In April 2005 the Waterloo Band & Bugles visited King's Sutton and played a charity concert in aid of the church refurbishment and the school building fund. The evening was a great success, and the pubs did a booming trade too!!
The band also enjoyed the event and will be returning to the parish church to perform a charity Christmas concert on 15th Dec at 1930hrs, raising funds for; Banbury Young Homeless Project, Kings Sutton School, RBL Poppy Appeal. Tickets are £7. available from Mike Carter ( tel 07786 640245 ) or Fr Roger Bellamy.
Please support this excellent event in aid of great causes.
Monday, 1 October 2007
Friday, 7 September 2007
Youth Club in King's Sutton
During my election campaign I was asked on a number of occasions whether it would be possible to set up a Youth Club within the village; as this was one aspect of our community where we could and should be doing much more. I completely agree with this view and over the past few months I have been looking into what we would need to do to set up such a club.
The only viable location would be the Memorial Hall and I have had provisional agreement with the Trustees of the hall that a club could be set up there, as they agree with me that this fantastic facility is there for all members of our community.
I have written an article for the King's Sutton times which has asked for young people and interested adults to become involved in a Youth Club Forum, which would define exactly what is wanted from such a club. After all it is the younger members of our community who will be using the club, therefore it is only right that they define exactly what it is they want from the club.
Please either place comment on this post or drop me an email: mike.hill@southnorthants.gov.uk
I would love to hear from people who want to get involved with this project.
As I alluded to earlier, we also need adults who would like to get involved with the running of the club. Again, please do get in touch and let me know whether you would like to be involved.
I believe the establishment of a Youth Club would be a great asset to the village, giving the younger members of our community a place to get together and socialise. This will only happen though with input, effort and determination - please get involved.
The only viable location would be the Memorial Hall and I have had provisional agreement with the Trustees of the hall that a club could be set up there, as they agree with me that this fantastic facility is there for all members of our community.
I have written an article for the King's Sutton times which has asked for young people and interested adults to become involved in a Youth Club Forum, which would define exactly what is wanted from such a club. After all it is the younger members of our community who will be using the club, therefore it is only right that they define exactly what it is they want from the club.
Please either place comment on this post or drop me an email: mike.hill@southnorthants.gov.uk
I would love to hear from people who want to get involved with this project.
As I alluded to earlier, we also need adults who would like to get involved with the running of the club. Again, please do get in touch and let me know whether you would like to be involved.
I believe the establishment of a Youth Club would be a great asset to the village, giving the younger members of our community a place to get together and socialise. This will only happen though with input, effort and determination - please get involved.
Post Office Working Group
It's been a hectic few weeks with the day job and quite a few meetings in the evenings, interesting and enjoyable though. One of the issues that i'm working on at the moment is the potential for Post Office Closures within South Northants area.
SNC have set up a working group to look at this issue, with the CEO in the chair - demonstrating the importance SNC have placed on this matter. We last met in early August to define the parameters of the working group and to start understanding all aspects of this c0mplex issue.
We've received a good report back from the consultant working with us on the working group, which has given us a lot of background information on all our Post Offices in the district and the communities which they serve. It is apparent to me from this, that all of our Post Offices are vital in serving the vulnerable, elderly, local businesses and wider communities and that we cannot afford to lose any of our Post Offices.
This will be my position within the working group and I know that it is a view that is shared by a significant number of my fellow Councillors on SNC. I have agreed with SNC that we will write a letter to this effect to PO Ltd and Postwatch, within the next week.
Time is really of the essence as PO Ltd and Postwatch are undertaking a "Pre-Consultation" phase, before their deliberations are made public for our area in early November. It is though at this stage where I believe any pressure brought to bear may have an impact. Once the Public Consultation starts, it is highly unlikely that PO Ltd will change their minds on any potential closures.
I would urge everyone to write a letter in support of King's Sutton Post Office to the following addresses:
Postwatch
Postwatch Midlands
c/o Regional support team
28 - 30 Grosvenor Gardens
LONDON
SW1W 0TT
PO Ltd
National Consultation Team
Post Office Ltd
PO Box 2060
Watford
WD18 8ZW
The Post Office is a key asset to our community and I truly believe that losing such an asset would be highly detrimental to the village - the old adage of use it or lose it has never been truer. Act today!
