Cllr Roy Gerstner – Community Activist

Disclaimer: These observations are not the ‘official’ minutes of the meeting, these are supplied by Whittlesey Town Council, normally (1) month following this meeting and can be viewed on their website.
Decisions and Voting at this meeting may be ratified and confirmed at the following months meeting.

Agenda published earlier.

Discussion took place on the allotments – there are 118 allotments on the New Road site.
At present there are 19 people waiting for an allotment.
Whittlesey Town Council manage the allotments.

It was decided to support NHS Social Care & Frontline Workers Day – 05th July
More to follow.

Music on The Square events are planned to go ahead, beginning Sunday 18th July.
More to follow.

A new food store in Whittlesey has welcomed shoppers inside for the first time, having created 12 jobs for the local area.

The £1.5m Lincolnshire Co-op store opened on Thursday 29^th April, offering services including a wide range of groceries, freshly baked goods, food-to-go options, meal inspiration, chilled beers and wines, 100% British meat and takeaway Costa Coffee.

To mark the event, £500 donations were made to Defibrillators for All, a group looking after life-saving equipment in the area, and the local food bank Whittlesey Emergency Food Aid.

Shoppers will also be raising money for Whittlesey Community First Responders through the fundraising Community Champions scheme, which sees a donation made to a good cause every time a member shops with their Lincolnshire Co-op dividend card.

Store Manager Kim Arnold said: “We’re enjoying welcoming our new customers inside and showing them what we have to offer. The feedback has been positive so far and people really seem to like the wide range of products and baked goods.”

The store stocks products from Lincolnshire Co-op’s Love Local range, which sources goods from 60 local producers, including beverages from Fenspirits and Elgood’s Brewery, both based in Wisbech, and sausages, pork pies and scotch eggs by Grasmere Farm, based in Deeping St James.

It’s open from 7am until 10pm, seven days a week.

Community Projects Agenda 29th April 2021
WTC - Planning Agenda 29th April 2021

Many would have read of the unfortunate incident yesterday of an elderly lady reported as having been mugged outside of the NISA Shop in Victory Avenue.
Community FB group have come to the aid of this poor lady – thank you.
It is unusual and pretty rare for this to happen in our town, but it is a sign of our time.
I hope there maybe CCTV that can identify the Low-life that carried out this crime.
As I have said on many occasions, be very aware of who is near and around you.
I had a guy too close to me when taking money out of a cash machine, I stopped the transaction, and invited him to use the machine, and just stood there…he walked away.
I would not expect an 84 year old to do that – but I hope it has not affected her confidence.

I am sure that anyone who has travelled to Peterborough using the A605 during daytime are aware that extra time is required, I have travelled to Cardea and Stanground and took us some 50 minutes, came back using Parkway and North Bank….probably quicker going that way. The traffic controlls are well organised.
Make time…if you are going for a COVID vaccination at the Stanground Surgery…

Click on picture to enlarge….

Unfortunately no pomp….or champagne….however some 30+ participants invited to the ‘Virtual’ opening of the New Store….tomorrow at 7am.
Much sales talk as well as much community involvement and they have already sponsored their first group – The Whittlesey First Responders’
More news as they become established – some 400+ people have already signed up for their loyalty card.

Lincs CoOp Store Virtual Opening 280421

Our clients have confirmed a date for the demolition of the 2 chimneys at Saxon.

It will be the 21 May 2021 at 10:00am
If everything goes to plan they will be demolished at 10:00 in the morning of the 21^st.

There will be a number of warning klaxons prior to demolition.

• 5 mins prior to demolition the engineer will sound a 5 min warning- 2 short klaxon sounds
• Immediately prior to demolition the engineer will sound a second warning – 3 short klaxon sounds
• Following demolition the engineer will check the site and will sound an All Clear – 10 second klaxon sound 

  Other than the sound of the chimneys being demolished the demolition will not have any adverse impact outside of Saxon Pit. 

  We have been liaising with local graziers who are all happy with the proposal and timescale.

   

   

Fenland Youth Radio – The Pride of Whittlesey Awards latest now on YouTube…
https://youtu.be/ceRFUhJLBCo

Some have taken up to the opportunity for a ‘virtual’ get-together with the Lincolnshire Co-operative this Wednesday evening. Today they were stocking up some of the items for sale. This is a vast improvement in coming into our town, the area laying near derelict for many years.

Some £1.5 million invested in the store, with 2 houses also incorporated.
Planting of bushes has been completed as well as the car park.

I wonder who will be waiting outside for 7am opening then….

This morning on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire was the Liberal Democrat candidate
Mr Aidan Van de Weyer, I was able to table 2 questions (via the secretary) on why he had not visited Whittlesey during his campaign, and what he would do to give Whittlesey a Relief Road/ByPass.

Well he didn’t answer the first question, and I certainly got the impression that Mr V-de-W had little or no clue of where Whittesey was…..He spoke about a cycle route, we already have the Green Wheel (cycle -route 63) and the present Council(s) are actively promoting for funding more local cycle routes.

I posed the same questions to James Palmer the Conservative candidate who has visited Whittlesey twice in two weeks and I have spoken at length with him – and yes if he is re-elected said he would follow up WTC’s request for the next stage of planning for a relief road.

Friday is the turn or labour candidate Dr Nik Johnson and I will if given the opportunity pose the same questions to him.

I did watch part of the BBC interview with the 3 candidates of Sunday.