APRIL

blew into Ashbourne with dramatic consequences in March, as heavy snow and temperatures as low as -7C caused chaos around the Ashbourne area. However, the worst was yet to come.

Penetrating frosts were quickly followed by a sudden thaw and this spelled disaster for a network of water pipes, which promptly burst, causing chaos as thousands of homes were left without a water supply. Severn Trent was criticised for its handling of the issue, which was initially thought to affect properties for just 24 hours – but it took more than a week for all the affected residences to see their supplies returning. After a few days Severn Trent set up bottled water stations in Shaw Croft, handing out as many bottles as people needed and delivering them to the homes of vulnerable people.

Derbyshire Dales District Council approved a decision to start charging 20p to use the town’s last remaining toilet in Shaw Croft. And at the same time it was announced the toilets in the Memorial Gardens were to close permanently. Campaigners celebrated as it was announced Henry Prince First School in Mayfield had been saved from its threat of closure and a cow beat odds of 100,000 to one by giving birth to healthy triplets on a farm in Stanton.

Outdoor supplies firm Countrywide was in jeopardy, threatening jobs in the town and St Oswald’s Primary School unveiled ambitious plans for a major classroom upgrade.

March was also the month we saw designs unveiled for a new Shrovetide plinth in Shaw Croft and the Okeover Arms was fined £10,000 for failing to follow a council enforcement notice and remove a caravan from its land.

The Dales Council approved a decision to charge 20p to use the town’s last remaining public toilets

ASHBOURNE’S annual Walk of Witness enjoyed a bright and breezy day, and work began to reduce the size of Ashbourne’s pedestrian triangle in St John Street. The scheme, aimed at making the junction safer for lorries to pass through, was controversial and raised safety fears but council bosses insisted it was work that was desperately needed to prevent the road being torn up.

We also met a local character in April, when an angry ram began terrorising villagers in Kirk Ireton. The marauding sheep, which was in a field with a cluster of ewes had injured several people who were using a footpath. News of the ram’s foul attitude hit national headlines, including the BBC Radio Two