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Gnosall Parish Logo (Image) 

Gnosall Parish Council           

 (Including the wards of Moreton and Knightley)                                   

 

Dementia Friends Logo (Image)

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Front Cover

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This delightful photograph of The Boat Inn was kindly provided by Jim McGregor.

We are always looking for photographs (both for our website and future editions of the GMK) of scenes around the Parish.

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Introduction to GMK

This is my first Introduction to the GMK since I was elected as Chair in mid-May. My first task is to place on record my thanks and appreciation to our outgoing Chair, Cllr Pat Alker. Although not one to hog the limelight, she accepted the challenges of the role and has had a wonderful term of office, during which the Parish Council has achieved some notable successes. The most recent of these was the award of Quality Gold status, of which we are very proud because it validates all that we do to be as good as we possibly can be in meeting the needs of our residents. This was gained by means of the hard work of our Clerk and of many councillors, under Pat’s quiet but principled leadership.

Throughout the year we have continued to strive for improved facilities and services in the village. As I write, work on the outdoor gym and tennis courts continues, Hen and Chicken Lane has been renewed, BKV volunteers are beavering away, plans for GLEAN Hub are progressing and Youth Club members recently celebrated their second anniversary (where did that time go??). We have enjoyed another Senior Citizen` tea party and will soon be making plans for the next. It is a pleasure and honour to be Chair of such a busy and successful Parish Council and I shall do my best to uphold the standards set – no easy task! Wish me luck!

Cllr Gail Gregory

Chair of Gnosall Parish Council

Annual Assembly and Community Awards

 

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The Parish Council was delighted to see so many parishioners at this year’s Annual Assembly at which interesting and informative presentations were delivered by community groups including the Parish Council itself, GG’s Youth Club, The Heritage Group, GLEAN (Library Working Group) and Best Kept Village. 

Our Parish is fortunate to have so many dedicated volunteers, many of whom are part of more than one community group, working hard to keep our Parish such a vibrant and pleasant place to live.  What was clear from all of the groups represented was there is a need for more volunteers to help the groups maintain the valuable services.   

The population of Gnosall has grown in recent years with the development of new houses and the Parish Council would love hear from any of our newer residents who may be able to help some of the many groups in a volunteer capacity.  Whatever spare time you may have, it would be appreciated.

12.jpgTo celebrate and acknowledge the dedication of a lot of the Parish volunteers and community groups, nominations for awards were received from many members of our community.  All nominees were deemed to be worthy winners and it was difficult for a team of Parish Councillors to choose the overall winners. 

However, this year’s winner of the Individual Award was Ann Andrews and the Community Award was awarded to AFC Gnosall.  Ann was recognised for her commitment to teaching, as both a teacher and Teaching Assistant at our local primary school, for being a swimming teacher for many years, for her work and commitment with the First Responders and for being a caring neighbour and friend to so many. 

 

 

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AFC were recognised as a community group established only a few years ago that now has 5 or 6 teams competing weekly, is a fun and friendly club where each child, regardless of their ability, is given a chance.  The group has made a hugely positive impact on the lives of so many children with a group of dedicated coaches.

Other nominations were:

Maggie Hughes for her involvement with the Friends of St Lawrence, organising the over 85’s tea parties, work on the carnival committee and her regular visits to many of the village’s elderly residents and to Impstones Community Centre

George Turner for his fundraising in support of so many village organisations and charities

Rachel Hankey for providing a friendly environment where anyone, regardless of their circumstances, can go to chat

Jordan Archer for the work with GG’s Youth Club and other village projects

Paul Boston for the work he carried out for over a decade on the Railway and around the village

Ken and Doreen Walker for years of work with Katherine House and with the Best Kept Village Team

Mike Deegan for leading on so many successful Parish Council projects

Dave Clarke – for leading the BKV team and its many projects

Ade Turner for years of commitment to Gnosall First Responders

Jan Hewes for years of commitment to Gnosall First Responders

Brian Perkins for being a member of the Gnosall and District Voluntary Car Share Scheme for over 20 years

Gnosall First Responders for their dedication and training in life skills for the benefit of the wider Gnosall community

