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Author: FVCA

Crossing Yew Tree Lane

Due to there being no dropped kerb, the elderly and people with mobility aids have found it difficult to cross Yew Tree Lane at the junction with Stourbridge Road, requiring these pedestrians to cross Stourbridge Road, twice if they wish to get back onto the original side of the road.  The Community Association and the Parish Council, over several years, have asked for a dropped kerb to be installed.

In the County Councillor report of May 2020, Cllr. Webb writes:  “There is very limited visibility when crossing Yew Tree Lane from the direction of number 25 Stourbridge Road. The whole idea of a dropped kerb would be to accommodate the likes of a mobility buggy, bearing in mind that the occupant would be seated up to 800mm from the front of the buggy they would have to drive onto the road before they could see around the corner, which could result in them being hit by an oncoming vehicle. For this reason the specialist team have drawn up a scheme that crosses the Stourbridge Road. The cost of such a scheme will be in the region of £10,000.”

The Community Association in a response dated 15th May wrote “Considering that traffic surveys in 2016, 2017 & 2018, taken adjacent to 24 Stourbridge Road, record vehicles driving in excess of 40mph, between the hours of 7am and 7pm, with some vehicles driving at speeds in excess of 50 & 60mph, such a proposal does raise eyebrows. We would not want to put someone at unnecessary risk crossing such a fast road.”.  The Community Association asked for sight of the proposal and requested “sight of the proposals and that a consultation takes place with the community and local equality access groups.”.  The Community Association are “very concerned that any proposal to make individuals cross the Stourbridge Road will means that they will have to cross Stourbridge Road twice to get back to the side of the road for the Post Office etc instead of just crossing Yew Tree Lane once. We are quite certain that it would be very much safer for a mobility scooter to cross Yew Tree Lane once than cross Stourbridge Road twice. We are happy to discuss local proposals, which would need local consultation.”

The Community Association have now received a copy of the proposal plans, below, that will require pedestrians – the elderly and those with mobility aids – to cross the busy and at times fast Stourbridge Road twice.  The pavement at the points of crossing will be tactile.

The Community Association welcomes your feedback on the proposals, email admin@fvca.org.uk.  You can also contact our Divisional County Councillor, Cllr. Shirley Webb, by emailing SWebb2@worcestershire.gov.uk

Yew-Tree-Lane-Works-Plan-FairfieldDownload
  • June 1, 2020 by

Traffic Update – May 2020

Fairfield Village Community Association would like to make available to residents recent communication between the Association and our County Councillor regarding local traffic issues.

At the beginning of May 2020, Cllr. Webb circulated her Fairfield Report:

County Councillor Shirley Webb May 2020 updateDownload

The Community Association, having considered the message received from residents at the Association’s AGM on 7th March, responded to the report raising ongoing issues, challenging some of the report’s content and seeking answers:

Cllr-Webb-Fairfield-Report-Response-15thMay2020Download

On the 22nd May 2020, The Community Association received a response from Cllr. Webb, which will be considered by the FVCA Committee.

Response-From-S-Webb-May-2020-1Download

As always, the Association seeks the views of residents to help formulate any further responses and actions. Please email admin@fvca.org.uk or message via Facebook.

  • May 22, 2020 by

Fake TV Licensing emails are still doing the rounds

The email contains links to websites that are designed to steal personal and financial details.

Don’t click on the links or attachments in suspicious emails and never reply to messages that ask for personal & financial info

  • May 1, 2020 by

Spring’s in full voice

International Dawn Chorus Day is coming up on 3 May: a fantastic day to listen in and lose yourself in a songbird symphony. We may all be inside, but outside, nature’s finest songsters are in full voice. 

So, set your alarm and celebrate with thousands of people across the country at dawn to listen to the dawn chorus… one of our natural wonders.  Sunrise on Sunday is at 5.33am.

  • May 1, 2020 by

Suspicious Activity – 26th April

Sunday 26th April at approximately 8.45pm, 2 x Youths acting suspiciously in Wood Lane & Pepperwood Close, one wearing a black hoodie, the other a grey hoodie, aged approx.17/18 yrs. Police notified.

Please be vigilant, report any suspicious activity to the police.

  • April 27, 2020 by

Speed Enforcement Update

The hardstanding that been laid south of the mini-island.is for the Safer Road Partnership enforcement van. They will be making periodic visits to the village to carry out speed enforcement.

Vehicles have been recorded driving at the point of 24 Stourbridge Road in excess of 70mph. Enforcement is one way of slowing down vehicles.

The Community Association has made great progress over the past few years (until 2016 you could drive through the village at 60mph and not get fined, FVCA fought for the 30mph to be legally enforceable) and is fighting for Road Tables at strategic points.

  • April 21, 2020 by

Would a Crossing Solve the Problem?

When Crossings were discussed in 2016, former County Councillor Sheila Blagg informed the Community Association that to install a Crossing would cost in excess of £100,000.
 
