Felmersham Car Theft
On Tuesday 26 March a Peugeot car was stolen from a drive in the Tithe Barn area. The thief parked a hot wired stolen car at the end of a neighbour's drive before making off with the Peugeot. The car has been found and the thieves arrested. The hot wired car was stolen from Sharnbrook and inside were stolen items including an axe and a scythe! 27/03/02 See Soapbox

Low Flying Speed Limit
	The new 30mph speed  limit through Radwell has attracted criticism from many locals who believe that a 40mph limit would be more appropriate. Also the signs to the south of the bridge are believed by many to be too high. "More suitable for low flying aircraft than road vehicles!" joked one local. He also believes that they spoil one of the better north Bedfordshire views. Another Radwellian considers that they have increased the likelihood of an accident on Radwell bridge. She claims that the traffic from Bedford is now approaching the bridge slower and as a consequence it is in the blind spot for a longer time. "This increases the chance of an oncoming motorist believing that the road is clear when it is not!"
Moving the signs to the north of the bridge would appear to be one solution to the above criticisms. (webmaster) 6/04/02

Daylight Burglary
In the afternoon of Tuesday 19 March a house was burgled in the Tithe Barn area of Felmersham. Among the items stolen were a  TV, video and passports. Any information regarding this crime should be reported, see Homewatch for details. 20/03/02  See Soapbox

Ouse News Sponsorship
Clive Just, the editor of Ouse News, has brokered a deal with Chesham Insurance whereby they will pay for publishing Ouse News in return for front page advertising space. This deal ensures that Ouse News will continue to be delivered free to every household in the parish. 24/03/02

£4,500 Parish Council Spending Spree
The parish Council has been allocated £4,500 to spend on highway improvements. Parish Councillors will be making a tour of the parish inspecting pavements and kerbs with a view to identifying areas that could benefit from the grant.  A suggestion from the annual parish meeting was to lay a footpath from Moor End Road to Radwell Bridge.
Councillors will also be identifying hedges that overhang paths and roads.  Householders will be charged for cutting if they fail to comply with requests to trim back offending hedges and trees. 7/3/02    

Felmersham Wedding
On Saturday 23 March 2002 at St Mary's church, Sarah Carr of Radwell to Roger Cantwell. 3/04/02

Bells, Bells, Bells!
On Monday 27 May a 3 hour peal will be rung at St Mary's church. This could be an ideal day for a shopping trip to Blue Water or for visiting a distant relative! 20/03/02 See Soapbox

New Code of Conduct for Parish Councillors
With effect from 5th May, Parish Councillors will have to sign up to a new Code of Conduct. They will also have to register their interests which includes ownership of Company shares, property and land. The register can be inspected during normal working hours at the Town Hall or before a Parish Council Meeting. Any Councillor who fails to sign up to the Code will be considered to have resigned. [This is a contentious issue and your comments are welcome on Soapbox. Ed.] 7/3/02

School Parking Problem
Parents of children that attend Pinchmill Lower School are to be encouraged to share transport. This is one of the suggestions that will be included in the School Travel Plan in an effort to reduce the number of vehicles parked at the school during peak periods. 7/3/02

Boxing Day Walk
34 walkers set off on a 3 mile parish walk in glorious winter sunshine. The photograph shows the group walking through Radwell.  26/12/01

New Footpath Map
The P3 committee propose to erect a parish map on the Jubilee lawn, a second map would be erected on Radwell Green if funds are available. Cllr. Geoff Hulatt may be able to help with a Borough grant. 10/1/02

Road Sign Check
Old and faded road signs will be replaced in the two villages, graffiti will be removed from the flood sign by Felmersham bridge. 10/1/02

A pen load of sheep on a sightseeing tour of the village guided by 2 working dogs. Caught on camera along Church End by Barry Welsh.

Gravel Pit Footpath Improved
The footpath between Moor End, Radwell and Stoke Mills, Sharnbrook has been raised above the flood plane thus making the path accessible for most of the year.  This work was undertaken by the County Council on the recommendation of the P3 Committee. 10/1/02

Sun's Charity Race Night
The Sun hosted a charity race night and raised £325 for the Keech Cottage Children's Hospice. 9/04/02

Care Award
At the Mayors Awards for Citizenship 2001-2. held at the Harpur Suite, Bedford on Monday April 15th. 2002  Felmersham and Radwell Community Care were awarded the winners certificate in the ‘Good Neighbours’ category. They had been sponsored and proposed by the Bedford Rural Communities Charity (BRCC). Joan and Michael Thomas accepted the award on behalf of the 18 Duty Officers and Volunteers from the Parish, who have served during the past 5 years. 5/5/02

The Parish remembers the Queen Mum
Flags in Radwell (left) and Felmersham were flown at half mast as an act of remembrance for the Queen Mother. A 2 minute silence was also held at the Easter Sunday service and the National Anthem was sung. 5/04/02

New Bus Shelters for Felmersham and Radwell
The Parish Council propose erecting two new bus shelters, one at Felmersham as shown above and a second at Radwell opposite the Swan. 3/04/02

Conjectural view of the new Felmersham bus shelter.

