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Himalayan Balsam - Help Needed

Communities along the Tyne are working to reduce the impact of Himalayan Balsam (the tall plant with purple popping flowers), which has taken over much of the banks, is throttling the indigenous vegetation, and leading to faster erosion of the banks when it dies back in the winter. It also grows to above head height and blocks the way and views for walkers. One of the worst affected areas is at Riding Mill between the Old Ford and the Stepping Stones. We have received permission from the landowner, Mr Dickinson, to pull up the plants there from late April to late June before they flower, according to the guidelines below. Villagers are invited to do this individually, pulling up a few plants when you take a walk, or going down as a group at any time which suits you in this period.
Malcolm Reid, Parish Council

How to Pull Himalayan Balsam
The Tyne Rivers Trust approach following 3 years of experience in the Tyne catchment

The best time to pull Himalayan Balsam is when the stems are at least 50cm tall and before the flowers turn to seeds. This can be between April and late June depending on the climatic conditions of the year and the location in the Tyne Valley.
Pull the stems gently to ensure that the whole root system is removed. It can be more successful the lower down the stem you grip but obviously this makes it more back breaking work – be sure to bend your knees not at the waist! Crush the pulled stems to prevent nutrients reaching the flowerheads The flowers can in some cases produce seeds even when pulled.
Place the pulled stems in high piles. This prevents roots from the stems on the top of the pile from being in contact with the soil and re-rooting. It also prevents light getting to the plants at the bottom of the pile and therefore prevents them from growing should re-rooting occur. It is always worth revisiting the piles to pick off the occasional re-growing stem.
NB Himalayan should not be removed from the site. To avoid transfer of seed during high water, wherever possible make the piles as far away from the river bank (within the site) as possible and if possible on hard ground.
If pulling late in the season please take every precaution not to transfer already popped seeds on soles of shoes or clothing. When flower heads have produced seeds the best approach is to accept it for this season and start earlier the following year!
NB Himalayan Balsam seeds can remain viable but may not germinate for 3 years. Therefore on any site do not expect to see huge improvements until after 3 years of pulling.

Millfield Road Update

The Parish Council has to report that a Questionnaire was prepared by the Principal County Council Solicitor, Mr Stephen Rickitt, and sent to the all the residents in Millfield Road, asking them to indicate their preferences for one of the following alternatives:

To pay a contribution of £2,000 towards the cost of bringing Millfield Road up to adoptable standard
To pay a contribution of an unspecified amount towards that cost
Not to pay a contribution.

Of the Millfield Road residents:

Seven chose option 1,
Two chose option 2,
Ten chose option 3 and
Three did not reply, by the return date (which was 19 February 2010), although one subsequently chose option 1.

The Parish Council had previously stated that, as frontager of the amenity land and as supporter of the Village Hall Trust, it chose option 1, bringing the number of supporting frontagers up to ten. However the offer required much greater support than was achieved.

In view of the rejection of the Parish Council’s offer by the Millfield Road residents, the bridge will be downgraded and restricted to a 3 tonne limit and a 6’6” width restriction. Steps are now in hand to carry this out.

The Parish Council will, as previously indicated, pay £10,000 to fund the bridge costs. Its insurance on Millfield Road has automatically lapsed, (as it was in place only pending adoption) and the liability reverts to the frontagers. The work to complete the turning head beside the Parish Hall and the Parish Hall car park will continue.

Much work has been done by the Parish Council to try to reach a satisfactory way to deal with Millfield Road. But the avenues explored have now been closed as the County Council has made it clear that it is unlikely that it will devote resources in the future towards issues concerning the adoption of Millfield Road or its state of repair unless there are pressing safety reasons to do so.

Road safety in the village

At its last meeting, the Parish Council agreed to set up two working groups to look at specific road safety issues in the village. The first, co-ordinated by Andy Dunhill, will investigate ways of installing a pedestrian crossing on the main road; the second, co-ordinated by Linden Stevenson, will look at the need for 20 mile an hour speed limits on side roads in the village.

Residents with long memories will know that both these issues have been looked at before - notably in 2003 when both proposals were adopted as part of the Parish Plan. Despite a lot of hard work by a number of villagers, neither of these proposals ever got implemented. However, the danger of speeding traffic to pedestrians (particularly young children) hasn't gone away. We therefore think it's time to try again.

The idea is that each working group will:

identify the key problems,
make sure they know what previous councils have done,
identify possible solutions to these problems,
identify costs of possible solutions,
identify possible external sources of funding,

and then report back to the full council with recommendations for future action.

