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Pic: little angel Erin Smith
THE ANGELIC faces (below) at Woodland Day
Nursery's nativity play belong to (l-r) Katie Handford, Anjali
Mistry and Rebecca Jervis.
27 children from the nursery on Park Road took part in 'Woopsadaisy
Angel', performed at the Methodist church.
New car park
SHOPKEEPERS ON Sibson Road have welcomed
a proposal by Birstall Parish Council to extend the Sibson Road
car park.
The Parish Council want to create extra parking spaces on the
site of the old and unused bowling green, pictured above, beside
the existing shoppers' car park at the Triangle. Around 60 extra
spaces could be created.
Parish Council Clerk Hugh Knight said: "The Council recognise
the need for additional car parking and this is a site that suits
itself for that purpose." The Council is currently investigating
costings and sources of funding for the project.
Elaine Murphy, owner of Health and Wholefoods, said: "It's
about time this end of the village was thought about a bit more,
I feel we've been left behind. We've very busy and this car park
is a wonderful idea, it will make a hell of a difference for
locals and people from surrounding villages who come to shop."
David Michael of J Michael butchers said: "It's a very good
idea, the village will grow with the start of Hallam Fields -
more people means more parking is needed. It will need to be
designed tastefully, in keeping with the area."
Ian Wardle of Birstall DIY said: "It's a good idea, we need
more car parking down this end. It would be best if the access
is from the island straight onto the new car park."
Dazzling display
Pic: (l-r) Jamie (12), Dave, Jeanette and
Zoe (13) Armstrong
THOUSANDS OF Christmas lights transformed
a family home into a dazzling display of festive cheer.
The Armstrong family at 91 Gwendolin Avenue have been decorating
their house for the last four years.
Dave Armstrong said: "It takes us three days of non stop
work to put up the lights but we really like them and it's nice
to see the kids enjoying the display."
This year for the first time the family have put a collection
box in the front garden to raise money for Cancer Research and
have collected more than £200.
Student debaters
THREE STUDENTS from Longslade College are
through to the semi-finals of the 'YouthSpeaks' competition.
Christine Willey, Jane Ashton and Mitul Gadhia beat off fierce
competition from a number of local schools both state and independent
to win the latest round of the Rotary Club YouthSpeaks competition
for debating and public speaking.
The team goes forward to the regional semi-final in February.
Principal Dr Mike Griffith said: "This victory is just an
example which shows the wealth of talent we have at Longslade.
Thanks also to the staff who supported the students in their
work."
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Christmas fun
Pic: Vishal Mistry enjoys his Christmas meal.
CHILDREN AT Birstall Rainbow Nursery celebrated
Christmas with a meal, a nativity play and a carol concert.
"This is a wonderful time when all the children and staff
sit down and partake in the Christmas activities - a traditional
meal with all the trimmings and Carol's special home made Christmas
log, not to mention all the crackers that were pulled" said
Nursery Manager Paula Wright.
In December, all the children leaving to attend school in the
Spring term received a certificate at a graduation evening. "All
the children played while parents had a chance to chat to each
other and say their goodbyes" said Paula.
Pic: Jack, Vishal, Emma, Lewis, Lucy, Matthew,
Sofia, Thomas and Shereen at the graduation evening.
Parish Council notes
A FULL meeting of Birstall Parish Council
was held on December 12.
Residents from School Lane asked the Council about the newly
installed gate and height restriction barrier at the entrance
to the School Lane playing field. They were informed that the
gate is open from dawn to dusk and that special arrangements
are made when the Village Hall is used in the evening.
A resident commented that he had seen young people playing football
on the car park at 10.30pm on a Saturday night. He added that
any person with an adjustable spanner could dismantle sections
of the fence beside the gate in minutes. He was advised that
the work had not yet been completed.
A resident commented that because vans could no longer drive
into the car park because of the height restriction barrier,
the parking problems on School Lane had become worse on match
days, causing a hazard. He suggested that the barrier be lifted
on match days.
