The Parish Council would like to thank the mystery person who repaired the Dog Waste Bin on the Recreation Ground. It was thought to be beyond rescue so your action has saved the day and the need to spend some precious funds on a new one for the moment! Much appreciated by all Great Paxton Councillors.
The County Council’s Dragon Patch Machine will be operating in London Lane from 11.30am to 2pm TODAY. It will be repairing the potholes that have been identified in that location.
Please go and have a look. The operator will be available to explain how it all works between 12 noon and 1pm
The development of Huntingdonshire District Council’s Healthy Open Spaces and Play Strategy is a collaborative process. It will be shaped by the views and ideas of stakeholders and the local community. A recent parks survey was completed by 710 people and HDC are currently in the process of analysing the data.
‘Embrace Your Space’ is a way to connect people with and promote parks and open spaces in Huntingdonshire. Using the #EmbraceYourSpace hashtag HDC are planning to use social media (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) to start conversation with the community and to encourage them to share photos and stories of their experiences in the great local outdoors over the October half term period.
Each day of the week will have a different theme:
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Walking #BarkInThePark (dogs) Play Art & Photography Trees Sport Wildlife
The more people that get involved in the conversation the more HDC believe they can learn and they ask you to take part in #EmbraceYourSpace week. You can do this in a number of ways including:
• Please tag any promotion or information about activities or events happening in parks or open spaces with #EmbraceYourSpace
• Share your experiences and/or favourite parks or open spaces using #EmbraceYourSpace
• Take photos of local parks and open spaces and share them on social media using the #EmbraceYourSpace
• Retweet/share Huntingdonshire District Council #EmbraceYourSpace activity
You might also want to consider posting one of the following tweets/posts:
This half term @HuntsDC is celebrating their parks, open spaces and play areas. Tell HDC how you are spending time in these places using the #EmbraceYourSpace. The first 300 people to use the hastag will be eligible for a bag of wildflower seed.
As part of #EmbraceYourSpace week @HuntsDC is launching a photography competition. Submit pictures of local parks and open spaces for the chance to some amazing prizes to include tickets to @hcpcentre Santa’s Grotto. To find out more follow @HuntsDC or visit the HDC Facebook Page.
My favourite park is
Thank you for your time and please consider taking part in #EmbraceYourSpace week.
PDF HDC Volunteer Recruitment Poster
The District Council looks after several nature reserves and parks across Huntingdonshire and rely heavily on support from volunteers. They are currently looking to recruit new volunteers at all of their sites. Please see enclosed poster for details.
Saxon Green Play Space: Improved with funds from your Parish Council and the Cambridgeshire Community Foundation.
Staying safe around water – GOV_UK
Click on ‘accessible format’ to access Water Safety Booklet.
At the July Parish Council meeting, there was a suggestion that instead of neatly mown grass verges, Councillors might consider allowing one or two to become mini meadows where wildflowers and wildlife could flourish. Several (larger) Councils are trialling this approach. Roadside safety, visibility and drainage would, of course, remain paramount. A call for some green fingered volunteers might also be necessary to prepare the ground and sow the seeds! The cost of maintaining all verges in the Parish is £1020 per annum (for 14/16 cuts a year) so there may be a marginal saving to make were there a reduction in number of cuts/locations. As there were varied opinions at the meeting and as the Council is aware that this is a slightly controversial issue, Councillors would be interested to hear from residents as to whether you think it’s something that could be explored in more detail? Please email the Clerk with your thoughts – Clerk@greatpaxton-pc.gov.uk.
Maggie reports this is coming along well and is growing in length very nicely. Recently, a children’s workshop was held in the Bell for Mums and their children to make some pennants with Maggie and this was well supported and everyone did really well. Plenty of time for those who wish to add to the bunting as Maggie will be collecting for the rest of the year.
We are delighted to report that the project is going very well and we are lucky enough to have quite a lot of lovely stitchers working on pew cushions that have been created by the design team. Because the challenge is to create 40 x metre wide cushions, we could do with more people to stitch so that we can complete this project within a two year period.
Please contact me if you would like to join us… Diane James at diane.james42@outlook.com or call me for a chat on 01480 406938. We’d be delighted to have you join us!
We are still waiting to see if the National Lottery, communities fund will offer a grant to us for some of the cushions but we’re delighted how many have decided to sponsor a cushion for personal commemoration.
You might have noticed your local Speed Watch Team in action!
Speed Watch Volunteers get actively involved in monitoring the speed of vehicles travelling through the village. Volunteers are trained to use speed indicator devices which display vehicle speed. The registered owner of any vehicle seen exceeding the speed limit is then sent an advisory letter from their local Neighbourhood Policing Team. This explains that speeding is unacceptable to our local community.
Full training is given to volunteers by the local Neighbourhood Police Team. Safety equipment is also provided to ensure volunteers are clearly visible to road users. Information gathered during the checks will be used to target enforcement and education measures. Persistent offenders will receive a visit from Police Officers not Speed Watch volunteers. Supported by the Police, the Speed Watch Team in Great Paxton has become very successful and has recently take charge of some new equipment. However, it needs some extra help and would appreciate some additional volunteers. There is no expectation in terms of the number of hours you would need to make yourself available. That would be up to you and the Team to discuss.
If you would like to join the Speed Watch Team in Great Paxton please contact Councillor Jill Peters at jillatgp@gmail.com or the Parish Clerk at clerk@greatpaxton-pc.gov.uk.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Anglian Water are planning to install brand new eel screens at their Offord D’Arcy site as part of work across the region to protect endangered species. This scheme is part of a £3.2million investment into new eel screens which will be installed on the River Great Ouse.
The European eel is now classed as critically endangered after a 95 per cent decline in population over the last 25 years.
Eels spend their early years in rivers across Europe before migrating to the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic to spawn. The spawn is then thought to use the Gulf Stream to return to our rivers, by which time they have developed into very small glassed eels. To ensure the safety of the public and workforce during this work, Anglian Water will put in place a temporary footpath closure on the Ouse Valley Way. This will be in place for approximately 13 weeks. This diversion route will be signposted at all times, please see plan attached. Exact commencement dates will be confirmed nearer the time. The majority of the work will be located within the site boundary so there will be little disruption to the community. Although You may notice increased amounts of construction traffic going to and from the site when the work commences.
