Bishops Cannings Parish Newsletter April 2019

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 1 1 Chairman’s Letter

As individuals, our time in this Parish may be limited. Apart from the Church, it is not the buildings in the Parish that are exceptional but the landscape. If a wayfarer had passed down what is now the A361 a thousand years ago, he would have looked down on the Parish and seen trees dotted about in the valley, with bog and stream. They would have been deciduous trees, lacking in the variety we can see in modern landscapes

The great landscape gardeners of the 18th century, like Capability Brown, came to and changed the landscape, while artists like Gainsborough inspired future generations.

Our special landscape is also, to a large extent, man-made. Think of the , Harepath, the White Horses, the Leipzig Plantation, , , the canal, various monuments - and the drive down to Manor Farm, Stert.

As a Parish we are fortunate to be beneficiaries of a tree planting grant. We need to take great care in our choice of species and in the positioning of the trees; plant in the wrong place and it is hard to rectify. We will take advice and choose sites carefully.

I greatly enjoyed cross country races in Wiltshire in my youth, charging through spectacular landscapes. Later on, running through the suburbs and housing estates of Oxford soon killed off any enjoyment I had in that direction!

We have opportunities to improve our landscape. We should take them so that future generations can appreciate them as landmarks in their development. We all need good landscapes as part of our general wellbeing. MJH

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 2 2 WE ARE NOW ON-LINE

Read your Parish Council Magazine in full colour on your tablet, computer or mobile.

Just search for: Bishops Cannings Parish Council Facebook Page

What if you don’t have a computer, tablet or mobile phone? Don’t worry – we can still provide a good old-fashioned printed version if you need it.

Just telephone or send your name and address to:

Jenny Combe, ‘Blackbirds’, Bourton, Bishop’s Cannings SN10 2LF 01380 860356

and we will arrange delivery

We are also leaving batches of newsletters in St Mary’s Church, local pubs, Bishop’s Cannings Village Hall, Horton telephone box, Cannings Hill Garage Shop and The Hair Company, Coate.

A request to our kind contributors: When sending copy for the newsletter, please avoid supplying it as ‘read only’ or as PDFs . It does take a fair bit of extra time processing and editing it into A5 format.

Thank you, Newsletter Editor (and her Tech Support Man)

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 3 3 Bishops Cannings Parish Council

Your Councillors:

Cllr Simon Casey (Vice- Chairman) SC [email protected]

Cllr Jenny Combe [email protected] JC

Cllr Robert Jones RJ [email protected]

Cllr Neil Bridgen NB [email protected]

Cllr Diane Carey DC [email protected]

Cllr Christine Body [email protected] - Newsletter Editor CB Deadline for next issue is Wednesday, 10th April

Clerk, Richard Miller (Takes up post 1st April) [email protected] RM

Parish Council Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month, at the Parish Hall in Bishops Cannings. Meetings start at 7.30pm. The next meeting is on Tuesday, 9th April.

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 4 4 Area News:

DEFIBRILLATORS

There are now three defibrillators in the Parish. These are located at:

The Crown Inn, Bishops Cannings Telephone Box in Horton Telephone Box in Coate

At present Cannings Hill does not have a defibrillator, but any ideas as to where to install one will be welcome. The location needs to be easily accessible at all times and volunteers are needed to do some basic checks each month to ensure the units are functioning correctly.

Please get in touch with any of our councillors if you are willing to volunteer in your area.

Anzio Road Footpath access to Lidl

The lack of a formal path between the Anzio Road development and the new Aster housing currently being built has been taken up with our local Wiltshire Councillor, Philip Whitehead.

The strip of land between the two developments is owned by neither Aster or Anzio and is deemed ‘no man’s land’. The footpath that has been installed goes right up to the boundary but does not encroach into this strip and planning permission has not been given for a footpath over it. The Parish Council will make further enquiries, with the aim of ultimately providing some form of footway.

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 5 5 Floodlighting for St Mary’s Bishop’s Cannings April 2019

5th Alexander Combe’s birthday

6th Anthony Lake

11th for Jackie

21st Queen Elizabeth

Spring Clean Of St Mary’s Church

On Saturday 27th April we are planning a ‘Spring Clean’ of the interior of our lovely St Mary’s Church, Bishop’s Cannings.

We start at 10am. Everyone is welcome to come and help with some of the tasks our regular cleaning volunteers don’t always have time to do.

Jobs large and small available! Any help appreciated. Please bring cleaning materials.

