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April Chair Letter: Family Fridays, Plant lovers wanted, Toddler Group & more

Dear Parishioners of Bubwith, Breighton and Willitoft

 

Happy Easter from all of the Parish Council. We hope the weather is good and most importantly dry for the upcoming holiday weekend, whatever you are doing. 

March brought good news for our Leisure Centre as our grant application for some of the national ‘Shared Prosperity Fund’ has been successful and will soon be commencing work on a new patio on the field side of the centre. Our next grant goal will be for patio furniture and then we’ll be set for Family Friday sessions over the summer months. 

As part of our application, we undertook to improve the look of the patio with some plant design as a volunteer project. If any keen horticulturalists would like to be involved or anyone has any plants they would like to donate please get in touch your contributions and green fingers would be very much appreciated.

I have previously written about the Bubwith Little People’s Project Group who have been focusing on  getting a new playground for the village. The group now has a design and at our recent Parish Council  meeting we agreed that the PC would project manage the next part to get planning consent. Steve Young and I are working together on this proposal that will include the removal of the old playground, additional car parking in its place and a number of Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging points (a request from  a member of our community). It is early days for this aspiration as we will need significant grants to bring it all to fruition. However, I wanted to raise awareness as we will need community support to gain grants and I’m sure there may be some interest and views on the potential for EV Charging within the village. Any thoughts, please drop me a line.

I had an interesting chat with Vickie Beech this week, Vickie together with Sheila Reed are volunteers who run the Monday morning toddler group at the Leisure Centre. The group operates in term time and provides a great place for very young children to learn to socialise, it’s a real bonus for the community. It is a huge success with numbers steadily growing. Congratulations to Vickie and Sheila for their ongoing commitment and success.

Just a few things for me to highlight this month: 

Gin Festival on the 6th April (tickets from Alison Craven Mob: 07738609711 email: or for cash from the Jug & Bottle. It promises to be good fun so I hope you manage to get there. As always, all profit goes to support the Leisure and Sports Centre (you may be aware it is a charity and doesn’t get any public funding but relies solely on generating funds and people’s donations). 

The Spalding Windfarm Community Grant Scheme is now open for applications until the 17th May with decisions being made on the 12th June. I represent our PC on this panel and I am always proud of the number of successful applications from our parish, although I hasten to add I’m not allowed to  vote for these. There is approx. £23K available this year and I encourage any groups to consider putting forward an application https://www.eastriding.gov.uk/council/grants-and-funding/rural funding/spaldington-wind-farm-community-fund/ 

Previous successes include the new footbridge from the sports field to the Public Right of Way (2023),  funding for 2 Youth Workers to run our hugely successful Youth Club (2021 to 2023), Bubwith Arts  Movement (BAM) currently working on a young people mural project (2023) and many more. Finally, if you are new to the parish and want to know about local services you might like to have a copy of Your Guide for Supporting Localwhich is a definitive resource for living in Bubwith,  Breighton, Willitoft and Gunby. Please get in touch and I will make sure you get one. You may also want to get more involved in your new community by volunteering, if so please drop me a line.

Best wishes. Sandra Hills, Chair of Bubwith Parish Council  

Email: Mob : 07748965779

https://www.facebook.com/BubwithParishCouncil

 

 

 

March Chair Letter: Welcome to Helen, BOOM, Events & Grants

Dear Parishioners of Bubwith, Breighton and Willitoft

 

It’s my sincere hope your wellies haven’t sprung a leak and you are enjoying February despite the incessant rain. It’s a small consolation but the evenings are getting lighter, hurrah!  There are only a few things for me to highlight this month.  

 

Firstly, I’d like to welcome Helen Gregory as our newly co-opted Parish Councillor.  Helen has lived in Bubwith with her husband Guy for a considerable number of years. They have raised their children here (both now adults) and are well known to many people having participated in many groups and events. If you’d like to know more about Helen her biograph will shortly be appearing on our website  https://www.bubwithparishcouncil.co.uk.  

 

A ‘Race Night’ event was recently held at the leisure centre. It raised over £2,500 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Congratulations to the organizer Stephen Johnston and all those who worked so hard to make it such a success for our local punters. 

 

A few upcoming events I’d like to highlight are:  the Friends of Bubwith School (FOBS) Beer Fest on Saturday 2nd March (tickets from www.fobsbubwith.com or cash at the Jug & Bottle)  followed by a Gin Festival  on the 6th April (tickets from Alison Craven Mob: 07738609711 email: of for cash from the Jug & Bottle.  Both events promise to be good fun so I hope you manage to get to them.

