Parish Council Newsletter

Summer 2018

An update from the Chairman

Hello all, welcome to this addition of our parish news, the year is going so quickly summer is already here how time passes so very quickly, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Rev. James Pennington and his family to out parish and wish them well for the future, I was very proud to attend his inauguration into the church and to be able to say a few words of welcome, I am sure his time with us in Deanshanger will be a productive and happy one.

We have also seen the installation of the new British Legion bench on the green outside the DPC office, it looks great and gives even more space for residence to sit and enjoy our beautiful village. On that point I would like to thank the friends and colleagues of our village who work so hard to make our village the special place it is, the flowers, Pocket Park and the entrance to the village look stunning and to our grass cutter Luke and our Handyman Ian in keeping everything looking so good. We have received a massive amount of comments about how nice it all looks. All of this is no easy task and we should take an opportunity to thank all of the village residence who give up their free time to make all of this work for us to enjoy.

Our village is growing and getting very busy and we have no doubt that the development of the roundabout will bring more traffic through our village, with summer approaching please take care with all of the children walking to and from school more importantly during the summer holidays, we still see issues with speed, poor parking and heavy queuing traffic, please take care and be alert when driving or getting around.

The library and bus service are still under threat with the issue around the NCC, times are hard and a lot of change and disappointment is on the way, we still do not know the net effect of all of this to our village , we will try to keep you all up to date, have you all visited our new web site, deanshangerparishcouncil.org.uk this will keep you all fully informed.

Good news we have not raised the precept amount this year and am being very mindful how tough things are for family's to balance income against ever growing bills and charges, we will as a parish council continue to give good value to our parish, and to end we now have some new councillors who have joined us, Alan and Roy thank you I hope you enjoy your journey with us,

Have a great summer and thank you all for your support comments and questions, it does help us stay focused and to do the best we can for you the residence and heart of our village.

We still have vacancies on the Parish Council. If you would like to be part of our team then please contact the clerk.

Cllr Jim Wright Chairman Deanshanger Parish Council

Poppy Walk for Honour 2018 12th August 2018

Calling families, dog walkers and ramblers! Get walking and raise funds for The Royal British Legion, Bedfordshire’s Poppy Walk for Honour, The Poppy Walk returns to commemorate the end of the First World War and to say thank you to the First World War generation- all who served, sacrificed and changed our world. Come to Bedford Priory Country Park in Bedford, Barkers Lane, Bedford MK41 9SH on Sunday 12th August, 2018. Join the Poppy Walk Squad and be part of the fun!

We will be gathering at Visitor Centre at Priory Country Park Bedford from 11.00am to embark upon a choice of two routes, 2km, which is wheel chair and push chair friendly or 10km for those that really want to stretch their legs. Stroll around some of the area’s most interesting sites. As well as the walk there will be live music and activities with refreshments available at the Cloverdale Retreat-the Parks Café. A wonderful day out for the whole family to enjoy while raising funds for our wounded, injured, sick members of our Armed Forces and their families. Why not come and join us?

Times: Registration 11:00am Act of Remembrance 11:30am Walk starts 12:00pm

Register online at: bedspoppywalkforhonour.co.uk or upon arrival on the day

Registration: Adult 12+ £8.00 Child £5.00 Family £20.00 (2 x Adults + 2 x Child or 1 x Adult + 3 Child)

Registered Charity: The Royal British Legion, Haig House, 199 Borough High Street, SE1 1AA

A limited number of full and half plots are currently available at our allotment sites in Deanshanger. For further information, please send an email to [email protected] or telephone 01908 265413 to discuss your requirements. You may also like to view our website at https://deanshangerallotments.wordpress.com

Haven Court Hymns Do you enjoy singing your favourite hymns? A small group meets at Haven Court at 6.30 pm on the first Sunday of the month during the summer months. You don't need to be connected to a church or chapel or even to be able to sing but if you enjoy singing familiar hymns do join us. You will receive a warm welcome. Hymn books are provided.

