Some more St. Peter’s School Olympic Posters.
Fantastic 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Paris last night (July 26th). Here are a few more posters from Years 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Fantastic 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Paris last night (July 26th). Here are a few more posters from Years 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Hixon Parish Councillors will be out and about in July and August to draw up lists of properties that boast beautiful and well maintained front gardens, hanging baskets or quirky/unusual features.
Only gardens that can be viewed from a public footpath or road are included.
‘Winners’ and highly commended properties will be invited to a presentation evening in October.
Hixon Parish Council Planning Committee recently considered the following planning applications. Members of the public can attend Hixon Parish Council Planning Committee meetings and make their views known. The Council is currently reviewing how it can better communicate details of upcoming meetings.
24/38932/FUL. Change of use from dwelling house to care home for children: 6 Sycamore Drive, Hixon.
Hixon Parish Council objected to this application. The application was considered by Stafford Borough Council Planning Committee on the 10th July 2024. The Committee deferred making a decision as there were concerns about the numbers of staff required and on duty at any one time and the implications for parking. The application was subsequently withdrawn by the agent acting on behalf of the applicants.
24/39049. Change of use of land at Pasturefields: Change of Use of land to use as a Traveller residential caravan site. Proposed siting of 3 No. mobile homes; 3 No. Static Caravans and 3 No. Amenity Blocks.
Hixon Parish Council has objected to this application for the following reasons: The site is outside the development boundary and the proposed introduction of caravans, mobile homes and amenity blocks would be visually intrusive and harmful to the character and appearance of the A51 street scene and the Trent & Mersey Canal Conservation Area.
The development site would also impact on the Pasturefields salt marsh Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
The new application is similar to application No. 21/34638 which was refused planning permission in November 2023.
Click link below to see the full Hixon Parish Council response and latest information on the Stafford Borough Council website.
https://www12.staffordbc.gov.uk/online-applications/simpleSearchResults.do?action=firstPage
Hixon Parish Council has set its budget for the municipal year 1st April 2024 to March 31st 2025. The Council has agreed to raise the amount of ‘tax’ it charges to households in the Parish. In total, the Parish Council will receive £ 38,862.36 from Hixon households. Total income is forecast to be £ 46,484, which includes grants from Stafford Borough Council and national Government.
Administration and office costs have a budget of £16,805. A further £17,000 has been allocated for new facilities on the Church Lane playing fields and replacements. Environmental improvements will cost £3,000 and £1,750 has been set aside for road gulley emptying. If the Council completes all the work it has planned for, the total expenditure could be £ 68,733. However, it is unlikely this will happen, in which case the un-spent funds will be rolled forward to 2025-2026.
Council Tax D Band properties in Hixon will pay £ 51.79 per annum to Hixon Parish Council; a rise of £ 3.84 per annum or 7.4p extra per week from April 1st.
Hixon Parish Council is one of the lowest charging local Parish Councils. By comparison, D Band properties for 2024-2025 in Stowe-by-Chartley are £ 95.52; Colwich £ 111.76 and Weston £71.23 .
The much-delayed review of Stafford Borough Council’s Local Plan has been dealt another hammer blow.
Local Authorities, such as Stafford Borough Council, are required to review their Local Plan every five years to check progress on all manner of matters…too many to write here.
The last completed review was in 2017….obviously more than five years ago.
A new Local Plan should have been adopted in Autumn 2022, but progress towards that date was effectively stopped in March 2020 when the first Covid-19 lock down was imposed.
A cornerstone of that emerging Local Plan is to build a new Garden Community village at Meecebrook, between Swynnerton and Yarnfield. The Meecebrook plan would see a new community comprising 3,000 new homes being built over a ten year period and a further 3,000 more homes over the following ten years. Schools, shops, together with leisure, recreational and sports facilities would serve residents. Meecebrook also promises efficient public transport links and train services to Birmingham, Shrewsbury and Crewe. This would be possible because of the HS2 rail line between Birmingham and Manchester. However, as we now know, that part of HS2 has been cancelled, throwing the viability of the Meecebrook project into doubt.
Meecebrook is supposed to accommodate 60% of the planned 10,000 new homes in Stafford Borough between 2030 and 2050. The remaining 4,000 to be built mainly in Stafford, Stone, Gnosall and Woodseaves. But if Meecebrook is cancelled; where might the 6,000 new homes be built? Landowners in Hixon have already put forward nine sites that could accommodate 2,345 new homes.
Watch this space.
One of Hixon Parish Council’s long held ambitions is to improve the visual street scene at the New Road and Church Lane gateways into the village, where the industrial estates buildings tend to dominate the view. However, a recently completed environmental and landscaping scheme at New Road has made a significant and attractive difference.
The Parish Council sought a partnership arrangement with adjacent landowners, JBMi and Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC), to design and implement a scheme that has seen a once ugly area transformed. The stark appearance of several concrete bollards has been changed by the clever trick of cladding them in timber boards and seasonal planting. And a scruffy area of weeds has been replaced with bright golden gravel finished off with hardy alpine planting. Attractive green wire mesh fencing replaces the previous industrial galvanised steel palisade fencing.
The three-way partnership worked exceptionally well, with all having an active engagement throughout the project. Josh Brough of JBMi said “we were delighted to work alongside Plymouth Brethren Christian Church and Hixon Parish Council in this visual enhancement project and we hope it will be appreciated by local residents and all visitors coming in to Hixon. Something for everyone to enjoy throughout the seasons.” Robin McMullan of PBCC echoed Josh’s words, adding that “the new Church building will be set within a beautifully landscaped area including a lagoon that will further enhance the street scene.”
The total cost to Hixon Parish Council was £ 5,172. This was shared equally with JBMi and Plymouth Brethren Church, meaning each partner paid £1,724. representing great value for all parties and the local community. Hixon Parish Council will be looking to create similar visual and environmental improvement projects around the Parish in the future.