Email: thegiggleberrytree@yahoo.com
The BarnYard
Oak Lane, Upchurch, Kent ME9 7EZ
Website: www.the-barnyard.com
Space
Tuesday 2 October 2018
Children's Craft Parties at The BarnYard
Email: thegiggleberrytree@yahoo.com
The BarnYard
Oak Lane, Upchurch, Kent ME9 7EZ
Website: www.the-barnyard.com
Space
Monday 1 October 2018
Garden Bonfires - The Rules
There are no laws against having a bonfire or the times they can be lit, but there are laws for the nuisance they can cause.
An occasional bonfire is unlikely to cause a major problem, even though it may be annoying to neighbours. Councils have a duty to act and take enforcement action if the problem is shown to be a statutory nuisance. There has to be evidence that the bonfires are frequent or interfere with your wellbeing, comfort or enjoyment of your property.
Burning domestic waste
An occasional bonfire is unlikely to cause a major problem, even though it may be annoying to neighbours. Councils have a duty to act and take enforcement action if the problem is shown to be a statutory nuisance. There has to be evidence that the bonfires are frequent or interfere with your wellbeing, comfort or enjoyment of your property.
Burning domestic waste
You cannot get rid of household waste if it will cause pollution or harm people’s health. This includes burning it. You can get rid of household or garden waste by composting or recycling it.
You could be fined if you light a fire and allow the smoke to drift across the road and become a danger to traffic.
Your council can issue an ‘abatement notice’ if a neighbour’s bonfire is causing a nuisance. A bonfire must happen frequently to be considered a nuisance. Your neighbour can be fined up to £5,000 if they don’t follow the rules of the notice.
Bonfire advice
If a bonfire is the most practical and environmentally friendly way to dispose of garden waste then warn your neighbours - they are much less likely to complain.
If you have a bonfire follow these guidelines:
What you can do if you are bothered by persistent bonfire smoke:
If a bonfire is the most practical and environmentally friendly way to dispose of garden waste then warn your neighbours - they are much less likely to complain.
If you have a bonfire follow these guidelines:
• Consider alternatives to having a bonfire. Garden waste can be taken to your nearest household tip or order a brown bin. Large items of furniture can be removed by your council's bulky item collection service.
• Where possible, alert your neighbours in advance that you intend to light a bonfire.
• Only burn dry material (creates less smoke).
• Never burn household rubbish, rubber, plastic, foam or paint.
• Never use engine oil, methylated spirits or petrol to light the fire or encourage it.
• Avoid lighting bonfires at the weekend or bank holidays when neighbours may be enjoying their garden.
• Avoid lighting a fire in unsuitable weather conditions - smoke hangs in the air on damp, still days and in the evening. If it is windy, smoke may be blown into neighbour’s gardens and across roads.
• Avoid burning when air pollution in your area is high or very high.
• Check unlit bonfires carefully for hedgehogs as they provide an ideal refuge for hibernation.
• Remember that bonfire and barbecue parties can cause noise as well as smoke.
Reporting a problem
• Where possible, alert your neighbours in advance that you intend to light a bonfire.
• Only burn dry material (creates less smoke).
• Never burn household rubbish, rubber, plastic, foam or paint.
• Never use engine oil, methylated spirits or petrol to light the fire or encourage it.
• Avoid lighting bonfires at the weekend or bank holidays when neighbours may be enjoying their garden.
• Avoid lighting a fire in unsuitable weather conditions - smoke hangs in the air on damp, still days and in the evening. If it is windy, smoke may be blown into neighbour’s gardens and across roads.
• Avoid burning when air pollution in your area is high or very high.
• Check unlit bonfires carefully for hedgehogs as they provide an ideal refuge for hibernation.
• Remember that bonfire and barbecue parties can cause noise as well as smoke.
Reporting a problem
What you can do if you are bothered by persistent bonfire smoke:
• Approach your neighbour if you feel you are able to, in order to make them aware of your concerns.
• If the problem persists, speak to other neighbours who may also be affected and get them to support your complaint if possible.
• Report the bonfire problem to your local council and keep detailed and accurate records of their frequency or materials burnt. Council's can help you gather evidence to establish whether a statutory nuisance is being caused.
• The council will try to resolve the complaint as quickly as possible. In most instances, the issues can be settled once they advise the person responsible that a complaint has been made. However be prepared if necessary to make a formal statement and attend court.
