Whittington
Frank Bartlett whittingtonvoice@gmail.com
LANE: Whittington is served by seven roads - Fisherwick Road, Lichfield Road, Common Lane, Darnford Lane, Burton Road, Capper Lane and Huddlesford Lane.
All bring benefits and widely reported problems. At its recent meeting the parish council discussed the issue of Darnford Lane.
This is a single track tarmac road bounded by high banks and hedges with few passing points other than private drives. It can be a nightmare for all users.
Opposing vehicles cannot pass and walkers, cyclists and horse riders use it at their peril. There has been past discussion about limiting its vehicular use to those serving its properties but the cost has been prohibitively high.
An opportunity may have arrived in spite of this. HS2 plan to change the line of the road slightly and take it over the railway by means of a substantial road bridge.
However, if this were to be replaced by a bridle bridge to carry walkers, cyclists and riders, the situation would be much safer, providing safe route for non-motorised users without preventing vehicular access to the houses.
The financial advantage is that this would involve little expense by the Highways Authority as the cost would be borne by HS2 and they in turn would save a considerable sum because the replacement smaller bridge would cost them significantly less. It was suggested that this would be a win win outcome. Subject to consultation with residents, the parish council intends to pursue this idea.
TREE: We recently reported the fall of a large branch from a mature tree growing on parish council land but overhanging the Bell Inn car park. It dropped without warning on a windless day, narrowly avoiding crushing a car below.
The condition of the tree has now been assessed and it is considered to be in a dangerous state as a result of dieback. Subject to the necessary permissions, this will shortly be removed; an expensive but sadly necessary process. The parish council plans to plant three new trees to compensate for its loss.
COFFEE: The coffee shop opened last year on Main Street in the former post office and has been a tremendous success.
There are days when people are attracted to the suntrap outdoor tables, making a scene more like a traditional village in the south of France than wet and windy Whittington.
This success has been recognised by the parish council with the award of Business of the Year 2024 being presented to Laura by parish chair Gareth Hyde.
BEES: This is the time of year when bee keepers receive calls from panicking homeowners about swarms of bees that have settled in large balls on branches in their gardens.
Swarming is a natural process used by bees to increase the number of colonies.
When conditions are right, a hive will split with the old queen taking half the colony to find a new home, leaving a new queen to continue in the family home. The swarm settles on a branch around the queen while scouts set off to find a new place to settle.
The swarm then flies off to the new pad. Before swarming, the bees will have gorged on honey and are very placid, a bit like us after a large Christmas dinner, and are not a danger.
They may be left to their own affairs or a call to South Staffordshire bee keepers will often produce an enthusiast happy to take the swarm to fill an empty hive.
SLUGS: A mild wet winter followed by a warm wet spring has provided ideal conditions for slugs to breed, to the despair of many gardeners who see their lovingly sown and newly planted vegetables disappear almost overnight.
There are differing views on how to deal with this situation.
Some use slug pellets that are now sold in a form claiming to be eco-friendly.
Others rely on barrier methods using wool pellets, broken egg shells or copper rings while many use beer baited traps.
There are those who favour the introduction of nematodes into the soil which prey on slugs or encourage slug eating frogs to take up residence.
Debate rages among gardeners about the most effective or appropriate method. Forget the election battles between rival candidates; for real arguments listen to two gardeners with opposing views on the matter.