Community Notices

CORONATION COMMEMORATIVE

The Parish Council are considering whether the village would like a lasting commemorative item to celebrate and remember the Coronation for many years to come. One idea is to build an arbor around the WI commemorative bench on the Banfield Recreation Ground, and grow climbing plants up and around it… please send any ideas, suggestions or comments to Alex, Geoff or Sarah who will bring them to the next PC meeting in May

DOG WALKERS…

Like many rural villages we have a perennial poo problem and, whilst additional notices help a little, there are times when the actions (or non-actions) of a tiny minority undoes all the good that the vast majority of our dog walking community conscientiously do every single day. We talked about this at the March parish council meeting, and here’s where we’re at:

POO BINS = MIXED WASTE BINS

If you know, you know, but if you don’t… Not everyone is aware, but there are no separate ‘poo bins’ any more, Wiltshire Council treat them all as MIXED WASTE – so you can put bagged poo in any of the Litter Bins. With this in mind, we’re asking Wiltshire Council if we might move one of the two bins on the footpath by the Banfield Recreation Ground to the beginning of Towmead Lane. We also wondered if it might help to add notices to all the bins so that it’s clear that bagged poo is ok.

POO BAG SCHEME

We’ve also been in touch with Steeple Ashton about their poo bag scheme, which does seem to have helped to improve things, although the problem’s not been entirely eliminated. It’s run by a co-ordinator and volunteer network who each have an area to look after and refill with bags, with financial support from the PC. Would the Keevil Dog Walking community like to run a similar scheme?

Thoughts, ideas and suggestions about any of the above very warmly welcomed, get in touch with Alex, Geoff or Sarah

VOLUNTEER ROLES

Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator

Civil Emergency Volunteer

Keevil has had an active Neighbourhood Watch scheme since 1987 and in 2008, following encouragement from Wiltshire Council, a Community Emergency Volunteer was appointed by the Parish Council to draw up and maintain an Emergency Response Plan. Paul Lenaerts took over the role of Keevil NHW Co-ordinator from James Banfield in 2001, and Dave Bouault the latter role – both have worked closely together for the past 13 years because there is a lot of synergy between the two roles.

Both David and Paul have now decided to stand down so the Parish Council would like to invite interested residents to put their names forward for both these impending vacancies. The duties are not onerous and further details are available on request.

If you are interested in volunteering for either post, please contact Geoff West, Vice-Chair, Keevil Parish Council 01380 870425 geoff@keevilpc.com.

OUR COUNTRY CODE

The Country Code item was created by our Rights of Way advisory group, to try and educate villagers about the difficulties our farmers have when walkers stray off designated footpaths, and so that walkers can enjoy our village and the surrounding countryside, whilst remembering to be considerate to other villagers and the farmers whose land you are crossing.

RESPECT EVERYONE

  1. Be considerate to those who work on the land. They depend on it for a living.
  2. Be aware of others who are enjoying walks in the village and countryside.
  3. Please leave gates AS YOU FIND THEM.
  4. Follow local footpath signs, remembering to keep to pathways. The field you walk through is pasture for cattle and should not be trampled over.
  5. Be careful in fields containing livestock, mindful of the gates and fences that hold them. Don’t disturb or frighten them. Cows could be in calf or turn aggressive.

RESPECT THE ENVIRONMENT

  1. Keep your dogs on a lead whilst walking around the village, don’t let them wander into other peoples garden. Keep them under strict control whilst in fields.
  2. Don’t let your dog worry any livestock.
  3. Take care to clear up their poo, around the village roads and verges and in particular in fields. Livestock grazing in these fields can pick up serious infections if they eat this. It is not okay to think you don’t have a responsibility just because you are out in the middle of a field.
  4. Take any litter home with you. Discarded waste can harm livestock and seriously damage plant life.

A PLEA FOR CONSIDERATE PARKING…

Our village roads are overstretched by modern parking needs, plus tradesmen, visitors and deliveries, particularly around Pyatts Corner, Stocks Green and Martins Road where many homes have little or no off-road parking of their own, and slender verges are easily damaged.

