community

  • Georgina Morgan-Denn

BEST offer young people in our community the best start in life
BEST offer young people in our community the best start in life 800 800 Georgina Morgan-Denn

As part of the Council’s aim to reduce Loneliness & Isolation and to continue the fantastic Youth Development Programme, this year’s Easter holidays saw another fantastic set of free, enrichment sessions delivered by BEST- Be A Better You.

The sessions offer a fantastic opportunity for young people to try out a new sport that they may not have had the opportunity to trial before. Its heart-warming to see the sportsmanship, support and kindness that each individual shows to their peers throughout the sessions. As the age range varies from five years old through to sixteen, the older ones offer a great role model figure to the younger ones and all attendees seem to enjoy the mix of ages, abilities, and personalities.

Team games and mini football matches were played using a foam ball, which made it impossible to play with any skill whatsoever. These games caused fits of laughter and the scores were being exaggerated as everyone was finding it hard to score a real goal.

Attendees had a go at Tachiai and Kick Boxing which requires a lot of self-control. These demonstrations were followed with some fun ballet moves which again, had all attendees engaged and enjoying their time there.

As always, the boxing is something that is really enjoyed by all. The drills that the attendees learn during these sessions are becoming quicker and more controlled with each meeting.

Haydon Wick Parish Council has worked alongside BEST for a couple of years now and the sessions have seen lots of returning faces. The growth in confidence over this time from some of the attendees is amazing and really goes to show the amazing job BEST do to help guide young people in our community to have the best start in life and guide them away from some of the worrying issues we are facing in today’s society.

Operations Manager at BEST- Be A Better You, Craig Hiscock had this to say about the Easter enrichment sessions:

“It was great to get back into Haydon Wick parish to provide holiday activities again. BEST has seen record numbers of children attending the sessions. Everyone that attended had a great time and it is lovely to see the children laughing and enjoying their time with us. BEST is grateful for Haydon Wick Parish Council’s continued support”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Georgina Morgan-Denn

Fantastic turn out for the Haydon Wick Easter Eggs-travaganza!
Fantastic turn out for the Haydon Wick Easter Eggs-travaganza! 800 800 Georgina Morgan-Denn

The children of Haydon Wick Parish were invited along to meet the Easter Bunny on Saturday 8th April 2023. There was an air of excitement as families queued outside the gates of King George V Field. On the dot of 9.30 am, the gates were opened, and children flooded in to be greeted by the Easter Bunny, who was enjoying a swing in the sunshine.

 

The King George V Field event was the first of the egg hunts, and the second was at Voyager Drive play area at 11.30 am.

 

Over 150 children came along with their parents and carers. They hunted for a small, coloured egg, which had been expertly hidden within the play area and surrounding space, and then exchanged it for a chocolate egg and an Easter sticker. There were also 20 highly sought-after golden eggs, which earned an extra gift for the lucky finders.

 

And it wasn’t just the children who wanted their photos taken with the Easter bunny, some of the adults in the Parish joined in the fun and took selfies alongside the star of the show.

 

One family who came along had this to say:

“I just wanted to say thank you for hosting such a lovely event earlier today!
My daughter and her friend attended the 9.30 am egg hunt at King George V Field and had a thoroughly wonderful time searching for eggs and collecting their chocolate ones – the icing on the

Cake was meeting the Easter Bunny himself! So nice to have things like this happening in the local community and it’s much appreciated – well done to all involved!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Georgina Morgan-Denn

Haydon Wick Parish Council holds its Annual Parish Meeting & Community Networking Event
Haydon Wick Parish Council holds its Annual Parish Meeting & Community Networking Event 800 800 Georgina Morgan-Denn

Haydon Wick Parish Council held the Annual Parish Meeting on the evening of Tuesday 28th March 2023 at the Haydon Centre. The two function rooms, which had been decked out with the Council colours of purple and gold, were provided free of charge by GLL.

It was an interactive evening of lots of prizes, and a lovely surprise for two Parish Councillors, who received awards in recognition of their long service to the Parish – a grand total of over 60 years combined. They were presented with a scroll, a bottle of wine and an engraved Parker pen.

The Council were presented with their Local Council Quality Gold Award at the meeting, which was attended by over 50 people. Guest speakers included Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, the Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner, and BEST – Be A Better You, who also jumped onstage to give an impromptu boxing demonstration.

Councillors, staff and members of the public were joined by volunteers from Haydon Wick community groups, including the Seven Fields Conservation Group and Seven Fields Park Run.

The three winners of the ‘Haydon Wick Heroes’ award, as voted on by the community, were presented with their framed certificates for their voluntary service, along with a box of Heroes chocolates. Project updates were received from The Tuesday Art Group, The Kelly Foundation, and the 1st Greenmeadow Guides and Haydon Wick Rangers.