 

I know there are some keen historians in our community,  at least 507 of them belong to the Old Bubwith & Surrounding Villages facebook group where there is plenty of discussion and sharing of some brilliant old photographs of  Bubwith and the surrounding area.  There is also a lovely locally produced publication called, BUBWITH: an East Yorkshire Parish that was sold some years ago to raise funds for the Leisure Centre but until recently was out of print.  There is now a new supply and if you are interested in purchasing a copy you can obtain one from the Leisure Centre or via Steve Young, Parish Clerk for a mere £5.  The proceeds of all sales go back to the Leisure Centre for the benefit of local people.

 

We have recently submitted a bid for some of the national ‘Shared Prosperity Fund’ to put a new patio area on the field side of the leisure centre, fingers crossed for a successful outcome.

 

The Spalding Windfarm Community Grant Scheme will be open for applications in mid March.  As a village community we have been very industrious in putting forward successful applications and I encourage any groups to consider doing so again this year.   https://www.eastriding.gov.uk/council/grants-and-funding/rural-funding/spaldington-wind-farm-community-fund/

 

Finally, on a serious note, Parish Councillor, Liz Hayes recently attended a meeting to discuss the proposed BOOM Solar Farm currently being consulted on. Due to the size of the proposal this will not be determined by local planning but by the Secretary of State.  Liz has been advised that if anyone wishes to comment prior to final decision they need to register their interest BEFORE 8TH MARCH 2024 with the Planning Inspectorate. 

 

https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN010143

 

As part of registration, you will need to provide a few basic details and submit a short explanation of what you believe to be the main issues of the plan and the impacts the solar farm would have on the area.  After 8th March the process moves onto the examination stage during which only those who have registered will be invited to provide further comments and objections.  Once the examination stage is complete there will be no further opportunity for people to raise concerns or objections to the project. 

DD pointed out that the more people that register the more concerns will be raised, and that the Planning Inspectorate would look at these comments and take them into account when deciding the matter.

For those interested, I hope you find this information helpful

 

Best wishes. Sandra Hills, Chair of Bubwith Parish Council   https://www.facebook.com/BubwithParishCouncil)

 

February Chair Letter: Happy New Year

Dear Parishioners of Bubwith, Breighton and Willitoft

HAPPY NEW YEAR for 2024

What a joy to see that despite incessant rain and high energy costs (and outages) our community made it yet another glistening & glittery Christmas to remember. As always it’s the volunteers and community that ensure the magic continues, my thanks to you.  

I noted Santa deployed some new Christmas Elves this year, big thanks go to Ami, Harriet, Lydia, Beth and Vicki who kept the magic alive despite very damp Christmas postbox conditions and washed away return addresses.

 

In addition to our much-loved events, two new traditions began in 2023.  Our first Santa Fun Run attracted over 80 entrants in full-on festive attire who ran, ambled or danced around the Leisure Centre’s track on the 17th December raising over £500 for the New Playground fund.  The highly collectable medals were kindly sponsored by Claire Allder from the White Swan.  Thank you to Claire,  Martyn & Camilla, the Little Peoples Project Group and Social Team members for organizing, nay, ‘running’ this event!

 

A Volunteer’s Celebration & Thank You Event was held on the 7th Jan. Over 50 people attended but invitations were sent to many more. Sadly some were already committed (often the way with busy volunteers) and some advised they were chuffed to be asked, to enjoy doing their bit to support our community but making an appearance or worst still being thanked in public just wasn’t their thing.  You know who you all are, we respect your wishes but we would offer our sincere thanks for you being you and making this a great place to live.  

 

2024 promises to be a brilliant year with some great events in the offing.  We kick off with Robin Hood and Babes in the Wood performed by our recently established Bubwith Amateur Dramatic Society (BADS).  Two performances (Matinee at 2.30 and Evening at 7.30) will take place at the Leisure Centre on Saturday 10th February.  Tickets: www.ticketsoource.co.uk/bubwith-amateur-dramatics  by donations.  

 

A Race Night in aid of Yorkshire Air Ambulance on the 17th February with Free Entry, an opportunity to sponsor a horse and a definite invitation to dress up!  

 

I’m also shouting out to anyone who would like to be involved in our planned Gin Festival (6th April) and Bubwith Big Bash being planned for the summer, call or email (Mob: 07748965779 . ).

 

 

Best wishes. Sandra Hills, Chair of Bubwith Parish Council   https://www.facebook.com/BubwithParishCouncil

 

July Chair Letter : Buy in Bubwith, Bridge Meeting & Boom

Dear Parishioners of Bubwith & Breighton

 

I hope this finds you well and enjoying the sunshine if not the garden watering.   I have only 2 very important things to cover this month beginning of course with Bubwith Bridge.

 

The bridge continues to cause a great disruption to the village with an increasing number of incidents of vehicles stuck on the bridge causing major hold-ups and worse as with the incident where people were stuck behind a van this week with no way forward or back!  Sadly, the solution and repair are also not going to be easy. I believe it will impact on everyone in the village and many in the surrounding area, a time for us to pull together as a community.

