Update 03.07.19 – Proposed Base Station Installation and Mast on Main Street

Update 03.07.19 - Proposed Base Station Installation and Mast on Main Street

A response from the Harlequin Group to the Parish Council’s Objection to the O2 Base Station and Mast proposal. We will be adding regular updates here from both the Parish Council and individuals. Keep checking the website.


I have received a response from Carolyn Wilson at Harlequin to the Parish Council’s Objection to the O2 Base Station and Mast proposal.  We fully intend to engage with Harlequin and Cornerstone over the coming weeks to offer less intrusive options for the siting of the mast.  As the situation evolves we will ensure that the Community is kept fully informed. 

“ Thank you for the attached objection on behalf of the Parish Council, the points are noted and have been sent Cornerstone for their consideration. I understand the concern regarding the timing of our consultation at the start of the school summer break, however the operators are unable to put their project on hold for a 6/7 week period to accommodate this, we did try to get our consultation letters issued before the school broke up and have received an objection from the School Governors, which has also been passed to Cornerstone along with those individual objections received from residents to date.

I note the Parish Council’s desire to engage with us and Cornerstone to try to find a more suitable location for the mast and this offer is appreciated and I shall be recommending this offer is accepted and the alternative options are reconsidered. Of the alternative options listed in our letter would the Parish Council consider any of these locations suitable and we could reassess them, or would you have any other suggested locations we could look at?

I look forward to your response on behalf of the Parish Council at your earliest convenience.”

Nick Hill
Chairman
Great & Little Gidding Parish Council


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Proposed Base Station Installation and Mast on Main Street Great Gidding

Proposed Base Station Installation and Mast on Main Street Great Gidding

Please be aware that the Parish Council received notification on 18 July 2019 of a proposal for the potential siting of a Mobile Communications Mast and Base Station situated in the grass verge on Highways land close to the Old Chapel and close to the School.  

Nokia pre-application drawing

This is part of a pre-planning process where the Harlequin Group are acting as agents for Cornerstone and Telefonica and have offered the Parish Council the opportunity to comment on the proposal. The Parish Council have responded on 31 July and a copy of our response is available to view by downloading the file ‘Harlequin-31-Jul-19‘. We acknowledge that there is an ever increasing requirement for better communications, but our considered response aims to get Harlequin and the Communications companies to engage with us so that we can collectively achieve a better environmental solution for the siting of this mast and equipment. 

Base station and mast, Main Street, Great Gidding
Mock up of proposed base station and mast looking south on Main Street, Great Gidding
Base station and mast, Main Street, Great Gidding
Mock up of proposed base station and mast looking north on Main Street, Great Gidding

Obviously all of our residents are free to lodge an objection or opinion if they so wish and this can be achieved by replying directly to Carolyn Wilson at the Harlequin Group email: c.wilson@harlequin-group.com  or make your opinions known through our Parish Council email account GGparishcouncil@outlook.com.   We anticipate this pre-planning process may take some time,  possibly even several months or longer, but we will ensure that all Great Gidding residents are kept fully informed as this issue evolves.  

Nick Hill, Chairman, Great and Little Gidding Parish Council


Associated files to download


Fabulous acting, fabulous film

Fabulous acting, fabulous film

What a joy it is seeing Himesh Patel as the lead in Danny Boyle’s latest film ‘Yesterday’.

If you just happen to have been wearing blinkers for the past few weeks you won’t know that Himesh plays Jack Malik, a struggling singer/musician/songwriter who, after an accident with a bus during a 12 second world power outage, is seemingly the only person in the world who remembers the Beatles. The rest is history…sort of.

Written by Richard Curtis, the film was released last Friday 28th June and it’s a really enjoyable film featuring some big names in the acting world. Himesh sings quite wonderfully (download the soundtrack at https://www.what-song.com).

Himesh, the village community is dead proud of you! You must be feeling on top of the world and deservedly so.

(News item approved by J&A). 

What a fantastic success ‘More Than Just a Plant Sale’ turned out to be!

What a fantastic success ‘More Than Just a Plant Sale’ turned out to be!

Visitors thronged in from 5.30pm on the dot and a combination of events held during the evening raised funds for Jubilee Wood Projects – a beautiful area for everyone to enjoy.

Alongside the plant sale there were information stalls on bee keeping and local wildlife, a children’s craft stall, a bird quiz and stalls selling garden bric-a-brac and garden metalwork by Ped Baker Metalcraft.

