Points of interest from the meetings held in September 2019.

Memory Café

The next memory café is Friday 25th October at the Church Hall from 10.30am. Everyone who has Dementia, and those caring for someone with Dementia is welcome to attend. There is a relaxed atmosphere with singing, and music from local musicians. There is complimentary tea, coffee, cake and biscuits. You can contact 07920 798824 for more details.

Beat the Street is back for 2019 (From Swindon Borough Council website)

Last year, more than 32,000 people across Swindon walked, ran and cycled a record-breaking 313,000 miles in just six weeks as part of the Beat the Street challenge.

Beat the Street encourages people to walk, cycle and explore their area by turning whole towns and cities into a giant game. Players tap cards and fobs against sensors called Beat Boxes while walking or cycling to earn points towards their school or workplace.

The scheme starts on 25th Sept this year and runs for 6 weeks. All primary school children will be given a fob.

Community Speed Watch

The group are looking for more volunteers to be trained to do speed watch activities on roads in the parish. Full training is provided and results are given to the police, letters and a police visit can then be triggered when a threshold is met. This is not a Parish Council led initiative but one of our Cllrs heads-up the local group. Please contact the Clerk if you wish to discuss this further and I can put you in touch.

Revised consultation of New Road planning application

The Parish Council voted to object to the outline planning permission submitted for the land on New Road. Our comments have been submitted to Swindon Borough Council and can be viewed on our website or our Facebook page or you can go to www.swindon.gov.uk/planning and view all comments on the application under S/OUT/18/0703.

It is worth noting that whilst SBC have changed the area on the SHELAA (Strategic Housing & Economic Land availability assessment document) to “red” to indicate it is not a site they are considering for housing supply, this does not stop a developer from submitting an application, or revising an application for a new consultation, or taking a decision to appeal if their plans are rejected.

Playing out this summer – road closure at Strouds Hill

We had a great couple of hours on the 29th August for our playing out scheme. The rain even held off!
The Spar donated all our snacks – our thanks to them, and the Calley Memorial Hall grant awarded us an amount to buy some supplies. Other residents provided outside games and sports equipment. Hunter the black lab also provided entertainment and had lots of belly rubs! Katie Liddiard also provided face painting and glitter tattoos for a donation to the Alzheimer’s Society. She made just over £20.

New AED (Defibrillator) for Badbury

After posting some flyers around Badbury asking for views on an AED for the area, we are delighted to update you on 2 pieces of good news. An anonymous donation has been offered of £1000 as part payment for a device, and the Parish Council voted in favour of match funding this with a grant of £1000 at the Sept full council meeting. This means the initial cost of an AED has been reached. The proposal is to locate the device inside the red BT box in Badbury. There will be a few more steps to undertake before the device is located but we will start work on this.

Neighbourhood Watch meeting

The next meeting is Monday 30th September at 6.45pm in the Recreation Hall off Norris Close. All residents are welcome to go along. The next meeting is 25th November.

Our Handyman

Our handyman Kevin has been working hard all summer. He has been doing improvement and safety work at the playground at Castle View Road and upon taking receipt of our new strimmer has been busy all over the parish cutting down overgrown areas of grass and verges.

He also has a number of weekly safety and maintenance checks he carries out as well as other one off jobs. Hopefully you will continue to see the results of his work around the parish.

Ridgeway View noticeboard

A very kind resident at Ridgeway View has taken the old wooden noticeboard and completely re-furbished it and re-sited it with some flowers in its previous location. Our thanks to him for this excellent job.

VE Day 2020

The Parish Council have indicated that they’d like to be part of a group organising VE Day celebrations in 2020. It hasn’t been discussed at council yet but if anyone already has any plans for this, we’d love to hear from you to see if we can work together to create something memorable for the Parish.

We are currently Co-opting for New Parish Councillors

Want to help make the parish a better place?
Want to work with like-minded people?
Want to be involved more in local matters and give your time and expertise?
Perhaps being a Parish Councillor is the perfect match for you….?

As the election in May was uncontested this leaves the Parish Council with a number of vacant seats that need to be co-opted. This date for this will be Monday 12th August and Monday 9th September at the next full council meeting at the Old Chapel on Butts Road at 7.30pm. The Co-option notice is at the end of this article. Our website will also have a copy and also further information on the attributes and duties of a Parish Councillor. Please do contact us if you are interested as we will need to have a covering letter and some information from you on why you believe you could be a Parish Councillor.

What is Co-option?

Co-option is a method whereby a Parish Council can elect new Councillors by majority vote. This can happen after an election if not all seats are filled (an un-contested election), or upon the resignation or death of a Cllr between election periods.

