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Review of the Temporary Restriction Orders on the A515.

Published 26 September 2019

…. yesterday which Steve Browne and Allan Howard attended. This is part of the promised review. A number of issues were covered.

1. Reduction in HGV traffic. The Parish Councils of Kings Bromley and Yoxall reported that HGV traffic had reduced significantly on the A515 and A513. A much smaller reduction has been seen through Draycott. The cameras which have recently been put up along the A515 are doing the count which will provide the objective evidence of the extent of this reduction. This information will be made available to the Parish Councils in the next few weeks.

2. Exemptions. The Parish Councils raised this issue and urged County Highways to make exemptions on the weight restricted turns for farm vehicles and local deliveries. They are already actively looking into this, having already had representations from the NFU. There are some technical difficulties involved but it does look as though this will happen.

3. Enforcement. While the police have been present at times at the turns and lorries have been stopped it has not been possible to get them to provide information on the extent of this and the number of prosecutions made. It was agreed that the most effective way of enforcing the ban is through direct contact with those companies seen to be flouting the law. This effort, undertaken by the Parish Councils and YTAG has been very successful with many companies such as Shell, Wincanton and Lomas committing not only to obeying the weight restricted turns but also to not using the A515 at all. YTAG have just added to this list JCB and its contractors. We encourage parishioners to send details of offending vehicles to me alan.how8@btinternet.com so that I can contact the companies involved. To help in this we are also pursuing the use of cameras on the junctions.

4. Signage. County Highways are looking at ways to improve the weight restriction signage, especially their encouraging Highways England to install signs on the A50 and A38 warning HGVs before they get onto the A515 and A38.

5. Further work. The continuing objective of the Parish Councils is to get a weight limit on the A515 between Woodend Lane and Stubby Lane. The displacement of up to 70% of the A515 HGV traffic has not caused any problems on the A38, A50 or even Eastern Avenue. The total ban seems to be next logical step since HGVs can still use the road through Yoxall which is totally unfit for them. County Highways response to this was that the problem with such a weight restriction is to do with the difficulty on enforcement, not the displacement of traffic. We do not believe that this is an insuperable problem so our next step will be to take up this issue through our District and County Councillors. We have no doubt that, failing this, the restriction order will be made permanent.

Best Kept Village

Published 26 September 2019

Their comments are here BKV judges comments (43.9 Kb)

Best Kept Village Presentation

Published 24 September 2019

On Friday 20th the Community Foundation of Staffordshire presented Kings Bromley Parish Council with the 2019 plaque to fix on the Trophy (Totem Pole) for winning the Best Kept Village Competition for the LIchfield and Cannock Chase area. After a short ceremony at the Jubilee seat, refreshments were provided by the WI at the Village Hall and a short presentation on the history of Kings Bromley’s participation in the competition was given by Allan Howard. The competition has been going since 1956: Kings Bromley has entered for all but 8 years and won the District 21 times and the Trophy, which was been in existence since 1969 eleven times.

Thanks to the WI and Lynne Cole and Alison Howard who provided cakes.

Village news from Helen Price – 26th Sept 2019

Published 23 September 2019

Kings Bromley Bowls Club Whist Drive

The Tuesday Whist drives start again at the Village Hall on Tuesday 1st October, prompt start at 2.00 pm. These will take place weekly until 17th December, then 7th January – 24th March 2020. All are very welcome, £2 includes light refreshments.
Teresa Woodward 01543 473058

Harvest Lunch, Saturday 5th October

This year’s Harvest lunch will commence at 1.00 pm on Saturday 5th October in the Village Hall. The meal with be similar to that of previous years and tickets cost £8 or £4 for under 13s. Numbers are limited so, if you don’t want to miss it, please contact Gill or Glen on 472622 to reserve your seat.
A short performance by the Kings Bromley Harmony choir will round off the afternoon.

Harvest Festival, Sunday 6th October

Don’t miss our traditional country Harvest Festival Holy Communion Service at 11.15 am. Come along and sing your favourite harvest hymns and see the church beautifully decorated for Harvest.

