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Community Engagement for Sharpness Vale Development - November 7th 2024

There is an upcoming community engagement opportunity for the proposed Sharpness Vale development. We encourage all parishioners to get involved and share their feedback on this significant project.

Community Drop-in Sessions

The developers will be holding two drop-in sessions where residents can view the proposals, ask questions, and provide input. These sessions will be held at:

• Sharpness Village Hall

  • Friday, 15 November – 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm

  • Saturday, 16 November – 9:45 am to 1:00 pm

This is a great opportunity for residents to see the detailed plans and discuss any questions or concerns directly with the project team.

Digital Consultation

For those who prefer online access, a digital consultation was launched on 6 November 2024 at www.sharpnessvale.co.uk. Community members can explore the development plans in-depth and participate in a survey to share their feedback.

Help Spread the Word!

Hamfallow Parish Council encourages parishioners to share these engagement opportunities with others in the community. Your participation and feedback will play an essential role in shaping the development plans before the planning application is submitted in early December.

You can read the full press release here.

Let’s ensure our community’s voice is heard in this important development process!

Local Plan Response October 2024

We're incredibly grateful to Berkeley School and the Berkeley Educational Swimming Trust for hosting us, and to Berkeley Castle for providing their meadow for our parking needs.

This marks our fourth year running this event in Berkeley, each year building on the success and joy it brings to our community and visitors alike. With no inconvenience to our local residents, we're set to make this year's event as memorable and successful as ever.

For cyclists, the route will take you through Hamfallow Parish, with all the necessary details and safety measures in place, including signage, marshal supervision, and coordination with the police and Gloucestershire Highways.

Get ready to make a splash, ride through breathtaking views, and run with all your heart. Let’s make the Berkeley Sprint Triathlon a day to remember!

📌 Save the date: Sunday, 21st July 2024 📍 Location: Berkeley Primary School

Let’s come together to celebrate sports, community, and the beautiful town of Berkeley. See you at the starting line!

#BerkeleySprintTriathlon #DursleyRunningClub #CommunityEvent #Triathlon #GetInvolved

15 November 2023

Mike Heaton said, “It was a pleasure to welcome John and Steve to site yesterday. It provided an excellent opportunity to update them on the latest developments. We welcome the chance to hear feedback from the local people and find ways to work together during the next stages of our growing business. I would like to thank all staff that were involved in making the visit a success.” 

It was a great opportunity for the SSG to strengthen their relationship with the site and to ensure they are fully up to date with the latest developments. John and Steve left the site with a renewed sense of appreciation for the dedication and expertise of the site personnel. Overall, the visit was a resounding success.

 

Steve Chandler JP

Hamfallow Parish Council

Vice Chair – Berkeley Site Stakeholder Group

A letter from the Chair - 17 May 2023

Verge Cutting

 Hamfallow PC have been made aware of recent observations regarding the Council’s verge cutting programme and as Chairman of the PC I thought a response may clarify the Council’s current policy regarding this.

Hamfallow Parish is a rural parish and therefore the PC has no responsibility or ownership of buildings, other than the phone boxes, that necessitates ongoing maintenance. However, the council is aware of our duty to maintain the flora and fauna and our important duty to maintain verges for safety and visibility reasons. We are mindful too of walkers, cyclists and horse riders that use the highways and byways throughout the parish who must be able to do this safely with good visibility whilst also being able to step onto verges that are accessible without hindrance.

We have listened in the past to parishioners’ suggestions on the possibility of creating a wildflower project to enhance our rural location, in principle, this was approved but further investigation identified it to be a costly exercise to implement and maintain and would probably not be cost-effective for the Council to pursue.

Those parishioners who know the geography of our parish will be familiar with the wide verges located at Wanswell and Breadstone, which for years were extremely overgrown with brambles and vegetation as a result of neglect of very basic maintenance which had constrained any successful growth of wildflowers.

