Lawley and Overdale Parish Council’s Chairman, Councillor John Yorke, is back to deliver a video update for May 2022 and the past 12 months.
Transcript
Hello again, I’m John Yorke, Chair of Lawley and Overdale Parish Council, with a quick video update for you to commemorate the end of my first year as Chair. I want to start by saying that it has been a privilege to serve the community over the last year.
It has still been a difficult year, and despite COVID restrictions easing more recently, it did affect some of the events we had planned. Here, I would thank the Parish Council staff. They carried on their duties in organising online events for youngsters and older alike, and assisting at physical events.
So, let’s recap everything we’ve done this year!
The month of May saw us getting back to some sense of normality, and my election as Chair.
The year, among many things, saw the return of the Lawley 5k Fun Run, a popular annual event we organise in partnership with the Lawley Running Club. The event was a great success and raised almost £1,000 – which the Parish Council match-funded. This meant that Telford MIND and West Mercia Search and Rescue, two fantastic charities that provided their much-needed services throughout the pandemic, received £1,000 each! We hope it helped their work.
In November, we were proud to host the Community Act of Remembrance, in-person for the first time, at Lawley War Memorial. Touching tributes to the fallen were made, and we were pleased to see so many of you there.
Moving forward to December, we pushed the boat out and hosted two big Christmas Fayres – one in Overdale, the other in Lawley. We also supported Great Dawley Town Council’s Christmas event in Dawley Bank, assisting with funding and hosting one of our world-famous tombola’s! The Lawley fayre in particular was a huge success, enjoyed by many, and we’ll be looking to repeat that this year! Once more, Telford Mind received a generous donation from the proceeds of these events.
It’s now 2022, and we haven’t slowed down yet. We’ve just finished hosting our Fun Science sessions for children during the Easter holidays. During the same Easter holiday, we also held two Easter trail events, in which children followed clues that led them from the community garden all the way to Lawley Village Green – where a free Easter egg awaited them!
We’ve got many more events planned for the rest of the year. We are delighted to be involved in a Partnership event on Saturday 4 June at Farmstead/Bryce Way to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. On the following day Sunday 5 June, come and join us at the Overdale Queen’s Platinum Jubilee event, where free food and family activities await. A month later, Summer Fest will be returning on 2 July, bigger and better than ever before! And of course, the Fun Run will be back in September. Keep an eye on our website and social media for more information about those events – links in the description!
Besides events, so much goes on behind the scenes. Here, I would like to thank Bob, our Parish Environmental Team operative. He is forever roaming the parish, tidying, sweeping, repairing, maintaining, sweeping, gardening, and much more. The Parish looks as tidy as it does thanks to his efforts. If you see him out and about, give him a wave! And if you know of any areas that need work, get in touch with us and we’ll direct him to them.
So, what does the next year hold?
Hopefully, some new traffic enforcement cameras will be appearing in the parish soon, helping to make the roads safer for everybody.
We have pushed for the completion of the traffic signal co-ordination scheme for months now, and it looks like that may materialise soon, making the traffic lights flow a little easier for everybody.
We continue to encourage Telford & Wrekin Council and developers to work more quickly and efficiently regarding highway adoption, putting an end to questions about who is responsible for what. We are also pushing Telford & Wrekin Council to more rigidly enforce the planning conditions they impose upon developers.
We meet regularly with many local organisations and stakeholders on all sorts of issues, to push for better services, resolve issues, and to share residents feedback with decision-makers. The Parish Council appreciates that sometimes we cannot achieve everything we would like to, but I can assure you that a great deal of time and effort is spent trying to secure the desires of the parish’s residents.
So, onwards into the 2022-23 financial year. The Parish Council and its councillors look forward to seeing you over the next year. Stay tuned to our website and social media for more regular updates, watch out for our summer newsletter, which should be coming through your letterbox towards the end of June/early July. And keep your eyes peeled for future video updates!
Until then, stay safe, and keep in touch if you have any issues. You can find a full list of your councillors and their contact details on the Parish website!