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Our Minister
Our Minister, the Reverend Kathryn Louch was
inducted into the pastorate of the church on Saturday 9th December 2006. She has been a minister for
about 14 years and previously worked as an administrator in the NHS and then for
the Macmillan organisation.
NOW, she has announced her retirement! This was not unexpected as she will have
been with us for 4 years when she leads her final service which will be in
December 2010.
Where do we park?
On Thursday 17 September 2009, the Wychavon District Council voted in favour of building 12 new houses on half of the Shear House car park. These houses are described as being affordable for people on low income to rent, and they are certainly needed in the village. However, to use half a car park in a village that depends on tourism for it's lively-hood does seem rather short sighted. The problem for the church and also for the Methodist church and possibly St. Saviour's is that the car park can be at least half full by 10.00 a.m. on a Sunday morning. This means that when the houses are built there would be nowhere for our members to park. There are double yellow lines everywhere and all the road spaces on the neighbouring estate are taken by residents. The response from the Council is that we can park in the other car parks, but this is not a practical solution as the next one is a good half mile away and is also well used, leaving the third one at least a mile away. When asked about the usage of the car park, the Council official stated that the survey carried out indicated that the car park was not fully used. A copy of the survey has been obtained and it was carried out from 5th June to 23rd August on at intermittent times and dates by Civil Enforcement Officers (Traffic Wardens) on an 'as and when' basis when they were in a car park. Only 5 surveys were carried out at about the same time in all 3 car parks, on the last 2 days of the survey. There is doubt as the the validity of the survey but it was used as evidence to Wychavon Planning Committee to show there was adequate parking in Broadway and there is every indication that it was not made available to councillors at the meeting.
(My submission to the Planning Meeting at Wychavon
District Council on 17 Sept 2009)
Mr/Madam chairman, councillors, I
represent Broadway United Reformed Church and also speak with the concurrence of
the Methodist church and St. Mary’s First school.
Broadway is plagued with double yellow lines and
over zealous traffic wardens, making parking a nightmare situation.
On Sunday mornings in the summer the car park can be
at least half full by 10.00 a.m., therefore with the reduced spaces it would be
full. The vast majority of URC members arrive by car and require an average of
about 30 spaces and more on occasions and both the Methodist and Catholic churches also require spaces. This means that there could be
times when there is nowhere for people attending church to park. This could
threaten the viability of the URC and affect both the other churches.
The new Activity Park brings in a lot of people and
so with the restricted parking this could impact upon the use of this very
popular facility.
Mrs. Berry, acting head of St. Mary’s First school
is extremely concerned as parents use the car park when delivering and
collecting children. If it was full in the summer months then parents would have to park in the busy road outside the
school, which would create huge health and safety problems.
The loss of car parking space will also impact on the
visitors to the shops and other amenities thereby reducing the viability of the
village. We fully support the need
for affordable housing but consider that the consequences of building on the car
park have not been thought through, therefore we ask that you reject the
proposal.
The item above, together with the letter below was delivered to Broadway Parish council office on Sunday 4th October. As no response was forthcoming I contacted the clerk who said it was not included due to pressure of business, but it would be next meeting. Two further meetings took place
but it was not dealt with. On being asked why, the clerk said it was the chairmans decision not to include it. The letter is printed below.
Members
of Broadway Parish Council,
Broadway, Worcs.
2nd October 2009.
Dear Councillors,
You may have seen from press reports that I spoke at the Wychavon District
Council planning meeting on 17th September 2009, opposing the plan to
build on Shear House car park. I enclose a copy of what I actual said in the1.5
minutes I had available, the other 1.5 minutes being taken by Mrs. Judith
Bateman. The meeting dealt very briefly with the problem of loss of parking, the
comment from the council official being that overall there was adequate parking
in the village and people could use the other car parks if Shear House was full.
They could also walk the 350 metres to the new toilets or use others in the
village. Although it was stated that a survey of usage of the car park had been
made, no times or dates were given. The
vote in favour was unanimous, which was a surprise to the members of the URC, as
Councillor Folkes did not represent the vote of the Parish Council.
