NEWS: assembly speakers / trouble-makers / blues concert / new eaterie

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors & District in late-April 2024.
In this post we have news of…: matters to come before the local assembly / kid trouble-makers / major blues artist to visit / The Griddle is back.
There are also many many events coming up in & around our district – including a Eurovision night party. See our What’s On page for details of this & many other events.

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Speak your mind!

There are only days now until the Draycott-in-the-Moors annual village-assembly, when all of us around here convene for a grand meeting. This ‘assembly’ is an old, democratic tradition whereby all villagers are given a chance, once a year, to speak freely before their neighbours about issues that are on their mind.

The assembly, which is on Monday 13th May this year, at the church-hall (starts at 7.30), kicks off with a short report on how the past year has been in the village at large, and then moves on to discussions and presentations.
Already a number of people have expressed a desire to speak; so presentations coming up will include updates on the projects to preserve the church (St Margaret’s) and the ongoing work to build a Community Peace & Meditation garden.

The site of the proposed community garden – which will be discussed at the assembly

After the booked speakers, the floor will be thrown open for anyone to speak their mind.
So… don’t just get emotional on Facebook (!) – but come along to the assembly and say your piece to your actual neighbours.
(If you want to be completely sure of getting a speaking-slot, book ahead: contact Denise, who is creating the running order).

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Kids who make trouble

One of the most bizarre local stories of recent weeks featured the local police, who claimed that they felt they could not control a couple of young trouble-makers in Blythe Bridge. In fact, so much so, that they felt they had to oppose the building of a small children’s home in Blythe Bridge…. the police said that they feared that the new children in such a home might well fall under the influence of the bad elements in the locality.
It’s pretty astonishing that the police would admit this…!

Fortunately, although only a mile away, Draycott has not experienced anything so bad – but it is feeling the ripples. A few weeks ago, at the bottom of Church Lane, the posts around the Village Centre-Piece were vandalised.

Draycott Village ‘Centre-Piece’

There is also a feeling that the reason that a sudden decision to develop a spot of green space in the centre of the Blythe Fields Estate for more housing is because such open space might be a magnet for such trouble-makers…. Though no one is confirming this.

This situation really is something that should be discussed at the assembly.
So, if anyone (including keyboard warriors) has an opinion on the issue, contact Denise and get the matter on to the assembly running order…

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Welcome boogie-woogie

It’s not often that our little area gets to host any of the country’s leading musicians, but that will be the case this coming Saturday (11th May) when Daniel Smith and his band come to our local community-hub in Blythe Bridge.
According to Blues In Britain UK magazine, Daniel (see pic below) is “…a serious challenger to Jools Holland as the UK’s number 1 boogie pianist.…”.

The puzzle is: how did such a small venue get such a leading artist? Well, it’s all down to the Live & Local scheme which grant-funds small venues in semi-rural localities like ours who want to bring leading artists in.

Tickets to see Daniel cost £12.50 (which is a lot less than if you had to see him at the Victoria Hall!) and can be booked in advance online.

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Griddle gets cooking again

Finally, welcome to Lisa and Ben (see pic below), who’ve recently taken over The Griddle outdoor food-stall at Blythe Business Park in Cresswell.
The former owner, the ever-cheerful Ian Barlow, has set up his own event-catering company instead, but he believes Lisa and Ben will continue his tradition of finely cooked fried-food at very reasonable prices.

You don’t have to work on Blythe Park to use The Griddle; many of us call in to get a take-away cooked breakfast on the way to working elsewhere; The Griddle opens at 8. It has a patio area, so on a sunny morning, you can also just sit down and enjoy the warmth of the air whilst digging into a bacon sarnie …
Good luck Lisa & Ben!

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NEWS: two-car crash / defib award / community survey / floods / community singing

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors & District in mid Jan 2024.
In this post we have news of…: a Xmas Eve death / award for AEDdonate / what do we want? survey / flooding at junction /singing group in Draycott.
There are also many many events coming up in & around our district – including Valentine’s Day dances. See our What’s On page for details of these & many other events.

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Terrible news

The worst news came to one family on this Christmas Eve. In a two-car crash in middle-Draycott, on the turning at the Villa Verde restaurant, Charalambos Nicolaou, a man from Cyprus who was visiting his children in this country, was killed, and two others injured. It’s hard to imagine how the family are coping.