 

A meeting was held at the Leisure Centre on the 9th June.  It was attended by and unprecedented 8 officers from ERYC, Councillor Victoria Aitken and David Davis MP. Our community of Bubwith and Breighton attended in high numbers and raised some very important questions and concerns.  A full account of the meeting is elsewhere in the Bugle to enable people to see the range of concerns, if I’ve missed anything in my note taking please get in touch with Steve Young who will make amendments.

 

ERYC communications lead, Jenny Walker has advised they will shortly be putting contact details on Facebook and through other social media for people to get in touch to raise individual concerns and seek help.  There is a contact email that you can use now to direct questions to individual officers simply mark ‘for the attention of’ and it will get to them.

 

There is a great thirst for details of what will happen and when.  The Parish Council will do our best to ensure this is available to people as quickly as possible, we will also seek to bust myths and rumours wherever we can.

 

Many people will feel stressed and disempowered during the period of the repair; there is nothing worse than feeling out of control of an inescapable situation.  So what can we do?  One thought is to establish a ‘Buy in Bubwith’ campaign.  When it’s difficult to get out of the village why not patronize our local businesses more than we currently do.  This may not be easy for everyone but if we all had a regular monthly meal at the White Swan, a take away or meal from Cinnamon, buy our meat and bakery goods from Mounfields, have a regular trip to the Jug and Bottle for a treat or pick me up (I know chocolate cake always helps a bad situation), not to mention gifts and deli lunches and suppers that would be an excellent start.  Similarly, support our new Morrisons and don’t forget the Leisure centre, if your classes are in North Duffield see if you can temporarily shift to Bubwith and vice versa.  Any other thoughts on lifts and car sharing are welcome; perhaps we can do a ‘Lifts & Shares’ WhatsApp group?  Any other ideas please get in-touch; perhaps we need to establish a Bubwith & Breighton Pull Together (BBPT) group?

 

The second big-ticket issue is the BOOM Solar Farm consultation.  The Parish Council is not a formal consultee and as such won’t be formally responding.  Everyone should have received a consultation pack.  There are clearly some people who will be more directly impacted than others and people are split in their views, as they are concerned for our energy security or our food security or both.  Whatever your view, I urge you to respond to the consultation.  The decision will not be taken locally due to the size of the proposal. There is a process where the Planning Inspectorate will receive the consultation report (amongst other things) from BOOM who will then report to the Secretary of State for Energy Security who will make the final decision.  Please ensure your view is included.

 

Thank you for your kind attention.

 

Best wishes.

Sandra Hills, Chair of Bubwith Parish Council   

I’m always glad to hear of concerns and issues.  .

https://www.facebook.com/BubwithParishCouncil)

 

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.  .

https://www.facebook.com/BubwithParishCouncil)

 

October Chair Letter : Christmas is coming

Dear Parishioners of Bubwith & Breighton

 

The year is passing quickly; here we are nearing the end of October with Christmas just around the corner.  The village Christmas tree is on order and the 3rd December has been set as the date for it to be erected together with other decorations on the green.  Carols around the Christmas tree on Sunday 22nd Dec is also a date for your diary.

October has been a very busy month with many activities related to the Bubwith Sport and Leisure Centre including progress on groundwork for the running track.  Bubwith Playground project group has been established and a Visioning Consultation coffee morning was held on Sunday 9th October.   Demand for a new playground has been growing for some time now and some very helpful ideas and views came forward about what people want.  We are keen to get as many views as possible so if you are interested in getting involved or giving your views on the plans so far please contact me or mob: 07748965779.  I’d be happy to share our initial thought and capture any comments you would like to make.

 

This month the Parish Council has also been involved in the recent Non-statutory Consultation by BOOM Energy related to a proposed Solar Farm spanning some 3000 acres of land in the local area with the intention of generating 400 megawatts of electricity.  Most people have received a consultation booklet about the proposal and some have attended public consultation events in the area.  There are clearly many unanswered questions about the proposals that are at a very early phase.  The Parish Council will respond to this non-statutory consultation and urge any interested individuals to do likewise to inform and influence the final plans.

 

The process for formal consultation prior to the Secretary of State decision will take place over a number of months in early 2023.  Parish Council Chairs in those parishes affected are working together to ensure there will be a process for wide consultation and public response in that formal consultation phase.  Further information of how to engage will be made available in the coming months.

 

Finally, congratulations to the Bubwith Sport and Leisure Centre and in particular Steve Johnston for organizing the recent Fashion Show fundraiser at the centre.  The event was very well attended and was deemed to be a very successful and enjoyable social event that people would like to see repeated.  Thank you to all involved in organizing the event and the wonderful models who sashayed down the catwalk modeling the clothes.  

 

Best wishes

 

 

Sandra Hills, Chair of Bubwith Parish Council

I’m always glad to hear of concerns and issues.  .

https://www.facebook.com/BubwithParishCouncil)