Report a nuisance bonfire to Swale Borough Council at the link here >> Report a Bonfire...
Report a nuisance bonfire to Medway Council at the link here >> Report a Bonfire...
Report a nuisance bonfire to Medway Council at the link here >> Report a Bonfire...
To report fire or burning that is out of control phone 999
Upchurch Matters
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October News from Upchurch Horticultural Society - From the Potting Shed
Sponsored by Upchurch River Valley Golf Course Ltd
October is coming and we will be into the Autumn although the good weather in September is providing a good finish to the main growing season. It has been a surprising year and if you were able to cope with the long hot dry spell you would have done well, but the garden needed a lot of attention in the summer. To keep everything going you would have needed daily watering for about 3 months. Most people (including myself) have probably not been able to manage that and have suffered as a result.
Lawns have suffered particularly and even with a lot of scarification, a September weed and feed and wetter weather many have yet to fully recover. I do not expect mine to get back to full vigour until next year and will need a lot of re-seeding next March. The beans are curiously in full flower and I am looking forward to a bumper crop at the beginning of October. Also the borders have bloomed and made up for the poor show in the summer. The pears produced a plentiful crop this year but were very small and have already been picked whereas they normally go through to October.
I grow my potatoes in the ground although better specimens are normally produced from grow bags. However, this year has been a disaster for grow bags as the heat and dry weather has caused a lot of casualties, so maybe, if you have the space, a bit of both is a good idea as a hedge against extreme weather.
October is a tidying up month prior to winter setting in, although for the hardy gardener winter provides a lot of opportunity and a lot of vegetables can stand in the ground through the winter months. However, the ground gets wet and muddy and the temperature drops and the lure of the log fire gets the better of me. So now is the time to clear out the weeds that are growing like the clappers in the wet mild weather. Tidy the borders, prune and dead head so they are ready for spring. Tidy the vegetable patch and prepare the runner bean trench for next year. Plums should be pruned by now, raspberry canes cut and strawberry runners planted for next year. Spring bulbs should be in but wait until November to plant tulips.
The good advice is to lift maincrop potatoes and also dahlia and begonia tubers and gladioli corms. Personally I do not bother and so far have got away with it but the time may come when I regret it. But all frost tender crops need to be picked this month like courgette, marrow, squash and pumpkins, as the first frost will ruin them.
The last main job for me will be to cut some logs and make sure the fire is all ready to start and then settle down to making plans for next year. The seed catalogues should be dropping through the door now and it is a time to reflect over the year and consider the successes and failures. Now I always enjoy doing that with a cold beer.
We are always looking for new members and try to encourage a fun attitude towards friendly competition. So if you want to grow your own fruit, vegetables and flowers or even enter any of the 3 shows we hold each year, then please get in touch, we would be happy to hear from you.
If you are interested in becoming a new member, (all ages are welcome), please contact Rosey on: 01634 377812 (evenings) or Email: rosemary@ringwoodaccounting.co.uk
Sean Barry - Upchurch Horticultural Society
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Newington History Group
Learn more about these local rural crafts when Rochester historian James Preston gives a talk at Newington History Group's (NHG) meeting on Thursday, October 11th, at 7:30pm in the Methodist Hall, Church Lane.
The NHG book, ‘Newington Remembers - our village and its people at the time of the Great War’, has been updated and re-printed. It’s available from the group, priced £10.
NHG seeks to unearth, preserve and promote the history of the village and neighbouring areas. It meets monthly on the second Thursday and an annual subscription is £15. Guests (£3) are welcome at the meetings.
For more details contact Thelma Dudley on 01795 842711
Email: thelma@newingtonhistory.co.uk
View the Website: www.newingtonhistorygroup.btck.co.uk
Follow the History Group on Twitter: @newingtonhg
Richard Thompstone - Newington History Group
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World's Biggest Coffee Morning - Thank You
Thank you to everyone who came along, and to those who weren't able to make it but still very generously made a donation anyway.
You all helped raise the fantastic total of £500 for Macmillan Cancer Support
Thank you
Diane Macaulay
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The BarnYard Festive Lunch
The BarnYard
Oak Lane, Upchurch, Kent ME9 7EZ
Telephone: 01634 235059
Email: restaurant@the-barnyard.com
Website: www.the-barnyard.com
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