Police are appealing for witnesses. Although the driver of the other car has been arrested and is due in court later this month, officers do want to get as full a picture as possible. If you know anything about the crash (at around 8.45pm on 24 December involving a Vauxhall Vectra and a Hyundai) you’re asked to call 101 or email ciu@staffordshire.police.uk quoting incident 639.

That turning on to the Uttoxeter Road is a very difficult one; and no matter how careful they are, most people we know always cross their fingers before pulling out into it. In the last few years there have been a number of accidents there. 

Following the incident, Mark Plimmer, a 27 year old from Blythe Bridge, was arrested. He is charged with causing death by dangerous driving, failing to stop after a road accident, using a motor vehicle without third party insurance, driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, failing to provide a specimen for analysis and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

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Floods

That same area of Draycott has other problems. It’s now the place in the village most likely to experience flooding when the rains come. The last set of floods, early this month (coming hard on the ones in November), saw the junction there under high water again. The photo, below (from the Draycott Friends facebook page), shows the problem.

Why this bit of road is having so many difficulties is not clear. It is low-lying admittedly, but other causes have to be researched.
One speculation is that the stream which runs down from Draycott Cross, along a ditch on the side of Cheadle Road to the Villa Verde junction, is getting ‘jammed up’ as it tries to continue along its course under the main road. (The stream actually later joins the River Blithe near the industrial park). The only way to know for sure is to send cameras down to look.

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Defib award

At least there is one little bit of good news. Congratulations go to AEDdonate, the folks who installed all the defibrillators in this district, who were recently awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service. This is the highest award a small voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE.

^{Defibrillator cabinet in Cresswell Information Kiosk, installed by AEDdonate and managed by the Cresswell Community Group}

AEDdonate not only provide and install defibrillators to communities around here but also support the local volunteers who maintain these devices.
These defibs are available 24/7 and can be used to quickly help anyone who is suffering cardiac arrest – there are five up in Draycott & Cresswell alone.

Although defibs are relatively easy to use, the charity also provides free online training sessions each month for anyone who just wants to know more about how the process works. Everyone should check out the course really… just in case… you never know…

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What do we want?

There’s yet another online survey for us all that’s been announced, but this time it might just be useful.

The county council wants to know: ‘what matters most to us in our local communities and what would we like to see in them‘? The answers will drive forward new policies. (One hopes).
It should only take 15 minutes to complete the survey (click here to access it) and it can be done online, though there are paper forms at local libraries too if you prefer them. Closing date to fill it in is 31 January.

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Sing it out!

Ever wondered what all the community singing is every Wednesday at Draycott Church Hall? Well, it’s the popular ‘Singing For Fun’ session.

Singing is a great way to get rid of the blues and is actually good exercise too. The Draycott group sing out old pop songs; and at the end of the session, enjoy some tea and biscuits. No voice talents needed! All ages welcome…

^{‘Singing For Fun’ session at Draycott Church Hall. Pic © 2023 CheadleU3A}

The only requirement is to register first as a member of the Cheadle U3A (the U3A is an educational charity based in communities). There is a registration fee, but it’s very small, and entitles you to also join in all the other dozens of sessions, in all different activities, that the U3A puts on around here.
Go on, sing it out!!

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NEWS: flooding /dancing / sad losses / more housing plans

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors & District in mid Nov 2023.
In this post we have news of…: implications of the recent flooding / dance studio success / Shelagh and Brian will be missed / housing plans for Tenford.
There are also many many events coming up in & around our district – including the build up to Xmas with fayres and dances. See our What’s On page for details of this & many other events.

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Floods

The weird weather patterns just don’t stop, do they? Temperatures just seem to have a mind of their own.
However, as far as Cresswell is concerned, it’s rainfall that’s the main issue. The twenty days from October 15th onwards saw huge amounts of rain – with consequent flooding. On the village facebook site, there were dramatic pictures of the River Blithe rising and rising: from a modal height of 0.22metres, it was at 1.35metres on October 20th.

The River Blithe in late October, photographed from Cresswell bridge

The big question is: is weird weather (due to climate change) to be the new normal?
As maps show, lower Cresswell is already in a flood-zone anyway – which is right on the perimeter of where Elan Homes want to build 160 homes… In fact, in their objections to the plans for this estate back in 2014, the former community group VVSM said that there was a real danger of boggy ground here in the future, which was one more reason not to build on it.

