Selattyn and Gobowen Parish Council are currently inviting quotes for the following contracts:
Please contact the Parish Clerk clerk@selattyn-gobowenpc.org.uk to request a copy of the contract and for more information call 01691 829571.
Deadline for the receipt of quotes is 1st December 2017.
Find out from the A-Z guide about all of the services available to you through Gobowen Library:
An A-Z of Shropshire Library Services
Access for all
• Talking books and Large Print collections
• Concessionary tickets for free borrowing of talking books and no library fines
• Home Library service volunteers taking books to people in their own homes
• Community Directory listing local support organisations
Archives unique collection of archive material relating to Gobowen and surrounding area.
Bibliotherapy – helping people to find books for different health benefits. Reading reduces stress levels by up to 60%. See also Books on prescription below
Books on prescription (Reading Well collection) – a special collection of self-help books/leaflets that GPs can refer people to. Library staff can help find health information that is reliable and relevant. See also Dementia, Mood-boosting, Long Term Conditions and Shelf-Help (young people) collections below
Book Club – see Reading groups below
Business support – free Wi-fi in the library, meeting room available, business books available for loan
Can’t get into the library?
• Renew and request items online using your library pin no.
• Home library service
• Mobile library service in rural areas
• Visit the library webpages for these and other services online
• E-resources – see below
• Search the library catalogue online to find the books you want
Children’s activities –
• Support/advice for parents, carers and children on book choices and helping children to read
• Regular rhyme and story times and holiday activities for children and young people.
• Visits to schools to run rhyme and story times and Fabreads (box of books left in school to promote contemporary junior fiction).
• Library visits by groups of children from local nurseries, playgroups and schools.
• Regular class visits for pupils from Gobowen Primary
• Library reward scheme to encourage frequent visits to the library by pre-school children
• Summer Reading Challenge – Read six books over the summer holidays and join in library activities
• There is also a Schools Library Service that loan schools books to supplement their school library, project boxes (books and artefacts) for teachers to use and support teachers in providing a school library
Community Directory – listing all local groups, societies, self-help and support groups in Shropshire
Computers – free computer use for up to two hours per day. This can be extended in particular circumstances
Dementia Collection (Reading Well scheme) collection of books for people with dementia or carers/professionals working with people with dementia. Includes a range of picture books to share and spark memories
E- library resources– access daily newspapers, e-magazines/e-books and other reference materials for free online
Free, friendly and fun – visiting your local library is a great way to enjoy reading and learning for pleasure and its free!
Great range of stock – any book in Shropshire can be reserved for collection from Gobowen Central for a small charge
Health Zone – all our health resources are available from our health zone. From time to time there will be visiting health professionals running drop-in sessions in the health zone
Information – find out what is happening in your local community and all about your local history. Library staff can help you to find the information you need
IT support
• Free computer use for up to two hours per day
• general support from library staff
Learning opportunities through consulting books and using free computers
Local history –collection of books relating to Gobowen.Further information available at Oswestry Library’s Local History Centre, which is the second largest collection of local studies material in the county after Shropshire Archives, and provides help with family and/or local history enquiries provided by library staff and a team of expert volunteers
Local information – find out what is going on locally through posters, displays and online community directory
Looking for work?
• Books on writing CVs
• Free computer use
Long Term Conditions – Reading Well Collection. A new collection of books to support self-management of chronic health conditions. Approved by medical professionals and people with long term conditions
Meeting room for hire
Mobile library – service to villages in rural Shropshire
Mood Boosting books (Reading Well collection) collection of books designed to raise your mood
More than books – you can also borrow ordnance survey maps, DVDs, Talking Books on CD and look at our collections of local historical maps
Music and drama – you can order sheet music and playsets through your local library
Newspapers and magazines – come and browse a selection of local and national papers or access them online from home for free
Opportunities – to learn, look for work, listen to a story, follow your imagination, be creative
Photocopying facilities are available in the library
Professional knowledge – consult library staff for suggestions about what to read, how to set up a reading group, local and family history enquiries, local information, promoting reading and literacy for children and young people, etc
Quiet study spaces – for you to work or study in
Reading groups – You can register your Reading Group with the Library service and receive reading sets of a range of titles. These can be delivered to the library of your choice for collection
Reading help – Don’t know what to read next? Library staff can help with your reading
questions
Reading Well collections – see Books on Prescription
Safe place to be – Shropshire Libraries are all registered Safe Places for vulnerable people as part of the West Mercia police scheme
Schools – lots of class visits and events held in partnership with local schools
Self-help books – find a range of self-help books for different circumstances
Shelf-help (Reading Well collection) collection of self-help books for teenagers/parents to help you understand your emotions as well as cope with difficult situations
Social activities and a friendly face in your library can help combat isolation and loneliness. Monthly tea and chat with the WI, Bridge club, talks and much more
Special collections – specialist collections such as; Crime, Westerns, Romance, Parent & Carers, books for children with dyslexia and Self-help book collection (Books on Prescription)
Study space – to work for your exams or read a book
Teenage Fiction – collection of books for teenagers and young adults
Time to Listen for adults – come and have a story read to you in the comfort of the library
Unlimited scope – for reading and learning something new!
