Mhdburyfebruary18web

LOCAL NEWS

Moreton Hall News...

from Cllr Peter Thompson

UPDATE ON BUILDING PROGRESS We have some news on the new building works going on around the Flying Fortress. We have some

outline plans for the remaining 320 dwellings and I was lucky enough to be able to pose some questions for us directly this month and pass on your concerns to Taylor Wimpey. Specifically, we spoke about the layout, traffic and parking concerns and, of course, the impact on local infrastructure. The developers are unable to directly influence these local improvements (most of that sits with the County Council, who seem to underestimate the impact the new housing will have on our transport, schools, Post Office and doctors) however they did confirm that around £6m will be invested.

The £200,000 which I helped to ringfence for the community centre has already passed over.

So, the land for development was made available many, many years ago and the ship has sailed long before my time to block building. We can make the best of it, though.

Some positives, if I may. The builder’s seem to have learned some lessons and the density and landscaping appears to be much better than other areas around Moreton Hall. Specifically the parking provision slightly exceeds the minimum standards, with 3 off-road spaces for 4+bedrooms.

We will also see 52 allotment plots, a decent car park and provision for a local grocery store or coffee shop.

I can also confirm that Greene King have committed to the redevelopment of the Flying Fortress, which will remain.

Building is expected to commence early 2020. You can give some feedback before formal plans are submitted at twlarkgrangephases3-5@rkh.co.uk or to myself at peter.thompson@stedsbc. gov.uk or 07810 868986.

14 | FEBRUARY 2018

LOCAL NEWS

from

Last year St Edmundsbury Borough Council and Forest Heath District Council announced plans to merge to form a new West Suffolk Council. In December, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government confirmed that he was minded to create a single District Council for West Suffolk. It is hoped that the final “minded to� decision will be made in early February and the Order to create the new Council will come forward in spring.

Moreton Hall as it is the closest settlement to them.

There will need to be an electoral review to create new wards for the West Suffolk Council. This process will now form the electoral review before 2019 which is needed in any event, due to growth since the last review in 2011. The suggestion is that the future Council for West Suffolk should have 64 Councillors. St Edmundsbury currently has 45 Councillors and Forest Heath 27 Councillors. So, a loss of 8 Councillors.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England and Wales has the final say. They will undertake a full, open and public consultation in the summer on their own draft proposals, before they make any final decision.

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) is responsible for setting the ward boundaries but they cannot assess these proposals until the legal processes to create the new Council have moved forward.

There is an online survey to complete at www. westsuffolk.gov.uk/electoralreview .

Due to the timescales involved which are out of the Councils control comments are invited by 12th February, Moreton Hall Ward currently is the largest ward in St Edmundsbury and currently has 3 Borough Councillors. Will Moreton Hall Ward be reduced in size? The aim is to ensure that each ward contains the same number of electors. electoral.review@ westsuffolk.gov.uk The new housing now under construction and planned is located in Rougham Ward. MHRA felt that these houses would be better off in

St Edmundsbury did agree that when a percentage of the new home were occupied they would undertake a consultation to seek the views of residents as to whether they wanted to become part of Moreton Hall or stay in Rougham Parish. MHRA will press for this to be included in the remit of the new council.

Taylor Wimpey circulated over 2,000 leaflets to residents on Moreton Hall outlining their pre-planning detailed application for the remaining houses on their Lark Grange Development. Outline planning was granted several years ago. The Flying Fortress Pub will be retained. There will be a new Local Centre and Public Car Park and allotments.

The application is to agree the details of the number of houses, the number of affordable homes, details of parking, landscaping type of materials etc.

We have had a number of complaints from Residents about litter, this has become more obvious with recent winds and hedge trimming with litter lying about. Please put your litter in the bin.

Our next committee meeting is Thursday 3rd March 2017 at 7.30 at the Community Centre.

Robert Houlton-Hart Secretary MHRA Email secretarymhra@gmail.com

FEBRUARY 2018 | 15

Sybil Andrews Academy

LOCAL NEWS

For a school named after an internationally successful artist and gifted teacher, it is unsurprising that we pride ourselves on our creative abilities.

So I am delighted to report that we have started the New Year with two fantastic art projects that give our students an incredible opportunity and insight – while promoting partnerships with the local community.

One of the projects sees us working with Smiths Row art gallery and Moyse’s Hall, and the other is with the Bury St Edmunds Art Society.

