Etchingham

Below are a few of the results from the last week, anyone wanting more detail from the results, or other facts, figures or information, is welcome to contact me and I will do my best to provide the information that you require.

The survey results showed an increase in speeding vehicles around the 7am to 8am period, so we monitored traffic entering the village from the Burwash direction every day Monday to Thursday from 7am to 8.30am, on Monday 13 vehicles reported, Tuesday 17, Wednesday 19 and Thursday 19.

Monday - fastest speed = 45mph with 3 others over 40mph, 9 36-40mph.

Tuesday - fastest = 53mph with 5 others over 40mph, 11 36-40mph.

Wednesday - fastest = 46mph with 5 others over 40mph, 13 36-40mph.

Thursday - fastest = 49mph with 7 others over 40mph, 11 36-40mph.

Other sessions were operated at various times during the week, between 2pm on Friday March 28th and midday on Thursday April 3rd, the total number of vehicles reported in all the sessions was 180.

We are currently operating at least one session every week and planning to hold some more of these more intensive sessions later in the year.

BUT! There is always a BUT, we currently have only five trained and active operators, we need more volunteer operators if we are to continue with the same frequency or we will have to reduce the frequency to avoid overloading the few volunteers we have.

If you, or someone you know in the village, feels inclined to get involved, please get in touch with me. Volunteers need to be trained in the use of the equipment and the safety issues involved before they can go out on Speed checks, the training is not difficult and takes just a couple of hours at Battle Police Station. Once trained, volunteer operators can take part in as many of few sessions as they want. Anyone interested in helping can get more information on the village websitewww.etchinghamvillage.co.uk or atwww.communityspeedwatch.co.uk , updates of the group’s activities are on Facebook www.facebook.com/etchinghamspeedwatch

The device used IS NOT a camera and nothing is recorded by the device, it simply tells the operator the speed of the vehicle approaching, if the vehicle is exceeding the speed limit by more than the prescribed margin the details are recorded and passed on to the Police, the registered keeper of the vehicle will then receive a letter informing them they were picked up in a Speedwatch check. The letter will tell them the speed that was recorded and give advice on regulating speed in 30mph zones, if the same vehicle is picked up on a second occasion they will receive a similar letter which has stronger wording and will also inform them that they are at risk of a fine if picked up again, following the third occasion the details are passed on to the Road Policing Unit, it is only from that point on that the driver is risking receiving a fine and/or points.

If you have any questions - please ask.Colin Boylett, Speedwatch Co-ordinator 01580 819532 [email protected]

New Etchingham PCSO, we have now been given the details of the new PCSO for Etchingham. His name is Iain Tomsett, he is currently on the local team at Herstmonceux, he has been a PCSO for 9 years with spells at Eastbourne and Wealden, he has also had a spell at Wealden on the Roads Policing Unit Casualty Reduction Team.

Iain will join us in Etchingham in the first week of June when the new intake of PCSO’s have finished their training and areas are reallocated. Iain should be a great asset to the area, Sgt. Paul Masterson will introduce him to us when he arrives in June.

Plant pots wanted, any size, they don’t have to be perfect or even clean as long as they are usable! We want to sell on excess plants in aid of the new village hall project but will run short of pots very quickly. Collection can be arranged. Contact Mary Barnes 01580 819142

A Midsummers Party at Burgham Farm, Sheepstreet Lane on Saturday June 21, 7.30pm till Midnihgt, in support of Scotty’s Little Soldiers.

Live Band, International Burger Bar, Auction of Promises and Raffle. Tickets are £10 per adult, children free, available from the Etchingham Shop & Deli and the Bistro, or email Beth at [email protected]

Scotty’s Little Soldiers is a Charity dedicated to supporting the children of men and women killed whilst serving in the British Armed Forces.

In July the Village Summer Fete will be held in Queen’s Garden. Last year, during the Fete, I put on a display of old photographs, postcards and documents in the Church, depicting much of the village history.

I am planning a similar display this year, it will be based around my collection of old photos and postcards, if I can borrow enough suitable items from village residents I hope to also include a display of memories of the school, as this will be the last year in the current building. If you have any suitable items I can borrow, let me know as soon as possible to help me plan space. You might have photos, books, documents, press cuttings or other items from your school days, or perhaps from parents or grandparents. I also have access to a lot of items relating to Etchingham Women’s Institute, so would like to also feature that in the display, if you have anything W.I. related that I can borrow please let me know.

If you have photos or small documents I can either borrow the originals for the display or make copies so that you can have the original items back straight away. If you have books or larger items I will need to see what you have as soon as possible so that I know how much space is required and pick the items up a couple of days before the display.

I will also be doing a display during the Flower and Dog Show, it would be good to have a different theme for the display, ideas welcome, one suggestion has been a display marking the centenary of the start of World War One, this is a possibility if enough items can be found, the items could relate to the time period and not necessarily all be related to Etchingham directly.

For both displays the available space is the area around and on the Choir Stalls and the Chancel in the Church.

Get information for this column to me as soon as possible, if you have a diary of events planned for the year let me have the dates and I will put in a list of village events for the year so that people can put the dates in their diaries. There are several ways to get your info to me, but email is preferred because there is less chance of errors during copying. I need information by 10pm on Monday to be sure it will be in time for inclusion, I can sometimes add extra items on Tuesday morning, but this cannot be guaranteed. Just a little reminder, I get plenty of information about events that are taking place, but I get very little follow up information, after your event try and remember to send me brief account of how successful your event was, it can be as simple as a thank you to those that attended and how much money was raised etc. You can deliver to 2 Park Farm Close, telephone 01580 819532 or 07941 786244 or email [email protected] .

Colin Boylett, 2 Park Farm Close