About Wrinehill

 DEFRA are launching a consultation with regard to hedge management.   Read the new rules and have your say on :    ( https://consult.defra.gov.uk/legal-standards/consultation-on-hedgerow-regulatory-approach/consultation/subpage.2024-05-07.2388061341/  )   to a DEFRA hedgerow management consultation (examining guidance and new regulations around management of hedgerows on agricultural land)'s. This will assist farmers and others with long hedges re the do's and don'ts of hedge management.   There might be penalties for non-compliance.

 After the garage site in Wrinehill was re-developed and nine houses built, the developer made a financial contribution of over £11,158 was made to Newcastle Borough Council.  The suggested use was for the  resurfacing of  of the Betley Village Hall car park.  The 106 Agreement monies were originally conceived in order to improve the local area, which, in this case, residents thought might be Wrinehill, and especially since the Bluebell development 106 Money of around £47,000 went to Knutton.  (See the Post below  for January 2024.) Wrinehill residents had suggested that some of the latest money be used for planting trees on the grass verges outside the new development - Egerton View.  However, the response  to that was: ' The S106 for 17/00968/FUL requires payment of £11,158 specifically for “the improvements to the surfacing at Betley Village Hall or at another suitable local facility managed by Betley Parish Council”. Given that the planti...

 A local football team (under 15s) are hoping to fund their way to a football tournament in Holland at Easter.  Many of them played for Betley Football Club before the team folded.  They carried on.  To do this they are hoping to raise money by sweeping up the leaves in your garden, on the pavement outside your house, or anywhere else, in exchange for a donation. They will be supervised by the team manager and parents and will take your leaves to a composter or bin in your garden if you have one, take the leaves away, or do any other autumnal work that is needed.   They are hoping to carry out the work around 30 November when hopefully the leaf drop will have have ended. If you would like them to help you then please contact 07816779407.   There is a form to complete in the Reading Room if you would prefer, to be returned to Gill Mellor.   They are now taking orders!  And raring to go.

 Several 'Inquiries'  by the NBC have been held over the course of this year.  It is important for residents to know the difference between an a hearing or an Inquiry and a judicial exercise.  If an inquiry is not judicial, it generally means that it is not governed by the formal rules and procedures of a court of law. This distinction has significant implications for the quality of evidence presented: Less Rigorous Standards for Evidence : In a judicial inquiry, evidence must meet strict legal standards, such as relevance, reliability, and admissibility. In a non-judicial inquiry, these standards may be relaxed. Evidence that would not be admissible in court, such as hearsay, opinion, or circumstantial evidence, might be allowed in a Hearing or Inquiry. Broader Scope of Evidence : Non-judicial inquiries may accept a wider range of evidence, including anecdotal accounts, unverified documents, or expert opinions that have not b...

 The latest draft of the NBC Local Plan and the Government National Plan Policy Framework (NPPF) has introduced  a new colour for land - grey.   It falls somewhere between green and brown land.  Brown land is land that has already been built on and the building is now derelict or can be demolished so the land can be redeveloped. This lands usually within settlements especially dense urban settlements or industrial land on the edges of towns and cities. Green Belt land was a term given to land which breaks up settlements with vegetation and trees and open spaces so that they do not blend into one another becoming one large urban, concreted mass.  It was intended to add an aesthetic to the urban area and a place for unstructured recreation within it.  Green Belt land, because of its proximity to urban areas can be built  on in special circumstances provided a case can be made. The Green Belt has become a bit of a moveable feast in that Local Plannin...

 I spent last evening being driven around Cheltenham in a McLaren racing car. It is not how I usually spend my time, nor would I want to.   It was noisy and springless and not meant for England's' less than perfect roads, not to say the many potholes.  everyone was felt.  It seemed out of place on an English suburban road.  Neither is it a great deal of use travelling at a speed of less that 230 mph.  It felt like a harnessed tiger trying to break free, and sounded more than angry with it.   The engine was almost on my back, pistons firing off in my  left ear. (all 750 of them).  The boot was at the front.  And the two exhausts were almost on top of my head, outside the rear window.  It was low on the road and on the motorway it would have been totally overcome, even overwhelmed, by the gargantuan lorries that now dominate the highways.  The two doors opened upwards. But then, this was no ordinary car, with an ordinar...