News and Newsletters

Newsletters from the Parish Council, from the Warwickshire Police and from Stratford Online can be found on this page, as can other snippets of news from in and around Bidford-on-Avon.

Community Policing Team Crime Newsletters

These crime summaries from the Warwickshire Police Force take a look at the crimes of public interest that occurred on the Bidford, Great Alne and Long Marston policing area.

Bidford and Alcester Community Forum

Other News and Newsletters

Vintage Gathering 2010

This event was held on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 May 2010, on the Big Meadow in Bidford-on-Avon. Over 200 exhibitors were present, and all proceeds went to the St Laurence Church Roof Appeal.

Additional photos by Pete Batacanin.

Help for Heroes Raft Race - August 2009

Alan and Jenny Pardoe, Landlords at The Bulls Head in Bidford High Street organised a Raft Race run from Barton to Big Meadow on Bank Holiday Saturday the 29th of August 2009 in aid of the Help for Heroes Charity, which has raised over £2000 with more to arrive from sponsors.

Eight rafts set off in pairs for a timed race to the finishing line at Bidford landing stage, where hundreds of supporters lined up to cheer on their favoured team.

First away were Titanic 2 and The Anthill Mob followed by The Spice Girls and The Black Rat, The Frog and Dave Selby and finally Barbies on Acid and Ship Happens.

Ship Happens unfortunately capsized on entering the water, but the crew were undeterred and climbed aboard the overturned craft to complete their journey!

The race was won by Spice Girls in a time of 12mins 50secs with Black Rat second in 19mins 40secs, followed by Titanic 2 in third place at 20mins 12secs.

Charity stalls were set up outside the Bulls Head following the race. Afterwards a Family Fun Day was held in the The Bulls Head garden with a Bouncy Castle, BBQ and an evening Disco.

Jenny and Alan would like to thank all who supported the event and in particular the race sponsors and all helpers. For further information please contact Jenny or Alan on 01789 772242.

Christmas Lights Switch-On 2009

Bidford Christmas Lights presented the annual 'switch on' on Sunday 29 November 2008. This year's celebrity was Una Stubbs.

See Previous News Items

Chairman's Report 2009/10

Welcome to you all to this year's Annual Parish Meeting.

I was elected chairman of Bidford Parish Council at the Annual Parish Council Meeting of May 2009 and I should like to extend the thanks from me, and the other members of the Council, to Cllr. Mrs. Keeley, Chairman 2005/09 who very ably steered the Council through some challenging times We were sad to lose Angie Deacon during the year, but she felt her new, and increased, job responsibilities were not allowing her sufficient time to dedicate to Council work, and so she sent in her resignation which the Council, reluctantly, accepted. Luckily, Mrs. Christine Getgood, a leading member of Bidford Community Group, who had served as a Councillor from 2004 to 2006, expressed her desire to rejoin the Council, and was welcomed with open arms.

The Parish Plan, known as the B50, was adopted by Stratford District Council in 2003, and the Parish Council agreed that, after more than 5 years, an update was required to better reflect the current concerns of the local community.

In partnership with Rural Outreach and SDC, an online Questionnaire was prepared for residents to complete, and David Morgan, Project Manager Parish Plans and Rural Outreach made a presentation of how it would work at last year's Annual Parish Meeting.

To cover all aspects, it was agreed to offer three versions:

• Adults
• Youngsters
• Children

Hard copies were, and are still, available for those without computers. And residents are welcome to use the three computers available in the lobby outside the Parish Council Office.

In view of two important consultations currently taking place which will greatly affect the future of Bidford Parish, namely

• Minerals Development Plan: Revised Spatial Options, which will lay down the policies governing mineral extraction 2026, including preferred sites, of which there is Broom Court Farm in Bidford and proposed sites near Broom.
• Local Development Plan: Core Strategy – again this will set out the number of houses to be developed in Bidford to 2026. There are three proposed sites, including that of Friday Furlong, which will increase the number of houses by 350; approx. a 20% increase in the next 15 years.

The Parish Council would urge you all to complete the Questionnaire, which is easy and quick to complete and is available on the front page of the Parish council's website. This will allow the Council will to make a stronger and better representation on behalf of the local community.

Over the year, the Parish Council has continued with its village improvement program, and you will find details of this in the Annual report which the Parish council will issue and distribute in the summer.

The rural cinema continues to be a great success; it provides entertainment for residents of all ages, and at £2.50 a ticket, is excellent value for money. Bidford Rural Cinema screens two films a month at the Crawford Memorial Hall: a children and an adult film. Moving Pictures screen one a month at Broom Village.

Information:

• The Parish Council has an award winning website: www.bidfordonavon-pc.gov.uk which is regularly updated (approx. twice weekly) and where you can access information regarding the Parish Council as well as of other groups and association in the parish; useful links to other websites; photographs of our lovely area sent in my local residents and updates on local events.
• The Parish Council has a monthly newsletter published in The Connect magazine, which is distributed to all households in the parish. It is also available online via the Parish council's website.
• The Council also edits, publishes and prints a quarterly newsletter: The BIG Newsletter, and invites residents – individuals and groups/associations – to contribute. Articles, letters, points of views etc can be e-mailed to bidford.paper@yahoo.com or to info@bidfordonavon-pc.gov.uk. Again the BIG newsletter is distributed to all households by the Bidford Young Firefighters, paid for by the Parish Council.
• Residents can also subscribe to the Village e-mail group – Information on forthcoming events, weather updates and other pertinent advice is sent by email on a regular basis. Should you wish to be included, please advise the clerk by emailing her on info@bidfordonavon-pc.gov.uk – your e-mail address will not be disclosed.
• The Annual Report, with information of what the Parish Council has done over the last year is published in June every year.
• There are three computers in the lobby outside the Parish Council Office available to residents who do not have access to their own computer. The computer desks and chairs were purchased with the grant made available by WALC under the Quality Parish scheme.

Finally, I should like to thank all Councillors for their hard work and dedication; particularly Cllr. Hill, who, together with the Clerk, has worked very hard to ensure the success of the Big Meadow refurbishment project; as well as the Clerk, the RFO and Agencies who carry out the day to day work.