Tenbury Wells - Tenbury Blog

Tenbury on the Radio

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:17:00 +0000

Tenbury has featured today on a couple of local radio stations.

BBC Hereford & Worcester (at 2:06 & 2:34)

and

BBC Shropshire (at 1:43)

Tenbury Bridge Work 2 Down, 8 to Go

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:40:00 +0000

So two weeks in. The upstream pavement has now been excavated and more service pipes exposed. Whilst at the Northern end of the Bridge work has started on backfilling the pavement area with concrete.

The arch nearest the Shropshire bank has also been cleared of vegetation which will greatly assist flow in the event of a spate.

Richard Attwood, Engineering Project Manager at Worcestershire County Council, confirmed this week that despite what appeared to be a slow start, the work was proceeding to schedule and that they were still working to a completion date of March 16th.

The problems with parking rubble on, but following the request for people parking cars all day to use the car park at Burford Village Hall, the situation has eased considerably.

The Tenbury Windfall scheme seems to be going from strength to strength and has captured the imagination of shoppers in Tenbury Wells, with apple stickers being handed out when shoppers make a purchase. The scheme has already proved so popular that 100,000 stickers have been distributed to Tenbury's shops, pubs and cafes in just one week!

There have been suggestions that a very few people have tried to abuse the scheme, but actions have been put in place to reduce this and the Police have indicated that they would be willing to investigate any fraudulent behaviour.

Despite the gloom of catastrophic trading results predicted by some shopkeepers, Ashley's bakers from Cleobury Mortimer have opened a new branch in Teme Street and when I visited on Saturday were doing a very brisk trade. So they should, their buns are delicious, but I do now fear for my waistline which has previously been protected (to some extent) by the lack of availability in Tenbury.

Tenbury Bridge Work 1 Down, 9 to Go

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:25:00 +0000

My first visit to the Bridge site since the closure. Seems that so far Volker Fitzpatrick have managed to expose the pipes under one pavement.

I wonder who's pipes they are. I can only guess they are BT's as there is no way they would contain a gas or liquid!

I had heard stories about much leaning on railings and smoking, but not a lot of activity. Hopefully the speed of progress will speed up and not slow down. It seems that no early completion bonus was included in the contract, and if the project runs over, only WCC's additional costs are covered by way of a penalty, so probably only about 0.1% of the contact cost per week.

As nice as it has been to have a much quieter shopping experience in town, the drive around the diversionary route has added considerably to my working week.

On a more positive note, the Windfall scheme seems to be doing well. Too early to tell if it has attracted or retained any shoppers, but everyone seems to know about it and some have already completed their first card.

The shuttle bus, now seems to have a notice in it's window declaring what it is, but I haven't worked out why it doesn't run during the period the children are going to school or coming home (unless it's the obvious - the bus is used on a school pick up run).

Much has been said about the car park on the North end of the bridge. Whilst it seems rather short sighted that the shop owners and workers park there (as it does when they park in Teme Street), thus stopping any potential shoppers parking, but then, where should they park. I think everyone missed the fact that so many shop owners / workers now live out of town. Hopefully, WCC will make additional parking available. Two very good options have been presented to them.

I think this proves that the parking planned for the Tesco site is inadequate, and unless Tesco make off site provision for their staff, there will be trouble ahead. It is almost inconceivable that many of their staff will arrive by public transport as envisaged by their management planners, but then if the CEO didn't know that their customers were deserting them in droves over Christmas anything is possible.

Tenbury Area Partnership (TAP) - Open Day Event

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:39:00 +0000

Tenbury Area Partnership (TAP) will be hosting an Open day on Tuesday 17th January at The Pump Rooms between 2pm and 7pm open to everyone living in both Burford & Tenbury areas to comment on the findings of the recent ‘Mad, Sad & Glad’ survey results.

TAP is working closely with County, District and local councils to ensure local needs are included in policy and strategic decision making, so this is YOUR OPPORTUNTY to HAVE YOUR SAY on what key priorities will be addressed over the coming years.

