MAYOR’S INTRODUCTION
It gives me great pleasure and honour to represent Fairford as the newly appointed Mayor. As well as my appointment, I have pleasure in introducing Jim Frank as the new Deputy Mayor. All of the Councillors, and the Clerk and her assistant, would like to wish my predecessor, John, his wife Carol and son Jack all the very best in their new home in Abu Dhabi. We also have the pleasure of welcoming two new Councillors to the team: Steve Boulton and Sarah Roberts. Steve and Sarah will be introducing themselves within the August and October newsletters and both of them will bring new qualities to the Council. Again we have the flag festival upon us and it is always a fantastic sight to see the many flags of the Nations that have been involved in the Air Tattoo being on display in the town. The flag festival is the starting event of so much that happens in Fairford, closely followed by the Fairford Festival on the Walnut Tree Field. This year’s Festival Queen, Gabriella Graham and her Princess, Victoria Hatch have a busy weekend ahead of them, with the Masquerade Ball and the Parade to name but a few of the events. I would like to wish them all the very best for this coming year, hoping that they will cherish all that lies ahead of them. There was a fantastic turnout for the competition, which also included ladies in waiting, flower girls and a page boy. All the participants who entered made it very difficult for the judges to pick winners. I would like to finish this introduction with a reminder that as a Full Council team, we are here to look at what is the best for the future of Fairford and its residents. We welcomed your suggestions in the healthcheck questionnaire and are in the process of moving this forward. Cllr Joe Cusack 01285 713638 Fairford Town Mayor
COUNCIL NEWS
GENERAL
Next Town Council Meeting
The next Full Town Council meeting will be held on Tuesday 9th June at 7pm in the Barker Room at Fairford Community Centre, High Street, Fairford. Members of the public are welcome to attend.
New Councillors
Following the recent resignations of John Morgan and Roger Fessey, two new Councillors have now joined Fairford Town Council. Steve Boulton and Sarah Roberts were elected unopposed as Town Councillors for Fairford Town, Fairford Ward. Further information regarding the new Councillors will be given in subsequent issues of the newsletter. Annual Town Meeting
The 2009 Annual Town Meeting was held on Wednesday 22nd April in the Community Centre. Copies of the Annual Report 2009 are available in the information room in the Community Centre. Patricia Middleton was nominated as the 2009 Citizen of the Year in acknowledgement of her tireless work for the United Church. She has started a lunch club for the elderly and also makes and sells cakes and jams to support the Oncology Department at Cheltenham Hospital. She has raised much money for this cause despite suffering ill health herself. Nearly 40 people signed a letter recommending Mrs Middleton for the award. Joe Pitt received the Geoff Chick Award for his work on sustainable issues. Joe is a student at Farmor’s School and has been involved in projects at the school such as organising a paper recycling scheme and looking at ways of reducing the school’s carbon footprint. He chairs the “People and Planet Group” and has led assemblies on green issues European & County Elections
The European and County Elections are to be held on 4th June 2009 in the Community Centre between 7am and 10pm. There are two candidates for County Councillor in the East Cotswold Electoral Division: Frank Skinner (Liberal Democrat) and Raymond Theodoulou (Conservative). It had been anticipated that the elections for Town Councillor would also be held on this date but as only two candidates came forward, the election was deemed uncontested. Calor Village of the Year
Unfortunately Fairford was not successful in the regional finals of the Calor Village of the Year 2009 competition. The regional winner was Kingston in Devon. Fairford could, however, be a category winner and we will know later in the year.
Fairford Emergency Action Group
The first test on our emergency evacuation procedure as part of the Emergency Action Plan was carried out on Saturday 21st March. Many lessons were learnt, but overall the event went extremely smoothly and we were complimented on our performance by observers from Cotswold District Council and Glos County Council. We are one of the first communities to carry out such an exercise and received good coverage from BBC Points West. The Cabinet Office has also paid us the honour of stating that we are setting the standard for the rest of the country.
