Gnosall Parish Council           

I mentioned in the GMK Spring Edition that distribution of the Newsletter had been increased to 2000 copies.  Following on from that, I am pleased to be able to report that we have received positive feedback from parishioners who have appreciated receiving their first copy of our Parish Newsletter, many of whom were previously unaware of village events and ongoing projects.   Communication is an important and powerful facet of our work and the Parish Council will continue to strive to keep everyone updated about what is on the Parish Council’s ‘Agenda’ as much as possible.

Sadly, not all our news is ‘good news’.  Over the Summer months, we have had to deal with devastating damage to the boardwalk and increased incidents of crime and disorder but we are working hard to overcome these challenges as quickly and effectively as possible; detailed reports on these two items can be found in this edition of the GMK. What pleased me most was the amount of support we received from parishioners who voiced their shock and sadness about the damage to the boardwalk, either by direct contact with the Clerk or via social media and some of whom offered to help with the clearing up process.   It is good to know that our village community spirit was there when needed and we thank you all for your support.

Our next planned Newsletter is due for distribution during February 2017 and we are constantly looking at ways to improve the format and style of our publications. We are hoping to have a slightly different look to next year’s GMK.  Watch this space!!

Once again, I hope you all find our articles and topics relevant and useful. Meanwhile, don’t forget to put your clocks back one hour at the end of October!!  The dark nights will soon be here, then Christmas and a new year - oh dear - another year that’s gone by far too quickly!

Councillor Pat Alker  (Chairman)

Following on from the previous edition…...

Councillors

Our councillors are local volunteers who come from all walks of life and are democratically elected every four years at the Local Government Elections - although if necessary, vacant seats may be co-opted within the term of office. A Chairman and Vice Chairman of Council are elected by the Council members at the start of the civic year in May. A full list of councillors can be found at the back of this newsletter.

When residents wish to bring a matter to the attention of the Parish Council they can contact one of their Ward Parish Councillors (who may be able to answer questions or pass the query onto the Parish Council), directly contact the Parish Council office or raise their question under the open forum item of a monthly Parish Council Meeting.

The full Council meets once a month (except in August) at the Grosvenor Centre and other committee meetings are usually held in the Parish Office located behind the centre. Members of the public are welcome to attend any of the Parish Council or Committee meetings and can have an input during the opening public open forum. Minutes of all meetings are included on the Parish Council website and placed on parish notice-boards - with notice of forthcoming meetings. Admittedly, formal minutes don’t always make the most exciting of reading, so key points are usually communicated through our newsletter, website and Facebook page.

If you’ve never been to a parish council meeting before, you may be forgiven for thinking that parish councillors are a group of (probably older) people who meet in a draughty village hall. Actually, that’s probably quite an accurate description(!), but our councillors also bring an array of experiences and expertise with them. Most importantly, they also care enough about their local area to volunteer much of their free time to contribute and put something back

Whenever something ‘big’ happens locally, as we have witnessed with several large-scale planning applications, it is usually the parish council that our community turns to for support and guidance. It can be a challenge as a councillor, especially on those occasions when we appear powerless to influence or protect our parishioners from external decisions. However, it is rewarding whenever you see anything change for the better as a result of decisions you have helped make, such as with the development of our Neighbourhood Plan and the authority it now holds to shape our future community.

Structure

Gnosall Parish Council has seven principal committees and a number of working groups as and when needed, such as the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group. Much of any councillor’s work is carried out through this committee system before the main Council actually meets. The role of each committee is for its members to undertake necessary tasks and prepare information (on specific detailed issues) for consideration at committee level. Where necessary, each committee can then make informed recommendations to the full Council for approval.

Each Parish Council employs a clerk responsible for supporting the council to carry out its functions. Most people think that this is just a secretarial role, but this Officer is appointed to ensure the Council conducts its business properly. A good clerk is an essential asset to every Parish Council and we are extremely fortunate to have Jayne Cooper behind the scenes in Gnosall. Jayne works as part of a team with the Chair and other councillors to best implement council decisions and provide independent, objective and professional advice, information and administrative support to the council. Given the significant workload, we also employ Jeanene Walton-Sanders as a part-time Support Officer, two caretakers (Mavis & Brian Hill) and use the services of local handyman Paul Prince when required.

If you would like to know more details about Gnosall Parish Council and your councillors or how you can get involved, please visit our website on: -

www.gnosallparishcouncil.org

Alternatively, why don’t you come along to one of our meetings or events?