SNC have set up a working group to look at this issue, with the CEO in the chair - demonstrating the importance SNC have placed on this matter. We last met in early August to define the parameters of the working group and to start understanding all aspects of this c0mplex issue.
We've received a good report back from the consultant working with us on the working group, which has given us a lot of background information on all our Post Offices in the district and the communities which they serve. It is apparent to me from this, that all of our Post Offices are vital in serving the vulnerable, elderly, local businesses and wider communities and that we cannot afford to lose any of our Post Offices.
This will be my position within the working group and I know that it is a view that is shared by a significant number of my fellow Councillors on SNC. I have agreed with SNC that we will write a letter to this effect to PO Ltd and Postwatch, within the next week.
Time is really of the essence as PO Ltd and Postwatch are undertaking a "Pre-Consultation" phase, before their deliberations are made public for our area in early November. It is though at this stage where I believe any pressure brought to bear may have an impact. Once the Public Consultation starts, it is highly unlikely that PO Ltd will change their minds on any potential closures.
I would urge everyone to write a letter in support of King's Sutton Post Office to the following addresses:
Postwatch
Postwatch Midlands
c/o Regional support team
28 - 30 Grosvenor Gardens
LONDON
SW1W 0TT
PO Ltd
National Consultation Team
Post Office Ltd
PO Box 2060
Watford
WD18 8ZW
The Post Office is a key asset to our community and I truly believe that losing such an asset would be highly detrimental to the village - the old adage of use it or lose it has never been truer. Act today!
Monday, 20 August 2007
Parking at "The Square" King's Sutton
In June I received a letter and drawings of the double yellow lines around The Square, Whittall St and Astrop Rd. When I looked at them in detail it became apparent that the yellow lines on The Square were different from existing, an increase of 11 metres to be exact.
Whereas I fully accept that the old cottages in King's Sutton were not designed for the car; cars are a necessary means of travel in our rural communities. The new proposals from the County Council would have meant that 7 cars that currently park on The Square would no longer be able to do so. This would have exacerbated the parking issues we have within the village and caused a lot of problems for residents of The Square.
I wrote to the Transport department at the County Council outlining the current double yellow lines situation and requested that they provide changed plans detailing the parking restrictions as they currently were; rather an increased restriction of 11 metres. Thankfully last week I received a letter and revised drawings to this effect and I would like to thank the County Council for the swift resolution of what could have been an extremely tricky matter.
Whereas I fully accept that the old cottages in King's Sutton were not designed for the car; cars are a necessary means of travel in our rural communities. The new proposals from the County Council would have meant that 7 cars that currently park on The Square would no longer be able to do so. This would have exacerbated the parking issues we have within the village and caused a lot of problems for residents of The Square.
I wrote to the Transport department at the County Council outlining the current double yellow lines situation and requested that they provide changed plans detailing the parking restrictions as they currently were; rather an increased restriction of 11 metres. Thankfully last week I received a letter and revised drawings to this effect and I would like to thank the County Council for the swift resolution of what could have been an extremely tricky matter.
Friday, 27 July 2007
Village of the Year Competition - We won!!
On Wednesday 25th July a delegation from King's Sutton attended the awards ceremony for the Northamptonshire Village of the Year competition. We've always known that King's Sutton is a fantastic place to live and it was great to hear on Wednesday night the Judges thought so too!
The awards King's Sutton won were:
Best Newcomer (our first year of entry in the competition)
Best large village in Northamptonshire
Best Village in Northamptonshire
This was obviously a fantastic result for King's Sutton, especially on the back of the bad news we got last week with regards to the terrible flooding we endured.
A lot of people put a great deal of effort into securing victory in the competition; through their hard work demonstrating what a wonderful village and community we have. My thanks go out to them all.
In particular Tina Armstrong and Carole Hill put in huge amounts of effort in putting together a portfolio of the village, which really highlighted all the community activities and events we undertake within the village. This portfolio was very well received by the judges and played I'm sure a significant part in our victory. Thanks you two!
We now go off to the national finals to put our case forward as Village of the Year for England. Fingers crossed X
The awards King's Sutton won were:
Best Newcomer (our first year of entry in the competition)
Best large village in Northamptonshire
Best Village in Northamptonshire
This was obviously a fantastic result for King's Sutton, especially on the back of the bad news we got last week with regards to the terrible flooding we endured.