Taking the former first, all of our Year 8 students have been involved with a project around 1920s and 1930s railway posters.

Organised by Alison Plumridge, director of Smiths Row, the project is part of a lino print competition connected with the regeneration of Bury train station.

Our students studied the artists of the time for inspiration, including Sybil Andrews, and their finished work will be exhibited at Moyse’s Hall.

One overall piece will also be chosen to be turned into a panel and sited at the train station along with work from other local artists.

In terms of our partnership with Bury Art Society, we have become involved in a project entitled ‘Our View’.

The society are celebrating their Golden Jubilee and have decided to celebrate this landmark by having an artist in residence, Alfie Carpenter.

We are delighted that Alfie will spend 10 days at the school in February working with students across all our year groups to produce several pieces of art - including one showpiece that will be hung in the school hall.

All the artwork has a theme of Bury and the surrounding area and it will be exhibited, along with Alfie’s work, at a special showing on Friday 2nd March.

Both of these amazing projects give students a real-life opportunity to engage with artists, to learn from them and see what it really takes to be an artist.

There will also be a huge sense of pride and achievement when they see their work exhibited.

We would like to thank everyone involved in both projects for all their support of Sybil Andrews Academy.

FEBRUARY 2018 | 17

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FEBRUARY 2018 | 37

HOME + LIFESTYLE

Time Out

BY ANDREW SOUTHWOOD For the last ten years I’ve

read, with varying degrees of jealousy, numerous social media posts from friends who have had trips away. I’m not talking about a family holidays, I’m referring specifically to the city breaks, romantic anniversary nights away and such like. It seemed to me like we were the odd ones out for never having any time away from our kids.

Practicalities of feeding babies and horrendously bad sleepers, has basically rendered any rest bite plans unworkable… until now.

The hand over of the children to grandparents was pretty smooth. To be honest I’m not even sure they realised we’d left, such was the excitement of staying at granny and grandads house. And so we were off. Alone. Child free. We were driving to Norwich for a ‘wild’ weekend and there was nothing anyone could do to stop us!

42 | FEBRUARY 2018

Ninety minutes later, with only a couple of wrong turns and ruthless beeps from drivers more familiar with the one way system than us, we pulled up at our destination. The beautiful hotel, was nearly as old as the Cathedral which it overlooked, and did not disappoint. A step up from a travel inn, definitely not somewhere we would take the children.

We spent the afternoon meandering through the busy streets, sight seeing and shopping with no definitive plan (most unlike us). I soon found the feeling that we had lost something faded. We popped in and out of quaint cramped shops – no buggy, no worry’s. I smiled knowingly/ smugly at dads struggling to contain their kids within the maze of narrow market alleys.

Inevitably we ended up looking at kids clothes and browsing toy departments.

But you know what. That’s

fine, and far more relaxing when you haven’t got three little helpers offering their views.

In the evening we enjoyed the finest dining we are ever likely to experience. Plates of mouth watering food, prepared by actual real life proper Chefs. We spoke of grown up stuff and drank not 1, but 2, alcoholic drinks each!

We were really going crazy!

Despite the lack of necessity, clearly we were both awake and up by 8am, as our body clocks refused to let their hair down. After a breakfast banquet we took in a riverside walk and enjoyed our last hours of freedom.

Then, all too soon it was time to make the return trip.

Despite a wonderful 24hrs, we both missed our little ones terribly. I’m sure we will make time to do it all again, but not for a while - although hopefully less than ten years this time!

Pauls jobs for the month General Gardening Maintenance

n Where you have grass growing next to paths you may find the grass starts to overlap. Take an edging half moon and slice through the grass where the path line begins, peel off the grass and you’re left with a clean, sharp edge! n Feed the birds and give any feeders a good clean. Put up nest boxes. n Continue to dig over and manure borders as they become workable.

Vegetable & Fruit Garden n This is a good time to plant a fruit tree. Most gardens can find room for a dwarf fruit tree. Remember to stake it to prevent wind damage. n If you have rhubarb it is time to force it. When you see the first shoots cover them with a big pot. n Start sowing broad beans and early peas. Start in pots indoors.

