NEWS of: air ambulance base? / another solar array / cricket team’s woes / more building

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors & District in late August 2023.
In this post we have news of…: air ambulance base in Cresswell? / cricket team relegation issue / solar array for Cresswell? / more building on Blythe Fields estate.
There are also many many events coming up in & around our district – including the Hollington Fayre. 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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Another month, another consultation

For the third time in as many months (!), there is a public consultation session & exhibition in this area about a proposed solar array – this time in Cresswell. (We’ve mentioned the others previously – see the ‘Recent Posts’ column on the right of this page).
We are all invited to visit Fulford Village Hall on Wed Sept 13, from 5pm onwards, to find out more.

Solar arrays (often called solar farms) consist of rows and rows of solar panels mounted in fields; they are a ‘green’ way to create electricity and there are already a couple in Draycott district. However, a firm needs planning permission before they can erect one.
This latest proposal is for one to be sited in Cresswell, on the road south going out toward Hilderstone. If built, it’ll be on open land just behind the dog boarding kennels there.

^{The site of the proposed new solar array in southern Cresswell is marked in red}

Round here, the solar arrays are of a fairly modest size, just a few fields big, but the number of applications for them locally do seem to be coming in thick & fast!
Of course, solar array projects are a great response to the climate-change crisis, and they are temporary (having a life of 30-40 years), but, even so, we hope the village council is keeping an eye on the details of such applications. The councillors have been a bit slack about such duties in the past.

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Miracle, please

It has been a lousy season for the Blythe Cricket Club First Team – and it could get worse. The Cresswell-based team are in the NSSCL First Division relegation zone and things don’t look good.

A village cricket club is, of course, about more than just the fortunes of the first-team. For instance, Blythe run other very successful teams, including juniors and ladies sides, but the fate of the first team is always paramount.
So… can you help? This Saturday (26 August) the team are at home to league leaders Meakins. All it needs is a miracle win, and Blythe would immediately bounce up the table! Are you able to get along and give your enthusiastic & vocal support? Entry to the ground is free, and there is a bar if you need the extra incentive.
C’mon Blythe!!!

_ _ _
Medical rescue team to be based in Cresswell?

There has been lots of talk among neighbours in the village about a leaflet going round advertising a proposed new medical rescue service – the ‘Stoke Air Ambulance’.
Like the already-established and well-known Midlands Air Ambulance, this new one is designed as a publicly-supported charitable project. The people behind it have been fund-raising hard across north Staffordshire in order to get the project off the ground.

^{Stoke Air Ambulance vehicles will be blue in colour}

So far, so interesting. But the odd thing is that the organisers claim it will be based at the business park in Cresswell, within the site of the planned new helicopter factory there… The organisers claim it’s the ‘perfect synthesis’. Nevertheless, this is all news to us, and we’d like to see some details!
The other odd thing is that nowhere in their literature do they explain how the local NHS views their venture.
One good idea would be for the village council to invite the organisers along to a public meeting, so we could all find out a lot more about what’s going on.

_ _ _
Phase 2 has lift-off

Draycottians will have noticed new movement around the Blythe Fields housing estate at the western end of the village. This activity is all to do with the second phase of the building of the estate.

Blythe Fields already has over 150 new houses on it, but phase-2 will see 200 more houses, as construction creeps eastward along the ridge into Draycott proper.

We should also remember that there is ‘outline planning permission’ for yet another phase – which would continue construction along the ridge, in the direction of Cresswell – but no plans have yet appeared for that.

_ _ _
And finally, the WI

The members at Draycott Women’s Institute have purchased a picnic table to commemorate the recent coronation of Charles III with a view to siting it on the grassed area at the rear of the village Church Hall.
Is there a builder or paver who might be able to make the base and erect the table?

However… even though the work must be expertly done (as the public will be using the table), the WI say they only have enough money to purchase the materials; they haven’t the cash to pay labour costs.
But if that sounds like something you could help with, please contact presidentdraycott.le.moors@gmail.com

***
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NEWS: more solar / litterpicker / shock fayre news / war memorial update / candidates meet

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors & District in early February 2023.
In this post we have news of…: new solar panel site / sports grant criticised / fayre to stop / new litterpicker / war memorial wait / potential-candidates meeting…
There are also many many events coming up in & around our district – including a charity event at local restaurant. 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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Upper Newton sun-trap

Plans to extend the area of solar-panels plantations in Newton (between Cresswell and Totmonslow) to a second, extra site have just been approved, so expect things to start moving this summer.
This second site, of 42 acres, is officially known as The Upper Newton site and is just north of the original one.
Solar panels take heat from sunlight, even from low sunlight, convert it to electricity, and sell it on to the National Grid. In the new facility will also be a storage unit, where large batteries can hold any excess electricity temporarily.
The site will supply electricity for 20% of Moorlands households for the next 40 years.

The news will delight environmentalists, and was big enough news to get front-page coverage on the local edition of the Sentinel. 
However, despite being invited to comment, Draycott Council had no opinion… 
On the other hand, some of those living near the site were disappointed.  Their only consolation is that, as the world hurtles along into climate change crises, this little site might help slow down the process.

