Winstred Hundred Parish Council
Supporting the local community
The Friends of St Mary’s Peldon are holding their annual Highland Fling on Saturday 8th February in Peldon Village Hall (7 for 7.30pm).
All are welcome to join us for this ever-popular traditional Burns Night supper followed by Scottish dancing. So why not dig out your dancing shoes and tartans, for a really enjoyable evening? Tickets £8 (children £5) in advance from Sally 735931.
Update, 7TH February : THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT.
The Wigborough’s Christmas Fair is taking place on Saturday 7th December between 10am-12pm at St. Stephen’s Church, Great Wigborough. Featuring:
… there is really something for everybody to enjoy. All proceeds will go to the Parochial Church Council of Gt. & Lt. Wigborough.
SatNav – postcode is CO5 7RH
St Mary the Virgin, Peldon sees a welcome 4th return of Quire-Octavia and Quire-Towering Angels on 9th November.
These two lively groups from Quire (The Colchester World Music Community Choir), will present a programme of love songs, drinking songs,humorous songs and seasonal songs and, along the way, help raising funds for the education of a student in Uganda who is sponsored by St Mary’s PCC.
Starting at 7:30pm, tickets on the door: £10 (con. £8) incl. refreshments or phone Bill Tamblyn on 735 770 for reservations.
Profits to the Tuan Trust a registered charity.
Quire (with Octavia) CD SHout! – hear extracts on www.quire.org.
With the centenary of the First World War fast approaching, The Friends of St Mary’s, Peldon, are pleased to welcome back Julian Whybra to present a lecture, entitled ‘Lost on the Somme : a story of unfulfilled potential and promise.’
Between July and November 1916, 420,000 British troops perished (60,000 of these on the first day of the battle alone) and thousands upon thousands more were wounded, making the Battle of the Somme one of the costliest battles in terms of human life ever fought. Why were so many lives lost? Who were these men and what might they have become, had they lived? What might have been..?
‘Much of the noblest youth and promise of England has gone untimely into the dark.’
You are invited to join the Friends in St Mary’s Church Peldon on Wednesday 23rd October, starting at 7.30pm, for what will undoubtedly be a harrowing story of the devastation and tragedy of so many lives lost in the Battle of the Somme.
Tickets £8 in advance: 01206 735770 or on the door. (Not suitable for children.)
Colchester Council Community Zone Wardens are organizing a range of activities for teens in East Mersea which are readily accessible for local youngsters:
Hosted at East Mersea Outdoor Centre, the Zone Wardens are offering a FREE adventure course with archery (weather permitting) or caving with 10 spaces available per session, Sessions are on saturday 26th October OR Saturday 23rd November between 9:30am – 12:45pm (meeting at reception 9:15). Note a parental consent form will be required for this activity.
Spaces must be booked in advance – if your are interested please contact any one of the Community Zone Wardens listed below.
Hosted at Mersea Primary School every Monday these afford the opportunity to dance to the latest chart music with qualified Dance Instructor, Abbie. LImited to 30 spaces, the sessions run between 6:00pm – 7:00pm.
For more information, or to book your place, please contact Steve or Tim listed below.
The Chairman of the Wgborough’s Village Hall Management Committee has issued a progress update including details of:
To find out more read the full report.
How good it was to see so many residents at the AGM in June.
Since then the Committee has met three times. All Officers were willing to continue in their previous roles so once again we have Melanie Newton as Secretary, John Hutchinson as Treasurer and I continue as Chairman.
We have continued exploring, inasmuch as we can, the potential projects we described at the AGM – the possible use of St Stephen’s Church, the search for green space in the village and the possibility of investing in Peldon’s planned new village hall.
We have discussed and rejected the possibility of using St Nicholas’ Church in Little Wigborough as a community meeting place. This was suggested at the AGM but we felt that the site was too remote, the access along
Our current focus is very much on preparing for the sale of the land in
Preliminary discussions have begun with the Planning Department at Colchester Borough Council about our proposed outline planning application. As a result of feedback at this early stage we shall probably ask for two detached houses on the site. But there is a way to go before we are in a position to firm up on the application and then share the thinking with residents before proceeding to apply to the Charity Commission for permission to sell the site.
At the AGM we were given a mandate to develop a method of postal voting so that residents unable to attend annual meetings may still vote on the issues raised there. We are currently working out the details of a process which we hope will be acceptable to the Charity Commission so that we can use it at next year’s AGM.
