Campton & Chicksands Parish Council Newsletter August/September 2020 Welcome to the Campton & Chicksands Newsletter published by the Parish Council www.camptonandchicksands-pc.gov.uk -2- Campton Village Hall WE ARE CLOSELY MONITORING THE GUIDELINES ISSUED BY THE GOVERNMENT AND ACRE, BUT THE VILLAGE HALL REMAINS CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. NO ADMITTANCE IS ALLOWED WITHOUT PRIOR CONSENT FROM THE VILLAGE HALL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE. WE WILL KEEP YOU UPDATED AS AND WHEN THE SITUATION CHANGES. The Management Committee is assessing what measures need to be put in place to enable the doors to be opened again to the public in the coming months ahead. As you can imagine, there is a lot of information to work through and work to be done to get the hall ready for business again. We are always looking for extra volunteers to join the committee, so if you would like to get involved in helping to run the Village Hall for your local community, then please contact the Management Committee to find out more; additional help would be greatly appreciated. For more information please call 07950 458940 / email: [email protected] 100 Club Draw Update THE NEW SUBSCRIPTION YEAR IS DUE TO BEGIN AGAIN IN SEPTEMBER, HOWEVER AT THE CURRENT TIME IT IS DEEMED UNADVISABLE FOR COMMITTEE MEMBERS TO CALL DOOR TO DOOR COLLECTING SUBSCRIPTIONS, THEREFORE REGRETTABLY THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE HAVE DECIDED TO POSTPONE THIS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, POSSIBLY JANUARY 2021. Due to the fact that monetary prizes are issued as cheque payments, if anyone needs to have a cheque reissued due to it becoming out of date, then please contact the Village Hall Management Committee and we will be happy to reissue your prize money cheque, on receipt of the original one. “THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OVER THE PAST YEAR AND WE HOPE TO WELCOME YOU BACK SOON ” JULY WINNERS: 1st (£35) No. 101 V. Brand 2nd (£20) No. 96 J. Harrison 3rd (£15) No. 76 A. Partington AUGUST WINNERS: 1st (£35) No. 45 C. Greet 2nd (£20) No. 91 D. Addison 3rd (£15) No. 65 J. Westgarth BONUS PRIZE: (£50) No. 150 M. Freeman -3- News from the Tower Following a long break – the last ringing at Campton was on Sunday March 22 – we hope that once you read this, we will have resumed ringing at All Saints for Sunday morning services, from 10.45 to 11am service. We are following Church of England rules and Central Council of Church Bell Ringers guidelines regarding bellringing, particularly with regard to social distancing – our bell ropes are close together so initially we will be ringing only 3 or 4 of Campton’s peal of 8 bells and only for 15 mins, not the usual 30 mins on Sunday mornings. Once things ease a little – of course we don’t know yet how the ‘new normal’ will look like – this will hopefully change. For now, there will be no Tuesday evening practices. LEARNING TO RING Every band of bell ringers needs to recruit new people or else it stagnates. Once things improve we will be running a recruiting campaign, so please come forward if you’d like to learn an ancient craft which can provide great mental and physical stimulation combined with the best fellowship you will find anywhere, and you even make a contribution to our wonderful 13th century church community. Best to come forward, or be talked to! Don’t forget, bellringing is something done by PEOPLE LIKE YOU, not something done by OTHER PEOPLE! (John Loveless 07803 206161) News from the Pews We are delighted to say that All Saint’s Church is now open once more for Services, these will be at the usual time of 11am on Sunday mornings and on Thursday’s from 10.30am until 1pm the church is open for private prayer, reflection or simply for a short time of silence. Of course, all the guidance for Covid 19 has been taken into consideration and we have made the Church as safe as possible. We started on Sunday July 12th and it was great to be back together despite the no hymn singing. The Bells were also rung for the first time in four months to call people to worship and we are grateful to the Francis family who have three ringers and they were able to be socially distanced in the Bell Tower. We will advise everyone when we can start Coffee and Chat etc. Audrey Brand - Reader and Churchwarden -4- Campton & Chicksands Neighbourhood Plan Report I’m sure many of you reading this newsletter report will be asking…… Just what has happened to our Neighbourhood Plan? At the end of last year, the write up of the draft Neighbourhood Plan (NP) together with several important supporting documents was completed based upon the early stages of consultation and survey. Following a thorough review of the