Notton Parish Newsletter May 2008 Editorial Welcome to the May 2008 edition of the Notton newsletter. Highlights of the newsletter include information on the forthcoming footpaths walks (18th May) and the annual gala (8th Jun). Readers may also be interested to read about our new neighbourhood policing arrangements and the opportunities for babies and young children through Kindermusik. Many of you will have voted in the local elections on 1st May and the result for the Crofton, Ryhill and Walton ward saw the Conservative candidate Susan Lodge beat the sitting Labour councillor Albert Manifeld by 53 votes. The full result was Conservatives 1783 votes, Labour 1730 votes and the BNP 902 votes. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Albert for all his work on behalf of the parish over the last few years and to welcome Susan to our team of district councillors. Chris Pilkington (01226 700260) FOOTPATH WALKS – SUNDAY 18th May Come and walk the footpaths in the Parish on Sunday 18th May Start from the Village Hall, any time from 2.00 o’clock All ages and abilities catered for, including pushchairs, selection of walks to choose from - 2 miles to 7 miles. Route maps and directions available to take with you, tea and buns afterwards. Explore your local area, learn about its history Where was this picture taken? A prize for the first walker with the right answer! Any enquiries to Pete Taylor, 722155 Notton Parish Council Since the last Newsletter the Parish Council has learned that the application for funding for the play area near Hudson Avenue has been successful. The money is from Landfill Tax Credit and covers the bulk of the cost: additional funding from the Parish Council and others is in place, and we hope that work will start in the next six months. The play area is on land belonging to the District Council and will be built and maintained by them. The allotment plots have been let and cultivation by some of the tenants has begun. There is a waiting list for plots so the Council will not renew any lets which are not cultivated in the coming season – get digging! We hope to get some fencing erected around the area. The Parish Council is working with Notton Village Shop Ltd to counter the threat of closure of the local Post Office by Post Office Ltd. This will involve gathering information to submit to the Post Office Consultation Team if the closure is notified, probably on 9th June. The Shop needs the Post Office in order to be viable, so if the Post Office has to go the business will have to close. The Council considers that the Shop/Post Office is very important to the village: it is a communication hub: it is used for services like dry cleaning and newspapers, advertising events, and the ability to collect pensions and undeliverable parcels, and it would leave a great gap in village life if it was not there. The Council continues to receive complaints about people parking cars on the footway. While getting your car or van off the carriageway may seem to be a good thing it is essential that you leave enough room for prams or disabled buggies to pass on the inside please. The next meetings are on Thursdays as usual, June 5th and July 3rd: there is no meeting in August. Parishioners are welcome to attend the meetings in the Village Hall at 7.30pm. Peter Taylor – Chairman (01226 722155) Notton Gala (Sun 8th June) The month of May heralds the active part of the Gala! The planning and booking of various sections have now been completed and we now turn to advertising. The roadside signs are going out, retail establishments are being contacted to display posters; newspapers are being contacted and everyone will soon receive a letter drop requesting items of good quality which are surplus to your needs which can be donated for selling on the various Village Stalls. Raffle tickets have been printed with proceeds going to support the Wakefield and Barnsley hospices and I urge everyone to buy at least one book of five tickets for £1 to support two very worthwhile charities. Please make a note in your diary for 8th June and please do have a wonderful afternoon at one of the major attractions to be held in the Village during the year. Michael Tate (01226 709399) Neighbourhood Policing Policing across Wakefield has been restructured in order to make officers more accessible and familiar with the communities they work in. A neighbourhood approach began on 3rd March 08 when 7 neighbourhood teams were formed across the district. The neighbourhood teams will deal with those issues affecting the quality of life of residents such as anti-social behaviour, problem neighbours and crime patterns which are occurring in localities. The teams are allocating staff to the neighbourhoods on a council ward basis so that every ward has dedicated staff who will become known and link in with the elected members and services for the areas. Notton is in the Crofton, Ryhill and Walton ward and there are 3 police constables and 3 police community support officers allocated to the ward. Each day there should be staff working from the neighbourhood team between 0800hrs and midnight. They will be attending calls from the public and looking at solving ongoing problems across the ward. All matters requiring an