Saturday was the start of action taken by residents of Brockton and Worthen to improve road safety in their villages. This followed a well attended public meeting which had decided to take a number of measures to improve safety.

Despite the weather around several residents and Parish Councillors (and Heather ) turned out the dig soil and grass from the pavements so that their full width can be used by mums pushing buggies, holding toddlers hands and people walking dogs.

Dear All

What has happened since the road safety meeting on 17^th March? Well plenty has.

• The Parish Council have decided to buy a speed camera and yellow jackets so that we can do our own speed checks, surveys etc. Moira Merryweather will organise people when the equipment arrives. The results will be sent to the police. Letters sent to companies of speeding HGV's and Vans. Naming and shaming.
• One local person is investigating stickers for the backs of cars.
• There will be a working party this Saturday (7th April) to start to clear the banks which are narrowing some of the pavements. Shovels and brooms needed. Meet at the village Hall at 9.45am for tea & coffee and then off to work. Benno is organising.
• I have requested a meeting with the Highways Engineer to work through the different areas of road which need improvement - and to work out costs for each part.
• We have volunteers for the campaign itself and poster design. We have other traffic calming suggestions to publicise our safety issues.
• I have sent a press release which was printed in the Star and the County Times. We need to carry on with this campaign. All activity will be reported to the press and put on Facebook etc.
• The gates to the villages which will be placed on the verges on entry to Worthen and Brockton have the go ahead to be installed. See attached picture. Ours are similar but have planters attached. They make traffic realise they are entering the village.
• Land owners are being approached to give land for the pavement widening. We have one giving land already.
• Officers are to work on improving the BOAT from Back Lane to Oakfield Cottages.
• I will be working with Chirbury & Marton, and the Councillor for Westbury and Yockleton to keep the message the same all along the B4386.

Dear All

I spent some time talking to the guy in charge of the closure itself. This is what he said:

• The closure will now only run from 9.30am - 3.30pm. although today when I drove around they were gone by 2.30pm!!
• When they are working on the poles it will not be possible to drive through (as several people were today - under the cherry picker which was pretty dangerous) . they will park vans to block it so that workmen are not put in danger at any point.
• They will be finished as soon as they can hopefully before the 9 days are up.
• They were working today just up from Snailbeach village hall. They will be working towards Stiperstones from there.
• Access to frontages will be either side of where they are working.
• There are signs up now at Pennerley showing that the road is open to Stiperstones Inn and Tankerville Pottery. All access is from that direction when the road is closed - especially to the shop!

Councillors in rural south west Shropshire have expressed their shock and anger at Shropshire Councils sudden threat to business rate relief. On a whole range of public buildings.

Heather Kidd said "This came as a bolt from the blue. This will have a massive impact on a whole range of organisations who are holding rural communities together. Shops, Post offices, scouts and girl guides, village halls, senior citizens clubs, amateur sports clubs could all suffer."

Residents in the West Shropshire villages of Hope and Bentlawnt have demanded that Shropshire Council gets its act together and give their Post Office service a dedicated phone line.

Heather Kidd said: "The Post Office in Bentlawnt closed over a year ago. Since then the Post Office from Pontesbury have been running an outreach service in nearby Hope Village Hall every Wednesday. Local residents have rallied round and turned the occasion into a major social event every week with teas, coffees and soup being sold to raise funds for the village hall. Local shops have also come along to run stalls.

Hi All

Please see attached the new voluntary car charging parking sign at The Bog and photos of the newly erected Ropeway Trestle next to the Bog Visitor Centre.

Heather

This is the latest on next week's road closure;

The closure is proposed from Tuesday 3^rd April to Friday 13^th April to coincide with school holidays.

The road will be closed between 8am and 5pm only (open at other times too).

The road will be closed at these times on weekdays only (so 9 working days of closure over an 11 day period) and reopened for use outside of those hours and at the weekend.