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. 

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Visitors to the centre can look forward to half-hour boat trips along a beautiful stretch of the Montgomery Canal on a 12-seater trip boat, the ‘George Watson Buck’. (The boat is named after the engineer who rescued and repaired the Vyrnwy aqueduct after it was threatened with collapse in the early 1800s). The boat is accessible to people who use wheelchairs. In the Visitor Centre light refreshments are served and there are canal-related gifts and books for sale as well as a selection of plants.

The centre will be open every Sunday and Bank Holiday until the end of September from 1.30 to 4.30. During August the centre will also be open at the same times each Friday. Children go free on the boat on Bank Holidays and on August Fridays. The Centre and the boat are all run by a team of volunteers.

“We always welcome new volunteers,” says Joan Zorn from the centre. “We would like to see more local people getting involved with the centre and if you would like to help, come and talk to us one Sunday afternoon or contact Liz on 01691 828165. You’d only have to commit to one or two Sunday afternoons as a minimum. We do have a lot of fun!”

During the year, there are a number of special events which take place on Bank Holidays such as Strawberry Cream Teas in August. Keep an eye on Pant.Today for information about other events.

The Visitor Centre is housed in the former stables of the Sun Inn which once stood just to the North of the canal bridge carrying the A483. The stables were restored by British Waterways (now Canal & River Trust) around 2003/4. This was at the same time as the 600m stretch of canal in Llanymynech was cleared, restored and reopened.

For further information, why not visit https://themontgomerycanal.org.uk/llanymynech-canal-wharf/

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As all of us who live here know, this is a  lovely part of the country with lots of great options for walking routes. The walk we have prepared takes in two countries, four pubs, Offa’s Dyke Way and the Montgomery Canal!

This walk is a superb way of exploring the Parish of Llanymynech and Pant whilst at the same time seeing some of the natural beauty of the area, its industrial heritage and local amenities. The walk starts at The Cross Guns Inn in Pant and is a distance of about three to five miles, depending on detours. As with all walks, please ensure you are fully equipped before you set off, as this is a guide only and some sections are off the footpath.

Click here to see the walk in full.

We hope to add more walks to the Pant Today website over the coming months and we would really welcome any suggestions. If you have an idea for a walk you would like us to try, or if you have put together your own route, please do contact us. We can’t guarantee that all walks will make it onto the website, but we will do our best to include as many as possible.

The post Enjoy a walk from Pant to Llanymynech appeared first on Pant Today - About the village of Pant in Shropshire.

The new water main will be laid mainly in private land but some of it will also have to be laid along public roads. The roads affected are Briggs Lane, Hillside, Rockwell Lane, Bronwylfa and U2052 (to Pen y Foel) . Severn Trent will have road closures in place to allow them to work quickly and safely, and the closures will either be daytime or full closure. Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times. Roads will be affected as follows:

• U2052 – start date 23/02/19, finish date 24/02/19: daytime road closure 8am – 4pm
• Bronwylfa – start date 11/03/19, finish date 29/03/19: daytime road closure 8am – 4pm
• Briggs Lane – start date 15/04/19, finish date 03/05/19: road closure
• Rockwell Lane – start date 15/04/19, finish date 10/05/19: daytime road closure 8am – 4pm
• Hillside – start date 15/04/19, finish date 26/04/19: daytime road closure 8am – 4pm

Please note that the above dates may be subject to change depending on progress.

Severn Trent is holding a drop-in session at Pant Memorial Hall on Tuesday 5 February from 3.30pm to 6.30pm for local people to find out more about the plans, ask questions and to provide their input and feedback.

Other ways to keep up to date with the work in our area include:

• By phone: Amey Customer Service Centre on 0800 521660
• Online: Severn Trent website www.stw.works

Please quote project reference 6127372.

If your call is about your water supply or sewerage service, call the Severn Trent Customer Operations Service Centre on 0800 783 4444.

The post Water supply improvements in Pant appeared first on Pant Today - About the village of Pant in Shropshire.

The consultation sets out the preferred sites to deliver the scale and distribution of housing and employment growth during the period to 2036.

In Pant, a parcel of land along the main A483, to the north of the village, backing on to Penygarreg Lane, has been identified as the proposed site for 45 houses. In Llanymynech, land to the east of Barley Meadows has been earmarked for 50 houses.

The site in Pant is currently agricultural land and, as the consultation document acknowledges, faces a number of constraints as a location for housing development, such as water pressure issues, protected species and the local historic environment. Access to the A483, managed by Highways England, is also likely to be an issue, as 45 new houses is certain to see an increase in traffic.

The site in Llanymynech faces the challenges of existing accessibility issues along Station Road, where it is already congested with a weight-restricted bridge over the former railway line, as well as protected species issues and the local historic environment.

The consultation allows local people, businesses and other interested groups to have their say on these major proposals, and responses are invited in the form of a questionnaire via the Shropshire Council website: https://shropshire.gov.uk/get-involved/local-plan-review-preferred-sites-consultation/. The deadline for responses to the consultation has been extended to Friday 8 February 2019.

The full consultation document can be found here: https://shropshire.gov.uk/media/11266/00-preferred-sites-consultation-full-document.pdf. The Oswestry Place Plan Area document, which also includes plans for Kinnerley, Knockin and other local communities, can be found here: https://shropshire.gov.uk/media/11252/15-preferred-sites-consultation-oswestry-place-plan-area.pdf.

A consultation event for the Oswestry area is due to take place at The Marches School at 7pm on Tuesday 15th January 2019. This is a public meeting which anyone can attend and, as well as providing the opportunity to find out more about the housing plans for our villages, which will affect the future development of our communities, will allow local people to have their say.