Continuing with the golden them, there was a free raffle with a top prize of a huge golden Easter egg.

The formal meeting closed with the Redeemed Christian Church Gospel Choir singing ‘Amazing Grace.’

The evening finished with a community networking event, with people enjoying refreshments with a gold and purple theme, including some fabulous cupcakes embellished with the Council logo.

 

 

  • Georgina Morgan-Denn

Volunteer Thank You Afternoon Tea
Volunteer Thank You Afternoon Tea 800 800 Georgina Morgan-Denn

Haydon Wick Parish Council is extremely grateful to its army of volunteers so on Saturday 18th February it held an afternoon tea to say a huge thank you to those that dedicate their time to making Haydon Wick a lovely place to live and work.

The Council has six wonderful volunteer drivers who keep the Community Minibus running smoothly. The Community Minibus enables our elderly and vulnerable residents to attend the local shops, local clubs and provides them with lovely trips to garden centres and places of interest. By dedicating their time to this service, they are ensuring many of our residents don’t become isolated or lonely.

Our award-winning Memory Café has three lovely volunteers who turn up to each session full of positivity and enthusiasm. All of the cafes attendees have developed a fantastic rapport with the volunteers and it has been stated that they “really do change lives. Being able to attend this service, offers activities, fun and support to our families in ways that you cannot imagine.”

Perhaps one of the biggest voluntary areas of Haydon Wick Parish Council is the team of litter pickers, who go out in all weathers to keep the Parish a clean, tidy and safe place to be. Not only do they go on their own, they quite often have little helpers, in the form of their children and grandchildren. At the afternoon tea, it was a great pleasure to be able to award the young people who also give their time, a certificate, fun trophy and chocolaty treat to say thank you.

The Councillors, Staff and community in Haydon wick are very grateful to each and every one of its volunteers for the incredible job that they do.

  • Georgina Morgan-Denn

Haydon Wick Parish Council teams up with BEST- Be A Better You, to deliver half-term enrichment sessions
Haydon Wick Parish Council teams up with BEST- Be A Better You, to deliver half-term enrichment sessions 800 800 Georgina Morgan-Denn

BEST’s programmes also help to increase confidence and emotional resilience which support young people to progress to a positive future.

 

Haydon Wick Council and BEST – ‘Be A Better You’ hosted two sessions this February half term. This time, they got even more exciting!

The Council saw record number of attendees, with over 40 children benefitting from the event.  Activities included non-contact boxing, team games and football skills taster sessions for young people aged between five and twelve years. The boxing is always very popular and all attendees absolutely love giving it a go. The football skills workshop is a new addition to the BEST portfolio and is becoming a firm favourite with young people.

‘Best – Be A Better You’ is a charity who aim to provide children and young people with one-to- one mentoring programmes and positive enrichment activities. Haydon Wick Council has partnered with BEST for over two years, and each session always very popular during the school holidays.

One parent had this to say “My children really enjoy these sessions, and they really help me out as a single parent”

One of the young people who attended said “I really hope we get to come to this in the summer like last year, we love it!”

The second session was new to both Haydon Wick Council and BEST, as it was aimed exclusively at 13-16 year olds.  The young people were given the opportunity to try a new discipline, such as boxing and circuit training. It can be very difficult for young people, especially teenagers, to express themselves in a positive way. The activities proved to be great for stress management and self-control. BEST’s programmes also help to increase confidence and emotional resilience which support young people to progress to a positive future.

Those who attended thoroughly enjoyed the activities at this session, which included tyre flipping, boxing and a Parish Council & Police Team versus Young People Team Tug of War. For teenagers in the Parish to be able to recognise supportive and friendly adults in the community is really important as it helps to break down the communication barriers.

Craig Hiscock, Operations Manager at BEST said; “We really enjoy working with Haydon Wick Parish Council. There are great facilities and we always manage to reach lots of young people from this parish This half term we wanted to do some targeted work with 13-16 year olds in the form of a boxing boot camp style session. We talked about the recent tragic event in the parish and asked the young people what type of help and services they feel would benefit the young people of Haydon Wick in the future.”

Councillor R Ross, Chair of Community Development Committee said “We are delighted to have been able to work alongside BEST in delivering these two programmes, both of which have provided a wonderful opportunity for local children of all ages to have some fun, socialise and experience a new activity. What has really stood out for me is the fantastic efforts and team spirit showed by the children taking part, and more importantly they looked like they were having great fun!”