As a Committee we want to explore more deeply how community life and aspirations for family recreational activities have changed since the old hall was last in use. We shall be seeking to improve our understanding via a questionnaire and possibly focus groups. We are mindful that any investment we make must satisfy all the legal constraints laid upon us, be financially sustainable and also deliver appropriate benefits for all the residents of the Wigboroughs. We do not want to squander the legacy left to us by earlier generations by inappropriate investment.
We have now established a list of e-mail addresses to keep in closer contact with Wigboroughs residents and others who have an interest in our activities. Please contact me ([email protected]) if you wish to be added to the list. We also publish information on the Parish Council’s website www.winstred100.org and this can be found under the Community Section of the Main Menu.
Jinny Gale
Chairman WVHMC
The Romantic Piano – a recital by Voigt Piano TrioThe Friends of St Marys Peldon are delighted to be welcoming Voigt Piano Trio for this recital on aturday 21st September starting at 7:30pm.
They will feature classic al chamober music including popular works by Pachmaninoff, Schumann & Brahms. For leader, Daniel Law, senior piano accompanist at Colchester Institute, this will be a welcome return to the idyllic surroundings of this ancient & lovely church.
Tickets are bookable in advance (call 735770) or, if available, at the door for £10 (£8 concessions)
Welcome to the peldonweb.co.uk page on the Winstred Hundred Parish Council Website. This parish council represents Peldon, Great & Little Wigborough and Salcott cum Virley. The broadband offer includes Layer Breton, Abberton and Langenhoe.
Superfast Wireless Internet up to 64Mbs is arriving shortly in Peldon, Great and Little Wigborough, Abberton, Langenhoe, Salcott cum Virley and Layer Breton
Full information is shown on this page. Please scroll down or jump to the relevant section use the links below
Background
How wireless connection works
Costs and choosing your package
Register interest
Launch event
Contact and further information
County Broadband Leaflet
Like many rural communities, we have had to rely on old copper and aluminium networks of telegraph wires for internet connection. The capacity of these wires is not sufficient for us all to have the speed of internet connection we desire and because our villages are spread over a wide area, those people furthest from the telephone exchange often cannot receive any signal at all. (Distance degrades the signal strength).
It is unlikely that this will change. That our telephone exchange will be upgraded and our many miles of village roads will be dug up to replace our copper wire network with fast fibre optic cable now used for fast urban internet connection. It is just not economic for Internet Providers to invest in our villages. We do not have enough houses per mile of cable laid to make it worth their while. There are some plans to connect villages with optic fibre paid for by government grants but there is no certainty of this and the limits on speed will probably be circa 12Mbs, not Superfast.
In our villages we are going to get a Superfast Internet connection. This ranges to 64Mbs which typically is only available in the UK’s super connected cities. It is capable of running Skype, TV, feature films etc. Our new internet connection to homes will be wireless rather than cable. Around the world wireless is a proven method of connection. Our network will use hardware manufactured by Motorola and will be paid for by a £60,000 grant from Abberton Reservoir Community Fund, which was secured by our villages Parish Council.
About 40 villages in East Anglia already have this technology. Locally this includes West Bergholt, Aldham and Eight Ash Green, which is supplied by Aldham based County Broadband, who are Colchester Borough Councils chosen partner. Our internet supply will be come into our villages via a receiver on the top of Peldon Church tower, households will receive the signal via an aerial probably positioned on their TV antenna. Many of these aerials will also relay the signal to neighbours, so forming the network. Our villages have been carefully surveyed and the network planned to ensure maximum coverage.