Once the seedlings are strong, harden them off somewhere sheltered and then plant out. n Start warming up vegetable borders with carpet or fleece ready for a March sowing. n Plant Garlic Bulbs n Plant raspberry canes n Prune blackcurrant bushes,

Pauls

GARDEN SERVICES

gooseberries and redcurrants to maintain a productive framework

Flower Garden n Divide large clumps of perennials. Use a spade and you can often separate out four smaller clumps. Once the unearthed clumps have been divided they should be replanted straight away n Prune Winter Flowering Jasmine after flowering to encourage new growth for next year’s blooms. Cut back the previous years growth to 5cm from the old wood. n Winter flowering pansies provide some welcome colour as long as you make sure to regular deadhead spent flowers

n Prune overwintered fuchsias back to one or two buds on each shoot. n Cut back the old foliage from ornamental grasses before growth begins - clip them to within a few centimetres of the ground. n Groups of snowdrops benefit from lifting and dividing roughly every five years n If you haven’t done so already prune back your hydrangeas to remove dead flower heads back to a strong bud n Prune your Wisteria now, cutting back summer sideshoots to 2 or 3 buds. n Take hardwood cuttings of ornamental shrubs such as Salix, Forsythia, Ribes, Rosa, Weigela, Cornus.

This months poem...

“He knows no winter, he who loves the soil, For, stormy days, when he is free from toil, He plans his summer crops, selects his seeds From bright-paged catalogues for garden needs.

When looking out upon frost-silvered fields, He visualizes autumn’s golden yields; He sees in snow and sleet and icy rain Precious moisture for his early grain; He hears spring-heralds in the storm’s ‘ turmoilHe knows no winter, he who loves the soil.”

- Sudie Stuart Hager, He Knows No Winter

One-off jobs or regular maintenance on a weekly or monthly basis hedge trimming | grass cutting | general weeding & tidying up

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FEBRUARY 2018 | 63

CHURCH NEWS

Christ Church MORETON HALL It was my privilege in January to take Holy Communion in the crypt at Lambeth Palace. It is an amazing place to use for worship. Some parts of it are extremely old, being early mediaeval, but because it has been neglected, possibly for centuries, some of it is in quite a poor state of repair. One would wonder why the Archbishop and his team use it for daily prayers and weekly Holy Communion.

One reason it is such a powerful place is that it reminded me that the early Christians did not have any churches and often met in secret in catacombs.

Indeed the catacombs under Rome can be viewed today and are a very special and ancient place. So immediately in the worship you have a sense of being connected to the ongoing worship of the church over two thousand years.

The second effect of its slightly ruinous nature is to remind us that today many Christians conduct worship in bombed out churches and in cellars and attics as they are being systematically bombed and shot by extremists.

The third thing that makes it very powerful is that there are pillars which 82 | FEBRUARY 2018

had obviously been carefully carved out of expensive marble but are now chipped and broken but nonetheless they still support a wonderful vaulted ceiling.

January and February can be times when people get very depressed.

They often feel their lives have gone in the wrong direction or they are burdened with debt or they are tempted to slip back into addictions.

Relationships are often strained to breaking point; many people feel worthless, useless and, often as not, without any sense of hope. The crypt chapel at Lambeth Palace reminded me that in the midst of brokenness, darkness and difficulty God can produce something beautiful. It is often when we are broken and at the end of our tether we are most effective as Christians.

Often when we are broken and despairing, God speaks to us and consoles us in a very powerful way.

He is able to do this because all pretence is stripped away and we have to think about essentials. I am also reminded that no matter how bashed and chipped we might be, if we are in the right place, like those chipped pillars, we can still hold up a vast weight. In fact while we think

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business services Rudlings Wakelam Solicitors . . . . . . . . 01284 715665 Gage Computer Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . 01284 764574 Simply Secure Storage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01284 750019 The Post Office. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01284 769841 Whiting Partners Accountants . . . . . . . 01284 752313 Sondela Consulting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07887 998167

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pet services Moreton Hall Vets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01284 747000 Eastgate Veterinary Group. . . . . . . . . . . 01284 753961

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Pot Black Sports Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01284 704231 Bury Golf Range & Golf Store . . . . . . . 01284 723894 Moreton Hall Community Centre . . 01284 763405 Planet Laser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01284 220102 Moreton Hall Health Club. . . . . . . . . . . . 01284 704232 Skyliner Gym. . . . . . . . . . www.acleisure.com/skyliner Bury Town Football Club. . . . . . . . . . . . 01284 799466 FEBRUARY 2018 | 93