The members of the URC and the others
whom I represented are concerned about the outcome of the decision. Admittedly
there may not be many occasions when the car park will be full on a Sunday
morning, probably about 10 times a year, and something similar for the parents
at St. Mary’s school, but the question arises of what do we do when it
happens. There are no other parking areas in the vicinity and it is not
practical for people to park in the other car parks at short notice, either for
attending all three churches or delivering and collecting children.
In
view of the fact that the Parish Council do not seem to have made any real
effort to oppose this scheme and the District Council have taken no notice of
any of the objections, we are therefore asking that you find a solution to the
problem before it arises, or chaos will ensue. It appears that no one has taken
into account that car parks are for visitors to the village, not residents, and
it is the visitors who make a huge contribution to the life and finance of the
village.
As a result of not hearing from the Parish Council and with other research having taken place, the following statement was prepared for the council meeting on 21st January 2010. I was invited to speak during the public forum but having started, the acting chairman asked me to stop, as they had heard it all before. Some more was delivered, but not all and no help was offered by the council. Assistance was offered by Councillor L. Ayre who suggested we count the cars in the car park on a Sunday morning and photograph them.
The statement to the council meeting on 21st. January 2010 is below.
This is my submission to Broadway Parish Council on 21St
January 2010
Shear House Car Park.
I speak on
behalf of the United Reformed Church, the Methodists and St. Saviour’s and
Richard Ellis, chairman of the governors of St. Mary’s and Mrs. Louise Berry,
Headmistress.
At the Wychavon District Council Development Control Meeting
on 17th September 2009 in respect of the proposed erection of houses
on the car park, I expressed the views of the 3
Churches at the top of the village and their concern that there would be
times when members would not be able to park as it would be full. A council
official stated that a usage survey of all 3 car parks indicated that there was
more than enough space available at all times.
No precise dates or figures were given and as far as I am aware these
figures were not available to the council members.
I have now obtained the survey figures from the District
Council and they run from Friday 5th June to Saturday 23rd
August on totally random days and times, with only 6 Sundays included. According
to Christine Baxter, Parking Services Manager, the survey was carried out by the
Civil Enforcement Officers when they happened to be in a car park and it was
convenient to do it. The time between surveys in the 3 car parks can vary by
several hours and not all car parks were surveyed on the same day, so it is not
possible to say how many cars in total are in the car parks at any particular
time, except for the last 2 days of the survey. There was 1 survey of all car
parks around 3.30 on Saturday 22nd August and 4 at about the same
time on Sunday the 23rd, throughout
the day. We are therefore of the opinion that the method of survey is invalid
and the results obtained should not have been be used for any statistical
purpose.
On Sunday 14th January 2009 there were 83 cars in
the car park at 12.15 p.m.. 6 were residents and we discovered that some had
Long Stay passes. The people attending St. Saviours had left and some from the
URC and Methodist churches had also departed. This clearly shows that under the
new system the car park would have been full. There are only 3 Sundays in the
survey that are relevant to those attending the churches. On 7th June
at 10.20 it shows 40 cars, but with a requirement of around 35 cars for the
churches, plus residents, plus visitors, the figure seems too low, on Sunday 19
July at the same time we have 38, and on Sunday 16 August there are 75 cars at
11.25, which is after the Catholics have left. The number of cars with Long Stay
permits has been requested but we have not been given the figure. Therefore we
conclude that it is not possible to draw any conclusions from these
figures.
Something not taken into account are the Bank Holiday
weekends as none occurred during the survey period, but we know from using the
car park it can be very full at 10.00 a.m. on those days. According to the sales
from the ticket machines the highest use of all car parks is just before
Christmas when usage virtually doubles.
Also not taken into consideration are special one off
events such as weddings, baptisms, funerals and a variety of other events,
Ramblers appear at all times of the year and the Arts Festival is due next June.
Funerals are usually during the week and around midday. If one were to take
place during the summer months there is the possibility that there would be
insufficient space for people to park. Many people travel a distance and tend to
be elderly. Can you imagine what it would be like to arrive in the car park,
already upset, only to find it was full. You would probably be in need of the
toilet, but there isn’t one. You are not familiar with the area and you may be
lucky to find a space in a side street, but your instinct would tell you to find
another car park. The High Street car park is used more than the Shear House car
park and that might be full so you end up in the Milestone car park and even if
you can walk back up the village the funeral is over. The same scenario could
occur for a wedding on a Saturday in mid summer or baptism on any Sunday in the
year.