Variety – of activities, knowledge and learning opportunities
Volunteering opportunities – monthly sessions by Qube highlighting volunteering offers
Webpages – lots of information about Shropshire library services and all that is on offer http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/library.nsf
Wi-fi – bring your own laptop/tablet in and use our wireless connection for study or business use for free
X-citing place to be!
Young people – Study spaces to learn, teenager’s book collection, Self-help books for young people
Zeal of the staff!
Shropshire Libraries are consulting on a new draft Library Services Strategy for ten weeks from Wednesday 26th July. Both Gobowen Library and the Selattyn Mobile service are referred to in the draft Strategy.
The strategy sets out the Council’s vision to unlock the huge potential that library services have to impact positively on individuals lives. It also recognises that this is a challenging time for library services – traditional usage has been declining in recent years, the way that people use library services is shifting, and the financial situation remains difficult.
The strategy sets out a hierarchy of library services provision and describes how the Council can meet its statutory requirements to provide a “comprehensive and efficient library service for all persons” by providing:
The strategy does not set out to close any existing libraries, but it does recognise the need to provide a framework that allows future investment and revenue support to be prioritised.
An online survey is available at https://www.shropshire.gov.uk/ (click on the Get Involved page) and paper copies of the survey will be available from your libraries and mobile libraries.
Local author Dave Andrews, who lives on the Wern by Weston Rhyn, has recently published his ninth book, entitled ‘Gobowen to Everest’. It is based on a diary he kept during a trek in Nepal and tells the tale of a journey to Everest Base Camp and beyond which starts from Gobowen railway station. Dave has written the book to raise money for Cancer Research UK and Lingen Davies Cancer Fund at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and he will be giving a series of talks to promote it.
In ‘Gobowen to Everest’ Dave describes life on the chaotic streets of Kathmandu, a perilous flight in a tiny plane to the foothills of the Himalaya, the challenges and the dangers of trekking at high altitude and also his encounters with the Sherpa people, as well as individuals such as actor Brian Blessed and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York.
‘I had always wanted to see Everest with my own eyes,’ says Dave ‘as I’d read so much about its history. I got an unexpected opportunity when I met Brian Blessed at the theatre in Mold. He was about to make his second attempt on Everest and I joined the expedition’s support team.’
Dave’s last book was ‘The Oswestry Round’, a walking guide to a 33-mile circular route around the town of Oswestry, which Dave also wrote to raise money for Cancer Research UK and Lingen Davies Cancer Fund and it has since become the basis for the annual Oswestry Round Challenge held in June each year.
‘I was treated in the Lingen Davies Centre in 2014,’ says Dave. ‘Writing these books is one way I have of giving something back and saying thank you for the wonderful care I received at Shrewsbury. We’ve sold almost 900 copies of ‘The Oswestry Round’ and together with the Oswestry Round Challenge we’ve raised over £29,000 for the two charities we support. I’m really proud of that.’
‘Gobowen to Everest’ received financial support from Oswestry Borderland Rotary Club as well as friends and family and also members of the public following talks Dave gave to various clubs and societies. This meant that all the publication costs were covered and that money from sales can go to the two charities. ‘Gobowen to Everest’ is sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, and always engaging. It’s the story of a hillwalker determined to see Everest for himself but who occasionally wonders if he has bitten off more than he can chew.