Deanshanger Branch Surgery Deanshanger Branch Surgery has a doctor EVERY Wednesday – 3.30pm -5pm. You can also see a nurse also EVERY Tuesday – 9.30am. Phone Stonedean Practice for appointments.

Kay’s Keep Fit

Kay's fit-ball and Body tone classes are run at Deanshanger Community Centre on Weds evenings from 6- 6.45pm and 7-8pm. Fit-ball is a toning class designed to improve your core strength which in turn helps with posture, mobility and muscle strength. We use a stability ball for the 45min class and incorporate a quick warm up and cool down. Body tone is a class designed to exercise all the main muscle groups in the arms, bums, tummies, legs, chests etc. we use hand weights, resistance bands and the fit-balls during the work out. In working these groups of muscles we are toning and strengthening them, leaving us less prone to back, leg, neck problems. Both sessions are extremely good for anyone trying to get/keep fit. We have all levels of fitness and age. If you are interested please visit my Facebook page 'Kay's keep fit'.

Thornborough Cricket Club

Thornborough Cricket Club, (TTC) currently run 2 x Saturday teams playing in the SNCL (South Northants Cricket League), one in the Premier Division and the other in Division 4. The season runs from May to August (16 weeks)

Our club has an ethos of “providing cricket for all abilities” and is a great transition for youngsters (12+) into adult cricket. At least 8 of our current first team came through the youth route starting as juniors and progressing into key first team players.

Like many cricket clubs, fielding 2 full teams of 11 each week is a constant challenge.

We wish to make you aware that we (TCC) are looking to recruit players. Any interested players (of all abilities and ages) would be made very welcome.

For further information, please contact Ian Davies on either 01280 824625, 07713117633 or [email protected]

HOLIDAY CLUB

SHOWSTOPPERS HOLIDAY CLUB – 23rd July- 27th July 2018, HOLY TRINITY, DEANSHANGER

Something theatrical will be going on this year at Holy Trinity Deanshanger as we open the curtains on the ‘Showstoppers Club’.

The club will be running from Monday 23rd July to Friday 27th July from 9:45 to 12:15. There will also be special ‘Showstoppers’ Sunday services on 22nd and on the 29th July a Barbeque with games. Friday afternoon we will have a short performance for all the parents and a picnic lunch together.

In the Club we’ll be looking at God’s plan for the world through five stories from the Bible starting with creation, then hearing about King David, followed by the story of Daniel and then finding more about Jesus on two days looking at his birth, death and resurrection.

This event is primarily aimed at children currently attending Primary school, who will be going into years 1 to 7 in September 2018.

Please note that numbers are restricted (we can only cater for 50 young people) and we suggest pre- booking using the separate Registration/Consent form to avoid disappointment. These can be found on our church website www.htdchurch.org.

We very much hope you will join us.

DEANSHANGER VILLAGE HERITAGE SOCIETY

DISCOVER DEANSHANGER FORTHCOMING EXHIBITION

Saturday, 15th September 2018 Opens 12.00 – 17.00 hrs Deanshanger Memorial Community Centre FREE ADMISSION

An exhibition revealing the history of our rural village and surrounding area from the Iron Age to present day, using material from the Deanshanger Village Heritage Society archive - some never displayed before. Enjoy tales from the people who lived here, through collected memories, story-telling, film and audio extracts. Deanshanger was home to two internationally renowned businesses; the Victorian E & H Roberts Ltd Iron Works and the 20th century Oxide Works. The exhibition tells how these two industries, along with the Arm of the , which once ran through the heart of the village, affected the village and its social history through growth and decline to the present day. Uncover information about village homes, where the streets get their names and when they were developed. Enjoy a range of activities suitable for all ages including hunting down the answers to the quiz, get involved in the ‘Oxide laboratory’, mix and paint with ‘Oxide’ pigments, dress-up and take a ‘selfie’ in our photo studio and more. Take a break and relax with refreshments available from the kitchen and then discover more. Please bring along any information you may have and share it with us. Your stories and memorabilia about village life are important and always welcome. This event is part of the national Heritage Open Days, September 2018 activities www.heritageopendays.org.uk