  • Georgina Morgan-Denn

People grab themselves a bargain at Haydon Wick’s first Children’s Clothes and Toy Sale
People grab themselves a bargain at Haydon Wick’s first Children’s Clothes and Toy Sale 800 800 Georgina Morgan-Denn

On Saturday 4th February, the Council saw over fifteen stall holders attend the GLL Haydon Centre sports hall to sell any of their children’s belonging that they no longer play with or fit in to. After all, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

 

With the rising cost of living causing many families to struggle with buying essentials, Haydon Wick Parish Council hosted a Children’s Clothes and Toys Sale to enable people to make some money by selling their unused belongings, which enabled those who were unable to buy things brand new, the opportunity to grab a bargain. The Council was pleased to be able to cover the cost of the venue hire and the stall holders each paid five pounds which was donated to Swindon Food Collective. The total amount raised for the charity was over £75.00.

 

Doors opened at 10.00am and there was a steady flow of people coming in and out of the sale and stall holders all went away happy that they had sold some items. There was lots of positive feedback from both parties.

 

One stall holder stated “it was wonderful that we were able to pay a small fee which is being donated to a very worthy cause, and make some money for our own families. We would love to have this opportunity again during the year”.

 

Other attendees of the event said, “a purchase for just ten pence has given my daughter a huge smile” and “what a wonderful opportunity to help those who are struggling financially at the moment, I would love to see more events like this one”.

 

It is very rewarding to see items not go to waste but to also see them going to new homes and be loved like they were new again.

  • Georgina Morgan-Denn

Message on behalf of contractors conducting Footways Slurry Seal Scheme
Message on behalf of contractors conducting Footways Slurry Seal Scheme 800 800 Georgina Morgan-Denn

 

 

Contractors will return to complete the Footways Slurry Seal works at the following sites:

 

Site Proposed Start Date Estimated Duration
Chicory Close Area Monday 6th February 2023 5 working days
Rosemary Close area Monday 20th February 2023 3 working days

 

These works were previously postponed due to the unexpected drastic decline in weather conditions towards the end of 2022.

 

The purpose of the Footways Slurry Seal scheme is to replace the deteriorating surface of the footway in order to increase its life span and to provide a safer and better running surface for pedestrians. The Slurry Seal process is fast, efficient, cost effective and one of the most environmentally friendly ways to achieve this with minimum disruption to all affected parties. The existing footway will be sealed to prevent water ingress, thereby prolonging the structural integrity of the footway. As a result of this process the footway surface is renewed, regaining any loss of texture since its original state.

 

The one big disadvantage of Slurry Seal is that it often looks scruffy until it beds in via foot traffic wear, which may take a number of months in residential areas.  There may also be isolated areas of the slurry material that become loose or wear out soon after application where it has not adhered to the existing surface well enough.  The material does come with a two-year performance guarantee from the installer who will address any such defects with future site visits.

 

On occasions the works may overrun slightly due to circumstances outside of their control such as plant breakdowns, if weather conditions are unfavourable, or occasionally we discover the need for additional repairs once the work has started.

 

Letter drops have been carried out and notification signs will be erected in advance by the Contractor to let residents know when works will take place in each area. Since the Slurry Seal process is both weather and temperature sensitive, the signs will be updated should dates be revised according to current weather forecasts.

 

The workforce will maintain pedestrian access for the duration; however due to the nature of the works, some disruption is possible and vehicular access may need to be restricted at times. It is essential that areas remain un-trafficked until the new material has set, as early use could lead to premature failure. As such, these works will be undertaken in multiple phases.

 

Site Operatives will be available on site at all times during the works, and will assist in dealing with any access problems or queries that may arise.

 

The Contractors would like to apologise for any inconvenience that these works may cause, but trust you will appreciate the necessity for these essential works to maintain Swindon’s highway network.

  • Georgina Morgan-Denn

Shouts of Higher! Lower! In Haydon Wick brings the community together for a night of fun
Shouts of Higher! Lower! In Haydon Wick brings the community together for a night of fun 800 800 Georgina Morgan-Denn

On Friday 27th January 2023, Haydon Wick Parish Council hosted a ‘Quiz, Fish and Chips and Play Your Cards Right’ evening at the Haydon Wick Working Men’s Club. The event was delivered as part of the Council’s reducing loneliness and isolation programme designed to encourage members of the community to meet new people. The £5.00 tickets went on sale early in the New Year.

 

Fish and chips were supplied by Thames Avenue fish and chip shop, and thoroughly appreciated by all. The winning quiz team took away some lovely prizes. After the quiz had finished and everyone had eaten, the Haydon Wick version of Play Your Cards Right got everyone joining in and enjoying the fun.

 

Attendees from the Council’s event had this to say: “I felt a bit guilty because I am not lonely or isolated, but I met and chatted to a couple of people who were struggling a bit and then I realised that those people were glad to meet people who were a bit more outgoing”.

