Iden village voice

The next Coffee Morning will be on 1st October.

The Mobile Library will be there as usual from 12.05 to 12.45.

My apologies for wrong information last week. The Art and Cream Tea event at Oxenbridge did indeed raise £400.which was shared between the National Trust and Tilling Green Community Association.

Book-sorting is still appropriate for the Book Fair on 13th October. Call Carol on 280 464 or Ray on 280 311 for details and collection.-

Iden Parish Council met on the 4 September after its summer break at which 4 Parish Councillors were present together with District Councillor Keith Glazier and District Councillors Nick Ramus and Paul Osborne. Apologies were received from Parish Councillor Chrissy Rodger. There were also 6 members of the public present

Before the meeting the Chairman commented on:-

The unveiling of the Mason plaque in the Playing Field in early August. This had been a very moving occasion, with Eric Mason’s daughter being present together with a good turnout from the village, including one or two who had attended the ceremony in 1934 when the Playing Field was officially handed over the village. Thanks were again conveyed to Messrs Barham and Huggett who had designed and fitted the plaque in the Field

The Fete had been a great success and congratulations were passed on to all concerned. There was clearly a need for more helpers to be available on the day and it was hoped that a Fete representative could speak at the next Annual Parish Meeting in order to encourage new people to come forward.

Iden Stores has recently been awarded a substantial grant from the Warr partnership and this together with other funds from the landlords and leaseholder will mean that work will shortly commence to carry out a major refurbishment. In all some £60,000 is to be made available for this purpose and it is hoped to keep inconvenience to a minimum

On the other hand the Iden Stores Association which owns 20% of the freehold of Iden Stores is in real danger of having to fold through lack of sufficient people coming forward to join the Committee. The many residents who use the shop also appear to be very unwilling even to pay £1 to join the Association. The administration in keeping the Association going is considerable and it must have a good working Committee in order to achieve this.

A note is being sent to every home with the Parish newsletter this month to say that if new volunteers do not come forward who are prepared to undertake administrative duties then the Association will have to make a difficult decision about its future This could have implications for the 20% it holds of the Shop freehold. It is very sad that during the past ten years , despite numerous requests, only one person has been prepared to join the Committee that protects the Village’s interests in the shop and Post Office, although many use and rely upon its continuation.

Application forms to join the Association and Committee are now in the shop, so it is up to residents to respond positively if they want the Association to continue. The Annual General Meeting has been called for 6pm on Tuesday 16 October in the Village Hall. Residents now have five weeks to come forward.

Thanks were given to the Footpath Team who had secured the Jubilee Bench in its place by the new Walnut tree in the Playing Field

Residents had been very sad to hear that Miss Winifred Coleman had died, She had lived in the village for many years and had celebrated her 100th birthday in June. Our thoughts are with her family

There were no questions for the public

Planning Consents had been received for Cartref and the Council agreed to support the revised application from Sobraon.

The Council agreed a new Code of Conduct following the implications of the Localism Act

It was also agreed that there would be an Open Meeting in the Village Hall on Saturday 6 October between 10.30am and noon. This will be in the form of a brainstorming session when the public will be invited to give their ideas to the Council about what needs to be done to improve facilities in the Playing Field and Pavilion, the Play Area and the Village generally. Any suggestions that are accepted will then be built into the revised Village Plan and if necessary the 2013/4 budget. A flier will go out with the Parish Newsletter and it is hoped that as many residents will be able to pop in to the Village Hall during the morning.

With regard to the Village Hall, residents will have seen that this is presently undergoing refurbishment and its Chairman gave an update. It is hoped that normal service will be resumed there very shortly and that the improvements will lead to more using the facility on a regular basis.

The Iden Speed limit zone is now to be extended to the Readers Lane corner following residents’ submissions to Highways. The revised arrangements are now going out to public consultation (details on the village notice board) and it is hoped that the long awaited new speed limit will be in force by the end of the year. The consultation period ends on the 28 September

County Councillor Glazier commented upon the problems with the grass cutting and that the condition of the road surface on the Iden Road just past the Peace and Plenty was still under review

District Councillor Osborne commented upon the new arrangements for rubbish collection. It appears that residents will need a new wheelie bin for garden waste and that the present green wheelies will be used for all plastic, bottles and tins but not food waste Details will be made available in due course

District Councillor Ramus said that the problems at Camber and on surrounding areas and roads this summer had been difficult to the point of overwhelming with the considerable number of vehicles brought out by the hot weather. The District Council will be looking at the implications of all of this for the future

The next meeting will be on Tuesday 2 October in the Village Hall. This will commence at 7pm as the Police will be holding their regular consultation with the village and to hear residents’ concerns

A date for your diaries is Friday 12 October at 7pm when the young and talented pianist Thomas Harris will be giving a recital at Iden Church. Thomas will be studying music at Trinity College Cambridge and is generally regarded as a very talented young man who has had brilliant reviews wherever he has played.. This will be an evening to remember and further details will be available shortly

The mid-week services are at 9.30 am for Morning Prayer and 3,30 pm for Evening Prayer on Wednesday.

The 9.30 am service for 15th Sunday after Trinity will be Parish Communion led by the Rural Dean, Canon David Frost.

Marion Lovell, Abingworth, New England Lane