Deanshanger Primary School

We are very pleased to be included in the Parish Newsletter for the first time! We are a large inclusive village primary school with over 400 pupils on site. Children range from those at the attached Willow Tree pre-school to Year 6 (11 year olds). This academic year has been exciting and rewarding helping us on our journey to be truly outstanding in every area of school life. This includes the ‘Healthier Child’ programme where we are a flagship school for . Our year began with the opening of our newly refurbished and revamped Foundation Stage/Key Stage 1 play area. Our children have very much enjoyed playing in this stimulating and exciting play space. At this time we also renovated our Wrap Club accommodation. Our ‘Wrap Club’ provides valuable before and after school care. It also provides care for children during the school holiday. Many parents, governors and staff helped to upgrade this area. The children have really benefitted from this.

Earlier in the year we also took part in many village events. The children put on a memorable performance at the Deanshanger Feast in October performing various seasonal songs to celebrate Harvest. For Remembrance Day, as well as holding a special Remembrance Day assembly, we took part in the British Legion county poetry writing competition and received a special award for a poignant and thoughtful entry from one of our Year 6 pupils – Mia Carrington. At Christmas we sang to various community groups in the village and hosted our annual Christmas Concert at Holy Trinity Church. This complemented various Christmas performances within school. All very enjoyable for the children and the various groups who came to watch! If you’d like to know more about these events go to the ‘Gallery’ section of our school website at www.deanshangerprimary.co.uk.

This term has continued to be very exciting with a whole range of events and activities taking place. This has included various sporting and academic events. Earlier in the term we also received a visit from Radio . Details of this visit can be found on our website at www.deanshangerprimary.co.uk. This visit was planned to raise awareness of our big project this year to fundraise to allow us to build a new kitchen allowing us to provide high-quality delicious meals in a space that is fit for purpose. In the past we served pre-prepared meals and have moved a long way forward and are proud that we give our children the best lunches possible to set them up for optimum learning and healthy lifestyles in the future. We also hope, in the future, to open this facility up to the local community providing meals for the older members of our community. If you feel able to contribute towards our fundraising efforts please go to www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/deanshangerprimaryschoolkitchenfunding. Already we’ve had a number of donations from various school and community supporters. There has been fantastic and enthusiastic backing from the children and their families. To reach our ambitious target we welcome donations from the wider community. Please contact our head teacher – Mrs Rachel Rice at [email protected] or call our school office on 01908 268920 if you’d like further information about this important project.

We are now entering the final but most exciting part of the school year and have many thrilling events planned some of which you are more than welcome to attend. These include the following:

Circus visits Deanshanger Primary – Saturday June 16th. Performances at various times across the day. Contact the School Office/ PTA for more details.

Performance of the Year 6 Play ‘Porridge’ to members of the village community – Wednesday 4th July from 1:30 pm. Contact the School Office for more details.

School Summer Fete – Friday 13th July from 3:30 – 5:30 pm. You are all welcome. Contact the School Office/ PTA for more details. Funds raised will go towards our school kitchen project. If you feel able to support us, then please come along. You are more than welcome! We are very appreciative of any kind of support. For example, we are always eager to hear from people who feel they could give up some time to hear children read. If you’re interested in sending your child/ren to our school or visiting then please contact our head teacher – Mrs Rachel Rice at [email protected] ecl.gov.uk or call our school office on 01908 268920 to arrange a visit. Further details about us can be found on our school website at www.deanshangerprimary.co.uk. We wish you a happy summer full of special memories!

Friends of Deanshanger Library

Have you got Green Fingers, fancy yourself on the GBBO or just like being creative, then please read on. We are intending to hold a “Flower, Produce and Craft Show on September 9th and invite you to take part either as a group or as individuals. So young or old, amateur or expert, or just fancy having a go at something new, we want to hear from you.