We are now busy updating our plans and equipment needs based on this experience. Further exercises to test our readiness to cope with a future emergency are being planned. Thanks go to all the volunteers and helpers on the day. If you would like to volunteer your services or expertise to help with the Emergency Action Plan, please contact the Clerk. The Town Council Yard at the side of Eastbourne Terrace has now been tidied up and a new shed installed. This work has been possible using funds from the £10,000 Resilience Grant donated by Cotswold District Council as a result of the 2007 July floods. The shed is to be used to store items that will be of use in the event of another emergency.
Trevor Hing, FEAG Co-ordinator Inter-Parish Tree Competition
A reminder to send in your entries for the inter-parish tree competition as detailed in the February issue of the Council newsletter. Please send in your photos of local trees giving their location and description as appropriate. Entries to be sent to the Council Office by 30th October. The categories are as follows:
Tree (single stem) with biggest circumference measured at 1.5m from ground.
Tree with widest spread of branches. Most characterful ‘ancient tree’.
Tree with most interesting history. Most colourful tree.
Tree with most impressive above-ground roots. Rarest tree.
Tree with most interesting bark.
Record of largest number of trees planted as result of Tree Warden initiative.
Record of successful seed sowing.
Record of most significant school/young people involvement.
Most thriving millennium yew. (photo & dimensions)
Most oddly shaped tree.
Most wildlife-hospitable tree (nests, bat roosts, identified invertebrates)
Most photogenic tree. Most typical tree of its species (photo).
Most fruit-laden tree (photo).
Tree with biggest fruit (photo & dimensions of fruit).
Most interesting juxtaposition.
Tree growing in most hostile environment.
Oldest tree (documentary evidence).
Multi-stemmed tree growing over widest area (Record or photo & record).
Tree with other tree/plant growing in/on it.
PLANNING
On 21st April 2009, Cygnet Investments submitted two applications to Cotswold District Council as follows:
09/00882/OUT Proposed tourism and recreational development comprising the erection of 59 pavilions, leisure facility, access, car parking, landscaping and ecological management at Lakes 103, 103a and 104, Cotswold Water Park, Fairford (OUTLINE PLANNING APPLICATION) 09/00872/OUT Proposed tourism and recreational development comprising the erection of 63 apartments, 18 pavilions, access, car parking, landscaping and ecological management at Milestone House, London Road, Fairford (OUTLINE PLANNING APPLICATION) Cygnet Investments carried out a presentation to the Town Council on 12th May and a public meeting was held in the Community Centre on 21st May. The current deadline to respond to CDC is 28th May, but an extension of time has been requested as the Town Council would like to hear the opinions of residents before making a decision on this application. A response to this request is currently being awaited. Glos County Council has not yet made a decision with respect to the application to register Lake 104 as a Village Green. The Inspector has made a recommendation that the Registration Authority should reject the application, but the final decision is to be made by the Commons and Rights of Way Committee. FACILITIES
The Town Council has been discussing the frequency of the newsletter distribution. Currently this newsletter is produced every two months and we would like your views on whether it should stay as a bi-monthly issue or change to distribution every three months. This proposal has been made to save production costs and time in the Council Office. Please email (
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) or telephone the Council Office (01285 712344) with your views. The Flag Festival is planned again for 2009 and flags should be flying by the end of May. Most of the flags have once again been kindly loaned to us from the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust Enterprises, and represent the nations that have flown at the Royal International Air Tattoo. Two new flags will be flying from the Fairford Community Centre, one is the Gloucestershire County Flag and the other is the new Fairford Flag – produced following a competition last year, which was won by local school boy James Landa-Font. HIGHWAYS
Recycling: The cardboard recycling facility has now been removed from the town car park to save further damage to the car park surface, especially as cardboard is collected as part of the successful kerbside recycling collections. The plastic recycling bin will soon be moving to the Horcott Road Football Club car park, again to prevent further damage to the town car park paved surface. Thanks to Fairford Town Youth Football Club for giving permission to locate the facility on their premises. Parking: As a result of a recent Police Neighbourhood Management Meeting the issue of parking on the A417 and the Lower Croft in the vicinity of the Railway Inn was identified as a problem. A meeting took place at Fairford Police Station with the representatives from Fairford Town Council, local Police, CDC, and GCC to discuss the problems. A consensus will be carried out to identify the level of the problem and the subsequent resolution to the issue. It was also pointed out that double yellow lines in Fairford are enforceable by the issue of Fixed Penalty Notices, of which 31 have been issued in Fairford in the last 12 months. During this time Fairford has been visited 93 times with 165 hours of enforcement patrols carried out. FINANCE
