MESSAGE FROM GEORGE OSBORNE,

DIRECTOR OF AVALON CAMPS

 

 

2023 WILL BE THE LAST AVALON CAMPS….

UNLESS TEAM LEADER ROLES ARE FILLED

 

Sadly, the time has come for me to stand down as Camp Director. I have been involved with Avalon Camps for many years. But we have now reached a crisis point where we need volunteers to take on Management roles that I and others have carried out. It is not going to be easy to find one person with the time and commitment to do the job. So, we are looking to split the role into areas of responsibility that best cover the main functions of running Avalon Camps. Doing this will help to spread the organisational load. This is where I am appealing to you to help find the people to carry out these roles.

 

The Supervising roles that need to be filled are as follows;

Logistics Manager - Erection of Tents, Marquee Set Up, Cleaning, Laundry, Gas & Electric, Potable Water, Waste Water and Waste Disposal

Procurement & Maintenance Manager Camp Equipment, Marquee Hire, Coach Hire, Day Trip Venues, Container, Toilet Block and Static Caravan

Night Security Manager – Recruit Volunteers & Rotas, Collection and Maintenance of Small Caravan

H & S + Safeguarding Manager – Maintain and Update Policy Documents, Safeguarding, Training, School Liaison and Child Selection

Camp Manager – Support Camp Leaders and Young Leaders, Organise Daily activities on and off site.

 

We are aiming to hold just one Camp this year, which will enable those new Managers to shadow the roles in preparation for taking over for 2024 and future camps.

Avalon Camps is a tremendous charity that has given hundreds of disadvantaged children a camping holiday in Mark since 1987.

Also, Avalon Camps has benefitted Young Leaders who have looked after the children. Personal Statements for students going into further education and employment can be the key to a successful application. Avalon Camps has proven, over the years, to be a tremendous influencer in this direction. We have also been recognised as a Duke of Edinburgh Gold residential qualification.

Finally, Avalon Camps has brought together the communities of Mark and the surrounding villages. Some of you will have volunteered at camps as have a number of your children.

I really hope that we will get the much needed help to continue running the camps. We should be very proud of what we have achieved over the years. Many thanks to all those who have volunteered in the past.

George Osborne

Camp Director on behalf of the Committee.

Tel.no. 01278 641551 

https://www.avaloncamps.org.uk/

contact@avaloncamps.org.uk

Posted 16th February 2023

 

 

MARK CAUSEWAY/SOUTHWICK RD JUNCTION

 

On the northern side of the Mark Causeway/Southwick Rd junction, there is a concrete platform on which there is a bench. As part of a Mark British Legion proposal to replace the existing bench for one similar to those in Mark Churchyard, inquiries are underway to establish the origins of the platform. One person has suggested that it was laid about 50 years ago. The British Legion would be pleased to hear from anyone with information on the origins and the purpose of the concrete platform.

Nick van der Bijl, Mark British Legion.

(01227 641744; vdbvanderbijl@btimternet.com)

 

Posted 16th February 2023

 

 

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The following article has been received from the Somerset Bus Partnership - please read it!!  It affects all who live in Somerset

 

 

 

Our Buses Are Under Threat

 

April 2022 was meant to augur in a new era for our buses. It was the month when the £3 billion as part of Bus Back Better, National Strategy for Buses for England, could be used to improve bus services. People could be invited to abandon their cars and opt for the ‘greener’ option of going by bus on journeys to nearby towns and villages.

To improve buses across the county, Somerset had put in a bid for £163 million of Bus Back Better money. That was the sum of money Somerset needed because Somerset bus services currently are the worst rated of any county in England. But the Bus Back Better fund has been over subscribed 8 times by all the bids from across England and so it’s unknown how much money Somerset might get. But it’s unlikely to get anything like what Somerset needs.

The 2 years of Covid with endless warnings not to use buses has seen bus passenger numbers down 40% on pre Covid levels. This has meant the Government has had to step in and subsidise bus services in order to keep them running. To fund this the Government has diverted more than half of the £3 billion pot allocated for transforming our bus services to just maintain our current bus services.

Worse still, the Government has still not said whether it will keep funding our existing bus services from April.

If it doesn’t, then without this subsidy, bus services across the county (including here in Somerset) could “fall off the side of the cliff” (as said by Wera Hobhouse, Bath MP). It’s been estimated 30% of bus services would go. Some bus services could even disappear completely.

 

Without this Covid Bus Recovery Grant, a leading bus operator has said, “The bus sector is hurtling towards disaster.”  

So what can we do?