Jubilee Celebrations
The parish Jubilee celebrations will be held on Bank Holiday Monday 3 June 2002. It is proposed to close Moor End Road, Radwell to traffic from 10 am to 10 pm for a Street Fair and Party. This event is for residence of both Radwell and Felmersham.
Jubilee Chairman: Maxine Boswell from Radwell. Phone: 782128. Plus a committee of 7

Parish Rate Increase
The parish council has increased the parish precept from £6000 to £7000 for the coming financial year.  With the reserves at a low level and the commitment to part fund two new bus shelters the majority of councillors felt that the rise could be justified. Cllr. Brian Smith disagreed and said that savings could be made by reducing the number of grass cuts and by phasing in the bus shelters over several years.

Dog Bins Under Threat
Parish Clerk, Daphne Payne, advised the Parish Council that the future funding for emptying the parish dog bins was under threat. In reply to a parishioner's question as to why there was no dog bin in Radwell, Parish Council chairman David Cook said that a bin had been purchased for Radwell but the Radwell council representative advised that it was not necessary. 10/1/02

Care of the Homeless
The former site of St Margaret's School, just outside Carlton off the Turvey Road, is the site for a new centre to house and help the homeless. It offers homeless people a practical way in which they can move from homelessness and dependency into taking responsibility for their own lives through living and working in a self-supporting community. The centre is known as Emmaus Village Carlton (EVC). 2/3/02

Your Village Hall Needs You!
The current officers of the Village Hall Committee will be stepping down at the next AGM (date to be arranged – watch the notice boards).  If you have an interest in the village hall and the events that it supports, then the committee needs to hear from you!  If nobody is prepared to help, then the running of the village hall will be jeopardised.
If you would like to help or would like more details please contact:
Marjorie – 781140 or Margery – 781018, before 27 February.

Sign of the Times Vandals who threw the new Felmersham sign into the river have fished it out. It is now back in position. 24/11/01

Invasive Privet
Parish Councillors are concerned about boundary hedges encroaching on footpaths and highways. At a recent Parish Council meeting, chairman David Cook said that it is the responsibility of all householders to trim their hedges and trees so as not to obstruct public roads and paths. Cllr. Brian Smith stated that in his opinion the County Council had decimated the hedges along Carlton Road and had destroyed the natural habitat of our wild life. Other councillors disagreed and believed it was necessary in order to keep verges clear of brambles and bushes. 7/11/01

Unrewarding Speed Checks
Nobody was caught speeding during speed checks taken in the local area on 11 July,  31 August and 7 September. One bright spark quipped "That's because we were all on holiday!" 7/11/01
Nobody caught speeding during a check in December. 10/1/02

Radwell Speed Limit Proposal
There are proposals to introduce a 30mph speed limit through Radwell (including the bridge), and to move the 30mph limit to the north of Felmersham Bridge.7/11/01

Harrowdene Farm
Work has started on the new entrance to Horrowdene Farm, the two
existing farm entrances will be blocked off. 1/11/01

Felmersham on Anglia TV
On Tuesday 12 February 2002 at 7.30pm Felmersham will feature in Anglia TV's travel programme "Great Little Breaks"

Fund Raising Roadster

Mike Benson used his penny-farthing cycle to raise funds for the historic churches in Beds and Herts and for his parish church at  Felmersham. Mike is seen here outside St Mary's church, Felmersham before setting out on his sponsored ride. Beside his interest in penny farthings, Mike is a keen bell ringer and also sings in a local choir. 1/9/01
 
Harvest Time
August and early September are busy times for the local farmers as they gather the harvest. Tractors and trailers loaded with grain frequently drive through the village on the way to the grain store. The picture shows a bale handling machine with a JCB Fast-track pulling a load of straw.28/8/01

Pinchmill Lower is Top School
Pinchmill Lower School came out with flying colours at a  recent Ofsted inspection. The inspectors report puts the village school in the top 5% in the country. 30/7/01

Grain Lorry Hits Building
Between 8.15am and 8.30am on Wednesday, 8 August, a large grain lorry attempted to turn right out of Grange Road into Hunts Lane. It hit the top of the house on the corner, dislodging stonework and brickwork, reversed and drove off. If anyone who saw the incident, or who can shed light on it, please contacted PC 491 Fay at Riseley Police Station (Tel. 01234 275 175)
9/8/01

Speed Guns to catch speedsters
Local beat managers are to be trained in the use of speed guns. This means that there will be an increase in the number of speed traps in the local villages.

Crime in our Parish
Over the last 12 months there were 6 recorded crimes in our parish, three of which were detected. PC Anstey stated that this is a better detection rate than the national average.  Included in the crime figure were two burglaries both of which were detected.

