Letter from the Chairman - May 2023
Chairman John Wood writes:
On 6 May, Collingbourne Ducis celebrated the Coronation of King Charles III. Led by Cllr David Dennis, the event was held and hosted by kind permission of Dave and Sue Buddin at the Tipple Inn. Despite the weather, over 200 people from the village enjoyed afternoon tea prepared by Sue, assisted by Kelly Knowlson, Nikki Lyons, Ali Small and Amanda Dennis, which was accompanied by Prosecco kindly donated by the Beer Fest committee. The weather was held at bay by marquees provided by Beer Fest and Chris Gordon and erected with the additional help of Baz, Joe, Dave Bud, and JJ Gordon.
The event was heralded as a great way of bringing the village together and everyone who attended enjoyed the teas, face painting, balloon sculptures and live music which went on late into the evening. A big thanks to The Tipple Inn for hosting and David for organising the event, ably assisted by Cllrs Pete Knowlson and Stephen Lyons who both willingly gave up their time to help David make the celebration such a great success.
The Council met on 18 May at the Village Hall, and thanks to the meticulous preparation of the Parish Clerk Phillip Gill the Annual Parish Meeting ran smoothly. The full Council meeting included the election of the Chair and Deputy Chair, and I am pleased to announce John Wood and Stephen Lyons were both re-elected. There was one new member co-opted on to the council, welcome to Adrian Green. Elections were held for the committee leads, details of which can be found on the Collingbourne Ducis website.
All the various committee leads provided reports on progress in their respective areas which were well received, captured in the minutes and will be posted on the website. Grass cutting and general maintenance was discussed, and it was agreed that Cllrs Stephen Lyons and Thom Earle would meet with the contractors Idverde to clarify the position and agree a way forward. The Village Steward tasking request form has gone live on the village website, please feel free to propose tasks for the Steward using the proforma.
Cllr Knowlson discussed an outline proposal for the permanent replacement of the shelter on the recreation ground. Whilst the project is at a very early scoping phase, it was agreed in principle that the structure needed to be open and covered. We expect to hear more on this proposal at the next meeting in July.
On the Speed Watch front the team have maintained a roadside presence which continues to influence the speed of vehicles through the village. The Speed Watch team are still looking for willing volunteer to swell the ranks, share the load and provide more coverage throughout the coming months. If you would like to participate, please contact the Parish Council Clerk for details.
Our next Parish Council Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday 4 July 2023 at 7.00 pm at Collingbourne Village Hall. Parish Council Meetings are open events, which members of the public are more than welcome to attend. If any parishioners wish to get involved in any of the activities, including Speed Watch or just want to contact with the Parish Council, do feel free to email the Parish Clerk, Mr Phil Gill, parishclerk@collingbourne-ducis.com.
