For a number of years, trustees at the hall have been investigating ways to install solar panels to help reduce the carbon footprint of the hall and to improve the heating in the hall. Now, thanks to two generous grants from the Postcode Lottery Trust and The National Lottery, the hall has been awarded almost £30,000 to install solar panels on the roof of the hall, to improve insulation and to install new, more efficient heating.

According to Shaun Fisher, Treasurer at the hall, this money will allow the hall to significantly reduce its operating costs while at the same time reducing its carbon footprint. He said: “As a rural village hall we are reliant on our local hirers to pay for the upkeep of the hall and electricity is one of our biggest costs. Once our new solar panels and battery system come online, we will be almost self-sufficient in electricity, meaning we can keep costs for hirers as low as possible.”

The upgrade to the heating in the hall should mean that it is much more efficient that the old radiators that are currently in the hall, which will be of benefit to hall users, and improvements to insulation in the roof space should help keep the hall warmer and more comfortable in winter.

The hall has recently also been awarded over £1,000 by the Tirgwynt Community Fund to replace old children’s chairs with new, easy to clean chairs.

Updates about the solar project for the hall will be posted on their website, so stay in touch on https://pantmemorialhall.org.uk.

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The Friends of the Montgomery Canal and the Shropshire Union Canal Society (SUCS) have both distributed different leaflets to let people in Pant and Crickheath know of their activities.

The Shropshire Union Canal Society (SUCS) is currently undertaking the canal restoration between Lloyds Animal Feeds and Crickheath. All being well the Monty will be navigable as far as Crickheath Basin in 2023. SUCS’ current involvement is as an experienced contractor to Canal & River Trust (CRT) and its workforce is made up entirely of volunteers.

As many will know, Schoolhouse Bridge is also scheduled to be rebuilt, after significant fundraising by the Restore the Montgomery Canal group. This bridge was demolished in the 1950s or 60s and in its current state would stop boats getting further down the canal towards Pant. Almost all of the necessary permissions and legal processes have now been completed to allow for the bridge to be rebuilt during 2022. Although this won’t mean that boats can get this far in the short term, it will have removed the last impediment to progress towards linking the northern section of the canal to the south section from Llanymynech which already is in water.

The Friends of the Montgomery Canal, which is a group of people interested in the heritage and wildlife of the canal has been fully supporting the rebuilding and has been encouraging local people to join them to give the canal a voice and to push for further restoration.
SUCS and the Friends are just two of many parties involved with the Montgomery Canal.

The Monty itself is owned by the Canal & River Trust and there is a large umbrella grouping – the Montgomery Canal Partnership – which has representatives covering the full range of interests, including local authorities, conservation & environmental organisations and waterway groups.

Useful links

SUCS publishes regular restoration updates – www.shropshireunion.org.uk/montgomery-canal-restoration

The Friends website is a great source of more general information and news and can be found at: https://themontgomerycanal.org.uk

Both organisations are very keen for local people to get involved so why not visit their websites to find out more?

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Even if you don’t currently use bus services, the council wants to hear how changes could be made so you would consider using them in future.

This autumn, the council is bidding to the Government’s Bus Back Better fund to transform services across Shropshire and want to take the public’s views on board.

A dedicated online survey has been set up so you can have your say, which can be accessed by visiting: shropshire.gov.uk/busbackbetter

It takes about five minutes to complete and if you represent a group there’s an option to record the group’s views too.

The survey is open until 10 September.

Cecilia Motley, Portfolio Holder for Communities, Place, Tourism and Transport, said:

“In October we will be submitting our bid to the Government which could attract millions of pounds into the county with the potential to transform bus services right across Shropshire’s rural areas and towns.

“This could also help get more people out of cars and on to buses, helping to also reduce our carbon emissions.

“To make our bid as strong as possible we need to reflect your views too so please take part and help transform our bus services.”

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Christine Palin, Chairman of the Friends of the Montgomery Canal, says that the Montgomery Canal is one of the finest canals in the United Kingdom with a unique natural and built heritage.

Nature reserves beside the navigable canal protect its valuable plants and wildlife and per mile its collection of canal-age bridges, locks and other structures is unrivalled. With more support the canal can be extended from Crickheath to join with the landlocked section at m Llanymynech to create a sustainable tourism destination.

“Those of us who know the Montgomery Canal recognise its value not just to the wildlife and boaters but to the community as a whole.

“We are now asking more of those local people to join with us and tell policy makers that we think the canal should be properly funded so that its restoration can proceed apace.”

Volunteers are currently working near Crickheath to restore the channel in the canal which has been derelict for over 60 years. Once this work is completed and tested, boats should be able to reach Crickheath from across the UK canal network, which will bring new visitors to the area. Plans are being made to rebuild the last canal’s bridge blockage in Shropshire next year.

Says Christine: “We already have several hundred active supporters of the Friends and with more members still we will be able to speak to politicians and decision makers with an even stronger voice.”

If you would like to join, please visit the Friends of the Montgomery Canal at https://themontgomerycanal.org.uk. Annual membership is £10 per household or £50 for a business.

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Steve Sant, the new owner, has set up a new Facebook page for the pub and has posted: “Hello everyone, we’re the new owners of the Lion. We’d like to quickly address the rumours about our recent purchase of the pub. Please be assured we have absolutely no intention on knocking it down or developing housing. In fact as you’ll see, we’ll soon be starting a major investment in the pub to bring it back to life as soon as possible.”

According to Steve there was never any intention to purchase the pub for development and that we’re really excited to be opening as soon as possible following refurbishment which will start in the next few weeks.