Connection, which includes fitting the aerial and the full connection to your computer, costs £99. In certain instances this cost may increase. For example, where there is no antenna or chimney to fix the aerial to. A fixed price would be confirmed in advance. This is a community network, so public places such as schools and churches can receive a powerful signal free of charge. To support ‘digital inclusion’ in our communities, private households can also receive a limited signal free of charge. Subscription for internet access can be paid on a monthly or annual basis and the cost will depend on the connection speed you choose and the amount of Data you decide you require and download. (An example of Data being uploaded is a photograph being placed on Facebook. An example of data being downloaded is music being purchased from iTunes). The grid below gives you examples of different packages and guidance as to their suitability for different users. Your new internet connection can either be connected directly to your computer. Alternatively, if you wanted the convenience of wireless signal within your home, then the new signal would be connected to a ‘router’, a small box which will allow all devices in your home (including computers, iPads, smart phones, televisions etc) to connect wirelessly. If you do not currently have a router County Broadband can supply and install this for just £49. An existing router or computer in you home must be compatible with a standard RJ45 network connection illustrated. It is planned that a live feed will commence in Autumn of 2013 which will be demonstrated at an open event at Peldon VIllage Hall. Thereafter arrangements will be made to visit the properties of interested parties, survey them and make arrangements for connections. Connections will commence in January 2014. Costs and choosing your package.Lots of internet providers liberally use the term ‘up to’ within their advertising and literature. Often customers end up complaining that ‘up to’ means ‘less than’, that they did not understand the limitations of ‘Data up/download’ and that they find their contract does not allow them to vary terms and make improvements later. Whilst there will always be an element of variability of signal strength, generally the wireless connection in our villages will be more constant. Being remote doesn’t mean a weak signal – as long as your aerial is in line of sight of the wireless broadcast, it makes no difference whether you are ten metres or ten kilometres away. The most misunderstood aspect of Data up/download with almost all internet providers is that there is a limit and if it looks like you are going to exceed it, the provider starts to restrict your speed and slows down your internet connection. The great thing about County Broadband is that they are friendly, contactable and local. If you decide your connection is not as fast as you would like, you can upgrade your contract immediately. Similarly if your Data up/downloads are starting to exceed your limit, then you can find out and increase the limit with one simple phone call. The grid below shows the seven subscription packages suitable for domestic use. The green section shows the cost and speed* and provides a summary of the type of household who would benefit most from each one. The orange section shows the data you can up/download in an understandable manner. All domestic packages operate on a 50:1 contention rate. Commercial packages are also available – please ask for details, Country Broadband can be contacted on 08456865000, 01376 779001 or [email protected]. (*Upload and download speed is ‘each way’. For example 16Mbs is ’16Mbs upload’ and ’16Mbs download’. Therefore a ‘total aggregated’ speed of 32Mbs. This is quite a unique feature. Most often the ‘upload speed’ provided is considerably smaller than the ‘download speed’, with the increased popularity of social media, Skype etc upload and download are now equally important). |  
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If you would like to receive details of this project as it progresses please complete and submit the below form:
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The principal contact point is directly with County Broadband Ltd:
Old Bourchiers Hall
New Road
Aldham
Essex CO6 3QU
08456865000
01376 779001
[email protected].
www.countybroadband.co.uk
Parish Councils can offer limited assistance:
At the 2012 Annual General Meeting a resolution was passed which approved in principle the sale of the Village Hall and site in School Lane and gave the Committee the mandate to progress this sale in the most economical and effective way possible so as to maximise the long term value of the assets owned by the Charity.
The Committee has met ten times since the 2012 AGM and has concentrated on preparing to sell the site as well as furthering the investigations of a number of potential investment projects.
Given the remit of maximising the assets represented by the site we have agreed that the site should be sold for development with outline planning permission. We are conscious of our duty to the Wigboroughs community to do all that we can to ensure that any development on the site is acceptable and appropriate. We have therefore decided to apply for outline planning permission for ideally three small houses rather than a single large one. For many years it has been apparent that the Wigboroughs lack small housing stock which makes it difficult for young people and young families to take up residence here and thus maintain a vibrant community.
A & P Designs has been engaged to take us through the process of preparing for and eventually obtaining outline planning permission. The Committee thinks that the eventual sale will be eased if the land is registered with the Land Registry beforehand. To achieve this the site has been cleared and a necessary survey carried out.
While there are historic documents, or at least copies of historic documents, proving our title to the site these are held on our behalf by the Charity Commission so the registration process may not be as straightforward as it might be for a more conventional site and we have identified a Licensed Conveyancer to handle the process on our behalf.
Our main focus has been on preparing to sell the site because until that is achieved we can make no active progress with the other projects.
Once we are ready to sell the site we shall arrange to show the plans to residents, confirm the agreement to sell and then seek the approval of the Charity Commission to do so. The Charity Commission will control the resulting funds on our behalf until we are ready to re-invest in approved project(s).
We have further explored three potential projects in which the proceeds of the sale might eventually be invested. Two of these came from the 2011 questionnaire sent to all residents and the third arose from a suggestion at the 2012 AGM.
Plans for each project need to be more fully developed to establish whether the project can be achieved in a practical sense, afforded as to set up costs and ongoing maintenance costs and fits the objectives of the Charity. Any project surviving these tests must then be approved by residents and the Charity Commission before it could be implemented.
Investment could be made in a single project or in more than one and at this stage we do not rule out the introduction of other potential projects as yet undefined.
