Well spring seems like it is a long time coming this year as I am writing this report following a heavy snowfall in early March !
I will start first with the issue I mentioned in my January report …..the high levels of raw sewage going into the River Rib on the south side of the village where the Thames Water treatment plant is located. I have copied the response I have received from Thames Water to everyone on the Community Hub and also Tina has kindly put it into the Village Newsletter. For those who have not seen it, it basically says they know there is an issue, but are basically not going to do anything about it in the near future. As a consequence of this, we will be trying to gain assistance from people in the village who have experience in this field and , until the treatment plant is upgraded to be able to handle the current amount of housing in the village, we will be adding an addendum to all applications for new housing stating we will be objecting to all applications until we have a treatment plant capable of handling the current amount of sewage generated by the village.
We have now received an agreement from the Conservators for the management of Hay Green. This will be cut regularly by the Parish Council as it was in 2022. They have stated however, that they will want to manage Chapel Green themselves to try and achieve a result similar to that of Rush Green. The main green in the centre of the village will be managed, as usual, by the Fox and Duck.
Following the request of the owner of Beacon Field to remove the current beacon, the Council will looking for alternative sites for the beacon. A potential site for it may be at the top of Mill Lane, but we will report when all options have been considered.
In the meantime, I hope everyone enjoys spring in our lovely village.
Andy Osbourne
Chair