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Sports Centre query

Talking of the village council, there was a discussion at its January meeting over some grant money that has been allocated to the community following the building of the Blythe Fields One housing estate at the west end of the village.
As we reported in a previous bulletin, the money must be spent on sporting facilities; and the Staffs Moorlands authority decided that almost £80,000 was to be given to Draycott Sports Centre.

During the meeting it was clear that the chairman of Draycott Council was not happy about this.  He said that no-one from Draycott used the club and that its members were all from outside the village, and that money meant for the community should not be going to a ‘private club’ anyway.

What do you think?  Please use the comments box at the bottom of the page if you have thoughts.

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Tidy village

It’s good to see that a new Draycott litterpicker was finally appointed at the end of last year. You may have spotted Zara Hutson on her tidying tours. (You’ll know Zara: she used to run the Draycott Arms before it became an Italian restaurant last year; and she still manages the BnB on the site there).

Zara is a great walker of the village anyway, so she was happy to put herself forward for the post, which pays about £100 a month, and the village council were more than grateful to put her on the payroll. 

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Shock fayre news

It’s certainly a sad day when we hear that the Draycott St Margaret’s Summer Fayre, after more than 25 years, is being discontinued. Church volunteers have organised it for years and years, but their numbers have diminished – to the point where it’s apparently impossible to go on.

Pauline Clarke shows the ’25 Years’ banner – made by the Brownies

Read the full announcement by clicking here.

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Memorial – why the wait?

The story of the village war memorial is a long one.  Back in 2016, it was suggested to Draycott Council that the village should commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the 1914-18 World War by installing a second memorial, in the village centrepiece at the bottom of Church Lane. (The other memorial is inside St Margaret’s Church).
The idea was agreed, but seemed to just get forgotten by councillors time and time again, and the council had to be kept reminded of its promise.

Finally, last Spring, seven years later, the process got under way.
(This decision did have its issues though, as the councillors awarded the job to one of their own council colleagues. They also awarded it to him knowing that his main business is not monumental sculptures but stone repair-work – see his council website register.  However, there was a proper tendering process, and his was considered the best bid).

Last November, the memorial was at last put in the ground, but – while most in the village is grateful it’s there at least – the design of it does seem disappointingly squat and somewhat insignificant, overshadowed by the small tree next to it.  And it remained unpainted for months.
(People have asked though why it was not painted before being put in the ground).

Last week though a sort of paint-job was done. But it’s clearly still unfinished. (See the latest photos in the slideshow below)

• 

  Village centre, with memorial on the right

• 

  Close up of War Memorial arms

• 

Surely, this whole affair shows that the council needs to communicate with the local residents more than it does.  This memorial is a big deal, and should be a premier feature in the village’s centre and this odd process should be better explained. 
More communication was needed from the start to engage residents about this project. Surely it would have been best to set up a formal advisory group, with residents on the panel, right from the start. 

Indeed…. it would be great if the new councillors who will be elected this May would take note – please can we have more communication?
Meanwhile, continue to watch the space.

_ _ _
Thinking about standing for the council?

Draycott Council has elections in May, with seven seats up for grabs. It’s likely that some sitting councillors will retire.
Would you like to take their place?  Check our guide to how to stand.

If it’s something that appeals to you, you could also attend the ‘Potential Candidates Session’ which takes place in Leek from 6pm on the 28th Feb.  If you can’t get there in person, you can apply to watch the live stream.

***
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NEWS: potholes back / Vince’s passing / Jordan’s year / dumping incident

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors & District in late January 2023.
In this post we have news of…: dumping in Cresswell / Vince Lindo’s passing / potholes return / Jordan’s great year …
There are also many many events coming up in & around our district – including a Valentines Ball! 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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Dumping concerns

As large piles of rubble started to appear on the Railway Cottages track in Cresswell recently (see pic below), there were fears that some illegal dumping was going on. However, it appears that the rubble was put there on the orders of the new owners.
The land there, which is about 150 yards up Cresswell Old Lane, has been the subject of some uncompleted planning applications, first for a warehouse, then for a pair of houses.

It’s not quite clear why the rubble has been deposited here, so our district councillor has promised to make enquiries.

_ _ _
Vince the great

As many people in our part of the world as any other mourned the passing of the wonderful cricketer Vince Lindo earlier this month.
After arriving from the West Indies as a young man, he did play for county clubs for a short while, but in the end spent virtually his whole career in north Staffordshire – and it was a long career!

He is particularly fondly remembered at Blythe Cricket Club (in Cresswell) where he played quite a few years, and in fact is where he recorded his best bowling figures, 10-for-40 in 1977. For a long time, his was one of the photos in the hall-of-fame gallery in the club’s pavilion.

Vince was one of a tranche of outstanding West Indies players on the local cricket scene in those early years. (It’s hard to believe but one of the greatest cricketers of all time, Gary Sobers, was actually playing in this period just down the road at Norton Club!)
He played on for various local clubs until the amazing age of 71, but even then refused to give up his beloved game, turning to umpiring. Naturally, he was an incredibly popular figure…

Vince will be greatly missed.

