If you visit or work in larger cities you may be aware of Citymapper. It’s a free mobile phone app that guides you from a to b with a choice of methods. It’s particularly useful if you are using public transport somewhere unfamiliar, as it will give you directions to the bus stop or train station, tell you which service to catch and when it is leaving, and how long the journey will take. The app also gives walking and driving routes and times.

In a piece of excellent news – Citymapper now covers Shropshire!

After a post-launch tweak from customer feedback, services from Tanat Valley and Arriva Wales have been added to the app, joining those from Arriva England. This means that the app makes things a lot easier for those of us on the border – no more need to puzzle over three separate timetables if you are planning to catch a train from either Gobowen or Shrewsbury or want a day out. You can set the app for a future departure time so that you can plan journeys ahead. The app will plan journeys to Birmingham and Wrexham in one ‘hit’ before asking you to switch areas. It does not yet cover west Wales.

There is also an online version for those who don’t have a smartphone but do have a laptop or tablet, allowing planning ahead.

This integrated approach makes using buses much easier. Together with our recently expanded service (including Sundays for the first time in years) and well-spaced bus stops through Pant and Llanymynech, why not give the bus a try?

Citymapper is available on your app store.

Mobile library stop extended for Pant

The mobile library visits Pant every two weeks on a Thursday morning, stopping in the Cross Guns car park. Due to the popularity of the service in the village, the stop time has recently been extended and now runs from 10:40am to 11:20am – one of the longest stops on the round.

Librarian Doug (and his colleagues) are always happy to help both new and established library users. All ages are welcome – the van carries a big selection of childrens books as well as fiction and non-fiction to cover all tastes. Stock changes regularly so there’s always something new to read. You can order a book from the Shropshire Library catalogue for pickup on the van and renew your books online if you miss a library visit.

The visit dates and stops are posted on the outside noticeboard on the village hall and available on line. This service is a classic ‘use it or lose it’ so please support it; having free access to books is a huge privilege so let’s make the most of it.

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Says Julie Mitchell: “I think Shropshire Council should significantly reduce their proposed annual charge of £56 per year for each green bin and abandon plans for a booking system for recycling centres.”

Shropshire Council has instigated these changes in order to save money but Julie feels the cost for the green bin will be prohibitive to many people and will result in less recycling and increased fly tipping, costing more to clean it up and leaving a blot on the landscape.

Julie also thinks that the booking system is likely to result in more flytipping – and associated costs with clearing up the mess.

“My experience in using the excellent recycling facilities in Oswestry is that it really isn’t necessary and there will be a cost to set it up. If people can’t dispose of their waste when they need to, again there will be less recycling and more fly tipping.”

The online petition runs until 11 September 2024 and you need to live, work or study in Shropshire Council’s area to sign up to a petition.

It can be accessed here.

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A six-week consultation runs from Tuesday 9 April to Monday 20 May 2024.

Shropshire Council is proposing to introduce an annual subscription fee of £52 – the equivalent of £1 a week – to collect garden waste from properties in the Shropshire Council area.

The consultation asks people if they would be willing to pay more than £52 a year if the additional money was used to keep all five HRCs open, and for views on whether the opening times of some recycling centres could be reduced.

The consultation also asks for people’s thoughts about a new permit/booking system for people visiting a recycling centre, to help ensure that they are only used by people from Shropshire.

The proposals are being made as Shropshire Council must make £62m of savings in 2024/25 to keep a balanced budget.

Charging for garden waste collections, and closing two of the council’s five Household Recycling Centres, are among proposals approved by councillors as part of Shropshire Council’s budget cuts for 2024/25.

While garden waste collections in Shropshire are currently free, 80% of English councils already charge for this service, and many have been doing so for several years. The average annual fee across the country is £55 a year.

Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for waste management, said: “All householders in the area use our waste services and I want to encourage as many people as possible to take part in this consultation.

“Like councils all over the country, Shropshire Council is facing unprecedented financial pressure, mainly due to growing demand for social care and rising costs. Social care now accounts for almost £4 in every £5 of the council’s budget.

“We must make £62m of savings in 2024/25 to keep a balanced budget and our plans include many very difficult decisions, and some that we have never wanted to make. We must look at other ways of creating income so that we can protect essential frontline services for those residents most in need.

“The collection of garden waste is not a service we must provide by law, but is one that we – and we’re sure most residents – would prefer to continue. It’s one that most other council already charge their residents for.

“By charging for garden waste collections, we could continue to provide this service and used the income raised to help support other key services.

“We’re also facing some difficult decisions about the future of our five Household Recycling Centres, and ask that people tell us their thoughts as part of this consultation and how we can reduce the costs of running these.”

To take part in the consultation and find out more go to www.shropshire.gov.uk/gardenwastebudget2024.

The survey will also be available at Oswestry Library.