The whole Parish was shocked by the arson attack on the 13th of July that destroyed over 70m of the boardwalk, including the dipping platform, bench, handrails and bridge over the Doley Brook. 

The Parish Council’s immediate concern was the threat of pollution to the Doley Brook caused by the melting polyethylene plastic and also from the foam that had to be used by the firefighters to quell the blaze. The Environment Agency (EA) carried out emergency work to pump out the worst affected pond and prevent too much contaminated water entering the brook to damage wildlife (birds, fish, invertebrates etc). Although initial oxygen levels in the pond and brook were dangerously low, remedial work allowed water quality to recover swiftly.

Within a couple of days the Parish Council were given approval from the EA to start clearing the sections of burnt and melted boardwalk. This led to Parish Clerk, Jayne Cooper, organising an ‘Anneka Rice’ type operation to galvanise local businesses and residents to help remove the debris. Over 50 volunteers turned up on a weekday to tackle the unpleasant task of clearing the debris as well as possible – a big thank you to all those who helped or donated tools and plant hire.

So much effort has gone into improving facilities and wildlife habitats on the Acres for local residents that it seems unbelievable that such a deliberate and destructive act could be carried out. But, as they say, every cloud has a silver lining and the wonderful reaction from our community has been truly heartening. What started as genuine anger has now moved onto a more positive outlook that has galvanised residents and reminded many local people how much they value the facility and Acres open space. The schoolchildren at St Lawrence Primary Academy even collected over £230 on their final day of summer term to go towards a new boardwalk – what an incredible gesture!

The Parish Council has been busy over the summer months initiating plans to replace the lost boardwalk and facilities. We hope that our insurers will pay towards replacement facilities, but this is not yet confirmed. It may be necessary to raise funds, especially as we hope to improve what was originally there by utilising more fire-retardant recycled plastic and having more supports to prevent the structure from sagging or sinking into the peat, as it had done previously. We hope that parishioners will again be able to cross from one side of the Acres to the other. 

The route follows the wettest part of the site and as ever the schedule will be weather-dependent, but we hope will commence before the onset of winter.

Over the last few months there has been cause for concern over the lack of visible policing within the parish.  We have seen an increase in incidents of theft from properties and also from narrow boats moored on the canal, vandalism, fly-tipping of old mattresses and rubbish and cars racing around the village late into the evening.  Empty properties and the elderly have been targeted in particular, with garden ornaments and jewellery being stolen. Several empty properties have been damaged and also the steps behind the Grosvenor Centre have been smashed and will need to be replaced, yet another cost to the Parish Council. 

A particularly worrying incident was a firearms police raid on a property in the village where several knives and dangerous items were found and subsequently removed by police officers.  

Whilst we have a PCSO patrolling the village on a regular basis, it is evident that there needs to be an increased police presence in the parish. The Parish Council is so concerned about the escalation in crime that we wrote to Matthew Ellis, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire on 22nd June 2016 highlighting the serious problems we are facing and to make him aware of our situation.  Parishioners may recall that he spoke at length about his aim to improve rural policing at our Annual Assembly. We received an acknowledgement to our letter on 1st July; we are awaiting a detailed response from his office as to how he intends to deal with our concerns.

It seems the police reporting system takes note of crimes that ‘spike’ in each area which helps to inform where extra manpower and patrols are most needed.  What would be really useful in helping to flag up our increasing crime trend is for everyone to be extra vigilant and to report ALL incidents to the police individually rather than one person reporting on behalf of everyone else and sharing it on social media.  

Each report generates a new crime number and the more crime numbers recorded will help to influence where policing teams are to be deployed.  All emergencies should be reported via 999 as usual and all non-emergency crimes should be reported using the 101 telephone number. 

Another way of participating in helping to reduce crime is to join the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme; a couple of people in each location will be enough but the more people who are registered on the Scheme the better.

If you are interested and want to support your community, you can register online on the PCC website at http://www.staffordshire-pcc.gov.uk/volunteer/, call them on 01785 232385 or email them at 

pcc@staffordshire.pcc.pnn.gov.uk. 

