Wilshamstead Parish Council

Tony Pedder

The Parish Council were sad to learn of the recent death of Tony Pedder who was the first Chairman of the newly formed Wixams Parish Council back in 2015/16.

Eric Benton was pleased to represent Wilstead at Tony's funeral celebration on Tuesday 17th December.

244 Houses Proposed For Wilstead......

As detailed previously, residents might be aware of the recent planning application, 24/01566/MAO an outline planning application for the erection of up to 149 dwellings and associated works at land to the South East of Duck End Lane.

There has also been an application made 24/02231/MAO outline application demolition of existing buildings and erection of up to 95 residential dwellings at land at Village Farm, 85 Cotton End Road.

Both these sites have had speculative applications made on them, back in 2017 and 2018. Whilst neither received planning permission at the time, it is really important residents engage in the planning consultation process for both these sites.

The Parish Council has submitted its detailed objection to both these proposed housing developments.

It will be Bedford Borough Council who consider these more recent applications. If you have not had a chance yet to engage in the consultation process and have your say for both of these applications, there is still time to submit comments to the local authority who will take them on board up until the point of determining the application.  Please send your comments to planning@bedford.gov.uk.

The Parish Council objection in full can be found as part of the associated planning documents available online by heading to the Borough Council website and the planning portal, please enter 24/01566/MAO in the search bar for the South East of Duck End Lan, and enter 24/02231/MAO for the 85 Cotton End Road one, here: https//publicaccess.bedford.gov.uk/online-applications/search.do?action=advanced.

Reminder - East West Rail Public Consultation Closes Soon

Please do take some time to review the supporting documents that form part of the East West Rail consultation, the deadline of the non-statutory consultation is 24th January 2025 which is fast approaching.

East West Rail state that feedback gathered during the consultation will help them further develop and refine the designs, which they will present at a future statutory consultation.  The consultation documents can be found

at: eastwestrail.co.uk/consultation2024.

It is worth taking some time to have a look at the documents, as although the proposed new section of railway is planned for the north of Bedford, there are a number of changes outlined in the document that will impact the Marston Vale (Bedford to Bletchey) line, plus parking for the main Bedford station being sited on part of the current Bedford Hospital car park.  So, it is likely that local travel networks will be impacted during the construction phase, as well as longer term, so it is important to try and help shape the development of this project which will see the railway line electrified as well in the near future.

If you have any questions relating to the project or this consultation, it is advised that you get in touch using contact@eastwestrail.co.uk or 0330 134 0067 or Freepost EAST WEST RAIL and their team will be happy to help.

Highways Safety In The Village

Bedford Borough Council have now completed the removal of the bus stop yellow lineage on Cotton End Road near its junction with Bedford Road close to the crossroads. The rationale for this is to encourage better parking behaviours with the aim of improving highways safety in the village centre, so there are more parking spaces available.

There is due to be a highways site meeting early in the New Year to look to move on a number of highways safety issues, as part of follow up from the highways safety site walk held back in March 2023.  The meeting will have Borough Councillor Ward representation, alongside Parish Councillors and the Manager for Traffic Operations at the Local Authority who are the statutory highways authority with responsibility for the highways network.  In addition to pushing forward action on items raised back in 2023 the Parish Council will be continuing to pursue further improvements, such as a village centre 20mph zone and speed limit extension requests at Duck End.  

Overflowing Bins In The Parish

There have been recent reports of a number of dog and general waste bins in the village not being emptied and/or misused.  The Borough Council are responsible for emptying bins in the village, apart from Longmeadow Drive which remains the responsibility of the former developer, Persimmon.

In general, the local authority empty the bins in the village on a regular schedule.

Unfortunately this was disrupted due to some staff changes which resulted for a period time in some areas across the Borough in bins not being emptied in as timely a manner as usual.  The operative issues, it is understood, have now been resolved at the local authority, so bins should be back to being emptied regularly.

If you come across an over-flowing bin then please notify the Borough Council. The best way to do this being online, through the website: www.bedford.gov.uk/environment-issues/keeping-bedford-borough-clean/littering-and-bins, so they can take follow up action.

It has also been disappointing to see the misuse of bins in the village. This spoils it for others who then are unable to access somewhere to responsibly dispose of their litter.  Misuse of bins is managed in the same way as fly-tipping. It is taken very seriously by the local authority enforcement Officers who do investigate and use their powers to issue fines to the perpetrators.  Please kindly continue to use the bins in the village sensibly, so that they remain accessible for all.

Contacting The Parish Council

The best way to contact the Parish Council is to email Lizzie (the Parish Clerk) at office@wilsteadparishcouncil.org.

Alternatively, you can call 01234 743152 or write to PO Box 1548, Bedford, MK44 5AX.

Please note the Parish Office (at the rear of the Village Hall) is open most Mondays, 9am to midday. It is worth ringing in advance to ensure it is open. Please note there will be some closure time over the festive season.