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Under reference 23/02064/TEL, the application is for a mast on the land that borders the Village Green, on the left hand side of the road heading north through Pant.

According to the Parish Council, they have suggested a number of other sites for the mast including sharing with the mast on the other side of the road near Stargarreg Lane.

Feeling at the meeting was that the site is not suitable due to its proximity to residential properties and the open space of the village green, which is a community space.

The 15 m tall pole would be sited next to the path through the village and a number of boxes would need to be installed at ground level.

Members of the public can leave comments and observations on the Shropshire Council Planning Portal website here.

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The ribbon on the new section was cut from a steam tug carrying VIP passengers including Helen Morgan MP and Shropshire Council leader Lezley Picton. A specially written song about Crickheath Wharf was sung by the Shropshire Boatmen as the ribbon was cut.

The Montgomery Canal closed in the 1930s following a serious breach near Frankton Locks in Shropshire. At a time of dwindling freight traffic, rather than repairing the canal it was officially closed in 1944.

Following decades of decline, the restoration of the canal started with the ‘Big Dig’ in Welshpool in 1969. Since this date, volunteer organisations have been working to reopen the entire 35 miles of canal from the Llangollen Canal via Llanymynech and Welshpool to Newtown.

The work to date has ensured that all 35 miles of towpath are accessible and 60% of the canal has now reopened for boating with 13 miles of canal in the Welshpool area and eight miles in Shropshire now navigable.

Over the last eight years 169 volunteers spent many hundreds of hours restoring the canal and have spent over 300 days relining the canal to make it watertight.

A new three-hectare wildlife habitat has also been created within Aston Locks nature reserve to provide a secure environment for aquatic plants, such as the rare Floating Water Plantain. The nature reserve will also provide homes to a range of wildlife including damselflies, dragonflies, otters, and water voles.

Richard Parry, chief executive at Canal & River Trust, said: “What these volunteers have achieved, with support from Canal & River Trust, is inspiring. They have worked tirelessly to restore this section of the Montgomery Canal from a derelict channel to a wonderful canal that boaters, walkers, and cyclists can now use and enjoy. I would also like to thank National Lottery players for supporting this wonderful project.

David Carter, chair of Shropshire Union Canal Society, said: “Our volunteers have worked tirelessly for eight years on a very complicated piece of construction work of a type not normally done by volunteers. They have overcome several major challenges including very bad ground conditions, a high water table, the need to relocate the resident Great Crested Newts, and covid lockdowns. That they managed to complete the work to deadline, on budget and safely is to their great credit.”

John Dodwell, chair of the Montgomery Canal Partnership, said: “It’s marvellous to see put into place another part of the jigsaw to restore the 200 years plus old Montgomery Canal. It’s special built and natural heritage offers so much to local people and more widely; both donations and volunteers come from many parts of the country. The restored canal is also a boost to the regional tourist industry as visitors come to the area to spend their money.”

John took the opportunity of the reopening to launch a new fundraising campaign to restore the Montgomery Canal past Crickheath towards Pant.

It was the custom when the canals were first dug in the 1800’s to reward the navvies with a barrel of beer. This tradition was observed when over 70 volunteers and supporters enjoyed a barrel of Navigation Ale sponsored by Monty’s Brewery from Montgomery.

Thanks to SUCS Publicity for the photos.

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The bridge, on Long Lane between Pant and Crickheath, was blocked many years ago after the canal was abandoned and is the main obstruction on the derelict section to the Welsh border at Llanymynech. To tackle the bridge, local waterway charities came together to organise its reconstruction. As well as running a series of local and national fund-raising appeals which have raised over £1 million, experienced volunteers prepared the bridge design, obtained all the technical approvals, and negotiated with the Canal & River Trust, Shropshire Council and adjoining landowners for the formal agreements needed for the work.

The start of the bridge works was officially marked on Monday 24 April 2023 by the cutting of the first sod by Cllr Vince Hunt, Chairman of Shropshire Council.

The bridge itself is being built by contractors Beaver Bridges of Shrewsbury on a project which will run through to late summer. They have closed the road and fenced the site.

Michael Limbrey, Chairman of the Restore the Montgomery Canal! group which has promoted the project, said, “We are delighted that our contractors are starting to rebuild Schoolhouse Bridge almost six years to the day after we launched our appeal for the project. There have been complications on the way – a world-wide pandemic was one – so the start is later than we had hoped. Fortunately our neighbours have been very understanding and we are very grateful to them.

“We owe a huge thank-you to supporters in the area and across Great Britain who have supported the project with monthly donations and individual gifts, grants and legacies. The appeal has also received generous donations from the Inland Waterways Association, the Friends of the Montgomery Canal and the Shropshire Union Canal Society as members of the Restore the Montgomery Canal! group. We have also been assisted by a grant from Tarmac Landfill Communities Fund, supplies from TG Builders Merchants, Oswestry, and support from Shropshire Council and the Canal & River Trust who have helped our team get the project to its start and by Beaver Bridges who will be carrying out the work for us.