Tea, coffee and pastries will be provided, so please let me know if you will be helping, by contacting me on email via [email protected] or 01380 860307

Thank you, Teresa Russ.

Church Service Times

Many apologies, with our early deadline date this month, we are unable to provide Church Service times for the coming month. Please contact Helen Rawlings of the Bishop’s Cannings and Redhorn Team for details of services up to Easter.

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 6 6 The Bishop’s Cannings Community Lunch

The next get together will be at The Crown Inn, Bishop’s Cannings, 12.30pm on Wednesday 3rd April.

The lunch is a great way to meet new neighbours, make new friends and have a good catch up with current friends. Anyone is welcome to join us but please pre-book with:-

Liz Bailey 01380 860400 or text 07779 900227 by Monday 1st April

Bishop’s Cannings Tuesday Club

There are 3 more meetings before the summer break and the start of a new programme in September, which I am starting to put together. If anyone has an interesting subject that they would be willing to talk about, or if you know of someone, please let me know (01380 860640)

We are also always looking for new members to help boost membership, so if you know of anyone new to the area do encourage them to come along. They can be assured of a warm welcome. We meet in Bishop’s Cannings Village Hall on the dates below at 3pm. There is a charge of £2 per person and this includes a delicious tea.

16th April Anti and Post-Apartheid South Africa - Steve Chart 21th May Doctors in the House - Jenny Combes 18th June Dragons and Rescue Dogs – Debi Evans

Ann Jarvis (no meetings in July or August)

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 7 7 Times Past – extract from ‘A Wiltshire Childhood’ by Ida Gandy In addition to his seven children my father had two other families – his parishioners and his bees. The bees lived in twenty-four hives, named after the letters of the Greek alphabet, which stood in a grassy alley bordered by syringa and lilac trees. The snow-on-the-mountain, the aubretia and the yellow alyssum in the ha-ha were grown for the bees’ special benefit and close around the house were fields of white clover and of saintfoin, which provided them with a rich pasture- ground. From the rose-coloured blossoms of the saintfoin the bees made a delicate green honey which was my father’s particular pride and he loved to bring out a pot of it out on special occasions. In the nursery we were always allowed honey without stint - honey glistening in the comb, liquid golden honey and thick candied honey when the cold days came. If anyone killed a bee it grieved him deeply, and when one of us was stung (which happened frequently) he used to say, ‘Dear, dear! Now the poor bee will die.’ Sometimes the bees would invade the Church. One Sunday, sitting in a row under the pulpit, we were spellbound to see him break off in the middle of his sermon, descend with dignity into the nave, and without a word, approach a woman who was sitting a few pews behind us. Agog with excitement, we whispered to one another, ‘She must have been talking! What will he do to her?’ Then, while the congregation watched with breathless attention, my father calmly removed a bee from the brim of the woman’s hat, took it to the open doorway and, having set it free in the sunshine, proceeded with his sermon.

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 8 8 Times Past – The Bishop’s Cannings Sand Donkeys and Wiltshire Gazette - Thursday 20 June 1867 DEVIZES DISTRICT PETTY SESSIONS. Monday. (Before F. A. S. Locke, Esq., the Rev. A. Smith, and the Rev. E. B. Edgell.) Geo. Watkins, the driver of a lot of unfortunate sand-donkeys, from , was charged by the policeman stationed at Bishop's Cannings with allowing his donkeys to stray about the highway on the 31st of May. Seeing five donkeys about the road near Horton Bridge, at 6 o'clock in the evening, the policeman stated that he went into ‘The Bridge’ public-house, where he found Watkins asleep in the tap room. About nine o'clock the same evening, the policeman went to the village of Bishop's Cannings, and there were the same donkeys strolling about outside ‘The Crown’ public-house; Watkins, as before, being snugly ensconsed in the tap room. The only excuse he had now to offer was that he had had a little too much to drink. But he would take care it should not occur again. The Bench however declined to trust him, and fined him 10s.including costs; but as Watkins could only muster 8s., he was allowed a week to pay the remainder. Our current band of four sand donkeys. They have over- wintered in the village, eating well and enjoying rolling in the mud. They certainly haven’t been seen frequenting the local pubs. Very soon they will be off to work the summer season at the sea-side.

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 9 9 The Trees of Bishop’s Cannings

The first thing we had noticed as we drove into Bourton Road, Bishop’s Cannings on a sunny day in May 2011 was the trees. They felt like a warm cocoon surrounding and protecting us. We were excited – to be living in a house with a name, not a number; to be living in a small community where you could get to know your neighbours as friends and to be living in an area which was quiet.

