2011 News

• A reminder that the minutes of the latest Parish Council meeting are available on the website each month. This month: Adrian Green is co-opted as a new councillor, plus £7000 is available to Sherington from the Wind Farm Fund for Energy Saving installation/promotion/education - the Parish Council is seeking applications and someone to represent Sherington on the committee.

• Refuse collections will be on the following days:
  • Thursday 29 December
  • Thursday 5 January
  • Wednesday 11 January

• There will be no newspaper deliveries on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day.
• On Boxing Day and New Years Day, papers will be available for collection from 9am to 11am, provided they have been explicitly ordered in advance by midday on Friday 16 December.
• Any cancellations over the Christmas/New Year period must also be notified by midday on Friday 16 December.

• Pearl Teasdale's Traidcraft Event on 5 and 6 November 2011 had sales/orders/donations of £1,557.60, which is £100 more than last year.
• Philip Smith's 'Give a Tin Day' on 19 November 2011 raised £355.62, plus lots of tinned food, for Milton Keynes Salvation Army.

• Update - 19 December 2011: the portakabin is now on site.
• See shop news for an update (3 Oct) on the new shop.

• There is still a vacancy for a Parish Councillor - Further details

• Shopco has set up a new website www.sheringtonshopco.co.uk giving details of its activities.

• Pre-school has a job vacancy for a Pre-school Assistant - closing date 31 August 2011.
  Further details - Application Form - Job Description **Vacancy now filled**

• The Annual Charity Auction at the White Hart on Saturday 30 July 2011 has raised £1,240 for Willen Hospice.
• Paula Noble has raised £345 for Willen Hospice by taking part in the Midnight Moo on Saturday 16 July 2011 - www.justgiving.com/Paula-Noble0.

• Shopco has submitted the planning application to Milton Keynes Council for the temporary village shop to be housed in a Portakabin next to the Village Hall car park. The application will be considered by the Development Control Committee on 18 August 2011 at 7pm. Further details Latest news: The application has been PERMITTED.

• MK Play Association are bringing their Rural Play Project to the Village Hall Play Area at 3.30pm on Thursdays from 9 June. Free activities for 4 to 19 year olds. Further details
• The new Table Tennis Club starts on Monday evenings in the Village Hall at 7.30pm. All ages/abilities welcome. Further details

• Paula Noble will again be taking part in the 'MK Midnight Moo' on July 16th 2011, raising funds for Willen Hospice, in memory of her mum and good friend, Derek. It's a 10-mile ladies only sponsored 'midnight' walk.
• If you would like to sponsor her, you can do so online with a credit or debit card:- www.justgiving.com/Paula-Noble0 JustGiving sends your donation straight to Willen Hospice and automatically reclaims Gift Aid if you're a UK taxpayer, so your donation is worth even more.

• Keith McLean (Conservative) has been elected as the Councillor to represent Sherington Ward on Milton Keynes Council from May 2011 to 2015.
Results

• A fast (up to 40Mb/s) "Fibre To the Cabinet (FTTC)" broadband service has been available in Sherington since September 2010, but BT will only provide its 'Infinity' service to those situated close enough to the cabinet (at the corner of Crofts End and High Street) to receive a speed of at least 15Mb/s. This meant that areas such as Gun Lane and Hillview where the speed would be 'only' 14Mb/s remained unconnected and had to make do with the slower ADSL service with typical speeds of 1 to 3Mb/s.
• However, BT has now introduced a new 'Option 3 With Fibre' service for areas where the predicted FTTC speeds are in the 'up to 15Mb/s' range. The cost is similar to Infinity. Note: although available, the service is not yet being widely publicised.   Check your line speed

• Latest: 4 May 2011.   The application has been approved. Further details
• The owners of the Swan Inn, which closed on 22 November 2010, have applied to Milton Keynes Council for planning permission for change of use to residential. Further details
• Planning Committee date: 14 April 2011. The decision was deferred to allow the applicant to provide further information on viability.

• Visit the new School Web Site - revised layout, more information, photos, news, etc.

• As there were only 6 nominations for the 7 seats on the Parish Council, all candidates have been elected New Parish Councillors
• There are 4 candidates for the election for the Sherington Ward seat on Milton Keynes Council, currently held by Cllr Sam Potts, which is up for election on Thursday 5 May 2011. Candidates

• Milton Keynes Council granted Planning Permission on 9 March 2011 for Tesco to build a new store on the old Aston Martin site in Newport Pagnell. This is only 2.3 miles from Sherington and is therefore much nearer than Tesco's Kingston store. It also provides an alternative to the Co-op in Newport Pagnell town centre, but with the added benefit of a car park for 230 cars.
• The decision is unlikely to be welcomed by Shopco who, only a few days earlier (on Saturday 5 March), had held an open meeting in the Village Hall attended by about 80 villagers to report the findings of their year-long research into options for replacing Virginia House Stores (which closed in January 2010) and the Post Office. Shopco reported that the only viable option would be a temporary portakabin building to be placed next to the Village Hall and staffed by unpaid volunteers. Shopco is now investigating funding for the £55,000 start-up cost, planning permission, etc.

• The Council Tax for 2011/2 has now been announced. Whilst Milton Keynes Council, Thames Valley Police and Bucks and Milton Keynes Fire Authority have all frozen their charges at last year's level, Sherington Parish Council has increased their's by 2.7% Further details

• This page and some of the other main pages now have a new look, giving the following benefits:
• The pages are 20% wider (same as the BBC's), providing more space
• The two-column format allows greater flexibility.
• The navigation has been moved from the side to the top.
• The pull-down menus allow you to get from any page to any other page more easily.
• The 'What's On' information now uses Google Calendar, which means you can now:
• View the information via your phone.
• Sync with your other calendars.
• Get text/emails alerts.
• Change the layout between day/week/list.
• The village map is now based on GoogleMaps and is interactive with markers showing the landmarks, with pop-up information boxes.
• The new format will be rolled out progressively to the other pages over the next few months.
• Suggestions and comments, or information for inclusion, are always welcome. Email

• The new Police website gives details of local crime. In December, there were 2 crimes in Sherington, one 'in or near' Water Lane, and the 'in or near' Hillview. There are also details of the local police team and 'Have Your Say' meetings. See also: Neighbourhood Police

• Pre-school has a job vacancy for a Pre-school Assistant
  Further details - Application Form

• Milton Keynes Council have announced that the refuse collections in Sherington have already returned to the usual Tuesday time, two weeks earlier than originally planned. The times published in their Christmas/New Year leaflet are no longer valid.

• SCAN will not be published in January 2011. However, an August issue is planned for 2011 instead.