After the government announcement on 22^nd February and the roadmap to ease out of lockdown we have been working with our bus operators on re-building our local bus services.  Several changes will come into effect from 8^th March 2021 including the reinstatement of the Centrebus Service 47/R47 to aid travel to access education.  This timetable will be made available at relevant bus stops as soon as possible but can also be found on the Centrebus website www.centrebus.info

The timetable for Centrebus service 12 will also be amended from 8^th March to include stops at Uppingham Community and Stamford College once again.  A copy of this timetable is attached for your information and is being put out at relevant bus stops during the course of today.

Social distancing measures should still be adhered to and the wearing of face masks is still mandatory unless exempt.  Hopefully if everyone is careful we will be able to build back up to full services everywhere in due course. 

At a Rutland County Council Planning Meeting on the 15th December representations objecting to the retrospective planning application for the lorries to remain were made by residents and parish councillors from North Luffenham and Edith Weston along with our ward councillors. The application was rejected unaminously with the result that the site could no longer be used as a lorry park resulting in less heavy lorries on the surrounding roads.

It is heartening that the hard work that went into our valid objections to this application were heeded.

A challenging and interesting opportunity has arisen for a suitably experienced, enthusiastic and competent individual to be appointed as Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer to North Luffenham Parish Council. The successful candidate will be required to work from home and will be provided with a laptop, software and printer.

The salary is in accordance with nationally based terms and conditions and is currently £10.62 per hour. Hours of work:  11 hours per week.

Responsibilities of the post include:

• Advising Parish Council of policy issues and proper procedure.
• All Parish Council administration and correspondence.
• Arranging meetings, compiling agendas and producing the minutes of meetings.
• Managing financial records, monitoring and reconciling the accounts, preparing accounts for audit.

The Parish Council is sole Trustee of the North Luffenham Field Gardens and Recreation Ground Charity and the Clerk would be responsible for dealing with all administration in connection with this.

You will need to be able to work flexibly, and attendance at evening meetings is essential. Some knowledge of council procedure is an advantage but essential training will be provided. In addition, support can be provided for further training towards the Certificate of Local Council Administration.

Applicants must have:

• Experience of administration and financial management with sound word processing and spreadsheet management skills.
• Ability to work to own initiative and to work with volunteers to achieve the Council’s objectives.
• Good numeracy, oral and written communication skills

Please call Parish Council Chairman: Tim Smith on 01780 360083 or email timsmith@nortluffenham.org.uk for job description, person specification and further details.

Applications in the form of a CV and covering letter are invited by Friday 26^th March 2021 and should be sent to:

Tim Smith, Chair NLPC, The Old Poor Barn, 6a Church Street, North Luffenham, LE15 8JR

Closing date for applications: 26^th March 2021

Interview dates: w/c 11^th April 2021

Clerk commencement date: 3^rd May 2021

Blank Firing and training on the airfield

The airfield will be out of bounds from:

Mon 15th Mar 21 – Fri 19th Mar 21.

0700 – 1800

There will be blank firing taking place and the use of practise grenades, so the adherence to these timings is of the utmost importance.

Thank you to all who are continuing to donate to the collection point in the village telephone box. It is emptied regularly with a delivery to Oakham every 7-10 days.

Please click on the link below see the list of present shortages.

The presentation by Cllr Alan Walters, who is a Rutland County Councillor and has a responsiblity for health commissioning and public health, gave a talk on the future of health care in Rutland to North and South Luffenham on Tuesday 2nd February and his presentation is available to download:

Cllr Walters would welcome your comments and he can be emailed: AWalters@rutland.gov.uk

Many thanks to all those who attended the talk and discussion on Tuesday.

As we get to the start of lambing season locally, it is now more important than ever to keep your dog on a lead as you walk your dog across or near fields that have sheep and their new born lambs in.

Dogs that are not on leads can worry, injure, savage and kill sheep, they can also cause ewes to abort or carry still born lambs. Once the lambs are born and if separated from their mothers by dogs (or people) they can be rejected and subsequently die from starvation.
It is essential that all dogs are kept on leads and under control and that owners (and all walkers without dogs) stick to the designated footpath routes.

Thank you for your co-operation.

