November Chair Letter : Benches, BOOM Power, & Cycle Track
Dear Parishioners of Bubwith & Breighton
I do hope this finds you well and more importantly dry!!!!
It’s just as well our beautiful new benches (see below) that have finally been sited in Bubwith and Breighton are recycled plastic to withstand this weather. I hope you are as delighted as I am to see them and more importantly use them on your walks. My grateful thanks to Steve Young and Malcolm Henson who have worked tirelessly to apply for funds, source the benches, lay the concrete plinths and finally site them. Thanks too to those individuals who have given their blessings to siting them near their homes. Apparently the suggestion for benches began almost 20 years ago (thank you Bunty) and got it’s final push over the finishing line earlier this year (thank you Paula and fellow PCs), so all that remains to say is, “take a pew”.
I attended a very interesting Bubwith Leisure and Sport Centre (BLSC) meeting this month. It was great to see some of our new volunteers and to get their contributions into supporting this brilliant asset. The Bubwith Mile progresses although rain has caused some delays to laying the final surface. The suggestions for the playground were also discussed and how we can take this forward together with the planned Cycle Track.
The elephant in the room was of course money! In order to achieve these two ambitious projects and just as importantly continue to address some of the urgent maintenance (leaks in the roof to name just one) it is estimated we probably need to raise approx. £450K and in order to fundraise via grant applications and local means we need support and engagement from our community.
It would seem the theme for 2023 has to be fundraising and engagement. To ‘kick off’ I’m working with 2 of our new volunteers (Kay and Carol) to establish regular Table Top sales at the Leisure Centre with the first planned for Sunday 26th February. Akin to a Car Boot Sale but indoors, we hope to generate some interest from people to sell or buy or both and of course there will be food and drinks. The price of a table will be £5 and entrance 50p with all proceeds to BLSC projects. If you are interested in booking a table or volunteering to run the event please drop me an email .
Money is probably preying on many people’s minds at the moment and the Parish Council is no different. Over the course of the past few years we have worked towards improving facilities and services for local people and in particular for our young folk with our very successful youth club ensuring they have outlets for their energy beyond simply getting into mischief! We have also recently agreed to support the cost of a part time role for the leisure centre to deal with bookings, statutory/legal requirements and facilitating opening up for groups and events (currently reliant on a volunteer) as we would like to get more use from this valuable asset.
The discussion of the level precept is always an energized agenda item and this year is no different. After much heartfelt debate we have agreed to set 2023/24s precept at an increase of 17%. I know this sounds significant but it equates to £5.36 pa or 10p per week for band D council tax payers and by comparison with other local parishes we bench mark as low to average. Our rationale is to sustain the facilities and services we have in our community and ensure we maintain our parish as a good place to live.
Quick update – informal consultation on proposed BOOM Energy solar farm. I attended a meeting of Parish and Town Council Chairs this week to discuss and agree the key questions we need to get answered by BOOM in preparation for a meeting with BOOM planned for early December. Our representative at that meeting will be Councillor Liz Hayes. We will continue to update on this as we progress to formal consultation in Spring 2023
Finally, good luck to FOBs for their upcoming Christmas Fayre on Sunday 27th Nov, 2pm at the Leisure Centre. Enormous effort has gone into the planning and it promises to be great fun, so please don’t miss it!
Best wishes
Sandra Hills, Chair of Bubwith Parish Council
I’m always glad to hear of concerns and issues. .
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