Castle Hedingham Parish Council

CASTLE HEDINGHAM NEWS - updated 7th December 2023

Nine Lessons and Carols at St Nicholas, Sunday 17th December at 6pm
Please join us in a festive service of Christmas readings and carols the week before Christmas Eve. The Hedingham Singers will be supporting the congregation in singing our favourite carols. The service will be followed by mulled wine and mince pies.

BDC Waste & Recycling Collection calendars
Calendars for Castle Hedingham collection routes can be downloaded here:

• Monday Route 6 collections
• Tuesday Route 2 collections

Clear recycling sacks can be obtained from Castle Hedingham Village Shop. Full details of all collections including the new green waste subscription service can be found at https://www.braintree.gov.uk/bins-waste-recycling

Castle Hedingham Village Shop & Post Office

• New Post Office opening times: Monday 9am – 4pm, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday 9am – 1pm,  Thursday Closed
  
• The Village Shop has a new Saturday closing time of 4pm
• Volunteers are needed to help the team - if you have a couple of hours a week to spare or even only occasionally, please drop in to the shop and speak to any of the current volunteers for more information

Castle Hedingham Drain blockages
We know there are many drainage issues in Castle Hedingham, but there's one thing we can all do to help. On a call out to an overflowing sewage drain in the village, Anglian Water engineers identified that wet wipes had caused the blockage. This is now the most common reason for blocked drains. Please can we all follow their guidance and look for the Fine to Flush logo before disposing of any products down the loo. Only these products can be flushed, everything else should be put in the bin. There are some wipes on the market that say they are 'flushable'. These have not met Fine to Flush standards and should also be placed in the bin after use. Most wipes like baby wipes and all sanitary products (tampons, pads etc.) currently on the market display a Do Not Flush logo and should be disposed of in the bin. For more information please see: https://www.water.org.uk/news-views-publications/news/fine-flush-standard-celebrates-100th-accreditation

New Park Street Lights
Correspondence with Npower and UKPN has been ongoing, with the issue escalated to the highest level at both Npower as the energy supplier and with UKPN who manage the Unmetered Supply (UMS). Reinstatement of the energy supply by Npower has been offered at an increased rate per Kwh, together with financial compensation for the error which led to the supply contract being withdrawn.  At the October Parish Council meeting, a number of options were carefully considered by Councillors, taking into account the longer-term cost to public funds and only one expression of concern since the lights were "de-energised" in August. It was decided  to leave the street lights de-energised for the time being, i.e. in a state where the supply could be reinstated if necessary at a later date. 

Rewilding New Park Castle Hedingham: Our rewilding project at the Pump House land, New Park, started in spring 2023. To take part in monitoring plant and animal species observed,  try the iNaturalist App at https://uk.inaturalist.org/. This is part of a 5 year project on Braintree District Council owned land, and carried out with the support of the Essex Wildlife Trust Wilder Towns, Wilder Villages team. 

We love seeing our Team Wilder councils and communities using the Urban Wildlife Champions, River Champions or Wilder Towns, Wilder Villages emblems. These can be used on newsletters, letterheads, interpretation signage, equipment and much more!

Castle Hedingham Parish Council have used the Wilder Towns, Wilder Villages emblem on signage for their new rewilding project in collaboration with on-the-doorstep residents.