CHISELDON PARISH COUNCIL REPORT
Points of interest from March 2024
The Old Chapel, Butts Road, Chiseldon SN4 0NW
Facebook page – Chiseldon Parish Council Notices
email: clerk@chiseldon-pc.gov.uk; telephone: 01793 740744
Youth Club Easter costs approved.
The council voted to approve 2 Easter sessions with Headstart Skillz www.headstartskillz.com at their 11th March meeting. Each session is 4 hours long and will be held at the Rec Hall near the tennis courts. The sessions will be free for children living in the parish to attend. We will publish more information on our website and the community Facebook page.
The Parish Council welcome our new Cllr Bri Cleaver.
We welcomed a new Cllr, Bri Cleaver who was co-opted to the council at the February meeting. Please do contact the Clerk if you would like any more information on how to become a Parish Cllr or to ask to be considered for co-option at a full council meeting.
Reporting dangerous parking on double yellow lines (DYL).
Swindon Borough Council have a camera car that can be sent out to enforce parking on DYL’s that cause safety issues.
You can report an issue here www.swindon.gov.uk/info/20034/parking_tickets_and_bus_lane_fines/327/parking_enforcement
You can also report dangerous parking to the police on 101 or by using www.wiltshire.police.uk/contact/af/contact-us/
Always use 999 if the situation is serious or likely to cause harm or death immediately.
Donations approved.
2 donations were approved at the Full Council meeting on 11th March. £500 to Chiseldon Primary School to run first aid courses for all children in years 3-6 and £500 to the Washpool volunteer group to start their fund for track improvement works.
A further amount of funds needs to be allocated which will be voted on at the 26th March Finance meeting. Any suggestions of local charities and groups would be welcome for the committee to consider. The new allocation of grants and donation funds will be available from 1st April 2024.
Road closures in April
Turnball closed between Mays Lane and Slipper Lane. 2nd to 4th April. Thames Water Works.
Hodson Lane in Hodson. 16th April between 9.30 to 3.30. Openreach works.
The details of both have been loaded onto our website as news items.
Verti Quake on senior football pitch
The council has arranged for this work to be done on the w/c 8th April. This procedure is used to improve drainage to the soil so Chiseldon football club can make better use of the site throughout the winter. The field can be used as normal during this time but users should be aware of the large tractor and equipment on site!
Neighbourhood Plan (NHP) Regulation 14 consultation
On Monday 8th Jan our consultation went live. This is one of our most in-depth and important consultations as the NHP, if approved at a referendum will detail specifics for potential developers, and landowners for all future planning applications. Swindon Borough Council are also required to consider the plan when making planning decisions.
The consultation ran until 8th March so we cannot accept any further comments. Our consultant will be reviewing all comments ready to draw up the next draft of the plan.
You can see all the details of the draft plan here: www.chiseldon-pc.gov.uk/microsites/neighbourhood-plan/
Memorial Stone inspection training course.
The council is hosting the above course on Wed 20th March, and 2 staff will be in attendance to learn how to inspect memorial stones for safety reasons. The 2 cemeteries had a full external inspection in 2023 and for the next 5 years we will inspect all stones in turn over the course of that period.
It’s important to update the council if you move house, or if you want to pass our burial deed over to someone else so we can keep in contact with the owners who have responsibility for memorial stones on the plots.
Current Projects in progress/under investigation/for consideration. Update from February edition.
Road re-surfacing at New Road – A holistic whole village approach will be considered by SBC Highways – more to follow. The road has recently had some tests carried out on it. Still waiting for confirmation of further action by SBC. Scheduled by SBC for school summer holiday – no exact date known. Complete at roundabout section. Awaiting further information on other sections. The water leak near the roundabout has finally been rectified by Thames Water. No further update and our contact at SBC has now left.
Removal of Build Out on New Road – This item is part of the considerations above. No further update and our contact at SBC has now left.
We continue to ask our Ward Cllrs for updates on these road issues.
Alterations to New Road/A346 junction. Parish Cllrs and Ward Cllrs met with SBC Highways in November where it was confirmed that the junction is being discussed with National Highways who have responsibility for the A346. We hope to hear that safety improvements will be confirmed. We will ask for an update at the End of January after the expected meeting between SBC and National Highways. No further update as our contact at SBC has now left.
Layby creation – Windmill Piece and Draycot Foliat. UPDATE
We had a productive meeting with members of SBC’s Highways team who helped with drawings for specifics types of parking laybys that could be created in the 2 locations. The drawings will be finalised and then we can get updated quotes for construction work. The work still needs to be signed off with SBC to allow us to proceed. The council will be buying the relevant surety bond to assure SBC that the work will be done to a required standard and remedial action taken if required.
Updated technical drawings were received from SBC and approved by the Planning Committee in Feb. Trial holes for Windmill Piece and a traffic survey for Draycot Foliat were also approved. Surety bonds to insure the work were also approved in principle, although we cannot conclude this until we know the final build costs.