The clerk reported that the new litter bins for Harrowgate Drive
playing field should have now arrived and be installed soon.
Robin Brown was appointed as an assistant Heritage Warden.
The Council agreed to support residents of Rosetree Avenue who
are objecting to a planning application for the erection of four
houses and four flats on land adjacent to Dhillons supermarket,
21 Rosetree Avenue. The development of the site was supported
but it was felt that this should be used for small town houses
rather than flats which were not in keeping with the area and
would include more vehicle parking. It was agreed that the grounds
for objection were impact on the street scheme, traffic hazards,
dominance and overlooking neighbouring properties and car parking
implications.
The Council agreed to make several improvements to the new cemetery
building for disabled users.
The Council have agreed a precept, or budget, for the year 2006/07
of £297,400, an increase of £4,400 on the previous
year, or 1.5%.
From this sum, the amount allocated to wages and insurances is
£178,600 a reduction from the previous year of £31,000.
The amount allocated to Admin Costs, the Estates and Recreation
budget, Health and Safety and Tree Planting is £42,700.
Amounts allocated to Accumulating Funds include the following:
o Play equipment/safety surfacing £8,000
o School Lane playing field security 'vandal tax' £10,000
o Contingency £30,000 (to provide for emergencies)
o Village Hall Maintenance £4,000
o Car Park/Sibson Road enhancement £5,000. There is an
anticipated carry forward balance in this fund of £20,900
o Noticeboards/Rubbish/Dog waste bins £2,000
o Cricket Pavilion £10,000. The current balance of the
fund is £20,000
o Vehicle/tractor £5,600
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Gunn’s raffle night
Pic: Lynsey & Tia Sargeant with Dean Vendyback
from the Posy Bowl
CARL GUNNS Gym held their Christmas raffle
at the Village Hall in Birstall just before Christmas.
The event was again well supported by gym members and Birstall
public and also some of the Birstall traders. Visitors enjoyed
a buffet, disco, karaoke and a raffle with over £1000 worth
of prizes. Gunns Gym secretary Andy Corbett and Carl Gunns would
like to take this opportunity to thank Pete the greengrocer for
his massive basket of fruit, Classic Carpet Company for their
rug, Influence for two watches and a handbag and Dean and Miranda
Vendyback of the Posy Bowl for the Betty Boop figure. Also a
big thank you to all the girls who helped with the buffet. The
first prize of the raffle was won by Tia Sargeant who chose the
Betty Boop figure.
News from our bobby
OVER THE past month we have been fortunate to receive a new
Police Office in Birstall. For those who may not already know,
it is located off Sibson Road car park and will be visited at
various times 24/7 by officers from Syston Police Station. It
is also anticipated it will be used by Police Officers in specialised
departments such as Dog Mobiles and Firearms officers.
The location of the office will primarily be beneficial for myself
and the local Community Support Officer Mark Butler. It will
allow us to have a long term base in the village, cutting out
the need to travel back and forth to Syston.
I would like to extend our thanks for the office to the Birstall
Parish Council and the Neighbourhood Watch for giving us the
opportunity to have a base in the village itself.
Over the past month there have been three Thefts from unattended
Motor Vehicles in Birstall. It is often the case in these types
of crime that the criminal has every opportunity to steal items
from vehicles with minimum risk. This is due to vehicles either
being left insecure whilst unattended or valuables being kept
in plain view in the vehicle for all to see. A few simple steps
can prevent such crimes such as locking the vehicle and placing
valuables out of site.
There have also been two Burglary Dwellings in the area over
the past 30 days. In one case the offender engaged in a conversation
with the victim at the front door whilst the co-offender let
himself in the back and stole items from the house. It is a sad
fact that the majority of victims in such crimes are elderly
and vulnerable. The offender at the front door will often claim
to be working for an agency to keep the resident's attention
away from the fact his accomplice is burgling the house. If you
do have visitors you do not recognise please take precautions
such as locking the back door before you answer the front. I
would like to request the residents of Birstall to keep an extra
eye on those in our community who may be vulnerable to such events
and report any incidence of suspicious behaviour to our Police
Control Centre.
