Carol Singing 2023

Carol singing. 2023.

This year, the carol singers are doing something a bit different, and welcome anyone from the village to join in, either to sing along or just listen to the sweet harmonics (the name of our group). You can join in at anytime and leave at anytime. You can give donations if you want, this year going to

 "York Against Cancer."

Tuesday 12th December.

5.45pm. Meet at Stoneleigh where we will entertain and delight the residents.

6.20pm. Meet at the Church gate. Where we will sing a few carols and take donations. Please join us to listen, sing or give a donation.

7pm. Meet at Coffee and Coe for an informal meet up, to sing a few carols, listen to a bagpipe tune or two, and some Christmas favourites, or just sit and chat!

Please save this date in your diary. More details and reminders to follow.

More details from:

Ian Simpson.

07803092082

iwsimpson@hotmail.com

Hope to see you there!!

Remembrance Sunday

Remembrance Sunday

Bielby's Service of Remembrance is on Sunday 12th November, beginning at 10.50 am in church. The bells will ring at 10.45, followed by a lament on the bagpipes at the door. Rector Stephen will begin the service at 10.50 and, weather permitting, we shall go to the churchyard war memorial for the 11 o'clock silence.

After the blessing, those who wish to can attend the wreath-laying at the RAF canalside memorial straight afterwards.

Please feel free to come to church in your wellies. If you need it, there is an ancient boot scraper outside the door.

Everyone is welcome to attend either or both ceremonies.

Planning Notice for Three Cocked hat Solar Farm Thornton and Allerthorpe

 We have been notified of a variation to the application for the Solar Farm Development between Thornton and Allerthorpe.

See https://newplanningaccess.eastriding.gov.uk/newplanningaccess/PLAN/23/03116/STVAR if you wish to comment.

Road Drainage Issues

As some of you may know, Chris Emptage is arranging a meeting with Environment Agency Engineers and Councillor Leo Hammond to discuss the continuing problem with road drainage in the village and reinforcing the banks of the beck as it passes through the village.

The Road Gullies are the responsibility of ERYC Highways who only clean out the gulleys on an irregular basis.

The sewers from there generally take combined surface water and foul water to the pumping station in the middle of the village.  Gale Carr Lane at the village end is an exception, as this goes via culverts into the ditch at the back of the village.

It's Yorkshire Water’s responsibility to ensure the combined sewer is running freely and it appears they don’t do so reliably as they haven't been jetted or cleaned for many years.  This causes back up and the large puddles along the road we see at times of heavy rainfall.

Yorkshire water (YW) is not aware of the problem, they have no record of complaints from anyone in Bielby, so will not do anything until complaints are received.

YW do not make it easy to make complaints;

See link to their complaints page https://www.yorkshirewater.com/get-in-touch/compliments-and-complaints/complaints/

they recommend calling them on 0345 124 24 24 have your YW account number ready and they will take your complaint from there.

OR

Post a letter to Yorkshire Water, PO Box 52, Bradford BD3 7YD Head Your letter "COMPLAINT" or they won't treat it as such.

Suggested Wording;

Parish Meeting Minutes

 Minutes of Bielby Parish Meeting

Held on Monday 23rd October 2023 at 7.30pm

held at Hollycroft Court “Coffee and Coe”

By kind permission of Richard and Christine Coe

Attendees; 22

1. Apologies for absence.

• Received from Margaret WIlkinson and Jan Emptage

2. Minutes of last meeting held on 15th May 2023

• Read and approved as a true record, prop Richard Coe sec Paul Ward

3. Matters arising from the minutes.

• 3.3 Village task force, Neil thinks all jobs done, Paul Ward said he had seen a gulley being excavated. Cllr Leo Hammond had sent an email to  Highways and Yorks water to chase for a resolution after his previous email .

• 3.18 allied to the bus shelter, Richard Coe noted there are some metal trims projecting at the corners, Chris Emptage said he would contact Sharpes to remedy them.

4. Planning applications and outcomes since the last meeting.

• 2 planning notices were read out;

1. Hollycroft Farm YO42 4JW- Change of use from disused paddock for siting of 4 camping pods and associated landscaping (Revised Scheme of 22/01794/PLF) Granted  Mon 10 Jul 2023

2. Common Farm Galecarr Lane YO42 4JT Erection of an agricultural building for the storage of straw - Granted 19th May 2023

5. Bielby in Bloom.

• Val Nolton asked if we could plant more daffodils as the existing ones had been cut early by the council. Paul Ward said he would contact the person at ERYC who supplied the last bag.

6. Parish Precept.

• Elizabeth said the account is looking healthy, with circa £6,000 with the biggest commitment in the near future being the village information board.

• It was confirmed that the precept be kept at the same level as agreed in the previous meeting.

7. Bielby Beck update.

• Neil said the beck clearing carried out by the usual contractor was only partially done under the remit of the Environment agency and he had asked the contractor to continue and asked the village to pay the additional, which was proposed by Neil, seconded by Steve Ridsdale.

8. Speed limit in village.

•  No movement as yet on setting up the speed awareness group, so names of volunteers were taken again;

1. Paul Ward

2. Margaret Wilkinson

3. Val Nolton

4. Pete Nolton

5. Gyniss

6. Jayne Dacre

7. Chris Emptage

8. Elizabeth Thompson

• Paul Ward said he would move the group forward and initiate training.