We are also looking at holding a Scarecrow Festival over the 7th to 9th September but need to see how much interest there would be. We will be contacting village organisations, pre schools, playgroups etc, so if you are interested please contact me on [email protected] 019098 564233, June Lake, Manager on 01908 562949 or Rachel Curry on 07710845865---for the Scarecrow Festival

Deanshanger in Bloom

For those of you new to the village, Deanshanger in Bloom was formed four years ago with the aim of brightening up the village. Villages and towns all over Britain have been doing the same thing for years so we thought it time that our village joined the party. We do, of course, have the beautiful display of daffodils and we all owe thanks to the Heritage Society for this joyful sight in the Spring. Our aim was to complement that and have something all year round.

Since our inception Deanshanger in Bloom’s numbers have sadly reduced and there are now just three remaining members. We have several planters placed around the village, they include the three large planters in front of EWS. We also planted and now maintain the large flowerbed at the entrance to the village. This year we have dug and planted up the flower bed in front of the Parish Council Office. These two beds were quite a challenge as we first had to dig out bricks and rubble and even bits of old tarmac! We also designed and planted the sensory garden at Northway Park. Thank you to the Scouts who helped us with the planting.

We are now starting on the task of filling all the planters with their summer bedding. We need residents help watering these to keep them looking their best. Thank you very much to those of you who kept them going last year, we couldn’t have done it without you.

We meet on the first Saturday of each month and would welcome new helpers. Join us if you would like to help us make the village beautiful. If you have gardening experience that’s great but certainly not essential.

We now have our own email account so if you would like to join us, have any suggestions or would like to send some words of encouragement we would love to hear from you at [email protected]

The Beehive Since the last news letter you have helped raise money for the following charities: Help for Heroes £ 163.00 Guide dogs for the Blind £ 156.78 Royal British Legion £ 767.13 Breast Cancer Care £ 500.00 Daventry Campus £ 370.00 Hotts Dog Rescue £1000.00 W.I £ 358.00 Violet’s Brailer * £1545.00 We continue to raise money for Willen Hospice and our total so far is £31,575.80

*Violet’s Brailer was for a young lady aged 5 who lives in Deanshanger. Violet was over the moon with it and she is now able to keep up with her class mates, since receiving her Brailer, Violet has learnt the brail alphabet. A big, big thank you to all of your support

Saturday 30th June 2018- Morris Dancing The Queens Oat Morris Dancers will be dancing for us between 4pm & 5pm

Saturday 4th August 2018- V.J. Day V.J .Day, in aid of Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion. During the day there will be WW2 vehicles and a fabulous fun day. In the evening its fancy dress 1940’s style and Betty Blue Bird will be taking us back to the 1940’s with her singing.

Once again we would like to thank you all for your continued support, without you these things would not happen. Thank you to you all for keeping your village pub open.

Don’t forget there is always something going on at the Beehive, Bingo, Quiz nights, “open the door”, raffles, Darts and Domino’s so why don’t you come down and join the fun.

See you in the Beehive For further information contact Lorraine on 01908 262368

Beavers, Cubs & Scouts - 2nd Deanshanger Scout Group

Beavers, aged 6~8 meet on Wednesdays from 5.15pm to 6.45pm

Beavers are our youngest members, and generally meet for an hour per week. They enjoy all that Scouting has to offer; being introduced to outdoor activities, having the opportunity to be creative, explore their local community and experience the excitement of a Beaver Scout Sleepover with their friends.

A Beaver Colony may be organised into smaller groups called Lodges. Lodges can be used in a number of ways to facilitate the organisation of the Beaver Scout Colony. They may provide a ‘home’ area for Beaver Scouts to gather at points at the start, during or at the end of the Colony meeting.

During their time in the Colony, Beaver Scouts will get a chance to try a wide range of different activities as well as going on trips, days out, and on sleepovers. Participation, rather than meeting set standards, is the key approach, and there are a range of badges and challenge awards that Beaver Scouts can gain to recognise their achievements.

Cubs, aged 8~10¾ meet on Wednesdays from 7.00pm to 8.30pm

Since January the cubs have as usual undertaken a wide range of diverse activities and developed skills to help them later in life or with future cub events.

