September Editorial

The Editor looks at the changing face of Stoke Ferry and hopes that recent planning applications will allay fears.

Hello again,

By the time you read this we will be into September; just where has this year gone? This edition is also the first of our new year which runs September to August. As a result you will see that some regular advertisers have left us and some new ones have joined us. I am particularly pleased to highlight the initiative of one young Stoke Ferry lady who obtained sponsorship from the Prince's Trust to set up an ironing business. With such initiative and perseverance, she deserves to succeed.

It is also pleasing to see that, despite the loss of the Geoff Allen wood yard, the village has gained a new business offering similar services on the old Peak Potato site in Boughton Road. I am told that the new company has been created by ex-Geoff Allen employees, so an acorn from the old oak has already taken seed and is starting to flourish. The Village Pump wishes Stoke Ferry Timber a long and prosperous life in our midst.

Also with the start of the new Village Pump year, thoughts must turn to the Annual General Meeting. Please make a note in your diaries now that this years AGM will be held in the Stoke Ferry Village Hall on THURSDAY 20th OCTOBER 2005 at 7.30 pm. As in recent years, the AGM will be followed by a wine and finger buffet. As a further reminder, please see the formal notification on Page XX of this edition of The Village Pump

Over recent months there has been much speculation in the village about the number of houses to be built on the two pieces of land released by the closure of the wood yard. With each telling the numbers seem to increase by an order of magnitude. The Lynn News of 12 August carries a planning application, from Wells Homes Ltd, for the Bridge Road site for the building of nine new dwellings and conversion of three existing buildings to four units. Perhaps that will put rumour into some perspective? We now await details of planning for the Lynn Road site with a little less anxiety.

As I said in the last edition of the Village Pump, we are urgently looking for someone to take on the role of Advertising Manager. Regretfully, committee members can only be drawn from the villages listed on the front of each edition of the Pump. The major annual task for the advertising team has already been completed most satisfactorily by Monika Goetz. She has written to all existing advertisers inviting them to continue advertising and asking for any changes to their advert. As we go to print we have had a 99% response to these letters; some have withdrawn, some have made minor changes but the majority have been happy to continue for another year. The role of our new Advertising Manager for the next six months will, therefore, be reasonably light with the main commitment being to attend the quarterly Committee Meetings. If you think you could take on this role, please do contact the Editor on 500274.

Finally, with the start of our new publishing year, may I make my annual plea for some new subscribers? You don't all have to put something in every month but it would be nice to have one or two more regular items to titillate our readers.

Ray Thompson