Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
In this issue
Ampney Crucis is very fortunate in having a thriving Village Hall, which is heavily used by local groups and residents as well as outside organisations on a regular basis. The success is due in no small part to an energetic and enthusiastic Village Hall Committee, not to mention our loyal caretakers, Peggy and Paddy Thompson.
The role of the Committee is principally to look after the fabric of the property: to keep it in good structural and decorative order. Although it can sometimes apply for grants to help, most of the funding comes from income from bookings and occasional fund-raising events, so it is important that the hall is well used. Over the last few years the Hall has seen significant improvements: a new store, cloakroom and refurbished kitchen; internal and external redecoration and a resurfaced car parking area, to name a few.
The Committee is made up of representatives from the groups which use the Hall: plus some other willing volunteers. Some members of the Committee are very long standing and it is particularly sorry to be losing its Treasurer at the end of this financial year. Robert Gegg has been on the Committee for 9 years but he has now decided to stand down following a move away from the village. Many thanks are due to him for his hard work and very efficient financial management.
As well as being used by village groups on a regular basis the Hall is also now being used by Cirencester College as a venue for some of its rural outreach courses and for several private ventures.
You may not be aware that in addition to renting out the premises for meetings, private functions and events, the Hall also hires out its equipment (chairs, tables, china & cutlery) to villagers for a modest charge.
The Committee also plays an unofficial but very important social role in the village and regularly organises or participates in events to bring the community together. Some notable examples include the annual Village Fete (replaced this year by the Millennium Event), the very popular Village Quiz and recently a Reminiscence Evening to record some of the memories of long-standing village residents.
As always, the Committee has a number of plans for future events. Look out for the following, coming shortly:
Merriment and mincepies.
Monday 18th December 7 p.m.
A celebration for Christmas, with music, singing and readings; Tea and home made mincepies.
Everyone welcome
Women at War
Cotswold Museums Service's touring exhibition will be on display in the Hall from February 19th - March 2nd . During this time there will be a hands-on workshop for all ages based on life on the Home Front during the Second World War Wednesday 21st Feb
And don't forget the Village Quiz in March. Last year a record 18 teams took part.
The Committee is always happy to consider any other ideas for Village Hall social events and encourages the formation of other clubs and activities. And it would welcome newcomers to the Committee, so if you would like to become involved, please contact the Chairman, Anne Bridges on (652471
Hall bookings should be made with Peggy and Paddy Thompson, (851619.
A year on from the Village Appraisal report we felt it was time to review progress to date and to map out some actions for the future. Some items are covered elsewhere in this edition of ACT.
The project was launched at a public meeting in November 1998. A steering committee produced a very detailed questionnaire which was distributed to all 250 village households in April 1999. 198 were returned representing the combined responses of 390 villagers aged 11 and over. The results provided an overall snapshot of the village inhabitants, their opinions and, to some extent, their aspirations.
A further public meeting in September 1999 produced a list of action points. The Parish Council agreed to take on some of them; others were left to volunteers to come forward.
There was a call for more information about the workings of the Parish Council and this resulted in ACT. The newsletter was also intended to act as a focal point for village information, but the results to date show little material coming from elsewhere. The editors aim to improve the balance in the future.
There were calls for a notice board at the eastern end of the village; this is now in place.
The Village Directory is well received with calls for more frequent updates. The next edition will be issued in May 2001.
The Parish Council took the lead in looking into this and a working party was set up. The initial conclusion (as announced in the September edition ACT) is that a full retail facility is unlikely to be commercially viable. Further options for some sort of retail facility need to be examined.
The real need, of course, is for a focal point for the village, if only to exchange news and gossip. Have you got any ideas on how this might be achieved?
This was a source of concern. A traffic survey was organised by the Parish Council but there was no conclusive evidence of persistent speeding. The school were approached to raise the question of speed with parents on the morning and afternoon “school runs”.
Signage was discussed. Road hatching has been introduced at the Crown crossroads but the question of additional warning signage will be pursued further by the Parish Council.
This was a popular, albeit minority, interest. It is another area where volunteers are required to take it further. The Toddler’s Group has been restarted.
Sports facilities (particularly tennis) were popular but, once again, progress will depend very much on volunteers coming forward. David Vessey (É851438) has information on setting up tennis facilities for anybody interested.
Computer and other courses are now being run in the Village Hall under the auspices of Cirencester College.
The Millennium Event Group was set up to organise the highly successful summer event. The village fete committee is now defunct and the need exists for a new Social Committee to take over the job of events in the village. Sally Hebbs has volunteered to act as the focal point; if you would like to join Sally as a member of this new committee, she would be very pleased to hear from you (É850241)
There was considerable support for both car driving and “good neighbour” schemes. The setting up of an initial register can be achieved via ACT but a co-ordinator is needed as the initial focal point to see exactly what the needs are and how they can be met. If you would like to volunteer to test the water, please contact Fran Huckle (É851498).
There was a call to set up schemes along the lines of that operating at the western end of the village. Schemes were subsequently established at the eastern end of the village and in the Pleydells. It would be useful to have a scheme covering the central area of the village – contact David Vessey (É851438) if you are interested
There were questions raised on such issues as cycle paths, street lighting, street naming, amenities and other environmental issues. These are on the Parish Council “do” list.
Last month the Village Hall was transformed for one evening into a Bedouin-style tent (yes, really!) and a damp and miserable November evening was brightened for nearly 50 people who enjoyed a sumptuous dinner of Middle Eastern cuisine and some glamorous authentic Arabic dancing. This unusual event raised £142.20 for Children in Need as well as £129 for the Village Hall from the remains of the Millennium Event Tombola. (This is still going strong, by the way and will be in use again at the Church Christmas Fete on Saturday 2nd December!)
