February 2012

STRATFIELD MORTIMER

Parish Council

Newsletter

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Contents

Annual Parish Meeting 2012 2

Superfast Broadband – Public Meeting 3/4

Grant Applications 5

Fairground Christmas Tree 5

Aircraft Disturbance on Remembrance Day 6

District Councillors Surgery 6

The Fairground – Hire charges & Diary 7

The Queens Diamond Jubilee 8

Police Office 9

Allotments Update 9

New Trees on the Fairground 9/10

Parish Council Precept / Budget 10/11

Change of Village Custodian 12

Boundary Hedge Trimming 12

Stratfield Mortimer Fairground Trust 13

Padworth Recycling Centre 13

Police Diary 14

Station Minibus Timetable 15

Parish Council Contact Information 16

STRATFIELD MORTIMER

ANNUAL PARISH MEETING 2012

This year’s Annual Parish Meeting will be held

on Wednesday 18th April 2012

at 7:30pm

in St John’s Hall, Mortimer.

More information and the Agenda will be posted on the public notice

boards and Parish Council Website nearer the date. The Minutes for

Previous meetings are available from the parish council web site

http://www.stratfield-mortimer.gov.uk. (Please Note: The 2011

Minutes will not be available at the meeting itself)

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Super Fast Broadband?

Public

Meeting

Saturday 25th February 2012 at 10 a.m

Methodist Church Hall West End Road, Mortimer

Do you want Superfast Broadband?

West Berkshire Council is leading an infrastructure improvement

programme called “Superfast Berkshire”

(http://www.superfastberkshire.org.uk). The programme aims to

provide improved broadband capability across Berkshire. This means

that, within West Berkshire, there will be 90% coverage of better than

20Mbit/s by 2015.

To be able to achieve this West Berkshire Council (WBC) are asking

the parishes who will benefit to contribute towards the costs. The

contribution requested from SMPC would be approximately £20,000.

This cost would be spread over a 3 year period and would necessitate an

increase SMPC’s council tax Precept by this amount which would

equate to £3.85 per year being added to the Council Tax for each “Band

D property” for a 3 year period. SMPC wants to gauge public opinion

before committing to this expense.

The public event will include speakers, including the Head of ICT at

West Berkshire Council, and other knowledgeable people in this field.

There will be an opportunity to learn more about the proposal and to

ask questions of a panel of experts.

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If you would like to put your point of view or raise a concern but are

unable to make the meeting please send your concern or opinion by

returning this page with your input to the Parish Council. (Parish Clerk,

Parish Council Office, The Library, 27 Victoria Road, Mortimer, RG7

3SH). Or hand deliver it through the Library letterbox.

Name: ......................................................................................................

Address: ...................................................................................................

Your comment

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Grant Applications The Parish Council will consider grant applications from non-profit

making voluntary organisations or charities (not individuals) for items

or projects which will directly benefit the Parish of Stratfield Mortimer

and its inhabitants.

Priority will be given to smaller and more local organisations. Match

funding is not required

Application forms and the SMPC Grants Policy is obtainable from the

Parish Council Office or can be downloaded from www.stratfield-

mortimer.gov.uk

Completed forms must be delivered (in hard copy format) to the

Parish Council Office by noon on Thursday 29th March 2012.

Successful applicants should receive their grant money by 31st May

2012.

The total amount the Parish Council has made available for grants for

2012/2013 is £2,500; hence any successful application may receive

only a proportion of the amount applied for.

Christmas Tree on The Fairground

The Parish Council would like to thank everyone who helped and

contributed towards the Parish Council Christmas Tree this year.

Donating the Christmas Tree – Englefield Estates

Logistical Advice/ Putting up Lights etc – Mortimer Maintenance

Free use of Cherry Picker – Fenton Plant Hire

Ground Preparation for the Tree – Mortimer Garden Care

And...... for the village carol singing around the tree on the 17th

December would like to thank

Christians Together in Mission (TIM) for arranging the Carols, the

Conductor, Musicians and Carol Sheet.

Greenham Common Trust for printing the carol sheet

Burghfield and Sulhamstead Scouts and Mortimer West End Chapel for

loan of equipment on the day

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Aircraft Disturbance on Remembrance Day.

Residents of Mortimer were upset and

enraged to be continually ‘buzzed’ by a

noisy biplane doing aerobatics during the

Remembrance Sunday service at the War Memorial.

