Philip Vial

All,

The District Council is now holding a drop in session on the 30th March at the SUBs event at the Townsend Hall between 4 and 7pm.

On top of this the Town Council will be discussing its response on the 22nd March from 7:30pm at Clark House. Members of the public are always welcome.

Councillor Richard Cheney and the Liberal Democrats will be putting out a consultation leaflet over the next couple of weeks.

Lastly, you can contact the council directly from the planning part of their website.

This is an important consultation - the proposals include 250 new homes for Shipston and a foodstore. Richard opposes the proposed development. He feels that the foodstore will threaten the existance of many of our traders in the town centre. The Liberal Democrats in the District oppose the building of so many houses in Shipston and the District on greenfield sites. We believe that there are enough brownfield sites to meeting housing need in the area.

Please let us know what you think - you can contact me using my details on the right.

Regards,

Philip

All,

 For my sins I’m helping the Transition Shipston team organise the Midsummer Festival, taking place on Sunday July 4th (the day after the last night of the Proms).  If you’d like to book a stall for on the day (and there are different rates for voluntary organisations and businesses) then please click here for a copy of the booking form.

The theme for the day is ‘green and local’ - and we are looking to promote local businesses, clubs and societies.  There’ll be more information nearer the time - but both the schools are getting involved, and it promises to be a lot of fun!

Regards,

Philip

All,

 Transition Shipston, with the help of Shipston Town Management Partnership, are holding an ‘affordable enrgy for all’ even at Shipston High School on April 17th from 10am to 4pm.

 It should be a good day - there will be lots of exhibitors showing their renewable energy and high efficiency products, such as solar panels and high efficiency boilers.  On top of this, there will be stalls where you can learn about simple ways to reduce your energy bills and people who will tell you what grants are available for energy conservation.

On top of this Transition Shipston will be running seminars on Peak Oil and other issues.

The day is free so please feel free to drop in.  Hopefully local residents will learn how to take simple and effective actions to reduce their energy use and save money.  We also hope that businesses from the South Warwickshire area will be able to publicise their goods and services - maintaining and increasing jobs in the area.

The Town Council last night agreed to sponsor the event with a £500 grant mainly going to publicise the day.

The exhibitors brochure can be found here.

Regards,

 Philip

All,

 As many of you will know, the Arrhythmia Alliance has placed several defibrillators in the town centre, with the support of the Ambulance Service, Medical Centre and Town Council.

The defibrillators, which can restart someones heart if they experience a sudden cardiac arrest, are placed on the wall of The George, at the sports club and at the Ellen Badger.  If someone experiences a cardiac arrest in town, the ambulance service will give the person dialling 999 the code for the defribillator (also known as an AED) box.  They are very simple to operate - the AED tells you what to do (it speaks to you) - and won’t let you do anything if you shouldn’t!  In an emergency, this can save someones life.

I went along to the launch at the sports club last week - as you can see from the picture above.  It was a bit of a busmans holiday - I have recently had my yearly training through work!

If you’d like more information - click here for the Arrhythmia Alliance.

Regards,

Philip

All,

 The latest Focus is currently being delivered and can be download here.  As usual it contains lots of information about what your local Liberal Democrat District Councillor, Richard Cheney, has been up to - and news from the Liberal Democrats in the area.

Apologies if you have not received your copy yet - please remember it is delivered by local volunteers.  If you can deliver future Focus leaflets to your street or area, please give me a ring and let me know!

 Regards,

 Philip

All,

Last year Stratford District Council introduced it’s proposals for new development in Shipston. Included were about 250 homes, many on the Campden road - and a proposal for a foodstore (likely to be a supermarket but restricted to selling food items) on the Norgren site.

The Town Council, and Lib Dem District Councillor Richard Cheney, opposed the moves - feeling that further development would put a strain on services within the Town. Many local traders fear that a foodstore would put them out of business, threatening the character of the Town. Without an increase in local jobs, new housing would lead to an increase in commuting - and the lack of public transport in the area will mean more pollution.

The Conservative-run cabinet has decided to leave their proposals largely unaltered, and they are now going out to a second round of consultation.

The Town Council are waiting for the official announcement from the District, but the consultation is due to finish at the end of March. I’ve started a poll (on the left hand side of the page) - let me know what you think. You can also email, write or ring me. Let me know your views and I will take them to the Town Council, and pass them on to Richard Cheney.

Regards,

Philip