At Breadstone there was a serious visibility hazard which has now been greatly improved with the clearance of undesired vegetation, saplings and tree growth. This transformation has been greatly appreciated by the residents and other parishioners, and we have received many positive comments concerning this project. The PC have also planted cowslips and bluebells on that particular verge to further enhance the area, and the planting of two trees to commemorate the Coronation of King Charles III was undertaken early this year.

Wanswell has also had a similar transformation with bramble and sapling clearance allowing for greater visibility when approaching the junction as well as pleasing aesthetics. The extremely overgrown pond area at Wanswell has also undergone considerable improvement clearing undergrowth to expose a pond which had been largely lost to view. The whole area now presents a tidy maintained village green appearance which is preferable to how it looked before.

The footpath between Wanswell and the railway bridge has been cleared of weeds and growth, which had reduced the width of the footpath considerably, and also fresh surfacing was carried out; in addition, the verges and hedgerow have been cleared right up to the roundabout, and this work will be ongoing.

Those who are vigilant will have observed the very careful approach to cutting with clumps of cowslips being left intact.  Two oak trees were also planted a year ago, donated by the Woodland Trust, to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II, unfortunately, these were vandalised earlier this year by someone driving over the trees and completely destroying them. Hamfallow PC undertook to replace these oaks, and this was carried out a few months ago.

We, as a Parish Council, are very aware of “No Mow May” but contracts for verge cutting have already been agreed for 2023 with Highways and our maintenance contractor and cannot be reversed. But due to conservation concerns, we will be debating this issue again, and hopefully, discussions with other parish councils can be held for a way forward and to identify a plan or strategy collectively for the future.

In addition to all the above, we still receive requests for donations from groups and parishioners throughout the year for community projects they are hoping to pursue. These are all carefully considered and awarded according to the need and availability of PC funds.

On behalf of Hamfallow PC, and all the councillors, I want to assure you we take the care and maintenance of our Parish very seriously, and we do that with enormous pride. As a council, we aim to make the Parish as environmentally friendly as we can, as attractive a place to live in as we can, whilst still adopting a sensible and sound budgetary approach to manage all that we undertake.

Chair - Hamfallow Parish Council

Hamfallow Parish Council, together with local councillors and county and district representatives, gathered at Breadstone Corner in the Parish of Hamfallow on the 20th February 2023 to plant trees commemorating the Coronation of King Charles later this year.

The event highlights the Parish Council's commitment to promoting eco-awareness and protecting the environment. The planting of trees in this area will help clean the air and provide vital habitats for local wildlife.

The group, consisting of Hamfallow Parish Councillors Heather Priestley, Jerry Fowler, Liz Lane, Phil King, and Bill Payne, were joined by District Councillors Haydn Jones, Gordon Craig, and Linsdey Green, and County Councillor Brian Tipper. Together, they planted a single variety of native tree in a beautiful corner of the parish, which will be enjoyed by both locals and visitors for years to come.

After the event, Heather Priestley, Chair of Hamfallow Parish Council, expressed her delight in being able to plant trees to commemorate the Coronation of King Charles. "This event is not only a celebration, but it also reflects our ongoing commitment to eco-awareness and protecting the environment," she said.

The successful event is a testament to the efforts of local councillors, who continue to work hard to promote environmental sustainability and take action to protect the local environment. The newly planted trees will serve as a lasting reminder of their dedication to both celebrating the Coronation and safeguarding the environment for future generations.

Hamfallow PC Jubilee Fun Day

Thank you to all who made it out to the Jubilee Fun Day! The Queen would have been proud!

From the local Fire Service, to Welly Wanging, the great BBQ & Bar to Tug of War - there were some great activities, and of course, the live music to just sit and relax to with a glass of something. The free food and drink for Hamfallow residents was received well, and the volunteers that helped with organising and running the event cannot be thanked enough!

Should we do something similar next year? We would be interested in your thoughts - please send them to us via the Clerk, or contact us through our Facebook page.

Road closure diversion maps

817707 866341 807342

817679 866298 866356

Station Road closed 7 March 0700-1700

Temporary road closure on Station Road so that Highways can patch repair some damaged parts of the road.

For more information, you can download full details HERE