Incidents of antisocial behaviour in the village have continued
over the last month with a few mindless individuals causing petty
damage to various homes and privately owned property causing
a great deal of hurt and distress to those involved.
We have made several arrests in relation to this behaviour and
continue to gather evidence against those who perpetrate such
actions. It is however acknowledged that a small minority of
youths are responsible for these problems and the majority of
young people in Birstall are law abiding. We will continue to
gather information on those who will not respect other people's
rights to a peaceful life and take any action possible in an
attempt to combat such problems.
Over the past few months, overall crime in Birstall is down significantly
compared to this time last year. I like to think this is due
to not only the hard work of officers at Syston Police Station,
but also the invaluable help from Neighbourhood Watch, the Parish
Council and residents of Birstall.
If you do have any information relating to criminal offences
or would like to report a criminal offence (but not an emergency),
please contact the control centre on 0116 222 2222. If you have
any information you would like either myself or PCSO 6611 Mark
Butler to be aware of, please leave us a voicemail on 0116 222
2222 Ex.5675. Our collar numbers are our identification numbers.
All staff at Syston Local Police Station hope you had a Merry
Christmas and Happy New Year.
From PC 826 Jamie Hughes
England player joins Birstall
A CRICKET coaching clinic inside the warmth
of Mountsorrel's Soar Valley Centre helped around 20 children
improve their cricketing skills.
Organised by Andy Corbett of Birstall Village Cricket club, young
people aged nine to 17 were put through their paces by coaches
from the Cricket Coaching Academy.
Also helping out was former England player, the Leicestershire
cricketer Darren Maddy, who received a cheque for £50 from
the club - a donation for his benefit year: 2006. He said: This
is a very kind donation, I'm very grateful for the support of
local clubs and teams around the county."
A professional player for 15 years, Darren (31) made his England
Test debut in 1999 and won two county championships with Leicestershire
in 1996 and 1998.
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Girls enjoy feast of football
AROUND 40 girls from Birstall's two primary
schools took part in a football coaching course in November.
It culminated on December 3 with a football festival and presentation
held at the Birstall United Juniors Football Club, with representatives
from the County FA attending to present the girls with their
certificates and kick off the mini football games and activities.
Mary Rudkin of the Leicestershire and Rutland county FA Development
team and Birstall United Juniors Girls teamed up to deliver coaching
to Year 3 and 4 girls from Riverside and Highcliffe Primary schools
in the village, with about 40 girls taking part.
Cathy Scragg, manager of the girls section at Birstall United
Juniors said: "The 3 Lions Festival is a festival of football
activities developed by the Football Association specifically
for young people. It offers players a quality experience supervised
by The Football Association approved coaches and the opportunity
to improve their football techniques and skills in a safe and
well organised environment.
It is hoped that some of the girls will continue to train with
the Club on a regular basis and join the teams that will be entering
the League next season. Girls aged 6-10 years of age are welcome,
either at the festival or to train with the Club."
The course has been run as part of The FA School - Club Link
Programme, which is football's commitment to the delivery of
one strand of the Physical Education and School Sport Club Links
(PESSCL) strategy document. This strategy sets out to ensure
that all children, whatever their circumstances or abilities,
should be able to participate in and enjoy physical education
and sport.
The Football Association is engaged in the programme in order
to maximise the investment of this funding and to ensure that
young children have the opportunity to move from structured school
football, within and beyond the curriculum, to a safe, fun and
progressive football club in the community.
The course is designed to promote the sustainable nature of linking
football in education to community-based clubs by running a school-link
programme, leading to festivals and giving young people an opportunity
to play football in a fun and organised environment.
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