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Parish News
www.bromsgroveonline.com
VIC BROWN Sadly Vic passed away on 14th November. He will be missed and our condolences go to his wife Edna, family and friends
Christmas Eve in The Swan
Come and join us in the bar for an evening of good humour, carol singing and a light snack to start off the celebrations for a wonderful Christmas.
Locals' Christmas Party
Friday 12th December for a hot and cold buffet with entertainment. It will cost £12 per head so get your names on the list in the bar quickly as space is limited!
Harvest Festival Auction Friday 17th October
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The evening was a resounding success raising £1,050 - the best ever! Many thanks have to go to Richard Edgington and Peter Davis who so ably organised the event without any fuss or bother - it all seemed to come together on the day. On the night we followed tradition and auctioned the right to name the charity who would profit, to cries of 'cheat and fix' Pauline Bourne (who had sold the raffle tickets) won and nominated the Air Ambulance - a charity that without exception recieved a round of applause.
The Swan put on a fabulous buffet - everything, crab, pasta, .....it's difficult to describe the quality of food, never mind the quantity The coup degras was the Baked Alaska...............................
This was a wonderful evening, very village and pub focused and everyone had a great time. Thank you to everyone who contributed and bought - special thanks to Matthew from West Lodge Barns who did a sterling job on the auction.
Parish Council Meeting 30th July 2008
At the Open element of the Parish Council meeting there was a proposal from the floor that the bursary received by the PC as a result of villagers conducting a litter pick (totalling £1,000) should be used for a tangible community benefit. As Upton Warren has no village/parish hall and no appropriate venue in which to hold events such as the annual Harvest Festival Charity Auction, meetings or social events it was proposed that a marquee be purchased. Councillors asked that the proposal be made known to as many people as possible to guage reaction and in the meantime other issues such as insurance will be explored. The matter will be considered further at the next PC meeting.
PC Tony Carter the beat officer for this (and other areas) attended with CSO Jennah Douglas. He reported that generally Upton Warren was a quiet area for crime although the last few months had seen substantial increase with two burglaries and a fire.
PC Carter highlighted a new initiative being promoted by West Mercia Police to safeguard property - SMART WATER. This has a unique DNA profile that is impossible to remove from property so if an item is marked it can be traced back to the registered 'owner' of that particular bottle of Smart Water. Smart Water can be bought off the internet for approximately £40 plus an ongoing cost for registration. West Mercia are offering it for £20 per bottle (which should deal with the entire contents of a large house) and no ongoing costs, once you are registered that's it! Should people from Upton Warren buy the Smart Water the Police will renew our Neighbour Hood Watch signs with those indicating Smart Water is being used in this area -a further deterent.
CSO Jennah Douglas wanted to draw peoples attention to bogus water board callers/distraction burglars. All representatives of any agency calling at the door should have identification - in the case of the STW please call 0800 7834444 before you let anyone in the house to check their bona fides
To contact Tony or Jennah phone 01905 725769 and leave a message. Email tony.carter@westmercia.pnn.police.uk or jennah.douglas@westmercia.pnn.police.uk
Bywater Farm
Many people will have read of the disappointing decision by the Court of Appeal backing Mr and Mrs Butler's claim to be able to stay at Bywater Farm. It remains to be seen what (if anything) Wychavon DC can or will do about this matter which appears to set an undesireable precedent for gypsies and travellers seeking planning permissions in the green belt.
Barn Fire 11th April
Around 9pm a fire gutted a hay barn in Coley Pits Lane next to Bywater Farm. At first there was great concern that the caravans were involved but fortunately as far as we know the families living there were unhurt. The fire was so intense the flames could be seen from the motorway bridge and a fire tender was there the following morning damping down.
Latest Open Parish Meeting
Around 20 Parish residents attended the Open Meeting to hear from Mr Potter the Wychavon Housing Enabler. He explained that he works for Community First and was not part of the District Council or with 'an agenda'; that his wish is to help sustain "rural idylls" such as Upton Warren where residents have an over representation of the retired. He wishes to carry out a Housing Needs Survey to identify how many people are eligible for Affordable or Social Housing and what can they afford. Once this has been done he would then report back to the Parish Council to get views on how many and where housing units could be situated. He anticipated this would be followed by a tour around the area to identify appropriate land which could be granted 'exception land' status (that means the Green Belt could be used) and then make an approach to the land owner. The HNS costs would be met by Community First. Having given a fairly succinct outline he asked for questions from the floor.
The comment was made that far from being an old or dying Parish census information (2001) show an average age of 43 years and this was before the arrival of the currently four children under the age of 10 years in the village. There followed a heated debate with one resident pointing out that this matter has been discussed on numerous occasions over the last six years, rejected each time and querying why it was being raised again. From the floor it was pointed out that once a (albeit spurious) housing need was identified control would be lost and it was almost inevitable that housing would be built. Mr Potter denied this saying that he would report back to the PC and if it was rejected that would be it; the majority of residents appeared less than convinced this was the case. Mr Potter was asked who funded his post - his funding mainly comes from a number of housing associations and local authorities in the area. A show of hands was taken of the residents with 100% against a Survey. One resident asked the councillors how they would vote, all said they would go with the wishes of the electorate.
The issue of the gypsies at Bywater Farm was raised. The District Councillor gave the current position which is that the Council is doing everything possible to fight both the new application and progress action in regard to the single unit that has been in situ for a long time.