• Graham Tew had enquired of one company who supply solar powered flashing speed signs for the entry into the village. Costs were circa £2,500 (Elan City). Cllr Hammond commented that ERYC Highways would need to approve sighting and give permission, also that data he has suggests a speed awareness group has a longer lasting effect on driver behaviour.

9. Parish land

• Chris Emptage said the discussion with the new owners of Gale Carr farm had come to nought, item to be deleted in future.

10. Information board for the public bench area.

• Progress continues, John Peel has had confirmation on some outstanding items and is moving towards graphic design and manufacture.

11. Duck Race

• Chris Emptage with his waders appears to be the only volunteer at present, however, with the beck in its current state of near flood, we discouraged him from holding the duck race on his own and agreed to wait for more clement conditions and to seek out more volunteers, Richard Coe has the necessary nets and poles to keep any strays in check. So it’s just admin, soup makers and willing families to get involved.

12. Carol Singing

• Ian Simpson suggested that it is often a very cold night for the singers and some households were often bemused by a dozen or so carollers singing on their doorstep. He suggested a gather around a piano (keyboard) at a warmer location, Richard Coe suggested starting at Stoneleigh before retiring to Coffee and Coe for warm drinks and a carolling as a larger group. Date suggested Tuesday 12th December, meet at Coffee and Coe at around 7.00 pm before going to Stoneleigh and returning to Coffee and Coe.

13. Christmas meal.

• Ian Simpson said there were 36 villagers attending, a few outstanding balances, asked for those outstanding to give him a cheque/transfer or cash please.

14. Memorial service and wreaths.

• Val Nolton had bought 2 wreaths for the memorial at the church and also the memorial to the bomber crew along the canal towpath. Elizabeth asked for the receipts to reimburse.

15. Bus Timetable

• John Peel gave a brief piece about the lack of bus services for Bielby and nearby villages. An early morning to York on a daily basis and a return in the evening/afternoon is the only daily service. Thena weekly service to and from Pocklington on a tuesday, he says hardly serves well for the villages or for Pocklington either if people who cannot drive due to illness, disability, cost or environmental concerns cannot easily get into our local towns. He also highlighted how business’ in the village would benefit from buses to and from Pocklington such as the Cafe, Caravan site, Pod and holiday lets.

• Cllr Paul West (Transport Portfolio holder) spoke about the lack of competition creating high tender prices for routes that are then uneconomic to run. There is only 1 route in the area that runs at a profit, being the X46 that runs along the A1079, all other routes are subsidised by ERYC, creating a substantial drain on financial resources for the county. There are ideas like dial a ride or running parallel services along the A1079 for 1 every 3rd bus to divert through a few villages, but none are viable economically at the moment. If a few villages co=operated it may be possible to put pressure on ERYC or even fund a service ourselves.

16. A1079/Carr Lane roundabout

• Margaret Wilkinson passed on her concern about there being no provision for access onto the proposed roundabout on the A1079/Balk from Pocklington. Cllr Hammond said the requirement from the developers for the 380 new houses was only for the additional traffic from their houses, not for any future growth of the town. That would only have required a single lane roundabout cost circa £3m. ERYC initially committed to fund the additional work for a 2 lane roundabout (another £3m) then declined then subsequently re-committed to upgrading the design. There are no additional funds to move or divert access from Bielby Carr Lane serving Bielby, Seaton Ross and Everingham. Cllr West thought the slowing of traffic from York to Hull at the new roundabout and not allowing exit from Carr lane would not back up that far and we can always turn left to get to Pocklington.

17. Dropped kerb near Stoneleigh.

• Richard Coe asked if ERYC could provide a dropped kerb at either corner of the pavement at the end of Bursar lane (the lane between Stoneleigh and Bursar Lodge) as residents from Stoneleigh that are wheelchair users have to go along the road to get to a dropped kerb to get back onto the pavement if they are heading South from Stoneleigh and vice versa. Cllr Hammond would take this up with Highways on our behalf.

The meeting closed 20.55

Hagg Bridge update

We received this communication from ERYC;

 Hagg Bridge Resurfacing Works 13 November – 1 December

Essential road improvements are to be carried out to Hagg Bridge in East Cottingwith, near Melbourne, which will mean a closure of up to three weeks.

During the work, the bridge will be closed for all traffic and pedestrians to ensure everyone’s safety.

Richard Lewis, civil engineering group services manager explains in this video the decision to resurface the bridge.

We appreciate that this work will cause some short-term disruption and want to thank all residents and businesses for their patience.

Alongside your ward councillors and local parish councils we will be regularly updating this and other local Facebook groups and, in addition, we will be updating residents on progress with a dedicated e-newsletter. To sign up to this newsletter please visit eryc.link/HaggBridge

View the video here: https://youtu.be/VJ5DAoAOUQY

Jubilee Tree Planted

A few weeks ago we planted the Queen's Platinum  jubilee tree down Mill Lane. Margaret, Olivia and Ella did the honours and planted the tree. It is a bird cherry tree.

Pete made a lovely wooden stand for the plaque.

Thanks to Tony for clearing the area where we planted the tree and Pete for making the plaque stand.