Pant
Could the village hall help you kick start a business?
Pant Memorial Hall has been a focal point for local people for almost 100 years and is looking positively to a post COVID-19 future.
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.
Update from Pant Memorial Hall
As most will know, the hall has been closed since January 5th under the English lockdown. As always, that doesn’t mean ‘nothing going on’.
The 99th Annual General Meeting was held online on March 11th,, and we are delighted to welcome a new trustee to the committee. The committee have kept in touch by a combination of email, phone and socially distanced paperwork, and we continue our fortnightly ‘Covid 19 subcommittee’ zoom meetings to monitor the situation.
Along with so many others, the committee were deeply saddened to hear of the death of Agnes Barbour in late January. Agnes was an active member of the hall committee from 1980, and was the chairman for 35 of those years. She has been a huge part of everything that has been achieved at Pant, and of an enormous number of other achievements in the locality, all done with endless energy and humour. She will be so much missed by all her many friends. We send love and deepest sympathy to her family.
Following last year’s new lights and new chairs, we are continuing plans for improvement. One item has been rather hastened, due to the discovery of occupiers that we thought long gone. The extremely persistent Pant woodworm have been busy in the kitchen exit doors, which date from the hall rebuild in 1981 and so don’t really owe us anything. Fortunately we have good reserves, topped up by government closure grants – this allows us to order replacement doors which are expected in early summer. These will be modern UPVC to the same pattern as now, and hence the woodworm will be leaving us for good.
The hall is booked as a polling station on 6th May for the local and police and crime commissioner elections. Please check nearer the time for procedures – the hall is ‘AA covid-19 safe accredited’ and we are doing all we can to help the election authority. Severn Trent also continue to visit once a month to do water sampling for the area.
The big question is of course ‘when will the hall reopen to other bookings?’ At the moment it is ‘not before May 17th’ – although community buildings can reopen from April 12th, the allowed activities are extremely limited. Details are on our website for anyone who is eligible. Covid-19 procedures and restrictions are expected to continue until at least late June. It is an ever-changing situation, so please keep an eye on our website and don’t hesitate to contact us with any queries. We are ready to reopen when it is possible.
To contact us: (open or closed!) call 07913 565708, email secretary@pantmemorialhall.org.uk, see our website www.pantmemorialhall.org.uk , Facebook @pantmemorialhall, twitter @pantmemhall, or leave us a note in the postbox.
Parish Council Meeting March 2021
Llanymynech and Pant Parish Council have published the agenda for the next meeting to take place on Thursday 25th March 2021 at 2.00pm.
If you are a member of the public who wants to contribute to the public engagement section of the meeting or who would like to find out more about what the council does, you can log into the meeting via Zoom using this link – https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89168175549?pwd=c0U5K1Q5VEloT2RmeTNMVlhmbTQvZz09
The agenda for the March meeting can be found here – and the Minutes from the February meeting are here.
Nominations Open
Local people are also able to stand for election as a Parish or County councillor. Find out more by clicking here along with the deadline for nominations.
Be part of the UK’s largest art exhibition
Local artist Gill Crozier is encouraging people in Pant to make works of art to put up in their front windows as part of a national project to create the nation’s largest ever art exhibition.
The Great Big Art Exhibition was launched on 28 January 2021 with a call to the nation to create a work. Leading artists will choose a different theme each fortnight. The opening theme, chosen by Antony Gormley, is animals, with portraits, chosen by Sonia Boyce, to follow. Other artists supporting the project include Etel Adnan and Siomone Fattal, Anish Kapoor, Tai Shani, Jeremy Deller, David Shrigley, Ai Weiwei and Ryan Gander.
Welcoming the initiative artist Gill Crozier said: “The Great Big Art Exhibition is a wonderful idea to encourage people (especially children) to create. There’s nothing like a bit of creativity to focus the mind and take it away from these stressful times.”
People will be encouraged to draw, paint, sculpt, build or create their own artwork and put it up in their front windows, on their front door, balcony or garden as a celebration of creativity to counter the gloom of the pandemic.