draft plan by the Parish Council, the NP Steering Group was planning to launch the next and important statutory stage of consultation (Regulation 14) this spring. Unfortunately, as with so many other things, the recent and ongoing COVID-19 health emergency put a stop to progression of the plan in mid-March. Since the end of May the Steering Group have resumed meetings using an online platform and have keenly followed the developing advice to NP Groups from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) along with that issued by Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) with a view to progressing to Regulation 14 as soon as it is safe and appropriate to do so. In mid-July CBC issued updated guidance to NP Groups that may provide a viable way forward with consultations whilst the COVID-19 emergency continues, and the Steering Group will meet by the end of July to review this guidance. Should the Steering Group consider that this new and detailed advice provides a suitable framework for an inclusive, fair and above all safe consultation process, it is my real hope that we may be able to proceed with consultation on the draft plan in the near future. Please regularly visit the Neighbourhood Plan page on the Parish Council website to see the latest updates on the progression of our plan. https://camptonandchicksands-pc.gov.uk/neighbourhood-plan/ Dave Baker - On behalf of the NP Steering Group -5- Campton & Chicksands Parish Council Firstly, the Parish Council are pleased to be able to deliver printed copies of the Newsletter once again! The last printed issue was the April edition that went out for distribution just a day or so before the coronavirus lockdown. For the last three months, and following guidelines, the Parish Council have decided to publish the Newsletter primarily online with each edition being publicised on noticeboards, street side posters and via the website and local social media. From the outset we realised that some residents not using the internet may not be able to access the Newsletter and offered a postal service via the Parish Clerk but have struggled to get this information to all residents. For those that have not been able to access the Newsletter during this period we apologise. All recent copies of the Newsletter remain online, or copies may be requested via the Clerk. https://camptonandchicksands-pc.gov.uk/campton-chicksands-parish-council-newsletter/ If you are not able to access the internet and wish to ensure provision of a paper copy of this Newsletter in the future please contact me with your name and address, as I plan to compile a list of residents that require, or would prefer, a paper copy should we once again be in a position of not being able to distribute door to door. Thank you. ****************************************** The Parish Council held their most recent meeting via Zoom on 1st July 2020. Once again use of this online platform was successful. Ward Councillors Tony Brown and Mark Liddiard attended and were able to provide additional updates from Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC). Much of CBC’s current focus is on supporting local communities and businesses through the issues arising from the coronavirus pandemic. Whilst we all see restrictions easing and important local services resuming, CBC are also planning for how best to control local outbreaks in Central Bedfordshire should such an event occur. We would all like to see the safe re-opening of play areas like those at our Recreation Ground. Central Government have indicated that play areas can start to be reopened from the 4th July. However, following the late publication of new guidance, and additional safety measures that will need to be put in place, CBC play areas initially remain closed. In line with CBC the Campton Recreation Ground play area did not reopen on the 4th July and updated signage was posted on site. We have since been closely following CBC and understand that all CBC Play Areas reopened on Saturday 18th July. The Parish Council are now looking to complete the necessary COVID-19 risk assessment and install necessary signage with a view to reopening the Recreation Ground Play Area as soon as possible. Please see the Parish Council website for updates. We know you are all keen to be able to use the equipment and we will endeavour to have it available for you as soon as it is safe to -6- do so. Please note that the Parish Council has also approached the Football Club regarding the resumption of fixtures at the Recreation Ground this Autumn. The Local Government Boundary Commission recommendations recently published for consultation were not in line with the CBC proposals. Many may see this outcome to be to the benefit of the parish.