On the basis of a Band D property, this year, Fairford Town Council will be asking householders in Fairford for a total of £75.80. This amounts to £1.50 per week, or about 6p for every person living in the town. This forms a little over 5% of the total Council Tax bill. Since 2005, the cost of living has gone up by approx 20%, yet in this time the Town Council has asked for a total increase of 8.6%. The Town Council’s budget in real terms has gone down by nearly 12%. There is a limit to the extent to which we can lose resources and still maintain services. In addition to our pledge to help improve facilities at the Palmer Hall and to consider taking on the running of the Walnut Tree Field playground, in the next few years Fairford Town Council has to acquire land for a new burial ground and allotments. The aged CCTV system also needs to be upgraded. There is the possibility of an income from the old Council Offices on London Street, but in the future it will be very difficult to limit the precept in the way we have done in the past 6 or 7 years without damaging the services provided. COTSWOLD DISTRICT COUNCILOn-Line Planning Changes
Following feedback from members of the public and Parish and Town Councils, the CDC on-line planning register has been updated to display application documents in date order with the most recent first. It also now allows users to sort the documents by either date or document type. Audit Commission’s Report on Icelandic Investments
The Audit Commission’s Report on Icelandic Investments says that most Councils acted properly when they invested tax payers’ money off-shore. They also said that most Local Authorities had followed the guidance from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. The LGA (Local Government Association) has also confirmed that it expects Councils to get back most of the money. Housing Needs Assessment
Cotswold District Council along with the other District Councils in Gloucestershire has commissioned Fordham Research to carry out a Housing Needs Assessment. This is to assess the scale and type of housing and support services required to meet all forms of housing need throughout the six Districts. The aim of the Assessment is to provide evidence of need to inform the development of housing and planning policies. Questionnaires are being sent to 8,000 households, chosen at random, in the Cotswold District, asking for their help with completion of the questionnaire. A total of 48,000 questionnaires will be sent to households across the County. The survey is voluntary and all the data collected will be strictly confidential. New Chief Executive
CDC’s new Chief Executive, David Neudegg, is very proactive and deeply interested about our area. He recently requested a visit to Fairford to see for himself what the issues and concerns are in our town. I met him in our new Community Centre and discussed various topical issues with him and also gave him a guided tour, so that he was better able to appreciate Fairford. Annual Meeting
Cotswold District Council held their Annual Meeting on 12 May. Cllr Ray Theodoulou continues in his role of Vice-Chair of Audit and I have come off the Planning Committee to become Vice-Chair of Licensing. Chris Roberts – 01285 712150, Cotswold District Councillor LOCAL NEWSFairford Festival
The Festival Diary has been delivered to all households in Fairford. Additional copies are available from the Town Council Office or Londis. The main events are to be held over the weekend of the 6/7th June, with the Town Ball being held on Friday 5th June. Tickets (£48.50 each) are still available; Tel 08442 492814 for details. Other events include:
4th June – Youth Band Night
6th June – Festival Parade, Classic Cars, Dog Show, Festival BBQ, Irish Dancing, Children’s Party, Fire Service Band and Disco Night
7th June – Car Boot Sale, 10k and 3k Races (Please note Park Street will be closed to traffic from 9.30am-12.30pm and Mill Lane will be closed from 11am to 11.15am), Festival BBQ, Tea Dance and Quiz Night The winners of the Festival Queen competition were as follows:
Festival Queen: Gabriella Graham
Festival Princess: Victoria Hatch
Ladies in waiting: Rebecca Chase, Charlotte Rymer
Flower Girls: Poppy Davis, Emily Griffith, Bodicea Preece-Smith, Katie Upshon and Page Boy – Niall Cusack Unfortunately, the Festival Outdoor Market has had to be cancelled this year due to a lack of traders booking stalls. There will however be market stalls within the marquee. If you would like to book a table at a cost of £10, please contact the Town Council Office on 01285 712344. Due to the recession, 2009 has been a difficult year for the organisers and some events may be cancelled at short notice, so please check posters/press for details.