Proposed new football goals at Castle View Road – Ongoing. Still looking at options.
The council are looking at options to replace the old wooden posts that are at the end of their life. Funds were allocated as part of the current years budget for this work. The EGPA committee will be discussing this at their 20th Nov meeting. This decision has been deferred to the March meeting.
Benches.
We are still working with SBC on permission for the 2 new benches. We may have to chose alterative sites if we cannot get permission. This project is still a work in progress and we await an update from SBC. This was chased in Dec 23 with no further update received from SBC. We have renewed our efforts to get the relevant SBC officers to provide a solution to this request. The item has been placed on the March EGPA meeting with a view to choosing alternative locations that does not require SBC approval due to the delays with this project.
Annual Parish meeting
The annual parish meeting will be Monday 8th April at 7.00pm. The location is to be confirmed but details will be published in all the usual places. This is a meeting held for the public and all electors in the parish are invited to attend and speak.
20mph zones and dropped kerbs/safer crossing UPDATE.
Our January 2024 planning committee approved the finalising of our paper to SBC to request 20mph zones throughout the parish on a 3 year scheme. Around 70% of questionnaire respondents were in favour of methods to slow traffic within the parish. We will publish the results of the questionnaire on our website. We will finish the paper and submit it to SBC shortly, via our Ward Cllrs.
Update – The final paper has been added to our website and also the community Facebook page for anyone who wishes to read it. It was also submitted to our Ward Cllrs.
Subscribe to the Parish Council’s newsletter:
To receive regular updates on Parish news, go to our website www.chiseldon-pc.gov.uk and go to the “Subscribe” option at the foot of every page.
Enter your email and receive weekly updates from us direct to your in-box.
Alternatively email the Parish Clerk who can set up your submission for you.
Speed Watch Volunteers – a message from the team.
Vacancies for Chiseldon
We are looking for Volunteers aged over 17 to join the team to help deal with the local issues of speeding. Currently we are a small team, looking to run 2 hourly sessions a week, mostly in Chiseldon, but would like to cover Badbury, Hodson, and Draycot as well.
Community Speed Watch is a community operated initiative designed to allow volunteers to officially monitor and report to the Police details of speeding vehicles in areas of concerns to the community. Community Speed Watch is not enforcement.
Whilst all of the road safety partners are working together to achieve casualty reduction targets and reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads, we cannot expect police officers to carry out enforcement checks in every community on a regular basis. This is where Community Speed Watch can help by working with the partnership.
Our aim is not to catch as many speeding drivers as possible, but to raise awareness that excessive speeds are socially unacceptable. We aim to reduce speed in areas of concern and address issues from communities by raising awareness.
If you are interested or would like more information, please contact the Chiseldon Parish Clerk (Clair Wilkinson) who will pass your details to the local coordinator.
More information can be via the Wiltshire Police website www.wiltshire.police.uk and searching for “Community Speed Watch”.
Memory Café next date
The popular memory café is next running Friday 5th April 2024, 10.30am at the Church Hall off Butts Road. The café was created for anyone who wants some company and a chat over a cup of tea or coffee. Also for carers who look after anyone with Dementia or Alzheimer’s to come along with their loved ones. There is singing and dancing, all very informal and fun. There is no charge to attend.
Recreation Hall, Recreation field and Chapel hire:
The Rec hall off Norris Close, the Rec field in the same location and the Parish Council Chapel offices are all available for hire for events, meetings or parties.
Please contact the Clerk on the details above who can advise of charges, availability and what space would suit your needs.
The council also has 2 marques that can be hired for £100 per 24 hr period per marque. Contact the Clerk for more details.
Defibrillators – a reminder
A reminder that the Parish has 5 defibrillators – one outside Cameo Hairdressers on High Street, on, , one outside the Calley Arms pub in Hodson e outside the Pavilion on the Recreation Field, one outside the Calley Memorial Hall on Draycott Road and one in the BT Box in Badbury. All 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.
There is also a defibrillator on the outside wall of the school in Ogbourne St George.
A NEW FUND WILL OPEN 1st APRIL 2024. – 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)
Next Parish council meeting
The next Full Council meeting of the Parish Council will be Monday 8th April 2024. This will start at 7.30pm and the location is to be confirmed. The annual parish meeting is held first at 7.00pm. There is a public recess at the start of proceedings, after which residents can choose to leave the session. Meeting locations may change so please verify the location before making a journey. Our committee meetings will now meet in the Chapel Office on Butts Road.
Ward Cllrs surgeries.
Your Chiseldon and Lawn Ward Cllrs will be holding a monthly surgery on the first Saturday of the month at the Old Chapel office on Butts Road 11.30 to 12.30.
The next sessions are Sat 6th April and Sat 4th May. Please pop along and have a chat with them.