SMPC took this complaint up on behalf of the community

and have been in communication with both the pilot and the airfield and

have now received the following apology from the pilot

‘I would like to offer my sincere apologies to the residents of

Stratfield-Mortimer for the disturbance on 13th November 2011 during

the town’s Remembrance Service. I am a passionate and caring person

and appreciate the significance of such a noteworthy celebration. Being

from the USA, and still familiarising myself with the UK calendar, I

was not aware until after I had landed of the potential to disrupt such an

important memorial service. Had I known, I can promise you that I

would not have taken to the air that day. I deeply appreciate the UK’s

rich culture and fabulous traditions and will forever be grateful for the

opportunity I have to live in this country. Again I apologise for the

disturbance and want you to know that it will not happen again’

District Councillor’s

Monthly Drop In Surgery.

If you would like to raise any issues relating to West Berkshire Council

business within the parish your Mortimer Ward District Councillors,

Mollie Lock and Geoff Mayes hold a ‘drop in surgery’ on the first

Saturday of each month between 10am to 11am in The Parish Council

Office at the back of Mortimer Library.

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THE FAIRGROUND - Hire Charges for 2012 The Parish Council has agreed that there will be a slight

increase (2.5%) to the Fairground hiring charges for

2012. The daily hire charge for the Fairground will increase to

£76.87 per day.

However for ease of administration the hire charge for casual use of

the tennis courts will remain at £3 per hour for adults and £1 per hour

for under 16s per court.

Tennis court bookings and the key to the courts are held at McColls,

West End Road (£5 refundable deposit required). The Parish Council

would like to take this opportunity of thanking McColls for their

invaluable help and assistance in managing the bookings for the tennis

courts.

To enquire about booking the Fairground please contact the Parish

Clerk.

Fairground Diary 2012 The Fairground is already booked for the following dates:

Burnett’s Fun Fair Wednesday 9th

May to Saturday 12th

May

The Queen’s Diamond

Jubilee Beacon Event Monday 4th

June

J Lawson Circus Wednesday 6th

and Thursday 7th

June

Mortimer Fun Day Saturday 7th

July

Mortimer Fun Run Sunday 30th

September

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HM The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

Local Council’s across England and Wales will be leading

celebrations (at the invitation of Buckingham Palace) to

mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

On Monday 4th June 2012 the aim is to light 2,012

Beacons throughout the United Kingdom. Stratfield

Mortimer Parish Council was formally invited by The

Royal Household to take part in the lighting of a Beacon which has

been accepted. The Beacons will be lit between 10pm and 10:30pm

on Monday 4th June with The Queen lighting the National Beacon in

London at 10:30pm that night. A special book listing all the beacon

sites for the Diamond Jubilee will be given to the Queen after the

event.

The Parish Council has set up a working party to organise an event for

the village on that day and will have something for everybody including

a Children’s pageant of Kings and Queens, local bands and musical

groups, children’s entertainers and the co-ordinated lighting of the

Beacon. Food and beverages will also be available.

All residents of the village are invited to attend this celebration

Monday 4th June 2012

The Fairground

6pm to 11pm Further details will be publicised on the Parish Council Website and

Parish Notice Boards nearer the time.

We will need a lot of volunteers to run this celebration event – if you

are able to offer assistance, either to help with setting up the event

or during the evening itself we would really like to hear from you. To

volunteer please kindly contact the Parish Clerk,Jayne Kirk at

the.clerk@stratfield-mortimer.gov.uk or 0118 9331955

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Mortimer Police Office - Opening Hours

Mortimer Police Office will be open on both Mondays and Fridays

from 10 am to 2pm from 13th February. With further

volunteers coming forward it is hoped to open on

Saturdays as well in due course.

The Police Station is at Victoria Road, RG7 3SQ

For all Non Emergency calls to the Police please dial

101 - or contact Mortimer Police Office if applicable.

Allotments Update

The feasibility/negotiations for the provision of allotments within the

village are still progressing. If the Parish Council is successful a further

announcement will be made in a future newsletter.

New Trees on The Fairground

In the last newsletter the Parish Council explained the

necessity of removing the horse chestnut trees along The Street side of The

Fairground and this has now been done. No doubt everyone was sorry to see

them go, but the disease they had, “bleeding canker”, was gradually killing

them and making them dangerous. All the wood from them was taken away

and disposed of by incineration to reduce the likelihood of the infection

spreading.

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The new lime trees have now been planted. The photo above shows

the official planting by the Parish Council Chairman, Rebecca Barker.