What’s more, it was certainly no fun travelling about on the night of November 2nd, which is when the incessant rain reached its peak. Round here, motorists had to bust through deep road-floodings – on the road to Fulford especially, but also in Cresswell near the lay-by.
Some of our local flooding was due to blocked road drains (council maintenance being so bad!), so it’s nice to report that the ‘Draycott Lake’ did not appear as feared (the work on the culvert under Uttoxeter Road a couple of years ago seems to have done the trick). However, Highways officers have warned that it could come back…

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RIP

Talking of VVSM, it’s sad to report that one of the main figures of that group has died. Shelagh Wood, who only moved away from here a few years ago, was a lovely but feisty lady who stood no nonsense. She’ll be missed.
Sad also to report the death of Brian Blackwood. He was so into doing things for the local community (he managed the Draycott Community Transport Service among other things) that many of us urged him to stand for the village council. However, he was too modest to think of it. Another who’ll be missed.

Thinking about the passing of these two, it just seems that the number of local folk like Shelagh and Brian who were willing to put masses of their own time & effort into supporting the community seems to be dropping – especially since Covid. Or is that an illusion? …your thoughts would be welcome.

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Congrats

Special congratulations to Duncan & Hannah, the couple that run the Quick Quick Slow Dance Studios & Ballroom in Cresswell. They took the title (for the third consecutive year!) for the Inventive Dance Competition at the Blackpool Sequence Dance Festival (see pic right).

The pair work incredibly hard, which is why QQS is one of the most successful dance studios in this part of the world. As well as dance-classes, for all ages, there are weekly social dances, and glamorous balls too at least once a month.
As you’ll see from our What’s On pages, QQS is holding a huge number of events in December, enhancing the holiday season for us locals.
Thanks to the pair of them for making Draycott an even better place to live than it is already…!

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More, yes, more housing

The amount of applications to build housing estates in our area continues to grow. It almost seems like there’s a new one every other month!
The latest is one for 80 homes in Tenford Road, which is officially in next-door Checkley Council’s area, but which is only just outside Draycott area (about a couple of hundred yards from The Anchor Inn).

Nobody would mind so much if there were ever enough affordable homes in these plans, but there never are.

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Doctors’ surgeries highlighted

Anyone interested in the way our local doctors’ surgeries work will want to know that there is a three-day event in late November featuring what they do. Both Tean and Blythe Bridge surgeries will be represented among others.
Mysteriously, there are not a lot more details anywhere about this event, but it all takes place at Painsley Sixth Form College in Cheadle on 27th-30th November from 9am-5pm.

If you go, let us know what you thought of it!

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NEWS: police shake-up / Blythe Park latest / youth clubs / more benches

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors & District in early October 2023.
In this post we have news of…: latest on the Cresswell roundabout saga / more public benches / limited youth facilities / more visible PCSOs (?).
There are also many many events coming up in & around our district – including a family-fun charity Race-Night. See our What’s On page for details of this & many other events.

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Roundabout ‘no’ (probably)

The seemingly endless saga of when/if/how/why the proposed housing estate, of over 150 homes, will come to Blythe Park in Cresswell drags on.
One big sticking point has been access to the site off Sandon Road (at the point where the layby is).

The latest is that the developers, Elan Homes, have just reformulated their applications, and are no longer offering the option of a roundabout there. (A roundabout is what the local community action group consider is the safest option).

The red streak marks Sandon Road, the thick grey line marks the proposed new entrance into Blythe Park

Instead, Elan has gone back to the idea they put up some months ago: where the layby is now, what they propose is a three-lane junction including a ‘ghost’ lane (exactly similar to the main one in Draycott where Cresswell Lane and Uttoxeter Lane intersect).
The working group says however that not only is a roundabout safer, but that the original planning application back in 2014 was only agreed because a roundabout was suggested – and Elan can’t simply change their minds now!

What Elan have done is a ‘reformulation’, so there’s no need for folks to submit fresh comments. If you look on the two relevant planning-application pages – 0267 Planning Portal and 0268 Planning Portal you’ll see all the community’s comments are still there. However, if you want to add new thoughts, you’re free to do so: the deadline for new comments is the 23rd of this month.
The working group say they intend to respond.

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Something for the Youth

Talking of housing estates, it’s thought that 300 homes will be fully up and running on Blythe Fields (at the western end of Draycott) by next summer. Among other effects, it means that there’s an awful lot of youngsters coming new to the area… but… there’s nothing for them to do in Draycott except hang out in the streets.

The funding cuts over the last decades have cut youth services to the bone, so youth clubs are few and far between locally, even counting the volunteer efforts trying to make up the deficit.

