Due to adverse weather this weekend the tree planting is now on Sunday 26th Feb at 12:00.
The ground is rock hard and the snow will make it impossible to do what we need to do.
Look forward to Sunday 26th..
Paul
We have 420 saplings to plant for the Diamond Jubilee. The Big Idea is to plant 1 million trees across the UK to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee.
We are planting them on the playing field off Kalfs Drive and everyone is welcome to take part in this Community Event. Meet at 12 o’clock on the Sunday 5th February, bring a spade and gloves and get planting.
And then watch your planted trees grow!!!!
Afterwards go to The Bear for a beer.
This is all about Big Society and us doing something for us, rather than expecting someone else to do it for us. To be honest – it feels great to be this empowered..
I look forward to seeing a good turn out!
Paul
Happy New Year to all the Parishioners of Cawston!
There are three important items that I would like to share with the Cawston community this month.
The first is an update about our Community Hall. We had an open meeting on the 17th January 2012, to share the plans and proposals. These proposals have been driven from the Parish Plan, which was the survey that was sent out to all households recently.
As you can see, we had a really good turn out and everyone asked a lot of detailed questions, which show that people are really engaging with the plans. We asked everybody for further feedback and plenty was given. This enables us to build a Community Hall that is designed around the needs of the community who will use it. The next stage will be to gain Outline Planning Permission and also explore funding avenues.
The second item was also on show at the meeting on the 17th January. This is the Play Area proposed for the triangle of land next to the path that runs behind Cawston Grange School. The proposal is that the area is designed for older children and, allows Cawston to grow with the youngsters who currently use the existing play areas. There is an age cut off with the equipment in the existing play areas and the Parish Plan Survey shows a need for something to cater for the needs of children when they reach this cut off point.
There were some concerns from residents about the impact of an area designed for older children and feedback was gained to allow these concerns to be addressed at the design stage.
Lastly, we have 420 trees about to be delivered as part of the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations. These have been supplied by the Woodland Trust and will cover about an acre of ground. We aim to plant them in early February and need volunteers. It would be great if we could make it a community event and if successful, we can apply for more trees in the autumn. If you would like to get involved please contact michael.cool@cawstonpc.org and remember, many hands make light work!
There are still plenty of other things going on in Cawston but I really didn’t want to dilute these three key items. If you page down on the blog you will see various other activities that everyone is welcome to get involved with.
If there is something that you would like to share with our community, be it a hobby or an interest and would like to meet like-minded people, feel free to contact me at paul.hart@cawstonpc.org and I will gladly spread the word.
OPEN MEETING
TUESDAY 17th JANUARY 2012
5:30 – 7:30
At the Children’s Centre
To show proposed plans for the new Community Hall in Cawston
The land where our Community Hall will be built.
and
To show proposed plans for the Community Play Area
Land where Play Area will be built.
And to receive feedback from residents and potential users
EVERYONE WELCOME
Please come along and give us your views
You cannot have failed to miss the new planters are now planted, and don’t they look fantastic. Not only do they warmly welcome residents and guests to Cawston, they really give us an identity.
Cawston Grange Drive.
Whitefriars Drive.
Calvestone Road.
The Cawston Consortium are really cracking on with the shopping area too. The footings are in and they are starting to build the walls for the shops. It will be great to see this area eventually completed and I am sure it will become a busy hub for our community.
Work on the shops is progressing.
The Cawston Carol Concert was a cracking success and a big thank-you to all who attended.
There is an open meeting on Tuesday 17th January 2012 to show proposed plans for the new Community Hall and also the Community Play Area. 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. It is really important that as many residents attend and give feedback on these proposed plans. These two facilities are for the residents of Cawston, which is why your feedback and ideas are so valuable. The meeting is at the Children’s Centre next to the school.
We have been given 420 trees by the Woodland Trust to plant around the estate. These trees will cover an acre in area and we need volunteers to help plant them in February next year. The trees are themed on a wild harvest for jams, jellies, chutneys and cordials and the tree types are Hazel, Blackthorn, Crab Apple, Elder and Dog Rose. The aim of the Woodland Trust is to plant one million trees in 2012 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee. If you would like to volunteer please contact michael.cool@cawstonpc.org.
The Consortium have agreed to put a crossing on Cawston Grange Drive to give people safer access to the play area. This will help to make it safer on this busy road.
Well that is about it for now. Cawston Parish Councillors wish all residents of Cawston a very merry Christmas and happy New Year.
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Superfast Broadband Update October 2011 |
This is the first of a series of newsletters that are intended to give regular updates on the project and to let you know how you can get involved. Please print copies for circulation to those who may not have email, as these are often the very people who would most benefit from being able to access on-line services through faster broadband in the future
Project Update
Since the announcement that the Government was to make £530m available for the provision of superfast broadband in the rural areas there have been a succession of follow-up announcements. We are seeking clarification on a number of issues, but this is the position as we currently understand it.