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Potholes return

A few years ago, we wrote a little article dubbing Cresswell the King of Potholes Villages. A combination of water-logged, low-lying land and heavy lorries going to and from Blythe Business Park meant the tarmac was continually breaking up.

By last summer, the pothole situation seemed to have improved with some patching up – but now the problem is back. In three separate spots on Cresswell Lane, large potholes, some three inches deep, have appeared (see pic above). Local folk know where they are and swerve around them, but, even so, that can be a dangerous manoeuvre in itself.
Presumably the potholes will only get worse when huge construction wagons are called into action, as & when building starts on the business park. Sigh.

_ _ _
Jordan’s break-through

Down the years we’ve mentioned Jordan Brown (see pic right), the young footballer from Cresswell who turned professional with Derby County Football Club a few years ago.

Well, playing in the reserves at Derby was not for him, so he signed for the London club Leyton Orient instead, almost exactly a year ago.
The good news is that Jordan has been a first-team regular ever since, clocking up nearly forty games! What’s more the Orient are currently the runaway leaders of League Two, so it’s a really wonderful ‘purple patch’ for him.

Incidentally, if Leyton Orient do gain promotion, as they seem likely to, next year the team will face Port Vale – and an easy trip for his friends & supporters to Vale’s ground, in Stoke on Trent, will be on the cards!

***
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NEWS of: no roundabouts? / cricket changes / local painter / decor at Arms

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors & District in late January 2022
In this post we have news of…: changes to village roundabout plans? / dazzling decor at Arms / local artist’s work / changes at cricket club
For news of a Burns’ Night do, a singer coming to Fulford and other happenings in our area, please go to our What’s On page

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Roundabouts plan to be sidelined?

For a few months now, rumours have been circulating that the plan for two roundabouts – one in the centre of Draycott and one in Cresswell – was about to be dumped. Sure enough, it looks like it could happen.

Way back in 2016, the developers behind the proposed huge expansion of the business park in Cresswell were told by planning officers that they’d need also to fund two roundabouts – to cope with all the extra expected traffic, including the lots more of HGVs. One roundabout would be built in Cresswell (where the lay-by is now) and one in the centre of Draycott (at the bottom of Church Lane).
They would be complicated to build, and expensive, but the council’s planners believe they are necessary.

Well, eight years later (!), the developers have put forward their alternative plan: no roundabouts.
Instead, the new propositions can be summed up like this: Cresswell would get just an extra, turning traffic-lane added (like the set-up at the T-junction at the top of Cresswell Lane), while the Draycott-centre junction would just be controlled by traffic lights.

In this diagram (above) the green hammerhead shape on Sandon Rd is where the new access to Blythe Park will go (eventually): no longer a roundabout, in this latest proposal, but a three lane t-junction
(By the way, the houses you see to the right of Sandon Road in this diagram haven’t actually been built yet – just in case you were wondering!)

Some residents will definitely welcome this: the roundabouts would have created permanent disruption for around a dozen households.
However, the problem is obvious: the new plan has the potential to create snarl-ups and backed-up traffic, both on Sandon Road and on Draycott level. It all depends on whether the planning officers accept the developers’ (new) traffic-flow assessments.

This planning application is now before Staffs Moorlands Council, and all residents have a right to submit a point of view on it. To check out the application, and make a comment – just click here.

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Degg digs in

You can tell winter’s nearly over when cricket clubs start to announce their plans for the coming season.
Blythe Cricket Club (whose ground is in Cresswell) are no different, having just announced who their new captain is to be, and who their main sponsor for 2022 is.
The appointment of Scott Degg as captain is very welcome. Scott is a steady hand, which will be needed in 2022: Blythe had a rocky season last year, and only just escaped relegation from the NSSCL Division One.

^{Scott Degg – photo credit Blythe CC}

The 2022 sponsor for the club is Thermograde, a chemicals company based in Stone.
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Dazzling décor

Valentines is in the air, and Zara & Brayn at the Draycott Arms are encouraging sweethearts of all ages to think about a hearts&roses night (or two) at the ‘Inn In The Moors’ – the holiday flat which now has pride of place on the upstairs floor of the Arms.

New photos that have been released show what a special set of rooms the ‘Inn’ accommodation contains. Some amazing murals and an extremely stylish approach to interior design mark it all out as something the old Arms has never ever seen before!

^{Inn in The Moors, at the Draycott Arms}

Roll on Valentines…

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Artist in residence

It’s a strange thing but many of us here in Draycott & District hadn’t heard of John Bullock’s paintings until he exhibited at the Artists Collective Show in Shropshire last autumn.
John lives in the village, and, even though he didn’t start painting until he was 65, now sells his work to collectors from as far away as Germany.
Though his big thing is landscapes, he does do commissions, and his picture of Grange Farm (the farm on Cheadle Road just up from the Arms pub) was one such commission.

^{Grange Farm by John Bullock (photo credit John Bullock)}

You can check out John’s work (and commission something from him if you like!), by accessing his Facebook page.