We had a look at what’s available… Near us is the Tean Friday Youth Club which has funding from their parish council, and a weekly church club in Blythe Bridge, but that’s it.
However, last month, one man said he’ll set up a youth club in Blythe Bridge if he can get community support – and he has had a good response, but it’s early days yet.
One other option for desperate parents is, if you’re happy to take your kids a bit further afield, the professional looking Crossroads Youth Centre which has just been established in Stone – and which has an open evening this Monday (9th October).

The only other youth meeting group that we know of is the Moorlands Music Session (see pic below) in Blythe Bridge – a weekly open get-together for any youngsters (7 to 18) who are interested in making music (instruments provided).

With so many more kids set to enter Draycott’s population because of the new housing estates, the whole question of local youth provision needs some urgent thinking about.

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Have a seat…

But one thing Draycott/Cresswell is definitely good at providing is public benches. A few years ago we wrote an article about them, counting over a dozen in all!

And now you’ll probably have noticed that three more have appeared over the course of this year.
One is at the bus-stop near New Avenue; one near the Draycott Old Road junction; and one near the cricket club in Cresswell (where the existing one had been removed in circumstances that still have not been properly explained…). See photo-slideshow of these new benches below.

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This three-bench project was the brain-child of Bev Reardon (who also was co-opted on to the village council earlier this year in fact). The actual money for them, over £1500, came from the Draycott Solar-Array Community Fund, and special thanks must also go to the parish council clerk, Denise Wheat, who did the hard graft of getting the permissions and arranging for them to be bought and installed.
They look pretty good!

The only question is: why do they have lion-heads on the arms? The animal traditionally associated with Draycott is the dragon, so to see lions is a surprise. Does anyone know?

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Shake up for police

Finally… a rather obscure press release from the Moorlands Police came out over the summer saying there had been a ‘restructure’ of the way local police community-support officers (PCSOs) would work with local communities. The release didn’t give details sadly, but suggested PCSOs would be ‘more visible’. Hmm.

Anyway, the new PCSOs assigned to us (we fall into the ‘Blythe Bridge&Tean’ police-area) are Jonathan Staples, Ashley Goodwin and James Naylor.
It’ll be interesting to see if they are indeed ‘more visible’ in future. If you see one, let us know!!

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NEWS of: ‘moving’ again? / helicopters delay / curry awards / happiness talk

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors & District in mid-September 2023.
In this post we have news of…: Draycott to join Caverswall? / helicopters decision delay / road renovations in Cresswell / awards for curry restaurant / happiness talk from Bernard Shevlin.
There are also many many events coming up in & around our district – including a new solar-array public consultation event. See our What’s On page for details of this & many other events

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More change?

It is a fast-moving time for the people who draw up political boundaries – and thus, for us!
Two months ago Draycott was reassigned out of the Staffs Moorlands parliamentary constituency into the Stoke South one; and now Draycottians may well be reassigned into a different county-council division.
At the moment, Draycott is within the ‘Cheadle & Checkley’ division, but there is a strong recommendation in play to move part of the district into the Caverswall division.

Reassignments occur, say the authorities, as an area’s population size changes, or if our ‘community identity’ fits better in a different grouping.
In our opinion, the geography of a county-council division perhaps doesn’t matter much – but what does matter is the quality of the councillors who will represent us. So, cross fingers…

However, it’s not all a done deal, yet. Residents have until October 16th to express their views. You can find the public consultation details by clicking here.

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The doctor with puppets

The ‘Wellness Wednesdays’ events at our local library at Blythe Bridge are proving to be really popular. Open to all, each event concentrates on an aspect of well-being, from back-pain to dementia, and an expert is on hand to give advice. For the full list, click here.

One talk coming up that many local people will enjoy is the one being given by Dr Bernard Shevlin (see pic, right).
Bernard was the GP at Tean for thirty-five years, and was well-known among us for his jokey manner and his entertaining ways of relaxing worried children patients – usually with puppets!
Not surprisingly, his talk is on Happiness, and how it interacts with your health.

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Delaying tactic

The long-running saga of the proposed helicopter factory for Cresswell goes on. Many local residents do not want it built, and even the planning authority (Staffs Moorlands Council) seems to have questions as they’ve postponed their decision many times. The Cresswell action group, the BPDWG, are also particularly concerned.