The enchantment continued that summer, with a host of little blue butterflies congregating on the surface of the road, dancing in the dappled light underneath the avenue of lime trees leading to Bourton Farm. To then discover that one of our trees was host to a colony of bees was icing on the cake to a new beekeeper.

We happily watched the bees’ comings and goings, not able to know how strong a colony they were – and would they stay around or find a new place to live?

Our then neighbour, Yvonne Forsey, lent me a copy of the Ida Gandy book ‘A Wiltshire Childhood’, which I happily read. It reminded me of my Essex childhood when my sister and I had remarkable freedom to wander the countryside in the early 1960s.

In her opening chapter, Ida Gandy describes the situation of her home, the red-brick gabled Vicarage, screened from the road by a row of huge elms. As a child, she and her siblings dug and played around the roots of an elm tree and swung from the branches of the tallest elm in the centre of the field. ‘Undoubtedly he was the king of all the other trees – and he was mounted on a throne of his own – a little grassy mound,

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 10 10 such as elms sometimes fashion for themselves.’ Trees of all varieties played a huge part in her childhood.

The arrival of Dutch Elm disease in the early 1970s devastated the Essex skyline and gradually almost all elms around the country succumbed to the disease. The Bishop’s Cannings skyline changed vastly too.

With the continued advance of ash die-back and problems for horse chestnut trees, there is much at risk.

Reading Michael Hodges’ Chairman’s Letter for this month makes me feel all the more strongly that we must value our trees more highly and maintain them with far more care. Too many of our trees are covered in ivy and are not cherished. Left uncared for they are a legacy that will be lost and our lives will be the poorer for it. CB

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 11 11

Stert Country House Collectibles & Car Boot Sale

Manor Farm, Stert, Devizes, SN10 3JD (off A 342)

Saturday 11th May 2019

Sellers – from 6:30

Buyers - from 7:30 (£10) or 8:30 (£5)

Pitches limited – so book early

Food and drink available

Loos provided

www.devizescruk.org

supported by

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 12 12 Stert Country House Collectibles & Car Boot Sale Saturday, 11 May, 2019 booking form

NAME: ______

ADDRESS: ______

______

POST CODE: ______

TEL: ______

MOBILE: ______

E-mail: ______Please write very clearly

• I would like ______pitch(es) • I wish to pay by BACS – please e-mail details • I enclose my cheque for £______made payable to Cancer Research UK Please complete the form and either scan it and email to [email protected], or post to CRUK Collectibles & Car Boot Sale Hill Farm Devizes, SN10 2HU

Contact 07977 039224 I’m coming with my friend (name)______

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 13 13

Minutes of meeting of Bishops Cannings Parish Council Held on Tuesday 12th March 2019 in Bishops Cannings Village Hall at 7.30pm.

Present: Cllr Michael Hodge (Chairman), Cllr Jenny Combe, Cllr Chris Body, Cllr Simon Casey, Cllr Diane Carey (acting clerk), Cllr Rob Jones. Also in attendance : Cllr Philip Whitehead ( Unitary), Richard Miller and 1 member of the public. 1. Apologies for Absence. Cllr’s Kevin Toft and Neil Bridgen.

2. Disclosure of Interests. Cllr Hodge on a request for funds from the Brownies within item 9.

3. Approval of Minutes. It was resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on the 12th February should be signed as a true record.

4. Chairman’s Announcements. The Chairman gave a short speech stating that he did not wish to stand for re-election as Chair at the forthcoming meeting in May due to work commitments. He felt that the role demanded more time than he was able to give. Despite this, if no one

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 14 14 else on the present Council was prepared to come forward then he would still stand.

5. Public Questions and Comments.

Mr. Cackett from Coate thanked the Parish Council for reporting the damaged Byway sign at The Drove and for putting in the defibrillator which was now up and running. The potholes at The Drove had still not been filled by . Cllr Whitehead would chase this up. Cllr Carey had visited Coate with Cllr Toft to explain where the new noticeboard and bins were to be located. Due to Councillor work commitments and no Parish handy man at present, time had not been found to install them. Cllr Carey would endeavour to rectify this.

