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Pic: John & Margaret Hoskins aboard Chumley,
one of the Dunkirk little ships
Historic voyage
ONE OF the little ships that rescued allied
soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk has been lovingly restored
and will be making a return trip this May, piloted by proud owner
John Hoskins of Midland Window Installations, Birstall.
John discovered the boat in 1998 while on the Thames. “I
noticed a very sad looking wreck on a slipway, visible was the
name Chumley”.
Two years later John bought the boat and had it transported home
to begin the two and a half year task of restoring her. He said:
“I think I saved her life, if she had been left any longer
someone would have just thrown a match on it.”
Chumley was built in 1934 by the Chrysler Machine Company of
Michigan as a 26 foot, four berth motor yacht for racehorse owner
Dorothy Paget. It had an 80hp petrol engine and after being shipped
to England it achieved a speed of 30mph at speed trials off the
Isle of Wight.
Chumley negotiates a lock
In 1936 Chumley had been converted into a pleasure launch, taking
up to 12 tourists around the bay at Shanklin, the Isle of Wight.
In 1939 comedian Tommy Trinder bought the boat, and accompanied
by Bud Flanagan, skippered it to Dunkirk, one of the hundreds
of little ships that rescued soldiers from the beaches.
John working on the boat in the early stages
of restoration
John’s restoration of Chumley was completed in 2003 and
she was launched at the Henley regatta. John said: “She
received a hero’s welcome as she came down stream to be
met by nineteen other little ships. The only water in her bilges
at that time were shed by all on board.”
Chumley at sea
Chumley now has a home in Birstall and in the summer can often
by seen on the Soar. In 2004 she was the official boat for the
opening of the Inland Waterways Festival in Leicester, and again
visited Henley regatta.
She will make the 65th anniversary return to Dunkirk on May 26,
leaving from Dover with around 40 of the original little ships.
New officer and a CSO
BIRSTALL IS losing its popular beat bobby
PC Dave Cole, but will receive an immediate replacement as well
as its own Community Support Officer in May.
Inspector Chris Alcott of the Syston Local Policing Unit (LPU)
made the announcement at the AGM of Birstall and Wanlip Village
Watch on April 21.
PC Cole will be joining the dog unit, and will be replaced by
PC Jamie Hughes on May 9. On May 16, Syston LPU will receive
two CSOs and Inspector Alcott expects to deploy one in Birstall
and one in Syston. They will undergo training and start working
in June.
The recently retired Chairman of the Village Watch Peter Allen
welcomed the appointment of a CSO. He said: “I am pleased
by this news, it will make quite a bit of difference to policing
in Birstall - CSOs have their own vehicles and work both day
and evening shifts.”
Chairman of Birstall Parish Council, Stuart Jones said: “If
we can have a beat officer and a CSO then I will be highly delighted.
My concern is that if we have a CSO then we could lose our beat
officer.”
At the meeting, Inspector Alcott said: “There is no way
I would ever leave Birstall without a principal beat officer.
He said he had more officers in post than ever before, in sufficient
numbers to police effectively. Modern policing involved tackling
crime proactively by targeting criminals and this takes up a
lot of resources, he said, often resulting in officers being
taken off the streets.
Inspector Alcott reported on a trial called Beat Project that
is taking place in Coalville. This aims to deploy resources so
that officers stay on the beat as much as possible, something
he would like to see extended to the Syston LPU
Comment was made from the floor about PC Cole having inadequate
transport and that effective policy would need more bobbies on
the beat.
PC Cole reported that anti-social behaviour is very much on the
increase in Birstall. “It is a very bad problem which I
feel has not peaked yet” he said.
Addressing the problem requires the Police, NHW, the Council,
parents and Youth Workers acting together, he added.
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Parish Council Notes
THE ANNUAL Parish Meeting of Birstall Parish
Council was held on April 11.
The Council heard reports from the Chairman, County Councillors
and Borough Councillors, and received the report of the Charity
Accounts.
The annual meeting was followed by the April meeting of the Council.
Mr Gavin Speed from the University of Leicester Archaeological
Services Department gave a presentation on the Iron Age remains
found on Hallam Fields.
