Draycott in the Clay Parish Council Newsletter – July 2017

Councillors: Mark Flavell (Chairman), Nigel Powlson (Vice Chairman), Sue Fulford, Barbara Marshall, Arthur Renshaw and Ken Rudman. Clerk: Mrs Rita Hill, Keyscroft, Sunnyside Road, , ST14 7LU Email: [email protected]

Traffic using our Local Roads

Do you have views on the traffic using the local roads within our Parish especially along Forest Road, Stubby Lane and the A515?

If you do, please write to the Parish Council and also importantly to our County Councillor Philip Atkins OBE and Borough Councillor Stephen Smith with your thoughts, including any photographs.

Mrs R Hill, Parish Clerk County Cllr P Atkins Borough Cllr S Smith Draycott in the Clay Parish Council County Council Borough Council Keyscroft Cabinet Office The Maltsters Sunnyside Road Wedgwood Building Wetmore Road Uttoxeter Tipping Street ST14 7LU Stafford DE14 1LS ST16 2DH [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

HMP Dovegate Mr John Hewitson, Director of HMP Dovegate at the last Prison / Parish Council liaison meeting confirmed that he has no objections to people walking around the lake area, however no one is allowed to walk around the walls, nor to be within throwing distance of the walls. People walking with or without dogs should be aware that there are occasionally operations taking place within the grounds and therefore any persons found walking within the grounds may be approached and questioned by those conducting the operation. Use of drones is prohibited. Village Hall Update The AGM was held on 24th April 2017 but unfortunately no members of the public attended, which was very disappointing, although the weather was poor. Similarly, the Barn Dance and the Quiz night although successful produced fewer attendees than hoped. At present, we can just about manage to cover our expenditure by the income we generate, including a grant from the Parish Council, but there remains a significant medium-term funding issue and given the age of the Village Hall we need to attract more people to help fund it. The Committee would welcome new members to help with the running of the Village Hall, especially anyone with Marketing and Publicity expertise or anyone who can help out in a general way. You don’t need to be on the committee to help just an hour of your time perhaps delivering leaflets, helping with setting up the hall for events etc. If you are interested please contact our Chair Jackie Andrews on 01283 820357.

A delegation from the VH met with Councillors at ESBC on Wednesday 5th July to see if they could offer a grant, which we would need to match fund, for essential maintenance and improvement works to the fabric of the VH. We have been informed that subject to meeting the final stage of the funding process an award of £5,500 has been made.

We are in the process or arranging a programme of events for the next 12 months and have already joined up with Burton Albion Community Trust to put on Golden Goals sessions for those over 50. They are run by trained professionals employed by Burton Albion and the object is to meet every two weeks to have a chat, a cup of tea or coffee and take part in some activity. All activities are entirely voluntary and nobody has to participate or do anything they don’t want to do. Activities so far have consisted of quizzes, skittles, indoor curling and archery. The next event will be on Tuesday 1st August at 10.30 to 11.30.

Other events currently planned are: Saturday 21st October 2017 at 19.00 - Live and Local – A Parlour Concert with Mister Keith Saturday 18th November 2017 at 19.00 for 19.30 start - Beer and Skittles Night Sunday 10th December 2017 at 18.00 - Senior Citizens Christmas Party (places are limited but if you are not on our mailing list and would like an invitation please ring Diane on 01283 820008 or Jenny on 01283 820733) Friday 15th December 2017 at 18.00 - Live and Local - Little Red Robin Hood - A puppet show for younger children and their parents January 2018 Quiz Night with Nigel and Ben - Date and times to be confirmed Saturday 17th February 2018 at 19.00 for 19.30 start - Film Race Night Friday 16th March 2018 at 19.00 - Live and Local –Tongue Tied and Twisted – The art of storytelling fused with a unique blend of Urban Hip Hop and classical South Asian sounds Saturday 19th May 2018 (date to be confirmed) 19.00 for 19.30 - Barn Dance - Full details will be available in due course

Have you considered registering with Staffordshire Smart Alert? Fly Tipping If you do, you can receive real-time localised crime alerts. This can be reported to East Staffordshire Borough https://www.staffordshiresmartalert.uk/staffs/ Council on 0800 269098

Draycott in the Clay Parish Council Meetings Meetings take place in the Village Hall, starting at 7.30pm. All meetings are open, and you are welcome to come along and hear what goes on or to raise any matters of concern to you. The next meetings will be on 14 September, 12 October, 9 November and 14 December.

We will issue this newsletter up to 4 times a year. You can also keep track of Parish Council matters by reading the minutes of the meetings – posted on the notice-boards at the Village Hall and on Stubby Lane or by visiting www.draycottintheclayparishcouncil.btck.co.uk.