Parish Matters
Parish Matters - Emergency Plan
Information garnered from the questionnaires sent to all parishioners has been collated to produce a resource audit. The Emergency Plan Group is meeting with representatives of all three emergency services and Telford & Wrekin Emergency Planning personnel to enable the formulation of our terms of reference.
Cmdr. Steve Collins, who has experience of emergency planning in the navy, is the secretary of the group and he is providing valuable guidance.
Game Bird Shooting Issues
A commercial shoot is run across much of the land in the parish from September to January each year.
In addition to the noise and disturbance caused (particularly to household pets and horses) in some parts of the parish during the shooting season, some residents have found the large numbers of game birds reared from the summer months causing a nuisance in gardens and a danger on local roads.
Through its game-keepers, the shoot does, however, make a useful contribution to both the Neighbourhood Watch and to managing valuable local habitats.
In view of a number of complaints over the local shoot last season, the Parish Council has taken-up several issues with both the organisers and the British Association for Shooting & Conservation (BASC) under whose Code of Good Shooting Practice they operate.
Foremost among these were spent shot falling on private properties and public places in the village, and disturbance caused to local pets and horse owners.
Although BASC investigated the formal complaint made over the shoot’s operation, they accepted their members’ assurance that everything possible was being done to prevent such problems arising, and chose not to impose any sanctions.
However, the shoot organisers have undertaken to monitor the situation over the coming season and make any adjustments to their operational practice should these prove to be necessary. They have also emphasised their desire to be good neighbours in the community.
Regardless of the shoot’s calculations that spent shot could not fall on public places or properties, the Parish Council believes the plain fact that shot has fallen on a number houses in the village as well as the children’s playing field is evidence that something has been going wrong.
The key word here, though, is evidence. On the basis that actions speak louder than words, the Council needs your help in monitoring the position over the coming season.
Specifically, all residents are asked to record and document any instances of shot falling on their properties and our public spaces or other problems as and when they happen. Written evidence is required of the exact location and time of any incident, with photographs and or samples of spent shot, wherever possible.
Anyone who has any issues or concerns over local shooting should contact the Parish Council or
British Association for Shooting & Conservation 01889 565050
Telford & Wrekin Environmental Health 01952 202509
Dog-in-the-Lane Landfill
A single licensed landfill continues to operate in the parish as a legacy of previous opencast coal mining.
Operated by Onyx, the site at Dog-in-the-Lane just off the Horsehay Road, takes trade (not toxic or industrial) waste and at the current rate of filling should be completed and restored to a mixture of woodland and pastureland by the end of the decade.
Until then, however, it is likely to continue causing occasional problems, including mud debris and pot holes along Horsehay Road, landfill gas smells and wind-blown litter.
All parish councillors and a number of concerned residents meet Onyx four to six times a year in an official liaison committee which attempts to address such problems while monitoring the site’s operations and progress in restoring other areas of local mining disturbance that formed part of its original planning permission.
Any road or other problems should be reported both to the Environment Agency (responsible for policing the landfill licence) and the operator as rapidly as possible, with details of their nature and precise timing.
The Parish Council relays Veolia's apologies
At the last meeting of the Candles Liaison Committee, chaired by Little Wenlock Parish Council, Veolia tendered their profuse apologies for the odour problem experienced by people living in the area of the Candles landfill site and Smalley Hill.
The installation of pipe work at cellV1 at the Candles site for gas management safety purposes unavoidably disturbed waste and resulted in an odour problem. This problem was exacerbated by atmospheric high pressure conditions which prevent odours from rising higher into the atmosphere and being dispersed by the wind.
The replacement of the Smalley Hill flare by a technically superior Hoffsetter elevated flare caused odour problems on one day. Subject to Telford and Wrekin Council approval it is intended to run a short trial of transferring gas from this site to the Candles site where it could contribute to electricity generation, instead of just being flared off as happens now. The intermittent flow of gas at this site prevents its use for electricity generation at Smalley Hill
Contacts:
Environment Agency (freephone hotline) 0800 807060
Onyx (Dog-in-the-Lane site) 01952 630005
