Shropshire Hills AONB Partnership

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The AONB Management Plan in under review and they would like to hear your views on

  • What do you most value about the Shropshire Hills?
  • What is changing, for better or worse?
  • What needs to be done, and how can we work together to do it?

The new AONB Management Plan will set out priorities to build support for the landscape over the next five years.  The more people they involve, the more successful the Plan will be.  Please follow the link to fill in our online survey – it should take no more than 10 minutes.  https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/YJGY7FS

Public Notice – Councillor Vacancy

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NOTICE UNDER LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 (SECTION 87(2)

VACANCY FOR A COUNCILLOR

PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN

That a casual vacancy has occurred in the Office of Councillor for Selattyn and Gobowen Parish Council following the resignation of Councillor Michael Keeling.

Rule 5(2) of The Local Elections (Parishes and Communities) (England and Wales) Rules, 2006 now applies.

The rule allows TEN ELECTORS for the parish in which the casual vacancy has arisen to request the Returning Officer to hold an election to fill the vacancy.* That request must be made within FOURTEEN DAYS, calculated in accordance with the rules,** of the date of this notice.

The fourteen-day period ends on WEDNESDAY 30TH MAY 2018

What if a request to hold an election is not received during the permitted time?

Rule 5(5) of the above Rules will apply. The Parish Council must, as soon as practicable after the expiry of the fourteen-day period, co-opt a person to fill the vacancy.

The Returning Officer’s address is: Electoral Services, Shropshire Council, The Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY2 6ND.

The telephone number for further guidance is 0345 678 9015.

This notice is dated WEDNESDAY 9th MAY 2018

Mrs Amy Jones

Parish Clerk

Hawthorn Cottage, Porthywaen, Oswestry, SY10 8LX

E: clerk@selattyn-gobowenpc.org.uk

T: 01691 829571

* There is no form of words for this request, which might simply be a letter headed with such words as “We the undersigned being electors for the [Ward of] … Parish, call for an election to fill the vacancy arising from the [death][resignation] of …”. A template entitled “Request for an Election” is available to download from Shropshire Council’s website – http://www.shropshire.gov.uk – under “Current Council Vacancies”. It is helpful if the ten signatures are accompanied by printed names and addresses.

** In calculating the notice period, day one is the day following the date of this notice; a Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a Bank Holiday or day appointed for public thanksgiving or mourning shall be disregarded, and the period closes at midnight on the fourteenth day after the date of this notice. Rule 5(2) of The Local Elections (Parishes and Communities) (England and Wales) Rules, 2006 now applies.

Saving Parks In North Shropshire

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Our parks and green spaces are where we go to play, relax and escape – but right now they’re in crisis. Cash strapped councils have been forced to slash the funding used to keep these public spaces alive. [1] And now, one of the last pots of money our parks could rely on has been axed. [2]

Heritage Lottery Fund’s parks programme invested millions of pounds in our parks and green spaces. [3] But they’ve just scrapped the fund, putting the future of our parks at risk. Now they’re asking the public how they should spend their money next year. [4] If thousands of us speak up for our parks now, we could secure the money they desperately need.

The Parks Alliance have started a 38 Degrees campaign to make sure parks get this vital funding back. [5] If hundreds and thousands of us add our names, it’ll show the Heritage Lottery Fund how much the public love their parks – and convince them to once again give them the cash they need.

SIGN THE PETITION 

From children playing sports with friends to families enjoying a sunday afternoon stroll, parks are for everyone. Unless they get the money they need, we could could see our much loved parks sold off to the highest bidder, or fall into disrepair. [6] It’s not about replacing council funding for our parks. But with councils struggling under the weight of huge government cuts, we can’t let this vital funding pot disappear.

Time and time again, 38 Degrees members have come together to celebrate and protect our beautiful open spaces. When the government planned to sell off our beloved national forests – we came together in our hundreds of thousands to stop them. [7] And just last year hundreds of us descended on parks up and down the country with our friends and family to celebrate our parks and show politicians that our green spaces are valued by everyone. [8]

