We now finally have the wooden bollards (as voted for by residents) installed around the village green (on the High Street side), and next to the wall of Monks Foyle, and around the corner of Old Hoyles wall. Hopefully this will have the desired effect of protecting our village.
Bollards at the corner of Old Hoyles
Bollards along the wall at Monks Foyle
Bollards along the village green
It looks like a lorry has taken a chunk out of our village green! Bollards were supposed to have been installed by now and would hopefully have prevented this type of incident. Despite HCC promising the bollards by mid-October at the latest (and much chasing by MPC) they are still not here. Apparently there is a “problem with the supplier”!
Statistically, homes with thatched roofs are no more likely to catch fire than those with conventional roofs; however, if a thatched roof does ignite, the results are rapid and devastating. We would ask that residents please do not light bonfires or set off fireworks in their gardens, as they pose a serious risk to the thatched properties in the village.
If you live under thatch it is wise to be extra vigilant around November 5th and make frequent checks on your roof.
Chinese lanterns are of particular concern, as the potential for harm when they descend is catastrophic, with a number of thatch fires resulting from these lanterns. (They are also very frightening for animals and livestock.) Please DO NOT use them.
For further information and advice, contact your local fire safety officer.
The laws concerning fireworks
Christmas is coming, and New Year is hard on its heels. If you think there is nothing more to celebrate once you have ripped the cellophane from your new calendar and turned it to ‘January’, you may be pleased to know that Robert Burns’ birthday is celebrated all over the world on Saturday 25th January. And in 2014 we’re going to be celebrating it in Quarley Village Hall.
Following on from the Amport Burns Night in 2011, the format will be the same – traditional of course, but light-hearted. A supper, including haggis specially imported from Royal Deeside, will be served with a dessert to follow. (Unsure about haggis? You might be pleasantly surprised; but that’s not all there is to eat.) Wine, soft drinks, and whisky for ‘toasts’ (a bit like speeches, but light-hearted and short) is included in the ticket price. Dancing to a live band with a caller follows the supper and toasts, and hopefully everyone will be go home at the end of the evening with a smile on their face.
Doors open at 7 p.m. for a prompt 7:30pm start (it’s a packed programme). Tickets cost £18 each, with proceeds going to Amport charities. For more information, please go to www.birdsweb.co.uk/burns/ or call Gillian (01264 889463) or email gillian.bird@virgin.net
Every year thousands of animals will suffer as a result of fireworks being let off. Blue Cross animal hospitals across the country see a marked rise in pets requiring medication during such stressful times, and many animals are brought into Blue Cross adoption centres having run away from home.
Animals have very acute hearing. Loud bangs and whistles may cause them actual pain in their ears. But by following these simple guidelines your pet need not suffer.
Small pets and hens
Rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, mice, ferrets and birds all need to be treated with special care when fireworks are being let off. These animals are easily frightened. The Blue Cross advises that owners of such types of small animal should follow these precautions:
Dogs & cats
Horses & ponies
Many villagers have contacted the Parish Council over the last few weeks exasperated by the huge number of Nelson lorries going to and from the Georgia Lane site with vast quantities of material to build roads into the forest (to enable large timber cutting vehicles to have access for the removal of timber). Some residents have even mentioned that direct action may be required.
The on-going project to build the road infrastructure in the woods at Georgia Lane may unfortunately continue for several years, though we have yet to have any definitive advice from the land-owners as to how many years and how many lorry movements Monxton will suffer during the period, despite asking the question to the owners last week.
The owners of the site/woods are the Langdown family and the Parish Council met with them last Tuesday (15/10/13) following an incident in the village. Earlier that morning the MPC Chairman and another resident co-incidentally both followed a Nelson Lorry up to the Georgia Lane site after two Nelson Lorries passed each other in the village just before the bridge and stopped to chat to each other, which was caught on video by the MPC Chairman, as the stopped lorry drivers were causing a traffic jam in both directions.
The Parish Council would like to appeal to TVBC and HCC to intervene and ensure the lorry traffic routing is amended to ensure that Monxton does not have to endure all the Nelson lorries coming and going through Monxton. It is suggested that a one-way system is implemented and instead goes to the site via the A303 and Quarley and only (if necessary) comes back via Monxton (or vice-versa), which would mean Nelson Lorries would never meet in Monxton again, for a chat or any other reasons, and break down verges in the process as they try to pass each other.
