Parish Council
Warned of branch on tree on west side of the village (almost opposite the old school). Contacted Highways and arranged for telescopic chopper to be used to remove the offending branch. I have since been informed that the branch has now fallen off and has been removed. I will contact Highways to engage them in reviewing the state of the tree and whether or not it needs further management. I have spoken to volunteer park warden in the village and will keep them informed of developments and if DNP need to be involved in providing permission for further work to be done then I will do so.
I mentioned in the last STPC meeting that Highways have informed me that they have access to a material called elastomac (made from rubber tyres). This material can be placed in much shallower holes and act as a good temporary measure to fill smaller potholes (which were not previously designated as road defects). A local resident of the village has criticised the potential usage of this material and where there may be some agreement amongst us all that is not a perfect solution, it will provide the village with an opportunity to improve road surfaces even on a temporary basis. To support this, Highways have also indicated that they are under continued significant financial constraints even after additional governmental funding which makes large scale road projects impossible to deliver. The stark choice is we offer quicker solutions are we are faced with much more dangerous escalation in the severity of potholes in our area. With this in mind, Highways have pencilled in work on Willey Lane to add to the continued maintenance of the main road. I hope like everyone that this work is completed sooner rather than later.
I would like to thank all villagers for the ongoing work that they do to clear and clean the verges, haunches and kerbsides in our village. Thank you. It saves time for Highways and it shows the impact that even a few of us can have on the road infrastructure of our parish. I know I’ve said this before but every penny counts and if we all work together, we can make a difference.
The gateway up by Higher Coombehead House has been approved. It is an existing gateway which has been re-opened. It is the responsibility of the landowner to make this aperture safe for all vehicles. The mirror which has been placed adjacent to the entrance is, in principle, a good safety measure. My suggestion is a more obvious ‘concealed entrance’ sign should be placed by the road prior to the entrance to further increase safety, particularly for travellers to our community.
A resident has recently kindly cleared the bus stop on the west side of our village. Thank you. I suspect the leaf sucker will be out in our village soon. The bracken and grass is growing fast on the west side and this may need to sorted in the next month or so to avoid further obstruction of the footpath up to the old school.
I have been told to make you all aware that there has been a number of illegal occupations in some areas of neighbouring parishes by non-residents. This has included criminal activity including stealing of road signs and anti-social behaviour in our area. If you see, hear or are otherwise notified of any such activity then you need to contact the police. Everyone is welcome to our community but it is important that we all do our bit to maintain appropriate law and order in our parish.
Cllr Jacob Powell
Sticklepath Road Warden
2nd September 2024