preserving united church as a gym wdps and …...newsletter. we shall however miss seeing many...

Email: [email protected] www.wheathampsteadpreservation.org.uk

Protecting and promoting Wheathampstead July 2020

WDPS is supporting a campaign to revitalise the Wheathamp-

stead United Church site on Brewhouse Hill, and some of our

members have joined the steering committee that will oversee

the project.

The emphasis initially will be on repairing and redecorating the

church building, built in 1876 and a much loved local land-

mark.

The first steps will be to reconnect the electricity and other es-

sential utilities, provide heating, repoint the brickwork where

the mortar has fallen away, remove or replace the signs at the

front and tidy the garden.

The building will then be used as a community gym, run by a

committee of local volunteers on a not-for-profit basis. Re-

search has shown a strong demand for such a facility in the vil-

lage, and prices will be kept at affordable levels. This should

make the gym accessible to all local people without the need to

drive or take public transport. Any profits will be used to make

further improvements to the site, and the longer-term aim is to

renovate the large hall behind the church so that it can be used

for community meeting rooms and a café. The church hope at

that point services will be held once again on the site.

Although the interior of the church will be used as a gym, care

will be taken to preserve the character of the building. The

basic layout will be maintained and the stained glass windows

will be fully protected.

The project will require significant funding. A Crowdfunding

Preserving United Church as a Gym WDPS and Covid-19

We hope that you and those close to you have re-

mained safe and well during the lockdown. We are

pleased to report that everyone on the Committee has

managed to escape the virus.

While Covid-19 has had many adverse consequences,

it is pleasing there are also some positives. In partic-

ular a number of us have noticed an increased sense

of community in what was already a strong and sup-

portive village. Our thanks go to Wheathampstead Support for All for arranging help for our more vul-

nerable residents.

Meanwhile WDPS has continued to hold monthly

committee meetings via Zoom, and we have been

pleasantly surprised by the amount of progress it has

been possible to make despite the lockdown. Many

of these achievements are covered in articles in this

newsletter.

We shall however miss seeing many familiar faces on

Village Day, which like so many events has sadly had

to be cancelled this year.

We all hope we shall be able to achieve a lot more as

the lockdown restrictions are gradually relaxed.

campaign took place in March to raise money for re-

connecting the electricity, and many local people gave

generously to it. The campaign steering committee

will be applying for more grants over the next few

months, and please keep a look out for the fundraising

events that will be held.

In the meantime WDPS has offered a £25 voucher to

whoever comes up with the best name for the gym,.

The voucher will be exchangeable at any local busi-

ness that the winner chooses. If you would like to

suggest a name, please email it by 14 July to

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Blooming good AGM!

WDPS was lucky enough to hold its AGM on 28th

February, shortly before the lockdown began. We

were able to welcome a good number of our mem-

bers to hear about our achievements and plans for

2020-21 and to hear an update on the plans for

Wheathampstead United Church. A lively discus-

sion followed.

After wine and nibbles during the interval, John

Crawley and Ian Haynes, judges for Anglia in Bloom,

shared their experiences of Dunstable in Bloom.

As usual WDPS presented a Preservation Award, for

helping to conserve what is best about the village,

and a Community Award, for general services to the

community. The nominees had all been chosen by

WEB members, and the members who were present

voted for the Award winners in each category.

Wheathampstead and District Preservation Society July 2020

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wdps2014/ www.wheathampsteadpreservation.org.uk

Nominees for the Preservation Award:

Andrew Lambourne—for his work in opposing Luton Airport expansion

Geraldine White—for her work in the Copse and Rectory Gardens

St Helen’s Church Bell-ringers—for reserving a traditional art in the vil-

lage

T&B Contractors—for their continued help with community projects

The winner: Andrew Lambourn (right)

Nominees for the Community Award:

Friends of Crinkle-Crankle Garden—a community-volunteering pro-

gramme for the new garden

Marion Oxley— retiring as Chair of Wheathampstead Community Group

St Helen’s Church After-School Club—for local secondary school children

who now attend different schools across the area

The winners: Friends of Crinkle-Crankle Garden (right)

Following the AGM, this is the WDPS Committee for 2020-21:

Diane Black

Eve Richardson

Iain Begg

Julie Bell

Katy Morris

Nigel Oxley

Richard Brett

Sue Hemming

Anglia in Bloom deferred till 2021

Along with so many events

planned for 2020, the Anglia in

Bloom competition has been

postponed until next year.

However, we are pleased to

note that our lovely village continues to bloom, and we

are really pleased with how Wheathampstead is looking

this summer.

It is particularly good to see

the hanging baskets again in the High Street, How won-

derful too, that The Swan has made such an effort even

though until now it has had to remain closed.

We shall be picking up with the Wheathampstead in

Bloom working group in the autumn to progress the plans

for entering the competition in 2021.



And Luton Airport still wants to grow!

WDPS has been working hard with other organisations such as

STAQS and LADACAN to contest Luton Airports proposals to

expand to as many as 38 million passengers a year. (This has re-

cently been dropped to 32M in the light of COVID19). Similarly

we have questioned the recent negative review undertaken by

the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) on the flight path changes;

this supported the changes to the original flight path in 2015,

asserting that the number of complaints about plane noise across

Hertfordshire ‘was only to be expected’ !!