This meeting will then be followed up with a discussion at the Llanymynech and Pant Parish Council meeting to be held on Thursday 24th January at 7.15 after which the Parish Council will prepare a response . This meeting will be held at Llanymynech Village Hall and there will be a short time for the public to ask questions.

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Llanymynech Wharf on the beautiful Montgomery Canal will be ringing to the sounds of choirs, bands, string quartets and drama on Sunday 4 June.

‘Musicians on the Wharf’ will feature performances from seven groups on stage between 2pm and 5pm. The free outdoor concert has been promoted by the Canal & River Trust, which manages 2,000 miles of the nation’s waterways, as part of the Heritage Lottery- funded project to restore the Montgomery Canal.

The Odd Bods, Morton Choir, Café Lola, Penndragon, Oswestry String Quartet, Roleplay Theatre and local youngsters promise to keep the audience entertained for three hours in the idyllic rural setting next to the canal. The Wharf visitor centre will be open and refreshments available.

Sylvia Edwards, Montgomery Canal community development officer with the Trust, explained: “This is a marvellous opportunity to showcase local talent in this beautiful waterside location. It is one of a number of free community activities being organised as part of the canal restoration project. We want people to get involved with their local
waterway and what better way than through the power of music.”

Free parking is available close to the event site, which can be found following the postcode SY22 6EA. Follow the local Canal & River Trust on Twitter @CRTNWalesBorder.

To find out more about this free concert at Llanymynech Wharf or the Trust’s work on the Montgomery Canal, please go to www.canalrivertrust.org.uk or ring 0303 040 4040. You can also find out about volunteering opportunities or ways to donate to the Trust’s vital work.

The Canal & River Trust is the guardian of 2,000 miles of historic waterways across England and Wales, caring for the nation’s third largest collection of listed structures, as well as museums, archives, and hundreds of important wildlife sites.

We believe that living waterways transform places and enrich lives and our role is to make sure there is always a place on your doorstep where you can escape the pressures of everyday life, stretch your legs and simply feel closer to nature.

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The list of candidates seeking your vote in the local elections is now finalised. For voters in Pant, which is part of Llanymynech Division of Shropshire Council, there are three candidates vying for your vote.

They are:

• Matt Lee (Conservative)
• Ollie Rose (Green Party)
• John Alexander Thornton (Liberal Democrats)

Candidates for the General Election have not yet been formally announced, but anyone who wishes to vote in that election needs to ensure that they are registered to vote. The last day to apply to register to vote is midnight on Monday 22 May. To register to vote please visit Gov.UK’s register to vote webpage: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Polling Station

Pant Memorial Hall will be a polling station for both the local election and the General Election.

For both elections, polling opens at 7am and closes at 10pm. If you have a postal vote, this should be completed as soon as you receive it. Postal votes have to arrive in time to be counted, so if you’re too late to post your ballot paper back, you can hand it in to your local Electoral Registration Office or take it to the Pant Memorial Hall by 10pm on polling day.

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Alison Foden of the Cross Guns in Pant says that she can understand why some residents want a bypass for the village, but warns that a drop in trade caused by people missing the village on their travels could ultimately close the pub.

Speaking recently, Alison said: “We rely on passing trade during the summer to make the pub successful and to support the leaner winter trading months. Between October and March we rely on our locals to break even during these spells.”

The A483 is a popular route from the North through to Mid Wales and in the summer months is used by a large number of tourists in addition to a high volume of commercial traffic.

Alison Foden of the Cross Guns Inn, Pant

According to Alison, who runs the Cross Guns Inn with partner Iain Jones, if that passing trade of tourists is lost during the summer months, there isn’t enough pub trade in the two villages to keep all four pubs open.

Adds Iain: “We understand the need for a bypass, but I am sure it would kill two of the local pubs.”

A number of other businesses in the two villages, including shops, a café and car wash, might also be affected if a bypass is built, reducing the range of amenities for local people.

Many residents in Pant and Llanymynech are keen for a bypass to be built, even though a recent meeting heard that it is unlikely to be built in the next five years. Other commentators, though, have suggested reducing the speed limit through the village and others have suggested banning lorries and large vehicles on certain stretches of the A483 as a low tech and low cost way of improving safety.

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Bypasses for towns and villages though are a double edged sword. On the one hand they might bring relief from traffic to locals but at the same time communities can lose their visitors as tourists skirt round places that otherwise they might stop at and spend money in.

One of the joys of travelling off the motorway or bypass is that you can discover local attractions you might never have heard of.

That is certainly the joy of the A483 through Pant. Pant – and the surrounding area – has a rich industrial heritage and offers some superb views over countryside, some of which could disappear under a bypass!

We have drawn up a list of 10 things to do in Pant to encourage more of those people driving through the area to stop and find out more about our village.

You can read our top 10 things to do in Pant here.

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Hoffmann lime kiln

A major attraction in the Pant area is Llanymynech Limeworks Heritage Area.

This is home to one of only three Hoffmann Kilns in the country and the only one to still have its chimney. The Heritage Area is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and has other kilns and buildings related to the lime industry as well as woodland, meadows and canalside walks. It is open year round. Before the railway came to Pant, quarrying limestone was the chief occupation for villagers.

The canal was built in 1796 as the Llanymynech branch of the Ellesmere canal to exploit the limestone of Llanymynech Hill.

The Visitor Centre on the canal is open on Sundays and Bank Holidays from Easter to the end of September, as well as holding Halloween and Christmas events. The Centre runs cruises on the canal on the trip boat ‘George Watson Buck’.

Click here to find out more.

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