The Parish Council are pleased to announce that the Pétanque Court at Black Notley playing fields is now open for games, both serious and fun.

Details of the first group to use it, organised by Bruce Bickmore, is on village notice boards. Everyone is welcome to come and try it.

Thank you to our contractors for their sterling work both installing and fencing the area.

BNPC

First a fuller report will be the minutes, prepared by the Parish Clerk for the next meeting 2024.

This will contain details of those present and the necessary legal items that took place.

After an introduction by Cllr Ford the Chairmans report was read out. This gave details of the main sub committees and that reports would be received from them individually. Thanks were given to the councillors and the three employees of BNPC.

Reports were received from District Councillor Cunningham and County Councillor Playle.

Cllr Smith gave information on the Planning Sub Committee. What it does, its time constraints and the variety of items it is asked to investigate.

The Green Spaces Sub Committee report details the works carried out on the playing fields, The Millennium Green and Cokers Peace. Whilst all the good items were there it was sad to have to mention the vandalism and its effect on our facilities. Looking forward the plans are in place for more seasonal plantings and tree management.

The 20’s Plenty and Witham Road speed reports have been shares on Facebook and hopefully soon the BNPC speed watch group will be in action.

Organisational reports were received from :-

St Peter and St Pauls Church – Rev Rachel gave details of their work and stresses all the village were welcome.

Cornerstones Church – Matt and Olive spoke about their weekly events and offered leaflets to this end.

Scouts etc – Gavin said 150 children and young people are involved and a new younger group is being formed.

PC James Draper – Concentrated on speed and anti-social behaviour. He left a document on this.

Discovery Club – Jean explained that their crafting is still taking place at her house,

BNCA – Chaz detailed some of the clubs that operate there.

A Q&A session produced questions on :-

Booking for the Recycling Centre, answered by Cllr Playle.

The Bund on Hatfield Drive was tackled by Cllr Cunningham as he is already involved with this.

Bakers Lane Litter was answered by The Clerk who already has BDC looking at it.

Humps in Witham Road by Stantons Farm and the overhanging fence are been investigated by ECC.

The road junction by the War Memorial, whilst being looked at by Local Highways will be impacted by Gt Notley East so no definite solution.

Information was given on forthcoming elections and how to stand.

Comments have been received about the event and some or all of the ideas should be discussed/implemented when the next Annual Assemble is planned,

Approximately two and a half acres of tranquil open space for which Black Notley Parish Council is the Trustee. It is situated at the rear of the Village Hall and the Scout HQ and is accessed by a gate to the side of the Village Hall from The Street.

There are a couple of benches situated around the perimeter and in 2019 the Parish Council installed a large oak table with four large oak benches in the middle of the green.  The following year a pergola was added with the intention of growing native plants around it to provide some natural shade in the summer. Sadly, during the summer of 2022 these items were vandalised, much of the damage has since been repaired but new or more extensive repairs may need to be made to the pergola before planting can proceed.

As well as seeking to improve the biodiversity of this area for the fauna and flora the Parish Council is striving to ensure that it remains a place of natural beauty that can be enjoyed by all, so, please take a stroll, sit for a while, meet friends, study the wildlife and just enjoy the space.

As part of improving the biodiversity of the area the Management Plan sets out the need to divide the area into thirds and to carry out strimming of one third on a three yearly rotational basis.  The path going around the meadow and to the table in the centre has been increased to a width of two metres to create a natural path for which all visitors are requested to adhere to.

The annual strim takes place in the autumn between September and November. It won’t have neat edges and we will seek to make it a varied shape (as much as possible) as this will allow greater diversity.  The cuttings will lie for two to three days to allow the wildlife to move safely before it is collected.   The Parish Council will be looking for volunteers in the autumn to assist with the collection of the cuttings and piling up of them in a dedicated area on site away from water (this will prevent nutrient build up in the soil), so dust off your rakes in the autumn!

Dear Parishoners…. A date for your diary;

Monday 6th March

The Parish Council is required by law to hold an Annual Parish Meeting, which in the old days was a dry old formal meeting which hardly anybody attended!

This year, we would like to turn the meeting into a social occasion, have a glass of wine and a nibble…

We shall celebrate village life, local clubs, societies and activities, with an opportunity to debate current issues.

We have hired the Black Notley Community Association Hall in John Ray Gardens and invited local clubs and organisations to each give a short 3 minute presentation about their activities.

The Parish Council will also make a brief report on its activities this year and future plans.

We plan to start at 7.30pm, aiming to get the meeting concluded within one hour.

After this, there will be an opportunity to socialise with members of the Parish Council, representatives of village organisations and other residents.

There will be a Q & A session if you have any issues you wish to raise, with a chance to meet the councillors, representatives of clubs and societies in the village and other villagers for a chat.

It would be great to see you there!

Any questions?
Contact our clerk, Helen Waterfield;
Email: info@blacknotley-pc.gov.uk