NOTES:
[1] The Guardian: The end of parklife as we know it? The battle for Britain’s green spaces:
https://38d.gs/theguardianparks
[2] Heritage lottery fund: Changes to our grant making:
https://38d.gs/hlfstrategy
Horticulture week: HLF ending of Parks for People programme “a black day”:
https://www.hortweek.com/hlf-ending-parks-people-programme-a-black-day/parks-and-gardens/article/1452469
[3] See note 2
[4] Heritage Lottery Funds: We want to hear from you on HLF’s future direction and funding:
https://www.hlf.org.uk/about-us/news-features/we-want-hear-you-hlfs-future-direction-and-funding
[5] 38 Degrees: Protect Heritage Lottery Funding for Parks:
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/protect-heritage-lottery-funding-for-parks
[6] LocalGov.co.uk: Council agrees to sell off 10% of its parks:
https://www.localgov.co.uk/Council-agrees-to-sell-off-10-of-its-parks-/44308
[7] 38 Degrees: Victory! Government to scrap plans to sell our forests:
https://home.38degrees.org.uk/2011/02/17/victory-government-to-scrap-plans-to-sell-our-forests/
[8] 38 Degrees: Have a Field Day:
https://home.38degrees.org.uk/2017/07/19/have-a-field-day-2/

Defibrillator Training

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Thanks to the dedication of parish based community groups who have fundraised and applied for various grants, the Parish Council now has two new defibrillators in the Parish. The Gobowen Cabinet and Defibrillator was installed in January and was kindly funded by:

  • The British Heart Foundation
  • Three Parishes Big Local
  • STAR Housing
  • The Co-op and its members and customers

 The defibrillator is owned by the Parish Council and is for the benefit of the local community and anyone who may be visiting the village. The defibrillator is in an UNLOCKED cabinet so can be accessed 24/7.

Lucy Crane, Area Manager for the Co-op, said: “As a community retailer the Co-op is committed to making a difference locally and is delighted to have been able to support this appeal – we would like to thank our colleagues, Members and customers locally for helping to raise vital funds and contributing towards the cost of installing this life saving equipment in our community.”

Amy Jones, Parish Clerk, commented, “As well as it being a condition of the British Heart Foundation Grant, it is very important to train as many people as possible to use the Defibrillator, should a situation arise where it is required to help save someone’s life”.

The Parish Council has, therefore, arranged a training session (Defibrillator Awareness Course) which is organised in conjunction with the Oswestry Cambrian Rotary Club and will be delivered by a Heart Start Tutor and Community First Responder. The Course will take place on:

Saturday 14th April at 11am in Gobowen Pavilion

The session will last approximately 2 hours and there is no charge to attend. The trainers just ask for donations to support the life-saving work they do.

Mike Lade of Oswestry Cambrian Rotary Club, commented, “This training is part of a community project that has been running around 3 years now to train as many people as possible, from Oswestry and surrounding areas, in CPR and using a Defibrillator. To date, in excess of 200 people have been trained. The biggest fear that people have is that they are going to hurt somebody by using the defibrillator. This is not the case. You can do no harm but you can save a life”.

If you would like to book a place on the course, please email / call the Parish Clerk:

E: clerk@selattyn-gobowenpc.org.uk

T: 01691 829571

Attendees are asked to wear suitable, comfortable clothing to the training.

Highways England Consultation

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Highways England’s Strategic Road Network Initial Report: consultation closes on 7 February 2018:

Highways England published its first Strategic Road Network Initial Report on 13 December last year. This sets out their advice to government about where they believe priorities should be focused for the second road period, which runs between 2020 and 2025.

The SRN Initial Report forms part of the Department for Transport’s public consultation on future funding on the SRN. This focuses on how best to invest the new National Roads Fund – ring-fenced money collected from vehicle excise duty – to ensure roads are fit for the future and to give people better access to jobs, schools and their community.

This is your chance to tell them what you think so we urge you to take part. It closes on Wednesday 7 February.

We are recruiting…

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Vacancy for Facilities and Services Officer

Salary: NJC scale point LC1 15 (£17,072 pro-rata)

Hours of work: 8 hours per week flexible – overtime as agreed.

Applications are invited for the position of Facilities and Services Officer. This is an exciting and varied post and would suit someone looking for a part-time flexible role. The post-holder will be based at Gobowen Pavilion but the role will require some travel throughout the parish. This is an exciting opportunity for anyone wanting to work for a proactive and vibrant council.

Main duties include:

  • Managing the parish council facilities and services on a day to day basis.
  • Completing Health and Safety Checks and Risk Assessments to ensure the overall safety of the facilities.

The successful candidate will have good computer skills, be practical and willing to work alone. All training will be provided.

Closing date for applications: Monday 15th January 2018

Interviews: Friday 26th January 2018

Facilities and Services Officer – Job Description

Application Form – Facilities and Services Officer (pdf version)

Application Form – Facilities and Services Officer (word version)

Applications can be submitted either by email:

clerk@selattyn-gobowenpc.org.uk

 Or in Writing to :

The Parish Clerk

Hawthorn Cottage

Porthywaen

Oswestry

Shropshire

SY10 8LX

Telephone: 01691 829571