News

January

• Welcome packs have been reprinted and distributed by GT
• Benches purchased to commemorate Bill Graham and the ScD Gardening Club
• Asked WBC to sort out Long Lane flooding
• New internal auditor appointed
• Another batch of ‘Welcome packs’ printed and delivered to residents and show homes on the new estates

February

• Start of levelling of Owen Road Field
• Community Speed Watch sessions, manned by councillors and members of the public are organised and held throughout the year
• Comprehensive repairs carried out to playground equipment
• First survey of pedestrians crossing by the Castle Pub undertaken by councillors
• Second Speed Indicator Device purchased for the parish
• Community Speedwatch signs attached to Village Gateways in Long Lane and B4494

March

• Community Litter Pick took place
• New kitchen installed in the pavilion
• New-look four page newsletter printed and delivered by councillors to all 900+ homes in the parish
• Meeting with Action for River Kennet to see if any community work could be done to improve the local section of the River Lambourn
• Four trees planted in the green at Lamp Acres
• New Parish Council website goes live
• A new litter bin and new lids for the dog bins in the recreation ground are installed
• Second survey of pedestrians crossing by the Castle Pub undertaken by councillors
• Liaising with WBC regarding delays to infrastructure promised by developers, e.g. ANPR cameras on Bastion Street, new bus service and new primary school
• New Parish Emergency Plan approved
• Council attends the WBC Speed Limit Review panel, who agree to consult on reductions to speed limits on Oxford Road and Long Lane

April

• New gov.uk email addresses adopted
• Parish Flood Warden Cllr Glyn Thomas liaising with WBC over the swales on new development
• New car parking area in the recreation ground completed, including new height barrier

May

• New larger dog bin ordered for Love Lane
• Newly levelled Owen Road Field re-seeded
• New defibrillator installed in Kingsley Close, fundraised for buy local residents
• Councillors clean the pavilion’s exterior prior to it being repainted by Community Payback

June

• Successful beacon lighting event held at Donnington Castle on 6 June to celebrate 80 years since D-Day
• New benches installed in the pavilion changing rooms
• Very successful village fete took place on 23 June, organised by councillors and members of the community. A dog show, concert band and produce show were included for the first time.

September

• ‘Have your Say’ meeting arranged with TV Police following the shooting of a pet cat in Shaw Valley
• 5 new streetlight lanterns installed in Church Car park
• New playground surfacing installed at recreation ground
• Council responded to the Local Plan Review
• Petition presented to WBC for a crossing on the B4494 by The Castle Pub
• New bus service is launched in the parish, and it is publicised in the Autumn newsletter

October

• Autumn Litter Pick took place
• New toddler swings installed in playground
• Three councillors attend the Local Plan Review hearing and make the case to exclude land either side of Long Lane for housing development
• Council agrees new designs for identity signs for the villages in the parish, and progresses with plans for I  installation
• Faulty shower in pavilion replaced
• New lampposts are installed on Shaw Hill footpath

November

• Grant applications made for a disabled toilet to be installed in the pavilion
• The Government Inspector announces that the sites for development in the parish have been removed from the Local Plan Review
• Councillors and others remove concrete plinths from back of pavilion and create a soakaway
• A donated bench is installed at the recreation ground
• Replacement hedging is planted by the car parking area by councillors
• Dog bins and post boxes have been requested for the two new estates

December

• The Christmas newsletter has been produced, and delivered by councillors with the Church newsletter and new bus timetable, to all homes in the parish