Page 24 - Issue 85

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o doubt you will have noticed that In total they gave us over 500 hours of
the Parish Council has two vacant their time for free. In addition to this they
Nseats to fill. In May Caroline Barnes gathered donations of telegraph poles,
and David Payne stepped down. Caroline sleepers, steelwork, topsoil and the use of
and David made significant contributions plant. In total, it is estimated this has saved
to the council over the last two years, the village over £8,500. There’s too many
and they will be missed. Being a parish to mention but I would like to thank James
councilor can be trying at times but also Britten for organising everything on behalf
rewarding and offers great opportunities to of the anglers.
help enhance our community. Anyone who
lives or works in the village is eligible to The arrival of better weather saw the return
serve on the council. If you would like more of the Manea Community Orchard Group.
information about the role, please contact As well as keeping the orchard tidy there is
me using the details on the Manea Parish particular focus on enhancing biodiversity
Council website. and wildlife in the wider pit area and
beyond. Cllr Janet O’Keefe is leading this
project on behalf of the council. Please see
her article about the Community Orchard
on P14-15.
The new sports pitches are looking brilliant,
and spring brought the news that they
should be playable when the new football
season starts in August. This is quite
astonishing given that this time last year
the field still had crops in it. Mark Tuck
and Tim Clifford deserve great credit for
getting us to this point. They have given
up countless hours of their free time to
Donated materials for use at the pit get the field prepped and the grass laid.
This project has been entirely funded by
At the start of May, the Pit temporarily developer contributions and grant funding
closed for fishing whilst the fish are and I’m proud to say that we’ve delivered
spawning. This happens every year and this without spending any of the council’s
gives us the opportunity to do some extra precept. This wouldn’t have been possible
maintenance work. Every Tuesday and without the help of volunteers.
Thursday for six weeks members of the
fishing community volunteered along On a less positive note, we’ve had instances
with Cllr Chris Bartram to help repair and of gas cannisters being discarded overnight
improve some of the fishing platforms. - particularly in the Park/Pit area. This
For every session we had more than ten is concerning as there are health risks
volunteers, sometimes as many as sixteen. associated with inhaling these and we
don’t want anyone to hurt themselves. If

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