Articles February 2022
Storm Arwen – Community Support
On behalf of the Longhorsley residents who were without power for 7 days after Storm Arwen we’d like to wholeheartedly thank the people who came to our rescue.
Fortunately the pub and village hall both had power and we were able to charge our phones and computers there.
Jan and Tanya did a fantastic job. As well as checking as many properties as they could to identify anyone who was in need of help, they organised a team of wonderful people who cooked hot meals and made hot drinks for us every evening in the Hall.
The County Council helped those vulnerable people, who had been identified, wherever they could and were impressed with how our own community was helping others. As a result, discussions are taking place to see how they can help us to improve our current facilities to be ready for any future emergencies. Details will follow.
We’d specifically like to thank Jan and Tanya and their team including Vikki, Louise, Wayne, Ben & Sarah, Claire, Joanne, Sue and Becci. Also thanks to Lucy and Andy and friends who provided live music on a couple of evenings, which lifted our spirits.
It was particularly important to us all to be able to meet our neighbours and share the problems, even have a laugh about it.
Thanks, you were all brilliant
Alan & Sue
Hello from the new editors
First of all many thanks to Alan and Sue for their hard work over the past 10 years in making the Longhorsley Tree a great source of information for the village.
The contact details for the new editing team are:
Jan and Sheena Haveman 07834 740649 longhorsley.tree@gmail.com
Norman Douglas (parish and county council matters) 07485 174529 norman.douglas@longhorsley-pc.gov.uk
Olive Light (advertising) 07907 714455 longhorsley.adverts@gmail.com
March Edition
The last date for submissions is February 20th.You can email, phone or leave short articles in Millar's Village Shop.
If you leave an article in the shop, please include your phone number.
Please keep articles under 250 words, if at all possible.
Jan and Sheena Haveman 07834 740649 longhorsley.tree@gmail.com
Longhorsley Parish Council
The next Parish Council meeting will be held on 9th February 2022, in the Village Hall, starting at 7pm, with a parishioner slot at 8pm. Meeting notices are displayed on village notice boards, with minutes and other info found on the Parish Council website northumberlandparishes.uk/longhorsley
Please note that due to COVID issues, this meeting could be moved to a virtual ZOOM meeting at short notice. In the event that the meeting has to be changed, a notice will be placed on our website giving the necessary joining instructions.
Contact details for the current members are detailed below:
Clerk: Gillian Turner, 4 Lowther Close, Seaton Manor, Ashington, NE630HY 01670 812704 or parishclerk@longhorsley-pc.gov.uk
Chairman: Penny Ford 788278 penelope.ford@longhorsley-pc.gov.uk
Councillors: Kirsty Bell, Peter Boyle, Norman Douglas, Andy Hedman and David Pringle.
Sadly, our Chairman, Cllr Iain Elliott, passed away on 29th December, following a short illness. Iain will be remembered fondly by all of us here at the Parish Council. Iain was our chairman for over 14 years, working tirelessly, on behalf of both the Parish Council and the wider community.
During his tenure he oversaw many initiatives, including the MUGA refurbishment, taking over Old Church Wood, the introduction of the Neighbourhood Plan and securing the best deals possible for the many housing developments proposed for the Village. Iain’s vast knowledge which he gathered over the years will be hard to replace, including his “expertise” with regard to Village Green land held in Longhorsley.
He also supported local traditions, such as providing mulled wine at the lighting of the beacon event every New Year.
Iain was a pleasure to work with and our thoughts and support go to his wife Liz at this time.
MUGA Token Box
It has been brought to our attention that some users of the facility are using 50p coins instead of the official tokens to power-up the floodlights. This is causing a shortfall in income to pay for the electricity and is also damaging the coin-box itself. In order to resolve this we have to have the box modified and this means the lights will not be available for approximately 2 weeks from Monday 24th January. Once the modification is completed you will only be able to use the official tokens. They can be purchased from the Village shop, a maximum of 10 at a time, but please be aware of the shop’s opening hours and plan ahead.
