Sellack War Memorial Plaque Trail and the Herefordshire Histories Festival
Thanks to the support of our local community, we launched the new Sellack War Memorial Plaque Trail during our Remembrance Event last November. The day afforded us the opportunity to reflect on the stories of our fallen while spending time together and walking in our beautiful countryside. Thank you to everyone who joined us on the day. We raised £37 in donations to the Royal British Legion.
We will also be sharing the trail with a wider audience, as part of the first ever Herefordshire Histories Festival, taking place from 10th-18th May. The week will include a talk about how we created the trail, from an initial idea, to deciding the route and designing the plaques. There will also be some guided walks. We will be keeping our website up to date with all the details and you can subscribe to updates from us by scrolling to the bottom of our webpage and sharing your email.
Our next ambition is to install Information Boards, at either end of the trail, to provide a map and more information.
Annual Parish Meeting – a meeting for the whole community
We will be holding the Annual Parish Meeting on Thursday 20th March, 6pm at Sellack Village Hall and we hope you are able to join us. Free tea and cake will be served, and it will be an opportunity to hear more about what is going on in and around Sellack.
The Annual Parish Meeting is a relatively informal event for the community (parish electors) and is not a council meeting. Its purpose is to give the Parish Council, and other local organisations, an opportunity to let local residents know what they have been doing over the past year. The meeting is also an opportunity for you to have a say on anything you consider valuable to the people of the Parish.
West Mercia Police will be speaking about ‘We Don’t Buy Crime’, which uses SmartWater (an invisible liquid) to protect property.
Other agenda items include an update from us, including more on the Trail and Herefordshire Histories Festival, our parish assets, volunteering opportunities, participatory budgeting (you deciding on how some of our funding gets spent) and emergency planning. We hope to see you there.
Welcoming our New Councillor
We are delighted to welcome a new Councillor to the Parish Council team. John Marshall joined us at the end of 2024, to increase our number to four. John comes with a wealth of experience, that perfectly complements that of his fellow councillors.
John said, “Having lived in the area for over 25 years I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with, and for, our very special community”.
We still have one vacancy for a parish councillor. Looking for ways to make a difference in your local community? Want to get more involved in local decision making?
Find out more at https://sellackparishcouncil.gov.uk/new-parish-councillors-wanted/
Backney Bridge Picnic Site – Spring Clean-up
Our lovely picnic site continues to be one of our best assets in the parish, with spectacular views over the River Wye and on to Backney Common, which is home to some rare species. More to come on this!
Every year, we arrange a couple of clean-up days, to keep the picnic site in good condition for all species, including us humans! We rely on volunteers, to help us with cutting back brambles, keeping the grass at a manageable length, picking up litter and cleaning and painting the furniture.
Our next clean-up day is due to take place on Saturday 22nd March, 10.30am to 12.30pm (weather permitting). We would love to see you there. Please let us know if you can make it.
Stay in touch
We hope you have found this update useful. Please stay in touch, get involved and have your say by:
- Following us on Facebook (search for Sellack Parish Council) – We posted over 50 times on our Facebook page in 2024. We included posts on our work, the work of our volunteers, roadworks, emergency planning and other local stories of interest. Our most popular post of the year, reaching close to 150 people, was a post about our wonderful volunteers, followed closely by our post about the new bleed kit, installed with our defibrillator at Sellack Village Hall.
- Subscribing to free updates on our website at www.sellackparishcouncil.gov.uk (scroll to the bottom of the page to share your email address)
- Coming along to one of our Parish Council meetings – there is always an Agenda item, where local residents can raise any issues (to be discussed at a later meeting, if necessary), or just come and listen. Our next meetings are Tuesday 20th March at Sellack Village Hall (after the Annual Parish meeting finishes), Tues 13th May, 8th July and 9th September (7pm at Sellack Village Hall).
- Emailing the Clerk, Claire Vaughan with any queries or comments via our Contact page https://sellackparishcouncil.gov.uk/contact/