Nettlebed News Sheet Number 30

January 2003

May I take this opportunity for wishing you all a very happy, healthy and peaceful year and I apologise for not sending out more news sheets . I will try to make amends and keep you in touch with events and information which pours in. If you would like to know more about the activities of the Parish Council and what it is doing on your behalf, why not come along to our meetings where you will discover that we have not been idle?

Childrens' Playground

When the annual inspection took place last year, we were dismayed to learn that a number of appliances needed attention and that the safety surfacing failed to meet the requirements of the European safety standards which had replaced the British standards. Councillors were able to attend to many of the tasks but the estimate for the safety surfacing most needing to be replaced was over £4000. This would have meant a large increase on our precept which in turn would have increased the Council Tax , but we were most fortunate and grateful for large donations from the Philip Fleming Trust and Mrs Ollivant which accounted for a large part of the cost. More surfacing will be required in future but that can be done in easy stages. A weekly inspection has to take place and records kept. Cleaning and painting the appliances will be carried out by our Councillors.

Re-cycling

The amount of rubbish going to landfill has to be drastically reduced to meet government requirements. It is essential that items for recycling are kept apart from the others and that foodstuffs are composted wherever possible. All paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and wrappings and tins should be kept in the green boxes provided . Glass jars and bottles should be taken to the bottle banks . In the near future you will not need to separate the glass according to colour- clever machinery will deal with that.Several of us recently visited Grundon's re-cycling depot at Beenham and it was a fascinating experience watching the sorting and crushing of rubbish into manageable bales ready for selling. We were so interested we arranged for a member of Grundon' s to come along to our Annual Parish Meeting when you will be able to share all the information which we received. It really is fascinating and you should not miss it,. ANNUAL PARISH MEETING 8p.m. CHURCH HALL WEDNESDAY APRIL 9^th. I will send a reminder nearer the time.

Nappies One of the biggest items going to landfill is disposable nappies.In an effort to persuade some mums to revert to terry napkins the S.O.D.C. and O.C.C. together with other Councils, are offering an incentive of £30 to those who stop using disposables. Ring 01235 812747 for information.

Junk mail

500,000 tonnes of junk mail comes through U.K. letter boxes every year. Most of it is binned and is unwanted. If you wish to put an end to this unwanted mail ring 01865 816070You will be sent a package telling you what action to take

Nuisance phone calls

To put an end to these intrusive calls ring 'Preference Service' on
0845 0700707 They will send you a letter. It takes a while but it does work

Blocked Drains

Having had a blockage between house and septic tank on two occasions I can thoroughly recommend this service. Vale of White Horse District Council cover for S.O.D.C.
Phone 01235 540362 during office hours - 8.45 -5.00 Monday to Friday
Phone 01235 524886 out of hours. Guaranteed to be on site within 4 hours - day or night - weekends and Bank Holidays included ( even Christmas Day) £50 for first hour but most unlikely that job will take more than an hour. (I paid £60 on a Sunday callout)

Small Repair Service

Small repairs undertaken for older, disabled and vulnerable homeowners. Jobs which take less than 4 hours e.g. replacing tap washers, mending broken windows, fixing locks Charged for materials and donations required for labour. Partially funded by S.O.D.C. and O.C.C. To find out if they can help you phone 01491 823895 Ask for Trish Quartly

Planning Applications

It costs about £100 to submit a planning application. In your best interest, before applying ask to discuss your proposed plans with a member of the planning department covering your area. They will advise you and save having to make amendments later.

Bus service to Reading

All subsidised buses have been under review and although we failed to get any additional services, at least they were not curtailed. As from February 8th there will be a slight change in the time the two buses serving Nettlebed leave Reading . They will now leave at 11.30 a.m. and 2.15 p.m.

Refuse Vehicles

A refuse vehicle will be in the car park at the following times:

Thursday - Feb. 6^th. - 10.20 -12.10

Saturday - Feb 15^th- 10.10 - 12.00

Thursday - Mar 6^th,- 10.20-12.10

Website

If you have access to a computer, do log on to the Nettlebed site - we do our best to keep it updated with relevant information. www.nettlebed.org.uk

Council Tax

As I write we have no idea what increases await us but I should add that we have kept our costs as low as possible and the amount allocated to the Parish Council for this year will be about £15.00 as against £13.91 last year

Meetings

Our next Council Meeting will be on Tuesday, March 4^th. at .8.00p.m. in the Village Club

The Annual Parish Meeting will be on Wednesday April 9^th, at 8.00p.m. in the Church Hall

Why not come along to both?

January 2003