The decision will be delayed even more now, after the BPDWG,, asked for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). An EIA is a report that must outline the impact a new-build would have on the area around it. And the Planning Authority has agreed with the BPDWG – so the helicopter company must now research & write one.

However the issue will not now just go away. An efficient organisation will not take long to get an EIA written.
Watch this space.

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Shiny new road

Finally, the main road through Cresswell has had a make-over. In the past week, two stretches – from the Hunter Pub to the lay-by and from the cricket club to the village centre junction – have been completely re-laid and freshly tarmacked.

This comes only weeks after a number of badly pot-holed sections on it were patched up.
Exactly why Cresswell should be so fortunate, and why the middle section (around Blythe Business Park and the railway crossing) was excluded from the renovation, is unclear. Does anybody know?

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Best in town

Finally, the Gandhi Indian Restaurant, which is at the back of the Hunter Pub in Cresswell, has done it again – winning yet more awards.
It picked up two accolades at the English Curry Awards 2023, including Best Curry Chef in the West Midlands for its main man Mohammed Kamal, and as Best West Midlands Takeaway
These awards follow similar ones in the last two years, so it seems the Gandhi is really managing to keep its standards high.

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NEWS: railway homes? / jazz event / rabbits / new defib

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors & District in mid-August 2023.
In this post we have news of…: planning application for homes / new defibrillator for village / rabbits problem / summer events.
There are also many many events coming up in & around our district – including a Treasure Hunt. See our What’s On page for details of this & many other events

If you want to get an email alert each time a post on this site goes live – go to the button marked ‘Follow This Site via Email‘ (see button, right hand side of this page) 

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Railway homes, perhaps

Well, here’s something none of us expected… an application has been posted to put up eight new homes on the waste ground by the rail crossing in Cresswell (see diagram below). It’s on the corner of Cresswell Old Road and Cresswell Lane.
Developers never stop looking for places to build!

The site itself has a long history. It was part of the property of the old Cresswell railway station during all the years when trains stopped at Cresswell (Cresswell being at the junction of the old Cheadle line and the main line to Stoke/Uttoxeter).
In fact, not only was the (now-demolished) railway station once on this site (see pic below), but so was part of the old carriages & goods yard. You can still see some old brickwork, all that remains of the old goods yard platform, if you look carefully.

^{Cresswell rail station house, looking toward Stoke. Big, wasn’t it?}

In later years, it became a spill-over car park for the Izaak Walton Inn when the pub was doing a roaring trade as a ‘gastro-pub’. (Since those days the Izaak has been converted into a private home).

The developers are well aware that the homes will back straight onto the railway line, but, here in Britain there is a long history of building homes up against railways, so that probably won’t be a reason for it not to get permission.
If you want to have your say, the Comments page on the council’s planning portal is open (application SMD/2023/0337). Consultation is due to finish on the 28th August.

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Poorly rabbits

Come the summer, comes Myxomatosis. This disease, that is (usually) fatal to rabbits, strikes most often in the good weather; and, sure enough, the rabbits locally are showing signs of it now.
You can tell if the animal has it because they are confused, unaware of danger and look puffy. Motorists will come across them walking in slow zig-zag lines across the road.
There’s not really much that can be done for them and death is often a kindly release. Fortunately the disease doesn’t affect other animals.

Draycott does seem to have more than its fair share of wild rabbits. They are a real pest often, and the authorities at St Margaret’s Church particularly at their wit’s end about how to deal with the numbers in the churchyard.
Actually, many rabbits are now immune to the Myxomatosis virus, so it doesn’t affect their overall numbers much year-on-year.
There’s an interesting discussion about the issue on the village Facebook page – click here to join the conversation.

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Defib delight

Well done to Blythe Cricket Club where a new defibrillator has been installed at the club’s Cresswell ground. The club’s darts team has taken responsibility for maintaining it.

Defibrillators are small, easy-to-use machines that can really help when somebody is suffering cardiac (heart) arrest; and can be vital in the minutes while waiting for an ambulance to arrive.

This means that there are now four public defib stations around the village – in Cresswell lay-by (in the old telephone kiosk), and on the outside walls of the Draycott Sports Centre, the Golden Keg and the Villa Verde restaurant. The last two are maintained by the parish council.
In an emergency, anyone is entitled to use any of them.

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All that jazz

Finally, just a reminder of two fun events coming up in the village this month.

On the 20th, Upper Newton Farm (which is halfway up Cresswell Old Road) is organising a charity treasure hunt. The hunt has to be done by car: the passengers solve the clues while the driver gets the group from spot to spot. Phone 07969004360 to book your place (£10 per car).