Gnosall and District Voluntary Car Scheme for their commitment to provide transport for appointments to hospitals surgeries for the benefit of the community

Best Kept Village – for their continued work in keeping the village looking superb for the benefit of all parishioners and visitors

Leaders of Scouts, Cubs, Beavers, Guides, Brownies and Rainbows for providing a valuable and enjoyable experience for so many of the village children

 

Nominees

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Community Awards nominees

 

 

 

 

Cllr Victoria Kessey

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Cllr Victoria Kessey receiving award from Robert Watson Jones, son of former Cllr Derek Watson Jones, on behalf of  AFC Gnosall

 

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Councillor Resignation

Mike Deegan.jpg (Image)

The Parish Council was disappointed to lose one of its most dedicated councillors, Mike Deegan who resigned from his position as a councillor in May. 

However, the Council was pleased that Mike had agreed to remain as a non-councillor on both the Open Spaces Committee and the Grosvenor Centre enhancement Working Group, to help progress with ongoing projects and to share his skills, knowledge and experience where needed.  

Mike was instrumental in leading on the award-winning Acres redevelopment, which included the creation of the Boardwalk, wetland and wildlife areas and has more plans for this area to be developed further.  He was the main link with our local school, inviting school children to take park in Acres projects and has been involved in so many other Open Spaces related projects.   He is currently leading on the Grosvenor Centre enhancement, a large and complex project.

The Council will fill the councillor vacancy very soon.

 

Village Green Meadow

Fred Tomkinson

As many of you have noticed the wild meadow preparations on the Village Green are well on their way. Dave Clarke and the team from the Best Kept Village group have been very busy by initially marking out the planned area and in preparing the ground for sowing the seeds and hopefully resulting in the first show of flowers this year.

The ground work began by firstly spraying to kill the weeds; later the area was then dug over to clear the top surface. The specialised seed were purchased at a cost of £200 and once the soil was prepared we were able to sow the seeds and roll the area. We were lucky with a good drop of rain and it wasn’t long before the seeds were germinating.  We hope for a display of poppies this year, and fingers crossed, as is the nature of perennials, we should have the full range of wild flowers on display next year.

Fred at work

A huge thank you to the generosity and help from Fred Tomkinson who provided all the machinery needed, it was a welcomed help and certainly saved what would have been some back breaking work preparing the site.

It will take a few years for the meadow to become established but well worth the wait. Maybe a new photograph shot for the calendar?

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The new Tennis Court and a fun packed Village Fun Day

The Tennis Court Project is now complete and available for public use, free of charge. This project was funded from money received from Staffordshire County Council, following the successful submission of a business case in which the Parish Council had to demonstrate the need for another sports facility following the loss of the swimming pool.  Evidence gathered when preparing the neighbourhood plan, and from other consultations, provided the Council with evidence that a tennis court was one of a number of facilities that parishioners would like.  Other ideas were considered but were not achievable with the funds available and a tennis court and outdoor gym equipment were therefore chosen.

A tendering process followed and Charles Lawrence was the company selected to design and build a court.  Contractors worked extremely well with the Council, following a delayed start due to the adverse weather conditions in March and April, and have provided a high specification court and laid the base for outdoor gym equipment that will be added in the very near future (proposals are currently being considered).

The court will be free to use, does not have to be booked and we hope will provide enjoyment for parishioners and visitors of all ages.   The surface is designed only for tennis and should not be used for football or cycling on as this would damage it; the multi-use games area has a much harder surface for these sorts of activities.   The court will be monitored and if the rules are not being followed it may be necessary to lock it and make it accessible through a booking system, but we hope this will not be necessary if everyone respects the rules.

A Village Fun Day – definitely a date for your diaries, a fun day packed with all sorts of FREE fun activities on The Acres on Saturday 21st July from 11am – 2pm.

Tennis Court - The official opening will take place at 11am.  There will be chance to play a game or two and there will be a competition for children, with tennis-related prizes.

Basket Ball –Try out your basket ball skills and see how many basket balls you can get through the hoop 

Football pitch - possibly a football tournament (tbc)

Multi Use Games Area - have a go at Quick Cricket and Archery.   

