Published 27 May 2018
At the April meeting of the Parish Council concern was expressed that a family who had recently moved into the village were unable to get their children into the school. This proved not to be the case. Anyone wishing to see the admissions policy should look at this page:
http://www.tssmat.staffs.sch.uk/admin/ckfinder/userfiles/files/RC%20Admissions%20Policy%202019-2020.pdf
on The Small Schhols Multi Academy Trust (tssmat) website.
Published 26 May 2018
Kings Bromley WI
The WI meeting on 3rd May was very full but enjoyable. The evening adopted a different format to the usual one. There was no speaker as the main purpose was to debate and vote on this year’s resolution “Mental Health Matters.”
The ordinary business issues for the month were discussed first. This was followed by a superb performance by the Village Harmony Choir. They managed to include within 45 minutes 11 songs, each very different in style, but all sung with wonderful enthusiasm and professionalism. The very last song was entirely appropriate, being a nod to the 100 year anniversary of the implementation of legislation that granted the right to vote for (some) women. The choir gave a spirited rendition of ‘Sister Suffragette’ which was originally sung by Glynis Johns in the film Mary Poppins. The lone male choir member, Allan Howard, was just as enthusiastic as his female choristers! Well done to all involved, it was very impressive and enjoyable.
Following refreshments the WI members split into groups to debate the resolution, ‘Mental Health Matters’. (Resolutions are member-led, i.e. they are written by members and voted onto the shortlist by members and each WI gets to cast a vote). Each year around 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem and almost all will face some form of discrimination and stigma including from friends, family and at work. The experience can worsen someone’s mental health problems and impede their recovery. The strategy for the UK is now enshrined in law. There is a legislative requirement on the health service to address the disparity between mental and physical health. In January 2016 the government announced investment of £290 million in specialist care for new mums, £247 million in mental health services in hospital emergency departments and £400 million in community-based services. Since then a package of measures targeted at schools, the work place and local communities has been announced.
If the resolution is passed nationally, a full campaign would be developed by the National Federation of Women’s Institutes enabling pressure to be put on government and local authorities to ensure that all people with mental health problems have access to the support they need regardless of where they live.
After the debate and a quiz to test members’ understanding of some of the main points, consideration was given to how members wished their delegate to vote at the Annual Meeting in Cardiff on 6th June. Kings Bromley WI voted unanimously for the resolution to be passed.
A very busy evening was concluded by a presentation to Viv Leyland, who will be leaving us shortly, after her many years as a member, committee member and former president. Sue Penfold presented Viv with her gift and also vouchers to enable her to enjoy afternoon tea with a guest at Netherstowe House. In a departure from tradition, rather than at the beginning, members ended the evening by singing Jerusalem.
Published 24 May 2018
Highways England have stated that they will shortly be carrying out work to upgrade the street lighting on the A38 central reserve near to Barton under Needwood. Once we have completed this work customers will benefit from better visibility and increased safety on this stretch of road, particularly at night. The upgrade means maintenance won’t be required as often, leading to less disruption in the future.
Traffic will be diverted onto the A513 through Kings Bromley and the A515 through Yoxall to the A50.
The work will take place between Tuesday, 29 May 2018 to Tuesday, 2 June 2018. To minimise disruption they will carry out the work overnight when there are fewer vehicles on the road, from 9pm to 5.30am, Monday to Friday. It will be for a maximum of three nights in one block, weather permitting.
Published 21 May 2018
Wednesday Club
Standing at the end of The Grange as the heavens opened and a deluge descended was not the greatest of starts to our outing on May 2nd and it was a rather damp group of 29 who boarded the coach for a day out in Matlock Bath.
The rain continued to pour down as we travelled through the beautiful countryside of Staffordshire and Derbyshire to reach our first stop at Fairways Garden Centre near Ashbourne. After enjoying coffee and buttered teacakes there was time for browsing and – in some cases – purchasing a range of items from chocolates to clothing and plants to sun hats.
In contrast to the first part of our journey – the journey from Ashbourne to Matlock Bath was bathed in sunshine. On reaching Matlock Bath many of us went in search of lunch while the more intrepid amongst us ascended to the Heights of Abraham via cable car from where they enjoyed spectacular views across the Derwent valley towards Matlock. They also found time to eat, drink and shop!
Of those who chose to remain on terra firma – a group of us enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Fishpond before taking a walk along the river to the Cascades. This was followed by a stop at “Truly Scrumptious” for ice-cream. Other members having had lunch visited the Aquarium and then sat enjoying the sun in a sheltered spot by the river.
The warm sunshine continued as we made the return journey to Kings Bromley and I think everyone would agree that, after a dismal start, we all had a very enjoyable day.
Next Meeting: Wednesday June 6th in the Village Hall when John Colley will be talking about “The Good Old Days.”
Published 18 May 2018
4. Traffic Management.
Although HS2 gave clear commitments about traffic management in the Village for their construction vehicles, strong arguments were put to the Select Committee that these should also include contractors vehicles. A request for ‘No HS2 Traffic Beyond This Point’ notices should be placed at each entrance to the Village. HS2’s proposal on this item were positive as far as they went, but it also included a caveat that in certain circumstances they could request opening up the A513 for construction traffic. The Select Committee were informed that further discussions were required with HS2 to be more specific on this item.
5. Burying Power Lines to the North of the Village.
Following the consultation Process the Parish Council carried out with residents last year, the issue was raised about the possibility of burying the power lines since HS2 had indicated that some work had to be carried out on them as part of the Construction Phase.