The initial findings plus a description of what TAP is all about was included in a Community Newsletter that was distributed to 3500 households within Burford & Tenbury during the last week in December.

TAP representatives will be on hand to answer questions on the findings that are themed around:-

• The Built & Natural Environment
• Business, Economic & Tourism
• Public Services & Community
There will also be opportunities to record other areas that might have been missed.

All details and comments will be analysed and included in the revised Community Plan, which will be launched at the end of April.

FREE light refreshments will be available throughout the afternoon and everyone will be given a Loyalty Scheme card with one red apple included as a thank you for participating in the event.

TAP will be making use of the bus shuttle service, which is available during the Teme Bridge closure, and TAP has made arrangements for the bus to stop by The Crow so that access to The Pump Rooms is as easy as possible.

Car Parking During the Tenbury Teme Bridge Closure.

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:43:00 +0000

Two temporary car parks have been created for use during the closure of Teme bidge.

Free carparks have been created at either end of the Bridge – marked in blue on this map.

Car Parks will be open 24 hours a day.
The bridge will remain open to pedestrians at all times.
Vistors arriving via the A456 may park on the Burford side of the river and walk across the bridge into the town.
Visitors arriving via routes from the South may park in car parks in the town.
There will be turning facilities at the bridge end of Teme Street for delivery vehicles and lorries to enable them to turn around and leave town from the direction in which they entered – area marked in red on this map.

Click here for full car parking details.

Click here for the bridge information from WCC

Teme Bridge Closure - Fire Cover Contingency Arrangements

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:41:00 +0000

Tenbury Wells Fire Station is crewed solely by "On Call" firefighters, who respond to the fire station in Burford when required to attend emergency calls, when alerted by a pager There are two fire engines based at Tenbury Wells Fire Station.

From Sunday 8th January, one of the fire engines based at Tenbury Wells Fire Station will be relocated to a temporary fire station at Bromyard Road Industrial Estate.

Read the full Fire Cover Contingency Arrangements on the Tenbury Fire Station Website.

If you have any queries or concerns, a fire crew will be in Tenbury Town Centre on Saturday 7th January between 9am and 11am to answer any questions.

Station Commander Chris Churchill from Malvern Fire Station, who is the lead officer for the fire service plans will also be available to speak to, as well as other staff from various departments.

Tenbury Launches a Town Guide App

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:18:00 +0000

A new Smartphone application has been launched which gives instant access to everything you need to know about Tenbury Wells. The app can be installed from both the itunes store for iPhones and from the Android Marketplace for all Android phones.

The app gives instant access to all local businesses and where available their websites. It also allows easy access to lots of other useful information.

Early next year, it will also start to detail special offers from local shops.

The app has been developed on behalf of Tenbury Town Council and funded under the TWO4B project.

Pirouetting Truck Avoids the Teme

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:01:00 +0000

A Kingsmill delivery truck on route to the Spar supermarket narrowly missed a dip in the Teme at Tenbury Wells this morning.

Whilst turning in the old cattle market site, the lorry skidded on ice and slid through the boundary fence and partly demolished a wall.

The truck stopped short of the railings, Luckily no one was hurt.

Town Council to create more parking.

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:33:00 +0000

Tenbury Town Council have agreed in principle for the existing Civic Amenity site to be relocated to the Bromyard Road Business Park.

The Town Civic Amenity Site (Town Dump)

The site is currently situated on land owned by the Town Council and leased to Worcester County Council who in turn let it to Severn Waste who run the facility.

The Town Council (or rather the Council Tax payers) have to pay full business rates on the site, estimated at more than £300, but only receive £1 a year in rent from Worcester County Council.

The site which attract scores of complaints each year, mainly due to the difficult access and steep stairs, was due to be replaced years ago. When Severn Trent took over Worcestershire's waste contract they had to put aside a considerable sum of money to find a new site and create a modern facility.

Although lip service has been given to this over the years, no real attempt has been made to move the project forward.

Hopefully this will now happen in 2012, and a modern facility can be created, which will allow easier and safer access and allow for much more recycling. Most of the materials "dumped" in the skip at the moment such as wood, metal, bricks, concrete etc go to landfill whereas they could be recycled.