***
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NEWS: dojo restart / covid rise / Arms changes? / 2021 stats

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors & District in mid January 2022
In this post we have news of…: changes at The Draycott Arms? / Covid cases shoot up / local pub closes / martial arts club makes a fresh start / good year for this website
For news of a Valentines’ dance and a pig race (!) and other happenings in our area, please go to our What’s On page

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Here to stay?

The announcement that Draycott Council was cancelling its monthly meeting for the second time in a row because of Covid concerns, really reinforces the fact that the disease is continuing with its sudden, surprising return.
Britain has the unwelcome record of having had more Covid deaths than any other European nation.

^{Case rates in the Staffs Moorlands last week (courtesy of BBC News)}

Even round here, which had been one of the least affected areas in England, cases are now 600% greater than they were a year ago (see table right), and are now higher than the national average. Last week alone there were also three Covid deaths in the Staffs Moorlands area – which may not sound much, but compare that to the whole summer, when there were none…

Could it be down to issues with the vaccination roll-out? Astonishingly, nearly one third of the adult population in this area have still not yet had their third (‘booster’) jab. And now it turns out that some of us are catching it more than once!
But, on the other hand, the government now seems to want us to “live with Covid” and treat it like we would bad flu.
Hmm.
It is quite confusing at times.

One casualty of the epidemic is the Red Lion pub at Boundary, just along from Draycott Cross. After fifteen years, Matt & Vicky are calling it a day; and Covid – which caused closures and dropping numbers of customers – is the root of it. It’s a real shame – their beer garden on a summer’s day was very very special, as were the conker tournaments!

^{Red Lion beer garden – great view over the valley to Cheadle}

One bit of good news is that their cooking remains – in the shape of a takeaway service.

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Changes at the Arms?

One big New Year resolution very few of us expected to hear was that Zara & Brayn at the Draycott Arms have decided that a restful break for themselves is in order. If they can find someone else to run the pub for them, the pair want to take a time-out for the foreseeable future.

^{Brayn & Zara}

We wish them luck. They really have made the Arms a welcoming, quality pub, both for locals seeking a quiet drink and for diners who just want beautifully-created dishes – but we all know that, to do that, one has had to put in incredibly long, hard hours – and you can’t do that forever….

So… what’s needed now by them is someone who’s prepared to take on the kitchen, bar and restaurant, and see the Arms through into its next phase.
It’s a rental opportunity – if you know someone who’d be interested you’ll find all the details if you click here, or drop in to the Arms and ask. The pub reopens on Jan 18th after its seasonal break.

But – thank goodness – Zara & Brayn are not going anywhere, and will continue to live ‘above the shop’, no matter who takes over the pub. They will also still be managing the upstairs holiday-let (which is now on Air BnB, if you’re interested).
It’s good to think we will still see Zara out walking Indeea, and Brayn buzzing round the lanes on his bike!

_ _
Dojo keeps strong

The Covid business has not been good for some sports activities, especially ones for kids, and Cresswell’s own award-winning martial arts club, Tatsu Dojo, was badly affected by the restrictions for a while.
However, it is coming back strong. Just before Christmas, Tara Burndred and her colleagues made sure the world were aware of their renewed ambitions with a big splash in the local paper.

^{Dojo’s half-page feature in the Cheadle & Tean Times newspaper}

The club really does do a lot for local kids, and their sessions are meant as much as confidence-builders as anything else. They also do special women’s street-safety sessions, so look out for those – or contact the club directly to find out what’s what. Sessions are held at the Draycott Sports Centre.

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How was 2021 … for us?

Finally, to reflect on our year here on this website.
It’s strange to think that it is eight years since we started – time flies! Back then, we could create eight posts a month, but now we don’t have as many contributors, so we only do two posts a month now.
Strangely, despite fewer posts, numbers of views are almost as high. Google-Stats tell us we had 21,000 views on this website in 2021!
The most visited page this year was the one on which we reported that this district was likely to get yet another housing estate.

The high number of views could be because this website is getting better and better known, and more people are subscribing (we now have 300 such regular ‘followers’). Subscribers are those people who request an automatic email alert whenever a post is published on this website. If you too want to subscribe, just click the Follow button in the top right-hand corner of this page and then enter your email address.

One such subscriber is David Bond – who recently sent us this kind letter:
“… Just a couple of lines to tell you that I love to read your Draycott News updates from afar. I have lived up in Lancashire for the last 40 years, but it’s great to hear about what’s going on back “home”. My younger brother Derek also reads the news, way down in Dorset. (I was amazed to read that Mrs Hammond, who I remember very well, had reached the grand old age of 106 before she died!!)
“My Mum and Dad, and other close family members, are buried in St Margaret’s churchyard. We call in there whenever we can but, thanks to Covid, have been unable to do so since Christmas 2019.
“Keep up the good work, which I am sure is greatly appreciated by many other former residents, both near and far.
Kindest Regards, David Bond (ex. 169 Uttoxeter Road) …”

Cheers David – a happy new year to you, and all our readers!