6. Cllr Whitehead (Unitary) Update.

Scalpings to create a footpath around the north side of the Lay Woods roundabout had still not been laid by Wiltshire Council due to bad weather. Cllr Whitehead would chase this up. Item 12 was brought forward to allow input from Cllr Whitehead. Cllr Combe explained that the hedges and some trees on either side of Bourton Road had suffered severe damage in places and large amounts of debris had been left in the ditches and verges when the current tenant farmer at Easton, Mr. Nash, had cut them back. Cllr Casey agreed to write to the Crown Estate requesting that the debris be removed and that this level of damage was unacceptable. The Council had a license to plant some trees along this road and there was no point in doing this work next winter if it was going to be destroyed. Cllr Carey explained that the many large lorries and increased traffic caused by the ongoing works by Wessex

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 15 15 Water to the treatment plant in Bourton had eroded the verge completely in some places. The Council agreed that some of the verge posts acquired by the Council to be installed under the existing S.96 license from Wiltshire Council could be put in to protect particularly bad areas.

7. Matters arising from the previous minutes.

Action point 1. Still outstanding. Discussed under item 6. Action point 2. Cllr Whitehead had established that the Anzio Road/Aster footpath link had not been approved by planning. The dividing strip separating the two developments was held by an unknown third party. Cllr Hodge would find out who the owner was. Cllr Whitehead suggested the Parish Council could look into laying an informal path in the summer. Action point 3. Still outstanding. Discussed under item 5. Action point 4. Two quotes for the maintenance and repair of the five bus shelters and two telephone boxes owned by the Council had been received, but only one was complete. The Council resolved to accept the quote from Mr.Peachey. Cllr Carey would contact him. Action point 5. The defibrillator at Coate was now registered. Action point 6. Cllr’s Carey and Combe were awaiting responses from Lloyds bank after registering for full online access. Another councillor with signatory power needed to register and Cllr Casey volunteered. Cllr Carey to supply details. Action point 7. The contract for the new clerk had been completed. Richard Miller and Cllr Hodge to sign. Action Point 8. Cllr Body had requested quotes from four companies for re-surfacing the village hall car park in Bishops Cannings. Still awaiting two quotes.

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 16 16 Action point 9. Cllr’s Jones and Toft had not made much progress regarding the memorial to the crashed pilot. To be carried forward to the April meeting. Action point 10. It was agreed that there was little point in writing an article for the Gazette until the details of the pilot memorial had been agreed. Carried forward to April meeting. Action point 11. Cllr Carey had read past minutes and the Council had last discussed the Chandlers Lane project in February 2018. She would try and obtain an update and the latest correspondence from a past Councillor. A general discussion was then held regarding the possible future intentions of the Crown Estate, the increased requirement for parking in Bishops Cannings and the use of s.106 money. Cllr Jones volunteered to approach the Crown Estate with regard to trying to arrange an alternative access across the downs for Mr.Nash’s heavy farm vehicles and to try and obtain a clearer view of what the Crown Estate intended in the long term for the farm sites they held in Bishops Cannings. Finally, the issue of an ash tree with a heavy ivy burden located next to the highway just past Bishops Cannings school was mentioned. It was agreed that the ivy needed to be severed.

8. Planning:

19/01249/TCA re Old Roses, Chandlers Lane, Bishops Cannings. Pollard lime to terminate stems at 4metres. No objection. 19/01618/TCA re Church Walk Cottage, Church Walk, Bishops Cannings. Remove Leylandii hedge, fell palm, trim Maytenus to clear services. No objection.

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 17 17 19/01861/TCA re Old School House, West End, Bishops Cannings. Reduction of lowest limbs of beech tree on garden side. Object due to a lack of details regarding the extent of the work and request that the beech be made the subject of a Tree Preservation Order.

9. Correspondence received.

A request had been received that the Parish Council support the retention of car parking in the Market Place in Devizes. The Council was aware that a new scheme had recently been proposed by Devizes Town Council (DTC) to retain some of the free parking whilst developing the remainder of the Market Place for community use. Cllr Whitehead stated that Wiltshire Council had responded and was awaiting DTC’s reply. In view of this, the Council agreed not to write to DTC at present, but to see how matters progressed. The Council had been informed that parking fines had been issued to residents at Long Clays in Bishops Cannings for parking on the forecourt area of the garages owned by Aster. A resident had complained to Aster and was awaiting a response. The Council agreed that Aster were being unreasonable, but would await their reply to the resident before taking any action. Requests had been made by 1st Bishops Cannings Brownies and 1st Bishops Cannings Rainbows for financial help. The Council resolved to grant £600 from the s137 Free Resource budget to both of these community groups. The grounds maintenance contract with Idverde was coming up for renewal. Cllr Carey agreed to review the agreement.