Boardwalk and Ponds – pond dipping and identification of pond-based creatures – bring your own nets and plastic tubs if you can (limited supply of nets available)

Picnic Site - bring your own picnic to enjoy in the designated picnic area where there will be some child-friendly entertainment.  

Ice cream van will be selling ice creams

Later in the afternoon, why not visit the fun fair on the Village Green? 

This should be a great fun filled day and a fantastic start to the school summer holidays

Photos from a previous Fun Day  (Image)
Photos from a previous Fun Day  (Image)
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Ringing the changes: phone box becomes mini-library

Volunteers outside the BKV Book Swap Shop (Image)

Gnosall was set to lose its last traditional red phone box on the High Street when the Best Kept Village team purchased the box from BT for just £1! The box was lovingly restored in its heritage poppy-red colour, shelves were installed and a lock put on the door.

Today, the small but perfectly-formed BKV Book Swap Shop is doing a brisk trade. Villagers were bringing in thrillers, romances and best seller paper backs, leaving them on the shelves and choosing another book to take home. Young readers were hunting through the growing children's box of books.

The Swap Shop is open every day from dawn until dusk. There is a regular check on it to see if some titles are not moving. These will be shipped on to a charity shop to keep our Swap Shop collection fresh.

David Clarke, from the BKV Team, said ' We had lots of suggestions for our phone box, including a flower display, a toilet, a newspaper stand and even a single barrel pub, however, the BKV Book Swap Shop won the vote!'

 

 

Best Kept Village Competition 2018

BKV Volunteers Andy Wain (on ladder)  and Ian McMichael (Image)

This year’s Best Kept Village Campaign started on 1st May 2018.  The BKV team have been out and about from the beginning of March, tidying the village, painting benches and notice boards, clearing and replanting flower beds and generally tidying up.

The first round of judging took place in the first week of May. The judges were impressed by the new 'Welcome to Gnosall' sign and they were looking forward to seeing the work of the Towpath Restoration Group along with the BKV Book Swap Shop and the Wild Flower Meadow!

The second round of judging takes place in the first two weeks of June followed by the District and County finals later in July. In preparation, the team have put up bunting on the High Street and the Wharf Road shops, hung 48 wall and hanging baskets and planted up the flower beds. Gnosall is looking great!

The BKV team and Parish Council encourage everyone to “do their bit” to help with this year’s campaign and hopefully the Best Kept Village title will be retained.  If you see any litter that you are not able to collect and dispose of, please contact the Parish Office on 01785 822685.

 

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NEWS UPDATE

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Time has been passing and you may have been wondering what is happening regarding the new community library building.  Building Control Regulations resulted in us having to find a building with a higher standard of fire resistance than originally planned.  We also found we needed to install another exit for emergency evacuation purposes. This complicated discussions with manufacturers about the fire resistance of their units, as they had concerns that installing an extra exit would have an impact on their fire certifications.

We have identified a suitable unit and have obtained building control permission for it to be installed. Costs of the project have increased, but we have raised sufficient funding, in liaison with Gnosall Parish Council. The major new contributions came from the Big Lottery Awards for All and Staffordshire County Council’s Local Communities Fund. However, the process has been time-consuming and often frustrating, although we have been grateful for help from Building Control officers whose modus operandi seems to be to assist applicants through the regulations.

There are some happy outcomes to these difficulties. The library unit will be of higher quality and provide a more pleasant environment. The money raised will allow for a refurbishment of the existing unit which will benefit both the youth club and the library. Our additional fire exit will also solve some access problems for the youth club where alternative solutions seemed to be costly.

It was ironic that at the end of this process we were told that the new fire exit requires a variation to our planning permission with another potential delay. We have consulted the Planning Department and whilst an application is necessary, we are advised that it is a relatively routine process.

GLEAN Hub trustees recently took a key decision. We feel that we have sufficient secure undertakings and advice that the project will go ahead. We will now ask the Parish Council, as the eventual owner of the building, to place the order for the building.  It will take three months before it is ready for delivery and there is other work to do on it once it is in place. On the other hand we have plenty to do during that period.