Presented by Firstsite, Colchester to celebrate its 10th anniversary and supported by the Plus Tate Network which includes leading museums and galleries across the UK, artworks can be made of anything, and Firstsite will be making key works from across the UK available for download – to use as a template, for colouring in or as an inspiration. The Directors of the National Gallery, Tate, British Museum, National Portrait Gallery, National Galleries of Scotland, V&A, National Museums Liverpool, Royal Academy of Arts, the Ashmolean Museum, The Courtauld, The Wallace Collection, Arts Council Collection and museums and galleries across the country have selected works which they think will be inspiring. Partners include: Art UK, The Big Draw, Voluntary Arts and the Great Big Art Exhibition is supported by Arts Council England.
Sally Shaw MBE, Director of Firstsite, said: “The doors to our collections and galleries might be shut but our imaginations are forever open. Making, showing and experiencing art has created so much joy, connection and solace for many thousands of people. I can’t wait to see a brand new nationwide art gallery appearing before our eyes in coming days, weeks and months. This is sure to be an incredible expression of people’s creativity.”
Local people wishing to take part should visit www.thegreatbigartexhibition.com for instructions and all creative resources to help get making and showing art everywhere. and remember if you are on Facebook or Twitter upload your artwork and tag Pant Today.
Pant Memorial Hall AGM
The 99th annual general meeting for Pant Memorial Institute (the charity that runs the hall) will be held on Thursday 11th March at 7pm.
Due to Coronavirus, the AGM this year will be being held via online video conference.
The AGM also elects the Trustees for the year and the committee is keen to welcome new members who can help run the hall.
Speaking in advance of the meeting, Sean, committee chairperson said: “The last year has been challenging for everyone and the hall has had to remain closed for much of the year. In spite of that though, the current committee has seen that the hall is kept in pristine condition and we have even managed to make some significant improvements to the hall.”
To attend the AGM this year, locals will need to follow a link to the Zoom platform, where you will be able to take part in proceedings or put yourself forward to the committee.
According to Sean, being part of the committee is both rewarding and not onerous. “As a charity we need local people to become involved in the decision making for the Memorial Hall but new members would not need to commit to more than a handful of meetings a year.
“It’s also rewarding work as the Memorial Hall is a much loved local institution and it’s great to play a part in its development.”
To find out more about the AGM and how to get involved, please visit – https://pantmemorialhall.org.uk/2021-annual-general-meeting
February Parish Council Meeting
Llanymynech and Pant Parish Council have published the agenda for the next meeting to take place on Thursday 25th February 2021 at 3.00pm.
If you are a member of the public who wants to contribute to the public engagement section of the meeting or who would like to find out more about what the council does, you can log into the meeting via Zoom using this link – https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83912982583?pwd=UVdlcTNhM2F2RGxyNnRzSFloc0hjUT09
A copy of the Agenda for the meeting is available here.
January Parish Council
Llanymynech and Pant Parish Council have published the agenda for the next meeting to take place on Thursday 28th January 2021 at 2.00pm.
If you are a member of the public who wants to contribute to the public engagement section of the meeting or who would like to find out more about what the council does, you can log into the meeting via Zoom using this link – https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89686926864?pwd=TVdZT3gvdUJJQ0w3YVVycXFIbWZEdz09
A copy of the Agenda for the meeting is here – Agenda.
Season’s Greetings!
When, this time last year, we wished you all a happy Christmas and looked forward to a new year, we couldn’t have imagined how the world would change.
Each year we look back at the changes that have taken place in the village – as well as the country at large – but the idea that the pub and village hall would be closed for a significant part of the year was certainly not something we had contemplated – or at least not due to a brand new virus.
The committee at the village hall have been very proactive during the year, not only in ensuring that the hall met COVID-19 regulations and was able to reopen with robust measures in place, but they have also taken the time to improve the hall. As well as a very deep clean, the hall has seen the installation of new energy-saving lighting, thanks to a grant from the National Lottery. The hall has also been successful in funding 40 new comfortable chairs thanks to money from the Tirgwynt Wind Farm Community Grant.
Obviously, the hall has been used much less in 2020 than in more usual times, and we hope that people will support new events that will hopefully come on stream in 2021 – especially as the world returns to some sort of normality following the roll out of vaccinations.
The Cross Guns too has had an interesting year to say the least. With the lockdown affecting the hospitality sector so badly, Maureen and her team at the pub have had to do what many others have had to do and offer takeaway when they could, and open as per the guidelines. The ‘Friends of Cross Guns Pant‘ Facebook group, which was set up last year, is still there if villagers want to join.
