Sutton Bonington

ROTARY SANTA FLOAT. The Rotary Santa Float will be in the village on Friday December 13, starting at 6.15 at Charnwood Fields and progressing through the village.

CHRISTINGLE THIS SUNDAY. Christingle, one of the most delightful services for children in the church’s calendar, takes place at St. Michael’s Church in Sutton Bonington on Sunday this weekend, December 1.

The service, in aid of the Children’s Society, will be held at 4 pm. The Christingles, which are oranges holding candles and decorated with red ribbon, dried fruit and sweets, will be made at St. Michael’s Church in the morning of the service and everybody is most welcome to come and help.

Each element of a Christingle has a special meaning and helps to tell the Christian story - the orange represents the world, the red ribbon (or tape) symbolises the love and blood of Christ, the sweets and dried fruit represent all of God’s creations and the lit candle represents Jesus’s light in the world, bringing hope to people living in darkness.

In the days before the service, the children will be given candle-shaped collecting tubes in which to collect money for the Childr3en’s Society from family and friends.

Collecting tubes will be available from Beth Clarke, the uniformed organisations or from St. Michael’s or St. Anne’s Churches.

Last year the Children’s Society worked with over 9,872 vulnerable children and young people. The Society works to tackle neglect and support victims by helping thousands of carers to have a proper childhood, supporting young runaways and victims of sexual abuse, supporting unaccompanied asylum seekers and victims of trafficking and helping families to support teenagers at risk of harm.

The Society gives immediate help to tackle parental and teenage substance abuse and provides therapy and counselling for teenagers and young people struggling with mental and emotional health issues.

The Children’s Society has been supporting children and young people for more than 130 years, listening to what they are told and campaigning to improve their lives. PARISH COUNCIL

MEETING. The next meeting of Sutton Bonington’s parish council is on Monday next week, December 2. It will be held as usual in the village hall library and start at 7.30pm. Members of the public are welcome to attend.

RUCKSACK PROJECT FOR HOMELESS. Good Samaritan students at the Sutton Bonington Campus of the University of Nottingham are organising a project to support the homeless and vulnerably housed community of Nottingham through the winter months.

The project is called The Rucksack Project and it aims to provide a rucksack filled with much needed clothes supplies for as many people as possible.

Following last’s years success when about 70 rucksacks were handed out in December, the organisers aim to build upon that achievement and again ensure that everybody who attends the SoupRunners (who give out soup every Tuesday to the homeless community in Nottingham) will be provided with a rucksack.

Since September they have been collecting donations and filling the rucksacks, with the aim of taking these to Nottingham in December to hand them out. The organising students say that last year it was overwhelming to see the impact of the project, and how truly grateful these people were for something so simple.

Any help would be very much appreciated, and there are many ways to support the project:

Organisers say:” We need your help to raise money and raid cupboards to ensure we reach our aim! Donations of any of the items on the list below are gratefully received, or any money donations to help buy the items. You can also be provided with a rucksack to fill yourself.

The aim is to fill every rucksack with hat, scarf, gloves, warm Jumper, T-shirt, new pair of pants and socks and a blanket or a sleeping bag

The group would also be especially grateful for donations of the rucksacks themselves.

Anyone who would like more information can email the organisers if you have any questions or would like more information: svyfn@nottingham.ac.uk

SLOW DOWN FOR HORSES. Slow Down for Horses is a message that Sutton Bonington parish council pass on to local residents.

They say that horse riders are a regular sight on the roads within the village and the council message says that both riders and car drivers should ensure they are familiar with their obligations under the Highway Code and that the relevant care and consideration be given to riders.

The council; statement goes on to say: “Be particularly careful of horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles especially when overtaking. Always pass wide and slowly.

Horse riders are often children, so take extra care and remember riders may ride in double file when escorting a young or inexperienced horse or rider.

“Look out for horse riders’ and horse drivers’ signals and heed a request to slow down or stop and take great care and treat all horses as a potential hazard.”

PUBLIC QUESTIONS FOR COUNCIL. The public have a spot at each meeting of the parish council at Sutton Bonington in which to make comments on matters of village interest.

At the October meeting a member of the bowls club asked about funding opportunities for a new club house.

The clerk Helen Chadwick reported that she had emailed a list of funding opportunities and would resend it. Coun Andy Brown commented that East Midlands Airport have up to £2,000 that can be applied for, but it cannot be used for new builds.

A member of the public asked for his list of questions to Gladmans Developments to be tabled and also asked about what level of funding is going to be available to the village.

The chair thanked the member of the public for his questions and reported that s106 money may be available but only if the development goes ahead.

Thanks were offered to the parish council for updating the noticeboards in the village.

A member of the public asked whether the parish council will comment on the Rushcliffe Local Plan Part 2 and whether this will be taken into consideration when discussing the Gladmans proposal which is for up to 90 houses on Landcroft Lane.

Chairman Coun Miles Raven commented that the parish council have already submitted their comments on the Local Plan and that consideration will be given where appropriate during the Gladmans discussions.

A member of the public advised that there is a piece of land available for sale and that the landowner had enquired as to whether the village/ parish council would be interested in purchasing it.

The chair commented that the land has been offered for sale before but if details are provided the parish council will review the offer.

A member of the public commented that she would like to raise her concerns about unauthorised use of the land/licence at Park Farm House. The Chair commented that the many concerns with Park Farm House are outside of the parish council remit but that they will continue to give support where possible.

MEMORIAL SERVICE. Parishioners in Sutton Bonington were given an opportunity to take part in an annual Memorial Service at which they were invited to light a candle in memory of a loved one.

The Memorial Service took place at St. Ann’s Church on the nearest Sunday to All Souls Day, which was November 2.

Refreshments were served after the service