The Pucklechurch community website
village news, events, clubs, community, history

Click here to sign up for monthly email updates on news and events

If you have signed up for emails and are not getting them please check the following:
(i) your spam folder
(ii) the spam settings in your profile on your service provider’s website.

Make sure that you specify pucklechurch.org as a trusted domain

News & Features ~ December 2009

It's Child's Play ~ public consultation on the proposed play area
Oh Poo! ~ dog fouling
Energy That doesn't cost the earth
Village Hall Makeover
Keep up to date with News and Events in Pucklechurch
Scam Wise
Horse Sense
Revel Photo Competition
South Gloucestershire Local Involvement Network
On The Buses

It's Child's Play

The public consultation meeting for the proposed play area adjacent to St Aldam's Drive drew a lively crowd on the evening of 10th November. Representatives from South Gloucestershire were on hand to explain the plans to develop a new play area for children from 8 to 13 years of age. Comments were largely positive, especially from the children, although there were also concerns voiced about the potential for noise and vandalism.

South Gloucestershire Council received an award of £1.1 million in 2009 from the Department for Children, Schools and Families' Playbuilder fund to enable new or improved play areas to be built across the district over the next two years. The Pucklechurch site is in phase 1 of the Council's plans, which means that the area should be built in this fiscal year.

The site to be developed is the area of open space and trees bounded by St Aldam's Drive and Birch Drive, next to the Pucklechurch Village Sports and Social Club. The proposed layout is shown on the map below. There would still be a large grassy area where the goal post currently stands, which would remain very similar. The goal posts may be more informal, perhaps wooden to create a more natural aspect, and this area would be landscaped with a few trees, shrubs, and benches. The play areas would be central and well overlooked, with natural equipment such as climbing logs, wooden trail equipment, and embankment slides. The landscaped areas would have more trees and shrubs planted, giving them an 'arboretum' feel. There would be no play equipment in these areas, thus discouraging gatherings in the corners of the space nearest adjacent homes. Finally, the route of the existing path would be changed to discourage children from cutting across the car park in front of the Sports and Social club.

What began as a letter-writing campaign by children at Pucklechurch Primary School is now a step closer to reality. Yes, there are some concerns to be met, but the village should soon have a wonderful new amenity for older children.

Jacki Berry

Oh Poo!

There has been a marked increase in the amount of dog mess found on the Rec this year. With so many people using the field for play -- children, footballers, cricketers, etc. -- it is essential to keep it clean. If you're a dog owner, please stay vigilant when your dog is on the Rec and do the right thing. It's common courtesy as well as the law.

Energy That Doesn't Cost the Earth

Many people in South Gloucestershire are keen to install renewable energy in their homes. But did you know that over 50 households across the area have already benefited from a grant from South Gloucestershire Council’s SGFuturenergy scheme? There are still grants of £500 available towards the cost of renewable energy installations on top of the national Low Carbon Buildings Programme Grants.

South Gloucestershire Council is also offering a low-interest loan of £3,500 for renewable installations, repayable over 10 years.

It’s a good time to invest in renewables at the moment; by installing now you can claim local and national grants and also be eligible for the premium feed-in tariffs offered by the government next year.

In addition to financial benefits, you will, of course, be cutting your carbon emissions and reducing your contribution to climate change, both locally and globally.

All this means that there has never been a better time to install renewable energy in South Gloucestershire than right now!

Phone the SGFuturenergy advice line 01452 835087 for more information.

Village Hall Makeover

The Village Hall Makeover project team have resumed work this autumn after a period of change within the Community Association. Alan Holder, the new Chairperson, has given his support and encouragement to the project team to progress with the option appraisals. Alan has also been leading the implementation of short-term improvements with the support of volunteers.

The project team are finishing the analysis of user questionnaires and information gleaned from visits to other village halls. The options will include new build, alteration, and extensions, together with the status quo (bringing the current building up to current standards).

Whichever option or variation is preferred, we need to be clear about what should be included as useable spaces. While the current facility is regularly fully booked, there are effectively only two or three bookable spaces, which are sub-optimal for many users. The Makeover project team want to significantly improve this, as well as the quality of the building and its approaches.

In summary the biggest changes envisaged are:

• Larger stage (50m²) with lighting box
• Dedicated area for Playgroup and children’s activities/parties
• Separate full-length skittle alley with access to bar
• Four quality function rooms, one with cinema projection and sound system (50m², 40m², 30m², 20m²)
• Welcoming approach, entrance and lift
• Additional storage for organised groups
• Sports changing facilities meeting the latest requirements
• Commercial standard kitchen (to cater for functions, parties, etc.)
• Full disabled access and WC with mother and toddler changing facilities
• Maximise the views across the recreation ground from within the building

Any comments or additional ideas are very welcome -- all will be considered as we draw the option-appraisal stage to a close. Please send any comments or ideas to the team here...

Keep Up to Date with News and Events in Pucklechurch

While the Pucklechurch News is by far the most important means of communication in the village, the fact that it is published quarterly means that it can never contain all the events and news in a timely way.

Did you know there's another way to stay informed? Many people in the village subscribe to the monthly email newsletter from the community website. This month marks the 100th edition of this newsletter. However, while there are well over 800 people using the internet in the Parish (according to the Community Plan survey), only 250 people have so far subscribed to the newsletter -- an easy way to stay in touch with latest news and events.

