Extract from Issue 33 of The Breeze from Upper Rissington Parish Council Chair, Andy Cairns
Hello all parishioners, I hope this finds you well.
Another Breeze article from the URPC and another TV/Film reference from me. This time, the title should really say, “Desperately Seeking (More) Susans, Spencers and Jonathans” as we have, since last writing, gained not one, not two but three new councillors, so I offer a very warm welcome to Cllrs Susan Bates, Spencer Edgar and Jonathan Truslow who have joined our number in the last few months. They are already representing residents’ views eloquently and together with the rest of the existing councillors working in the best interests of the village.
We do still have 3 vacancies however, and therefore the origin of the title of this article – in particular it would great to see some representation from Sandy Lane/Southgate Courts and the Victory Fields houses to give an even broader view of residents across the village. If you are not sure, then please do get in touch or come and see us at one of the monthly council meetings (usually 2nd Monday of the month) in the Village Hall to see what we get up to. Speaking to one of the new councillors is also a great way of understanding what is expected, and hopefully they can ease any worries if anyone is considering it. It’s a worthwhile volunteer role that, whilst busy at times, is always very interesting and incredibly important for our village.
Please do give it some consideration, and help make a difference for our lovely village. Earlier in the summer we were proud to have been able to support the village Jubilee celebrations with a financial grant to the organising committee, which was a resounding success and very enjoyable event for us all. We are able to support events and community-focussed organisations in the village so if something springs to mind then please do get in touch. We’re also looking for feedback from the regular users of the Village Hall – is there something we can do to make it an even better facility for us? If you have an idea how we might make improvements, then please do get in touch and we can consider suggestions through our council process to hopefully bring them to fruition – just let us know.
We are still maintaining the pressure on the developers to make some progress around the village – I’m afraid it it’s not an easy task and they cannot actually be forced to do anything, so please do bear with us. We have a monthly meeting with them to keep our views and wishes for the village on the table which is very useful. They are still responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of a significant proportion of the village so if there is something you see that needs attention then please do pass the details on to Vanessa, the Parish Clerk, and we will try to get it sorted as soon as possible. Many of you will have seen some progress on the playing field with one of the last pieces of the Public Open Space jigsaw, the long awaiting Bowling Green. This (along with the cricket wicket) is the last of the work that the developers need to do to satisfy the approved planning permission, so once that looks ready, you can expect the handover process to follow shortly after.
We have asked the developers to consider a method to get the Tennis Courts and the Allotments into use ahead of schedule and ahead of the rest of the adoption of the Public Open Space; at time of writing we are currently waiting to hear their views and hopefully I can report more in due course.
One final item from me for this edition – we’re hoping to update the URPC website in the not-too distant future. Please do add it to your favourites it’s a great place to keep in touch with Parish Council and wider village news, including … of course, details on how to become a Parish Councillor! I wish you all the best for the rest of the summer.
Regards,
Andy Cairns
Chair, Upper Rissington Parish Council