This project envisages providing access to a physical site or building owned by another party for general community or specialist group events. It would be necessary to enact a proper legal agreement to protect the Charity’s investment and legacy. There are two possible such sites in the Wigboroughs – the nave of St Stephen’s Church and the event rooms at Abbotts Hall Farm. We have noted the latter but progressed no further with that possibility to date.
St Stephen’s nave is already used for a number of events but the Parochial Church Council in conjunction with The Friends of the Wigboroughs is seeking to improve the venue to make it more suitable and more attractive for a wider range of activities. One member of the Committee has visited
It should be noted that both of the venues, at St Stephen’s and Abbotts Hall Farm, are already available for community groups or individuals to use under normal booking and payment arrangements regardless of possible future interest and investment from the Village Hall Charity.
We have approached a number of people who own land in the Wigboroughs asking if they would consider selling a few acres to enable the Charity to set up a Village Green with facilities for a range of sporting and recreational activities for young people. Potential sellers have been given a promise of confidentiality at this stage of discussions.
We have checked with the Charity Commission that should we wish to become formally involved with the development of the new Village Hall in Peldon we would be permitted to do so. The Charity Commission was positive about such a proposal provided that the Wigboroughs legacy was protected by legal agreements related to the two Charities involved. This would probably involve merging the charities in a way which would give The Wigboroughs an appropriate measure of representation and control. Other than establishing the Charity Commission’s view on the matter we have taken no further action with regard to this potential project.
A regular subject of discussion since the re-establishment of the Committee has been the level and quality of communications with the community. We considered holding open meetings and publishing Minutes but the Charity Commission does not recommend this and because there are various sensitive and confidential matters being discussed we decided that it would not be helpful to do so. Instead we committed to publishing regular reports in the Parish Newsletter and publishing them on the Parish Council website.
At the AGM we propose to ask the community to pass a resolution enabling us to change our Governing Document so that we can support postal voting to allow people unable to attend an AGM to participate in votes taken there.
We intend also to capture e-mail addresses of attendees at the AGM to support more direct interaction.
Christine ‘Jinny’ Gale
Chairman WVHMC
June 2013
AGM
The Wigboroughs Village Hall Management Committee
June 2013 @ 19.30
Essex Wildlife Trust HQ at Abbotts Hall
Maldon Rd, Great Wigborough
1. Present at the Meeting: 6 Members of WVHMC, Jinny Gale (JG), Carol Wyatt (CW), John Hutchinson (JH), Melanie Newton (MN), Mark Waterfield (MW), Phil Gladwin (PG). 32 Residents of Great and Little Wigborough and One Non-Resident.
2. Apologies for Absence: Sam Norton
3. Welcome
JG (Chairman) welcomed the community to the AGM, and to the new modern facilities at Abbotts Hall. JG said that it was an opportunity for the community to have a look at the new meeting rooms. She stressed that we as a committee were answerable to the community for our actions, and that the WVHMC are answerable not only to the villages we serve, but also to the Charity Commission. We also have to work within the framework of our governing document.
4. Noting the resignation of all committee members
JG explained that all current members have to resign, and be re-elected. She explained the nomination procedure for the Parish Council and the Parochial Church Council representatives (2 reps and 1 rep respectively). JG confirmed that all members from last year had resigned, and were duly re-elected as there had been no other nominations from the village.
5. Noting the names of appointed members
Jinny Gale (Parish Council), Phil Gladwin (Parish Council), Sam Norton (Parochial Parish Council
6. Noting the names of elected members
Carol Wyatt, John Hutchinson, Melanie Newton, and Mark Waterfield were duly elected.
7. Annual report and resulting questions
(Please see separate Annual Report for details) JG noted that the Annual Report was available for people to take away with them. It would also be printed in the Parish News, and would be on the Parish Council website. A Question/Answer session followed in which the following issues were raised:
8. Finance report and resulting questions
JH presented the Financial Report and spoke about running a tight ship due to lack of funds. £4090.54 currently in the bank. The WVHMC had liabilities to pay out for the survey, planning costs in future. The committee’s aim was to husband the money and keep the expenditure down. One option would be to borrow against our assets but the committee did not want to go down this route.
9. Resolution re postal voting
A vote was taken on the resolution “That a method of postal voting acceptable to the Charity Commission be developed and incorporated into the Wigboroughs Village Hall Management Charity’s governing document, to enable a wider electorate in the Wigboroughs to vote on key issues.” Votes in favour 30. Against 2. Abstentions 0
10. AOB
None