We are committed to working constructively with the Parish Council and any other local organisations with common interests. To aid this we have set up the GLEAN Hub charity in such a way that it allows other groups to come within its umbrella if they think that would help them to develop.

If you wish to contact GLEAN, perhaps to offer your services as a volunteer, or provide funding for this excellent cause, please email the group at info@gleanhub.org.  To keep in touch with progress, please look at the website www.gleanhub.org

 

Gnosall United Charities

There are two main charities in Gnosall: United Charities, which was founded in 1941 to bring together several small charities, some of which went back to the late 1800s and the Cartwright and Hudson, which is an educational charity. The Trustees consist of representatives of the Parish Council, the Church and the village. The charities own several properties in the village, the rents from which go directly to the charities.

The charities give grants in two main areas. Firstly, to help with the purchase of books, tools or equipment for students (University, College etc) or apprentices – apprentices can be in all fields, ranging from engineering to hairdressing. Secondly, to help the elderly and infirm with such things as the provision of equipment for the disabled.

Anyone who wishes to apply for help from the above charities should apply in writing to the clerk of the charities; Mrs D Stiles, Heather Lodge, 6 Fair View Court, Wheaton Aston, Staffordshire, ST19 9RB.

 

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New PCSO for Gnosall

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The Chairman and Clerk of Gnosall Parish Council raised the issue of policing with Chief Inspector Gemma Ward on 12th March 2018.  The meeting was a positive one and it was suggested that reporting crimes individually, rather than one person making a report on behalf of others, should be encouraged as this will help to create intelligence and knowledge and will assist the police when organising where to send patrols.

As some of you may already know, PCSO Patrick Wright has been working in the Parish for quite some time and the Council is pleased to be able to confirm that he has recently been joined by PCSO Alison Osbourne.  In times of cuts to services and funding, it is appreciated that we have two members from the local policing team patrolling our parish who will monitor crime and provide advice if required.  If you see Alison or Patrick on their travels, please make them feel welcome by stopping and having a friendly chat or give them a wave! 

 

Smart Alerts and Neighbourhood Watch Scheme

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Smart Alerts were launched by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire, Matthew Ellis, in March 2016.  The idea was to improve engagement between Staffordshire Police and the communities they serve.  This allows residents and businesses to play a more active role in their own community and act as the eyes and ears of Staffordshire Police to help stop criminals in their tracks. You can sign up for Smart Alerts by logging on to the OPCC (office of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s) website at www.staffordshire-pcc.gov.uk.  Use the ‘Involving you’ tab at the top of the page which has a drop-down menu, click on ‘Smart Alert’ if you want to know more or wish to sign up for Smart Alerts and emails.

Another voluntary scheme is the Neighbourhood Watch.  The Parish Council is actively promoting the Scheme which consists of having residents, ideally two or three in each street, who can report anything untoward to the police or share information with other Neighbourhood Watch participants. A scheme did exist in the parish a while ago but sadly this petered out and the Council is asking if anyone would be interested in participating in a relaunched scheme?

If you wish to register your interest could you kindly email either patricia.alker@gnosallparishcouncil.org or grahampayne@gnosallparishcouncil.org and we will collate responses.  Alternatively, telephone 01785 823271 or 01785 822243.  If there is sufficient interest, a meeting can be arranged to discuss what’s involved and how we take this forward.

 

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Gnosall Fun Fair

The annual fun fair will be on the Village Green from Friday 20th July until Sunday 22nd July and we hope it will be visited and enjoyed by local people and visitors. 

This will be the fourth time Jennings’ Fairground have been in Gnosall and provided a fun start to the school summer holidays.

 

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Anti Dog Fouling Campaign Update

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Since the initial anti dog fouling campaign was started, there has been a marked improvement in the 6 identified hot spots and following the last spot check only two occurrences were noted. This is of course two too many!

However, there are still far too many incidences of irresponsible dog owners not clearing up after their dogs. Locations that have been passed on to me include Lowfield Lane, Glebe Lane and the Railway Line from the intersection with Lowfield Lane right through to the exit up on to Broad Hill.

