Ossett News Posted October 10, 2021 Report Share Posted October 10, 2021 Week ending Saturday 9th October 2021 One week it is cold, one week it is warm and then this week it’s been wet and windy. How are we supposed to know which season it is? I understand that the next few days will be much warmer than usual for October – no more rain please! On Monday evening I attended the monthly meeting of Horbury Village Partnership. Our planned venue was unavailable, so we met in Bar 59 on Queen Street. What a great venue. Cosy, warm and very welcoming. The meeting was productive. It was agreed that we will be installing the wall mounted Christmas trees, as per last year, but with a few more. This is being done with secured funding from Horbury’s Common Land Trust. The same funding will allow the Christmas Light Switch-on event to go ahead. Planning is now in full flow. It is hoped that we will have entertainment, Santa Claus & possibly donkeys! Put this date in your diary, times to be confirmed, Friday 26th November 2021. As in previous years, there will be a free selection box from Santa for each child under 11 who attends. It’s a great pleasure for me to sponsor this gift along with my trade union UNITE. I will also be supporting the Friends of Illingworth Park and the Pride in Horbury Bridge groups with their Christmas activities. More information over the next few weeks. With Horbury Library we will be holding our annual Pumpkin Carving competition. Judging will be on Saturday 30th October at the library, more information about timings next week. This is the 3rd year I have been involved in this event as it goes from strength to strength. Pumpkins should be available for collection from Thursday 21st October, on a strictly first come basis. There will be 2 age groups, under 6 years of age and 7 to 11 years old. A first and second prize in each age group of a £10 and £5 book token for use in Darling Reads on Horbury High Street. On Tuesday evening I attended a meeting of the Pride in Horbury Bridge group, at which around 20 residents were present. A number of issues were raised, which I have taken away for further investigation. On a real positive note the upgrading of Reid Parks play equipment is due to be completed over the next few days. This installation of new flooring and equipment has been funded by Wakefield Council and has been a joint venture with Friends of Horbury’s Parks. Another great job. I am hoping that the recent road closure of Storrs Hill, has permitted the repairs to be carried out on the street lighting in this area. The underground cable, which provided the electricity had broken. The electricity supply company should now have resolved the problem and lighting should now be available. The Leader of Wakefield Council Cllr Denise Jeffery has created a budget to allow for investment in our smaller town centres across the Wakefield District. The first part of this project was for South Elmsall, South Kirby and Moorthorpe. Hemsworth was next, followed by Ossett and then Horbury. The first meeting with Council Officers to discuss what we would like to be considered was held on Wednesday of this week. I was present and can report that the meeting has resulted in some great ideas being proposed. A schedule of work will be created along with timescales. This is a long-term project which I will keep you updated on as this great project develops. The Senior Citizens’ Support Group have held two great events this week. Wednesday was their regular twice-monthly coffee morning, where circa 100 people met, had coffee and cake and a good natter. On Thursday it was their annual Harvest Festival event. Coffee, a free lunch and 2 informative talks, giving the 100 or so people present a great afternoon out. One of the talks was about remembering how we grew vegetables during the Second World War, using the Dig for Victory campaign. This was very well received, with many present remembering and taking part in the campaign. The second talk was about welcoming wildlife into your garden. Some simple ideas were given to help you encourage wildlife visitors to your garden. The Friends of Horbury’s Parks have started a JustGiving page to raise funds to buy several wooden picnic benches. These will be installed in Carr Lodge & Reid Parks and the Sowood play area next Spring & Summer, if we raise enough funds. If you are able to support this great community idea, please visit their page and make a donation – thank you. www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/friendsofhorburysparks?utm_id=1&utm_term=2VRerJrbP&fbclid=IwAR2vOkg5M5maFKSVmaJz0k7hpyM_yNDR2kwya0KfHCGzutcTclFT2UP-4FE At my South Ossett advice session in September, was brought to my attention, a pavement issue on Goring Park Avenue. This was reported to the Council and has now been rectified. The picture shows the before and after. The area has also been fully swept and the road marked out for repairs over the coming months. For information, some of the repairs to our roads are carried out by outside contractors. These contractors are in great demand, mainly due to the amount of backlogged work across the whole of the UK. It means that there is a delay, often months, between a road being marked out for major work and the work being completed. Nearly every Council in the country is experiencing these issues, Wakefield is not unique. Other issues raised by residents this week have included • Trees on Wakefield District Housing land and how they impact on car parking • Drivers parking in resident parking only streets, without permits & blocking drives • On street waste bins being used by residents as overflows for their wheelie bins The Friends of Illingworth Park met on Saturday for a park tidy up for winter season. I could not join the group as I have been full of cold, but not man-flu yet! The group has collected circa 20 bags of rubbish, detritus, weeds and clippings from across the park. However, because of their great wok, I bet Illingworth Park looks in great shape for winter. COVID has not gone away. The Council now has a massive backlog of work. This includes roads, street lighting, pavement repairs and path clearing. There is no quick solution to this, and as Winter now approaches, the impact on the backlog will be slow. Let us hope that COVID is well on its way to passing and we can get back to some sort of normal. This is a big ask, and all we can do is take care and be safe. Please keep safe and take care in these difficult times and if you need help, give me a shout! Darren View the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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