09 DECEMBER - MAINTENANCE OF THE TOM WAKEFIELD WAY
The Parish Council has received a number of comments and complaints about this recently as the new footpath has clearly been in need of some refurbishment.
The Parish Council originally raised the money for the path and commissioned its construction. The path was then adopted by Rotherham Borough Council as a public right of way and it is RMBC which has continuing responsibility for the maintenance of the path.
It was always RMBC's intention to let the path bed in and allow vegetation to grow naturally for a few months before commencement of a planned maintenance programme. This has now started and during the last week or so the timber borders have been redefined and the vegetation has been taken back making it completely accessible. In April it is intended to use an approved weedkiller on the path edges to help keep unwanted spread of vegetation under control. The path will then be regularly monitored to ensure that there is always full access.
There is also an ongoing problem with dog mess on the Tom Wakefield Way and the responsibility for this lies clearly with the small minority of dog owners who continue to allow their dogs to foul around the path.
The Parish Council is working closely with the RMBC Enviro-Crime team and with the landowners, British Waterways, to introduce a series of strong measures to counteract this anti-social behaviour. Of course this wouldn’t be necessary if people would just stop doing it!
03 DECEMBER - CRIME FIGURES FOR NOVEMBER 2008
Harthill
1. Thorpe Road, 13-14 Nov 08 - Burglary (other)
2. Woodall Lane, 26 Nov 08 - Miscellaneous theft.
Woodall
1. Yorkshire Water, Killamarsh Lane, Woodall 16-17 Nov 08 - Miscellaneous theft.
2. Seventeen other crimes recorded at Woodall Services - (12 x fuel theft. 3 x other thefts, 1 x public order offence and 1 x theft from machine)
28 NOVEMBER - CHRISTMAS TREE AT ALL HALLOWS
For many years the village Christmas Tree, situated at All Hallows Church in Harthill, has been provided free of charge by Rotherham Borough Council.
This service has now been withdrawn and the tree this Christmas has been kindly donated by Cllr. David Hall of the Parish Council. The tree will be installed in early December.
The Christmas lights will once again be organised by the Carnival Society with financial support from the Parish Council.
21 NOVEMBER - BENCHES ON THE TOM WAKEFIELD WAY
We had hoped to have had these installed by now but there have been several paperwork delays with the land owners, British Waterways. The most recent of these has been the need to apply for a licence to install the benches.
Everything now seems to be clear and the benches will now be installed before Christmas.
There are four benches in total and these have been kindly donated by Harthill residents.
14 NOVEMBER - PARISH COUNCIL BUDGET 2009-10
At the Parish Council meeting held on 11 November the Council approved its budget for 2009-10.
The Precept requested for 2009-10 will be £42056 compared to £40822 in 2008-09. This represents a below inflation increase of 3%
08 NOVEMBER - CRIME FIGURES FOR OCTOBER 2008
Harthill
1. Burglary (dwelling) - 9-11 Oct 08 at Doctor Lane.
2. Theft from motor vehicle -15-16 Oct 08 at Winney Hill.
3. Burglary (other) - 30-31 Oct 08 at Serlby Lane.
Woodall
1. Excluding M1 services = Nil.
2. Vehicle related crimes at the M1 services = 19
31 OCTOBER: - AGREEMENT REACHED FOR 20 YEAR SPENS FIELD LEASE
After nearly two years of discussion and negotiation with Rotherham Borough Council, approval has been given for a long lease which the Parish Council will hold on Spens Field. The lease will secure the land for the village for the next 20 years and will allow for development of the site for leisure and recreation purposes.
Under the terms of the lease the Parish Council will pay a minimal rent but take on responsibility for grass cutting and other grounds maintenance, a challenge it is greatly looking forward to.
The lease is expected to take effect early in the New Year.
27 OCTOBER: - PLAY AREA UPGRADE
One of the first developments on Spens Field will be the upgrading of the play area, which was announced in the last issue of The Hart. The consultation phase is now complete and Groundwork Dearne Valley and RMBC have produced a design which reflects as many views as possible.
Features
- The wooden toddler play equipment will be removed as it was felt that it was in a poor state and in the wrong location. The swings will be kept and moved into the main play area.
- Other existing play equipment is in fairly good condition and this will remain, leaving more funds for additional equipment. Existing equipment will be given a new lick of paint and the safety matting replaced by sand.
- A new entrance will be created cutting back some of the low level shrubs and bushes, providing clearer views onto the site.
- A new path will lead into a new entrance into the play area. The majority of the fencing will remain to identify it as a play area and so parents can keep an eye on smaller children although the corner will be removed to allow for the feeling of more space. A mound will act as an informal boundary marker instead and a new slide will be put down this mound.
- On top of the mound will be a seating area, including a spinning dish seat. There will also be a maze on the mound made from turf or wildflowers which will therefore not grow too high. Additional trees will also be planted to provide shade for the play area.
- New equipment in the play area will feature natural play and provision for toddlers. It will include sand play such as diggers, a log pile for climbing, boulders for climbing and sitting on, and a tunnel. A basket swing will also be included just outside the fenced area. There will also be seats and a picnic bench within the play area.
