Wilby Playing Fields Latest News

Monday 18th March

Wilby Playing Fields Trust, the charity made up of local volunteers who maintain the playing fields, is starting work today on replacing the garage. 

As you may know the garage was broken into in 2022. A few items were stolen, but the break in caused extensive damage to the structure of the building. Rather than replace like with like as funded by the insurance, we decided to rebuild, making the garage safer and less prone to future break ins. 

As you can tell from the time lapse it has taken us a while to put together sufficient funding to begin the work. 

However after our success in obtaining a Rural Capital Fund grant from North Northamptonshire Council, plus the insurance money,  some free materials from Huws Grey and some of our own funds, we are able to carry out the work starting today. 

The area will be cordoned off for safety reasons.  We apologise for any inconvenience to park users. 

You hopefully will have noticed that we recently replaced the safety matting under 2 sets of swings and the spinner. We will also replace the older children’s swing seats and chains (we replaced the cradle seats last year).  This both looks nicer and complies with safety regulations. 

We have also undertaken a number of repairs to the climbing frames and repainted the equipment and gate barriers over the latter part of last year and into this year. 

Coming up- Wilbyfest on 30th June. Hold the date! A fun filled afternoon for all the family.  Want to get involved or run a stall? Let us know through the website. We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you on the day! 

The playing fields are a Wilby facility for Wilby residents.  If you would like to find out more about what we do or get involved, please reply to this post giving your name and contact details and we will be in touch. 

Enjoy your park

Helene 

Chair Wilby Playing Fields Trust 

WILBY PARISH COUNCIL TAKES ACTION TO ADDRESS BOTH THE ENERGY COST CHALLENGE AND OUR VILLAGE CARBON FOOTPRINT

Wilby PC has reduced its carbon footprint by undertaking a two phase project significantly reducing the amount of Electricity used to power the village streetlights.

Firstly, completed in December 2023, lamps in the village which are owned by the PC were converted to LED. This alone results in approximately an 80% reduction in usage of electricity. The timing has been fortunate, even though annual bills continue to increase for all of us, these increases have been significantly pegged by the corresponding decrease in energy usage.

Secondly, a selection of lamps, 11 in all, have had their photocells replaced so they now turn off between midnight and 5.30am. The remaining lamps continue to operate on a ‘dusk til dawn’ basis. This initiative was completed this week and will not only pay for itself within 2 years but also deliver ongoing economies.

The PC welcomes comments from residents who feel they have been adversely affected by the changes explained above: clerk@wilbyparishcouncil.gov.uk 

Wilby Playing Fields Trust – update

It is the start of the year, and Wilby Playing Fields trustees have been busy organising improvements to the playing fields.

You hopefully have noticed that last year we had the climbing frames and barriers to the entrance to the car park painted.  

We have also carried out repairs to the climbing frames to keep them safe and compliant.  The under 6’s climbing frame has had new boards fitted.  The wooden climbing frame has had a new supporting square pole fitted.  Another square pole is to be fitted when the weather improves.  

Our next project is replacing the safety matting under 2 sets of swings and the spinner.  The annual safety inspection has highlighted these as needing to be replaced.  We successfully applied for capital funding from North Northamptonshire Council and work begins Monday 5th February and should only take one week to complete.  Please note the swings and spinner will not be able to be used during the replacement of the safety matting.  We will put up signs and tape off the areas that are not in use.  

Next we are going to replace the garage.  Sadly the garage was broken into in May 2022.  Since then we have been raising funds to strengthen and improve the security by replacing the garage.  The capital grant application to North Northamptonshire Council included replacing the garage but we are seeking additional funding to ensure what we rebuild will last generations to come.  More information to follow when we have a date to start the work.

Back in December we said a sad goodbye to the Pre-school after 20 years of operating from the pavilion.  This left us with a dilemma of covering the costs of running the playing fields.  We have been successful in letting some of the space occupied by the pre-school but still have a room to hire out for children’s parties, exercise classes, social clubs etc.  If you are interested in hiring the pavilion’s room (available all day Monday – Saturday with Sundays only available outside the football season) which includes use of the kitchen and toilets, please contact us through this website.  

Lastly we have appointed a new Land Trustee.  We are pleased to welcome Chris Judge as one of 2 land trustees alongside Judith Thompson.  The vacancy arose on the retirement of Robert Bainbridge who was a great source of advice and support for our work over many years.  Our condolences to Barbel on Robert’s passing.  