Your County Councillor
We are about to set up our Review into the Storm with the aim of a final set of recommendations ready for the Spring. It was important to me to ensure that we did this exercise so that everyone who suffered from the very long loss of power has the chance to have their voice heard. This is not so much about blame - more about ensuring that we are better protected should another storm cause similar problems.
I hope that ours, and a national enquiry, will look into important issues like investment in the infrastructure, the condition of the equipment, ensuring that the company's communications and ability to deal with emergencies are thoroughly examined.
I hope that everyone is now back to normal but as always, please get in touch if I can help with anything -
Glen Sanderson 07730 979737 glen.sanderson@northumberland.gov.uk
Neighbourhood Policing Team
In the past month no crimes have been reported and the only incident of note is on 22nd Dec when cold callers were going door to door enquiring about loft insulation. This was reported to us as a concern but no residents were scammed.
Our Neighbourhood Beat Manager, PC Andrea Teasdale, is on secondment at the moment. If you wish to report any incident please contact Northumbria Police on 101 or in an emergency 999. You can also report using the ‘Contacts’ page of www.police.uk
Alternatively you can pass information anonymously via Crime Stoppers at crimestoppers-uk.org or 0800 555 111.
Archie’s Pond
Work is progressing well on the refurbishment, which is expected to be finished by 31st March. New decking for the main pond has been ordered and we are in the process of obtaining the hardcore for the path. Storm damage to trees along the path has needed to be sorted, but this is well underway. New interpretation board, benches and bird/bat boxes will be ordered shortly. Thank you for your patience while the work is ongoing.
Footpaths update
There has been some tree clearance along the path from the Old Church to the fields, but it is still not an easy path in places. We will be seeking the opinion of the NCC Footpath officer to see if improvements can be made. The Lonnen (path leading from the corner of the football field) has been blocked by fallen hawthorn bushes, these have been cleared recently.
Covid Guidance on the Return to Plan A
Plan B measures have ended on the 27th January.
The region’s health chiefs stress that vaccination is our best form of defence, and in addition they are asking people to follow the guidance on
testing,
self-isolating with symptoms,
washing your hands,
letting fresh air into indoor places, and
consider wearing a face covering in busy or enclosed spaces or when meeting with people who you do not normally socialise with.
The full article is available here.
Longhorsley Takeaway Food
We will send out a Breaking News if we are notified of any changes.
The Shoulder of Mutton
The Shoulder of Mutton is open and offering takeaways every day.
Sunday lunches 12-6pm ~ Monday to Saturday 5pm-8pm
See their menu at shoulderofmuttonpub.com ~ phone 788236 to order
Pizzeria Padre
Pizzeria Padre at West Moor Farm (by Forget Me Not Country Park) is open for collection every Thursday & Saturday 5pm - 8pm.
Order by 5pm Tuesday for Thursday or 5pm Thursday for Saturday.
See the menu and place orders at pizzeriapadre.com
The Flying Fryer
The Flying Fryer will be here every Friday from 4pm to 7pm, depending on demand.
Please remember to keep 2m apart when queuing.
Facebook The Flying Fryer 07984 426 725
Dou_h&co
Dou_h&co are here some Thursdays 4:30pm – 7:30pm.
Next visit is February 3rd.
Pre-order on 07507 834 628 from Tuesday 9am each week.
See their menu on the Dou_h & Co Facebook page and Dou-h.co.uk
Mivesi Naan Truck
Mivesi Naan Truck have not notified us of any future visits.
For updates see the Mivesi Facebook page.
Post Office in Longhorsley Village Hall
Monday 9:15am to 12:15pm
Tuesday 9:15am to 10:45am
Friday 11:30am to 1:30pm
Please note that this Outreach Service cannot accept large parcels.
Please remember to keep 2m apart when queuing.
Only one customer is allowed to be served at a time.
Mobile Library Visiting Times
The Mobile Library visits Longhorsley once a month, on Fridays between 3pm and 4pm, in the Village Hall car park.
The next visits will be on Fridays 11th February and 11th March.
The Mobile Library Service website can be found here