Said Steve: “The Lion is definitely going to stay as a pub under our ownership and we have never had intentions to get any sort of planning other than the development of the campsite, as a campsite.”

Local Treasure

The history of the pub goes back to the 13th Century, there was a toll house on the crossroads in the 16C and there are records of a public house since after 1840 when it was called the Red Lion. The building hasn’t changed appearance very much since the 1960’s and has been a familiar local site at the crossroads at Llynclys.

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Unfortunately, it can take some dedication to use the bus in Shropshire. Buses after 6:30pm are rare sightings, buses on a Sunday even rarer – not even Shrewsbury fares much better on a Sunday.

Although Pant is in England, we are dependent on the Welsh government subsidy for the buses we do have.

For the last year, the only service has been the Trawscymru T12 service, averaging every two hours or less. As of April 2021 it again does the full journey from Machynlleth to Wrexham – although the free Saturday bus is probably a thing of the past. From Pant it is 10 minutes to Oswestry, half an hour to the Orthopaedic hospital and an hour to Wrexham.

Want to catch a train? The 74 goes once a day to Shrewsbury, there are no services to Gobowen, although you could catch a train from Welshpool or Ruabon using the T12. So much for integrated transport!

The Welsh government also subsidises the 72 service from Llanfyllin which, it has just been announced, is due to restart in July and will serve Pant. The timetable is available here and, dovetailing with the T12, gives us a bus to Oswestry at least once an hour in the morning.

Interestingly, the Welsh government have put a freeze on all new roads for a consultation period, and are considering a 20mph speed limit through all residential areas. These measures would greatly improve our village for all residents – perhaps Highways England and/or Shropshire Council will do the same.

According to a recent report by CPRE, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, every village in England could have an hourly, free bus service by redirecting just a portion of the funding planned for the government’s £27 billion road-building schemes.

You also need some local knowledge to catch our buses. Going towards Oswestry there are marked stops at the Cross Guns, bottom of Tregarthen Lane and bottom of School Lane, as well as Llynclys crossroads. Travelling away from Oswestry? Stand opposite the other stop and wave the bus down. Timetables can be found online with a bit of effort – try searching for the bus companies or the service numbers and don’t rely on printed timetables.

We are warned that the 72 is a ‘use it or lose it’ service – to keep our bus service, take the bus if you can.

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Roadmap ‘step 4’ may allow a full range of events including family gatherings, and may also allow further removal of restrictions and return of facilities – we are ready whatever happens.

Up to date information is always available on our website and social media feeds, and in a poster outside the building. The hall can be an excellent and affordable venue for all sorts of ventures, such as courses, education and entertainment. Feel free to contact us if you have any queries, we are here to help.

To contact the hall:
bookings: email bookings@pantmemorialhall.org.uk or call 07913 565708
all other enquiries: secretary@pantmemorialhall.org.uk
you can also follow us on facebook @pantmemorialhall, on twitter @pantmemhall, or even leave us a note in the postbox.

The post June news from Pant Memorial Hall appeared first on Pant Today - About the village of Pant in Shropshire.

At time of writing we have just heard good news – roadmap step 3 is going ahead!

As a result the hall will reopen to organised activities from Monday May 17th. Our covid-19 precautions will still operate; these include social distancing measures and wearing face coverings unless exempt for medical reasons or doing an exempt activity. The kitchen remains out of use for now and we ask hirers to do some cleaning of touch points. We provide all the kit and give free time before and after the hire to do this.

We hope that ‘step 4’ will happen as planned from June 21st. This may allow a full range of events including family gatherings, and may also allow further removal of restrictions. Up to date information is always available on our website and social media feeds, and in a poster outside the building.

The hall can be an excellent and affordable venue for all sorts of ventures, such as courses, education and entertainment. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch to see how we can help.

We are delighted to welcome hirers back to our community building in its 99th year.

To contact us: bookings: email bookings@pantmemorialhall.org.uk or call 07913 565708.
You can also follow the hall on facebook @pantmemorialhall, on twitter @pantmemhall, or even leave us a note in the postbox.

The hall is run entirely by volunteers but we will get back to you as soon as we can.

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If the government’s roadmap out of lockdown progresses as planned, Pant Memorial Hall will reopen to some hirers from May 17th. From this date some activities will be allowed in village halls and community centres and the committee have had lots of guidance from ACRE (Action for Communities in Rural England) about what measures are needed and what activities are allowed.

If ‘step 3’ is authorised from May 17th (and that will not be announced until the week before), many of the organised activities that have been the mainstay at the hall will be allowed again. However, activities such as parties and family gatherings are not allowed in village halls until ‘step 4’, which is due to come into force from June 21st. From that date, the hall committee is hoping that restrictions on the use of the kitchen and bar area will be lifted.

The hall is definitely booked as a polling station on 6th May for the local and police and crime commissioner elections – please check with the council for procedures, or see the signs on the day.

Meanwhile, as well as ensuring the hall is ready to reopen as soon as conditions allow, members of the committee have also been keen to point out that the hall is a venue that could also help people kickstart a business venture for the future.

Said Sean, Chair of the committee: “We really want to get the hall back into use and help out as much as we can. The post COVID-19 landscape might be very different and local people might be looking at ideas to start new businesses or new careers. The hall can be an excellent and affordable venue for all sorts of ventures, such as courses, education and entertainment.

“If you have an idea, why not get in touch to see how we can help.”

To contact Pant Memorial Hall:
bookings: email bookings@pantmemorialhall.org.uk or call 07913 565708
all other enquiries: secretary@pantmemorialhall.org.uk
The hall is @pantmemorialhall on Facebook and @pantmemhall on Twitter.

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