Trevor Hing, Chairman, Fairford Festival Committee 2009 League of Friends of Fairford Hospital
The annual house-to-house collection to support the work of the League of Friends of Fairford Hospital has raised more than £30,000. Collectors in Fairford, Lechlade and Kempsford and the surrounding villages have been thanked for helping to raise “this magnificent sum.” As well as supporting the hospital building itself, the League is continuing to provide a number of community services, including many that allow people to be treated at home. Since new X-ray facilities were introduced, courtesy of the League of Friends’ donation, the hospital has been attracting a growing number of clinics. It continues to run a transport scheme to get patients to their appointments, supports a weekly luncheon club, a home nursing scheme, physiotherapy and counselling services. The arrangement with the Prospect Hospice for residential care has been renewed for another year. Polish Camp, Fairford
The Polish Ex-Combatants Association is keen to get in touch with people or relatives of people who lived at the Polish Camp in Fairford between 1949 and 1959, please contact Alicja Swiatek Christofides on 01737 246894 or email
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or Alison on 711768 or
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. Fairford and Lechlade Business Club
At the April Business Club AGM, Kevin Symons was voted in as Chair of the Club replacing Peter Whistler, who had chaired the Club for two years. At the meeting, members enjoyed a talk by Mark Coote, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Cheltenham, about how to save our small shops and businesses and how his campaign to shop local is progressing in Cheltenham. The next Fairford & Lechlade Business Club meeting will be held on Thursday 25th June at 8am at the Riverside pub, Lechlade (upstairs). This will be the Club’s second breakfast meeting and, as well as a full English breakfast costing £7, there will be an interesting guest speaker. Ample time to network and make new contacts. Non-members welcome. For more information, please contact Chris on 01285 712150 or email
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.
A new beginning for Fairford Tennis Club
Fairford Tennis Club has benefited from recent work carried out resurfacing the two hard courts in the picturesque setting of Walnut Tree Field in the centre of Fairford. In addition, the club hut has also undergone a facelift. Moreover, a rejuvenated committee has set about planning for a more active club life, including dedicated club member sessions, coaching for juniors and adults alike and an exhibition/challenge tournament to coincide with the Fairford Festival. The club is actively seeking members to join and be involved in both the social side of the club as well as the playing side. There are ladies and men’s teams playing in the Gloucestershire league and newcomers would be very much welcomed. Fairford Tennis Club is particularly proud of the junior talent that has grown up on its courts and recognizes the value of nurturing such talent with some very reasonably priced membership rates and new opportunities for coaching. For all membership enquiries please contact Sally Peachey on 01285 750492 or
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. We look forward to you joining us! Fairford Community Centre
This newly restored, prestigious listed building next to the famous St Mary’s Church, Fairford, is run as a registered charity. The Community Centre has 6 rooms and an elegant Courtyard to let, catering for various sizes from small groups to more than 100, plus a large office suitable for business meetings. You can book by the hour, the day or for longer periods. Rates vary from a few £ to around £10 per hour with concessions for regular bookings. All rooms have refreshment facilities - fully licensed – modern kitchen - free parking. Please consult us about your requirements. For more details: Phone 01285 711571, email
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or call in and look round Fairford Primary School