Could you please … today … send an email (doesn’t need to be long) to the Government Buses Minister demanding that the Covid-19 Bus Recovery Grant funding is continued beyond April. Send it to BARONESS VERE OF NORBITON (Buses Minister) - email
verec@parliament.uk. Also copy your email to your MP:

o          MARCUS FYSH (Yeovil) - email marcus.fysh.mp@parliament.uk  

o          IAN LIDDELL-GRAINGER (Bridgwater and West Somerset) - email ianlg@parliament.uk  

o          DAVID WARBURTON (Somerton and Frome) - email david.warburton.mp@parliament.uk  

o          JAMES HEAPPEY (Wells) - email james.heappey.mp@parliament.uk   

o          REBECCA POW (Taunton Deane) - email rebecca.pow.mp@parliament.uk
 

Please also copy in Somerset Bus Partnership to any emails too. Our email address: somersetbuspartnership@gmail.com .

 

Additionally, if you should speak to any of the candidates for the Somerset Unitary Council May 5th elections, please ask them what their plans are to protect and improve our bus services here in Somerset. There’s never been a time when our bus services in Somerset have been at so much risk.  

 

Somerset Bus Partnership Team

https://www.somersetbuspartnership.co.uk

 

Posted 18th February 2022

 

 

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MARK W.I. NEEDS YOU !

          

 

We desperately want Mark W.I. to continue but in order to do so we need new ideas and renewed enthusiasm to carry things forward into 2022 and beyond.

 

If you think you could be one of these people who could help, then please get in touch with either Anne Hanlon (01278 641839) or Janet Smith (01278 641589) to discuss. You will be given all the support you need and any of the roles can be shared.

 

If all else fails then unfortunately Mark W.I. will have to close after 94 years of virtually unbroken activity at the end of March this year.

 

PLEASE   HELP   US   CONTINUE

 

 

 

 

Posted January 2022

 

Community Involvement National Grid

Hinkley Connection Project -

Clearance of bridleway AX17/30 alongside Mark Yeo

TUESDAY 26th OCTOBER

 

Over the last couple of months NG has started to build the world’s first operational T-pylons which have a single pole and T-shaped cross arms which hold the wires in a diamond ‘earring’ shape.  It is around 35 metres high; about a third shorter than traditional 400,000 volt steel lattice pylons.  It also has a smaller footprint and will use less land.

 

We are delighted to let you know that National Grid under their community engagement programmes, with communities affected by the construction of the National Grid Hinkley Connection Project, supports projects and carry out work which will be of benefit to the local community and shortly on October 26th NG will be carrying out clearance work on bridleway AX 17/30 starting at the old bridge north of bridleway AX23/15.  National Grid do not just want to be working in communities but be part of them.

 

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MESSAGE FROM NATIONAL GRID

8th October 2021

 

 

We’re writing to let you know that we are starting work to remove 37 kilometres of existing pylons owned by Western Power Distribution (WPD) between Bridgwater and Sandford.
 
We’re carrying out the work in stages between October 2021 and summer 2022. First, we’ll remove the wires that run between the pylons. Where the wires cross over roads, we will erect scaffolding and use controlled lifting systems to lower and recover the wires. After we’ve done that, we’ll remove the pylons, then the foundations, and finally reinstate the land.
 
Taking down pylons is a much smaller piece of work than erecting new ones, involving fewer vehicles over a much shorter length of time. Our contractor Balfour Beatty will use the most appropriate traffic routes and WPD’s accesses to reach and remove each of the pylons along the route. The vehicles used for this work will display the attached identity signs so they can be easily recognised as working to remove the pylons.
 
We’ve written to communities along the route with the attached postcard, providing further information and a link through to our website hinkleyconnection.co.uk/traffic-management/ for locations and timings of roadworks associated with this work.
 
The removal of these pylons is part of the 67 kilometres of overhead line that we’ll have removed by the time the project is completed in 2025.
 
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
 
With thanks and best wishes
 
Laura Griffin
 
Community Relations Team

 

National Grid Hinkley Connection Project  
T: 0800 377 7347  
 
Removeal of existing pylons between Brid[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [522.3 KB]

 

Added 17th October 2021

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MESSAGES FROM THE CHURCHWARDENS

 

CALLING ALL CRAFTY PEOPLE!

 

We are still hoping to have a 

 

CASCADE OF POPPIES FROM THE CHURCH TOWER FOR REMEMBRANCE DAY

 

iIf anyone is willing to knit or crochet some more red poppies for this November, please contact Heather for patterns or red wool.

 

On the same line, if you would prefer to knit or crochet flowers in any colours, we are hoping to do a cascade for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee next year.