An installed Crossing would only slow vehicles down should someone be crossing or about to cross at that point.  The Crossing would only serve as a safe crossing point at that point along Stourbridge Road.
 
Should funding be found for a Crossing (a minimum 10 year waiting list and not guaranteed) and agreed by the Community, the Crossing would be sited near School Drive and there would be some potential negative consequences, e.g. either side of the crossing would be no parking zig zags that would stop vehicles parking alongside the church wall, the only place in the village where parking in the village is the most convenient.  Further lack of convenient parking may have an impact on village retail outlets and will push more School Parents parking onto narrow side roads, something that is going to get worse with up to an additional 35 vehicles coming in to the village each day with the school expansion. 
 
Parking and Speeding are big issues and requires a mixture of measures to help make Stourbridge Road safer for the whole length through the village and not for just one point.  The Community Association is pushing for Road Traffic Tables at strategic locations, e.g. at the village entrance.
 
Like you, the Community Association is frustrated at the lack of speed to get issues addressed.  Getting the County Council to spend the required money in Fairfield is a painful process.

  • April 21, 2020 by

St. Mark the Evangelist and his Feast Day

St. Mark’s Day

Our village church was named to honour St. Mark the Evangelist, whose feast day is on 25th April.

Mark was an Evangelist—one of the four men who wrote the Gospels found in the New Testament. Mark’s Gospel was written first, and it is the shortest description of Jesus’ life, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension. Mark’s writings helped both Matthew and Luke to write their Gospels.

Mark was not one of the original Apostles, and he probably never knew Jesus. Instead, it is believed that he was a member of the first Christian community. In his writings, St. Peter refers to Mark as his “son.” Peter may have used this term to show his love for Mark, or he may have used it because he was the one who baptized Mark. It is believed that Peter was the primary source for Mark’s Gospel.

Mark travelled with Sts. Paul and Barnabas to spread the Good News about Jesus. During his imprisonment in Rome, Paul mentions Mark’s concern for him and writes about how helpful Mark is in the ministry of helping others to believe in Jesus (Colossians. 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11).

Mark founded the Church in Egypt and he became bishop of Alexandria, an important centre of trade and power during ancient times. He died there sometime between the years 68-74 AD as a martyr for his belief in Jesus.

Mark’s Gospel is a lasting treasure for all believers. He wrote his Gospel to help people know that Jesus was the Son of God who suffered and died to save us from sin and death. When we read Mark’s Gospel, we learn that to be a follower of Jesus, we, too, must be willing to make sacrifices, to “take up our cross and follow” (Mark 8:34) Jesus as he asks us to do.

The symbol for Mark is a lion with wings. That is because his Gospel begins with the story of John the Baptist, a “voice crying in the wilderness” (Mark 1:3), like the roaring of a lion. Lions are called the kings of the jungle. Mark’s Gospel tells us about Jesus’ royalty as God’s Son, a kingship we share through our Baptism.

We celebrate Saint Mark’s feast day on April 25 and he patron of Notaries, Venice, Barristers. His life and Gospel remind us to share the Good News about Jesus with others.

English Custom

‘Tis now, replied the village belle,

St. Mark’s mysterious eve,

And all that old traditions tell

I tremblingly believe;

How, when the midnight signal tolls,

Along the churchyard green,

A mournful train of sentenced souls

In winding-sheets are seen.

The ghosts of all whom death shall doom

Within the coming year,

In pale procession walk the gloom,

Amid the silence drear.’

It was the custom in villages in England, from the 17th century to the late 19th century, to sit in the church porch on St. Mark’s Eve. Those sitting had to keep silent between the bell tolling at 11.00 p.m. until the bell struck 1.00 a.m. In Yorkshire it was necessary to keep vigil for three successive nights. On the third such sitting, it was said that the ghosts of those to die during the year would be witnessed passing into the church. This practice took place throughout England, but was most prevalent in northern and western counties.

Some accounts of the custom state that the watchers must be fasting, or must circle the church before taking up position. The ghosts of those who were to die soon would be the first observed, while those who would almost see out the year would not be witnessed until almost 1.00 a.m. Other variations of the superstition say that the watchers would see headless or rotting corpses, or coffins approaching. Another tradition holds that a young woman can see the face of her future husband appear on her smock by holding it before the fire on St Mark’s Eve.

St. Mark’s Prayer

O ALMIGHTY God, who hast instructed thy holy Church with the heavenly doctrine of thy Evangelist Saint Mark:

Give us grace, that, being not like children carried away with every blast of vain doctrine, we may be established in the truth of thy holy Gospel;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Ongoing rural crime

Ongoing rural crime & we need your help stopping it 

Livestock in the area are being targeted.

If something looks out of place, people acting suspicious, an out of place vehicle at the entrance to a field, strange noises late at night – REPORT IT

  • April 19, 2020 by