Quiz Night and Grand Draw

Tickets will soon be available for this event on Saturday 9th November at 7.00 pm in the Village Hall, priced at £5.00 each including light refreshments. Meanwhile we are taking names of those wishing to take part.
We will be reserving tables for those who book as a team of four and make up other tables from those who buy 1,2 or 3 tickets. Tables are already being reserved and numbers are limited so book early.
Gill and Glen Wright 472622.

Village news from Helen Price – 19th Sept 2019 – part 2

Published 15 September 2019

Kings Bromley WI September meeting

Well, what an amazing evening. Our guest speaker was WPC Kim Coates, of Staffordshire Police Service. Kim transferred from normal police duties to be a dog handler some five years ago. As Kim was on duty, we switched the order for the evening just in case she was called, to give her the opportunity to explain her responsibilities in some detail and to demonstrate just how clever her canine charges are: they did not disappoint.

Kim had driven an hour to be with us, along with Finn, her ‘crocker’ spaniel and her very handsome German shepherd. Kim began by explaining the sort of work a dog handler within the Staffordshire police gets involved in, day and night. She and her dogs are involved in seeking out drugs of various kinds in all sorts of circumstances as well as giving chase to criminals. Kim’s input was fascinating and members were keen to ask all sorts of questions associated with her work which she answered with the benefit of her experience and with good humour.

It wasn’t just theory though: Kim had some cotton wool type material in a small container, which carried the smell of drugs that had been impounded at some point. She did warn members that Finn, her young crocker, was enthusiastic and a bundle of energy. It was not an understatement. Kim brought him into the hall and from the word go Finn never stood still once. Finn obviously loves his work and very quickly found the container that Kim had hidden. His joy was boundless as he was rewarded with his favourite ball. His second opportunity was equally successful. What a dog! All the time he was in the hall, he was running here there and everywhere, just in case there was anything else hidden. Kim’s commands though quickly brought him to her side. Later Finn was returned to the police car and Kim’s German shepherd was brought into the hall. A very different type of dog, and one that Kim kept on the leash for obvious reasons. Although only young he is intelligent and capable, supporting Kim in her non-drug related duties, such as giving chase to criminals on the run in Staffordshire.

So all in all, a fascinating insight into what Kim’s working life involves and how dog handlers support other areas within the police service. We were all truly impressed by the work the dogs undertake, their behaviour and Kim’s dedication to the job she does. It was an excellent hour or so, which we all enjoyed.

There followed the usual formal business for the evening, which concluded with refreshments and the raffle.

Our speaker next month, 3rd October, will be Ian Rogerson. Ian’s talk is entitled ‘Smile Please and Say Cheese’, and will include cheese sampling.

Village news from Helen Price – 19th Sept 2019 – Part 1

Published 15 September 2019

Gardening Guild

The Chairman congratulated everyone on Kings Bromley winning the Best Kept Village competition.
After a very enjoyable visit to Paul Shum’s garden in Yoxall in July, when members were amazed by the variety and quality of his plants on display, the meeting in August welcomed Brian Storer who came to talk about ‘Growing for Showing – Flowers’.
Although Brian grows more vegetables than flowers, he does enjoy growing flowers, especially fuchsias, begonias, dahlias and begonias. He gave a lot of information on taking cuttings, different varieties of flowers and how to display them at Shows.
Members enjoyed a visit on a sunny day to Shugborough in September with Dianne Barre acting as guide to the walled garden, formal gardens and buildings, giving a lot of interesting information on the history of the hall and surroundings.
The next meeting will take place on 21st October, when there will be a talk by Jeff Bates on ‘The Winter Garden’.