We would welcome more residents who are willing to organise one-off events like this. Yes, it can be hard work, but also great fun! Look out for the next one - a BURNS NIGHT SUPPER at the end of January. Details to follow.
Transport - or rather lack of it - has been in the news a lot recently, so maybe it is no coincidence that we have received two contributions this time suggesting ways to improve it in rural areas. Firstly, resident Frank Skinner bemoans the lack of co-ordination in public transport in the Cotswolds, which makes it virtually impossible for Ampney Crucis residents to commute efficiently to anywhere using trains or buses. His paper takes a look at current service provision and proposes some suggestions for improvement.
While we are waiting for those to take effect, why not consider car-sharing? "Thumbs up" is a new Gloucestershire-wide FREE initiative which "makes it easy to car-share". It is supported by the Rural Transport Partnership, which is attempting to overcome rural transport problems in Gloucestershire. "Thumbs up" gives incentives, support and guidance on how to car share. It tries to link up people who would like to share transport to work. Contact Graham Stanley or Nadine Smykatz-Kloss, "Thumbs Up!" ( & Fax: 01453 753252 .
Full details of these initiatives are posted up on the Ampney Crucis web site: http://www.ampneycrucis.f9.co.uk or available in print from Fran Huckle ((851498) or Frank Skinner ((654597)
Firstly to those hardy souls (Harold Stevens, Paul Styles, David Ockwell, Ted Brain and Shirley and Malcolm Phillips) who turned out to help clear up the Burial Ground on a coolish October morning. It was remarkable just how much work can be done in two hours by half a dozen people and a chain saw. A considerable amount of shrubbery has been cut back clear of the paths and all the ivy has been removed from the front walls. The savings are immediate; the work had to be done and volunteer labour has meant a reduction in next year’s precept of £100.
Special thanks are due to Don Underwood for his chain saw work and for removing all the debris
Secondly to those hardy souls who, month in, month out, deliver the Parish Newsletter and ACT to your front door. The system relies initially on Jake and Ruth Croucher who receive the bulk quantities. They then split the bundles into individual walks and deliver them to the distributors who, in turn, deliver them to you. Without them, there would be no newsletter so thanks are due to Joan Stevens, Judy Asplin, Betty Hollingshurst, Phyllis Russell, Phyllis Truman, John Pizzey, June Kenny, Ursula Evans, Rosemary Franklin, Joyce Dear, Louise Bentley, John Ducker, Ann Bullock and Beryl Dunford.
In the February 2001 edition, we will be asking for your feedback on what you think about ACT after its first year. There were a number of ideas produced by the Village Appraisal about what it should contain but some of these have not materialised so its time to get some more information from you.
We would also like to hear from anybody who would be interested in joining the production team. Fran Huckle and David Vessey take it in turn to produce each issue but it would be useful to have some fresh input. The layout and production system have now settled down; all you need is access to a computer with Windows 95 or 98 and Microsoft Word plus the willingness to give up about 10 hours of your time every six months. Full training will be given!
If you would like to find out more, contact Fran Huckle or David Vessey.
Regrettably, we have to report more vandalism in the village, this time to the Lych Gate where substantial damage was caused to the leaded windows in the south doors. This was particularly galling as the Parish Council had just completed the lengthy and expensive process of repairing the building. The insurance will cover most of it but the excess comes out of the Council’s funds i.e. we all pay part of the cost.
The Parish Council has a legal responsibility to take care of public property in the village and will prosecute anybody caught damaging it.
Many of you will have a copy of the village directory. This booklet received good feedback in the Village Appraisal with the request that it be reissued more frequently and with some additional facilities. The next edition is due in May 2001 and will contain a map of the village and also a list of services.
In some ways, the directory has to depend on input from the village in order to be of most use to the village so there will be a larger item on the directory, plus a response form, in the next edition of ACT
As reported in an earlier edition of ACT, the war memorial has undergone some repair work and has been completely cleaned. The Gardening Club has started a programme of replanting which will be concluded in the spring. Overall, it has benefited considerable from the clean-up and there was a good deal of comment of how attractive it looked at the Remembrance Day Service.
One of the points to emerge from the Village Appraisal was the lack of a children’s play area in the village. There has been some interest in investigating the possibility of setting one up; Kim Hartshorne (É851014) has offered to be the co-ordinator and we are sure she would appreciate hearing from anybody who would like to be involved in the project.
In the meantime, the Parish Council would like to ask parents to keep a close eye on their children, particularly if they play on the roads. There have been some concerns expressed about the area round the entrance to the Donkey Field.
Play facilities are a problem and the Council will have discussions with the school in the New Year to try to find ways of resolving this.
Recently, a planning application was made by BTA Drilling for the site in Back Lane known as the Builder’s Yard. The application was for offices and associated residential accommodation. The application was opposed by the Parish Council on the grounds that the area is designated as open countryside and therefore not available for residential property. This view was supported by CDC and the application was refused. A number of villagers also opposed the application.
BTA Drilling have appealed against this decision and there will be an informal hearing in the Village Hall on Tuesday 16 January 2001 at 10.00 a.m. The meeting will be open to the public.
The Parish Council has repeated its objection to the application.
Personal ads in this column cost £1 per ad per issue. Local businesses can place an ad (£5) or sponsor an issue (£10). Contact the editors for details.
Adverts will be placed on a first come, first served basis and space is limited to up to 5 ads per issue.
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Copy deadline for next issue (February):
Monday 15th January 2001
Produced by Ampney Crucis Parish Council for the information of residents. No liability can be accepted by the Council or Councillors for any losses, however caused, arising from this publication