***
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News of: new councillors / cricket escape / first responders’ need / Covid’s return / residents’ win

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors & District in early October 2021
In this post we have news of…: new councillors for village / cricket team avoids drop / St Modwen listens to residents / bad Covid news locally / donate to our first-responders
For news of a ‘memories session’ and other events in our area, please go to our What’s On page

_ _
New councillors

Congratulations to the three new local councillors who have just come on board following some resignations earlier in the year. The four current councillors on Draycott village council had to sift through a number of applications before deciding to appoint Glyn Johnson (former Rotary president, from Cresswell), George Plant (stonemason, from Draycott) and Sabrina Hollingum (office professional, from Tean) to join them. We are now back to the full membership of seven councillors.
There is a slight bit of controversy over George, as he is also the council’s lengthsman (aka handyman). The rules do say that an employee of a council cannot be one of its councillors – because it is a conflict of interest. So, that’s being looked into.

What’s good is that both George and Sabrina have young families – so, presumably, they will especially want to ensure there is a bright future for this community.

_ _
No comment

We had hoped that this fresh injection of energy would mean that the council would finally act on the giant Blythe Vale (Phase 2) planning application, which is proposed for the edge of the village. Consultees to the plans (of which our council is one) had even been given a time-extension, for them to compose their reply.
Depressingly, our council couldn’t be bothered to put in comments. Of course, this shouldn’t surprise anyone, as Draycott Council has a terrible track record in these matters, hardly ever showing up when the community needs leadership these days.

^{Homes under construction in Draycott}

Even though their council didn’t care, some residents did make the effort to put in comments – credit to them – you can see their responses for yourself by checking out the statutory planning page.

_ _
It’s back

Things have taken a gloomier air with the resurgence of Covid over the last weeks. Staffordshire is particularly badly hit at the moment: Stafford Borough has the third highest coronavirus infection rate in England, with more cases in one week than it has ever seen before. The Moorlands is not much better off: on September 20th it recorded its highest number of infections in one day ever.

^{Back to masks? (pic: Pexels.com)}

The only good news is that the death-rate is much lower these days – but we can’t be complacent, as deaths are still occurring, even in the young.
The recommendations are: get the jabs; wash your hands; and, if you have symptoms, book a test, through your doctor. More advice on the Staffordshire Coronavirus webpage.

Perhaps the only good thing to come out of this pandemic is the strong response of local voluntary groups. One such is our local First Responders group (‘first responders’ are medical professionals who volunteer to be on call in their neighbourhoods in emergencies, as they can often be there much quicker than ambulances).
But even a much-needed group like this one has to raise its own funds. So, now our local FRs have put up an online donation page on their website. If you have £5, they would welcome your contribution.

_ _
Cricketers pull it out of the bag!

At the beginning of September, our local cricket team looked in real trouble. The Blythe team, based in Cresswell, was in the relegation zone of their Division.
But – credit to the players – they put in an amazing last week to the season, winning their last two games by large margins, thus avoiding any drop.

^{A rough year for at Blythe Cricket Club First XI}

Yes, the team had a very rough ride this season, even though they eventually finished ninth in the NSSCL Division One table. Let’s hope for better things next year.

_ _
A win for residents

But we finish off with good news (at last!).
At a fractious public meeting in August, representatives from St Modwen Developers faced questions from a group of residents about the new estates which are going up at the east end of the village.
One issue was the lorries and construction plant travelling up Woodlands Lane to the site. (Woodlands Lane is no more than a track, even though there are houses on it). The vehicles were “big, noisy & dangerous” said one resident – why couldn’t the vehicles use the main road through the estate instead? Passions ran high, as one lady said she worried for her children.

To be fair to St Modwen, they did listen, and have now reversed their decision, and will halt large-vehicle traffic up Woodlands Lane. So well-done to them, but also well-done to the residents who put up a strong case!

Hopefully, our village council will take notice of this result. We say to them: see councillors?, everyone can make a difference – but it requires an effort…

***
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Sport in go-mode!

For such a small area, Draycott & district is blessed with lots of sport – from fishing to ju-jitsu and cricket, and even horse-racing.
And it seems everyone is getting back into activity mode following the past year of lockdowns.

Ju-jitsu moves

Good news for lovers of martial arts is that Tara Burndred’s award-winning Tatsu Dojo has completed its successful move to Draycott Sports Centre, where the conversion of two squash courts into a Ju Jitsu room is now an excellent new facility.

^{Ju jitsu room at Draycott Sports Centre}

As you’ll know, Tara and her team were formerly in a building on the Blythe Business Park, just 200 yards from the Sports Centre, but decided to decamp up the road. There was a possibility that the forthcoming new access road into the park might go through their old building – so it was a wise move in more ways than one!

Compliments must also go to Draycott Sports & Fitness Centre which is showing how flexible it can be, and responsive to local needs. (Believe it or not, there are over sixty separate sessions at the centre that one can currently book for, from spin-cycling and fitness classes right though to tennis training.)

Get racing!

The news that a horse being trained in this area had won a race at Uttoxeter Racecourse this month was quite a surprise to some people. Where are these stables?, they wondered.
Well, go to the junction of Cresswell and Saverley Green, and there you will find the Leavy Stables, which specialises in horses owned by consortia of ‘ordinary’ punters. The National Hunt trainer Barry Leavy is the one who puts the horses through their paces; Cresswellians often see the horses go through their ‘gallops’ across the fields.

