For the last 18 months Birlingham News has been issued according to a regular schedule, on the second and last Wednesdays of the month. We hope you have found this useful. Please note that in order to meet this deadline we need to receive your items for inclusion by the Sunday before the delivery date. All items should be sent to news@birlingham.org.
 
In this issue:
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Adrianne Woodward writes:
The Friends AGM is on Thursday 30th March. Drinks and nibbles will be served from 6.30pm – meeting starting at 7.00pm.
 
Marian Kirkland is resigning as Chairman after many years in the post. Her input will be missed, as over the years she has raised many thousands of pounds for the Church via The Friends. We are looking for new Trustees; do come and see if it appeals to you.
 
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Services at St James’s Church during April will be held at the following times:
  • Sunday 2nd: Family Service, 10.30am (with Peter Stansbie)
  • Sunday 9th: Palm Sunday, Holy Communion, 10.30am (with Rev. Alma Organ)
  • Sunday 16th: Easter Sunday, Holy Communion, 10.30am (with Rev. Janet Robbins)
  • Sunday 23rd: Holy Communion, 10.30am (with Rev. Alma Organ)
  • Sunday 30th: No service in Birlingham. There will be a service for the whole benefice at St Mary’s, Wick at 10.30am.
 
There will be a Church cleaning session on Saturday 8th April to spruce it up prior to Easter. It will start at 10.00am and any offers of help will be appreciated. Come armed with dusters, polish, brooms etc. Refreshments will be provided.
 
The Annual Parochial Church Meeting will be held at St James’ Church at 7.00pm on Monday 24th April. All those on the Church Electoral Roll or resident in the parish can attend. The meeting will elect churchwardens, representatives of the laity on the Parochial Church Council and representatives on the Deanery Synod. The Church Electoral Roll will be revised this year between 28th March and 24th April. Forms of application for enrolment can be obtained from Basil Barke, The Clock House, Broadway Road (01386 750949).
 
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The next meeting of Birlingham Photography Club is on Tuesday 4th April. Worcestershire wildlife photographer, Jenny Webster, will talk about what makes a winning wildlife photo. Jenny has travelled the world, capturing images of wildlife on almost every continent. A regular competitor in photography competitions, Jenny will explain what goes into an award winning image.
 
BPC meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month, 7.00pm – 8.30pm, in Birlingham Village Hall, £3 per person (to include light refreshments). More information is available at www.birlinghamphotography.co.uk or contact Angela Fitch on 07585 904636.
 
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The next Cuppa & Chat takes place on Wednesday 5th April, from 3.00pm to 4.30pm. Come and enjoy tea, coffee and cake in Birlingham Village Hall – an opportunity to meet friends and catch up with all the latest news.
 
All are welcome and transport can be provided if required. For more information, please contact Adrianne Woodward on 01386 750936.
 
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The annual litter pick, postponed because of bad weather, will now take place on Sunday 9th April. In order to avoid clashing with the service in St James’ Church, the litter pick will begin at the later-than-usual time of 2.00pm, meeting on the village green.
 
Please join us and help to create a tidy village. Litter-picking equipment is provided.
 
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At its meeting on 15th March, Birlingham Parish Council discussed a number of issues, including the following:
  • A number of possible ways of dealing with speeding in the village have been investigated. Although there is more work to be done on the subject, the report of what has been considered so far is available at www.birlingham.org/docs/speeding_2017_1.pdf. Further information on wheelie-bin speed-limit stickers is given below.
  • An application has been made by Birlingham Cricket Club for a grant from the New Homes Bonus for refurbishment of toilet facilities – full details below.
  • This year, the Annual Parish Meeting is to be held on a different night to the Parish Council meeting. The Annual Parish Meeting will be held on Wednesday 10th May and village organisations will be invited to come and talk about what they do. More details below.
  • Repairs to the Millennium Bench are progressing well and should be completed in the next few weeks.
  • After ten years on the Parish Council, Steve Morris has resigned, as he will be away from the village for a while. In the interim, John Hill will take over as Acting Chairman until the Parish Council meeting in May. Details of the vacancy are given below.
 