The book can be bought online at www.oswestryround.co.uk/everest.html or in Gobowen railway station, Oswestry public library, Oswestry Heritage Centre, Rowanthorn, Booka or direct from Dave who can be contacted on dand103750@aol.com or 01691 650293. The book costs £7.
50th ANNIVERSARY BEATING THE BOUNDS OF SELATTYN AND GOBOWEN PARISH
‘Beating the Bounds’ is an ancient custom in England, and many other countries, which was adopted by the Christian Church from pagan tradition. Groups of old and young members would walk the boundary of the parish, usually led by parish clergy and officials. It was also called ‘Riding the Marches’ – very appropriate in our area.
The custom has not been upheld for several years in Selattyn and Gobowen Parish. To mark the 50th year of the Parish, the Council organised an anniversary walk on Sunday 16th July. A group of 18 parishioners, led by our Council Leader, Mr Huw Ellis, and steered by Chris Jenkins, walked 5 kilometres along Parish roads, footpaths and canal-side, as a modest reflection of the actual boundary of some 20 kilometres. The weather was kind and after the walk everyone enjoyed well-earned refreshments at the Pavilion.
A 12-week consultation into Shropshire Council’s proposed new parking strategy has begun today and runs until 17 October.
The proposals include introducing charges at Gobowen Station.
For more information about the proposals, and to submit comments, go to www.shropshire.gov.uk/parking-consultation.
You can also read the press release at: http://shropshire.gov.uk/news/2017/07/consultation-begins-into-proposed-parking-changes/
Copies of the consultation documents will be available in Shropshire Council libraries and customer service points from next week, and are available on request by calling 0345 678 9028.
If you have any questions about the consultation, please email: tellus@shropshire.gov.uk.
In 2016 Selattyn and Gobowen Parish Council successfully secured just under £17,000 of funding to purchase and install a new piece of play equipment on Gobowen Playing Field. The new equipment was installed in late spring 2017 and the official opening took place on Thursday 20th July with around 100 children attending the event.
Selattyn and Gobowen Parish Council successfully secured grants from the following organisations for the purchase and installation of the new equipment:
Big Lottery
Three Parishes Big Local
The Hilton Jones Trust
Gobowen Youth Partnership
Included in the grant from The Three Parishes Big Local was additional funding for a community event which enabled the Parish Council to put on the launch and engage local people. Working with Gobowen Primary School, around 100 children and 40 parents attended the event which included an ice cream van with free ice creams, refreshments for parents, inflatable games and activities run by TNS as well as the opportunity for children to spend the morning playing on the wide range of equipment on the playing field.
Lucy, Headteacher at Gobowen Primary School commented, “Gobowen Primary School are proud to be part of this community and are very grateful to the parish council for their continued support of our young people. This event is a wonderful way for everyone to celebrate these new facilities”.
At the event, Three Parishes Big Local Chairman, Nick Heard, said, “It was lovely to see so many children and their families enjoying themselves outdoors”.
The third season of the National Plant Monitoring Scheme is well underway with volunteers up and down the country going out to visit their squares. A huge thank you to everyone who helped to promote the NPMS over the past two years, we now have over 1100 volunteers taking part as well as a network of 20 NPMS Mentors. Lots of our volunteers report having heard about the scheme via their parish council so we are very grateful for your hard work.
Results from 2016:
Our latest newsletter is available: http://www.npms.org.uk/sites/www.npms.org.uk/files/newsletters/NPMS_%20Newsletter_Spring2017_FINAL_v2_0.pdf
The NPMS dataset is freely available via the NBN Atlas.
More help please:
There are still lots of squares available for surveying so we would be hugely grateful if you can use your communication channels to promote the scheme again. The live map on the NPMS website shows the squares that are available: http://www.npms.org.uk/square-near-me-public?dynamic-return_all_squares=true
We particularly need to promote the scheme in remote areas, so if you know any groups that like to spend time in remote places then please do pass the message on.
A reminder of who we are and what we need:
This scheme is a partnership between Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI); JNCC; Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) and Plantlife and is backed by the government. The scheme will recruit and support volunteers to survey 5 plots in a kilometre square close to where they live. The plots will be surveyed twice a year. The kilometre squares to monitor have been identified by stratified random sampling. The plants have been chosen as indicators of the health of individual habitats. There are 3 levels volunteers can participate at depending on confidence and knowledge and support will be provided both through training; web and telephone.