 

“I used to go into the office every day and that meant I could chat to people, now I work from home, I can go days without talking to anyone face to face. Tonight, a few of us who usually only chat on social media decided to come and we have really enjoyed it.”

 

Councillor Ellen Baker Lee Vice Chairman of the Council said “our reducing Isolation and Loneliness Programme has been really successful in bringing the community of Haydon Wick together. Residents are hearing about the events through word of mouth and the leaflet we delivered a few months ago. We hope to continue putting these events on as they’re proving to be popular and so beneficial to people who live alone.”

The Parish Council is always keen to hear from the community about how it can continue to deliver popular events for everyone to enjoy. If you have any suggestions that you think would be well received in the Parish, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Community Development Officer: events@haydonwick.gov.uk

 

  • Georgina Morgan-Denn

Councillors Reject Swindon Borough Council’s (SBC) Independent Remuneration Recommendation
Councillors Reject Swindon Borough Council’s (SBC) Independent Remuneration Recommendation 800 379 Georgina Morgan-Denn

Haydon Wick Parish Councillors voted to reject the SBC’s Independent Remuneration Panel’s allowances recommendation of £1,757 for Councillors and £5,272 for the Chairman.  They have traditionally rejected these recommendations instead increasing their allowances in line with the national agreed pay raise the Parish Council staff receive.

At the same meeting a proposal that Councillors receive the nationally negotiated staff National Joint Council’s agreed Cost of Living increase for 2022/23, which equated to a 7.67% increase, and would have been back dated to April 2022, was also rejected.  Likewise, they rejected any increase in the next financial year 2023/24.

By rejecting these three proposals, Haydon Wick Parish Councillor allowances will remain the same as 2021/22, which are Councillors £884.00 per annum, and the Chairman £1,644.00 per annum.

The Independent Remuneration Panel’s Recommendations (Highest, Lowest & Haydon Wick’s)

Parish Electors (Aug 2020) Parish Electorate Band % of SBC Allowance per band Parish Cllr Allowance Parish Chair Allowance
Central Swindon South 43,157 42,500-45,000 45% £3,954 £11,862
Haydon Wick 18,248 17,500– 20,000 20% £1,757 £5,272
Stanton Fitzwarren 173 0 – 2,500 2.5% £220 £659

 

The Legalities

Recommendations for Parish and Town Councils in the Borough of Swindon in accordance with the Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003 are presented each year. The Borough Council has appointed an Independent Remuneration Panel who review the allowances for parish and town councils within Swindon.

 
Publicity When a parish or town council intending to pay allowances receives recommendations from the Panel it must ensure copies of the report are available for inspection and publicise a notice in a conspicuous place in the parish for 14 days stating:

•       That it has received recommendations from the Panel

•       Describes the main features of recommendations and amounts

•       States that copies of the Panel’s report are available for inspection [Contact the Chief Officer clerk@haydonwick.gov.uk for further details].
 

Records of Allowances Parish and Town councils are required to maintain a record of the allowances paid and make a record available for inspection with reasonable notice.

 

 

 

  • Georgina Morgan-Denn

Winter Welly Walk at Mouldon Hill Country Park
Winter Welly Walk at Mouldon Hill Country Park 800 800 Georgina Morgan-Denn

 

 

‘Haydon Wick Parish Council teams up with Wiltshire Wildlife Trust to open little eyes to the treasure that is Mouldon Hill Country Park’

 

 Children of Haydon Wick Parish were invited along to Mouldon Hill Country Park on Saturday 21st January 2023, along with their parents and carers, to join a guided walk around the country park to explore the winter  landscape. Neil Pullen, from Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, gave each of the attendees a little bag of bird seed and a bird identification sheet, and the focus of the walk was colours and different bird species.

Cormorants, a white egret, coots, and mallard ducks were amongst the birds that the group spotted whilst on their adventure, as well as a lovely little visit from the winter robin. The children each played a game of Pooh sticks from the bridge behind the lake, which turned out to be a lot of fun, along with a lesson in skimming small stones on the ice.

Along with cold toes, the children took a lot away with them from this little exploration. Feedback from parents indicated that the children thoroughly enjoyed the walk, and the children liked spending the rest of the day keeping an eye out for other bird species landing in their gardens. The Council look forward to working with The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust at future events this year.

 

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About Us

We are the Parish Council that wants to lead and develop our local community. We are self-aware and are committed to focussing on the urban issues that are important to the entire community.

Our Address
Haydon Wick Parish Council
Thames Avenue
Haydon Wick
Swindon
SN25 1QQ
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Our thanks to Mark Weaving, Phil Jefferies, Rimpy and Shohini Dutta Kanungo for many of the photographs used across the website

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