Christmas is just around the corner and here is the first round-up of events, along with details of Christmas bin collections and the second phase of the upgrade to highway drainage, which also affects bus services.

In this issue:
  1. St James’ Church Services – December
  2. Birlingham Photography Club, Tuesday 4th December
  3. Cuppa & Chat, Wednesday 5th December
  4. St James’ Christmas Cards
  5. Highway Drainage Upgrading
  6. Temporary Change to Bus Services
  7. Christmas Bin Collections
  8. Parish Council Report
  9. Planning Applications
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1. St James’ Church Services – December

Services at St James’ Church during December will be held at the following times:

  • Sunday 2nd: Morning Praise, 10.30am (with Angela Gerrard)
  • Sunday 9th: Holy Communion, 10.30am (with Revd Claire Lording)
  • Sunday 16th: Carol Service, 6.00pm (with Revd Alma Organ). Followed by refreshments in the Village Hall.
  • Sunday 23rd: No Service at St James’
  • Monday 24th: Christingle and Blessing of the Crib, 4.00pm (with Peter Stansbie)
  • Tuesday 25th: Christmas Day Holy Communion, 10.30am (with Canon Richard Etheridge)
  • Sunday 30th: No service in Birlingham. Instead there will be a Eucharist for the whole Benefice in Pershore Abbey at 10.30am.
Please note that the Carol Service starts at 6.00pm this year.

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2. Birlingham Photography Club, Tuesday 4th December

Angela Fitch writes:
The next meeting of Birlingham Photography Club is the Annual Photography Competition on Tuesday 4th December from 7.00pm to 8.30pm in Birlingham Village Hall. Join BPC Members and see the fantastic range of submissions to this year’s club competition. Open to all members, any theme and it’s free to submit up to three images.

The judge, award-winning photographer, Peter Siviter, will provide light-touch critiques on each image and choose his overall winner together with two runners up. There will also be an anonymous vote to select ‘The People’s Choice’. There will be prizes!

Anyone wishing to pop in to view the work and enjoy a mince pie or two is most welcome. £4pp, booking not required. More information about BPC is available at www.birlinghamphotography.co.uk.

PS. BPC’s Autumn Exhibition is now on at Revills Farm Shop & Cafe – open daily – well worth a visit (especially if you like cake!)

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3. Cuppa & Chat, Wednesday 5th December

All are welcome to come along to the next Cuppa & Chat to mark the start of the Christmas Season. It will be held on Wednesday 5th December from 3.00pm to 4.30pm and there will be festive fayre, including mulled wine, mince pies and sausage rolls, in addition to the usual cakes and savouries.

A Christmas-themed raffle will be held, the proceeds of which will be donated to Crisis at Christmas and Place2be.

Cuppa & Chat is always held on the first Wednesday of the month. Cost is £2 per head and transport can be provided, if required. For more information, please contact Adrianne Woodward on 01386 750936.

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4. St James’ Christmas Cards

A stunning photo of the Church of St James was taken this September by Mark Waidson of the Birlingham Photography Club. A wonderful local image, he has allowed it to be used to create a Christmas card with all profits going to maintenance and much needed proposed works of the church building, like the improvement of the bell ringers’ access.

Your support would be greatly appreciated, so if you would like to pre-order cards for local delivery by 4th December, please contact any of these members of the Friends of St James’ with details of the number required and delivery address:

Caryl Mills; caryl-mills@hotmail.co.uk
Felicity Collier; ifcollier@hotmail.com
Ali Hastings; alihastings31@gmail.com
Maryanne Dyer; maryanne.dyer@courthouse.online

Cards are A5 size (i.e. half an A4 sheet). They are blank inside for your own message, and identify the church and the photographer at the rear.

The price is £1/ card, £4.50 for 5 cards, £8.50 for 10 cards. All cards come with envelope. The card can be viewed at www.birlingham.org/pics/christmas_card_2018.png.

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5. Highway Drainage Upgrading

The Parish Clerk writes:
Phase 1 of the upgrading of the village drainage has been completed around the church and at the end of Church Street.

Phase 2 of the upgrade, which is in Upper End, will be delayed. I have received an update by the Engineer in charge of the works saying that this is due to circumstances with another project. At this time the works may need to be delayed by one week, giving a revised start date of Monday 3rd December. You may see the gang starting slightly earlier but this will be on private property, where a manhole has to be installed.

For the majority of the time, during daylight hours, the only access into the village will be via New Barn Road. Advance road signs will be in place on the A4104 Pershore Road.

I will keep you updated when I hear more.

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6. Temporary Change to Bus Services

Due to the closure of Upper End in Birlingham, services 53 & 54 will not be able to serve Birlingham between 9.00am and 3.00pm (and possibly outside those times, depending on the state of the roadworks) from now until the end of December. During this time buses will not go into Birlingham.

Please note the bus stop at Birlingham Church will not be served during this extended period, which starts one week before the road closure (due to begin on Monday 3rd December). However, you will still be able to catch these services from Eckington Road.

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7. Christmas Bin Collections

Dates for bin collections in Birlingham over the Christmas period are as follows:

  • Saturday 22nd December (brought forward from Tuesday 25th December): green bins (plus up to two extra clear recycling sacks) & brown bins.
  • Saturday 5th January (replacing Tuesday 1st January): black bins (plus up to two extra refuse sacks).
  • You can also put out two extra clear recycling sacks on Tuesday 8th January with your green bin.
Clear recycling sacks will be available from the Birlingham phone box or from Pershore Civic Centre.

Full details of Christmas collections are available at www.birlingham.org/docs/wychavon_christmas_2018.pdf. The bin collection calendar for next year can be viewed at www.birlingham.org/docs/bin_collections_2018_oct.jpg.

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8. Parish Council Report

Paula Aston writes:
At its meeting on 21st November, Birlingham Parish Council discussed a number of issues, including the following:

  • After almost four years of service, Councillor Stuart Allen tendered his resignation. Thanks were given to Stuart for his hard work and support during his time on the council.
  • During the recent preparation for the Armistice Centenary, it was discovered that a further name (Frederick Quarrell) needed to be added to the War Memorial. In order to for this to be done, funds of over £300 need to be raised. Further information will be available in the New Year as to how the funds are to be raised.
  • The Parish Council has consulted a professional in restoration of woodwork. He has advised that the Millenium Bench needs to be removed from its current position around the plane tree as damage is being caused to both the tree and the bench through natural growth. The Council has agreed for the bench to be removed in early spring, when the Council will assess any damage and decide whether the bench can be repaired and if so where it should be relocated. Further details will be provided as the works are undertaken.
  • The budget for the Parish Council for 2019/20 was discussed and set. A slight increase to funds has been applied for in order for the Council to continue to support and fund projects for the village.
  • Next May sees the election of councillors to the Parish Council. Villagers will be able to vote to elect members of the Parish Council if more than seven people put their names forward.
Full minutes of the Parish Council meeting will be available in due course.

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9. Planning Applications

The following planning application has been determined by Wychavon District Council:

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