The term has included our belated Christmas Party with the beavers, theatre visit, an evening at Great Holm Fire Station, miniature raft building - in readiness for building real rafts in early June and taking them out on Haversham Lake.

We took the cubs to Derngate Theatre in Northampton to see the 60th Scout Gang Show – an evening of entertainment comprising of songs and sketches from the many West End musicals and shows performed by all sections from beavers through explorers to leaders from scout groups all over the county.

To complete their local knowledge badge - we had an entertaining evening presented by the History Society talking about Deanshanger’s past. This was supplemented with hikes through Ouse Valley viewing the features of the Grand Union Canal and a walk around Stony Stratford’s historic sights. The final piece of the jigsaw had the cubs visiting MK museum at .

The fire station visit was the culmination of their fire safety badge up to that point they had made fires and cooked fish without utensils (known as backwoods cooking). Participated in fire drills and discussed escape plans in the event of fire.

It is not just the cubs that have been busy – the leaders have also undertaken a number of events – from a training weekend in Snowdonia, Wales brushing up on rough terrain map reading and hillside safety to passing minibus driving tests with Bucks County Council enabling us to continue to offer trips out and camps in far flung locations.

It should also be noted that Michael, one of our cub leaders, who suffered a major head injury the 2011 (and was told he may not walk again) completed the Marathon and in doing so raised over £3000 for the group. We all salute you Michael a fantastic effort and one you should be rightly proud of.

As so often happens we’ve had to say good bye to a number of cubs during the term as they have reached the end of their time with us - some of whom will continue their adventures within the scout section others have chosen to undertake other activities – irrespective of what they do we as leaders wish them well in their chosen pursuits and hope that cubs provided them with great experiences and memories. We would however like to publically thank all that contributed to the wooden eagle presented to the leaders (we’re eagle pack) and which will be taken as a mascot to all future camps.

On the subject of camps planning is well advanced for our summer camp - a week in the New Forest during the first week of the summer holidays.

The departures have left us with a number of vacancies so if your children are interested why not bring them along for a trial. If you have children aged 8 or 9 who want to be part of the cub pack and participate in the sorts of activities described above contact as by e-mail ([email protected]) or call Alan or Lisa on 07802 323862 or 7739 410744 respectively. Cubs meet on Wednesdays between 7.00pmand 8.30pm.

Scouts, aged 10~14½ meet on Thursdays from 8.00pm to 9.00pm

Scouts aims to build and develop young people’s confidence, sense of adventure and outdoor skills, as well as encouraging them to explore their beliefs and attitudes and be creative. It offers them the independence to put these skills into practice at camps and even on international trips.

Scouts are encouraged to work together and take the lead on all sorts of projects, from community based work to planning games and activities for their meetings.

A Scout Troop is divided into small groups called Patrols, each headed up by an older Scout called a Patrol Leader, and often with an Assistant Patrol Leader.

Scouts are encouraged to take part in a wide range of activities as part of their programme including traditional Scouting skills, such as camping, survival and cooking, as well as a wider spectrum of adventurous activities, from abseiling to zorbing. Participation rather than meeting set standards is the key approach, and there are a number of badges and awards that Scouts can gain to recognise their achievements.

If you would like to enquire about opportunities within the Scout or Explorer section, for either a child or as an adult helper, please reach out by email to: [email protected]

Upcoming Events

Details of our upcoming events are posted around the village on the Notice Boards. We also advertise frequently on several of the Deanshanger Facebook groups/ pages.

DEANSHANGER PARISH COUNCIL VACANCY

Deanshanger Parish Council has a vacancy for a Parish Councillor which it is proposing to fill by co-option. The Parish Council would, therefore, like to invite suitably qualified individuals to apply for this vacancy.

To qualify as a co-opted Councillor an individual must fulfil the following qualifications:

1. Be a British subject, a Commonwealth citizen or a Euro national and at least 18 years old.

2. Be either a local government elector of the parish; or a person who a) has, during the whole of the 12 months up to the date of their appointment, occupied land or other premises as owner or tenant in the parish or b) has, during the same period, resided in that area or within three miles thereof, or c) has during the same period, had his/her principal or only place of work in that area.

