Brill Parish Council Newsletter

October 2022 (issue 13)

New playgrounds for Brill children

They’re nearly finished! The infants’ playground (adjacent to the churchyard) is already open to use, and work is well advanced on the junior playground across the football field. The photo above shows just one corner of the exciting complex of adventure equipment.

As most of you will know, all this has come about through the hard work and determination of the Brill Playground Committee, a small group of parents juggling fund raising and grant applications*, red tape and public relations along with 101 other commitments. On behalf of the community; we thank you!

What you see now is the final phrase of the build. Work actually started in March in order to comply with conditions attached to one of the grants. This included the installation of three items of ‘sensory play equipment’; an outdoor xylophone, a frame of tubular bells, and some drums. These items quickly proved very contentious. Some people living nearby found the discordant sounds extremely disturbing, particularly when played late at night by older children. A petition was presented to the parish council and in June we voted to remove the items, with the intention of choosing another location in due course (you can read more about this in our July Newsletter). This decision was reversed at the September meeting of the PC when the Playground Committee presented new information about ways in which the sound produced by the sensory equipment could be reduced. We will apply these methods in the coming weeks after which we will keep noise levels under close review, with recourse to other actions should the situation not be resolved.

Please let us know what you think about this - especially if you live adjacent to the little ones’ playground.

*A large proportion of the money came from the National Lottery Community Fund with further significant contributions from Haddenham & Waddesdon Community Fund, the Boutell Bequest and local businesses. We will publish full details on the PC website shortly.

A helping hand this winter

We know we’re repeating an item that appeared in our last issue but, even though Prime Ministers may come and go, the cost of living crisis is still with us and the coming winter will be very, very difficult for many Buckinghamshire residents.

First, a reminder of the Bucks Helping Hand Team; a sort of advisory hub for anyone facing hardship. If you can, go to the Cost of Living pages on the Bucks Council website to find out about:

• help for pensioners

• help with food

• help with fuel and household bills

• help with essential items for your home

If you don’t have the internet, please phone or call into the office to speak with Bobs Daverell, the parish clerk (contact details below). He will happily help you access the Bucks Council website, in confidence.

Second, a request for ideas as to how we can help people who might be in need in our own community; thinking here about possible power cuts (and associated water outages), fuel poverty, severe weather, and loneliness. We have been sharing ideas with the Rev Gemma Beesley, Age Concern Bernwode, and the Brill Sports & Social Club - but would now like to hear from YOU. What do you think the community could do to support those who might be in need in the coming months?

Click the button to send us a message - or drop a note into the PC office in the Memorial Hall in Church Street.

Dog fouling on the playing fields

Early this year, in pursuit of evidence concerning PC ownership of the King George V Playing Fields, we had to work our way through several decades of parish council minutes. Certain subjects came up year after year: streetlights, water supply, speeding cars - and dog poo on pavements and playing fields. Brill’s streetlights seem to be okay now, we’re working on the water supply problem (watch this space - but don’t hold your breath) and we’ve taken an important step in the control of speeding (more next issue) - but DOG POO! So much time and energy wasted down the years on what should be the easiest, cheapest thing to sort out!!

The latest spate on the playing fields seems to have coincided with the return to school in September. It’s only a supposition - we’ve no woof, sorry proof - but could this be something to do with excited dogs and distracted parents? It’s certainly not lack of dog poo bins - there are THREE within ball-chucking distance - and we hope it’s not ignorance of the danger to health posed by dog faeces or the law (offenders can face fines of up to £1000). That just leaves plain carelessness; laziness and lack of consideration for sports men and women, grounds maintenance people, walkers, runners - and playing children. We’ve even found dog poo in the MUGA, for goodness sake!

This has to STOP and we hope the forthcoming display of colourful posters by pupils of Brill School will make owners - ALL OWNERS, including those walking their pets under cover of darkness - keep a very close eye on their animals.

Finally, we don’t particularly want to go down this route but be aware that provided they have sufficient evidence, any member of the public can report a dog owner who fails to pick up after their dog in a public place. There is a page on the Bucks Council website for this purpose. Nte that not knowing your dog has fouled and/or not having a poo bag are NOT reasonable excuses in the eyes of the law!

Cinderella will go to the ball!

Brill Sailers’ black-tie dinner dance on November 11th is the final spectacular push to meet the cost of replacing Brill Windmill’s two damaged sails. Email Jules Newman to make sure of your ticket - and get ready to enjoy a gourmet dinner before dancing the night away to Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club regulars, Fio & Friends. If you’d prefer to take a chance on that pumpkin turning into a gold coach, then buy a £1 raffle ticket (or 5 or 10!) to be in with an excellent chance of winning a pair of dinner dance tickets donated by a local Fairy Godmother.

Tickets are on sale in Brill Stores and the winner will be drawn at the end of this month.

“What a lovely village”

An encouraging message received via the parish council website:

My wife and I have been coming to Brill since May 2021 and would like to thank everyone we see on our dog walks. Everyone is so friendly and we enjoy having a chat with everyone we meet. We watch the cricket in the summer then football in the winter months, not to mention the a strange game we came across called “Aunt Sally”. What a lovely village you have! Long may it continue. Mike & Cheryl from Bournemouth

Isn’t that great? (It made a nice change from moans about the drone policy, anyway ;)

And, finally…

Please tell others about this e-newsletter. Lots of people aren’t on Facebook or comfortable with social media, and we want to reach all parishioners equally. We also value the opportunity to give something extra to subscribers - longer explanations or different perspectives - than is possible on the website.

Tell friends, family or neighbours to email hello@brillparishcouncil.co.uk or fill in the newsletter form on the Brill Parish Council website. Alternatively, if they’d like a regular paper copy, suggest they drop us a note or call in to the office. We’ll even deliver! There will also be a few copies of the newsletter in the pouch on the office door, and on the welcome table in All Saints Church.

All good wishes
Brill Parish Council