And, on Bank Holiday Monday, the Quick Quick Slow Dance Hall in Cresswell has ‘an afternoon of summer jazz’ – with a glass of Pimm’s thrown in to make the event even more delightful.
See What’s on page for details.

***
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NEWS: new cllrs / hello Stoke S/ potholes gone / accounts on show / fayre success

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors & District in mid-July 2023.
In this post we have news of…: final council line-up / potholes fixed / Draycott Council accounts on show / fayre great success…
There are also many many events coming up in & around our district – including some performing-arts workshops for kids. See our What’s On page for details of this & many other events

If you want to get an email alert each time a post on this site goes live – go to the button marked ‘Follow This Site via Email‘ (see button, right hand side of this page) 

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Goodbye Stone, hello Stoke South

So, it’s a done deal… As we suspected, we in Draycott/Cresswell/Totmonslow are to be part of the new ‘Stoke South’ parliamentary constituency; we are leaving the old ‘Stone’ constituency.
The government commissioners reported at the beginning of this month – and that was their conclusion.

The commissioners’ job was to reduce the number of MPs (and thus, the number of constituencies) across the country, and make all constituencies much the same, population-wise (to about 70,000). It has caused quite a shake-up.

The ‘old’ Stoke South constituency is in purple, and the new one is indicated by the boundary lines. Draycott and Tean are in the right side of it, and Trentham in the left side

There was a lot of snobbish reaction to the idea of being part of Stoke South during the consultation period, but, as you can see from the map, Stoke South has been cut in half too: so Fenton and some of Longton has now gone to the ‘Stoke Central’ constituency.
So…. the new Stoke South will include: Draycott-in-the-Moors, Checkley, bits of Longton, Meir, Blythe Bridge, Trentham, Tittensor, Swynnerton, Tean, Barlaston and more (see exact map by clicking here).
In other words, it’s now a semi-rural constituency, which is about right for Draycottians. It’s not really a bad deal.

These new arrangements will not affect district councils – so we still come under Staffordshire Moorlands District Council.
The new constituencies will actually ‘come alive’ as soon as the next General Election is called. 

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Potholes, mended

The dreaded Cresswell obstacle-run of potholes has finally been fixed. The cracks in the road stretched from the road bridge to the business park and were, frankly, a danger and a liability.

The county council, who are responsible for road repairs, have done a good job; and all is now smooth and wonderful (see pic, above). These repairs look to be a lot better than the temporary fill-ins that have been done before.
Cross fingers that the repairs survive…

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New faces

The new Draycott village council is finally in place, following the May elections, with a full seven members. There was a bit of an odd situation – because Mark Hall, one of the people elected in May, never contacted the council and never claimed his seat. Very bizarre. So he had to be removed ‘in absentia’.

Mark was replaced by Bev Reardon (pic right), who’s quite involved in community matters – among other things, she is one of the ‘experts’ on the village Facebook page.

The new council looks good. Over half are new faces, already well known in the community for ‘getting things done’, while the rest are veterans, who can bring some continuity.
They have some big challenges coming up, so good luck to them.

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Accounts
Talking of the village council, we residents are all supposed to keep an eye on what it’s up to. The people who created councils over a hundred years ago knew we shouldn’t blindly trust politicians, and so they consciously put in place the ‘annual exercise of public rights’, which is the opportunity for residents to go see the council’s accounts and judge if it is doing a proper job.
However, there is only a small time-frame in which to do this (about a month) – and the chance to see Draycott Council’s accounts runs out on August 3rd.
To go see the accounts, contact the clerk and set up an appointment. 

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Fayre magic

And finally… congratulations again to John Clarke, Tom Sales and Zara Hutson, the principal organisers of the annual Draycott Fayre. It was a fabulous event – and the sun shone all day!!
There were fears that we wouldn’t have a fayre this year after the main supporter pulled out, but new money was found, new volunteers came forward (some from the new ‘Friends of St Margaret’s Church’ group), and the event was saved.

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  Tractor procession

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  John Clarke referees the tug-o-war

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  Horse-drawn caravan was a big attraction…

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  One of the cars in the Classic Vehicles show

Special mentions must also go to Matthew Pointon, who once again agreed to play the role of ringmaster, and Cllr Lisa Emery who had the difficult job of judging the dog-show.
In the end, it turned out to be yet another outstanding community get-together!
(Thanks to John Richards for the photos).

