The Parish Pump - Parish Pump - May 2009

The last Pump was in 2008. It has since been repaired after a faulty misunderstanding. It is hoped to give more information to the citizens of Kinver that is provided by other societies and organisations.

Kinver Country Fayre: 16 May

One can only praise the diligence and hard work carried out by a few dedicated individuals. But there are a considerable number of grumbles that in recent years the Fayre is not up to the standard of previous years. At one time both sides of the High Street were crammed with stalls. Folk dressed up. There were lively parades and keen competition for the best dressed stall. There is currently no real drive to dress up or have innovative stalls. There are gaps in the High Street where once there were stalls. Most annoying of all is the number of outsiders who seem to have crept in on a commercial basis. The Fayre was intended for Kinver organisations to raise funds for their activities. As a consequence a number of organisations have dropped out. There should be a review of this once lively Country Fayre.

Speeding past the police

There are proposals to reduce the speed limit in villages to 20mph. Some chance of success! The 30mph limit is constantly exceeded and no action taken. The same applies on motorways where the limit is 70mph. If I proceed at this speed I am overtaken by dozens of cars whose drivers are never caught. Could the police please have a blitz from time to time to deter the arrogant and macho type who thinks it is clever to break the law?

There has been a check in two sections if the High Street. One, near the clinic and Vicarage Drive. The average speed north bound (towards Stone Lane) is 16.7mph. South bound (towards Dunsley) is 15.7mph. The check near the chip shop is just over 20mph. In a two week period 25 cars exceeded the speed limit and 62 cars south bound. The comment is that there "appears speeding is not an issue".

Taking into account the chaos in driving through the High Street it is unlikely any speeding takes place. The areas that should be covered is the whole of Enville Road, Dunsley Road, Stone Lane, White Hill and Meddins Lane.

All wind and no action?

Talks are taking place about installing wind turbines with Whittington Farm a potential site. The Burial Ground Committee of the Parish Council had a lengthy discussion about unsafe headstones and who pays for repairs. One suggestion was to contact relatives of the deceased. But they may be dead as well.

Dog fouling at Foley Infant School led to the District Environment officer (John Littleton) visiting the area and he spent several days catching offenders for not picking up their dog mess. And we claim to be civilised!

There's a new boxing club in Kinver. No need for a club. There's plenty of punch ups by drunks in the village.

High Street refurbishment

The residents of Kinver have been given an opportunity of expressing their views of a makeover for the High Street. Results look promising although the next stage will be some consultation days at the Constitutional Club.

An overwhelming number of residents who replied wanted major improvements:

• Would you like to see improvements carried out in the High Street designed to improve public safety and enhance the conservation area - 95.7%
• Would you like the High Street to be a 20mph zone - 81%
• Would you like High Street to feel and be more pedestrian friendly - 80.2%
• Would you like safer and more convenient crossing points with facilities for the disabled provided - 81%
• Would you like the impact of the speed humps lessened if vehicle speeds were kept low by other means - 79.3%
• Would you like short-stay parking spaces in the centre of High Street to stop all-day parking outside the Bank, Bakery etc - 76.7%
• Would you like more on-street parking spaces for the disabled - 51.7%
• Would you like traffic guided more into the off-street car parks by road design changes and appropriate signage - 78.4%
• Would you like improved access to public transport and facilities to safely park cycles - 62.9%
• Would you like to see traditional features and materials retained or re-introduced such as paving slabs, stone kerbs and granite setts - 87.1%
• Would you like bespoke street furniture designed especially for Kinver - 69.8%
• Would you like to see more appropriate street lighting - 68.1%

There were complaints about delivery lorries parked on yellow lines, a call for two zebra crossings and reduce street parking.

All residents have got to watch out for is that there is not an exclusive working party but more involvement of the public.

"Our youth of today love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority, disrespect for older people. Children nowadays are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food and tyrannise their teachers" (Socrates 400BC)

So, what's changed?