Monxton Parish Council announces a Village Green clean up project to remove the green waste and dead trees at the corner of the village green. The intention is to open up the area to provide additional river side space and the stop the green waste being dumped.
The dates for the clean up which may take either a lot of volunteers or several weekends are as follows:
Saturday: 26th October 9.30 -13.00
Sunday: 27th October 9.30 -13.00
Saturday: 2nd November 9.30 -13.00
Sunday: 3rd November 9.30 -13.00
Saturday 10th November 09.30-13.00
Please indicate your preference and we will then finalise the dates and announce them. We do not anticipate it taking all five dates (hopefully).
We will need teams of no more than 8 people with garden tools including forks, shovels, strimmers, hedge trimmers, loppers and one chain saw in the first group. In addition we will need green bags to take away the green waste and someone with a pickup or towed trailer please.
The overgrown scrub and pile of grass cuttings/leaves to be cleared
The pile of grass cuttings and leaves
The pictures show the current state of the site.
This is flash message to get the warning out and being circulated to Horsewatch members.
In the south of the county a spate of burglaries in stables, shelters is starting up. Wickham, Warsash, Southampton, New Forest area are currently being targeted.
The latest crime was last night in Warsash, a white small car style van with male occupants was seen close to the scene. Males and vehicle are suspected of being involved until such time they can be eliminated from the crime. This vehicle was seen about 8.30pm. Stolen items include saddles, bridles, hats, grooming kits, whips, rugs, and feed. You are all potential victims of crime so now is once again time to review your stable and outbuilding security.
All the time we recommend that you post code all your property. If you can take your more valuable and important property home with you then so much the better.
Rugs will get stolen as sure as the sun rises and sets. Equally as sure the majority of horse owners will not post-code their rugs. Post-coding is a good crime prevention and deterrent. Why wait to post-code your property?
Pass the word about to be on the look out for small white vans. Equally, be suspicious of any vehicle and person seen near your property.
If you are the victim of a theft of property have a good search of the area around your land. It is often the case that thieves will hide stolen goods to return later to collect.
Again stolen property has to be sold back into the equine community. If you are going to buy second-hand tack examine it carefully for post-codes or signs of damage where identifying features have been removed. Sad as it is but a seller of second-hand tack could be moving on stolen property. When you are considering buying second-hand property take notice of who is doing the selling and why are they selling the items.
Any suspicious vehicles or people seen report the matter to the police by dialling 101. In an emergency dial 999.
Wrongmove.org is an online hub to raise awareness of the areas in Britain which could be affected by hydraulic fracturing, and help people in Britain challenge fracking companies looking to operate in their communities.
It must be stated that there are no planning applications for any exploration or drilling in our area at this time.
The ‘Not for Shale’ legal block is a campaign by Greenpeace to support residents in fracking-affected communities to challenge the Government and the companies trying to drill in their immediate area. Through Wrongmove, residents can refuse permission to frack under their homes, even if companies have made, or are already making plans to drill there. Fracking companies can drill up to two miles from a drill site, meaning operations regularly pass under people’s homes and farmland.
But in English law, if you own land then your rights extend to all the ground beneath it. The Supreme Court held in 2010 in Bocardo SA v Star Energy [2010] UKSC 35; [2011] 1 AC 380 that these rights apply when someone wants to drill underneath your land. That means that if someone drills under your home without permission, or without a statutory right, it is a trespass and trespass is unlawful.
This is how it works: fracking involves horizontal drilling that can extend two miles from the actual drill site, passing directly under the homes of those nearby. If you don’t want fracking companies pumping toxic chemicals under your home, you can say so. Then, any drilling there becomes trespassing; the frackers would be breaking the law.
Recent newspaper reports suggest that fracking companies are worried that the law as it stands could stop or delay them from drilling. They are lobbying the Government to change the law so that they can go ahead and drill without the consent of residents.
Right now, the Government has put nearly two-thirds of England up for shale (including Monxton and the surrounding areas), without fully understanding what effects fracking is likely to have on local health or the countryside.
Due to a lack of interest this event is now sadly cancelled
Please come and enter a team (6 people) for the Village Quiz Night on Friday 18th October. Tickets are £7.50 including a ploughman’s supper and it all starts at 7.30pm. Please contact David or Jane Baugh on 01264 710641.
Monxton Matters 