The Council listened to residents’ comments about a planning
application at 120 Birstall Road which would involve the demolition
of a property and the erection of three dwellings. The Council
agreed to object to the application on the grounds of: inappropriate
backfill; traffic access; proximity to a tree protected by a
TPO; overlooks existing properties; incongruous development,
not in character of the area.
A resident requested that the Council considers substantial investment
in new equipment for Harrowgate Drive playing field. Cllr Tony
Fowler said the Council aims to continuously upgrade play equipment
and sought grants from wherever they were available.
Carl Gunns, the founder of Gunns Boxing Gym on Birstall Road,
requested some financial assistance from the Council for the
gym. He said the gym was an award winning, not-for-profit organisation
with around 400 members, aged 11-37.
Chairman Stuart Jones said the Council would consider the request.
Cllr Geoff Cassidy reported on the meeting he and Stuart Jones
had had with Inspector Chris Alcott to discuss policing in Birstall.
Inspector Alcott had said resources were stretched and officers
were put where they were needed most. The CSOs are coming to
the north area but Inspector Alcott could not promise one would
be sent to Birstall. Inspector Alcott welcomed the offer of the
10 Sibson Road building as a base for Birstall’s beat officer,
but has not yet taken up the offer. Inspector Alcott said Police
were aware of gangs of youth in Birstall but could only act when
they break the law. He urged residents to call 999 if they see
criminal damage. Inspector Alcott supported plans for a secure
gate and fence on the School Lane playing field.
Chairman Stuart Jones reported that the Hallam Fields development
had been attacked by vandals and that the developers now employed
a nightwatchman.
The Council agreed to fund the salaries of the youth workers
at the 10 Sibson Road drop-in - £4,500 for a year. The
centre is open on Mondays and Thursdays.
Councillors discussed the planning application for a gypsy site
on Thurcaston Road. Cllr Roger Wilson said as the site was not
in Birstall, it would be difficult to fight, and that there will
be few planning grounds for an objection. Cllr Mary Houghton
said: “Do we wish to exclude gypsies from our lifestyles,
why shouldn’t they come to the edge of Birstall?”
Several councillors commented that if permission for five caravans
is granted, the site will grow and grow. Cllr Neville Mayes said
he had relatives who lived near the Meynell’s Gorse travellers’
site and they report no problems at all.
The Council agreed they had no objections to the planning application
but wished to be involved in any conditions that may be attached
to permission, were it to be granted.
The Council agreed to object to the siting of a mobile phone
mast on the A6 near the Greengate Medical Centre.
A dog warden service, employed by the Council, has recently started
working within the Parish and has already issued fines to dog
owners for not cleaning up after their dogs. Owners whose dogs
are off the lead in Birstall’s playing fields may also be
issued with a fine.
Birstall’s early residents
A SELF SUFFICIENT farmstead community were
living on the site of Hallam Fields 2000 years ago.
Archaeologists from Leicester University have now finished their
excavation of the site.
Hallam Fields, Birstall. Late Iron Age enclosure
settlement c500BC-50AD
The excavation was undertaken following extensive archaeological
field surveys of the development area including fieldwalking,
geophysical surveys, and trial trenches.
Archeologists working on site
Archaeologists revealed evidence for a late Iron Age settlement
(c.500BC - AD50). Within this settlement evidence for three ‘roundhouse’
buildings were identified, along with other associated domestic
activity including a small scale metalworking area. Finds included
pottery, animal bone and iron objects.
Small ‘farmsteads’ like this would have been mainly
self sufficient, with some trade with larger settlements at Leicester
and Humberstone. Although enclosures of this date are relatively
common (the location of over 200 similar sites are known from
cropmarks and artefact scatters in Leicestershire and Rutland),
there are very few excavated examples in the county, and the
site at Birstall provided the opportunity to gain a better understanding
of the components of Iron Age settlements.
Some of the pottery found on the site
A full excavation report will be published in archaeological
journal ‘Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological
and Historical Society’.
The University of Leicester Archaeological Services were commissioned
by Jelson Homes to carry out an archaeological excavation at
Hallam Fields. The work was undertaken as part of the planning
conditions in advance of a proposed mixed-use development, and
was carried out between November 2004 and April 2005.
