Month: <span>January 2014</span>

Hodnet Housing Development – Appeal Withdrawn

Early today (31 Jan 2014) Shropshire Council’s Planning Department posted on the planning portal a copy of a letter they have received from The Planning Inspectorate. Dated 28 Jan, the letter informed the Council that:

The hearing arranged for 5 February 2014 has been cancelled because the appellant has withdrawn the appeal.

A PDF of the letter can be downloaded directly from this link.
The second planning application for 44 dwellings on the same plots of land remains in place and has yet to be approved by the Council. See here for more information.

Hodnet Housing Development – New Appeal Hearing Date

IMPORTANT UPDATE – THE HEARING ANNOUNCED BELOW HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

Please see this post for more details.

In a letter sent out to some local residents on 21st January 2014, Shropshire Council have announced the new date for appeal for the original planning application for the building of 50 dwellings on land off Station Road. Originally arranged for November last year the hearing was postponed at short notice.
The new date is Wednesday 5th February starting at 10.00 am. There is a different venue for the hearing from the postponed session. The new location is Shrewsbury Room, Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, SY2 6ND. Anyone wishing to attend the hearing should arrive at least 30 minutes before it is due to start. (Parking near Shirehall is difficult so please allow plenty of time if travelling by car.)
Documentation concerning the appeal is available here on the Planning Department’s website or can be viewed by arrangement with the North-Wem team which is based at Castle View, Oswestry, SY11 1JR (Tel. 01939-237574 or email.)
More information on taking part in planning appeals is available in a “Guide to taking part in planning appeals proceedings” available as a PDF booklet from this page on the Government’s Planning Portal website. Scroll about halfway down the page to the section headed, “Guide to taking part (Planning)” and click on the second item “Hearings”.
This hearing concerns the original application and is running alongside a second planning application for 44 dwellings on the same site submitted after Shropshire Council refused planning permission for the first set of proposals. If this appeal is granted then the developers will be able to build 50 new dwellings as originally intended.

Shropshire Budget Proposals Consultation

Shropshire NewsroomThis week Shropshire Newsroom announced a new consultation through which residents are being invited to share their views on Shropshire Council’s budget proposals for the next three years. Some residents have already been involved in the development of the proposals and now the Council is urging others to offer their thoughts on the plans. An online survey is available in the “have-your-say” section of their website. Click here to go directly to the Budget Proposals 2014/15 to 2016/17 survey.
A 25 page summary of the plans is available to download as a PDF document from here. Closing date for participating is Sunday 9 February 2014, so if you are motivated respond you will need to begin reading the summary soon!

Footpath Group Meets – Help Welcome

Hodnet Footpath Group are getting together this week (on Thursday 23rd Jan at 8pm at the Bear Inn, Hodnet) to discuss their plans for 2014.
If you are interested in local walking, like some of the things the group has already done or would simply like to know more/meet us, please feel free to come along.
Further details from
Chairman: John Bourne Tel 01630 638965 or email
Secretary Mary Hardy Tel 01952 540970 or email
 
 

Four Shotguns Stolen

West Mercia Police LogoPolice are trying to trace four shotguns stolen from a gun cabinet during a burglary a home near Market Drayton between 7.10pm and 9.05pm on Friday, 10th January, 2014. (A Neighbourhood Watch update sent out on 14th Jan. gives the location of the property as Kenstone, Hodnet.) An appeal published yesterday on the West Mercia Police’s website states that they have issued details of the firearms in the hope they will be recognised if offered for sale.
Whilst searching through several rooms in the property the thieves discovered two sets of keys to open a gun cabinet and removed four firearms. Details of the shotguns are:

  • A Zildiz 20-bore over and under shotgun, serial number 1509;
  • A Beretta 12-bore over and under shotgun, serial number P50655B;
  • A More and Brown side by side 12-bore shotgun;
  • A Baikal 12-bore single barrel shotgun, serial number Y18094;
  • Between 50 and 100 12-bore cartridges were also stolen.

Other items taken were a man’s stainless steel Rolex Oyster wristwatch, serial number 1127027; about £100 from a handbag and a quantity of foreign currency including Euros, Singapore and Australian dollars.
Anyone who is offered such firearms for sale in dubious circumstances should contact Shrewsbury police station by calling 101. Alternatively, Information can also be given to the anonymous Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.

