Neighbourhood Plan – Next Steps – 27th March
There will be an open meeting in the village hall to discuss the next steps in preparing a neighbourhood plan for Westbury. See this poster for details.
Village Meeting to Progress the Neighbourhood Plan 27th March
There will be a meeting in the village hall on 27th March to consider the next steps in developing a Neighbourhood Plan for Westbury. Hold the date! More details later.
Housing Needs Survey
All households in Westbury should, by now, have received a copy of a Housing Needs Survey which is being conducted by an independent company ( CNB Housing Insights) on behalf of the parish council. The survey is a key step towards developing a neighbourhood plan for the village which, once agreed, improves our chances of influencing how Westbury will develop over the next 10 – 20 years. We need there to be a good response if the plan is to be seen as representative of village opinion.
Although the paper survey may look a little lengthy it is very easy to complete, particularly if it is done on line. I completed mine in just under eight minutes.
Easton Pop Up Cafe – Oxfam Gaza Appeal
Colleagues in Easton have asked me to draw attention to a pop up cafe in Easton on Saturday 10th February. Details on the poster here
Friday 26 January – At last – ‘Oppenheimer’ in the village hall
Dear all,
At last we can present Oppenheimer on the Westbury big screen. It’s the big one you’ve all been waiting for – winner of 5 Golden Globes and nominated for 13 Oscars. This blockbuster runs for nearly three hours so we shall start projecting earlier than usual at 7.45pm, but fear not – there will be the usual drinks and nibbles . We’ll just be there from 7pm rather than 7.30, so still time to chat and meet up with your neighbours.
The story, just in case you’ve been completely ignoring all media these last few months –
During World War II, physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer is appointed to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project. Oppenheimer and a team of scientists spend years developing and designing the atomic bomb. Their work comes to fruition on July 16, 1945, as they witness the world’s first nuclear explosion, forever changing the course of history.
And the critics say –
That the director, Christopher Nolan, turned this most devastating of stories into a riveting pop culture phenomenon without ceding one inch on its tragic dimensions is surely an achievement for the ages.
What Nolan has put before our eyes definitively deserves to be seen, as does Cillian Murphy’s performance in the role of Oppenheimer and the irreconcilable but fantastic Robert Downey Jr. in the role of Lewis Strauss.
Every scene feels like a cataclysm waiting to happen, fitting for a film that builds, step-by-step, to the creation of a cataclysm machine. Oppenheimer both summons awe for what it took to build the bomb and for the changes it wrought.
Nolan captures that theoretical aspect of Oppenheimer on the screen in very personal moments… that energy, that swirl of passion in the unknown it’s all there, and it is phenomenal to watch.
Epic in scale and substance, writer-director Christopher Nolan has arguably produced the best film of his impressive career. He delivers a nuanced script … and turns a complex and defining moment in history into a pulse-pounding thriller.
This is a complex look at a complicated man, but Oppenheimer unequivocally establishes that this is a story worth telling — and that Nolan was the perfect filmmaker to do it.
So do come and if you’ve already seen it you’ll know that it’s worth a second viewing. Tickets £8 to include your first drink, in the village shop or on the door.
Sue
Sandbags (again)
A reminder that we still have a number of sandbags available for collection at Old Ditch Farm. They can be very helpful diverting water away from your property during periods of heavy rain which appear to be increasingly frequent. Owing to a miscalculation on my part we have to charge £2.00 each rather than £1.50 (they contain 20 kilos, not 10 ) but the good news is that Graeme, Dyland and Toby have filled them for you and all you have to do is pick them up. Call me (870531) or Ian Metcalf (870262) to arrange when.
Stock up on Sandbags
The wet weather is causing a lot of localised flooding in the village and this problem seems likely to become more common in the future. With that in mind the Friendly Society has arranged for a supply of sandbags to be made available, along with sand to fill them. If any residents would like to avail themselves of an emergency supply, they can pick up and fill the bags (approx. 10 Kg.) at Old Ditch Farm at a cost of £1.50 each. The money will enable us to purchase more should supply exceed the quantity available or reimburse the Friendly Society.
To avail yourself of this facility please contact Mick Fletcher (870531) or Ian Metcalf (870262).
We would be grateful if those receiving this message could pass it on to those of their neighbours who are not online but might find it helpful.
NEW 126 Weston-Wells-Weston timetable
The new 126 bus timetable is now available as a PDF file by clicking here: 126 map and timetable
It can also be found at firstbus 126 map and timetable
Somerset Council Press Releases
Somerset Council have notified the Parish Council of press releases they heve issued, concerning Waste Collection Days, Fostering in Somerset, and the end of charges for some items at Recycling Sites.
All these press releases and more can be found at:
www.somerset.gov.uk/newsroom/
Make your Christmas green – recycle your tree
Press release
For immediate release
Make your Christmas green – recycle your tree
With the festive season in full swing, Somerset Council is reminding everyone to put recycling the Christmas tree onto their list.
The best option is to compost it at home or turn it into a wildlife corner, though we appreciate that will not be possible for many people.
Garden Waste Service subscribers can leave their decoration-free tree out with their first collection of the year, so long as its smaller than 2 metres (or 6ft). The service will resume from Monday 8 January.
Trees will not be collected from the kerbside unless you subscribe to the Garden Waste Service.
Many charities, community organisations and groups are running tree collection or drop-off services, raising money for good causes.
These include St Margarets Hospice and Dorothy House Hospice Care. Please check online for details.
Trees can also be taken to any of Somerset’s recycling sites and put it in the garden waste skip.
Recycling sites will be closed on Bank Holidays but will be open for their usual hours at other times, check online for details: www.somerset.gov.uk/waste.
Cllr Dixie Darch Executive Lead Member for Environment and Climate Change said:
“Although there’s festivities still to come, don’t forget to plan what to do with your tree following the seasonal celebrations.
“I’d encourage residents to think green and make sure that Christmas trees are sustainably disposed of, contributing to making Somerset a greener, more sustainable county”.
When it comes to the environmentally friendly choice, the Carbon Trust say that having a real tree rather than a plastic one is often better (depending on where and how it was grown). To even out the carbon used to produce a fake tree, it would need to be used for at least 10 years.
Plastic Christmas trees cannot be recycled. Consider giving unwanted fake trees to charity or offer them up on a reuse platform such as Freegle or Gumtree.
Any fake trees that have lost their Christmas cheer should be disposed of via the Energy from Waste skip at any of Somerset’s recycling sites.
For more tips on how to reduce, reuse and recycle at this time of year visit: www.somerset.gov.uk/SeasonalWaste