Newsletter
Autumn 2022
Litter Pick
Our
next litter pick will be held on Saturday 29th October from 10am
until 12 noon commencing in the Village Hall Car Park. Pickers, Hi Viz Jackets
and rubbish bags will be provided but please bring your own gloves. We would
appreciate your support for this important activity.
Residents Responsibility for Cutting Back Overgrown
Hedges and Trees
Residents
are being reminded to cut back any hedges or trees on their land that are
causing a hazard to the public. In recent weeks North Yorkshire County
Council’s highways teams have seen an increase in reports of pavements being
obstructed and road signs obscured by overgrown trees and bushes. Executive
member for NYCC Highways and Transport, Cllr Keane Duncan, said: “With bird
nesting season behind us we are encouraging people to cut back their trees and
hedges that could be putting pedestrians and road users at risk. This includes
hedges or trees that are reducing the width of footpaths, obscuring street
lights and hiding road signs. Please do your bit in maintaining vegetation on
your property for the safety of others.”
The Parish
Council, Village Hall and St Michael’s Church have had tree surveys carried out
earlier this year and there is a quantity of ash die-back and ash heart rot
found to be affecting some of them. There are a number of large ash trees
within the Beckwithshaw area which are adjoining roads and pavements. If any of
them belong to you, please check them thoroughly for dead wood in the canopy (possible
die-back) and other signs that your tree(s) could be infected, such as leaching
of a black fungal growth on the trunk (ash heart rot).
Private landowners and occupiers have responsibility
for:
• ensuring growth does not obscure road signs;
• maintaining visibility for road users,
particularly at junctions and on the inside of bends;
• ensuring growth does not prevent the passage
or affect the safety of people using a road,
footway,
cycleway or public right of way, including cyclists and pedestrians;
• removing dead or decaying trees and other
growth that may fall across the highway;
• removing branches that may prevent the
passage of high-sided vehicles or obstruct light
from
a street light;
• ensuring the highway is left clear of debris
from cutting work;
• arranging for hedge and tree maintenance
works to be undertaken.
If you do
not maintain your trees and hedges, and if your vegetation is causing an
obstruction or presenting a danger, NYCC Highways Department will tell you that
work to cut the offending vegetation must be undertaken within 14 days. If
action isn't taken, or if it is an immediate safety issue, they may carry out
the work and recover costs from you. If you would like to register an area of
overgrowth which you are concerned about please go to
https://myaccount.northyorks.gov.uk/vegetation (there is no requirement to log
in) and place
a dot on the
map.
Energy
Information
In these times of high
energy costs Harrogate Borough Council have provided the attached advice (see
below) on self-help on efficiency and information regarding helplines for
inclusion in our newsletter. We hope you find it informative and useful.
Platinum Jubilee
Photographic Archive of Parish Residents and Activities
In
our last Newsletter we mentioned that we are compiling a memorial Photograph
Album to form an Archive of residents and Village activities at the time of the
Platinum Jubilee. Anyone wishing to contribute should forward a post card sized
hard copy of the photograph to Jean Galloway our Parish Clerk.
20’s Plenty
We
are disappointed by the actions of unidentified people who have continually
broken the wooden posts supporting our banner opposite the junction with Shaw
Green Lane. Despite this negative behaviour the P.C. is committed to continuing
its campaign to reduce speeding through the village. We would be pleased to
receive any information regarding the perpetrators of this wilful damage.
Charity
Donation
Beckwithshaw
Church is open daily to receive donations if you would like to give items for
the Red Cross shops (unwanted clean clothing, shoes, accessories, books,
homeware, bric-a-brac, CDs, DVDs, toys etc) or to their foodbank.
P.C. Vacancies
We are inviting anyone interested in
joining the P.C. to come along to our monthly meetings or contact Jean Galloway
our Parish Clerk. You will be made most welcome.
Generally
·
We continue to report blocked drains and
culverts, potholes, damaged
signs,
road markings, etc. via the online Parish Portal.
·
We continue to monitor and comment on the Local Plan and Planning Applications
within the Parish.
We invite you to join
our monthly meetings. The first 15 minutes of every meeting are set aside for
Parishioners to come along and voice their concerns.
Meeting
dates as shown on website www.beckwithshaw.org are:-
Tuesday 15
November 2022, Tuesday 10 January 2023, Tuesday 14 February 2023
and Tuesday 14 March 2023.
kind regards,
Derek Spence Chairman
Parish Clerk, Mrs J H
Galloway, 1 Moor Park Close, Beckwithshaw, Harrogate, HG3 1TR
Tel. 01423 536232
Energy Advice
Please see below for our energy advice contacts and remember
Although the government have supported
the price of energy, the cap price is only an indicator, if we have a cold
winter, bills will be higher. So:-
Read your meter regularly and keep a record,
so you can see what you are spending. This will help if you need to make
further savings
Remember switching off saves money
Close curtains at dusk to keep the heat
in
Can you manage cooler - set your house
thermostat lower and put on a jumper.
If you know all this, help a young
person learn it and more.
Energy
Information from Harrogate Borough Council
·
Harrogate Borough
Council, alongside York and Craven Councils, are about to launch a scheme with
E.ON to deliver energy efficiency measures to homeowners and tenants who rent
their home from a private landlord. Eligible residents can apply for these
grants to cover a variety of energy-saving installations, and will be added to
the waiting list until the official launch of the scheme.
·
A household’s total
income must be £30,000 or less, or someone in the home receives a means-tested
benefit such as Universal Credit or Income Support. An applicant’s home must
also have an EPC energy efficiency rating of D, E, F or G.
·
For more information
and to check your eligibility, visit www.eonenergy.com/green-homes-grant. Alternatively, call
E.ON on 0333 202 4820 to see if you’re eligible.
·
Warm & Well in
North Yorkshire provides local help with high energy bills, switching to
cheaper energy suppliers, grants, energy debt and energy efficiency as well as
advice on keeping warm in the home. Contact 01609 767555, email wnw@northyorkslca.org.uk
or visit www.warmandwell.org.uk
·
For simple energy
advice and self-help on energy efficiency and reducing energy bills visit www.simpleenergyadvice.org.uk
or www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/energy-at-home/reducing-home-heat-loss/
·
Age UK has advice on
energy prices, what support is available and what you can do if something goes
wrong. Visit www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/debt-savings/energy/
·
The UK Government
Energy Bills Support Scheme is a £400 discount on bills and will automatically
be applied to all households with a domestic electricity connection in Great
Britain. To find out more visit www.gov.uk/government/news/energy-bills-support-scheme-explainer