Membership of these working groups is emphatically not limited to those on the Parish Council. We are well aware that many other individuals within the village have relevant experience and specialist knowledge. We'd therefore like to invite anyone who would like to join one of these working groups, or who has strong views on either of these issues, to contact Andy Dunhill 01434 682018, Linden Stevenson 01434 682671 or myself 01434 682405.

John Eakins

Revised policy on covenant release

Following a ruling from the District Auditor earlier this year on the legality of charging a resident for the release of a restrictive covenant, the Parish Council has sought fresh legal advice. In the light of this advice, it is now drawing up a revised policy on covenant release, which it hopes will be seen as fair, equitable and consistent.

Here you can view the Parish Council's revised policy, and the legal advice it has received:

Covenants Policy

Covenants - Legal advice

Background

In 1973, the Parish Council took over several pieces of land from the now-defunct Riding Mill Estates company, together with responsibility for restrictive covenants on some properties in the village. Since then, the Parish Council has sought to charge residents for lifting restrictive covenants affecting their properties. This policy has been the subject of some dispute within the village.

The District Auditor was recently asked to give a ruling on whether the Council was acting unlawfully in charging for the release of a specific covenant. He confirmed that the Council had acted in a way consistent with the advice they had received from their solicitors and from the District Valuer, and was therefore acting lawfully. He did, however, ask the Parish Council to seek legal advice on the enforceability of its covenants, and use this advice in formulating a revised policy for managing covenants. The Parish Council has now received this advice, and is using this as the basis for a revised policy.

Photographers

Following the success of last year’s photographic exhibition, I am proposing to form a Riding Mill Photographic Society if there is sufficient interest. Would anyone interested in joining such a society please contact me by telephone 01434 682214 or e-mail Eric Rosby

Eric Rosby

Photographers

Eric Rosby

Craft Fair – 7th November 2009

What a super day and what a splendid result! There were lots of good stalls, lots of good food and a lot of customers! Many people worked hard to make the day a huge success. Andy & Pam Pryor managed to get matched funding of £750 each from Barclays Bank.

Andy, helped by Liz Patterson, Kris Andersen and Cathy Marsh ran the raffle which raised £965 plus his £750 = £1715
Age Concern organised the Cake Stall and had many contributors and customers which raised £275.50.
The Dotty Cooks were out in forceably assisted by Janet Proud, to raise £319.90 on refreshments.
The night before, Martin Raeburn, Norman Herron, Alan Thompson and Frank Turner moved tables and chairs from one place to another and returned them the day after with the help of Martin Marsh.
Alan Scott manned the plant stall which raised £100.60.
The Craft Tables contributed a sum of £183.50.
With Pam’s matched funding contribution of £750 for the stalls, the final total was £3,344.50.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped in any way, particularly Jen Stephenson who allowed us to use the School while the Parish Hall is undergoing the final touches to the redevelopment. The event proved to be a wonderful Village effort.

Linda Shepherd, Chairman – Riding Mill Village Hall Trust

Riding Mill W.I.

Thank you to Hannah Price of “Wildflower” for stepping in when our speaker from the Northumberland Cheese Company, could not attend because of illness. Hannah gave us a fabulous demonstration, on how to make an Advent ring and we were so inspired by how easy she made it look, that we thought we might be able to make our own for Christmas. W IWe look forward to the results which may not be as good as we would like; we can always order one from Hannah. The competition of “2 Cheese scones” was won by Sue Wardle, who had added bacon pieces, making them really delicious. We continue to get new people coming along, with a view to joining and we really encourage this; you may win the raffle, as Alison Fieldhouse did on her visit this month. There was a great deal of envy as the first prize was the Advent ring.

Many people in the village may not be aware that the planters at both ends of the village were bought with bequeathed money from a deceased member, and are maintained by Riding Mill W.I. Enormous thanks must go to Wendy Robe who plants them up, according to the season, and maintains them throughout. Also a huge thank you to Mike Hinds, husband of Eleanor Hinds, who keeps the grass cut around them so that they can be admired.

Jenny Coates

Riding Mill Get Dancing Group

The Get Dancing Group meets in the Millennium Hall on Thursday afternoons at 3.30pm.

We like to try our hand (or feet even) at different kinds of dance. It is a friendly self led group and we do get some visiting Dance Teachers to give us a few more ideas. The emphasis is on a fun way to get fit.

For further information please contact Florence on 01434 682026.

Musicians

Calling all young Riding Mill Musicians. If you are young (up to 25 years old), play an instrument or sing, either solo or with a group, why not show off your talent in the concert on 24th April 2010. Come and be part of this special occasion! Please contact Judith Anderson, 01434 682245.