^{Inishbiggle with owner Georgina Davies}

Incidentally, the winning horse we are talking about was Inishbiggle, but you won’t have made much money if you’d bet on him. He was the red-hot favourite, so you could only get odds of a measly 2/9!

Cricket for all

The Blythe CC First XI (based in Cresswell) may not have made a great start to the season, but a cricket club is not just about the first team or the second team. If you look at the club’s fixture list, you’ll see it also has a roster of junior teams, from under-8s upwards.

^{The Blythe CC ground has spectacular views}

What the club doesn’t have (at the moment) is an all-female team. This is partly because cricket is one of the few sports where males and females can play alongside each other as equals; the rules say a woman could play in the first team if she were picked. Blythe already run a mixed adult men-and-women session.
Nevertheless, the club recognises that girls new to the game may feel more comfortable in an all-female situation, which is why there are special girls-only training sessions on Fridays between 6pm -8pm for girls aged under-9 and girls aged under-11.

It’s great that the club is making really efforts to make space to get youngsters into the game. A list of ‘open-sessions’ where youngsters (of both sexes) can just come along is available on application to club officials.

Just watch

Finally, it’s great to know that spectators are welcome again at outdoor sports activities. There’s nothing like watching a game of cricket on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Blythe CC’s Cresswell ground!

Even the bowls club which plays on the green at the Cresswell business park, Checkley Outdoor, welcomes visitors, though, as secretary Sue Stepek told us: “…we’re don’t really get big crowds…”!!

As you’d expect though, social-distancing is requested at all venues, even after lockdown restrictions are fully relaxed at the end of June.

Links to more sporting opportunities in this district can be found in the sport section of our Local Organisations page

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News: Xmas / Covid update / burglaries / new dojo space

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors & District in mid-December 2020
In this post we have news of…: yes, we will have Christmas / local Covid cases rise again / burglaries in Stuart Avenue / reporting Covid breaches….

For news of what’s on in our area at this time, please click here
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Christmas spirit

Thank goodness, despite everything, we have Christmas to look forward to. Already decorations are up in the village.

This year, one nice project to inspire us all has been the pallet-trees idea – i.e. Christmas trees for local house-fronts, made out of old pallets painted green. Lee proposed the idea on the village Facebook page; the willing Mr Wall made a fair few of them; and then residents made a charitable donation to get one (see right). It worked well!

For those who want the full traditional Christmas as well, in-person church services will happen after all – despite Tier 3 restrictions. Both St Margaret’s and St Mary’s, our two churches, will have Xmas Day services – and St Mary’s even has a Christmas Eve vigil as well. For details, see our What’s On page.

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CV update

But Covid still dominates our lives.
As you’ll know from our last posting, our small neighbourhood (we come under ‘Caverswall & Blythe Bridge District’) was the worst hotspot for Covid during November for the whole of the West Midlands.
Thankfully, cases went gone down thanks to November’s lockdown… but the bad news is that, even in the current Tier 3 (Tier 3 is the toughest of all), our rate has gone up yet again. Figures released for the week ending 13th December showed an overall rise in the Staffordshire Moorlands (of which we are a part) of 14% against the previous week; and we are still a hotspot, considerably above the national average.

The really bad news is for our over-60s, whose death rate is spiking. No one is sure why, but older people’s ability to fight viruses does diminish in the cold weather, so that might be it.

Information from BBC Coronavirus Facts Project

Yes, the effect of the November-Lockdown is definitely receding…
So, the official advice is … please be careful out there, and do get a test (all Draycott / Cresswell / Totmonslow people are eligible for one).

A little bit of good news though is that the award-winning ju-jitsu club in Cresswell, the Breathe Academy, is pressing ahead no matter what. They are going to open a new facility on the site in January – and the even better news is that it will be ‘Covid-secure’.
The club, led by Tara Bundred, is always ambitious, which is to their credit. If you have children wishing to learn self defence through martial arts at the new facility, bookings are already underway.

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Locks can be your friend

Police are advising householders to keep properties locked when they go out (including rear doors).
The advice follows two burglaries in Stuart Avenue (at the west end of Draycott), when some jewellery and clothes were taken in the afternoon of December 2nd. The four burglaries (there were two similar a few miles away at the same time), frankly, look amateurish & opportunist, but that doesn’t mean the effect of them on a householder isn’t very distressing.
We understand arrests have been made, but any more information would be useful – contact the local police on 101, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

If you’re not sure of the best way to protect your property, give our local community support officer, PCSO Jonathan Staples, a call.
_ _ _
To report, or not…

In a small area like ours where neighbours depend on each other, we are always encouraged to report ‘suspicious’ activity to the police.
However, a poll on the Draycott Facebook page revealed that local people are oddly ambivalent about reporting Covid breaches. The poll asked if you would report a group of a dozen young men gathering together for more than fifteen minutes (a clear breach of the Covid rules). Though nearly half said yes, over half said that it would be none of their business…
Yet, on the same page, a large majority agreed they would report a sighting of two young men sitting in a parked car in a residential area for fifteen minutes.