If you have space for vehicles on your property, please use it whenever possible. If you’ve no choice but to park on the road, be considerate of neighbours, wheelchairs, disabled scooters, buggies, and of visibility safety, especially with high or wide vehicles.

Highway Code 243 states no parking on a bend, within 10m of a junction, in front of a property entrance or by a school entrance, on pavements, or anywhere that limits emergency vehicle access.

Thank you to those residents who have already tried to be more mindful about parking, and to those who have written to the Parish Council, it is appreciated.

ROAD CLOSURES

None currently notified directly to the Parish Council. You can see the full list of all roadworks taking place in the county by visiting the One Network map and typing ‘Wiltshire’ into the search box.

S137 Donations

One of the few ways small Parish Councils such as ours can support and invest in our communities is through donations made under what is called S137 expenditure (section 137(4)(a) Local Government Act 1972). The amounts are not fixed (although there is a limit), but they must be for initiatives directly relevant to the interests and benefit of the Keevil area or any part of it and some or all of its inhabitants.

Donations for the 2022-23 financial year were finalised at the Parish Council meeting on 9th January 2023 – see here for the minutes: Minutes_Ordinary meeting 9th January 2023_DRAFT

At the same meeting in January we also approved the budget for FY 2023-24 and have made allowances for other community projects that may benefit from some support funding, so do let us know if there is something you feel the Parish Council should consider: contact Sarah Dow, Cllr & Interim Clerk: sarah@keevilpc.com

Part-time Vacancy

CLERK/RFO to the Parish Council

We are looking for a part-time Clerk / Responsible Financial Officer (RFO) to support the smooth running of our Parish Council. The main responsibilities include:

  • preparing meeting agendas and supporting papers;
  • attending meetings and providing regulatory advice if needed;
  • taking minutes and completing administrative actions arising;
  • managing the Council’s finances;
  • upkeep of the Council’s notice board and web pages.

Good literacy, numeracy and IT skills are essential, as are personal qualities of integrity, discretion, and impartiality. You’ll be a good communicator and strong, well-organised administrator: a working knowledge of local governance and/or public sector administration, whilst desirable, is not essential as training will be available, and your development fully supported.

Keevil has a vibrant, active community, and we’re ideally looking for someone local who is interested in village life and would enjoy getting involved. In return we offer:

  • Access to full training, including support of CiLCA qualification if desired;
  • Average of 6 hours per week, with flexibility in how they’re worked subject to fixed deadlines. Apart from attending meetings, you’ll work from home;
  • Salary based on skills, experience and qualification in line with NJC Local Government Services pay scales SCP 7 -12. Currently this range is £11.63 – £12.73 per hour.

A full job description is available here: Clerk Job Description
If you think you might like to join our team, you can send a CV and covering letter, or just phone for an informal chat to start with, to:
Alex Goodwin, Chair, Keevil Parish Council
07836 355503 | alex@keevilpc.com

Proclamation of His Majesty King Charles III

In Keevil, the Parish Proclamation of the new King was read by the Chair of Keevil Parish Council, as First Citizen of the Parish, at 6pm Sunday 11th September, by the War Memorial.

47 Regiment Royal Artillery Watchkeeper RPAS activity

June -August 2022: KEEVIL AIRFIELD AIRSPACE CHANGE PROPOSAL ACP-2021-006 CONSULTATION

Consultation events for the Keevil Airfield Airspace Change Proposal that is seeking to enable the Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLoS) operation of Remotely Piloted Aircraft from Keevil Airfield have now been completed, but the consultation itself remains open until 24th August, so there is still plenty of time to have your say. And please do take the time to submit your feedback – all responses are really important so that the Civil Aviation Authority can fully appreciate how the local community feels. Details and how to comment on the proposal are on the previous Buzz post. You can see comments that have given permission to be made public here. 

See the village website for other Airfield activity updates.