Candidates would present themselves to the existing council members at an applicable council meeting who would then vote on the successful applicant.

Local grants and funds available

The Parish Council have set up a short term sub-committee to look into grants and funds that are available to benefit the parish. The committee will look to set up a “wish list” of what the parish needs and can then look at what funds are out there. There is the scope to add residents to this committee so please contact the Clerk in the first instance if you think you can spend some time to help investigate this.

Defibrillators – a reminder

A reminder that the Parish has 2 defibrillators – one outside Cameo Hairdressers on High Street, and one outside the Calley Memorial Hall on Draycott Road. Both units are accessed by calling 999 to gain the code for the box. You cannot use these defibrillators on someone who doesn’t need it as the machine will not work. It also provides audible instructions on how to use them

Recreation Hall on Norris Close & Chapel on Butts Road

The Hall is available to hire on an hourly/morning/afternoon/evening basis. We can also arrange pitch hire for Football or Softball games– please ask us for details.

The hall has undergone a tidy up and now has new carpet and cleaned/painted walls. It makes an excellent space for a gathering/party/occasion.

After its refurbishment summer 2017 the Chapel on Butts Road is now a fully functioning meeting space, as well as being the Clerk’s office.

There is table space for 10 people with extra seating available. There is access to a projector and screen and free wi-fi. Tea and coffee making facilities are provided; you just need to bring your own milk.

This useful local space is available for hire for only £35 per morning/afternoon or evening session subject to availability. Discounts are available for registered charities.

Please contact the Clerk for more information.

Parish Council Grants and Donations fund & Calley Memorial Hall fund

The Parish Council have an annual fund that we can donate to worthy causes within the Parish. If you are a group, charity or society that believe you could benefit from this fund then please contact the Parish Clerk for further details.

The trustees of the Calley Memorial Hall fund are also able to approve grants and donations to worthy causes within the Parish. (This doesn’t have to be connected to users of the Memorial Hall).

Please contact the Parish Clerk in the first instance who can provide you with an application form.

(It should be noted that this fund is not connected to the Parish Council)

Home Library Service

There is a Home Library service for Chiseldon Parish. It is run by volunteers and covers all areas of the parish and can deliver books based on your preferences. Call 01793 465 495 for more details.

Next meetings

The monthly Borough Councillors Surgery for Chiseldon Ward which will have a Parish and Borough Councillor in attendance will take place on Saturday 5th October 11.30 to 12.30 in the Calley Memorial Hall on Draycott Road.

This is an opportunity for residents to discuss any concerns with both Parish and Borough Councillors so do come along and say hello. These sessions can be attended by residents of Chiseldon and Badbury Ward.

The next surgery for Ridgeway Ward is 28th September 9-11 at Wanborough Village Hall and on the same day 11.45-1.30 at Liddington Village Hall (for Liddington and Badbury residents) with Ward Cllr Sumner. All residents of Ridgeway Ward are invited to come along.

The next Full Council meeting of the Parish Council will be on Monday 14th October 2019. This will start at 7.30pm and will be held in the Old Chapel, Butts Road. Residents are welcome to attend and there is a public recess at the start of proceedings, after which residents can choose to leave.

PARISH COUNCIL OF CHISELDON (Chiseldon and Lawn WARD) VACANCY FOR COUNCILLORS

Notice is hereby given that by reason of an uncontested election on 2nd May 2019, a number of vacancies has occurred among the members of the Parish Council.

Any person willing to fill this vacancy should apply to the Clerk in writing (email is acceptable) on or before Friday 11th October 2019.

Applicants should be free the evening of Monday 14th October 2019 to attend the Parish Council meeting at 7.30pm for the co-option voting procedure.

Being a Parish Councillor is an opportunity to provide time and knowledge to the area where you live in order to help make it a better place.

You will be working with like-minded people who come together as volunteers for the good of the parish.

The applicants name must appear on the current register of the Voters List or the applicant should during the whole of the 12 months preceding the relevant date have resided in or within 3 miles of the parish or the applicants only place of work during the whole of the 12 months preceding the relevant date is in the parish.

The applicant must not be disbarred from standing as a councillor. Applicants living in Badbury Ward meeting the above criteria are also welcome.

Candidates (if successful) should be able to attend Parish Council meetings which can be seen here: https://www.chiseldon-pc.gov.uk/committees/parish-council/

Dated 10th September 2019
Signed: Clair Wilkinson, Parish Clerk
The Old Chapel
Butts Road
Chiseldon Wilts SN4 0NW