Do not forget it is always more interesting to attend a Parish Council meeting in person to see what goes on and understand the range of items covered in trying to move improvements for the Wilstead community forwards.

Dates and the agenda are advertised on the village noticeboards, with meetings on a Monday starting at 7pm in the small hall at Wilstead Village Hall. (Head to the left-hand side of the main hall building and you will see the door open which is where the Parish Council will be).  Everyone is most welcome to join us, on 6th January, 10th February and 10th March.

Welcome to 2025

As we stand on the brink of 2025 we wonder what the weather will challenge us gardeners with this year? Will it be cold and dry, cool and wet, hot and dry or just the usual British weather to keep us on our toes and give us something to talk about? Well the Wilstead Garden Club finds plenty to talk about and share, so no problem whatever the weather.

We have had a lot of comments that we are a very friendly, social group and we try to provide a variety of talks and activities throughout the year. If you would like to come to our meetings you are welcome whether you only grow weeds, have artificial plants or a keen interest in horticulture. We usually meet on the third Tuesday each month at 2.30pm in the Village Hall. The entry is £3 and there is usually an optional raffle of loosely plant related items for £1 a ticket.

Looking forward to the new year, our Tuesday 21st January meeting will be our round up of the highs and lows of our indoor and outdoor exploits during 2024. As the climate becomes less predictable this discussion becomes more useful. This is a casual meeting where we share views and ideas while enjoying refreshments. Usually some unusual hack or idea is discussed.

Subject to confirmation of the details 2025 plans are:

21st January - discussion of gardening in 2024 and refreshments.

18th February - wildlife

18th March - propagating

15th April - indoor plant care

20th May - plant swap

June, July and August - garden visits

16th September - lawns

21st October - quiz

18th November - seasonal activity

December- Christmas meal

We wish everyone a Happy New Year and look forward to seeing you at our meetings.

Maralyn, Lynda, Viv, Mary, Julie, Annette and Chris

your Garden Club Committee

Wilstead & Wixams Community Art Group

A Happy and prosperous New Year to you all. As an Art Group we meet just to enjoy painting or drawing together with others. It has a strong social element and those who come usually go away happier than when they came!

If you're interested in art and would love to try out your talent, why not join us? To make it clearer, we do not have a resident art teacher but from time to time we may invite a guest artist. Our members are always glad to advise where they can and to encourage you in whatever medium you choose to use.

You need to bring your own materials, but we can provide some equipment, easels and paints etc. Your first session is free and, if you decide to continue and become a member, it will be £3 a session when you're able to come.

We usually meet in the Village Hall on Mondays from 2pm-4pm. We don't meet on Bank Holidays. Our group has members of all abilities, using a variety of mediums. You might like sketching in pencil, charcoal, pen and ink, whatever. You can also paint in watercolour, acrylic or even oil or in a mixed media. Do whatever you like. We'd love you join us.

Enquiries: Michael Bradley: Mobile 07526 939164.

Email: revmichael14@outlook.com

Pre School News

Happy new year to you all!

I hope you all had a peaceful Christmas and celebrated the start of the new year in style.

Another year has flown by and we are already busy at Pre School this new term welcoming our January new starters and our returning children after the festive break.

The lead-up to Christmas is always extremely busy at Pre School with lots of Christmas art and craft going on and working in our Santa's grotto. The children are always super excited which is just wonderful to see.

Quick mention of our fantastic Nativity performance. The children were simply amazing on the day, it all came together nicely and I'm sure all who came to watch it will remember it for all the wrong reasons as much as all the right reasons!

I love it.

December was a very busy month too for fundraising with our Christmas bazaar. A HUGE thank you to all who came and supported it, the parents and the volunteers who helped on the day (Mandy, Cath and Nicky. We simply couldn't do the event without these volunteers and parents so we really do appreciate it.

We mustn't forget of course the legendary Father Christmas who was a delight with the children. Thank you !

I thank the staff who give their time on the day and the many hours prior to the event,  They really are a fabulous bunch.

I would like to thank the following for their kind donations towards our event:

Bedford Blues Rugby Club, Bedford Town Football Club, Woburn Safari Park, 9th Kitchen, The Hermit of Redcoats, Kids World, Hotel Chocolate, Wixams Co-op, Tesco's, The Woolpack, Judy for her raffle donation and the Post Office for their donations of buns.

We really couldn't do it without the support of companies like these.

I thank all the parents who sent in chocolates/ bottles and sold raffle tickets prior to the event and those who helped on the day.

Can I thank my friends for coming up trumps and buying lots of tickets too!!   (And coming along on the day and helping us set up in the morning. Thank you Becky!)

I really hope everyone who came enjoyed the afternoon. We raised over £1,800 which is amazing. Thank you all so much.