One stop floor shop
CLASSIC CARPETS on Front Street has a new
owner and a new name: John Attenborough and the Classic Carpet
Company.
John (40) has spent his whole life in the carpet trade, starting
out 23 years ago as a fitter and carpet salesman.
For 10 years he owned a shop in Uppingham, Rutland, becoming
a specialist in natural floor coverings and wooden floors.
He said: “What I aim to offer here in Birstall is my expertise
in natural floor coverings, as well as traditional carpets. I
think the Classic Carpet Company will provide something for the
area that was not here before, a business with contemporary and
exciting products.”
The Classic Carpet Company is a stockist of Rte Espina rugs,
which feature bold, exotic and contemporary designs, and Crucial
Trading natural floor coverings.
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Councillor suspended for breaching code
A BIRSTALL Parish Councillor has received
the maximum available penalty at a hearing convened by the Standards
Board for England.
Cllr Chris Clarke (79) was facing five allegations that he had
breached the Local Government Act 2000 Code of Conduct. The Standards
Panel at Charnwood Borough Council found against him on all five
counts at a five hour hearing held at Southfields, Loughborough.
Cllr Clarke was suspended for three months and was ordered to
submit a written apology. A further breach of the Code could
result in a five year suspension.
Investigation into Cllr Clarke by the Standards Board began following
a complaint about him made by the Clerk of Birstall Parish Council,
Mr Hugh Knight.
At the hearing, the Standards Panel considered five allegations
that Cllr Clarke “had breached the Code of Conduct”.
These were that he:
• failed to register his address in the Register of Members’
Interests
• failed to disclose a personal and prejudicial interest
• failed to withdraw from a meeting when a matter in which
he had a prejudicial interest was discussed [Hallam Fields development]
• failed to treat others with respect
• brought the Council into disrepute
Cllr Clarke admitted the last two allegations. He said: “Councillors
are required to uphold the law and to be accountable for their
actions. These are among the lawful requirements which underpin
the Members’ Code of Conduct. These requirements were not
being met at Birstall Parish Council but when I had tried to
raise these issues, I have been prevented from doing so. In raising
these issues I may have been in breach of the Code, but I have
been forced into that position as the only alternative to condoning
unlawful practices.”
Cllr Clarke’s behaviour at meetings had resulted in the
Police being called on four occasions to remove him.
At the hearing, Cllr Clarke maintained that the Parish Council
was acting unlawfully when it passed a Standing Order that effectively
barred him from membership of a specific committee, and that
meetings and discussions of Birstall Parish Council had been
unlawful because the required three clear days notice of meetings
had not been given.
Speaking at the hearing Mr David Abrahams the representative
of the Standards Board for England, said: “Parish Councils
are perfectly entitled to determine the composition of committees
by majority vote. Behaving in such a way that the Police are
called to meetings is no way for a responsible councillor to
behave, even if he had concerns about the legality of the proceedings.”
He added: “Cllr Clarke’s misguided campaign has severely
disrupted Birstall Parish Council and constitutes a very serious
breach of the Code.”
Mr Abrahams commented that Cllr Clarke was wrong to maintain
that the legality of the Council’s operations took precedence
over the will of the Council and the Chairman.
Sam Heath, a spokesman for the National Association of Local
Councils, told the Birstall Post: “Parish Councils are required
in law to make publicly available the date and the agenda of
council meetings three clear days before the meeting, for instance
by putting the agenda on a noticeboard. They are not lawfully
required to ensure that councillors receive agendas within three
days, because of circumstances that may arise outside the Council’s
control, such as a postal dispute. However, it is good practice
to do so”.
Three clear days does not include weekends, the day of issue
or the day of the meeting.
Cllr Clarke said: “Since January 2005 I can only assume
that my efforts have been successful, as we have been receiving
agendas with three clear days notice. I behaved as I did as I
felt I had a point to make and had exhausted all other options
for bringing this to the Council’s attention.”
Birstall Parish Council Clerk Hugh Knight said: “Mr Clarke
has been an absolute drain on council resources for as long as
I know. Such behaviour is intolerable and should not be allowed.”
At the time of going to press, the required apology from Cllr
Clarke has not yet been received.
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