Few events resound through history quite like the Battle of the Somme, which lasted from July 1st 1916 until November 18th that year. It has come to stand as a symbol of the futility of trench warfare and the casualty figures still make staggering reading. By the end of the battle, the British Army had suffered 420,000 casualties, including almost 60,000 on the first day alone; the French lost 200,000 men and the Germans nearly 500,000. Many of those who lost their lives were inexperienced young men in “Pals” Battalions – troops who joined battalions made up of local men. This was initiated to instil a sense of comradeship and build courage – but it devastated many towns and villages by wiping out all their menfolk at one fell swoop. No trip to the First World War battlefield cemeteries will ever be forgotten, especially when you see the graves of soldiers aged just 16 – boys indeed.

The Thiepval Memorial, in Authuille, commemorates the missing of the Somme and bears the names of 72,246 British Empire servicemen with no known grave. Even on the sunniest of days, there is a brooding force about this place which can almost be felt.

Gnosall played its part in this battle and several men with Gnosall connections lost their lives in it:

Out of this list, only Thomas Cartwright has a known burial place at Grove Town Cemetery, Somme, France. All the others are listed at Thiepval. It would be interesting to know whether any of their relations still have connections with the village or parish. If you know of any of them, or of other names associated with the battle, please do let us know.

  Gnosall paid its own small tribute when a group of people met on the Stafford to Newport Greenway on Friday 1st July to commemorate the centenary of the start of the Battle of the Somme. The event was organised by Paul Boston, Sustrans volunteer ranger for this part of the National Cycle Network route.

A two-minute silence was observed in the open air near Coley Bridge on the disused railway line near Outwoods.  The site was chosen because service men set off on this railway to serve in the Great War, and this countryside may have been among the last they saw in England.

It was a moving ceremony, with the sounds of birdsong and sheep in the background.  The birds in particular brought memories of stories from the Battle of the Somme, when soldiers listened to their song in the woods of northern France.

It is hoped that a bench commemorating the centenary of the Battle of the Somme may be placed along this stretch of the Greenway, in association with Gnosall Parish Council (and Staffordshire County Council). Some parts of the Greenway were named after battles in the Great War.  The cycle route here was very muddy prior to re-surfacing of this last section of the Greenway by the landowners, Staffordshire County Council, and is known as

Thank you for the feedback to the questionnaire included in the last edition of the GMK, to which we received over 100 useful responses. This information helped inform the application submitted for the contract to manage and deliver a new Gnosall community library. GLEAN (Gnosall Library Education and Nurture) is delighted that their proposals have now been accepted by Staffordshire County Council, subject to certain conditions being met.  GLEAN is a small voluntary group made up of residents and some parish councillors with relevant skills and experience. 

The GLEAN group are thrilled that their months of hard work have resulted in this successful outcome. They would like to thank everyone who has supported them in their efforts and in particular Gnosall Parish Council. Now they will discuss with the Libraries and Arts Service outstanding matters that need finalisation, including the location of the library.

Unlike other villages where libraries have closed, Gnosall currently has no permanent library provision since the demolition in 2015 of the previous library situated within St Lawrence Primary School. Gnosall Parish Council had put forward proposals for a new building in the grounds of the Grosvenor Centre to be used in conjunction with the adjacent new Youth Club, but this has unfortunately been rejected by Staffordshire County Council – we wait to see what alternative location the County Council has in mind.

Some local people have been asking questions on these subjects, so here is some information to fill in the background.

Where is it?  Our village green is at the top of Brookhouse Road, next to the Health Centre - the field with wooden bollards along the edge.  The open space is mainly grassland with some trees and shrubs.   There is a public footpath across and there are benches to relax on.  The area is used for recreation, including dog-walking, and once a year a fair is held on the green.

How came it to be there?  The land was bought by the developers who built the Brookhouse estate in the 1970s.  However, it was outside the residential boundary of Gnosall and they were not allowed to build houses on it.  Some years later Gnosall Parish Council was looking for a site on which affordable social housing might be built, as a housing needs survey had shown that such homes were needed in the village.  After careful consideration of possible sites, this one seemed the best.  It could only be built on for such a special reason, under certain terms and conditions set down by the Government.  The Parish Council worked with the landowner, Taylor Wimpey, and a housing association, to develop a scheme and a planning application was submitted.

The site was being used by some local residents for dog-walking and informal recreation as it was not fenced.  In 2008, Gnosall Field Preservation Association applied to register the land as a village green.  They had to try and prove that these activities had been going on unchallenged for at least 20 years, and were still going on. A three-day Public Inquiry organised by Staffordshire County Council, as the registration authority was held in March 2010.  Statements were given by local residents and by representatives of Gnosall Parish Council.  The legal arguments were complex.  After an interval for consideration, later that month the Inspector decided that the land in question should be designated a village green.

