This is the report from the judges :

We visited Hankerton in glorious weather and the Wiltshire countryside looking its best.

Our first stop was Follyfield.  We found the housing area clean and tidy and no sign of litter. Gardens were fine with some very well managed and colourful.  We thought the conversion of the no-longer-in use BT red telephone box for the village defibrillator, a good idea. The red box was immaculate.

We moved on to the bus shelter which includes a plaque dedicated to the memory of a villager who died in the war and an excellent map showing the many footpaths around the village.  The bus shelter was immaculate and the Noticeboard content current. We walked along several of these paths and found them open, easily accessed and litter free. We saw no dog fouling anywhere in the village.

The North aisle of the church doubles as a Village Hall and from the Village Report much village activity is centred here, including Parish Council meetings, club events and weekly coffee mornings. The churchyard was well looked after and the conservation area on the North side of the churchyard was in line with a trend to set aside parts of churchyards for flowers, grasses, insects and mammals.

There is a small outdoor amenity area with limited equipment. Grass was mowed and the area looked tidy.  In due course an up-grade in play-ground equipment for younger children is planned for this area. The upgrade will be very welcome in the village. We noticed the clearing of ditches as part of the village effort to off-set run off from the fields.

The useful small businesses workshops a mile or so to the North of the village centre were tidy, well signed and litter free.

The village website is a source of lots of local information including a Parish Council section. The social and activity clubs and Church also have pages with all the relevant information needed to keep residents informed and to be able to participate in activities.

June 2021

I got sent something by the community policing team that I thought others might find useful. The message itself is a bit too long to include the whole thing here but the YouTube video from a farmer covers pretty much everything more effectively anyway !

Interesting fact though :
“According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), between March 2000 and March 2021 cattle have killed 98 people in the UK. 22 were members of the public and the rest were farmers or farm workers.”

The minutes of the last PC meeting record that it was decided to hold an Annual Village Meeting on 28 Jun.  Due to the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions it has been postponed and we have yet to set a new firm date.  We are keen to do so but only when the government guidelines allow us to safely. As soon as a date is set we will let everyone know.

Michael Bromley Gardner

Best Kept Village Result is in.  Oh so close between 1st and 2nd then a distance to 3rd!

Hankerton Village is delighted to be awarded second place in the CPRE Wiltshire and the Hills Group Best Kept Village award (North Wilts)  2021. The judging was extremely close this year and Hankerton only missed out on claiming the top spot by 1 point, with third place some distance behind.  This is an even better showing than our third place in our previous entry and rest assured we will going for top spot next year! Thanks for all those who keep the village looking so wonderful and making it such a great place to live.

Result can be found on the attached.

The Charlton Park Charity Funride will be coming through Hankerton this Sunday (June 27th).

The event has both short and long routes and the long route brings the horses along the bridlepath to Bullocks Horn, down to Cloatley Road, into the village, and then out down the small lane past the Old Post Office.

The route will be signposted with orange sings and orange ribbons and I would have thought that horses would start to appear in the village from around 10:45.

The event is organised by the North Wiltshire Saddle Club which is a friendly local club that organises various events for local riders throughout the year. The funride is a charity event supporting Charlton Church, Riding for the Disabled, and The Air Ambulance.

So give them a wave as they pass !

 

Please can you help ?

We need volunteers to help clean the church.

We only ask for about 1 hour a month twice a year! In fact if we get enough this could be even less!
So come on people, the church is the centre of our community whether you use it to pray or just for social reasons !  We need your help!

Please contact me at :-

Lindy Melhuish 577938, 07706 110877, lmhendy@ gmail.com