I have now been editing the village website for over ten years, during which time a number of items have inevitably become outdated. These have now been revised and a series of new items intstalled or in course of preparation.
Colin Wootton.
Details are set out in “read the rest of this entry”.
FIRST TIME VISITORS TO THE WEBSITE
Those visiting the website for the first time and accessing “See the Sulgrave Village page for more information” can now go on to a new item entitled “Some images of the village 2005 – 2017” which is designed to give an overall impression of the village and some of its regular activities. By visiting “Regularly updated views of the village” they can also see Chris Behan’s latest entries under “Village Views”.
LATEST PARISH COUNCIL NEWS
Whilst there is a page on the website dedicated to the Parish Council, latest news has tended to be somewhat hidden away in the “Minutes of Meetings”, with each monthly set of minutes not being uploaded until after the following meeting. Summaries of the proceedings of each meeting are now prepared soon afterwards for the Village Newsletter. As soon as these are available they will be uploaded to a special page entitled “Latest Parish Council News”. As soon as the agenda for a forthcoming meeting is received, it is linked to the Parish Council meeting date in “Diary and Events” for that particular month and will also appear on the latest news page.
HIGH SPEED RAIL (HS2)
With the assistance of the HS2 Senior Project Manager for the relevant section of the line and the Contractors’ representative, a permanent page for the website is being prepared which will give background information, maps and photoragraphs and most importantly the latest news on construction. For the moment, the most recent information is as set out in the report on this website in October 2017.
QUARTERLY WILDLIFE WEB PAGE
Most villagers will remember former Sulgrave Parish Councillor and resident John Sheppard, seen here on the right with David Thompson after photographing Canada Geese at Mill Hollow Barn in 2008.
Since leaving the village John has become an acclaimed wildlife photographer and many villagers have enjoyed his illustrated talks. John has agreed to provide a quarterly wildlife item for the website, with photographs such as those at the start of this post. This will replace the bird and wildflower archives which have become inactive.
John writes: I would like to thank Colin for inviting me to submit a series of articles on the wildlife of our area and beyond. I was a resident of Sulgrave for a number of years back in the 1980s and now live in Greatworth.
I am an enthusiastic wildlife photographer and have enjoyed some success having had images published in the Countryfile Calendar (“Bearded Reedling“) and being shortlisted in the Wildlife Photorgrapher of the Year competition (“Eagle and Fox“).
I travel a lot seeking out photographic opportunities and my plans for 2018 include Hungary and Namibia. I specialise in bird photography but am just as happy capturing images of any creatures that passes in front of my lens.
I hope you enjoy my images and any comments are most welcome.
John’s first contribution will appear shortly.
LATEST NEWS FROM THE VILLAGE SHOP
The monthly shop newsletter will continue to be posted on the front page as soon as it becomes available. Back copies will also be accessible.
VILLAGE PLANNING INFORMATION
Villagers will recall that the revised South Northants Local Plan is about to be adopted. This sets out proposals and policies for the District and its villages. Links to this information will be maintained on the “Planning Information” page of the website so that interested parties can check on such matters as the “village envelope”, the extent of the conservation area, listed buildings, tree preservation orders and so on.
Access will also be maintained to the District Council’s list of planning applications so that the latest information can be obtained on the current status of those applications which affect the village.
For example, enter “Sulgrave” in the “Parish box” and the current date and the date a year previously in the “Received between box”. Careful examination of the documents will reveal details of what is proposed, consultations undertaken and the status of the application.
ANNUAL ARCHIVES
The main village events covered by the website during the last ten years are listed year by year and can be easily accessed. For the last four years, the Advent Calendar Windows can be visited individually together with the photographs of those attending each “unveiling”.
Colin Wootton