In the years since then the Parish Council has managed to find other sites, in Monks Walk and Lowfield Lane, for affordable homes which were built by Stafford and Rural Homes.

Who looks after it?  It became the responsibility of Gnosall Parish Council to manage and maintain the village green as a result of the registration.  Management and maintenance costs are funded from the Parish Council

Since starting the anti-dog fouling campaign in April the amount of dog fouling not cleared up has reduced by 94%, which is wonderful news and shows that this campaign has been successful.

However, there has been a slight increase in the count of un-cleared dog faeces at the Village Green, which we believe to be the same dog. 

There is also a issue on Audmore Road – this appears to be a smaller type dog, with either a young or very mature owner, based on information that has been passed to us.

Remember that the Enforcement Team are around the village and anyone found not to be clearing up after their dog will be fined.

Gnosall has just been adjudged to be the Best Kept Village in Staffordshire, so please let

Once again, the Village Green played host to the Jennings Brothers Fun Fair in July.  Despite the torrential downpour not long after the fun fair opened on the Friday evening, many local people and visitors from the surrounding villages and Stafford had a fantastic time over the weekend.

Visitors experienced the various rides including a new ride, The Meteorite, and the long awaited Dodgem Cars that were a clear favourite for many of the visitors.

The Village Green is a recreational area for the whole community, so if anyone or any local group/organisation has an idea for an event to be held there, please get in touch with the Parish  Council.

The fair has been booked again for Summer 2017.

GG’s Youth Club for local children aged 9-11yrs, has been running for 6 months and goes from strength to strength, thanks to over 100 members who have tremendous fun on Wednesday nights. Also as a result of the group of wonderful volunteers who offer their time to help arrange and run activities each week and of course our Youth Leader, Yvette Spencer. Numbers have remained steady at around 40 children attending each week.  Since starting in April, our members have created a number of vegetable boxes and have enjoyed reaping the rewards, filled hanging baskets, taken part in weekly cooking and craft classes and have made excellent use of the field every week playing football, rugby, other ball games and getting very wet one summer’s night taking part in a water assault course.

The children have come up with a list of activities and trips they would like organised that the youth club committee will be looking into and a summer residential will be planned for the summer of 2017 at an outdoor centre just outside Newport.  A Halloween fancy dress party will be held on 2nd November and a Christmas party is planned in December.

As the number of members has exceeded our expectations we do desperately need more adult volunteers, otherwise we may have to put a cap on how many children we can take each week.  Parents will be asked to help out on one Wednesday each; however if anyone else wishes to help out now and again, please get in touch.   Local teenagers who have been completing their Duke of Edinburgh Awards have also been very useful helping in many ways that have assisted them in gaining their DofE awards.  What’s great is that these young people have agreed to continue to help now and again for which we are very grateful.  So if there are any other people undertaking a course or an award in which “volunteering in the community” is required, please do consider helping out at GG’s Youth Club.

In any village there is an unseen army of people who help to get things done and the Parish Council is very fortunate to have just such a group of people who help us deliver the GMK. This group has seen its workload increase recently, since we decided to try to get the GMK delivered to every household instead of just a proportion of them, as had previously been the case. Although we are always looking for more people to go on the list as substitutes in case of illness or holiday, we are lucky enough to have a team which covers every road and street in the village – quite an undertaking!  Many residents have been kind enough to tell us that they appreciate getting the GMK now, so this is our opportunity to thank the delivery squad for their work.

But that isn’t the only voluntary team assisting with Parish work in Gnosall. There are many volunteers helping to run the re-invigorated Youth Club, which is becoming hugely popular. We all rightly criticise when young people commit anti-social acts, so it is doubly important to provide some outlet for young residents to learn to work positively together and utilise their leisure time well. GG’s Youth Club does just that.

We also have a stalwart band working hard behind the scenes to help set up a Library, which is still at a fairly early stage but which will be staffed by volunteers. Many residents have missed a permanent Library based in the village, so this is something we are very excited about and keen to develop.

The GFest Group puts in untold hours of work to get the magnificent festival of events organised while the recently formed Heritage Group is busy trying to record for posterity Gnosall’s history.