- Further up Spens Field an area will be cut away into the natural slope and a winding track will be laid. This can be used as a cycling or running track. The existing tree and seat will be at the top of this slope and swings will also be put up here to create a feeling of swinging over the edge.
- Finally the youth shelter will be removed and more informal seating put in along with a climbing net. Further low level vegetation will be removed to allow for better views into this area.
Work will commence on construction of the new play area in January and it will be completed by March 2009.
5 OCTOBER: - POND PATH BENCHES DELAYED
We had hoped to have installed 4 new benches on The Tom Wakefield Way by now but further paperwork delays with British Waterways have delayed this. We are now intending to install the benches during w/c 27 October.
1 OCTOBER: - ALLOTMENT / GARAGE RENT REVIEW
From 1 April 2009 rents will be increased as follows: - (current rates are shown in brackets)
Standard allotment plot - £12.00 (£8.50)
Small allotment plot (Thorpe Rd) - £ 7.00 (£5.00)
Small allotment plot (Doctor Lane) - £6.00 (£4.25)
Garage - £12.00 (£8.50)
Garage Service Charge - £10.00 (£7.00)
This is the first review of rents since 2005 and has taken into account rising costs, allotment rents in neighbouring parishes and increased demand for allotment gardens and garages. The Parish Council considers that the new rates continue to represent excellent value for money. A standard allotment or garage plot is still less than 25p per week.
30 SEPTEMBER: - SEPTEMBER CRIME REPORT
Crime figures for Harthill and Woodall, provided by South Yorkshire Police, are as follows: -
Harthill:
2 crimes were recorded during September:
23/9 Dishwell Lane. Criminal damage to motor vehicle.
23/9 Pryor Mede. Criminal damage to motor vehicle.
Woodall:
15 recorded crimes in total, all at the MI services
14 vehicle related crimes and 1 x minor assault involving a HGV driver
24th SEPTEMBER – WOODALL LANE PLAY AREA
Plans for the new play area are still ongoing with the proposed design expected before the end of the month. The design has been produced after extensive consultation with local groups, local children and the Parish Council so we are very hopeful of an exciting play area that everyone will enjoy.
Further news on construction will be published here as soon as details are known.
23rd SEPTEMBER – ROTHERHAM IN BLOOM RESULT
Harthill with Woodall received a silver award in the village category of this year’s Rotherham In Bloom competition. Once again, a big thank you to everyone who contributed to this success. The gold award went to Thorpe Salvin while Wales picked up the bronze.
14 SEPTEMBER: - AN APOLOGY
On 16th July the Parish Council organised an event for over 60s at the village hall to enable them to apply for bus passes in the village without the need to travel to Rotherham, Sheffield or Meadowhall.
Everyone at the time agreed that it was an excellent idea that would save both time and expense. Unfortunately, 9 weeks on, many people have not received their South Yorkshire Travel passes and the Parish Council has received numerous complaints about this.
We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by this considerable delay. We were told at the time that passes would be despatched within 2 to 3 weeks of the application being made. This clearly hasn’t happened. A very strong letter of complaint has been sent to South Yorkshire Travel and we very much hope that the situation is resolved soon.
12 SEPTEMBER: - UNION STREET BUS SHELTER
Following its untimely demise earlier this year we have been without a bus shelter on Union Street. This has now been replaced by SYPTE.
10 SEPTEMBER: - STREETPRIDE DEVOLVED BUDGET
Many of our applications to the RMBC Streetpride Devolved Budget have been successful. These include:
- A pair of dropped kerbs at the bottom of Serlby Lane
- Street sign re-painting on Street Farm Close and Serlby Lane
- Various new litter bins
- A dual dog / waste bin in Woodall
9 SEPTEMBER: - ROTHERHAM IN BLOOM SUCCESS
The Parish has been successful in this year’s Rotherham In Bloom competition. All we know at this stage is that we have won either a Gold, Silver or Bronze award. Full results will be announced at the awards ceremony in Wickersley on 23 September.
Well done and thank you to Harthill with Woodall In Bloom, handyman Jim Ellam and to the many individuals who work hard on a voluntary basis to keep our villages looking their best.
22 AUGUST 2008 - NEW BENCHES FOR THE POND PATH
There will soon be somewhere to sit on The Tom Wakefield Way. Four new benches, donated by local residents, should be installed before the end of September.
8 AUGUST 2008 - PARISH COUNCIL ACHIEVES ITS GOALS!
The goalposts on the Doctor Lane play area have been replaced. And not before time!
16 JULY 2008 - OVER 60s EVENT AT THE VILLAGE HALL
The over 60s event at the Village Hall on 16 July was very successful with at least 125 people attending. 68 bus passes were issued, 80 Rothercards and 32 registrations for Community Transport schemes.
I don’t think anyone involved has worked as hard in their lives. In retrospect, no-one expected so many people to turn up and if we ever do it again we’ll try and organise it a little bit better. Thanks to David Poucher who took the passport photos on the day under extreme pressure!