Once the facility has been moved, the resulting space can be turned back into parking spaces.

As another Christmas draws nearer....

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:56:00 +0000

The annual Tenbury Wells Lantern & Santa Parade marked the end of the 2011 Mistletoe Season.

All the usual characters were in attendance,

although surprisingly the lantern section seemed somewhat depleted despite the run-away success of this years lantern workshop.

There was also a dance exhibit in the window of 12 Teme Street, but this proved very difficult to see. Perhaps they had overdone the atmospheric lighting, but with condensation and reflections on the windows the dancers were all but invisible to my old eyes.

More photo's

Free parking in Tenbury over Christmas period

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:51:00 +0000

Following recent pressures affecting the national economy and reports from local businesses about a slow down in trade, Malvern Hills District Council will be providing free car parking concessions in the week before Christmas.

From the 19^th to the 24^th December, pay and display charges will be waived in its car parks

Councillor Paul Cumming, Portfolio Holder for Finance & Resources at MHDC said:

“This council considers the support of local business and the local economy to be a priority and we are keen to assist local traders who have reported generally sluggish sales. We want to help give trade a boost and encourage more people to shop in our towns in the week leading up to Christmas. “

Tenbury Town Council Inflation Busting Increase

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:46:00 +0000

Tenbury Town Council are proposing increasing their precept request by just over 13.5%.

Amongst other things funds required are to pay for additional repairs to the Community Centre which aren't covered by the HLF Grant. Also a budget has been created to help fund the Town's Diamond Jubilee celebrations next year. The amount being set aside for future repairs to the Car Park has also been increased and unless it is agreed that charges are introduced this is likely to have to increase again.

There are still some anomalies in the way they subsidise certain facilities to a much higher degree than others, but the Council has pledged to have detailed negotiations during the coming year to try to overcome these.

The other uncertainty at this stage is the overall financial effect of transferring the running of the Regal to a Management Trust. This should show major savings in future years, but probably not in the first year.

As the other elements of the Council Tax have been frozen by central government, the TTC increase won't have a major impact in the overall Council Tax charge. The increase for a band A property will be about the cost of one small chocolate bar a month.

The full Council will be voting on the increase next Monday.

Wow What a (National) Mistletoe Day

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 22:31:00 +0000

Today started gently enough with a small gathering of Druids in a local orchard. Male & Female Mistletoe was harvested during a gentle ceremony that thanked the tree for producing apples and for hosting the Mistletoe. During the ceremony, the Apple tree was anointed with Cider as a thank you gift.

The Male & Female Mistletoe are harvested separately and caught before hitting the ground. They are then kept separately for the ceremony later in the day.

The next part of the day started with a BANG! Drummers appeared on both sides of Teme Bridge and started to play loud rhythmic music.

They were joined by the Mistletoe Foundation Parade as it brought the Harvested Mistletoe across the Teme into Tenbury. All of a sudden, the Town centre which had only a few minutes ago appeared deserted, was packed with people watching the parade.

So much so that the Parade had to complete the last section on the road as the pavements were packed. As the Parade crossed the road, it was met by the Head Girl & Boy from Tenbury High School with their attendants on the "Steps of Learning"

2011 Tenbury High School Head Girls , Anna Gunter (left)

and Deputy Head Girl & attendant Jessica Sanders and

Head Boy, Callum Redding (right) and

Jordan Powell (standing in for Deputy Head Boy Scott Dallow )

The Parade, and everyone else then made their way to the Burgage for the next part of the ceremony.

During the ceremony, the Mistletoe is blessed and the Mistletoe Queen is crowned. The Male & Female Mistletoe are then brought together.

Apple Juice & Beer are poured over the Mistletoe so that all harvests of the Teme Valley are honoured. Good intentions are put into the blessing and then the Mistletoe is given to the River Teme as a thank you to the land for its abundance and hoping for a good year, next year.