The school has been awarded the gold Sing-up Award – one of only 6 in the country. All classes sing every day and enjoy singing together in assemblies, a wide variety of songs. Some of our choir are visiting Vasteras in Sweden in June. We are holding a fund raising singing morning on Saturday 16 May at the school. There will also be a joint musical evening at Farmor’s School on Tuesday 19th May at 7.00pm. We now have 12 chickens and a cockerel. (6 rescue battery hens and 6 Black Rock). The rescue hens are looking much better now and we are regularly having approx 8 eggs a day, which are used in our school kitchen. The children are busy making 2 quilts for our Comenius partner schools in Sweden and Crete. Sadly our “Friendship for Life” partnership of 3 years is coming to an end but we will continue to keep in touch. The school now has a lovely mural along our long corridor depicting many famous book characters. This was kindly done by students at Gloucester University. The children love finding these when they are choosing their reading books. The school has achieved its Silver Food for Life Award, recognising the work we are doing in educating children about growing, cooking, eating and the provision of healthy locally sourced food. Fairford History Society
The next meeting will be the AGM on Thursday 18th June at the Community Centre. Please see the events page for further details. The Society is looking for two new general Committee members – no particular roles are to be filled but help is needed at meetings and events. Anyone interested in joining the Committee of this active Society, please contact the Chairman Geoff Hawkes 712053 or the Secretary Alison Hobson 711768. LOCAL EVENTSØ Farmor’s School in Fairford has joined forces with schools in Chipping Campden and Tewkesbury to form a new community collaboration to promote “Cotswold Women in Business”. Together, they are providing funding for high quality courses and workshops to support local enterprising women with ideas. The next event in Fairford will be a one-day workshop for women who want to know more about what’s involved in being self-employed. This takes place on Wednesday 1st June and costs £8 for the day including a light lunch. There is also a free 3-hour workshop on “Doing Your Own Tax Self-Assessment” on Monday 15th June. For more information, please contact Sarah-Jane Menato on 01386 701868 or email
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. Ø Cotswold Leisure Day Camps are being organised by Fairford Sports Centre throughout the school holidays (excluding Bank Holidays) for 4 to 14 year olds between 8.30am and 4.30pm. Each day camp is full of fun activities carefully designed by qualified leaders. For more details, phone the Sports Centre on 01285 713786. Ø Fairford Town Youth Football Club coaching sessions for 5-8 year olds (boys and girls) are recommencing each Sunday from 31st May. Starting at 10am till 11am at Horcott Road pitches. Parents are also needed to get actively involved and help to run teams for the forthcoming season beginning September. For further information, please contact Tony on 01285 712487 or Pascal on 01285 712481. Ø Fairford Festival 2009 takes place over the weekend 5th/7th June in the Walnut Tree Field and other venues around the town. Please look at the Diary of Events, which was posted through your letterbox and come along and support this community event. Ø There will be a Youth Band Night on Thursday 4th June from 7pm until 10.30pm in the Marquee in the Walnut Tree Field. An opportunity for young local bands to show their talents on the big stage. Set up from 4.30pm. Interested bands should call Ed Bridges on 07535 695286 to book their slot. Ø Fairford Festival Masquerade Ball will be held on Friday 5th June from 7.30pm in the Marquee in the Walnut Tree Field. Dancing to “Locomotion” with “Soft Sax” providing background music. Also featuring Old School Disco. Licensed bar until 1am, carriages at 2pm. Tickets are still available, so please call Annabelle on 08442 492814 or visit www.fairfordfestival.co.uk.
Ø Fairford Art Society Exhibition of local artists’ work will be on display in Fairford Community Centre from Friday 5th June till Sunday 7th June .