***
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NEWS: fayre soon! / garden event / new people in power / theatre for kids

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors & District in late June 2023.
In this post we have news of…: the returning summer fayre / a gardeners’ event / performing workshops for kids / Labour in control at Leek…
There are also many many events coming up in & around our district – have you tried the Draycott Community Cafe yet? See our What’s On page for details of this & many other events

If you want to get an email alert each time a post on this site goes live – go to the button marked ‘Follow This Site via Email‘ (see button, right hand side of this page) 

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Big Weekend

The good news is that this year’s Draycott Summer Fayre looks as good as any previous! Although it is now run as a community project, not as a St Margaret’s Church project, John Clarke & his terrific volunteers have managed to pull out the stops again.

As usual, it will be in two parts.
There will be a live-music & disco event on the Saturday evening (the 8th July) in the Fords Field Marquee.
Then, a full day of fayre events (acts, displays, stalls, refreshments, sporting sessions) on the the next day, Sunday (9th July), in the centre of the village.
The amazing line-up on the Sunday includes the well-established Florence Brass Band.

For full details of the Saturday evening event, click here.
For full details of the Sunday daytime event, click here.

Profits from the weekend will go to the maintenance & restoration of our village’s medieval church.

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One for the gardeners…

By coincidence, on the same day as the summer fayre takes place, the owners of Izaak Walton Farm in Cresswell are inviting visitors to look round their very attractive, large garden (see pic below).
The event is part of the National Garden Scheme, in which local gardeners open their plots to the public, who can come in on payment of a small admission fee (for charity).

The fayre and the farm are within a short walking distance of each other, so you should easily be able to go to both events if you want.

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Change at the top

The borough council elections in May saw a change of control within Staffordshire Moorlands District Council (which is ‘our’ district council).
Although Checkley Ward (which includes us here in Draycott in the Moors) returned two Conservatives and an Independent as usual, other Moorlands electors plumped for Labour candidates instead, and now, after years in which the Tories were in the majority at Leek, Labour have control of the council.
Labour does not have a complete majority on the council though, so it will have to rely on support from the Independent Group’s councillors to get its decisions through.

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Singing & dancing for the kids

If you are a parent who has kids who love to perform, one way to get yourself through the summer (!) is to enrol them in the summer workshops at Draycott Exercise Centre.
The Garland & Pearce School of Dance & Performing Arts moved to the centre last year and now has a permanent studio area there.

This year, their week-long workshops will be based on producing a version of the famous show Matilda The Musical JR. (From 7th-11th August, Monday-Friday, from 10am – 2pm). Kids don’t have to be members of the school already to take part.
The bonus is that there is a full performance at the end of the sessions – which parents & family can attend.

***
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NEWS: solar (again) / zapping potholes / ancient bells ring / church Friends update

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors & District in late May 2023.
In this post we have news of…: solar array goes again to committee / 400 years of bells / potholes, beware! / second friends meeting for church…
There are also many many events coming up in & around our district – including a plant sale at Draycott Nurseries. See our What’s On page for details

If you want to get an email alert each time a post on this site goes live – go to the button marked ‘Follow This Site via Email‘ (see button, right hand side of this page) 

_ _ _
Sunny hopes

As we predicted last month, the application for a second solar-panels array on fields in Totmonslow is now back with the SMDC’s planning committee, despite being rejected the first time around.
In their revised application, the developers, REPD, have recognised local residents’ concerns and adapted the way the site is to be laid out.

One interesting fact is the way the developers stress that this installation will be on site for no more than forty years – they are promising that the whole shebang will be dismantled by 2065 and the land then returned to its former state. This aspect is pretty much true of all ‘solar farms’ in fact, but the developers seem to want to make it extra clear in this particular case.

A new public consultation is now in place. You have until 7th June to make your views known (for or against). Just go to the planning application page, scroll down, and click on the big green ‘Comment’ section.

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Booming for 400 years

Whatever your feelings about the coronation, it was surely wonderful for everyone to hear the ancient bells of St Margaret’s ringing across this district on the day.

^{The Coronation ring was performed by Laura Hulse – 1st bell, Gillian Smith – 2nd Bell, David Meller – 3rd Bell, Susan Mason – 4th Bell, Jackie Kent – 5th Bell and John Clarke – 6th Bell.}

The Draycott bell-ringing team do a great job; and John Clarke is also to be congratulated on the way he maintains the bells – making them fit not just for current events, but for decades to come.
It’s amazing to think that the oldest bell in St M’s tower was installed as far back as 1607, meaning it was rung in 1633 to mark the coronation of the first King Charles!