Food and drink

Tasty barbecue wraps were provided by Andrew Underwood and Dick Downer and Michael Trolove stoically manned the ‘Percy Thrower’ bar.

Gardeners’ questions and raffle

The Gardeners’ Question Time was well attended and a whole selection of topics were covered by two very experienced and knowledgeable professional gardeners, George Thorpe and Tony Arnold (often to be heard on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire) helped by our own village expert Margi Comeau. The evening finished with the obligatory raffle with a wonderful selection of garden-themed hampers as prizes, kindly organised by Jan Downer.

Bird quiz winners

The winner of the Under 12’s Bird Quiz was Meredith from Great Gidding. Her prize was a beautifully illustrated RSPB book of wildlife poetry signed and donated by local artist and illustrator Carry Akroyd, along with a soft toy owl.

The winner of the Over 12’s Bird Quiz was Vi McCarthey also from Great Gidding. Her prize was a hand crafted blue tit nest box kindly built and donated by Dick Downer.

A big BIG ‘thank you’

A big thank you to everyone who came and supported the evening and a really BIG thank you to all those behind-the-scenes organisers who helped to make the event run so smoothly and so successfully.

Remaining plants

There are still some plants for sale outside the Village Hall until Tuesday morning (14.5.19) – please pop your money into the Honesty Box.

Gallery

What’s happening at Laurel Farm?

What's happening at Laurel Farm?

Over the past 18 months you might have noticed building work happening at 74 Main St., Great Gidding – previously Laurel Farm. Jan and Margaret have been busy designing and building their own home and office and a further property that will eventually be rented out by Fitzwilliam Estate.

Here’s a few aerial photographs taken by Catalyst Video Services for Jan Maciag at Folium Architects.

Residential development at 74 Main St, Great Gidding

Do you have any unwanted garden-related items?

Do you have any unwanted garden-related items?

Don’t throw them away!  We would love to ‘repurpose’ them for our garden bric à brac stall at the Plant Sale.

We’re looking for unusual items to use as planters (baskets, chimney pots, old boots, chamber pots, etc), as well as any decorative planters you no longer need or like, or anything else with a horticultural theme (garden ornaments, bird feeders, bird boxes, garden lights, gardening books) …anything at all that might make an interesting addition to someone else’s garden.  

All sales on the evening will help to swell the funds for Jubilee Woods projects.

Let your imagination run riot!  

You can either deliver to The Village Shop or call 01832 293240 and we’ll be happy to collect.

More than just a plant sale…….. CAN YOU HELP?

More than just a plant sale........ CAN YOU HELP?

THE GREAT GIDDING PLANT SALE takes place at The Village Hall on Friday 10th MAY from 5.30pm

Lots of people are busy sowing, planting and potting a wide selection of plants for sale on the evening. But we need more pots for all those plants! If you have any spare plastic pots, we’d love to take them off your hands (all sizes welcome).

You can drop clean pots in to either the Village Shop or No.59 Main Street, or if you’d like us to collect them just call 01832 293 236.

Thank you very much.

We hope to see you on what promises to be a fun and sociable evening with lots of plants and garden-related interest, a barbecue and a bar.

St Michael’s Church closure

St Michael’s Church will be closed for the foreseeable future. At the moment the church is full of scaffolding and therefore inaccessible.

St Michael's Church Great Gidding closed for repairsRestoration in the north aisle being carried out

This is to enable the appropriate work of restoration in the north aisle to be carried out, arising from damage to the plaster as a result of the lead theft. This involves the removal and re-plastering of the wall. This work will take up to six weeks.

At the same time, the opportunity has been taken to remove the cracked plaster from the north side of the chancel arch, so as to expose the stonework behind and determine what work needs to be carried out to rectify the situation with the movement here.

Health and safety

This work obviously creates a dusty atmosphere. Additionally, when the plastering begins, this introduces plaster dust etc into the atmosphere, which not good for anyone to inhale. Therefore health and safety decrees we shut the church until such time as everything has been resolved and building is safe to use..

Therefore, if for any reason, you require access to the church, please contact John DeVal first on 01832 293417.

This closure means:

Evensong on Sunday 21st October is cancelled
The 11am service of Holy Communion on Sunday 4th November is moved from St Michael’s to St John’s Church, Little Gidding.

St Michael's Church Great Gidding closed for repairsRemoval of the cracked plaster from the north side of the chancel arch