multitude of debris – courtesy of those mindless individuals who remain incapable of the very simple act of taking their litter home with them.

 

Organiser, Alicia Howard, would like to thank all those who gave up their time to help this year, and fully observed the ‘social distancing’ protocols while at work. The volunteers included Ed Cahill, Sue & Alison Brown, Rose Dale, Nikki & Jim Harrison, Susie Heybrook, Lyndon Jones, Richard Phillips, Phil & Philippa Rawlings, Thia Richards, Andy Wight, Alyson Wright, John Howard …and apologies to any volunteers whose name isn’t on this list.

 

Job well done.

Monday 1 March 2021

Closure of footpath between Chearsley and Long Crendon

Chearsley residents were recently advised by a mailshot from Network Rail that the footpath across the railway line, en route to Notley and Long Crendon, will be closed from 1st – 31st March pending completion of the works to improve the safety of the crossing.

This appeared to contradict previous advice from Bucks Council that an Order would be in place closing the crossing for a period of six months - from 1st March.
 
The Parish Council have now received clarification from Bucks Council as follows:
 
The Order will only be in operation until the completion of the works but if the works are delayed for any reason and cannot be completed by 31 March 2021 then the Order can continue in force for a maximum period of six months (from today, 1 March 2021) until Network Rail complete the works.”
 
Here's hoping the Network Rail works are completed on schedule.

Launch of a ‘Chearsley Village Historical Society’

Our ‘Historic Chearsley Exhibition’ took place in June 2019 ….this seems a very long time ago. The show was visited and enjoyed by over 100 Chearsley folk on the Sunday in question and the guest of honour was Ann, wife of Ted Hooton, the author of that wonderful history of our village – ‘Chearsley – Living Through History’. In the months following the show, a small number of enthusiasts started work on a number of ‘projects’, but, sadly, COVID restrictions resulted in many carefully laid plans being postponed.

With the real prospect of a return to more normal life in the coming months, it is undoubtedly a good time to start re-energising our efforts to re-connect our community with its proud history. It is proposed to replace the informal ‘Historic Chearsley’ initiatives with a properly constituted ‘Chearsley Village Historical Society’ (CVHS), to capitalise on all the latent interest in heritage matters in our community and create a forum of like minds.


John Cragg has very kindly offered to be secretary to such a group. It is planned to hold a village meeting – format to be decided – at a suitable time in the near future. Some of the items for discussion at an initial meeting might include:

  • A programme for general meetings of the CVHS – say, three or four per year, including presentations by invited speakers
  • Identify possible village events – e.g. ‘Chearsley School Reunion’, ‘Chearsley Pub Revival Day’, ‘Chearsley Cricket Club Centenary’
  • Identify areas needing further research
  • Set up a Committee and individual project groups
  • Set up an archive of ‘heritage’ materials, including digital records

Plans are obviously at a formative stage, but if you would be interested in keeping in touch with developments or attending an initial meeting to discuss ideas for the set up and working of the  ‘Chearsley Village Historical Society’, please send your contact details to John Cragg - johncragg181@gmail.com) or John Howard - jnh@dbmc.co.uk

On related matters, we are delighted to announce that Jacqui and Derek Allen have kindly agreed to lead a project for restorative works at The Stockwell in Church Lane. When completed, this will enable us to properly celebrate a site of major historical interest within our community, visited by pilgrims for hundreds of years from early medieval times.