Month: <span>January 2012</span>

Act now to help bring superfast broadband to Hodnet

Shropshire Council announced on 26th January, 2012 that the Government has given £8.2 million to support a plan to bring superfast broadband to more areas of Shropshire. The organisation coordinating the £530 million Government project – BDUK (Broadband Delivery UK) – has given its backing to the county’s plan.
However it could take  up to £30 million to provide all homes in Shropshire with the agreed minimum of  2mbps per second and to provide superfast broadband to the majority. Shropshire Council is has also agreed to contribute around £8.2 million in match-funding to the project. Full details can be found on the Council’s website here.
The Connecting Shropshire project is also asking residents to complete a 3 minute survey to help them with access the need. There are links to both the residential and business surveys from the top of this page.
The Council list the following problems with broadband availability in the county:

  • 11% of premises in Shropshire have no access to line-based broadband services
  • More than a third of premises (36%) have limited broadband speeds of 2mbps or less.
  • Over a quarter of premises are further than 2.5km from their exchange.
  • According to a recent OFCOM report, Shropshire is one of the worst-ranking local authorities in the UK when it comes to broadband. Out of 200 authority areas, Shropshire is one of just 26 to receive the lowest overall score.
  • Demand for broadband is high – take-up currently stands at 67% of households.
  • 12.3% of the working age population in Shropshire is self-employed (above the 9% national average).
  • There are thought to be more than 9,000 home-based businesses in Shropshire – many of these are located in rural areas.

Whilst residents in Hodnet village enjoy speeds of over 4mbps, in other parts of the Parish speeds are far slower. Some residents have to struggle with the worst possible speeds with the estimated maximum being no more than 0.125mbps!
Helping to improve Internet speeds for those who live in the slowest areas will no doubt also improve them for those who are better connected. Even if your connection meets your need, please help those who are not as fortunate and complete the survey if you have not done so already.

Local Charity to Host Musical Evening at Lyon Hall

Hodnet 2000 will be hosting another ‘Showcase of Musical Talent’ this year on Saturday 24th March 2012 at the Lyon Hall in Hodnet.  Last year’s event was a great success which invited numerous positive comments, and several people asked if we were planning a similar event this year.
It promises to be a very entertaining evening with a number of young people from local schools giving up their limited spare time to perform for us.  There will be light refreshments available during the interval and a chance to win on the raffle.
Demand is expected to be high and there are only 100 seats available so don’t delay buying your tickets.  We are looking forward to seeing you there.
Please read “A Showcase of Musical Talent at The Lyon Hall” listed under the “Events” section of Hodnet’s web site for further information and contact details for ticket purchase.
 

A442 closed yet again by road accident

On the morning of Wed. 25 Jan. the A442 in Peplow was once again closed by a road accident.
According to the Shropshire Star’s web site (report here) the incident occurred around 7:10am and the road was closed until around 8:30am.
The collision, which was between a white Mercedes and a blue Renault Laguna, happened close to Peplow Crossroads. The Star reports that two people escaped serious injury, though one was taken to Princess Royal Hospital in Telford as a precaution.

An Active Village Hall

“An active village hall can greatly improve the life of the community”. – Shropshire rural county council 

The Lyon Hall
2011 was quite a busy year at the Lyon Hall. The smaller rooms were the most popular during the daytime but the large room was booked most evenings and some weekends.
We had WI meetings, Scouts and guides events including a ceilidh and the cheese and wine event in October was very successful, raising over £700 for the maintenance of the building.
Table top sale
The table top sale in December needed more support (spread the word for next year) but there were plenty of bacon butties sold to raise a profit.
The large room at the Lyon Hall is an excellent space for larger gatherings and is regularly used for practise by a competitive ball room dancing couple.
Making bacon butties
A Dog Showing enthusiasts group also use the large room to teach the dogs and owners showing and ring skills.
Hodnet and district Garden Club is an active and long running club which meets at the Lyon Hall every third Tuesday in the month. It held its popular Annual show at the hall, in August. To visit their website and learn more click here.
Slimming world meetings helped us lose weight and eat healthily while Zumba classes kept us fit and athletic. The quiz evenings exercised our brains and had the added bonus of £20 as first prize.
Maintenance and repairs.
We have undertaken some repairs to the roof tiles and guttering and repaired the fence posts around the path. The handrail at the disabled entrance has been repaired and we are currently replacing the oil tank which was vandalised in November. We will also be improving the security to prevent this happening again.
The upkeep of the hall is an ongoing project and the committee are keen to maintain and improve the facilities available to its users. We greatly value your opinions so if you have any suggestions for the halls  improvement please contact us at the Lyon Hall  email Our web site is currently being updated but can be viewed here
 
 

A Showcase of Musical Talent at The Lyon Hall

Hodnet 2000 Educational Trust

Presents

A Showcase of Musical Talent

Featuring Young People from the Local Area

at The Lyon Hall, Hodnet

on 24th March 2012 at 7.00 p.m.

Tickets £4.00 each

all proceeds in aid of the Educational Trust

Contact: Dave Smither 01630 685 966 for Tickets

Quiz night at the Bear Hotel

There is a pub quiz at the Bear Hotel, Hodnet on Friday 3rd February starting at 8.30pm.

Entry is £1 per person. Teams welcome.

Please support your local events.

More info: Kevin Stevenson email

Jubilee weekend community event

A community event to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee  is to be held on the recreation ground in Hodnet on Sunday 3rd June.
Planning for the day is in its very early stages, and all local groups, clubs, societies and individuals who may be interested in helping to organise the event or take part in any way are encouraged to contact Janice Parker on 01630-685 531 as soon as possible. The intention is to form an organising committee and go from there.
Please consider getting  involved to help make this a memorable and fun filled occasion.

Quiz night at the Lyon Hall

A quiz night will be held at the Lyon Hall
at
 7.30 pm on Thursday March 22nd
£5 for a table of 4
£20 for first prize
To book a table please contact Mrs Janice Parker  01630 685531
Please  feel free to bring your own food and drink
Funds raised to go to  the Lyon Hall

Shropshire Star reports questionnaire results

Villagers back plan for footpath link-up” was the headline in Tuesday’s (3rd Jan) Shropshire Star, when it reported on the results of the questionnaire sent out by Hodnet Parish Council on proposals to create a path to connect Marchamley to Hodnet (and mistakenly also mentioned it connecting with Wollerton – some path indeed!).
The full results can be found on this page. The main result being, as the Star stated, 91 per cent of people who replied were in favour of the proposal.
Richard Underwood, a member of the Parish Council, told them “The Parish Council felt the return rate was pretty good, but there is still time for anyone who hasn’t got around to returning their form to do so. When it came to expected uses of the path, the questionnaire seemed to support our general expectations that its use would be popular for leisure purposes, but in Marchamley many households would also consider its use important in helping to access local based services.
After considering the results the parish council agreed in principle that scheme was worthy of further examination by the Hodnet Footpath Group, with whom the results have been shared.”
Unfortunately, when it came to a photograph, it seems the only one the Star could find for Hodnet, was of a Market Drayton town sign!

New Reading Group?

Do you like books?
Would you like to share/discuss them with like minded people at a monthly or bi-monthly get together?
If the answer to the above is ‘Yes’, perhaps you would like to help establish a new Hodnet Reading Group?
Expressions of interest are sought by e-mailing your name, address and phone number to Sally Underwood at email P.S. Market Drayton Library have a scheme to provide multiple copies of books to local Reading Groups, so there is no intention of members buying books.