Work Day Report to April meeting

Report to Sticklepath Parish Council 7th April 2025 Village Work Day 9th March

Further to the report provided for the Beacon (see below), this report confirms the success of the Work Day.

There were 35 volunteers involved throughout the morning, with previous planning and support from Steve Matthews, for which I am very grateful. Five of the volunteers were members of StOC who are not residents. Without the use of the StOC tools, the Work Day would hardly have been possible, and thanks were expressed to StOC coordinators.

The proposed tasks were tackled, with some follow up actions committed ( refer to the updated programme which was submitted to the February SPC). Added to this a volunteer proposed to paint the White Rock and tend to the flagpole, and this was also completed on the day. The Leat Clean was supervised by Ben Shapcott, and we were told that eels had been seen in the leat, which was the first time he’d known this in his 11 years working here. Simon Thompson, National Trust was very pleased that some materials on Finch Foundry were disposed of on the day, and that the bonfire was safely managed on the day and for 3 days. There was approval that the Work Day had been arranged, by postponement, on the same day as the Leat Clean and the National Trust would be keen to repeat this next year.

We are also grateful to Pauline and Niki for supervising the refreshments, and of course to Ann for allowing the volunteers to enjoy the post Work Day recuperation. Alan Wright reported that there had been no first aid concerns.

Volunteers worked very hard generally, and they deserved the refreshments, some of which were donated, and some were funded by the National Trust. The total expense to the SPC was £16.04.

There will always be the need for volunteers to help tend the village, and the Parish Council can decide how much organisation they wish to commit. We have developed a pattern of 2 Village Work Days: Autumn and Spring. This would seem sufficient in terms of the impact this can have, and the level of commitment the Parish Council could sustain. However, there appear to be a number of areas which could benefit from ongoing care in between these dates, and the Council may wish to consider strategies by which they can encourage responsibilities/tasks to be taken on by volunteers, for example under the direction of the Road Warden or StOC.

Actions

1. To agree to arrange another Village Work Day for Sunday 5th October
2. To agree to arrange a Work Day/Leat Clean for February 2026

Cllr Derek Moore 15/3/25

Beacon Report

Looking after Sticklepath’s Green Spaces

Thanks to all those volunteers who turned up on the re-arranged Sticklepath Village Work Day on the 9th March. Villagers, and a good number of StOC members, turned out on a lovely Sunday morning. There were a number of areas worked on: the Leat, Billy Green, Millenium Garden – but also we repainted the White Rock, weeded and cleared pavements, and pruned branches on lower Back Lane.

It felt so good to see so many showing such care for the village. The togetherness around the bonfire and then for a bit of a lunch/refreshments in the Devvy was really enjoyable.

Ben, from Finch Foundry, supervised the Leat Clean and provided some of the refreshments, alongside the Parish Council contribution.

We have had 2 Village Work Days each year, and without this enthusiasm and commitment, the green spaces and the leat would go untended.

The next Work Day will be in October, and we welcome anything you do with others on these days, or if you take the initiative to do a bit of weeding/litter picking in public areas at any other time.

Cllr Derek Moore

Sticklepath Work Day Completed Programme 9^th March  2025