163 - Autumn 2015
Extracts from Autumn 2015, issue 163
Sir Edward Garnier MP unveils new village sign in Great Glen
It depicts the three pubs, the schools, two churches, the cricket, football and archery clubs and the Wheelbarrow Race. The former local landowners, the Packe family's heraldic lion is also shown and the railway station signs are also depicted. The sign itself is a three armed metal structure which stands on the Memorial Green opposite the Pug & Greyhound.
Sir Edward said: “The sign is more than a piece of metal; it's a work of art. Clearly a great deal of thought has gone into its design and it exemplifies what gives Great Glen its identity and why it is a home to the families that have lived here for many generations and those who have arrived here more recently.”
(for more photographs see the photo gallery)
Wheelbarrow race organiser is appointed as LOROS Ambassador
Andy Williamson, organiser of the village wheelbarrow race has been appointed an ambassador of Leicestershire & Rutland’s charity LOROS.
Harborough's MP Sir Edward Garnier unveiled the sign on Saturday 1 August at 2pm.
In 2012 the village of Great Glen held an event to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee consisting of a family fun day with stalls, games, a band and a dog show. The event ended with the lighting of the beacon and fireworks. The funds raised from this event were put aside for a new sign in Great Glen.
The Parish Council ran a competition for a design later in 2012 but there was no clear winner. The Council therefore decided to combine all the ideas and a few more depicting Great Glen life, its history and buildings, and the sign's final shape and design emerged from those ideas and research done by blacksmith David James, whose family firm made and installed the sign.
The ‘Great Glen Wheelbarrow Race’ is now in its seventh year and firmly fixed on both the village and the LOROS calendar. Year on year the number of visitors and attractions has increased due mainly to Andy’s ongoing commitment to make each year “bigger and better”
Andy’s work for LOROS does not stop with his own event; he is a regular volunteer and speaker at many events across Leicestershire bringing with him his family.
Andy said “from my first time of visiting the Hospice I was so impressed with the facilities, the high standard and different types of care being provided. All the people who are employed and volunteer at the Hospice do an amazing job and want to make a difference to the lives of patients and their families”.
http://www.loros.co.uk/about/patrons-ambassadors/ambassadors/
Great Glen Library set to continue
Following distribution of a newsletter to over 2000 homes in Great Glen and neighbouring villages we are delighted to report that sufficient potential trustees have come forward to make the formation of a Community Interest Organisation to take over running the Library next April a real possibility.
Chairman Penny Tyler said “With over 10 people prepared to join the Management Team the successful submission of a business plan to Leicestershire County Council becomes a reality. The plan has to be submitted by 4th Sept and we should know by October if we have been successful."
A full meeting of all those volunteering to staff the Library day to day will be called soon. If you are interested in being a volunteer, email us at admin@greatglencommunitylibrary.co.uk or contact Gill Townsend on 0116 259 3052. Meanwhile please follow progress (and join the Facebook group) on the Library's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/greatglencommunitylibrary.or look on the notice board in the library, which will be kept up to date with the latest news.
Also look out for the Library team at future village events including the Wheelbarrow Race on 5th September 2015.
County Councillor Kevin Feltham and District Councillor Grahame Spendlove-Mason have both contacted Glen Sence in support of Great Glen Community Library:
Councillor Feltham said:
“I was delighted to hear that some people have come forward to look at options to run the Great Glen library, following recent meetings in the village with library managers. A registration of interest has been accepted by Leicestershire a County Council, and I hope a successful business case can now be completed over the next couple of months. The library in Barrow on Soar is now being run by a community partnership, and it is hoped that most of the remaining 35, including Great Glen, will also be run by their communities over the next year”
Councillor Spendlove Mason said:
The Great Glen Library is soon going to have to stand on its own feet, due to the Leicestershire County Council withdrawing funding. Some volunteers have already offered their help, but they are still short of various specialists to assist in the running of this facility, which with the volume of children and keen adult library users In the village, deserves preserving as the vital source of knowledge and entertainment in our community.
Andy chose to fund raise for LOROS as this was the preferred charity of many of the village residents he had spoken to.
Andy’s involvement with LOROS started in 2008 when he moved back, after an absence of twenty three years, to the village of Great Glen. As a child Andy had personally taken part in the annual Wheelbarrow Race. Moving back to the village rekindled his memories of what being part of a friendly community was all about.
Andy is presently the Joint Managing Director of Mountney Ltd, a motor accessory distribution company. Andy started working in the motor industry when he left school at the age of 16 starting on the shop floor and steadily working his way up to his current position.
Extract from LOROS website
Andy is the latest appointment following the appointment of fellow villager, Imogen Cox who is one of the organisers of the annual LOROS fashion show.
Non material amendment for Great Glen Crematorium refused by Harborough District Council – update from County Councillor Kevin Feltham - July 2015
Westerleigh, the company who have done a deal with the Co-op, to build and run the Crematorium on London Road, Great Glen have had a setback.
At the beginning of June they submitted an application to Harborough District Council (HDC) for a non-material amendment (NMA) including some 24 alterations to windows and design. I contacted Adrian Eastwood at HDC who thought it would probably be approved but in any case wouldn't include any consultation with the public.
In the event a few objections to the NMA were sent to HDC, and I'm pleased to say that in the general public interest, the NMA has been refused on the grounds that the amount of change is material.
So where does this leave Westerleigh? They could just take the original, unaltered design that has approval from the Planning Inspector and build it or they could apply for alterations under Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, but this would be treated like a new planning application, and be subject to public consultation and could be refused.
Interesting times, and as more and more time passes, the South Leicestershire crematorium in Countesthorpe continues to attract hundreds of cremations, leaving slim pickings for whatever is eventually built in Great Glen. The business case must have huge revenue gaps, so is it still commercially viable?
Karate Star
Eleven year old Katie Burnham from Great Glen has won an impressive 31 medals and seven trophies in Karate. Katie’s amazing journey started in May 2013 when she was nine years old and began to attend training sessions twice a week at Parklands Leisure Centre in Oadby. She won the Female Trophy of the Year in 2013.
Katie was invited to train alongside the Wadokai England Squad in early 2014 eventually becoming an official member, attending training every four weeks in Leicester. She represented England in the Europeans in Reading in October 2014 gaining a Bronze in individual Kumite and Silver in Team Kumite
She was invited to train with Sensai Stennett Harvey of Ikon in Wolverhampton for two evenings a week. So far this year she has also trained with Aimee Sell (world medallist, three times European Silver medallist and Team Bronze medallist), EKF National Kumite Coach 6th Dan Willie Thomas and EKF multi medallist and commonwealth champion Rory Daniels
Katie has competed in competitions in Walsall, Derby, Leicester and Bristol, gaining Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for Kata and Kumite. In August 2014 she went to Stockholm in Sweden and gained a Bronze in Kata and Silver in Kumite. She recently attended competitions in Western-super-Mare (gaining Gold medals in Kata and Kumite) and Worcester (gaining a Silver medal in kumite).
She has recently been selected to compete in the Wadokai European championships, in Budapest Hungary in October, to represent England in Kata and Kumite.
Katie’s family are proud of her achievements so far and Glen Sence is sure that readers will join them in wishing her every success in Budapest in October.