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Nuneham Courtenay Parish Council News Dec 19

Christmas tree collection-point

You probably don’t have a Christmas tree yet but, if you do get one, the Parish Council believes it has made an arrangement with the District Council and the Village Hall Committee for there to be a collection-point in the village for those of you who don’t pay to have a brown garden waste bin – homes with a South Oxfordshire District Council brown bin can put out their Christmas tree with their brown bin.

 

We believe the Village Hall Committee is prepared to allow you to leave your Christmas tree at the Village Hall car park – the grassy space at the corner of the lane that leads to the rear of the Village Hall.

 

You need to leave your Christmas tree there by the end of Sunday 12th January 2020 because the trees are due to be collected on Monday 13th January.

 

Winter Salt
The Parish Council ordered winter salt from the County Council which has now been delivered. It comes in bags and is be stored at the Village Hall.  Villagers who wish to arrange to come and collect it to use on roads and pavements should contact John Peters, Vice-Chair of the Parish Council, on 07582 170960.  You will need to bring your own containers and the Parish Council will arrange for salt to be delivered to those unable to transport it themselves. Offers of help to do this will be much appreciated. Contact John Peters if you can help.
 

Northern Gateways and New Village Name Plates

The County Council’s Highways Department has agreed to replace the northern gateways and name plates and also the southern nameplates so they match the new northern ones, following discussions with the Parish Council.

 

The engineer in charge of the project has one other set of gateways to complete and then he will be free to concentrate on ours. The likely timescale for ours to be ordered and installed is by next spring. It seems a long time but we are nearly at the top of the queue.  The Parish Council came to an agreement with the County Council to split the cost 50:50. We will ask for a progress report for the next Parish Council meeting, which is on 7th January 2020, and keep you updated.

 

Tree Root Damage to Footways

After months of asking, Tina Hill, a County Council tree specialist, and Tim Wilde, a County Council Highways Inspector, visited Nuneham and looked at the footways on both sides of the main road. They did not invite anyone from the Parish Council to be present at this inspection in spite of requests from the Parish Council.

 

Their conclusion is that nothing can be done on the eastern side as any remedial action would be likely to damage the trees. However, there is some potential for work to be done on the western side and we are still waiting to hear what that might be. The Parish Council will contact Highways again to ask for an update and will publish the response when it comes.

 

Playing Field

Madhvi Saini, who chairs the Parish Council, is due to attend a meeting of the Trustees of the Nuneham Courtenay Sports and Playing Field Association on Tuesday 19th November. We will update you in the next newsletter on discussions about the future of the Playing Field.

 

Churchyard Water Butt

A parishioner asked the Parish Council if it would pay to have a water butt installed at the churchyard fed by water from the roof of the church. The Chair and Vice-Chair raised this at a meeting with the Nuneham Estate.

 

Unfortunately, the Estate won’t agree to this and wants people to use the existing water pump. The Parish Council believes the problems with the pump may be solved if water is kept beside it and poured into it before use as the piston won’t work when it dries out.


Public transport

Mandy Rigault is the Parish Transport Representative appointed by the Parish Council. She is invited to regular county-wide meetings of Parish Transport Representatives. Please contact her (mandy@nunehamcourtenay.org.uk) if you have any concerns about bus services. Mandy says no public transport concerns have yet been raised by parishioners. 

 

Geoffrey Ferres, Parish Clerk, Nuneham Courtenay Parish Council

 

Nuneham Courtenay Village Hall News

 

Christmas Bingo

December 6th.   Doors open at 7:30, eyes down at 8pm.  Join us for a fun Christmas themed night out.  This is a family friendly event and all ages are welcome

 

Thank you

Our thanks to Dr Tyack for the talk on the gardens of Nuneham Courtenay Estate.  We are very lucky to live in an area with so many buildings and gardens of national importance on our doorstep.  It was a very engaging and well researched talk.  We must also thank Dr Malcolm Airs for suggesting we contact Dr Tyack to give the talk.  Did you know that the first recorded flower garden in the UK was at Nuneham? And these gardens are still here!  Dr Tyack has kindly agreed to do a walking tour of the gardens in June once the academic year has ended.  We will publish the date closer to that time.

 

Looking Ahead

We have planned a games night for February.  There will be a spring jumble sale, Easter Bingo, Vintage Tea Party, and Garden Tour.  Do contact us if there is an event that you would like the village hall to hold or if you would like to get involved.

 

Yoga

Yoga is every Monday evening from 7:30.  We are quite often running late so don’t panic if you are the first to arrive.  You can message Jenny on 07787 507 304 to make sure it is running that night.  This is a self-guided group.  We are now alternating between ashtanga and flow yoga.  This is a small mixed ability group, charging £2 a session per person.  Come along and have a go!

 

Bookings

Although everyone is willing to answer questions about the village hall, bookings should be made by calling our booking secretary, June Harris.  I know that it may seem easier to email or text someone, but June is the only one with the diary.  She may by reached by calling 01865 343 371.