By now the sun was setting so a few of the two to three hundred people that had watched and joined in the ceremony retreated to the Pump Rooms for a warm drink and a chat.

They were joined by local MP Harriett Baldwin to present the prizes for the Mistletoe themed shop window dressing competition.

The first prize was awarded to Marilyn of Marilyn's Ladies Fashions. The second to Beauty Laine and joint third to Country Flowers and the Salon.

Then the entertained changed pace again with Damh the Bard, playing to a sell out crowd at the Royal Oak.

More photo's from the day.

John Challis - Being Boycee in Tenbury

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:44:00 +0000

Local actor John Challis was signing copies of his autobiography "Being Boycie" at Books Books Books today. If you missed it, there are a few additional signed copies for sale.

John is best known for his portrayal of Boycie the the dodgy car dealer from Only Fools And Horses and the spin off series, The Green Green Grass.

The book charts his early years as the son of a cautious and pedantic man from the Admiralty and a rather more flamboyant mother.

His early career included a spell working at an Estate Agent and as a Deliver Van Driver, before moving into acting with a touring "rep" company. In the 60's he played in many of the hit TV series such as Z Cars & Coronation Street, but it wasn't until after nearly 25 years in the business that he became an "overnight success" in Only Fools & Horses.

Tenbury Mistletoe Auction Attracts Brisk Trade

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:41:00 +0000

A full auction site of Mistletoe, Holly, Wreaths & Trees attracted a large crowd of buyers from across England, Scotland, Wales and beyond for the first of the seasons sales.

Tenbury High School Pupils from the
Mistletoe Messenger Group discuss their
publication with Green Santa.

In addition to the ranks of press and photographers from the local & national press, pupils from Tenbury High School were selling copies of the Mistletoe Messenger and Destination Worcester's Green Santa was also in attendance.

More photo's
Even more photo's
More again

For one night only!

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 22:08:00 +0000

"World renowned for his dynamic and challenging performances, allow Ben Haggarty to lure you into the richly metaphorical world of a full-blooded fairytale for grown-ups.

Dark, beautiful and startling by turn, this is a story of dreams, initiations and the repayment of debts - a journey from innocence to experience which delves into a disconcertingly familiar narrative world. Ben Haggarty performs with infectious charm and ease - fierce, fast paced, and unashamedly magical."

Ben Haggarty is performing in Tenbury for one night only on Saturday 26th November only part of the Mistletoe Season. Tickets available from the TIC, Books, Books, Books, Special Occasions and online.

This performance is suitable for children over 12 and adults.

There is also a Sunday afternoon performance for children over 8 and their families.

Sticky but Fun

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 18:02:00 +0000

Todays lantern workshop was a fun filled success with children of all ages (about 60 throughout the day) trying their hands at creating new lanterns for this years Tenbury Wells Santa & Lantern Parade, or helping to re-skin old lanterns.

The Pump Rooms, which had been specially adapted with plastic sheeting on the floor, was awash with willow withys, cling film, tissue paper and pva glue.

More photo's

Mistletoe Messenger is Launched

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 11:06:00 +0000

Mistletoe Messenger, the event programme for the 2011 Mistletoe Season containing, Mistletoe Mischief, Miscellany and lots of information about Mistletoe is now on sale at shops throughout Tenbury.

This comprehensive and well produced booklet (40 odd pages) was produced by a team of children from Tenbury High School (with a little outside help). Proceeds from the sale (50p each) goes to The Starlight Children's Foundation and Help for Heroes.

Available from: The Tourist Information Centre, Books, Books, Books, The Little Sweet Shop, Special Occasions, The Barn Shop, Country Flowers, Clockhouse, Bowketts, Soap Opera, Nice Things & Tenbury News.

Worcester Evening News

Large Crowds Watch Lights Switch On

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 10:49:00 +0000

Hundreds of people lined Teme Street in Tenbury Wells late yesterday afternoon for the annual switching on of the Christmas Lights. Part of the street had been turned into an outside disco complete with Lasers and other lighting effects. (which made photography almost impossible - Thanks Sunshine!)