Full minutes of the Parish Council meeting will be available shortly.
 
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Further to the concerns expressed by parishioners about excessive speed by vehicles travelling through the village, Councillor Aston presented to the last Parish Council meeting a report regarding the various approaches that can be taken to address these concerns; further actions will follow. However, in the meantime ,stickers showing ‘30 MPH’ have been obtained and it would be useful if these could be attached to your wheelie bins so that on Tuesday/Wednesday motorists are reminded of the village speed limit.
 
Stickers for the green and black bins will be delivered to each household and further stickers will be available from the Clerk, June Hiden.
 
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8. New Homes Bonus Application – Cricket Club
 
The Parish Council have received an application from Birlingham Cricket Club for £900 from the New Homes Bonus towards the cost of refurbishing the toilets in the pavilion. It is hoped that the work can be completed before the start of the cricket season.
 
The Parish Council is required to consult the community on all applications, so they would be pleased to hear your views before submitting the application to Wychavon District Council; please email any comments to the Clerk at birlingham_clerk@yahoo.co.uk.
 
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For many years the Parish Council has held an Annual Parish Meeting, which has been attended mainly by the Councillors and perhaps some parishioners. In essence, it became a review of the work of the Parish Council during the previous year.
 
Over recent months, Councillors have discussed the need to engage more with the community and in particular with the many organisations, clubs etc. which exist in the village.
 
To this end, at the last Parish Council meeting it was agreed that the format of the Parish Meeting should be changed and that time will be given to each organisation, club etc. to make a short presentation of its aims and objectives. It has therefore been agreed with Birlingham Cricket Club that the clubhouse will be available for an evening meeting on Wednesday 10th May at 7.30pm. Through these efforts it is hoped that those living in this community will understand and appreciate the range of different activities that are available on their ‘doorstep’, which may lead to them wishing to be involved.
 
Invitations will shortly be issued to village organisations giving them an opportunity to make a presentation, but all villagers are entitled to attend and discover what happens in our lovely village.
 
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Following the resignation of Steve Morris, there is now a vacancy on Birlingham Parish Council. The vacancy is being advertised for a period of 14 working days, during which electors can ask for an election to be held. The notice of the vacancy can be viewed at www.birlingham.org/docs/pc_vacancy_2017.pdf. If ten electors request an election in writing by Tuesday 11th April, an election will be held. Otherwise, the Parish Council will co-opt a new member at their next meeting on Wednesday 17th May.
 
Elections for Worcestershire County Council will be held on Thursday 4th May. The Notice of Election was published on Monday 20th March and candidate's nomination papers will need to be submitted by 4.00pm on Tuesday 4th April. Full details of the election process can be found at www.worcestershire.gov.uk/info/20053/elections/246/county_council_elections.
 
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Paula Aston writes:
A meeting was held on Monday evening to rally support and volunteers for this year’s Village Fete. In a slight change, it was agreed that we would focus more on a family day rather than just a fete, hence the change in name! A big thank you to the few that attended but to make this happen and be a fabulous day we need more help.
 
If you are able to help please contact Paula Aston on 01386 751425 or email paston1976@gmail.com. We really need your help and support. Let’s bring out the Birlingham spirit that has made all the other village events a roaring success.
 
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The following planning application has been withdrawn:
  • The Manor House, Lower End: Use of land for equestrian and construction of stabling block and access – as approved under planning permission ref no. W/11/00443/CU but without compliance with condition no. 12 (to revise restrictions relating to the storage of vehicles and horse boxes). (Case No. 16/02864). Full details can be viewed on the Wychavon DC website at https://plan.wychavon.gov.uk/plandisp.aspx?recno=90614.
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