The links below relate to sheep worrying by dogs:
https://www.yourdog.co.uk/the-your-dog-blog/knowing-the-consequences-of-your-dog-chasing-animals
https://www.nationalsheep.org.uk/dog-owners/sheep-worrying/

Tonight; 7 pm. Join by clicking on this link: https://zoom.us/j/99700524593?pwd=OTBENUZtWng4L0JDNU5RV1ppcHVNZz09

Meeting ID 997 0052 4593. Passcode 103006

Cllr Alan Walters, who is a Rutland County Councillor and has a responsiblity for health commissioning and public health, will inform on the future of health care in Rutland and is keen to hear your views. There are planned major changes to the hospital services in Leicester, and this will affect Rutland, but there will also be developments to GP services in Rutland.

People may not be aware, but in order to protect sheep from diseases such as you need to pick up your dog mess when walking in the fields local to North Luffenham

Local Farmers have lost several sheep to dog faeces transmitted disease

Dog waste on grazing land can pass worms and parasites to sheep, so it is vital that dog owners pick up their dogs’ droppings when walking pets on farm land. The eggs of worms and parasites can survive on the ground for a long time, so dog mess must even be cleared from fields that do not currently have livestock grazing in them. It is also important to keep your dog thoroughly wormed all year round.

For more information see the link below

Worm control | National Sheep Association

North Luffenham Parish Council has yet again had a complaint about dog mess on paths within the village.

The majority of dog owners are responsible but for those who think it doesn’t matter dog mess is offensive and a health hazard, especailly for children.

Your views matter: and you are invited to a Zoom Meeting on the future of health care in Rutland:

When: Tuesday 2nd February at 7pm.

How can I take part?; please click on this link a minute or two before the meeting is due to begin: https://zoom.us/j/99700524593?pwd=OTBENUZtWng4L0JDNU5RV1ppcHVNZz09

(Meeting ID 997 0052 4593. Passcode 103006)

Cllr Alan Walters, who is a Rutland County Councillor and has a responsiblity for health commissioning and public health, will inform on the future of health care in Rutland and is keen to hear your views. There are planned major changes to the hospital services in Leicester, and this will affect Rutland, but there will also be developments to GP services in Rutland.

Good afternoon all,

The crews are still out collecting and will be until it gets dark. However, its looking like recycling collections in Ketton, Barrowden, North Luffenham, South Luffenham, Morcott, Cottemore, Ashwell and on the Farms and Lodges round will still be outstanding due to ongoing vehicle issues.

No green bins have been collected today either.

We are working closely with Biffa to try and get these issues resolved as I know how much disruption its causing for everyone. We have had a number of vehicle breakdowns over the last couple of weeks and Biffa have struggled with repairs and maintenance as not all supply chains are operating as efficiently as they usually do due to lockdown and to Brexit. This has been exacerbated by ever increasing waste and recycling tonnages due to people working from home. Collection vehicles are filling up quicker and having to travel to tip more often. This two hour round journey to the recycling center takes a lot of time out of the working day and puts additional strain on vehicles that are only designed to travel short distances.

Biffa have additional hire vehicles arriving first thing tomorrow and hope to have all of today’s collections completed by the end of Wednesday. Should you receive any enquiries, please advise residents to leave their bins out until they have been collected.

Please leave your bins out until collected. Biffa, the firm that collects the bins, has had problems with a number of vehicles breaking down.

Biffa have additional hire vehicles arriving first thing tomorrow and hope to have all of today’s collections completed by the end of Wednesday.

Vaccinators needed – help us overcome the virus

Healthcare professionals are being asked to come forward to help administer the Covid-19 vaccines in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

A number of new vaccination centres are being set up, and each one requires dozens of staff to administer the jabs.

Any registered healthcare professional can play a part after appropriate training – most of which they can do online at home. Retired professionals can join a temporary register up to five years after they have left the permanent register.

Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust is recruiting staff on behalf of the local NHS.

Anne Scott, director of nursing, allied health professionals and quality said: “We are looking for staff who are registered healthcare professionals, or could easily re-register. This includes a wide range of professions such as physiotherapists, pharmacists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists as well as nurses and doctors.

“We will be offering full and part-time work over the next few months. You will be very welcome.

“Staff who have already been involved in the programme have said it is hugely rewarding to help deliver vaccines which protect life, and will help the country return to normal.”

We are also looking for administrative staff to welcome patients and to help ensure accurate records are kept for members of the public receiving the vaccination.

In addition, this project is looking for volunteers to help patients at the vaccination sites.

For more details and to apply, please visit: www.leicspart.nhs.uk/supportvaccinations