Hodnet’s New Knight

Mr & Mrs Heber-Percy
Mr & Mrs Heber-Percy at Hodnet’s Party in the Park, June 2012
On the 1st January this year, Hodnet gained its first knight since the 1600’s. Two days before his 70th birthday, Algernon Eustace Hugh Heber-Percy, Lord-Lieutenant for Shropshire, became a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. Honours in this Order are given by The Queen to people who have served her or the Monarchy in a personal way. Honours are normally awarded on the advice of government ministers, but on 21 April 1896 Queen Victoria established the Royal Victorian Order as a junior and personal order that allowed her to bestow honours directly for personal services. It is for his work as Lord-Lieutenant in which he acts as the Queen’s representative in the county that Sir Algernon Heber-Percy KCVO has been knighted. His wife has also gained a new title and is now known as the The Honourable Lady Jane Heber-Percy.
Picture from Shropshire Star article – click image to read it The Heber-Percy’s ancestors’ connection with Hodnet started in the 11th century when they built their first home in what is now the parkland around Hodnet Hall. However, the Heber-Percy name did not appear until Algernon Charles Percy, the son of Rt. Rev. Hon. Hugh Percy, married Emily Heber, daughter of Rt. Rev. Reginald Heber, in 1839. Famous ancestors of the Heber-Percys include Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1714-1786) and Algernon Percy, 1st Earl of Beverley (1749-1830). Today’s Sir Algernon, however, is the first knight in the five generations since the Heber-Percy name came into existence.
Picture from Shropshire Life’s ‘Profile of Lord Lieutenant Algernon Heber-Percy’ – click image to read it Records show two people by the name of Sir John Ludlow as being the earliest knights living in Hodnet and this was during the 15th century. The first was born around 1450 and was the son of Sir Richard Ludlow of Stokesay. His son, and the second Sir John was born around 1470. Humphrey Vernon, 3rd son of Sir Henry Vernon of Haddon, married Alice Ludlow heiress of Hodnet, Shropshire and settled here. Their grandson, became Sir John Vernon (1548-1591) possibly on the death of his uncle. He was succeeded by his son, Sir Robert Vernon (1577-1625). His son Sir Henry Vernon (1605–1676) was appointed a Baronet in 1660, which brought to a pause the history of knights in Hodnet. (The Hills of Hawkstone were first appointed Baronets and later Viscounts.) Hodnet remained the property of the Vernon family for 250 years, until it passed to the Hebers in 1725. With the awarding of his present knighthood, Sir Algernon has now brought back the title to the parish.

Enjoy Reading?

Are you an avid reader?
Would you like to read more in 2014?
Would you enjoy sharing your thoughts and views with others who’ve read the same thing?
……. then come along to meetings of the Hodnet Book Group.
We are a small friendly local group who meet at each others homes a few times year, having all read the same book – as provided by Market Drayton Library*.
Contact Sally Underwood for more details. Tel 01630 685286
*There is a small annual fee to cover the library’s book charge.

Police Local PACT – Online Meeting

West Mercia Police LogoWest Mercia Police are holding their first ever online, Partners and Communities Together (PACT) meeting on Wednesday January 15. It is hoped that it will give residents the chance to ask officers any questions they may have about policing in the area and highlight any concerns. The meeting which will take place between 6:00 and 8:00pm is for residents across North Shropshire which includes Hodnet.
During the meeting officers representing Safer Neighbourhood Teams from across the northern area of Shropshire will be on hand to answer questions, provide advice and give updates on actions to address previous priority issues. The panel will be Inspector Rik Klair, Sgt Claire Greenaway and Sgt Scott Barnes.
Anyone wishing to take part in the meeting can log in on the day at www.westmercia.police.uk/webchat. Before then residents can sign up to receive an email reminder shortly before the PACT meeting starts. Archives of previous West Mercia Police web chats can also be viewed via this page.
Anyone unable to take part on the night can suggest questions in advance through the local SNT Twitter accounts. For the Hodnet area the relevant one is @MDraytonCops.

Take Care – Permissive Path Repairs

The exceptional rains of recent times have washed out much of the lower section of the Marchamley to Hodnet path. As a result it is now impassable to wheeled traffic, although walkers can still use it – but please take special care on the uneven surface.
As regular users will know, this isn’t the first time this has happened; seemingly because, since it was first constructed, we’ve not had a settled period of weather long enough to allow the surface to fully mesh together/bed down before it is washed away by another bout of heavy rain.
Shropshire Council and the landowner have just agreed a new plan for path replacement plus an earth embankment adjacent – to divert water run off from the adjacent field. This will take place as soon as the weather permits.

Margaret Jarvis

Margaret Elizabeth Jarvis, formerly of Wollerton Bank, Wollerton, and latterly of Swan Hill Residential home, Shrewsbury, passed away peacefully on 31st December 2013, aged 96years, after a short illness.
Widow of local veterinary surgeon Tony Jarvis, Margaret is survived by son William (Bill) and daughter Elizabeth and granddaughters Anna, Sarah and Nell and great grandson Buddy.
The Funeral service will be held on Thursday 16th January at 11am at the Shrewsbury Crematorium.
The family would like to thank all those in Wollerton and the surrounding areas, too many to mention, who were so kind, supportive and generous to Margaret over the many years she lived at Wollerton.
Thanks and best wishes for 2014.
Bill