We have news of: possible local parish council election; opening of the railway line as a public path; and Peter Finch, special cricket volunteer!
(NB – There are also dozens of events in the area. Check out the Events page!)
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Do you want to sit on the parish council?
News has come through of how the vacancy on Draycott-in-the-Moors Parish Council is to be filled.
As you may remember, the sad death of Ken Shelley last month means that the parish council is one short.
An election is not automatically called. Even a bye-election costs money of course, so smaller councils like parish councils often prefer to ‘co-opt’ someone.
However, if ten local registered electors do contact the council by April 29th to say they wish an election to be held, then the council is legally required to hold such an election.
However, if ten electors do not come forward by April 29th, the council will just choose a new councillor from all those who have put their name forward to be considered for the post.
So… this is how it works…
If you’d like to be considered for the post of parish councillor on Draycott Parish Council, simply contact the parish clerk, Mary Edwards, by April 29th, and tell her.
If you are on the local electoral roll within the Draycott/Cresswell/Totmonslow boundary, and you’d like to see an election held for the vacancy, contact the parish clerk, Mary Edwards, by April 29th, and tell her.
Mary can be contacted by phoning 01782 394807 or emailing draycottparishcouncil@o2.co.uk; she will tell you how to proceed. Usually, you would have to then approach the Elections Officer at Staffordshire Moorlands Council (by the due date), who will then ask you for evidence of the ten signatures.
If you have more questions about how it all works, go along to the next meeting of the parish council on April 15th, or contact Simon Baker, who is the elections officer for the Staffordshire Moorlands, at Moorlands House ST13 6HQ.
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Old railway line … will be open to public
Mike Maryon
We mentioned in the last post that Mike Maryon, our local county councillor for the last seven years, is standing down at the next election (on May 2nd). However, as you may have read in the paper, he does seem, before he goes into the sunset, to have secured the future of the old railway line as a walking or bridle path. (See more details about the old railway line).
Moorlands & City Railways, who lease the trackway at the moment, had been reluctant to open it up to public access, but they seem at last to have admitted that there’s no chance of it being used (even for light rail) for at least five years. It’s also clear that Mike has persuaded his county council colleagues to put up some funding to address other issues raised by MCR.
Mike has announced that he expects the Cresswell-Totmonslow-Huntley part of the track (in other words, the part of the track that runs through Draycott parish) to be open to the public in the next few months.
Nice one Mike!
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Peter Finch – volunteer extraordinary!
Later this month, the local cricket club’s season gets under way (see what’s on page), and as usual there are high hopes for the season ahead.
However, life is always difficult for a small club like Blythe CC, because it relies so much on volunteers, and having supporters who are prepared to pitch in and help.
The club captain Peter Finch though exemplifies the sprit of the club, which is based in Cresswell; and he was recognised in the recent Cheadle & District Sports Advisory Council awards, where he was honoured in the Volunteer Achievement category.
The commendation just shows how much of a contribution he makes.
Despite holding down a full-time job, he’s at the club a lot of the time, not just playing, but also helping with the mowing and maintenance of the buildings and ground, not to mention all the admin stuff.
And of course, as club captain, he has to be permanently supportive and optimistic, which is not always easy!
He’s a brilliant lad, and the award was well deserved.
Not only does he contribute so much to the general life of the club, but Peter is also important on the pitch. This year Peter (on the left) received the 1st XI Bowling Shield, presented to him by Martin Bailey
Here is the full nomination text, from which Peter won the award:
Peter Finch is the 1st XI captain at Blythe Cricket Club; each year he is one of the top achieving bowlers in local league cricket. The Captain’s job takes a lot of time; it’s not just about turning up and playing each weekend. However, this is not the reason for nominating Peter for this award.
Besides his captaincy, Peter heads up our Ground Committee and puts a huge amount of time and effort into ensuring that the buildings, facilities and Senior and Junior Grounds are kept in tip top condition. He spends many hours each week mowing the outfields and juggling this with a full-time job which involves shift work. In 2012, this in itself was difficult as the weather was very wet limiting the opportunity to mow. Rain, grass and mowers don’t really mix so Peter spent a lot of time watching the weather forecasts to ensure the outfields were mown and kept in tip-top condition.
As well as all the mowing Peter marks the boundary, ensures all buildings and fences are kept in a good state of repair and co-ordinates and encourages other volunteers to help out. In 2012 he help co-ordinate and complete the replacement of our practice nets. As well as the physical work this involved Peter was the key driving force in raising money and attracting grants to ensure the job got done.
Aside from this work Peter throws himself into supporting the social side of the club. He is well known locally for his bingo nights, acting as a very entertaining and engaging caller. He always volunteers to act as DJ at events at the Club. This year Peter was instrumental in getting the club its own disco equipment which means that we no longer have to hire gear thereby reducing our costs. He is always on the lookout for novel ways to raise funds and in 2012 organised 4 curry nights at a local restaurant raising £2000 for the Cricket Club in the process. He also organised sponsorship for our Club cricket shirts and organised all the design and orders for them.
In short although people think of Peter as the Club Captain he does a lot of unseen and unsung work which ensures that the Club functions smoothly and his fund-raising helps improve the facilities and keep the Club Treasurer happy! Peter also finds time to get involved with the Club General Committee attending meetings and always having and active input to matters discussed.
Pete is a local lad, living in Cheadle and has been with the Club for the best part of twenty years. Throughout this time he has always been involved with helping out but as the years have gone on he has thrown himself more and more into helping with the running of the Club. His work has a positive impact on all Members, from the youngest players to those now retired and his efforts coincide with one of the better periods as an organisation.
Good luck with your season this year, Peter…
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