We also reported this time last year that plans were progressing for work on Schoolhouse Bridge over the Montgomery Canal between Pant and Crickheath. If you have been down that way, you will see that a new temporary roadway was built this year to enable the road to be redirected to let building work commence – hopefully in 2021. The Friends of the Montgomery Canal launched a new website during the year at www.themontgomerycanal.org.uk which has much information about the canal and its restoration.
We were lucky in Pant, at the beginning of the pandemic, that a number of people in the village got together to set up the Pant Coronavirus Support Group. This bunch of fantastic volunteers has been there throughout the year to help local people needing assistance, whether that was with food and medicines deliveries, getting to medical appointments or just a friendly voice at the end of the phone. A huge thank you to everyone in our community who has been able to help.
Many of us have increasingly used online services such as Zoom and Skype for social contact and meetings, and even more have turned to online shopping. Pant Today remains a place where local business can advertise (only £20 a year). Not only will your support help us keep this village website going but it can help your business gain exposure to local customers. Please consider an advert with us.
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May we wish you Happy Christmas and Season’s Greetings!
Plans for bus stops and crossings in Pant
Residents in Pant will possibly already be aware that Highways England – the organisation responsible for the management of the A483 – has plans to replace the electrical cabling through the village.
In a letter received by residents this week, Highways England have advised that work on re-cabling will occur between December 7th 2020 and December 20th. Temporary traffic lights could be in operation during this time and work will generally take place between 9am and 3.30pm. During 2021, Highways England plan to return to replace the street lamps with more energy efficient ones.
Highways England has also been in the village recently to look at the possibility of improvements to the bus stops and pedestrian crossings in Pant.
New pedestrian crossing?
Residents in Pant had campaigned for a pedestrian crossing in the village for a while and a few years back one was installed near the village hall and shop. Over the years, it had also been suggested that a crossing near to the school would be beneficial and now there are very early plans for a Puffin crossing, which is a pedestrian operated crossing with smart sensors to regulate the length of time pedestrians are given to cross the road.
A spokesperson for Highways England confirmed to Pant.Today that engineers had been to the village to conduct topographical surveys in advance of plans being drawn up.
According to Highways England route manager Richard Timothy, however, the project is in the very early stages of development and will need to secure funding to progress into construction.
He said: “We’re listening to the people of Pant and have been carrying out surveys which will help us draw up plans to upgrade the existing bus stops and crossing points on the A483, as well as install a Puffin crossing near the Bryn Offa C of E Primary School.”
To find out more about Highways England’s work or to raise any questions visit www.highwaysengland.co.uk/roads or call 0300 123 5000.
News from Pant Memorial Hall
When the hall reopened in September, we knew that a second closure was not impossible and had made plans accordingly.
This planning paid off on the announcement of the November lockdown, hopefully without too much inconvenience for our hirers. The hall is reopening under ‘tier 2’ restrictions on Wednesday December 2nd.
Among many lessons this year; a closed hall does not mean no work for the committee of unpaid volunteers. We discovered how much we can get done over Zoom, email and telephone. The Thursday evening ‘reopening subcommittee’ clocked up 14 video calls, and this group continues to ‘meet’ fortnightly to manage the ever-changing situation.
Sadly many of our previous hirers cannot return at the moment, although some events are possible with the new measures. We’ve had some lovely feedback from hirers and attendees, which has made all the hard work worthwhile.
Plans for our socially-distanced poppy placing were also stopped by the lockdown. Nonetheless we were still able to put up a display inside the lobby and also around the artwork. Thank you to one of our trustees for arranging all this, which allowed passers-by to ‘pause to remember’ in safety.
The hall came out of the first lockdown with a greatly improved lighting system, funded by the National Lottery. Some will consider that an even bigger improvement will be 40 new padded chairs. These will have wipe-clean upholstery so will be usable under the restrictions. Thanks to the Tirgwynt Wind Farm Community Fund for funding these. The purchase has also been supported by the sale of 40 of the old chairs, plus donations from the Calor crowdfunder earlier in the year. We are hoping to have our new chairs in a few weeks.
The committee wishes everyone a happy Christmas and a peaceful and healthy new year. 2021 will be the 99th year of operation for the hall. Thank you to all who have supported us, and here’s hoping for better times for all of us.
To contact us: (open or closed!)
- call 07913 565708
- email secretary@pantmemorialhall.org.uk
- see our website www.pantmemorialhall.org.uk
- facebook @pantmemorialhall
- twitter @pantmemhall
- leave us a note in the postbox!
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