4 | BURTONEWS
BURTON RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
Deeside Incinerator – PARC ADFER In April 2015, Flintshire County Council’s Planning Committee refused permission for the Incinerator by 10 votes to 6. At a reconvened meeting on the 25th May 2015, when several councillors did not attend, permission for this £800 million project was granted on the chairman’s casting vote by 7 votes to 6.
In November 2015, Natural Resources Wales (the Welsh environment agency) issued an Environmental Permit allowing the development to proceed subject to detailed conditions. The Association made submissions to Natural Resources Wales urging that the Incinerator be constructed using the ‘Best
Gladstone Village Hall Update It’s a busy time at the hall – the sports seasons are getting underway, CPR (resuscitation) classes have started, play area consultations are in full flow and we’re planning the summer fete with a Queen’s Birthday theme!
info. from Tricia on 336 8698). We also need people who’d enjoy helping revitalise the tennis club; if you might be interested, please speak to Cath on 353 0577.
If you’d like to get involved in any way, big or small, and help make this a thriving and sustainable village centre which we can all be proud of, please contact Ingrid by phone or email (details below). At the moment, we’d particularly appreciate offers to help on the day of the fete (more
At the Heart of the Village
You can make sure you’re up-to-date with all hall news by checking our website;
The Association remains in touch with Natural Resources Wales and will continue to monitor the project which is expected to take four years to complete. Any significant news will be published on the Association’s website.
Talking Heads at the Burton Society The Burton Society was formed in 1971 in order to provide a setting in which local people could meet and enjoy a wide variety of talks which would provide interest, information and entertainment throughout the winter months. We meet on the first Thursday of each month from October until April at 8.00pm in the Gladstone Village Hall. After the talk, there are refreshments and an opportunity to chat to other members. In October, we look forward to welcoming photographer and adventurer Brian Anderson for an illustrated talk entitled “Images from the Edge” which features some of the world’s greatest explorers and travels from the icy wastes of the North pole to the Victoria Falls in Zambia, with many stops in between.
We have been successful in a bid to the British Heart Foundation to provide a defibrillator for the village. It will be permanently mounted on the outside wall of the village hall, near the ‘new kitchen’ door. The emergency services know it’s there and anyone in the area will automatically be directed to it. It’s designed for use by anyone without prior training, but to familiarise ourselves with it, Nick Blair of the ambulance service is giving a talk in the hall at 8pm on Tuesday 24th May. Everyone very welcome!
Finally, a reminder that the hall and sports pavilion are both available for hire at very reasonable rates on either an ongoing basis or for one-off events. Please contact Connie (336 3679) for the hall, or Penny (336 8752) for the pavilion.
Available Techniques’ to strengthen the sound reduction properties of the building housing the Incinerator.
www.gladstonevillagehall.co.uk. We’re also on Facebook at ‘Gladstone Hall’. In addition, if you send me your email address, you’ll be added to the circulation list for all hall updates. Ingrid ingridsturmey@hotmail.co.uk Tel. 336 4974
Following that, will be John Hooley with inside information about “Royal Trains and their Passengers” and, after that, talks which cover a wide variety of subjects, rounded off at the end of the year with the very popular Gavin Hunter. New members will be very welcome – please contact John Roe on 0151 336 4640. Annual membership fee £10
Burtonews BURTON RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
Welcome to the Third Edition of Burtonews I hope you find it a good read – there is a lot going on at present and no doubt there will be new issues to tackle in the coming year. If you are not already a paid up member of the Association, please do join us – the Association needs all the support it can get to protect and promote the interests of the village. Please contact our Treasurer, John Farrell for an application form, which has an optional Standing Order incorporated in it – this will ensure automatic renewal
MANOR MATTERS! This time last year, Liverpool City Council which owns Burton Manor and which had put it up for sale, announced that its ‘preferred bidder’ was an entrepreneur based in Hampshire who wished to convert the Manor into a wedding venue. This proposal was vigorously opposed by the Association and the bidder eventually withdrew in November 2015. The Manor was put back on the market and in December 2015 Burton Manor Gardens Limited, which has the backing of the Association, renewed its bid at an improved price. The time for bids closed on 16th April and we understand there are four other bids on the table. At the time of going to press, no decision has been taken by the City Council, but we hope to know much more by the time of the AGM on the 17th May.
of your membership each year and save the Association precious time and money sending out reminders. Please be sure to return the completed form to John Farrell whose address is on the form. I hope to see you at our AGM on 17th May.
MAY 2016
Annual General Meeting The 26th Annual General Meeting of the Association will take place at Gladstone Village Hall on Tuesday 17th May starting at 8pm. All local residents are cordially invited to join your committee and fellow members. Complimentary coffee, tea and biscuits will be served.
Michael Redmond, Chairman
Burton Play Area Renovation The Burton Play Area is situated behind Gladstone Village Hall next to the bowling green. It serves the children of Burton and Puddington and for many years was serviced and maintained to appropriate safety standards by successive local councils. Following the creation of the present authority and extensive cost-cutting by the government the council relinquished its support. Gladstone Village Hall, being the owner of the Play Area, had to assume responsibility for it. Safety inspections were contracted out to Cheshire West and Chester Council for which GVH pays several hundred pounds per year. Ground care is now carried out by GVH contractors and where safety issues are flagged up they are attended to by GVH volunteers. It became clear from the monthly inspections that the Play Area was increasingly deteriorating and that it would have to be improved or closed. The GVH Management Committee initiated some interest and action in the Play Area but even so something more significant was required. The Committee wanted to hear the views of the community on the renovation. This consultation was also necessary in order to be able to bid for grants and was carried
out via a questionnaire. No doubt you will have seen notices around the village, at the Play Area, in the church and on the GVH website asking Burton and Puddington residents to complete questionnaires. The questionnaire was also taken to Bishop Wilson School and last summer it was a real pleasure to speak to the School Council there and get their views on the renovation of the Play Area. The children were brimming over with ideas and enthusiasm and a few weeks later we received the results of their questionnaires. The overall result of this consultation was that the community wanted much more than safety surface replacement. The services of two experts at CWAC were employed to make plans and give advice on funding. The plans were produced for the last stage of the community consultation at a meeting on 27 April in the Sports Pavilion. The plans were also made available on the GVH website, www.GladstoneVillageHall.co.uk. The renovation will be expensive and we will have to work hard to get the funding: your support is still needed. John and Gill Nuttall