The Gobowen Area Improvement Group (GAIP) have announced they had completed the purchase of the buildings on both the up and down platforms at Gobowen Station. The station buildings had been in private ownership for many years and were destined to be sold at auction, however intervention by Selattyn and Gobowen Parish Council with a Community Right to Bid application opened a path for the buildings to be secured for the community.
This acquisition provides the foundation for an ambitious project to see the historic station returned to a former glory whilst also providing a connecting rail service to Oswestry with intermediate stations at the Orthopaedic Hospital and tourism venues along the route. The development will also considerably enhance the employment opportunities within the local area, particularly in tourism and engineering within the railway spectrum of the project.
Through the Community Right to Bid process the group had to raise the necessary funding for the purchase and sought assistance from Three Parishes Big Local, the Big Lottery funded programme led by local residents that is investing in Gobowen, St Martins and Weston Rhyn.
Glenn Pennington, speaking on behalf of Three Parishes Big Local, said,“Three Parishes Big Local is always looking for ways to make the area a better place to live, and we were impressed with the innovative opportunities that the station buildings project offers for revitalising the local area.
Three Parishes Big Local provided a grant and a loan totalling £110,000 as part of the funding required.
The Oswestry Station Building Trust Ltd (OSBT) a registered charity and partner in GAIP have acted as the facilitator in the purchase. They will be the owner and financial partner in the management of this project and working within GAIP will now continue to plan the future development of the station buildings offering security of tenure for the existing tenants which includes Severn Dee Travel the not for profit rail agency who have run the booking office there for over 20 years.
Roger Date speaking for OSBT said that he was delighted to have played a part in the partnerships success and looked forward to assisting with the delivery of the community rail project along with the numerous other community opportunities for revitalisation of the area.
Sheila Dee, Community Rail Officer for the Chester Shrewsbury Rail Partnership also a member of GAIP said that the group had worked very hard to achieve this aspiration and had seen great support from stakeholders, the rail industry and the community. She commented, ‘the many hours spent working on this bid and compiling our business plan had been very worthwhile and made us far more prepared for challenges that were faced in raising the finances needed. The opportunity these buildings give this area are immense; already we have a staffed station through Severn Dee Travel and a station café managed by the Derwen College. Restoration of the once beautiful buildings will make the station the Gateway to the area once more.
Shropshire Council is encouraging local residents to make their voices heard at national level, by completing a short online survey into the views of rural people on a number of issues. The survey is being carried out by the Rural Services Network (RSN), which campaigns for a fair deal for rural communities. It is aimed at any individuals aged 15 and over, and closes at midnight on 23rd July 2017.
Please access the survey using the link below:
The RSN would like as many responses as possible so that they can obtain a wide selection of views representing rural areas. The aim is also to set up a panel of people to be contacted from time to time about their opinions and experiences, with an Amazon £10 voucher on offer to 10 respondents chosen at random after the closing date from those who indicate they are happy to be part of such a panel.
Councillor Mrs Joyce Barrow, Portfolio Holder for Communities, said:
“It would be very helpful for the voices of Shropshire residents to be heard through this national survey, as we are one of the most sparsely populated rural authorities in the country. The findings will be shared with national Government, and should be very useful at this time of change. I would therefore very much like to encourage local people to complete the survey, which asks about issues such as education, health, housing, rural crime, and transport.”
The Council is asking elected members as community leaders to complete the survey themselves, as well as circulating it to officers, and through channels such as the Voluntary and Community Sector Assembly.
The national online survey is being carried out through the Rural Services Network (RSN). This is seeking the views of rural residents on a range of issues, in order to then bring collective views to the attention of Government and national policy makers.
As the national champion for rural services, seeking to ensure rural areas have a strong voice, the Network campaigns for a fair deal for rural communities to maintain their social and economic viability for the benefit of the nation as a whole. Councillor Cecilia Motley, Member for Corvedale, is Chair of the RSN.
For this survey, the RSN is working with research partners at the University of Gloucestershire. The Council has been assured that information provided in this questionnaire will be used for research purposes only. It will not be used in a manner which would allow identification of individual responses, nor are any questions being asked that would allow individuals, or their household, to be identified.