Village resident Richard Edgington tabled a Statement of Intent that he asked the PC to consider instead of a Parish Plan. This Statement is on a separate page - it will be discussed by the PC at the next meeting so please make any comments you may have known to any Parish Councillor prior to 8th May.
The bar in The Swan
The Swan reopened to the public on Monday 11th February 2008 following an extensive refurbishment. Although now a 'greet and seat' restuarant with the emphasis on fine dinning, the prices remain reasonable. The surroundings and decor compare very favourably with any highly priced Birmingham eaterie but, as can be seen above, the bar complete with open fire has been retained and everyone is assured of a warm welcome from all the staff.
Upton Warren Phoenix
This site has been picked up by Google; if anyone types in Upton Warren this site is now on page one. Currently the old site now run by the Parish Council has a higher position but it is hoped that as Google pick up that the history, news, pictures is on this site that may change.
Old Photo's from the Swan Inn
For many years in and around the bar area have been numerous photo's of customers (some sadly no longer with us) and events that have taken place. Very kindly I have been given all of these for safe keeping during the current refurbishment and am in the process of scanning some of them for this web site. Look for a new page 'Memory Lane'.
The pictures that are not returned to the Swan will be kept by me or returned to those people who ask for them.
The Gypsies at Bywater Farm
At the High Court in London, on the 19th December, Mr Justice Mitting allowed Wychavon District Council's Appeal against a planning consent made by a planning inspector in February 2007 for a gypsy site on green belt land in Upton Warren. This is an important decision as had it been made against the Council it would have been very difficult to reject future planning applications by gypsies in green belt areas.
Our thanks must go to Wychavon District Council, members and officers, who have doggedly fought this matter for a number of years. It remains to be seen if the gypsies have a further right of Appeal or if they will now have to remove the large mobile home that is on site.
Credit Card Scam (CCS).
On the dedicated page CCS you will find an email in full that I received 2nd December from the District Commander of West Mercia Police at Redditch. The scam is based on the crooks giving you a load of information, lulling you into a false sense of security and then getting you to part with the 3 number security code on the back of the card. DON'T DO IT - please read the email.
Parish Council Meeting 5th September 2007
A number of parishoners noted that the Parish Council's previous meeting minutes raised the he thorny and highly contentious matter of a Housing Needs Survey and attended the meeting in order to make their views known. There was lengthy discussion during which councillors were reminded that an undertaking had been given by the Council within the last two years that no HNS or Parish Plan would be considered without full consulation with the residents and not until 2008. The meeting was advised by the Clerk that a Mr Potter (from Wychavon DC) could come and talk to parishoners; Councillor Scott voiced the concern that if Upton Warren did nothing central government could try and impose something. The meeting was advised that an increase in housing was being imposed by central government on to local authorities. It appears that there are a great number of issues that have to be determined, not least that the Regional Spacial Strategy had not been adopted and the very Authority which created it was itself in doubt.
At this point the meeting was reminded that a Housing Needs Survey will almost inevitably lead to affordable/social housing being built in Upton Warren and as people will remember the building would be within 100 metres of the village envelope: the imapct would be on village residents not the wider Parish. Further very heated discussion took place, unpleasant comments made prompting retractions to be demanded and made; at this point the Chairman Councillor Daly intervened making the point that the Parish Council is there to represent residents and that the previous undertaking should be honoured. This course of action was agreed as was monitoring of any changes that may impact on the situation.
Village Flood
20th July 07 saw the wide spread floods in Worcestershire and unfortunately one home (that I know about) in the village has been badly damaged by water from the river Salwarp. Below are pictures of the water meadow one taken on 21st July, the other on 21st May: what a difference 8 weeks make!
 John Mac in the water meadow 21/5/07 |
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Annual Parish Meeting
Three members of the public attended the Annual Parish Meeting.
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The first query related to the Council's attitude and support, or otherwise, of people who volunteer to do work for the community. There was a fairly heated discussion whilst the reason behind the question was explored; two members expressed verbal support but the Council did not agree to write (as requested) expressing support to the District Council. (NB if anyone wishes to know more about the background please contact the webmaster by email)
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The future of the web site:was questioned. The Parish Clerk confirmed that the Council are to take over the address currently used by this site at a cost of £275 pa and maintain the site for Parish Council purposes. Mrs Haywood confirmed she had no objection as the current content will be transferred to a new site probably to be called Upton Warren Pheonix and will continue to serve the community as it has for the last 3 years.
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In response to a query regarding any future vacancy on the Council the clerk confirmed that the post would be advertised as required by law and then a member would most likely be co-opted. Mr Davis vehemently opposed the suggestion that some candidates who stood for election in May were not committed treating the election as a joke; his view was supported by Mrs Haywood who said everyone took the matter very seriously.
Plumbing Service
These days finding a reliable plumber is worth its weight in gold. Try Grahame Wood (Wood Plumbing Services), from my experience he turns up when he says he will, is reliable and the standard of work is good. They do not do gas or central heating installations. Please telephone 01905 779101 or 07746 592683 - don't forget to say where you got his number from.
Garden Jobs To Be Done?
Please support local companies - in this case P Bourne and Sons - who will do those gardening jobs you should have done and now just cannot face. Follow the link - www.pbourneandsons.co.uk and get the professionals in.
The Barn House
Thank you Diane and John for this unusual picture of your home - pink - lovely!
The Swan Reopens