If you would like to support the work of the playing fields committee (made up of Wilby residents), please get in touch as we would love to hear from you.  We meet 3 or 4 times a year.  

If you have any questions or concerns, again get in touch through the website.  All messages are passed on to us. 

Thanks and enjoy your park.

Helene, Chair

Playing Fields Lottery

The winning numbers for November are as follows:

First Prize £25 – Ticket 44

Second Prize £10 – Ticket 17

Wilby Playing Fields Lottery

The October winning numbers are:

£25 – Ticket No 46

£10 – Ticket No 93

Latest News from the Playing Fields

Wilby Playing Fields Trust – Update Nov 2023

The committee that runs the playing fields has been busy this year and it is time to provide an update on our activities.

We recently held an AGM and the full report will be posted to the website shortly.  In the meantime……..

We held Wilby Fest in July with a great turn out.  There was entertainment from Morris Dancers, Wellingborough Gospel Choir, a taekwondo demonstration, and songs from our Wilby duo Karen and Kevin.  There were stalls selling craft items, food stalls, a Beer and Pimms stall, refreshments of tea and cake, and games such as Beat the Goalie and a coconut shy to name but a few.  Although the weather was disappointing, we were able to raise £1219.95.  This was an amazing amount to raise and our thanks go to Kay and Keith for organising the afternoon, and all the other volunteers who helped with the planning and helped out on the day.   We hope to make this an annual event to bring the residents of Wilby together.

You may have noticed that we have not been able to repair the garage which houses the tractor since the break-in in May 2022.  Due to a number of factors we decided to replace the garage to make it more structurally secure and more fit for purpose.  We were successful in obtaining a capital grant from North Northants Council as part of the Shared Prosperity Fund.  The grant together with our own funds will be used to replace the tractor garage and replace the safety flooring under the swings and spinner.  We hope to complete this work by 31/3/24.

We continue to run the Lottery.  The first draw took place on 1^st October and will be drawn every month for 12 months.  This is a vital part of our fundraising to keep the park and it’s facilities maintained and improved.  Tickets for the remainder of the year can be purchased from Kay.  Please send a message through the website and we will contact you directly. 

If you have any questions about the playing fields, please direct them to me through the website and I will try to answer them as soon as possible. 

Thank you for your ongoing support and for helping to keep the park litter and dog poo free. 

Regards

Helene

Chair

Charity Number:  304454

Community Responder Volunteers Sought in Wilby

Northamptonshire AGE UK are looking for volunteers to assist elderly single people in their home, whilst they are waiting for emergency professional help to arrive, by providing immediate comfort and support to ease their worries.

Full details are available to those interested by clicking on the link below, which includes how to follow this up and take matters forward.

AUKN community responders information Oct 23 (1)

A Message From Wilby Playing Fields

Wilby Playing Fields Trust Lottery

2023/24

Charity number:  304454

We are starting our new annual fundraising lottery. 

How it works:  you buy a ticket for £12 and have the opportunity to win £25 or £10 every month for a year. 

To take part and buy your lottery ticket contact either:

Kay on:       07833663848

Helene on:   07773468785

All money raised will be used to pay the prize money and help maintain and improve the playing fields for you to use and enjoy.  We look forward to your support and wish you every success in winning!

First draw to take place on the 1^st October, and monthly thereafter for a total of 12 months.  We will contact the winners to hand them their prize money. 

Licence Number 18/03020/Galott from North Northamptonshire Council

Wilby School Update

Click on the link below to read the Press Release issued by North Northamptonshire Council yesterday.

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Proposed school move to Glenvale Park takes step forward

Safe Crossing over A509 at Sainsbury’s Roundabout

After many years of difficulty in finding a way to establish a safe pedestrian and cyclist crossing over the busy A509 from Wilby into Wellingborough, Nortn Northamptonshire Council and our local Unitary Councillors, led by Cllr Lora Lawman, have identified a possible way. to achieve a tangible result.

More information about this can be seen by clicking on the A509 Petition Note at the bottom

In order to support this, a local Petition has been created which is vital to demonstrate the extent of local support for this. The Petition can be signed by clicking on the link below

https://www.change.org/p/safe-crossing-at-wilby-a509-a4500-and-the-a5128-to-wellingborough

A509 Petition Note