_ _ _
Friends of St M’s (again)

Talking of St Margaret’s, the future of our medieval church looks more hopeful now with the creation of a ‘Friends’ group. The Friends was set up properly at a meeting earlier this month; and already have volunteers for committee places.
The upcoming second meeting will see the solid work: establishing a ‘mission statement’ and deciding what the Friends will actually do.

Anyone with an interest in preserving our ancient building, which has been the centre of Draycott life for centuries, is welcome to be a supporter. It’s not a church group: it’s more of a community group in fact, and not to do with the religious practice of the church.
Please just email Richard on stmargarets.pccsecretary@outlook.com to register your interest and to receive newsletters.

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Potholes, your end is nigh

For nearly a year now, motorists have been slaloming round the potholes on Cresswell Lane/Sandon Road main thoroughfare through Cresswell. It’s no longer a joke, even if it ever was, as the potholes have grown and grown in size and become more and more dangerous.
Surely it is the worst road for potholes for miles.

^{Just one of MANY potholes on Cresswell Lane/Sandon Road}

At last though, something is to be done. Sandon Road is ‘next on the list’ according to the county’s Highways Department. The works, due to take place at the end of this month, will cause disruption for a good few days, and diversions will be in place, but Cresswellians will just be glad something is being done… finally!

***
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NEWS: council vacancy / community church / Huntley heroes / sad passing

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors & District in early May 2023.
In this post we have news of…: volunteer required on village council / church folk’s community activities / role-playing in Huntley Woods / sad death in Cresswell…
There are also many events coming up in & around our district – including the first Draycott community-cafe session. See our What’s On page for details

If you want to get an email alert each time a post on this site goes live – go to the button marked ‘Follow This Site via Email‘ (see button, right hand side of this page) 

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Volunteer councillor needed

Finally, the dust has settled over the local elections; and we now know who is to represent us at both district-council and at parish-council level.

Draycott is in the ward of Checkley, part of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, and here the elections produced no change. Conservatives Mark Deaville & Alan Hulme and the Independent Pete Wilkinson were re-elected, despite some strong campaigns from the ‘underdogs’.  (See the details of the results).  Congratulations to all for taking part.

Meanwhile, at Draycott Parish-Village Council level, there turned out to be no necessity for an election (see the story).  However, there’s still one outstanding issue to be sorted: the last vacancy on the council. We already have six councillors in place, but a seventh is needed.  As an election is not required for the seventh, the word is out for a volunteer instead. 
If you think you could fill the seat, just write to the clerk of the council to volunteer.  She’ll write back and explain how the process (called ‘co-option’) works.  But don’t delay!

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St Margaret’s in motion

The last couple of months have produced a flurry of community activity among the friends of St Margaret’s, Draycott’s Anglican parish church.

Not only is the Remembrance garden coming along wonderfully, but there is lots of outreach.  The leading lights among the congregation have organised a fortnightly community-cafe, and are also putting together Draycott’s celebration of the coronation, which is a public brunch at the church-village hall on Sunday 7th (see poster, right). 
And this Tuesday (9^th), there is also an open meeting to discuss how local residents can get involved with saving this ancient building.
(See our What’s On page for details of all these events).

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Be a hero

In the woods just up Cheadle Road from The Villa Verde restaurant), there is always something intriguing going on!  The people who took over the Huntley Wood site ten years ago and created the magical green recreation space there seem to have made it something of a mecca for live role-playing games.  Many weekends of the year, you’ll see folks up there dressed like it’s a Game Of Thrones episode…

So, at the end of this coming week, be prepared for HeroQuest.  This event will be quite a big deal, pulling people from all over the country, and already dozens of tickets have been sold.

Live out your HeroQuest fantasy!

It’s amazing to think that events like this are going on, largely unseen, on our very own doorstep.

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The passing of a legend

Finally, there is the sad news of the death of Pat Morse.
Pat lived in Cresswell, raising four children here; and, for twenty-five years, worked just 200 yards from home, at Blythe Colours. 
Pat was from that generation of women who grew up in the shadow of the Second World War: as soft as butter if she liked you, but very tough if you crossed her! We shan’t see her like again.
She is now at peace in St Margaret’s churchyard, buried alongside her husband Dave.

***
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