To sign up, go to the community website (www.pucklechurch.org), click on the link on the left "Click here to sign up for monthly email updates on news and events" and enter your name and email address on the form.

While on the subject of the website, I am pleased to say that it is now getting around 9,000 visits per month. Please make sure your event or meetings get into the Village Calendar by sending the information (who, what, when, where, why) to webmaster@pucklechurch.org or by filling in the online form here...

Martin Smith, Webmaster

Who’s that Knocking at My Door?

South Gloucestershire Trading Standards would like to remind residents of the area to be wary of unexpected callers at their doors. Trading Standards have been made aware of a spate of distraction burglaries happening across the South West where council officials have been impersonated to gain access to victim’s homes. We are aware of one instance in the Yate area where the caller claimed to be a Trading Standards officer. Instances such as this highlight the need for people to be vigilant when dealing with doorstep visitors.

Some useful tips to remember are:

• Be wary of unexpected visitors and the reasons they give for their visits.
• Council employees are always in possession of their identification, which can be verified by contacting the relevant local authority.
• Do not allow them access to your home unless you are completely satisfied they are genuine.
• If in doubt, close the door and contact the police.

Horse Sense

The Symposium of Equine Safety was held on 30 September and was a great success. The event was arranged following a Safer & Stronger Community Group meeting when residents raised the issue of emergency services protocol when dealing with equine incidents. The purpose of the seminar was to provide horse riders with valuable information and advice regarding various aspects of horse welfare and safety when riding, moving horses and using the roads.

The opening address was given by PC Chris Skelton, followed by presentations from Dr Tim Brazil MRCVS on behalf of the British Equine Veterinary Association and Pete Ravenhill BVSc cert EM MRCVS highlighting horse travel safety, dealing with trauma, and first response.

Julie Garbutt then spoke on behalf of the British Horse Society with regard to road safety and the importance of high visibility clothing when riding on the roads and in the countryside to aid rescue if needed.

This was followed by a presentation by PCSO Justin Gay on the Horsewatch scheme. He also showed people how to navigate around the pages on the Avon & Somerset website. For information on the Horsewatch scheme, go to www.avonandsomerset.police.uk and then go to the Crime Reduction and Community Safety pages where the link to Horsewatch can be found.

PC Skelton spoke about simple crime prevention measures that can be taken -- for example, not leaving tack at the stables -- to make life as difficult as possible for prospective thieves.

A short question-and-answer session followed and the meeting was closed by Mrs Sue Jones, Chairwoman of the Veteran Horse, Pony & Riders Club.

Revel Photography Exhibition

The exhibition for the fifth annual Bob Stone Memorial Photograph Competition was held on Sunday, 11th October, in the Village Hall. The competition entries were displayed along with a collection of photographs of Revel 2009 and other pictures by local photographers. Visitors to the exhibition enjoyed a cup of tea or coffee. Something new this year was the voting for the "best of the rest", which gave people the opportunity to choose one winner from the Open section and one from Village Life. Elaine Stone presented the prizes for the winning entries.

See all the winners and commended entries here...

South Gloucestershire Local Involvement Network

Join the LINk: Help Make Small Changes and Have a Big Influence on Your Health and Social Care Services

You can become part of the new way for local people to have their say about local health and social care services and about the way they are run and developed by joining the South Gloucestershire Local Involvement Network (LINk).

You can participate in the LINk as much or as little as you wish -- from receiving information regularly to being involved in working groups. You can join the LINk as an individual or as a representative of a voluntary or community group. If you belong to a community or voluntary group, we can come and talk to you so you can tell us about the issues you are facing.

The LINk is working hard and talking to the local authority and local NHS trusts about issues including the provision of respite care, translation services for people whose first language is not English, and services for older people and people with physical and sensory impairments.

The LINk can pass issues to the Care Quality Commission (the national watchdog for health and social care) and local Select Committees, and on occasion can enter and view health or social care services to see first-hand what is happening.

For more information about the South Gloucestershire LINk, contact Sarah Booker, Development and Information worker for South Gloucestershire LINk:

Tel: 0117 958 9351 or 07896918205

Fax: 0117 965 0200

Email: sarahbooker@linksouthglos.org.uk

Web: www.linksouthglos.org.uk

Post: FREEPOST RSBG-GTHJ-JUKK, South Gloucestershire LINk, The Care Forum, The Vassall Centre, Gill Avenue, Bristol BS16 2QQ

On the Buses

Do you want a better bus service for Pucklechurch, Shortwood, and Parkfield? Do you have ideas on how services could be improved? Do you want to have your say?

Public Meeting

Wednesday, 13th January, 8.00pm

Village Hall Meeting Room

The Traffic & Transportation working group of the Community Plan are finalising proposals for the future of bus transport for Pucklechurch. The meeting will summarise the data collected in the Community Plan survey and discuss options and ideas to be put to the Parish Council, South Gloucestershire, and the bus companies.

If you can't be at the meeting, you can send your input (before 12th January) to community.plan@pucklechurch.org or Martin Smith, Hodden Cottage, Hodden Lane, Pucklechurch, BS16 9SG.