It would certainly give a lasting improvement to the village landscape. However, after taking independent advice it was agreed that it would be difficult to pursue this further. It was just not a matter of cost, although this in itself would be prohibitive, but also the amount of land required and disruption to the residents particularly affected would make
this very difficult to achieve satisfactorily.
6. Location of Satellite Compounds around the Pyford Brook area.
HS2 have proposed building satellite construction sites in the Pyford Brook area. Local landowners have argued strongly against the locations because of the detrimental impact it would have on their quality of life because of the disruption, traffic, noise and dust pollution etc. This would be particularly so for the owners of the Bromley Hayes Cattery.
Some of the local landowners and businesses have put in their own Petitions which the Parish Council have supported, and so further consideration will have to be given to these proposals.
In conclusion, in the lead up to the Select Committee appearance, HS2 have come up with some proposals which are a step in the right direction. However, there are still significant issues around each of the items raised that need developing further. Both the Parish Council and the Joint Action Group are totally committed to getting the best deal for the residents, landowners and businesses in the village.
If any resident hears anything that is relevant to what HS2 are proposing, I would be grateful if you would let me know by e-mailing me on charleswcole13@aol.com or phoning me on 01543 472423. Any ‘intelligence’ would be useful in progressing our cause to
achieve the best outcome we can.
Charles Cole
Published 18 May 2018
Following the Kings Bromley Parish Council Petition against certain aspects of the HS2 Hybrid Bill, Charles Cole from the Parish Council and John Sadler from the HS2 Joint Action Group were summoned to appear before the House of Commons Select Committee which had been set up to consider the Petitions. The major items covered were those that
had been brought up by Parishioners, landowners, businesses and Richard Crosse School. These include:
1. Closure of Common Lane
HS2 had already put forward a proposal to Staffordshire County Council and the Parish Council to keep Common Lane open. Although this went a long way to meeting the objections the Council had put forward, especially relating to safety concerns around the school, it appears that HS2 still want Common Lane to be closed for up to 4 years during
the Construction Phase. The Select Committee were told that this was totally unacceptable to the Parish Council and that further discussions must take place to resolve this.
2. Height of the Railway Embankment around Kings Bromley.
HS2 had already agreed with Staffordshire County Council that the height of the proposed embankment could be reduced by ‘up to’ 3 metres. Although this is a step in the right direction, concern was expressed at the Select Committee that good reasons should be given if the maximum height reduction was not achieved.
3. Borrow Pits.
It is proposed that 4 Borrow Pits would be dug in the Parish to provide aggregate for the construction of the railway. Although HS2 are in discussion with the National Farmers Union about these plans, the Parish Council raised concerns about the amount of good
agricultural land ear-marked for these pits when other sources may be available. Also previous experience has led the landowners to be concerned about the state of the land when the pits are restored for agricultural use. If the height of the embankment was lowered, HS2 were questioned whether it would be necessary to dig all 4 borrow pits.
Published 7 May 2018
Helen Price
01543 472203
KB Gardening Guild
Allan Howard expressed the hope that spring had arrived and reminded everyone about the Best Kept Village Competition, running from 1 May to the end of July and the Open Gardens event to be held in the village on 16-17 June.
The speaker for the evening was Ruth Williams who had come to talk about ‘The Living Churchyard’. Her emphasis was on the beauty and vitality of churchyards, with their wealth of wildlife, flora and fauna. Firstly, she talked about the history of the churchyard, showing that they were not just places for burials but also for fairs, gambling, drinking, games, archery practice and markets. Many parts of the churchyard are a semi-natural habitat, with long grass and piles of logs, which are deliberately left undisturbed to attract wildlife. Foxes, moles, badgers, slow worms, hedgehogs, bats, frogs and toads may be found there and often bird boxes are put up to attract birds. The trees and flowers attract bees and butterflies and there are many varieties of lichens, ferns and fungi to be seen. Ruth had lovely photos to illustrate her talk and even showed a churchyard with its own flock of sheep!
The meeting on 21 May will be an evening in Dianne Barre and Ray Conningham’s garden, starting at 7pm.
Kings Bromley Historians
At our April meeting, Allan shared with us the findings of his most recent research into the Lane family. It seems that John Lane had 6 illegitimate children by Melissa Mattingley whilst in London. He acknowledged these children and was witness at their marriages. Elizabeth Newton, a distant relative of the Lanes, left Jane Mattingley (who was 11 at the time) £1000 in her will to be paid on her 21st birthday.
John’s grandson, Cecil (born 1836), son of John Newton Lane, lived for a time on Paxos as an ‘aide de camp’. On his return to Kings Bromley, his brother, John Henry, had recently married and his mother Agnes, who had relied on him, began to rely on Cecil instead, as his father John Newton was described as ‘rather weak and fidgety’.
Cecil later married Adela Bertie, daughter of the Rev. Bertie and they moved to Whiston Hall in Shropshire. They had 4 children, Georgina, John Rowland, Percy (killed at Ypres in 1915) and Newton (killed at Messines Ridge in 1917). The latter two are commemorated by a plaque in Kings Bromley Church. Cecil died in 1897 and Adela in 1925. They are both buried in Kings Bromley churchyard.
Our next meeting will be on 29th June, when the speaker will be Richard Stone on “The Story of Map Making’. All are welcome in the Village Hall at 8.00 p.m.
Published 3 May 2018
We now have a final total of eleven gardens, including four which have never been open before and one which is reopening under new ownership. The WI will be ‘yarn bombing’ and providing teas on the Saturday. Other gardens will be providing refreshments and plants stalls with plants at very competitive prices.
For children there will be ‘fairy finding’ and at one of the gardens there will be a band playing.
Please support this event. All proceeds will again be given to the Kings Bromley Village Hall Refurbishment Fund.
Allan Howard
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