“The bridge reconstruction and the opening in June of the section to Crickheath restored by volunteers of the Shropshire Union Canal Society will together mark a significant step for the restoration as too will the major works being undertaken in Powys with Levelling-Up funding.

“The revived Montgomery Canal will safeguard the canal’s valuable built and natural heritage, provide an amenity for recreation and well-being for residents and visitors and bring economic opportunities as the canal opens up for visitors. We look forward to the day when we can realise the ambitions of local authorities, communities and businesses as boats from across the country visit the borders of Shropshire and Powys.”

Richard Hinckley, Beaver Bridges Sales Director said, “As a local business we are very excited to be conducting these prestigious works with the Montgomery Waterway Restoration Trust and to continue the excellent work to date and contribute to the future legacy of the canal.”

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At the January Llanymynech & Pant Parish Council meeting it was reported by Cllr Vince Hunt that the bypass which has been suggested as a way to alleviate traffic issues along the A483 through Pant, was currently not a priority for National Highways, the body that is responsible for strategic highways within England.

Plans for a bypass have existed for decades to move traffic from the main road through Pant to a newly built road that would probably need to be built across fields on the floodplain below the village of Pant, but is unlikely to bypass Llynclys or most of Llanymynech.

Any Llanymynech & Pant bypass would be a National Highways led project with Shropshire Council as a consultative authority.

According to Cllr Richard P Marshall, who is Shropshire Council’s Portfolio Holder for Highways and Regulatory Services, the government has informed National Highways that any new schemes, that have not officially had the funding allocated are not on the priority list at the moment.

Said Cllr Richard P Marshall: “National Highways and Shropshire Council would be keen to see this project come to fruition but as it is not currently funded, it is not on the list of future projects for them.

I have spoken with National Highways and they have stated that they will continue to promote the project as soon as the funding bidding process opens.”

In the past year, Helen Morgan MP has given her support too to a bypass citing congestion and traffic volumes.

While the bypass might not currently be on the cards, local people continue to campaign for improvements to the traffic on the A483. In the past there have been calls for traffic lights at the Llynclys Crossroads and another pedestrian crossing near Bryn Offa School in Pant, both of which could help calm traffic through the village.

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Shropshire Council, working in partnership with Shrewsbury Town Council, is asking for unwanted seedlings that would otherwise be destroyed to be donated to Shrewsbury’s Weeping Cross nursery, where they will be repurposed and planted in appropriate sites around the county.

The donated trees will be tagged and then monitored for pests and diseases by nursery staff, and logged to a database, to enable people to discover where their donated trees have been planted in the county.

The project, which runs for three years, is aimed at developing innovative and sustainable ways to increase tree cover to address both the climate and ecological emergencies.

Ian Nellins, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for climate change, environment and transport, said:-

“This is a simple scheme that allows people to remove the self-setters and repurpose them, instead of destroying them because they can’t be accommodated where they are.

“This has the benefit of increasing the county’s tree stock, improving our biosecurity, as well as reducing the carbon impact twofold, firstly by reducing road miles and secondly by planting and maintaining the trees.

“Shropshire Council is committed to planting 345,000 trees by 2050, though we are hoping to bring the target forward; and projects such as this offer us the chance to achieve greater success.”

Mike Pugh, Shrewsbury Town Council’s contracts and arb manager, added:

“Local tree groups are welcome to plant new trees and help maintain the tree stock at our nursery, although we would ask that people get in touch to make an appointment to visit us.

“The town council also has the capacity to help local tree planting groups, as they now have the infrastructure funds to assist with supplying pots, compost, stakes and canes.”

To contact Shrewsbury Town Council: enquiries@shrewsburytowncouncil.gov.uk

Anyone planting a tree this year, and until the end of the planting season in March 2023, is encouraged to register its location as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy project, designed to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.

Click here for a location map of the depot.

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The public hearings, which are currently being held as part of the scrutiny process for the draft Shropshire Local Plan (2016 – 2038), will take place virtually this week (Tuesday 12 until Friday 15 July 2022).

The decision follows a number of people testing positive for Covid-19 after coming along to the face to face hearings last week at Shrewsbury Town Football Club.

From today (Tuesday 12 July), people will be able to view the hearings on the council’s website, but they won’t be able to take part.

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From that date, there are due to be a number of large loads using the A483 through the village.

We understand from Highways England that there are to be 18 movements in total. They assume these will move separately but the loads will be escorted by the Police for the entire journey and the haulier has been advised not to move these loads during peak hours.

Meanwhile, Shropshire Council has announced a full road closure of Long Lane between Trepennal and Tramway Farm, Crickheath for surface dressing.

The work will take place between 7am and 5pm from 23rd July to the 27th July.

White lining is then due between the 4th and 5th August 2021, though all the dates are subject to change due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.

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