If you meet the required criteria and would like to apply, please submit your application in writing to Teresa Floyd, Clerk to Deanshanger Parish Council at 3 Hayes Road Deanshanger, outlining what interests you about the role and what you feel you can bring to it.

Youth Shelter for Deanshanger Following a request from teenagers for a youth shelter at the full council meeting on the 27th September, a proposal was put before Full Council and it was agreed that the residents should have a say as to where this should go. We had one response and sadly it appears that there is nowhere suitable for a youth shelter to go.

Street Lights If you notice a street light that is out (or flickering or on all the time) please advise the parish council & we can get the contractors to look at it.

Please state the street name & the number on the post. Email [email protected] This may take up to 2 weeks to get fixed

Ways to contact your local Parish Council All councillors have an email address as shown below and you are welcome to email us anytime and we will look to support you or point you in the direction of someone who can. There is the website that holds up to date meeting dates, minutes and useful information Cllr Wright- Chairman- [email protected] Cllr Pereira - Vice Chairman- [email protected] Cllr Hall- Chairman of Planning & Highways Committee- [email protected] Cllr Spencer- Chairman of Finance & General Purposes Committee- [email protected] Cllr Dott- [email protected] Cllr O’Dell- [email protected] Cllr Hammond- [email protected] Cllr Loveland- [email protected] Cllr Rodrigo [email protected] Cllr Holloway [email protected] Cllr Foskett [email protected] Teresa Floyd – Clerk [email protected]

Parish councils have powers to provide some facilities themselves, or they can contribute towards their provision by others. There are large variations in the services provided by parishes depending on the size and location. Parish councils have the power to precept (tax) their residents to support their operations and to carry out local projects. The exercise of powers is at the discretion of the council, but they are legally obliged to exercise duties.

Attending formal meetings The meetings are to conduct council business, these are formal & a code of conduct is to be followed.

The public are welcome to attend the meetings, there is a section of the meetings which is closed and a 15 minute public forum is opened.

We welcome you to come and listen, take part in the public forum & hear first-hand the decisions that are made based on the work performed outside the meetings.

Deanshanger Parish Council

Formal meetings • Full Council meeting • Finance Committee Meeting • Highways & Planning meeting You will see the meetings advertised on the 11 notice boards in the village as well as on the Parish website www.deanshangerparishcouncil.org.uk

Useful Telephone Numbers Clerk to the Parish Council 01908 566373 Council 01327 322322 Northamptonshire County Council 0300 126 1000 Police – non emergency 101 or 03000 111222 The Beehive 01908 262368 Holy Trinity Church (Revd James Pennington) 01908 262371 Methodist Chapel (Revd Dawn Saunders) 01908 312043 Library (Weds – Fri) 0300 126 1000 Elizabeth Woodville School 01908 563468 Deanshanger Primary School 01908 268920 Deanshanger Village Pre-school 01908 263295 Willow Tree Pre-school 079 7973 6791 County Councillor – Allen Walker 01908 260302 District Councillor – Dennis Loveland & 01908 262867 Allen Walker 01908 260302 Doctors Surgeries – Stonedean Practice 01908 261155 Stony Medical Centre 01908 260382 Deanshanger Chemist (Jardines Pharmacy) 01908 569998 Deanshanger Sports Club & Play Field 01908 567137 Assoc Deanshanger Community Centre (June 01908 562949 Lake) Deanshanger Village Heritage Society 01908 564725 Deanshanger Allotment Association 01908 265413 Street Doctor (Road / Footpath / Drain 0300 126 1000 Repair) Deanshanger Conservative Club 01908 567109 Like us on Facebook Deanshanger Parish Council Follow us on Twitter @deanshangerpc Visit the Parish Council website www.deanshangerparishcouncil.co.uk Email the Parish Council on [email protected]

For information in alternative formats (for example, in large print or an electronic format), please email [email protected]