It’s not clear why the difference. We are told by the medical experts that the Covid rules are there to help fight a highly infectious disease which can kill and which already has hurt families deeply – but do some people not believe that?
Anyway, the police continue to issue warnings and sometimes even fines for breaches, and would certainly like it if you’d help out by being eyes & ears – see details on how to by clicking here

***
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Just use the comments box – near the bottom of this page.           (The form will ask if you wish to put in your email address.  You don’t have to – and it is always kept private anyway and never published -, but, if you don’t add your email address, that means you might miss any responses to your comment)

NEWS: cricket double act / Covid stats / GIs in Cresswell / new path access

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors in late August 2020
In this post we have news of…: cricket club’s father & son act / new access to old railway / Cresswell’s US soldiers in WW2 / local Covid stats…

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Lad & dad

The cricket season has been a strange one for local clubs, starting late in the year and operating under unfamiliar rules. But, for the Blythe CC First XI, who play in Cresswell, it has been surprisingly successful.

A run of victories is ensuring this will be a season to remember, and a lot of the wins have been inspired by a father & son act. Zen Malik,  who used to play for Worcestershire, and his father Khalid Malik are both new signings for the club, but have been in dazzling form – Zen with both bat & ball and Khalid as a bowler. In one match they even combined – with one of them catching a batsman out off the other’s bowling!

Khalid Malik is welcomed to Blythe CC for the 2020 season

It’s worth going to see them in action – there are still a few games left of the season at the club’s Cresswell ground and spectators are welcome (free admission). See our what’s on page.

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Cliff’s permissive path

One of the problems with encouraging walkers to use the old Cresswell to Cheadle railway path is that there are very few access points to it. Both ends (at Cheadle and at Cresswell) are closed off, and, if you are in Cresswell, access to it from the road (i.e. from Cresswell Old Lane) is only legal at one point, right up until you get to Totmonslow.
This is a shame as the old-railway path is a really good walk, especially for those who have dogs – but many are put off when they find how hard it is to get access to it.

Cresswell end of the old-railway path (with Railway Cottages in the background)

Well, that’s all changed. A local public-spirited farmer, Cliff Shelley, has said that a 100-yard stretch across one of his fields can now be used as a ‘permissive’ path, to get from Cresswell Old Lane to the old-railway.
If you get to St Mary’s Church in Cresswell, you’ll see a gate opposite the church’s driveway and, beyond that gate, a field. Simply go through the gate, walk directly down-bank for 100 yards down the field, and you will reach another gate – where you meet the old-railway path.
This is a real boon to local walkers!

Our thanks go to Cliff Shelley – with one warning. This is a ‘permissive’ path, so Cliff can withdraw people’s right to use it at any time.
So, it’s the usual thing: respect the land, and close the gates after you … or the permissions may be withdrawn.

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Americans’ great loss

As regular readers of this newsblog will know, we have been remembering our local WW2 dead over the last two months.
It’s sobering to remember though that another, ‘adopted’ group of people living here in WW2 also had their own losses.

As many older folk will know, the American army had a small base in Cresswell (so called ‘Camp Bolero’) during WW2.  One of the units based at Cresswell was the US 130th Company (Chemical Processing). But these soldiers were in shock when they arrived here in August 1944, because, just a few weeks before, when the company had been stationed in London, a V-1 flying bomb (or ‘buzz bomb’) had hit their quarters.

Devastation after the bombing of US quarters in London in summer 1944

A third of the company was killed at one stroke – over sixty men. (A tribute website to the memory of the men was set up recently.)
Unsurprisingly, the company had to be moved out of London in order to recover, and were sent to the ‘peace & quiet’ of this part of the Moorlands.

Amazingly though, they were not safe even in this part of the world. In December 1944, the Luftwaffe was bombing northern England and bombs were dropped in this part of the world too. The Americans realised that no part of England was completely safe…
Around March 1945 the company left Cresswell for the fighting in France.

The full story of these GIs was researched and written up by the late Barry Phillips, a local man who made it his life’s work to investigate the modern history of Cresswell. To see his full research, click here.

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Covid numbers

One thing that is confusing people is: as we live in a quiet part of the world, should we really be worried about Covid?
The easiest thing to do, in order to answer the question, is to look up the statistics – but they are hard to find, hard to understand, and poorly reported.
So… we’ve been digging.

The best place to find a guide to understanding the figures is the good ol’ BBC-News Website.  It’s helpful to have a guide because the Sentinel is reporting a total of 80 deaths from Covid  in the Staffordshire Moorlands this year, while the government’s own coronavirus stats page says 70 deaths. (It’s all about how you count!)

Sign of the times: the postbox in Cresswell is marked ‘priority’

However, whatever the precise figure, these are sobering facts. You’d think the Staffordshire Moorlands (into which Draycott falls) would be relatively safe, as we are in a quite remote part of the country – but it appears to be less safe than you might think. It works out that Covid has been responsible for around one in ten deaths in the Moorlands since the beginning of the year.
In fact, the rate of deaths in the Moorlands, per head of population, is higher even than Manchester or Stoke, which is concerning.
Why this should be – we don’t know. Does any reader know?

