If you have grass cuttings and other garden waste, please use the Brown Council Bin or a your own compost bin/heap.

Please do not throw in hedge or fields, as what you arr getting rid of may be harmful to livestock and can kill hedgerow wildflowers, which are great pollinators.

Our resident litter dropper continues to leave sweet wrappers along Wood Lane and in Pepperwood Close.

Every day three or four clear wrappers are being picked up.  It is suspected that it is a local person.

It is bad enough that volunteers have to clear the grot from non-villagers, but a resident…

If you know who is littering our village please ask them to stop or tell FVCA and they will approach.

Plants that you can give to people that care and love you can be picked up from St. Mark’s on Sunday.

The church will be open between 10.30 am and 1.30 pm. You are welcome to stop for private prayer.

It’s that time of the year, the weather improves and people start venturing into their gardens, perhaps doing a bit of clearing and having a bonfire.

If you are having a bonfire, please consider your neighbours – some may have washing on the line and others, who may have respiratory conditions and following isolation orders, are having some exercise in the garden.

Your consideration will be appreciated.

Cty Cllr. Webb has shared the following update from Worcestershire Highways:

“As I know you are aware, Swan Lane, as a small unclassified rural lane, and in light of the total saturation of the ground surrounding it (with the wettest February on record), has for some considerable time had a large amount of water arriving on it from the surrounding land.

Regarding the temporary repairs, these were only ever meant to be very short term. We had intended to go out and do some full blown structural patches to repair the key sections of the Lane, however, this was not practicable in light of the amount of water still on the lane at the time, thus we completed these temporary repairs to at least fill in the worst potholes, whilst recognising in such saturated wet conditions that they would not last very long.

We have now been in and completed the aforementioned structural patching works which should hold reasonably well. We did visit the lane with a gulley emptier last week, however, some of the gullies in question we believe drain into the surrounding ditches and some of those ditches are overgrown and blocked. Most ditches are the responsibility of the neighbouring landowner ref clearance, so we will endeavour to sort this with them as soon as practicable. There is one section of lane, where a gulley is still surcharging onto the lane. We have attempted to clear this, but there appears to be a break/blockage further on in the pipe, which will require works. In addition during this week will also look at what other issues ref drainage matters exist on this lane & then programme works as necessary. This will hopefully improve the drainage on the lane (alongside the issues with the ditches as aforementioned). However, if the total ground saturation conditions did return due to more poor weather (let’s hope not), then it would be likely that water may well run off the fields onto and down the lane.”

At the Community Association’s  AGM, Residents gave an emphatic message that Worcestershire County Council MUST address local traffic issues and, contrary to instructions from the County Council, FVCA will continue to lobby County Hall directly as well through the Divisional County Councillor.
 

With vehicles travelling in excess of 70mph, traffic calming engineering works is urgently needed to slow down vehicles just before the village entrance.  This work is urgently needed before someone is killed.

Other work that is needed includes repairing Swan Lane and Wood Lane, drop kerbs to be sited at all junctions and footpaths cleared & secured enabling safe passage by all pedestrians, inc. the elderly, disabled and young children.