Going back to November our quiz night was another successful evening raising over £700 which again is fantastic!

Thank you to all who continue to come back and those newcomers who haven't experienced a quiz night with Sammy.

Can I also thank the Flower and Produce show for their kind donation back in September. It's lovely that we support other groups in the village. So I thank them for thinking of us.

Look out for our fundraising events coming in the months ahead.

Julia

WILSTEAD VILLAGE HALL NEEDS YOU NOW, MORE THAN EVER OR IT COULD CLOSE!

At the time of writing this (just before Christmas), we do not have a new caretaker in place and all the bookings since the sad deaths of Brian and Sandra Spinks have been covered voluntarily by members of the Committee. However, this cannot continue and so please, if you are at all interested in the caretaker role, be it only for 1 or 2 days a week, do contact Barbara or Angela (see contact details below).

In May, we will be holding our AGM when a new Committee is formed. If we do not have enough people to volunteer to stand, then the Hall would be threatened with closure because it cannot operate without a Management Committee. Please give the idea of standing much thought, as to close a venue used by the local community would be horrific! We meet about 5 times a year to discuss the running of the Hall and how to improve it all. If you are slightly interested, you are welcome to attend the next meeting on January 16th at 7.30 in the small hall. Please inform Angela.

Due to the age of the hedges at the front of the hall, this winter, we are having the hedges professionally pollarded to encourage new growth and a healthier hedge in the long term. We know it won't look good to start with, but over a couple of years, the improvement will be visible.

To find any information about the hall, T's & C's, rates of hire, hall availability and to make a booking via the On-line Diary etc., please visit:  wilsteadvillagehall.org.uk

Deputy-Chairperson – Barbara Seamark

seamarkbarbara@gmail.com 07709573475

Secretary – Angela Fosbrook

fosbrookangela@gmail.com  01234 294692

Wilstead Bowls Club

A Happy New Year from all at Wilstead Bowls Club.

Another year over, thought we could have a look back at some of our highlights of 2024.

A busy season outdoors, running April to September, although the weather could have been kinder for most of it. Our Mens Four made it as far as The National Finals at Leamington.

In-house club-knock out matches were played competitively and in good spirit. The finals weekend included a very nice buffet lunch on the Sunday. The Trophy Presentation Lunch took place in November with a new buffet format and 60 members attending.

The indoor Short Mat season has again been running since September playing on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons and Friday evenings  and sessions are always well attended. These will continue until April when we start playing outdoors again.

Socially, we've had Coffee Mornings, Afternoon Tea, Bingo, Race and Quiz Evenings.

In 2025 we are celebrating our 40th Anniversary and looking not only to have our usual favourite events but also put on a number of others, for both playing and social members, including a hog roast in the summer.

We ended the year on a sad note tragically losing two of our active members Brian and Sandra Spinks, in a car accident at the end of November. We will be holding an event on Saturday 11th January to celebrate their lives.

Please note: the main Ladies and Mens toilets will be refurbished in late January, supported by grants from the Harpur Trust and the Wixamtree Trust.

If you need any club information you can contact.

Sue Marchant - Club Secretary

07716 676383  sue@marchantonline.com

Or visit our website. www.wilsteadbowlsclub.co.uk

All Saints Church

United in Faith Welcoming All

The services have been planned for  January as follows:

Sunday 5th January 11.00am

Morning Praise Helen Harbron- Applegarth

Sunday 12th January 11.00 am

Holy Communion Fr Paul Messam

Sunday 19th January 11.00 am

Holy Communion  Rev Mike Stewart.

Sunday 26th January 11.00 am

Holy Communion   Fr Steve Marsh

The Advent Fair and Christmas Tree Festival was a great success and we raised the sum of £700.00 for church funds. Thanks to everybody who worked hard to make it such a success -stall holders, the ladies who worked tirelessly in the kitchen to provide a delicious range of refreshments and all who came to support us.

The church looked beautiful with a range of trees from village organisations.

Thanks to all who brought trees.

The Chapter House with its roof problems  is still awaiting a decision from the Insurance Company.

We are planning a Coffee Morning on Wednesday 15th January at 10.30 am in the Chapter House.

May we wish you all a Happy New Year

Robert Heley

Wilstead Primary School

We started January super early with students back on Friday 3rd January, I would like to think we're all raring to go!

This term will be busy with a science theme, all classes will be joining in, we hope to have an astronomy evening too looking at the stars. If there are any local astronomers that would like to join in, drop us a message or pop in, we would love you to take part.

Fundraising and parental engagement have been keywords since the start of the year and we are so pleased to say we have had a positive reaction from families and the local community.

Fundraising last term was epic with a read-a-thon, bake off, sweet store sales, IQ card, choir, scholastic book fair and Christmas nativity shows.  We thank all our families and neighbours for their support.

We hope you have all had a good start to 2025.

Miss Brown

Headteacher