 

Please contact Heather for more details on 01278 641225

 

 

31st July 2021

 

 

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CLOSURE OF THE CAUSEWAY

 

COPY OF NOTICE RECEIVED FROM SOMERSET COUNTY COUNCIL

 

Important Notice

 

Please ask for: Martyn Evans                                                       Email: isdelivery@somerset.gov.uk

Direct Dial: 0300 123 2224                                                                                 Reference: TI004321

                                                                                                                                   Date: 02/08/2021

 

RE: FORTHCOMING TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURE – THE CAUSEWAY, MARK

 

I am writing to inform you of the temporary road closures planned in Mark, that are scheduled to start on 16th August 2021. The aim of this scheme is to reduce the speeds on the road and create a safer environment for road users.

 

The daytime closure is to be implemented during w/c 16th August 2021 and is necessary to enable us to undertake construction works in a safe manner, mainly due to the required width of the carriageway for the planned works, that are likely to include installation of wig-wag type signs, removal of center line road markings and studs and installation of the new ones, resurfacing and other associated works.  Our Contractor endeavors to complete works within 2-3 working days, but some are depending on the weather, so some delays may occur.

 

There will be some inevitable inconvenience during the above works, which we apologise for in advance. We endeavor to maintain accesses to the properties at all times, although there may be occasions when obstructions may occur while works undertaken at access points. Please also note that vehicles entering main roads from the side roads wishing to turn either left or right may find their choice limited to just one direction during planned closure.

 

For information on a generic diversion route, please refer to on site signage or visit www.travelsomerset.co.uk/roadworks 

 

Yours faithfully

M. Evans
Project Manager

 

For alternative route, please see:

 

TI004321-HW-SM-001_Rev-Traffic Signs and[...]
Adobe Acrobat document [1.4 MB]

 

Posted 31st July 2021

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NATIONAL GRID UPDATE

 

The Parish Council have received the following update from National Grid.  This has also been posted on Mark Village Life and in the Parish Magazine.

 

Mark Village Newsletter – November 2020 Project update

National Grid starts work in Mark

 

 

 In May, National Grid started the first work in the parish for the new high voltage electricity connection building between Bridgwater and Seabank.

 

It is a complex project which includes building over 48.5 km of new pylons, 8.5 km of underground cable through the Mendip Hills and a new substation north of the Mendips.

The first activity is building a temporary construction haul road along the route of the pylons. The haul road will help to reduce the amount of construction and other project traffic on local roads. We’ve completed several road accesses, including the main access south from the A38 at Tarnock and also completed many of the crossing points where the haul road meets existing country lanes and public rights of way.

 

Traffic management – November

 

When we are working on public roads and footpaths, we need to put up traffic lights or close them for short periods to keep everyone safe. We’re currently working on Northwick Road. As it is very narrow, we need to close it to traffic. We expect to reopen it by the end of November. We will also need to close the Bridleway known as Back Lane for two weeks from 16th November while we build a crossing point. We need to put up traffic lights on Mark Causeway for five days while we move machinery and equipment into the area.

We recognise this causes inconvenience, and we are sorry for the disruption. We’re working closely with our contractor, Balfour Beatty, to complete the work as quickly as possible.  To find out more about where we are working, please see our project website.

 

Piling work

 

We’ve started to build foundations for the new pylons between Bridgwater and Loxton. The work involves driving concrete and steel piles into the ground. It will take up to 12 months to complete the foundations for all the pylons.

Nearby residents may hear noise and feel vibrations when we are carrying out this work. This will depend on how close they are to the site and the ground conditions and wind direction.

To reduce disruption to communities, we will not carry out any piling over the weekends and we will limit piling to between the hours of 8am and 5pm. We’re working closely with our contractor, Balfour Beatty, to reduce noise and vibration as best we can.

The hydraulic impact hammer is the most silenced hammer on the market and the piling rig has been designed to minimise the amount of noise and vibrations generated during the work.

We have allowed up to five days’ work for each location, but we expect the piling at each site to be finished within for 2 – 3 days. We will be piling to the north of the parish in December and expect to work on sites either side of Mark Causeway in the spring. These dates may change and we keep an monthly  schedule of work updated on our  website .

 

Community Grant Fund

 

We want to support the communities closest to the new connection and our Community Grant programme has been set up to support community groups and charities in areas where National Grid is affecting local people through its operations and site activities.

We fund projects with one-off grants of up to £20,000 that meet local communities’ needs and provide a range of social, economic and environmental benefits.  We’ve already funding a number of local community projects in your area and we welcome applications from other groups . Please see our company website for more information.

If you have any questions or need further information, please call our community relations team on 0800 377 7347 (24 hour). We are here to help.

Alternatively, you can email us at hinkleyconnection@nationalgrid.co.uk or write to us at Freepost H POINT CONNECTION (no stamp is required).

 

National Grid has recently supported Mark Cricket Club with a £20,000 grant towards developing the club’s new ground and pavilion. We welcome other grant applications from local groups.

 

 

Building the crossing point on Mark Causeway

 

 

 

 

 

Click on the photograph for more details

 

 

Posted 20th November 2020

 

 

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