Welcome to our Annual Newsletter |
The Members are Brian Rae MBE (Tel 834145), Murray Cringle ( Tel 822301), Kathryn Edds (Tel 834014), Adrian Cowin ( Tel 834837) & Mike Berry ( Tel 824550). The Clerk is Ian Lowey, Garey Hollin, Ronague, (Tel 823896) arborycommissioners@manx.net Website: www.arbory.org
We have been elected by you to administer some of the local public services and, whenever possible, to act as your eyes, ears and voice by bringing local problems and opinions to the attention of central government and other bodies.
We are here to serve you – please get in touch with us if we can help you.
Message from the Chairman |
As current Chairman of the Parish Commissioners, I welcome this opportunity to contribute the opening remarks to our annual newsletter, especiallyas together we can celebrate several major achievements over the last twelve months.
Having followed the appropriate and correct planning procedures, and after a lengthy period of waiting, we were delighted to learn that approval had been given for the allotments project.A measure of the success and popularity of this venture can be seen in the enthusiasm and industry that's changed a ploughed field into a myriad of cultivated plots, each with its own individual character. The Board is most grateful to Prof. Simon Maddrell for his generous leasing of the land, along with his cheerful optimism and farsightedness,that has enabled this community project to come to fruition.
There have been many appreciative comments on the re-roofing of the Parish Hall and Hall Cottages. This necessary and timely refurbishment makes a bold and positive statement that Arbory is a thriving Parish with a fine heritage that is worthy of retaining and protecting. With the surroundings of the Hall also being tidied and improved, the wholearea is looking well.
Finally, it is to the Board's credit in these financially difficult times, that we have managed to maintain the Parish Rate at 88 pence, despite an increase in costs beyond our control andwithout a lessening of the services provided. In fact, with good housekeepingand careful budgeting, we have seen real improvementsin the services offered. Much of this successis down to our Clerk, Ian Lowey, who works so hard on behalf of the Board and its ratepayers.
All in all, it's been a successful year, and I warmly thank my fellow Board members for their valuable and loyalsupport over the last twelve months. Their real commitment is very much appreciated. Well done, everybody.
Mike Berry, Chairman
Once again Ian Jones and his men have provided us with a really good service. If you ever do have any problems, please phone Mr Jones on 494936 or contact our Clerk.
The Southern Civic Amenity Site is available for you to use, in most cases free of charge and there are bring sites at the Parish Hall and Colby Glen Hotel for bottles, paper, cans and old clothing (clothing Colby only).
Is there anything more that we should be doing? What about weekly collections? What do you think about kerbside collection of recyclable materials?
During this summer, there will be several new lights installed at Station Park.
We are going to put out the streetlights throughout the Parish at half past twelve on Friday and Saturday nights and at midnight during the rest of the week. This will save money and help us do a little bit towards energy saving.
If at ant time you notice any lights not working, it would be useful if you would let our Clerk know. |
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Ballamaddrell Allotments. |
We are very happy to report that the new allotments off the Grenaby Road, Ballabeg are now up and running. We have been able to provide these thanks to the generosity of the field owner, Professor Maddrell. There are about forty plots and most have been taken. The day to day running is in the hands of the Arbory Allotments Association and, if you want to enquire about having a plot, you should contact the Secretary, Anthony Taylor, on 824143
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The Parish is represented on several committees providing services jointly with the other southern local authorities and central government:-
Southern Swimming Pool, Arbory Road, Castletown – Representative Adrian Cowin
.Southern Civic Amenity Site, Shore Road – Representative Murray Cringle
.Marashen Crescent Elderly Persons Housing Committee – Representative Brian Rae.
Southern Road Traffic Liaison Group (with Police and DOI) – Representative Mike Berry
Southern Neighbourhood Police Liaison Group – Representative Adrian Cowin, Mike Berry or the Clerk.
IOM Municipal Association – Representative Kathryn Edds
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Colby Football Club - Colby AFC now have permission to build new facilities below the railway line near Colby Station, including a new club house, several pitches and an astro-turf training pitch. Access will be via a new lane joining the Main Road near to Colby Glen Hotel. We expect plans for the residential development of the existing pitch to be submitted in the near future.
Cronk Cullyn - Plans for housing development behind Colby Glen Hotel and Ballacarmick seem to be on hold.
Southern Development Plan – The Southern Plan is making progress and a draft version is expected soon and this will be followed by a public hearing.
Ballabeg Shop - The new shop with a flat above has now been completed and is for sale.
Parish Hall and Cottages Re-roofing – This work was completed last Autumn.
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Our Estimates are on the website and you will see that we have once again been able to keep the rates at 88 pence in the pound for the year 2010/11. This is despite the cost of refuse disposal and public audit increasing significantly. |
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Friary Park Play Area. A lovely sheltered and safe spot and is there for children from all parts of the Parish to use. There are swings, a slide and climbing frame, with a safety mesh under the grass. The entrance is next to 5 Friary Park.
Millennium Wood, Colby. Getting more attractive every year - a place for you to use for a family picnic or just for a quiet sit down amongst the trees.
Parish Hall, Ballabeg. The Parish Hall is available for hire at a modest charge (now £17.50 per session with reductions for regular bookings) for social functions, children’s parties and so on. The Hall can accommodate up to 120 people and has comfortable seating, a stage, kitchen, central heating, toilets, etc.
Halley MacLiag, Ballabeg. The Halley MacLiag Meeting Room is also available for hire (£6.00 per session) and can accommodate 12 to 15 people around a boardroom type table and has heating and a toilet and an LCD projector and screen are available and WiFi broadband connection. |
Police
We continue to be members of the Southern Policing Partnership and have regular monthly meetings with the Police Please let us know if you have any policing issues that you want bringing up.
Libraries
We make a small financial contribution towards the running of the libraries at Port Erin and Castletown. They both have good facilities and we urge you to make use of them as much as you can. Also don’t forget the mobile library that visits the Parish weekly. Fuller information on all these can be found on the Parish website.
Traffic and Roads
We continue to work behind the scenes with the DoT and the Police to try to improve the highways and footpaths. We are expecting road re-surfacing work very soon in Ballabeg between the Parish Hall and Duck Street corner and in Colby from the Bridge to Ard Wooilley
Southern Swimming Pool
Opening times and other information are to be found by phoning 823930
Dogs
A reminder again that there is a dogs byelaw in operation in Arbory – dogs are forbidden on certain places and must be kept under proper control in other areas. Also dog owners can now be prosecuted and fined up to £1,000 for allowing their animals to wander loose in public places and for not picking up any excreta left by their dog in controlled areas and on ANY public highway and pavement.
Ballabeg Railway Station
Thank you to Ballabeg Womens Institute for again providing flower tubs and baskets at the Station this summer. |
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The Arbory Parish Website is available at www.arbory.org and, amongst other things contains the Minutes of our Meetings, details of planning applications in the parish, information on the things that we do on your behalf, news and information about some of the many thriving community activities that go on in Arbory and much more.
We try to keep the site up to date, but if you have any information, news or photos that you would like to share, please let our Clerk know. |
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