Quorn Parish Council News

Is your council working for you? Obviously, as a member of that happy band, I hope it is. We are all quite normal people who have the best interests of Quorn in our hearts. It could be that a different group of individuals might have a slightly different approach to running the council but the same basic problems would still have to be addressed.

Your council is voted for every four years, and anyone is entitled? not only to vote for candidates, but also to be one. We are totally non political at the moment, although some members are of particular political persuasions, are not embarrassed by this, and do not allow this to influence the running of the Parish Council. Enough of the members!

We meet nominally on the first Tuesday of each month in the grandly called Council Chamber at the rear of the stage in the Village Hall at 7.30pm. Members of the public are welcome to attend, but unless there is something of personal interest on the agenda, very rarely do villagers turn-up. We members often wonder if this is because you are so pleased with the way we run things, or think that we are a 'waste of time'. Let's hope it is more of the former than the latter.

The new by-pass was pressed for by the parish Council before the last war, but only seemed a possibility in comparatively recent times. You are all familiar with the arguments for and against the various proposed routes, and the sadness caused in some quarters by the final one. However, we now have the by-pass and are suffering from its 'spin off' .

Originally, traffic along the A6 villages started using the new road, but then many motorists found that the village roads had now become quiet. It was therefore quicker to return to using our High Street. As a result, we were rapidly losing the benefits of the by-pass. A weight restriction order got rid of the heavy lorries, but how to slow down the motor cars that were making life unpleasant for residents and shoppers in the village centre? Traffic Calming!

Members of your council had their own ideas of what they would like to see, but life is never simple. All traffic measures are dealt with by the County Council who draw up calming schemes to fit each situation. When the general public and council members saw the public exhibition of what was intended, most were a little surprised at the scale of the scheme. Now that it is actually in place, there is a great difference of opinion as to its advantages.

The majority of council members are still firmly behind the scheme, but it should be pointed out that we had very little to say as to the layout, the County Council having drawn it up in the light of other problem areas throughout the county, and it was a question of either accepting the scheme as it was, or having no scheme at all. The enhancement of the Cross and other parts of the village came as part of the traffic calming arrangement.

I hope that this article has given an insight into the way we try and work for you and apologise for dwelling on one subject. If invited to write in our magazine again, I promise to deal with the more mundane, but none the less important items that we have dealt with on your behalf in the last few months.

As a footnote the Parish Council has asked me to remind all those who walk dogs in the village to clear up after their charges. Poop scoops are available at five shops in the village centre. Also, and this has the full support of the council and all decent people, a Byelaw now exists requiring people to clear up dog mess in the area of the Stafford Orchard. Failure to do this may result in a fine upon conviction. It seems rather silly to start a criminal record just because someone is too idle and antisocial to carry out a simple task. YOU HAVE: BEEN WARNED!