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 18 18 10. Grievance Policy.

This policy had been drafted in 2018, but had not been adopted. Cllr Casey agreed to review and circulate it to Councillors by the next meeting. Cllr Jones agreed to circulate the reviewed Standing Orders for adoption at the next meeting.

11. Annual Parish Meeting.

It was agreed to book a date for the Annual Parish Meeting and to put a request for discussion topics in the newsletter and on the website.

12. Damage to Bourton Road

Discussed previously under item 6.

13. Tasks for Parish Steward.

The Parish Steward would be visiting the Parish on 14th March and 11th April. Various requests were made for small jobs within his remit and Cllr Carey would forward these to Highways.

14. Finance.

The bank reconciliation for February 2019 was noted and authorised by the Chairman. The following cheque payments were approved:

Company Description Invoice VAT Statutory Cheque total Provision Number HMRC PAYE/NI due 390.76 0.00 001353 for August 2018.

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 19 19 HMRC PAYE for 85.00 0.00 001354 Sept. 2018. HMRC PAYE/NI for 330.19 0.00 001355 Oct. 2018. PKF External 360.00 0.00 001356 Littlejohn audit fee. LLP

SLCC Training 118.80 19.80 001357 course for new clerk. 1st Bishops Donation to 600.00 0.00 s.137 free 001358 Cannings running resource. Brownies costs. Optimum Newsletter 234.90 0.00 s.142 LGA 001359 Finance for March. 1972. Ltd Idverde Grounds 117.94 19.66 s.27 001360 Ltd maintenance sch.14 for February LGA 1972 1ST Donation to 600.00 0.00 s.137 free 001361 Bishops running resource. Cannings costs. Rainbows

The meeting was closed by the Chairman at 9.33pm.

Signed………………………………………… Dated………………………………………….

Summary of action points for the next meeting on 9th April 2019.

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 20 20 Minute Action Summary Responsibility point no. 5. 1. Arrange for laying of Cllr scalpings on footpath at Whitehead. Horton Road roundabout. 5. 2. Arrange fixing of bins and Cllr Carey and noticeboard at Coate. Toft.

6. 3. Write to Crown Estate re Cllr Casey. hedge damage and debris left along Bourton Road.

6. 4. Arrange putting in verge Cllr Carey. posts along Bourton Road. 7. 5. Find out owner of land Cllr Hodge. strip between Aster/Anzio Road. 7. 6. Send online bank Cllr Carey. application details to Cllr Casey. 7. 7. Chase car park re-surfacing Cllr Body. quotes. 7. 8. Decide on stone and Cllrs Jones plaque for memorial to and Toft. crashed pilot. 7. 9. Obtain last correspondence Cllr Carey. with Church re land at Chandlers Lane. 7. 10. Contact Crown Estate re Cllr Jones. future intentions and alternative access.

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 21 21 7. 11. Find out responsibility for Cllr Body. ash tree and contact. 9. 12. Review Idverde contract. Cllr Carey.

10. 13. Review and circulate Cllr Casey. Grievance Policy. 10. 14. Circulate reviewed Cllr Jones. Standing Orders. 11. 15. Book venue for Annual Cllr Carey. Parish Meeting.

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 22 22

Bishops Cannings Village Hall Well located in the heart of the village with convenient car parking Bishops Cannings Village Hall is a popular venue for a range of activities. In the past year the hall has been used for

Parties for children’s birthdays, christenings, dinner nights and wedding anniversaries. Education and training sessions such as art classes and even dog training. It is the venue for regular meetings of the Beekeeper Association, Garden Club, Fellowship Group, the Tuesday Club and Guides. Some of the things people have said: “The hall had everything we needed for our family party” This is a perfect little “Goldilocks Cottage” for our daughter’s 4th Birthday party.

The hall offers flexible space and the ability to bring your own caterers to prepare food on the premises or bring your own refreshments. The space divides up well for activities, plus serving and eating. There is a well equipped kitchen with sufficient place settings for up to 60 people. The range of tables allows for a number of different seating arrangements and there are garden chairs suitable for taking out to enjoy the secure outdoor garden space. Whatever your event if you would like to enquire about hiring the hall please contact: [email protected]

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 23 23

Bishops Cannings Parish Council Newsletter April 2019 24 24