immediate response will be dealt with by response team police officers who are in vehicles and work 24 hours. If a member of the public requires the police they should phone 999 in an emergency or 08456 060606. Messages for the neighbourhood team can also be left on the 0845 number. The dedicated officers for the ward are: * PC Eddie Davis * PC 6887 Whiteside * PC 6608 Jackson The community support officers are: * PCSO Kerry Calvert * PCSO Gareth Owen * PCSO Georgina Stevens If members of the public have concerns about any policing matters they can contact the team on 01924 293257 and leave their details on the answerphone facility on that number and a member of staff will get back to them Inspector Karen Bailes, Neighbourhood Policing Team, Wakefield Notton Village Hall Management Committee The Annual General Meeting of the Management Committee was held on 19th March and Mr Alan Shand was elected Chairman to replace Mr Graham Mann. The Treasurer reported on the healthy state of the Hall’s finances but noted the heavy dependence on fundraising events to finance running costs. As a result hire charges for the use of the Hall are to be raised slightly. Lead flashing from the roof had been stolen at the same time as other properties in the village had been targeted. The damage has been repaired. The Hall’s piano – a very old Bluthner – is now untunable (separate opinions from two piano tuners) and is to be disposed of. Any suggestions? Some internal redecoration will be done this summer as the paintwork is getting a little shabby. The Committee is also looking at putting up a Village Hall sign on the building – apparently strangers have difficulty finding it! Peter Taylor, Hon Treasurer (01226 722155) Kindermusik Kindermusik is a music and movement class for babies newborn to 18 months which is run on a Tuesday at the Village Hall at 10am for an hour (usually with refreshments at the end). Families from the village are very welcome since there is not much at present for young children/babies to do in Notton. Kindermusik developed in the 1960’s and is the world’s leading music and movement programme in over 66 countries with more than 5000 educators (of which one is me!). The ‘Village’ class is aimed at newborns to 18 months and incorporates singing, dancing, creative movement, instruments and object play, baby massage and exercises, vocal play and a relaxing ‘quiet time’. The classes are all accompanied by materials to use at home including a baby board book, CD, wall art banners to help develop baby’s eyesight and an age appropriate instrument. These classes aim to develop every part of an infant’s brain and are also suitable for special needs children. Class sizes are small with no more than 12 allowed and have a very friendly, relaxed and fun atmosphere. They are also very informative and parents are shown how to expand on the activities at home and how a particular activity is helping their child. The courses are usually run term times for 9 weeks (often with a party session on the end) but people can join at any time during a cycle. I can be contacted at kmusikwithjo@fsmail.net or on 01226 724414. There is also at present a toddler class running at Woolley Village Hall on a Monday (10am) for an hour too! Jo Booth Flower Arranging Flower Arranging classes are being held in the Hall on Thursday afternoons, starting at 1.30. We are instructed by a lady from the WEA. A few places are available for beginners to join this friendly group. Please contact me if you would like to join. Hesse Tate (01226 709399) Activities in Notton Village Hall Dog Training every Monday 6.45 – 9.00pm Contact Mrs Kolkowski 01924 252107 Kindermusik term-time Tuesday 10.00 – 11.00 Contact Jo Booth 01226 724414 Self-help Embroidery term-time Wednesday 1.30 – 3.30 Contact June Clark 01226 722346 Weight Watchers every Wednesday 6.00 – 8.00 Contact Sue Watkins 01924 259142 Self-help Flower Arranging term-time Thursday 1.30 – 3.30 Contact Hesse Tate 01226 709399 Children’s Ballet Class every Thursday 4.30 – 6.00pm Contact Claire Barlow 07976 911296 Yoga every Thursday 7.00 – 8.00pm Contact Julie Winham 01226 728227 Parish Council Meeting 1st Thursday of the month 7.30pm Contact Caroline Smith (Parish Clerk) 01226 382360 Wine Club Last Thursday of the month 7.30pm Contact Bob Stevenson 01226 722385 Self-Help Art Class every Friday 10.00am – 12.00noon Contact David Cliff 01226 726844 Parish Council Contact Details Caroline Smith (Clerk) Cllr Peter Taylor (Chair) 48a, Wakefield Road 1 High Ash Close Staincross Notton Barnsley Wakefield S75 6JY WF4 2PF Tel: 01226 382360 Tel:01226 722155 E-mail: cjs48a@tiscali.co.uk Cllr Chris Pilkington (Lib Dems) - Vice Chair Cllr Maureen Eames 41 The Oval 9 Midland Cottages Notton Navvy Lane Wakefield Old Royston WF4 2NX Barnsley Tel: 01226 700260 S71 4EE E-mail: chris_pilkington@hotmail.co.uk Tel: 01226 722963 Cllr Stephen Selby Cllr Eleanor Turner 3 Hudson Avenue 84 George Lane Notton Notton Wakefield Wakefield WF4 2NY E-mail: stephenselby@hotmail.com District Councillors Contact Details Cllr Maureen Cummings (Lab) Cllr Graham Isherwood (Lab) Tel: 01924 363165 Tel: 01977 602172 E-mail: mcummings@wakefield.gov.uk E-mail: gisherwood@wakefield.gov.uk Cllr Susan Lodge (Con) Tel: 01924 250809 1