The good news is however that these are figures reflecting the past – the last six months – and the fact is that, as of this week at least, Britain (after a very bad start indeed), is now among the very best in all of the advanced nations in dealing with the pandemic.

So, in the meantime, the message is surely – no need to panic, but don’t relax…  Be careful still. Even in little Draycott.

***
Want to comment on any of the items on this page?  Just use the comments box – scroll down to near the bottom of this page.
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NEWS: new speed limits / Silver / scary leaflet / sport debut / cricket

News-in-brief  from Draycott-In-The-Moors in late July 2020
In this post we have news of…: new speed limits / missing Silver / a scare-mongering leaflet / Jordan’s league debut / cricket is back…

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New speed limits

It looks likely that new speed limits will soon be brought in for the centre of the village. The new limits will apply in central Draycott, in anticipation of a proposed new roundabout there.

Proposed roundabout diagram (detail)

The limit will be reduced from 40mph to 30mph along two stretches: from (roughly) Ford’s (Fayre) Field to Manor Farm; and along Cresswell Lane, from the Draycott junction to (roughly) the Sports Centre.

Annoyingly, at first Highways left residents hardly any time for a public consultation period, so they were forced to extend it by three weeks (from late June to July 14th).
However, very oddly – despite being given this extension and all the public interest -, when our village council met on July 13th, it still did not come up with a formal response to the plans. It’s not clear why not.
(It’s not the first time the village council have failed to put in responses to infrastructure consultations – and you do have to wonder at that kind of record…)

It also seems a bit strange that the Highways Department wants to do this now, because there are still no definite dates for the construction of this particular roundabout – the very reason for the new speed limits!
But anyway, for many residents, sick of the speeding along Uttoxeter Road, it will be good news that there will likely now be new limits.

The changes, when they come in, will follow another speed-limit change in the village – at the west end, where the dual carriageway is now a 40mph zone after having been a 60mph zone up until the New Year. (It was changed to accommodate the new Blythe Fields housing estate there).

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Jordan gets his boots on

The local paper, the Cheadle&Tean Times, has been following the career of Jordan Brown, the Cresswell lad who is steadily going up the professional football ladder. After going through the Stoke City Academy, getting taken on at Derby County, playing in their reserves and in European tournaments, the latest good news that the paper reports is that Jordan has now made his debut in Derby’s first side, in a full Football League match. He came on as a substitute in Derby’s encounter at West Brom earlier this month.
Well done Jordan…

It’s interesting to think that Jordan was taken on at Derby when Frank Lampard was manager there – because if there is one good opinion worth having in football, it’s Frank’s!

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Cricket is back

More sport – we have the return of cricket to the Creswell ground of Blythe CC. (The coronavirus crisis meant that the start of the season, which was due in mid-April, had to be suspended.)

The Blythe CC ground has spectacular views

This will be a strange season, as all sorts of social distancing rules will apply (except for wicket-keepers and slips); there will be no promotion or relegation; and overseas players, who bring so much excitement to the games, are not permitted.
The good thing is that spectators are allowed at the Cresswell ground for the matches, so long as they spread out. Even the bar is open, even if you can’t hang about inside it.

The first home game for the First XI, at the Cresswell ground, is on Saturday July 25th. See our What’s On page for other fixtures.

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Scary …

Many of us have received a strange leaflet, called CV19 Facts Not Fear, through our letterboxes. It’s printed by an anonymous local supporter of Vigiliae, which is a small conspiracy-theory group associated with David Icke. (Mr Icke was recently banned from Facebook for publishing “health misinformation that could cause physical harm”, and he also believes that reptilian beings have invaded the earth).
Mostly Vigiliae has been pushing the wild idea that mobile phone masts give you cancer, but now it has the pandemic in its sights. This leaflet outlines ten reasons why we should disbelieve the government and health authorities over Covid, and it encourages us to defy the coronavirus guidelines and rules. It even suggests that any vaccine developed in the next few months is likely to cause cancers…

Now, as any reader of this website will know, we do believe in healthy questioning of the authorities, but this is extreme and dangerous stuff.
We suggest that the best thing the person who delivered it should do is ask to speak at the next village council meeting and put across their views in open debate. The village council has been putting out community health messages over this year, so it is a good forum for such a debate.
And, if they want to debate, we are ready for them!

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Looking for Silver

Finally, we don’t usually do lost & found, because the village Facebook page does it better, but there is one case that is worrying.

Silver, a grey-haired one-eyed housecat, was apparently taken from her home and then dumped somewhere in Draycott. This was at the beginning of July.
Usually cats are sighted eventually – but not this time.
Do you have any news? Owner Tim would like to know – on 07505 041712.

***
Want to comment on any of the items on this page?  Just use the comments box – scroll down to near the bottom of this page.
(The form will ask if you wish to put in your email address.  You don’t have to – and it is always kept private anyway and never published -, but, if you don’t add your email address, that means you might miss any responses to your comment)