Ø Fairford Community Centre Limited, the company that manages the inside space of the Centre, is holding its Annual General Meeting on Monday 8th June at 7.30pm at the Community Centre. All welcome. Refreshments provided. Ø Fresh Air 2009 will take place between Sunday 14th June and Sunday 5th July. During this time, the biennial sculpture show will be held in the riverside gardens of Quenington Old Rectory from 10am to 5pm. £2.50 admission for adults, children free. Concessions available (except on Sunday 22nd June). 7a Coffee Shop of Fairford will be providing light lunches, fresh coffee, tea, soft drinks, cakes and their famous chocolate brownies. All proceeds go to Quenington Sculpture Trust, which supports young artists with bursaries and an apprenticeship scheme. For more details, call Lucy Abel Smith on 01285 750358 or email
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. Ø The Fairford History Society AGM will take place on Thursday 18th June in the Farmor room at Fairford Community Centre. After the business meeting and refreshments, Edwin Cuss will entertain us with another selection of pictures from his wonderful collection entitled ‘Along the Main Road through Fairford’. Ø As part of Fairford Festival, The Bull Hotel presents an Elvis Tribute Evening with dinner and an Elvis impersonator on Saturday 20th June at 7.30pm. Tickets £19.95 per head. Further details from The Bull on 01285 712535. Ø St Mary’s Country Fair will be held on Saturday 27th June between 12 noon and 4pm in the Walnut Tree Field. Traditional stalls, side shows and trade stands, car boot sale (£5 per car), childrens’ fairground, Pimms, strawberries and cream, archery demonstration and “have a go”, bbq. For details of stalls and trade stands, phone 01285 711852. For details of car boot sale, phone 01285 713062. Ø The Friends of Coln House School invite you to our annual ‘Summer Sizzler’ on Friday 10th July. (Not 3rd July as stated in previous newsletter) Come and enjoy a fun evening in the relaxed surroundings of the walled garden. Candle–lit gazebos, a delicious pig roast supper, a licensed bar and entertainment by Frank Abrahams and guests – it all makes for a wonderful night out. Tickets £15 from the school – either individually or in tables of eight. To book, please phone Gail on 01285 712308 or call in to the school. FAIRFORD TOWN COUNCIL COMMITTEE STRUCTURE MAY 2009At the Fairford Town Council Annual General Meeting on 12th May 2009, the following committee structure was agreed upon. The Chairman for each committee will be elected at the first committee meeting after the AGM MAYOR: Cllr J Cusack ex officio member of all committees DEPUTY MAYOR: Cllr J Frank ex officio member of all committees
COMMITTEES:
PLANNING: Cllr M Jones, Cllr H Dowler, Cllr P Fisher, Cllr C Roberts
FINANCE: Cllr M Wardle, Cllr P Fisher, Cllr T Hing, Cllr R Winney FACILITIES: Cllr S Jones, Cllr M Harwood, Cllr S Roberts, Cllr S Boulton HIGHWAYS: Cllr R Winney, Cllr H Dowler, Cllr M Jones, Cllr S Jones
SUB COMMITTEES:
STAFFING: Cllr T Hing, Cllr M Wardle, Cllr J Frank
PREMISES: Cllr J Cusack, Cllr P Fisher, Cllr M Wardle, Cllr J Frank
REPRESENTATIVES
Palmer Hall: Cllr J Cusack
Farmor’s School Charity Trustees: Cllr T Hing, Cllr S Jones
Fairford Community Centre Ltd Trustees: Cllr J Cusack, Cllr C Roberts
Fairford Playing Fields Ltd: Cllr S Boulton, Cllr J Frank
Cotswold Water Parks: Cllr S Jones, Cllr M Harwood
Fairford Air Base Link: Cllr R Winney, Cllr T Hing
Glos Market Towns Forum: Cllr M Harwood, Cllr J Cusack
Police Link: Cllr J Frank
East Cotswold Strategic Partnership: Cllr M Harwood, Cllr S Jones
History Society: Cllr M Jones
Lechlade Footpaths Committee: deferred to Highways committee
River Coln Project*: Cllr S Boulton, Cllr S Jones, Cllr C Roberts, Cllr T Hing
Fairford Emergency Action Group*: Cllr J Cusack, Cllr T Hing, Cllr M Jones, Cllr J Frank
*Representatives to be confirmed at June Full Council meeting
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