Neighbourhood News Magazine

Chair’s report - Councillor Graham Leonard 4 Summer 2024 www.sandridge-pc.gov.uk T his is my second report for the Annual Parish meeting following my re-election as Chair of the Council a year ago - a time which has just flown by! Whilst events have not been as momentous as in the previous 12 months, there was an election for your Parish Council and, following this and the co-option of some members, a new and enthusiastic council was formed, with 10 new members! As ever, your Council and Councillors (old and new) have been just as busy. I will endeavour to pay tribute to their efforts in this report. So, to begin with I would like to thank the Clerk, Simon Thwaites, Deputy Clerk, Emma Hostler, the Projects, Amenities and Community Engagement Officer, Rebecca Pannese, and the Community Centres Manager, Stefanie Hayes, for their significant contributions over the past year, provided with enthusiasm and good will. Open Spaces and Green Initiatives The council has responsibility for the day- to-day management of the Jersey Farm Woodland Park, which has been developed from nothing over the past 25 years by volunteers, assisted by officers and councillors, to produce a leisure area which recently received its 12 th consecutive Green Flag award. Maintenance of the Woodland Park and open space is a year-round activity and our volunteers and councillors have been busy, as evidenced by the award. For example, the Time Capsule site has been cleared and refreshed with a ground cover membrane with a dressing of stones, and there are a number of benches dotted around the park that have been cleaned, after removing overhanging branches which acted as bird perches, with the inevitable result! The Open Spaces are managed by two of the council’s committees, the Jersey Farm Woodland Park Management Committee and the newly constituted Committee for Sustainability. These, like many of our committees, include public members, so if you are interested then please get in touch with the office. The Parish Council has been very active in promoting green initiatives, such as the rewilding and wildflower planting across our open spaces, particularly with the pollinator initiative (more of which later). You may well have noticed the introduction of a large number of trees in both the open spaces and on the grass verges, and the Parish Council has been very active in this regard. If you find that you have one outside your property, perhaps you might show it some kindness with a drink during the hot weather. UMMER