Sunshine Radio hosted the event from the top of their open top double decker bus. There was a surprise visit from Father Christmas, and a walk about by Ray the Sunshine Cat.

The lights were switched on by Tenbury Mayor, Liz Weston.

More photo's

The Bridge will be closed for 10 weeks or less!

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:27:00 +0000

Worcester County Council announced tonight that they have appointed Birmingham based Volker Fitzpatrick and their Worcester based sister company Laser as main contractors for the repair of Tenbury's Teme Bridge.

The bridge is still scheduled to close on 9th January but the plan is for the work that involves the road closure to be completed by 16th March. This period also includes some contingency time so that there is a possibility that it could open even sooner.

A temporary car park will be established for 50 cars on the North side of the bridge and the old cattle market will be repaired and marked out for parking on the south side. The charge in the MHDC Teme Street car park will be reduced to 10p for up to 2 hours.

Landrover are sponsoring an additional 4x4 vehicle so that Police will have additional cover and all the Police Officers radios now contain trackers so that the control room can task the nearest officer to any incident. Police numbers will also be maintained at normal operation levels for the duration and any absences will be back-filled by officers from other areas.

Hereford & Worcester Fire & Rescue Services will maintain two appliances at the Burford Station and an additional appliance will be based at the Bromyard Road Business Park. Additional appliances will be tasked from Bromyard & Leominster automatically for all calls rather than the current system of calling them in if required.

Ambulance cover will remain the same with vehicles being tasked from Leominster, Bromyard, Ludlow & Kidderminster. The destination hospital may vary depending on where the patient lives.

A temporary shuttle bus will run from Bromyard Road Business Park to Lloyds Bank and back. There is an ongoing discussion about providing a bus from the North end of the bridge to the hospital, but this hasn't been finalised.

The main signed diversion routes will be via main roads. The smaller "local" diversion routes will have a weight restriction of 7.5 tonnes (except for access). All these routes will be treated (gritted) should the need arise.

Tenbury's Fallen Servicemen Remembered.

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:53:00 +0000

As far a military towns go, Tenbury Wells is probably not one that springs readily to mind, but ever since the Napoleonic wars local families have had to count the cost in human terms of the loved ones who didn't return from military conflicts all over the world.

In his 500 page book, Roy Winton, the Treasurer of the Tenbury British Legion explores the story of courage, sorrow and loss behind each of the 200 men who gave their lives to Sovereign and Country.

The earliest story in the book is that of Edgar Knott who lost his life in the Boer War and the most recent is that of Stephen Hicks, an airman who lost his life in the first Gulf War in 1991.

The book, For Sovereign and Country is available at Books Books Books and the Tenbury Tourist Information office and would perhaps make an ideal Christmas present.

"Coming to a screen near you"

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:04:00 +0000

One of the top Christmas themed films is being screened by Flicks in the Sticks at Tenbury High School on Friday evening as part of the Tenbury Mistletoe Season.

Tickets can be bought online from http://www.tenbury-mistletoe-festival.co.uk/ at the Tenbury TIC or on the door.

Tenbury Memorial Parade 2011

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 14:11:00 +0000

I don't know if it's my imagination but the Tenbury Wells & District Memorial parade seems to be getting bigger each year. Once again bright sunshine and this year warm temperatures welcomed the representatives from the many local forces & uniformed organisations as well as representatives from the three levels of local councils. There was even a representative from Royal Mail & (if I heard correctly) The Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes.

Additional Photographs.

Being Boycie at Books Books Books.

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 12:05:00 +0000

Local actor John Challis will be signing copies of his autobiography "Being Boycie" at Books Books Books from 12 noon on Tuesday 29th November.

Tenbury Remembers

noreply@blogger.com (@WR15) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:03:00 +0000

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

(Extract of Poem by Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)

Members of the numerous town organisations and a sizeable crowd joined the Royal British Legion and other Tenbury Services organisations in a short ceremonial event to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty.

Euton Peters the young trumpeter from the Teme Valley Band is congratulated and thanked for his excellent playing of the Last Post, and Reveille during the event.

More photo's