Funding
The Government is making £4.07m available for Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire. There is a requirement that this amount should be match-funded from Local Authority capital funds, which is challenging given the current economic climate, although the spend can be spread over a number of years.
Ambition
The Government ambition is to provide a minimum of 2Mbps broadband to all homes and superfast broadband to 90% of people by 2015. Superfast broadband has been clarified to mean at least 24Mbps. Coming behind this is an EU requirement that by 2020, fast broadband coverage at 30Mbps should be available to all EU citizens, with at least half European households subscribing to broadband access at 100Mbps. Clearly this is a significant uplift coming just a short time after the UK targets and this will have implications for the Local Broadband Plan.
Progress
We are still actively collecting data (see below) and hope to submit the Local Broadband Plan to Government in April next year. This document should show how we propose to improve broadband speeds across the whole of the sub-region, not just the rural areas, although it is only the rural areas that will receive Government funding.
What can you do to help?
How good is your broadband?
A key component of your Local Broadband Plan will be evidence of where specific problems exist across the sub-region. We therefore have to map this information and in order to do that we need your help.
If you have not already done so please complete the broadband survey that is located at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/superfastbroadband - there is one survey for domestic use and one for business use, so if you run a business or work from home please do both – and encourage your neighbours to do it as well because the more people that respond from a given area the higher priority it will be.
How close can fibre get to your property?
A (usually) simple way to improve broadband speeds is to put fibre to the BT cabinet. This is a green box by the side of the road which provides telecoms to a village or group of properties. We need to map the exact locations of these boxes so that we can establish what benefits might be gained from this type of upgrade.
Please register the location of your BT cabinet and any others you may come across. You can do this at http://4sfb.crowdmap.com/ and there is also an App for iPhone or Android so that you can do it whilst you are out and about!
It’s been a really busy month with loads going on and plenty of news to share.
Firstly, we now have the land for our Community Hall. This is something that we have been working on for such a long time. It is the piece of land that is adjacent to the school in the Commercial Area. We now need to get plans drawn up and planning permission, as well as funding to build it. There will be a public meeting provisionally booked for the 17th January at Cawston Grange Children’s Centre – further details to follow but I am sure you will all agree that this is fantastic news for our community.
You may also have noticed that the Cawston Grange Consortium have started earth works on the shops in the Commercial Area. On speaking to the site engineer he suggested that the shops would be completed in about 26 weeks and the anchor store will be a small supermarket.
Work starting on the Commercial Area.
The planters are almost finished with work starting on the third one on Whitefriars Road. This I think will help to give Cawston a sense of identity as well as welcoming all who live or visit here.
Second planter at the Lawford Lane end of Calvestone Road.
The Fun Run on the 30th October was a great success! We had good weather and a good turn-out, and I am pleased to say that we raised nearly £100 for our Community Hall. We will be doing a number of community events to raise the profile of the Community Hall in the future so keep your eyes peeled.
It’s good to see that the Consortium are fixing the bits of snagging with the roads and hopefully all the roads will be adopted by WCC very soon. If you are aware of any defects on the estate please let the Parish Council know and we will inform the Consortium.
Contractors fixing the road.
You may also have noticed that we have had some signs put up where children may be crossing busy roads. These will keep drivers aware and alert of any potential accidents that may occur.
New signs.
There have been a small number of burglaries on the estate over the last three months or so. A couple of items taken from parked cars and a couple of garages broken into. Prevention is always better than cure so please don’t make it easy for the opportunist thief.
The green gym and play area is still in negotiations with Rugby Borough Council and the Consortium but progress is moving forwards. This will be on the land behind the school adjacent to the bridle path.
Cawston Greenway is being widened at the moment to make it easier for walkers and cyclists to use the path. By all means take a stroll along the greenway to see how it is improving. If you want to get involved you can find details on the Cawston Greenway blog at www.cawstongreenway.wordpress.com.
Zumba classes are still very popular at Cawston Grange School every Tuesday night from 7pm to 8pm and WI Lite meet on the third Thursday of each month at 7:30pm at the school. Details can be found at www.cawstongrangewilite.co.uk and new members are very welcome.
Our annual carol service will take place on the 11th December at the school – details will follow in the Parish Magazine.
The Bear pub, which is the nearest pub to Cawston has a new team running it and they are working hard to get back it back to being a really good community pub. Well worth a visit.
That’s about it for now. If you would like to get involved with anything that is happening in Cawston, just let me know at paul.hart@cawstonpc.org