A lot of people put a great deal of effort into securing victory in the competition; through their hard work demonstrating what a wonderful village and community we have. My thanks go out to them all.
In particular Tina Armstrong and Carole Hill put in huge amounts of effort in putting together a portfolio of the village, which really highlighted all the community activities and events we undertake within the village. This portfolio was very well received by the judges and played I'm sure a significant part in our victory. Thanks you two!
We now go off to the national finals to put our case forward as Village of the Year for England. Fingers crossed X
Flooding in King's Sutton
King's Sutton unfortunately was hit badly by flooding on the 20th/21st July, with the areas affected being predominantly Windsor Close, Wales St, Banbury Lane and Mill Lane. There was a great deal of effort put in by a significant number of villagers to try and minimise the impact of the flooding, which I am certain helped in reducing the damage caused.
It was a great team effort by everyone concerned and I was certainly proud to be a King's Sutton resident - we have such a great community spirit here, clearly demonstrated last week.
Unfortunately there was little we could do for Wales St apart from providing as many sandbags as we could rustle up. The sheer volume of water coming across the flood plain was impossible to stop and a lot of houses there were badly affected.
I would like to thank South Northants Council and the Northamptonshire Fire Service in particular, as they both worked extremely hard throughout the day to minimise the impact of the flooding. It was an extremely professional effort, which they are to be commended for.
I will be working very hard over the coming weeks and months to do whatever I can to assist in preventing such a devastating flood happening to the village again. A lot of work has been done in the past, which will provide an excellent springboard for developing solutions for the future.
In particular there is a scheme that can be quickly and relatively inexpensively implemented to provide protection to Windsor Close and Banbury Lane. I will be working closely with the residents, Councils and other Government Agencies to ensure this scheme is implemented in the near future. We need to do this before people have to suffer such devastating flooding again.
It was a great team effort by everyone concerned and I was certainly proud to be a King's Sutton resident - we have such a great community spirit here, clearly demonstrated last week.
Unfortunately there was little we could do for Wales St apart from providing as many sandbags as we could rustle up. The sheer volume of water coming across the flood plain was impossible to stop and a lot of houses there were badly affected.
I would like to thank South Northants Council and the Northamptonshire Fire Service in particular, as they both worked extremely hard throughout the day to minimise the impact of the flooding. It was an extremely professional effort, which they are to be commended for.
I will be working very hard over the coming weeks and months to do whatever I can to assist in preventing such a devastating flood happening to the village again. A lot of work has been done in the past, which will provide an excellent springboard for developing solutions for the future.
In particular there is a scheme that can be quickly and relatively inexpensively implemented to provide protection to Windsor Close and Banbury Lane. I will be working closely with the residents, Councils and other Government Agencies to ensure this scheme is implemented in the near future. We need to do this before people have to suffer such devastating flooding again.
Monday, 2 July 2007
King's Sutton Housing Needs Survey
South Northants Council have sent out a Housing Needs Survey to all households within King's Sutton. The purpose of this survey is to gain a greater understanding of the housing needs of people within the village; enabling an informed decision to be made on whether there is a requirement for a small affordable housing development within the village.
During my election campaign a recurring theme that was brought up was housing, specifically the lack of housing for people who grew up within the village and were looking for a home of their own. This is a real problem within King's Sutton, as there is a dearth of available housing within the village - the waiting list for housing is extremely long and growing!
I am not advocating the building of significant numbers of affordable housing within the confines or around the outside of the village. What I am advocating though, is a clear and transparent debate about all the issues, enabling an informed and well thought out decision to be made.
The Housing Needs Survey is a key part of this, please do take the time to fill it in and send it back in the envelope provided.
During my election campaign a recurring theme that was brought up was housing, specifically the lack of housing for people who grew up within the village and were looking for a home of their own. This is a real problem within King's Sutton, as there is a dearth of available housing within the village - the waiting list for housing is extremely long and growing!
I am not advocating the building of significant numbers of affordable housing within the confines or around the outside of the village. What I am advocating though, is a clear and transparent debate about all the issues, enabling an informed and well thought out decision to be made.
The Housing Needs Survey is a key part of this, please do take the time to fill it in and send it back in the envelope provided.
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