ICCAN is an independent organisation set up to challenge the

CAA on the veracity and strength of its reviews and to hold the

air space regulators (including the CAA) to account. This is a

welcome development as the CAA had allowed Luton Airport

Airport to collect all the data input to the judicial review, and

that is unsatisfactory as it is very unlikely to be impartial. The

specifications for data collection are also far too loose, e.g. they

did not require Luton to undertake ‘time average noise measure-

ments’ which are said to be crucial for measuring impact, and

some inputs were based on the old noise levels (i.e. noise levels

in 2014 where the thresholds were higher). WDPS will be work-

ing with ICCAN to strength our cause.

We believe the reasons for not changing the flight path to fly

over the less densely populated areas of Bedfordshire is flawed

and should still be on the table. Ironically Luton and surround-

ing areas just happen to receive most of the financial benefits

from the Luton Council’s Luton Airport.

The WDPS recently had a meeting with our MP, Bim Afalomi,

to express concern over the promotion and uptake of scheduled

flights to Europe by WIZZ Air in early May while other air lines

were grounded and airports were closed for all but essential

flights. On the one hand the Government was telling us not to

make any non-essential travel during the lockdown; on the other

hand it was allowing WIZZ Air and Luton Airport to highlight

the opportunity for the public to travel. A number of these

flights were late at night and early in the morning, making use of

exceptionally cheap slots with a complete lack of empathy to the

effects the flights were having on Hertfordshire residents. Bim

Afolami agreed to take up these points with the Secretary of

State for Transport, Grant Shapps (MP for Welwyn Hatfield).

Covid 19 has caused the Luton Airport operators to review their

development plans, and they have set their new long-term target

of 32M passengers per year. Although not as bad as 38m, this is

still nearly double the pre-Covid 19 level.

We also understand there is a newly formed Aviation League, comprising a group of pro-aviation MPs who will be fighting to

loosen up restrictions.

When you start to be affected by aircraft noise again, please do

not forget to lodge your complaints at [email protected] We

need the support of residents to keep up our work alongside oth-

er organisations to provide a force for change.

Crinkle-Crankle Community Garden

The garden has really established itself this year and

all the plants are flourishing and looking their very

best. From early on in Spring there has been a suc-

cession of plants flowering and on every visit there

is something new and exciting to see.

Visiting and spending time in the garden has been a

saviour for many people in the difficult times we

have been going through. It is an enclosed haven

where you can forget about your troubles and woes

and the benches are perfect for social distancing!

The number of people visiting the garden has in-

creased significantly and on some days it has been

difficult finding a bench that is not being used.

The garden has proved itself to be a huge success

and it is evident from the people visiting that they

are really appreciative of what has been done. We

are very lucky to have such a wonderful garden

right in the middle of the village.

Unfortunately, due to the virus, it has not been pos-

sible to organise working parties but hopefully

these can be re-established later in the year.

If you would like to help maintaining the garden

you would be very welcome to help out. Please

contact Nigel Oxley on [email protected]




TLC for Village Sign and Planter

You may recall that the Village Sign

and planter were first erected in

2010. What a difference they have

made to the ambiance in Wheath-

ampstead.

As you may know, WDPS manages

the planting at the foot of the sign.

We have noticed for some while now

that the stonework is in need of a

clean, and the wooden post needs to

be treated.

Watch this space – we are on the

case!

Keep Wheathampstead

Wonderful

This year we have an ambition to grow our member-

ship to 500 households to strengthen our voice as a

village and raise more funds to enable us to do more

important work. We have launched a Keep Wheath-

ampstead Wonderful campaign and you should see e-

mails, articles in local magazines, posters and posts on

social media encouraging new members to join.

Our aim is to grow support so we can:

Help keep our gardens and open spaces beauti-

ful

Increase the impact we have in our fight against

Luton airport expansion

Support the village win Anglia in Bloom 2021

including improving our entry roundabouts and

Tithe Yard Barn (the approach to the Crinkle

Crankle Gardens from the High Street)

undertake projects to improve the village such

as Bury Green Gardens & East Lane Car Park

and sign cleaning

Assist local campaigns and causes such as Save

Symondshyde

As you know we only charge £5 per annum per house-

hold and we're not asking anyone to commit any time.

If you know anyone interested in joining then please

pass on our details: Visit: www.wheathampsteadpreservation.org.uk

Follow @wdps2014 Email: [email protected]

We have made a short introductory video to WDPS. Please click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/

Quick reminder:

In May we emailed current members asking if they

could forward information about WDPS to three peo-

ple they know who might be interested in joining us.

This has generated some success, and we fell that if

more people could take just a moment or two to

spread the word to their friends, we could all help to

reach our target membership of 500 households.

To make it easy for you to email your friends, we will send you a draft email in the next day or so which you can forward to them.

The unveiling of the Village Sign on Village Day, 2010


https://www.wheathampsteadpreservation.org.uk/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyhzy4ebVao

preserving united church as a gym wdps and …...newsletter. we shall however miss seeing many...

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