Wednesday Club

This is the motto of the Midland Air Ambulance Charity (MAAC) and our speaker in September was MAAC volunteer Sally McMahon.
The Midlands Air Ambulance Charity currently operates and funds 3 air ambulances covering 6 Midlands counties – Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and the West Midlands. It is one of the busiest air ambulance services operating in the UK and has responded to over 52,000 missions since its formation on May 1st 1991. It has 3 regional airbases at RAF Cosford in Shropshire, Strensham in Worcestershire and Tatenhill in Staffordshire. Between them the 3 air ambulances cover around 5,500 square miles and 6 million people and can reach 90% of the region within 8 minutes.
Sally described each air ambulance as a “mini hospital” or a “mobile A&E”. Each aircraft has a crew of 3 – a pilot and 2 critical care paramedics – or – a pilot, 1 critical care paramedic and a doctor and carries full life support medical equipment.
In addition to the 3 air ambulances MAAC operates 3 rapid response vehicles – deployed when the helicopters are unable to fly – and a critical care car based in Birmingham and the Black Country.
Staffordshire has a call out rate of 24% – second only to the West Midlands with a call out rate of 26%. Current data shows that road traffic accidents account for 40% of all missions; cardiac arrests 24%, falls 17%, sports injuries 8%, hospital transfers 6% and stabbings 5%.
Air ambulance pilots will land on places as diverse as farmland, village greens, main roads and bowling greens. Hazards to landing include wires, hedgerows, properties and people filming the arrival of the air ambulance. Crews work in close cooperation with the other emergency services to achieve the best possible outcome for patients.
It costs £9 million to fund 2,000 missions per year. MAAC receives no Government or National Lottery funding relying on donations from businesses and individuals, its charity shops, open days and the MAAC lottery.
Sally concluded her talk with a short video clip of a young mother from Sutton Coldfield who at 37 weeks pregnant was stabbed multiple times. Miraculously thanks to the crew of the air ambulance and other emergency services both mother and baby survived.

Date of Next Meeting: Wednesday October 2nd at 2.30pm in the Village Hall when our speaker will be from Cats Protection.
Now see part 2 of the report

Help in enforcing the weight restriction

Published 12 September 2019

The Parish Council is seeking your help to ‘police’ the turn restriction in the village. We are asking parishioners, if they witness vehicles breaking the restriction, to note the company name on the vehicle (not the number plate) and to inform the parish chairman. The intention is that the council will contact the firm concerned to inform them that one of their drivers is breaking the law. Please ring Cllr. Allan Howard on 01543 472720 or 07792 623967.

Village news from Helen Price – 5th Sept 2019

Published 3 September 2019

Card Sale

Our next Card Sale will be held at the Village Hall on Saturday morning, 7th September from 10.30a.m. until 12.00 noon.
The usual range of items will be available: Birthday cards, cards for many other occasions, wrapping paper, gifts, serviettes, postcards, bottle bags, notelets, hand-crafted cards, and much more, all at bargain prices! A variety of Christmas cards will also be available. (There will only be 108 shopping days to Christmas!)
Entry is FREE. Everyone is very welcome. Do come along and have a free cup of coffee and biscuits and a chat with friends after you browse.
A selection of Gill’s cakes will also be available to purchase.

Quiz and Grand Draw, Saturday 9th November 2019

Thank you to everyone who has so generously donated a prize towards this year’s Grand Draw. We have already been promised a first prize of £100 cash, a Mystery Hamper, a £30 voucher from the Royal Oak, an MOT up to £45 donated by the Roundabouts Garage, a Morrisons £20 voucher, Champagne, Whisky, Brandy, Sherry, wine and several other prizes.
If anyone else is willing to donate a prize for this year’s draw, we would be very grateful if you would let us know please. Gill and Glen Wright, tel. 472622.

Harvest Lunch

This year’s Harvest Lunch will commence at 1.00p.m. on Saturday 5th October in the Village Hall. The meal will be similar to that of previous years and tickets will soon be available for this event, cost £8 or £4 for under 13s.
Numbers are limited so, if you don’t want to miss it, please contact Gill or Glen on 472622 to reserve your seat.
A short performance by the Kings Bromley Harmony choir will round off the afternoon.

Harmony Choir Concert in Church

On Saturday, 21st September the Harmony Choir will be giving a concert in church starting at 3.00p.m. As on previous occasions there will not be an entry charge but a retiring collection will be taken.
Everyone is very welcome so come along and support your local choir and church.
Light refreshments will be available.