Month: <span>October 2013</span>

Hodnet and District Garden Club – Nov. 2013

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 19th November at 7.30 pm at the Lyon Hall, when we will be holding a GARDENERS’ QUESTION TIME
Why not come along and get expert advice for those garden problems?
Our panellists are:

  • Andrew Humphris – Head Gardner Wollerton Hall Gardens
  • Martin Ford – Radio Shropshire’s ‘Garden Phone In’
  • Graham Shillaber – Chelsea Flower Show Judge and Thames Valley Radio ‘Garden Phone-In’

EVERYONE WELCOME
We meet every month on the third Tuesday at the Lyon Hall, 7:30pm
Visitors are most welcome to come along to our talks and partake in a cup of tea and biscuit. Entry fee for guests is £2.00 per person,
or why not join our club; it’s only £12 for a whole year.
 

Hodnet Housing Development – Appeal Date Set

PLEASE NOTE: THIS HEARING HAS BEEN CANCELLED

The Shropshire Planning department has announced on its website the date of the appeal for the original planning application for the building of 50 dwellings on land off Station Road.
On the 23 Oct. a copy of a letter notifying neighbours of the Appeal Hearing date and venue was added to the list of documents. It states:

I am writing to inform you that the Informal Hearing will be held on 13th November 2013 at 10:00 in The Council Chambers Edinburgh House New Street Wem Shropshire SY4 5DB. B Lyons has been appointed by the Secretary of State to determine the above appeal. You may attend the Hearing and participate at the discretion of the Inspector.

Besides being available on the above page of the Council’s website they can also be viewed within the main reception area of the Council offices at North – Wem between the hours of 9.00 am and 4.30 p.m. Mondays to Fridays. Residents wishing to view them in person are asked to telephone in advance so that staff can confirm that they are available so to avoid wasted journeys. The phone number on the letter is 01939 237584.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS HEARING HAS BEEN CANCELLED

Local NHS – Call To Action

Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), and Telford and Wrekin CCG are together inviting local residents to take part and have their say in the largest discussion on the future of the NHS in its 65-year history. The ‘Call to Action’ is looking at all aspects of the NHS, including mental health services, GP services, hospitals including community hospitals, dental services and pharmacies.
An article published here on the Shropshire Newsroon website states:

Local residents will have the chance to say what is working well, and not so well, in their local NHS.
In particular, the two CCGs are keen to find out:

  • In terms of healthcare, what is most important to you and your family and why?
  • What might be some options for change?
  • What do you think are the main difficulties and opportunities for the NHS over the next five years?

There is also the opportunity for people to have their say in an on-line survey, which closes on Monday 4 November 2013 on the Shropshire & Telford CCGs’ websites. Feedback from the survey and other community engagement activities will be used to develop a future vision for the health service nationally and locally.
The feedback will then be used to inform a large joint conference on Monday 25 November 2013 in Telford. Both CCGs are encouraging members of the public, patients, clinicians, staff, and stakeholders to book a place on the conference and take part in the debate. The conference will look at national health challenges. This includes a generally ageing population, more people living with long-term conditions such as diabetes or dementia, and ‘lifestyle risks’, including the impact of alcohol, smoking and obesity.
For more information please see Call to Action A4 PDF Booklet [80kb] and Call to Action A5 PDF Leaflet [39kb]. Alternatively, if you would like a paper copy of the online survey, email or write to:
Freepost Plus RTAA-XTHA-LGGC
Communications & Community Relations
Staffordshire CSS, Heron House
120 Grove Road
Stoke-on-Trent    ST4 4LX
FAO: Call to Action

Market Drayton and Rural area LJC meeting Oct 2013

The Market Drayton and Rural area Local Joint Committee (LJC) covers the Civil Parish of Hodnet – see here for details.
All local residents are invited to discuss their local community issues and to identify their local priorities at the nest meeting. This will take place on Wednesday 23 October 2013 starting 7pm in the Stoke-Upon-Tern Village Hall.
Details of what will be taking place can be found on this page on the Shropshire Newsroom website. The evening will start with a screening of a short film entitled “Release Day”. It is a piece of dance theatre filmed by kind permission of the Prison Service within the cells and exercise yard of Stoke Heath Prison. Other items include a talk about Compassionate Dementia- Friendly Communities, an update on the ‘Connecting Shropshire’ programme and recent developments in the work to upgrade local broadband services and representatives from the local police team will be present to discuss/answer questions about local policing issues and the recent changes to the service.
The LJC also has funding available for community projects and a number of applications will be discussed at the meeting. If anyone would like to know more about the LJC, or to apply for LJC funds, they should contact Nicola Fisher, senior community action officer, on 01939 237569.

BONFIRE night at Hodnet School 2013

The annual community BONFIRE at Hodnet Primary School is on Friday 8th November 2013
Gates open at 6.30pm
Entrance charge –
over 14 years of age £3.00
under 14 years of age 50p
Hot dogs, jacket potatoes, tea and cakes, sweetie stall and glow sticks on sale.
Licensed bar with Mulled Cider to warm you up.
Everyone under the age of 14 MUST be accompanied by an adult.
Unfortunately, due to health and safety conditions, no one may bring fireworks or sparklers on to the site (apart from JackFlash employees).

Changes to Local Policing Announced

West Mercia Police recently announced a change to the delivery of local policing services which formally came into force on 30 September 2013. Their full announcement can be found here.
Locally, the Market Drayton Rural South team no longer exists, the different teams in the Market Drayton area having been merged into the Market Drayton Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT). This covers the whole of the Market Drayton area, including Hodnet. Details of the team, a map of the area covered and contact information can be found on this page on the West Mercia Police website. We have also updated the contact information in our Local Services section.
In a separate announcement West Mercia Police have said that police officers are now equipped with mobile tablet computers as part of a drive to increase the visibility of police officers and reduce the need for them to return to the office. With this new technology, officers will be able to remotely perform Police National Computer (PNC) checks, check photographs, access mapping information and receive incident reports. The announcement stated:

TETRATABs have been in use by a number of Warwickshire police officers since 2011 and were recently trialled in West Mercia.
They have already demonstrated their value to frontline policing. On one occasion officers searching for a suspect in a baby snatch were able to react immediately having been sent an image of the suspect. On another occasion, following a tip off that a wanted man was in a pub, officers were able to view his image on a mobile device before entering the pub and arresting him quickly and efficiently.
Online maps have been used to identify and coordinate search activity in relation to vulnerable missing people, and officers are able to update systems and submit reports remotely – again removing the need to return the station to complete paperwork.

Three new mobile police stations have been introduced in West Mercia, and all safer neighbourhood teams have been issued with Blackberry devices to enable them to access and update local social media accounts on the go. Gareth Morgan, Assistant Chief Constable and Lead for Local Policing, said:

The overriding aim of our new policing model is to keep officers out of the office and make them more accessible and available to the communities they serve.
Given the large geographical areas that we cover, providing mobile data terminals means that our officers can access the information that they need, allowing them to work more effectively and efficiently. These devices will help to keep police officers where the public want them.

A TETRATAB in use within a parked patrol car