Its been a busy week for meetings and discussions this week. The Village Hall was the venue for the latest meeting of the Flood Resilience Group. Chairman Rob Ford told the meeting that recent minor flooding problems were due to excessive rainfall and not tidal events. In a roundup of experiences members of the public gallery expressed their problems but thank goodness no one reported anything major happening and the village and surrounding parish has for the most part remained flood free. There are a few Hot Spots though such as the stream which caused a problem at Fir Tree the other day and the exessive water on the marshes, which was caused by a faulty sluice gate.The problems in the Parsons Brook area were discussed and the Parish Council is looking into the best way to combat problems in the lower end of the brook. Placement of sandbags was also discussed and the following locations were suggested, the School, Memorial Hall, Fisherman’s Rest and Waterhead, where flooding has been quite bad with the recent rain. Householders can get ten sandbags free of charge, which can be collected from Torr Quarry. Matthew and Jackie from S.H.D.C attended the meeting and gave valued advise on how to best utilise in an emergency situation. Signing was discussed with an emergency sign expected to be displayed at problematic times.
The Memorial Hall Committee also held their meeting on Monday Night. They discussed some prime issues including finance and usage of the hall.The school is a major contributor to the hall as they stage a lot of events within its walls. The flooding risk to the hall was discussed, and a number of suggestions were made as to how the hall could be protected from the eternal problem of flooding – air brick covers were one sugestion and also flood boards could be installed. Committee members decided to go local in trying to source these products. Funding for a new hall does not seem possible for quite some time, due to cuts in spending generally. Repairs to the existing hall will take place, replacing things like the heating is a priority.
Preparations are well underway for the Panto and tickets are avaiable from the shop. This year its Aladdin, so come along and have some fun during February half term week. The Table Tennis is underway on Wednesdays 7-9pm, and the Monday Club is now 2.00-4.00pm ,