Some of our members are in their 80’s and if the car park
was full on a Sunday morning there is no way they would want to walk from the
High Street car park, assuming that still had places, back up the village to the
service, they would be exhausted and the service almost over.
Another potential problem arises with the parents of pupils
at St. Mary’s Catholic School who arrive by car. They have permission to park
in the car park before and after school to deliver and collect their children.
In the morning there is no problem. In the afternoon the school finishes at 3.00
p.m. There are about 35 parents who use the car park. In the survey there is
only one count at 2.55 showing 69 cars, and 7 counts ranging from 3.20 to 3.30
p.m. after the parents have left, which show an average of 29 cars, which with
the parents cars, gives a total of around 64 cars. This means that in the new
car park it would be almost full everyday. It would only take a few extra cars
to go over the limit. What would the parents who could not park, do? These would
be the ones who are already late, they may have a smaller child with them, they
might find space in Colletts Field parking area, Wells Gardens or the Sands
Estate, but whatever the solution they would be late collecting their child.
Most certainly they would be in a distressed state. If a major event was taking
place there could be over 30 cars looking for parking. Next June the Arts
Festival people hope to have a lot of visitors so this could be a huge problem
during that period. Mr. Ellis and Mrs. Berry have expressed their deep concern
at the potential problems that could result from parents parking as and where
they could and the resultant danger to children.
In
summary, the consequences of building on the car park have not been thought
through. The simple assertion that there are sufficient spaces in the village
may be correct, but that is of no help to people who cannot use them, and on
those special occasions when all the village is full. The method of survey is of
dubious statistical validity. Both the Parish and District councils have created
a situation where we may not have access to churches and a school, and cause
considerable stress to many visitors to the village, the consequence of that is
of course, they won’t come back.
We therefore ask that you find
solutions to our dilemma which is none of our making but which has been caused
by the decisions of both Broadway Parish Council and the Wychavon Planning
Department. We would be pleased to be consulted on this matter in order to
find a practical solution.
Michael Eden, secretary, Broadway United Reformed Church.
Child Friendly Church Award.
The church has just been given this award. It means that the leaders all have their Criminal Record Bureau disclosures and enough have done a First Aid course and Child Protection course. Other safeguards are in place as well. The church has a Pilots group, runs morning activities at Easter and Christmas and a week long activities mornings in August. We also take school assemblies. (see below).
Christmas Assembly.
For the first time ever, both the First Schools came to the church for their Christmas assembly. Over the weekend of 4 - 6 December we hold our Christmas Tree Festival and for our Sunday service the trees have to be re-arranged so people can get in to worship. On the Monday morning at least 140 children squeezed in for a joint assembly, together with teachers and a few parents. We did the Open The Book story for Christmas and some songs.
Not only did we have the assembly at Christmas, but both schools returned for an assembly at Easter.
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School Assemblies
The school assemblies have now been in operation for over two years and we are now into our third year at Broadway First School. We have also been going into St. Mary's Catholic School for nearly a year. Both those leading, and the children, are enjoying them. As far as we know, this is the first time a group has done this. Altogether 10 people have been involved, coming from several different churches but they are under the leadership of the URC. The course being followed is called 'Open the Book', the 'book' being the Bible. The version used is especially written for children and is called 'The Lion Storyteller Bible'. The 'Lion' part is the name of the publisher. The scheme complies with Government regulations for school assemblies and many of the group attended a whole day of training to learn how to do them.
Collection for Belarus
The church has been involved with the Chernobyl 2000 charity for many years. They collect all types of goods for the people of Belarus who are still suffering from the explosion of the nuclear power station many years ago. Unfortunately the summer floods destroyed goods in the warehouse and we are not able to collect at the moment. When we do start again we will want small items such as soap, toothpaste and brushes, painkillers, baby clothes, washing powder, school stationary, art and craft items, sports equipment, wool, hospital equipment, disposable nappies of all sizes, baby bedding, cleaning materials, stationary, pens and pencils, bedding, dress making material, basic medical supplies. All consumables are continually and urgently needed and all non consumables must be in good condition. Any equipment must have instructions for use.