This is, of course, not acceptable and efforts will be focussed on these areas in the coming weeks and months.

One other practice which must be stopped is where owners do bag their dog’s faeces and then leave the bag on the side of the path. It is not the responsibility of either the Best Kept Village team or the Parish Council to clear these up - although both organisations have done so! Please take the bag to one of the many bins situated just off of the path or pavement. The bins cannot be sited on the actual railway line as the collectors are only allowed to collect within a limited distance from their lorry.

I am aware that the vast majority of village dog owners are responsible and do clear up; the evidence is obvious by the number of them I observe walking around with full poo bags! So let’s not let the village down by laziness or irresponsibility; if you own a dog it is a privilege, but with privilege comes responsibility.

Unfortunately, the issue of free bags is now strictly limited due to Borough Council cut backs, but in truth, a pack of scented nappy sacks doesn’t cost much more than £1:00, so PLEASE CLEAR UP AFTER YOUR DOG.

Cllr Doug Webb

 

 

GG’s Youth Club Update

Members enjoying the buffet  (Image)
The card made by members (Image)

2nd Birthday Anniversary Celebrations

GG’s Youth Club celebrated its 2 Year Anniversary on 11th April and members really enjoyed the evening. We played lots of team games and a food buffet was served. Children also made GG’s a card to say thank you to Jordan Archer, Team Leader. We are looking forward to many more years at GG’s.

 

 

Staffordshire Day

GG’s members celebrating Staffordshire Day (Image)

We celebrated Staffordshire Day on Wednesday 2nd May 2018, by serving Staffordshire Oatcakes and Pancake’s all provided for by Co-op. We also took a picture of all the members who attended that evening with the Staffordshire Flag in the background.

 

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Over 85’s Tea Party

Guests enjoying the Over 85’s tea party (Image)

The Spring Tea for residents of the village aged over 85 was held in April.  The first of these Teas was held by the Parish Council to commemorate the Queen’s 90th birthday and proved so popular that it was decided to continue them three or four times a year.  They were first funded by the Parish Council, Gnosall Lions and Cllr. Mark Winnington’s County Fund. 

Sponsorship has now been taken over by United Charities which is a village charity that provides in various ways for the elderly of the village, although Parish Councillors still provide most of the help on the day.

About 20 people aged over 85, plus their guests, gathered in the Grosvenor Centre.  Following a lovely selection of old songs by the Gnosall Singers, everyone partook of sandwiches, cakes and scones provided by the helpers.  The most important aspect of these teas, however, is not the food but the chance to meet old friends.  Gnosall is unusual in this transient age in that so many of the residents grew up together, but with a lot having some degree of mobility difficulties they cannot get out to see each other as they used to and these teas give everyone a wonderful opportunity to get together again and reminisce. 

If there is anyone in the village who is over 85 and has not been receiving invitations to the teas, or will be over 85 by July, please let the Parish Council Office know so that you are on our list for the next one, which will be on the 11th August.

 

Gnosall & District Voluntary Car Scheme

Brian and Mo Perkins (Image)

The scheme has now been in operation for 25 years, with support from Staffordshire County Council and Gnosall United Charities and covers the wider community surrounding Gnosall. Over the last 12 months volunteer drivers have covered 5649 miles, taking clients mainly to hospitals and surgeries from Gnosall, Ranton, Adbaston, Woodseaves, Haughton, Bradley and Derrington.

Due to increased demand for our services we URGENTLY need to recruit more voluntary drivers for the scheme to transport members of our community to medical appointments in Cannock, Stafford, Stoke, Telford & Wolverhampton, plus local visits for shopping etc. A driver’s mileage allowance is payable to cover fuel costs & clients pay for their journeys from a pre-set mileage chart.

Brian Perkins, a founder member and driver with the scheme for 25 years, recently retired from his driving duties. His many clients over the years wanted to extend their thanks for his services and a presentation was made to Brian and flowers given to his wife Mo at the recent Annual General Meeting.

For further details and to register an interest please contact either Martin Watkins 01785 824005 or Tony Innamorati 01952 691222