With the care they are to receive it should not be many years before

they grow into good-sized trees and restore the appearance of

southern edge of The Fairground The Parish Council would like to

thank Arthur Cullen, Senior Tree Officer, West Berkshire Council for all

his help and advice with the project.

No increase in 2012/2013 Parish Precept The Parish Council has agreed its budget for 2012/2013 and is pleased to

announce that for the third consecutive year there will be no increase in the

Precept requested from West Berkshire Council. This is to remain at £88,000;

this equates to £51.57 per band D household per year which is collected

through the Council Tax.

The Parish Council’s 2012/2013 Budget is shown on the next page.

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Change of Village Custodian

Mr Terry Hall left the Parish Council post of Village Custodian at the

end of January. The Parish Council would like to sincerely thank him for

all his time and effort, particularly in keeping The Fairground and

Cemetery safe and tidy and wish him Good Luck for the future.

The Parish Council welcomes the new Village

Custodian, Mr Mark Bradberry. Mark has lived

in the village since 2007. Having recently retired

and with more time available, Mark is keen to

be involved in the village community and now

feels he can do a little more. Please do stop and

say hello if you see him on The Fairground or

working around the village.

Boundary Hedge Trimming The Parish Council is concerned that some hedges on private land are

overhanging and obstructing either the highway or pavement

and request that householders keep their boundary hedges

trimmed for the safety of road users and pedestrians

and to keep the village looking nice.

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Stratfield Mortimer Fairground Trust This local charity is the Freehold Owner of The Fairground which it

leases to The Parish Council.

The charity has a small financial surplus. In accordance with the aims

of the charity, money is available to residents of the Civil Parish of

Stratfield Mortimer who are in conditions of need, hardship or distress.

In the first instance applications should be made to 0118 933 2274.

Padworth Recycling Centre

A reminder that the site is now open. This site is for recycling only and

cannot accept general rubbish or furniture.

The site is open 7 days a week and operated by Veolia Environmental

Services.

Monday - Friday 12:30pm - 6:00pm

Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays 8:00am - 6:00pm

Christmas Day

Boxing Day (26th December)

New Year's Day

Closed

Site address:

Padworth HWRC, Padworth Sidings, Padworth Lane, Lower Padworth,

Reading, Berkshire, RG7 4JF

The centre is for recycling only and will not

accept:

General rubbish, Gas Bottles, Asbestos,

Household chemicals, plasterboard

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Police Diary January 2012

Crime Snapshot Local Area

Over the Christmas period it was fairly quiet in all

the local the parishes . Anti-social behaviour was

down in all areas and New Year’s Eve passed without incident.

Crime levels remain constant with a very slight rise in burglaries. I would

encourage everyone to ensure that their sheds and out-buildings are secure

as these often get neglected at this time of year and can become insecure.

Rural crime across the Local Police Area is on the rise and police over

the next few weeks are running operations in conjunction with local

landowners to target thieves who are operating in this area. Again we

urge people to be vigilant and report anything suspicious on our new

number 101 or 999 if a crime is in progress. We are also encouraging

people to join text alert and community messaging schemes and

anyone interested should contact me at Pangbourne Police Staion on

0845 8 505 505.

Changes in Officers

I am pleased to advise that a new permanent replacement has arrived

for Police Community Support Officer Robert Hubbard Clark who has

moved on to a new area. His name is Patrick Baker-Jones and he is very

keen and looking forward to meeting you all.

Inspector Andy Ward is moving on to a new area at the end of the

month. I will let you have the name of the new inspector in due

course.

Neighbourhood Sergeant Sue Aufiero

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Mortimer Link Minibus Service to Station If you are a regular or occasional user of the train please consider using

the mini bus to the station to help secure future funding and preserve

this community facility. The service is funded by a 69% grant from

WBC and 31% from SMPC.

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PARISH COUNCIL CONTACT INFORMATION

Mrs. Jayne Kirk, Parish Clerk

Parish Council Office

The Library

27 Victoria Road

Mortimer

RG7 3SH

Tel: 0118 933 1955 – Fax: 0709 2310443

(Mail may be left in the Library post box)

Email: the.clerk@stratfield-mortimer.gov.uk

Website: www.stratfield-mortimer.gov.uk

Minutes and Agendas of Council meetings, as well as other Council

information can be viewed on the above website or on the Parish

Council notice boards which are located outside the Post Office and

the Library.

The Parish Council Office is open:

Tuesdays & Thursdays,

10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

The Parish Council sincerely thanks Spratley’s of Mortimer for their

partial sponsorship of this newsletter