Chairman’s Blog
Dear Reader,
Welcome to this regular feature from Wombourne Parish Council.
Well, there is only one place to start in this edition! Councillors Daisy Tait and Martin Perry were married on Friday 16th August at Blakelands County House, Bobbington. The weather was wonderful, the ceremony has been described as beautiful and romantic. We wish you all the best for the future. You are two lovely people and we are blessed to have you on our council.
You may recall that last time I asked for information regarding one Dem Brotheridge whose name appears on our village war memorial in St Benedict’s churchyard. Dem is generally considered to be the first allied soldier killed on D-Day as he took part in the operation to take and secure Pegasus Bridge in Northern France. But we did not know what his connection to Wombourne was. With thanks to Mike Burns from Smethwick and Sandra from Poolhouse Road. I can now report that Dem married a Wombourne girl named Margaret Platt. The ceremony took place in St Benedict’s and they lived in Poolhouse Road. Margaret was pregnant when Dem was killed and he did not get his daughter also named Margaret. Mother and daughter moved away from the village and it was not until later in her life did his daughter discover the details of Dem’s identity and history. Let us ponder on the poignancy of this story and remind ourselves how fortunate we are.
This edition, I will introduce you to two more of your Parish Councillors, Mary Roberts and Jan Evans.
Mary is one of our longest serving Councillors. She sits on several Committees and is Chairman of Finance and General Purposes. This includes preparing and presenting the annual budget to Full Council with our Clerk, Mrs Wright. This is one of the most challenging aspects of local government and the most contentious. 15 Parish Councillors will have 15 different ideas on how to raise and spend our funds. Add to this the fact that nobody wants to see the precept on their council tax increase unreasonably and you get an idea of how challenging this near impossible task is. An ability to negotiate, be flexible and sometimes be firm is required. We are grateful to Mary for her dedication in this important area of our business. She is also involved in organising the Wombourne Carnival and Christmas lights. She is humble, dedicated and proud servant of our village.
Jan lives on the Poolhouse Estate with her two children Zoe aged 19 and Cody aged 13.
She has acquired the nickname ‘Super Jan’ owing to her heroics during her running exploits. She is a member of a local running club and runs at least 3 times a week, every week. She recently ran the Great North Run to raise much needed funds for a local children’s charity. Her expertise on council is resolving residents’ issues quickly, efficiently and without fuss. Her no-nonsense approach holds our partners to account and gets things done quickly.
She too is a member of the Carnival Committee and will be seen on Carnival day working from the early hours to last thing in the evening with other members of the team to ensure the day is enjoyed by all who attend. She sits on several committees and is particularly concerned with youth provision and road safety. Jan is a busy mother, has a full time job and an all consuming hobby but still finds time to volunteer as a Parish Councillor and for this we thank her.
You may have picked up that our recently elected national Government are going to make sweeping changes to planning regulations. Planning Officers at South Staffordshire Council, Codsall are going through the proposals with a fine-tooth comb as I write these words. The early indications are that our housing targets are going to be very challenging and I anticipate the green belt surrounding our village is going to be under threat again. Rest assured, your Parish Councillors will do all they can to ensure any future development is appropriate, but it’s only fair to warn you that this is going to be a very difficult time for us. You may be interested in attending our Full Council meeting on Monday 28th October. Ben Adams, Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire and Crime will be in attendance. He will address the meeting and then take questions from Councillors and members of the public. The meeting starts at 7pm in the Council Chamber.
Apart from our concerns about planning all is well at your Parish Council. Please get in touch if you have any questions or if you need our help. Remember, our primary role is to keep you safe and look after you.
Take care and stay safe.
Happy 40th birthday to Rachael, our Parish Clerk!
Kind regardS,
Mark Evans|
Deputy Chairman |
mevans@wombourneparishcouncil.gov.uk\
07944 888 700