Of course, there are many more groups in the village other than those directly involved with the business of the Parish Council and we hope they won’t be offended if not mentioned by name here. The main point is to acknowledge how much we owe to those who give up their time to put on events, support initiatives and help our village to be the wonderful place that it is. Sad to say, it is likely that we shall need more and more volunteers for a wider range of purposes as County Council cuts bite deeper and more is devolved onto parish councils. In Gnosall we have a sound base from which to work and the Parish Council is thinking of ways in which we might recognise the contribution of our volunteers to village life.

In the meantime, if you would like to offer your time to help in any way, do please get in touch by phoning 01785 822685 or emailing clerk@gnosallparishcouncil.org.uk.

Our local BKV group were delighted to learn that all their hard work has been rewarded with the announcement of Gnosall as winners of the 2016 Best Kept Large Village in the Stafford District.

We thought readers might be interested to read a brief summary of the points made by the Chairman of the Staffordshire BKV Working Group.

· St Lawrence’ churchyard and the Methodist Church surrounds were tidy and well-maintained. The surrounds of the Village Hall, Grosvenor Centre, Parish Council Offices and GG Youth Club were also well maintained. The Scout Centre and Health Centre were very tidy.

• · There were excellent displays of children’s posters - one of the biggest concentrations of posters anywhere in BKV this year. A great effort all round!
• · All pubs in the village were tidy and well-presented. Great effort! With few exceptions, private gardens were maintained to a very high standard.
• · Telephone boxes were clean, tidy and nicely painted. Bus shelters, seats and benches were also in good condition, well painted and attractive.
• · The Lock Up and its information board were excellent, a real feature. Various Gnosall maps, information and footpath boards, as well as fingerpost signs, were admired by Judges, as were the attractive, well-maintained timber planters. All notice boards had a wide range of up to date, well-kept local information.
• · The Acres was very well-maintained, with mown grass paths, no litter and good information boards. All equipment in the play area was in good condition, with a good security fence.  The Chippy Jumps area was unusual, very well used and free from litter. Judges were sorry to hear of the recent vandalism.
• · All verges were well mown, as were open spaces off Manor Road, Brookhouse Road, outside The Royal Oak and Sellman Street.
• · By and large very little litter was seen, especially given the heavily-trafficked A518.
• · Judges were impressed by the community spirit and effort demonstrated by the BKV team and the amount which goes on in Gnosall and Gnosall Heath.

This year, the annual lights switch on will be held on Saturday 26th November from 5pm in the Grosvenor Centre. Local school children have been invited to sing carols prior to the lights being switched on by Christmas Card Competition winners and the current Gnosall Carnival Queen. Once again hot dogs will be served and our local Scouts have been asked to assist with this as well as selling hot drinks and cakes in the Brearley Room. Gnosall Lions will be organising a tombola. There has been a change to the programme, so look out for further details with regards to the entertainment to be provided. There will of course be hours of good fun for the children to enjoy, whilst adults can appreciate a complimentary glass of mulled wine. Of course Father Christmas will be making a special appearance after the entertainment and will be handing out goody bags to children.

Gnosall Parish Council celebrated our Queen’s 90th birthday with a tea party for everyone in the village who was over 85, each being allowed to bring one guest.  Tea, coffee, scones, cakes, sandwiches and strawberries were served to nearly 100 people. The Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Angela Tams, proposed the Loyal Toast and spent all afternoon with us.

A great deal of hard work was put in by the volunteers and particularly by our Clerk, Jayne, but this was more than rewarded by the huge amount of pleasure shown by everyone there.  Old friends, who, because of various health issues, hadn’t been able to see each other for some time, met again and chatted, memories were exchanged and experiences re-lived.  

It was so successful that a Christmas party is planned for Saturday 10th December. People are asked to contact the Clerk on telephone 01785 822685 or email clerk@gnosallparishcouncil.org.uk for themselves or someone they know who is 85 years or above, who would like to attend.

Very sadly the new owners of Nicolsons Estate Agents have closed the Gnosall office which  has been an important part of the village since 1984.   

For the first two years it was Patricks and then Nationwide Beresford Adams but in 1986 it was taken over by Nicolsons Estate Agents and initially also housed the Halifax Buildings Society.   From the beginning until her retirement four years ago, it was managed by Irene Grey. There will be very many people in the village who  bought and sold their property through this office and will remember with gratitude the huge amount of help and support they received during what, apparently, is the most traumatic experience one can have after divorce and bereavement!   Nicolsons always went the extra mile to help its clients and the village is losing yet another asset.