Parish Council Sees Red
 - Or rather the Parish Council doesn't see red! 
Felmersham's "new" post box still hasn't been painted so the Parish Council are writing a letter to the Post Office. After requests to the PO for the "old" post box to be painted some dynamic parishioner took the brush into their own hands and painted it!

Pharmacy Appeal
The applicants for a pharmacy in Sharnbrook have appealed against the decision not to allow them to open a pharmacy in the village. If the appeal is successful it could mean reduced services at the Sharnbrook surgery and for some people difficulty in getting a prescription from the surgery.

Nigel Raises £9500
Nigel Doggett Felmersham's London Marathon runner raised £9500 for the Primrose Scanner Appeal. Nigel wishes to thank all those who sponsored him.

2430 New Homes a Year
The government are requiring the County to build 2430 new homes a year in Bedfordshire. This requirement could impact on our community. felmersham.net will keep you posted. 

30mph Limit extension
An application to restrict the speed of traffic over Felmersham bridge to 30mph has been made by the Parish Council.

Foot and Mouth
Some footpaths in the parish have been opened. The Council have fixed green open signs to those paths that are considered safe to walk on.

Cobbles to be Preserved
The Parish Council is seeking to preserve the Patten pavement (the cobbled bit), next to the church wall in Church End.
This path is part of the original pavement when the main road to Sharnbrook was via the Old Road and Pinchmill Islands. The road would have been unmade and very muddy. In order to prevent mud getting on their shoes people put a wooden sole mounted on an iron ring, known as a Patten, on their shoes to raise them above the mud. A "Patten" pavement did the same thing by raising the path above the mud.

Old Road Speed Limit
A plan to extend the speed limit in the Old Road to beyond Swansholme has been discussed by the Parish Council.  

Parish Rate Precept set at £6000
The Parish Council has set the parish rate precept for the year 2001 to 2002 at £6000. At £6000 it remains the same as this year.  An amendment to reduce the precept to £5000 was not supported.

Churchyard Landscaping
Before plans for the consecration of the churchyard extension can proceed a landscaping and pollution control scheme must be agreed with the Local Authority. A beech hedge has been planted between the existing churchyard and the extension.

Hunts Lane gets a reshape
Gullies at the bottom of Hunts Lane are regularly blocking up. The County Council has reshaped the bottom of the lane in order to ease the problem and resurfaced the complete length of the lane.

Pitch Punchup
An 85 year old parishioner who was fed up with the noise made by the Felmersham Cricket Club mower punched the operator in the ear. During the attack Terry Longstaff, also a pensioner, lost his hearing aid and glasses. Terry said that if he had come and asked me to stop I would have done so. Fred Turner the club President thought it was disgusting that Terry should be attacked for doing something for the village.

New Parish Council Chairman
David Cook is the new chairman of the Parish Council and the new vice chairman is Michael Thomas. At the recent Parish Council meeting Margaret Spoor was thanked for her 3 years as Chairman.
David Cook has spent most of his life in the parish.

New Churchwarden
At the annual Vestry meeting Sally Carr from Radwell was elected Churchwarden. She joins Ken Shrimpton who was also re-elected.
Thanks were expressed to Rosemary Brough for her work as Churchwarden over the last 9 years.

Successful "Just Bin It" Campaign
14 Volunteers collected 20 bags of rubbish along the highways and byways of the parish in the recent "Just Bin It" campaign. The clean up was organised by the Parish Council.

Nuisance Callers
A threatening and persistent man gained access to a Felmersham house pretending to be an antiques buyer. He proved difficult to eject. He is white male in his mid 50's and about 5ft 4ins tall with dark hair and speaks with a local accent. Ring PC Martin Anstee 275175 or Greyfriars police station 271212. 

The Price of Cut Grass
Grass cutting in the parish for the coming season will cost £2,276 

Pot Hole Hot Line
If you have a safety concern about a pot hole in the road then call the Pot Hole Hot Line on 0800 0856241 for action. At the start of this year all pot holes have been filled to a new specification, concerns had been expressed about the standard of pot hole repairs.

Preschool Move
Felmersham Preschool are hoping to raise enough money to enable them to purchase a Porta cabin. They propose erecting it on the former site of the Pinchmill School swimming pool. More on the project...

Tree Lopping
The trees next to the bus shelter were recently lopped because of fears for public safety. Trees in the churchyard received a similar treatment a few years ago when they were discovered to be up to 40% rotten. 
Horse Chestnut trees are prone to rotting from the inside and as a result they can shed a rotten bough at anytime.

Felmersham Vandals see the Light
Vandals regularly attack the two lights on the steps between Marriotts Close and The High Road. They wrench the light fittings off the post and expose the electrical wiring. Parishioners are surprised that they have not electrocuted themselves. "The lights were put there for peoples safety", said a parishioner, "these kids have turned the steps into a death trap" 

The Parish Council are fed-up with replacing the bulkhead lamps and hope that their plan to install a lamp post will finally thwart the hooligans.

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