The Martlesham Flyer January 2022 edition
In the January edition of the Martlesham Flyer. We share the January update from Martlesham Parish Council. Also have a update from Martlesham in Bloom. And we also hear from local groups and schools.
Martlesham Council January Update
Martlesham Council – Happy New Year!
Celebrating our volunteers – a special evening
Fifty of Martlesham Council’s volunteer helpers were welcomed to a “thank you” event at the Parish Rooms on 30th November. Our chairman thanked them for all their essential work in making Martlesham a great place to live and thanked their families and friends for supporting them as they volunteered. A light hearted quiz introduced them to the full range of council activities and an excellent range of refreshments were served. The event concluded with a fascinating talk on the new “Martlesham Wilds” nature reserve by Charlie Zakss from the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, who was presented with a cheque for £1,000 towards the establishment of the reserve, one of the many grants the parish council makes to support local groups.
While we were pleased to welcome fifty volunteers the overall total is nearly one hundred, so if you would like to join a large group of people working for the good of the community do contact us.
Martlesham Common Local Nature Reserve
Megabash on Saturday 21st January 10am – 3.30pm,
It’s that time of year when the Greenways Project invite you to join them on Martlesham Common to help with some practical work. This year the focus is on opening up some of the paths by clearing away the encroaching gorse and a litter pick along the border with Tesco. Please meet at the Community Hall car park off Felixstowe Road and come prepared for some messy work!
Planning – Energy projects in Suffolk
Eurolink Interconnector
National Grid Ventures (NGV) part of National Grid is bringing forward proposals for a multi-purpose interconnector (MPI) called ‘Eurolink’. Eurolink could supply up to 1.8 GW of electricity. Electricity interconnectors run under sea, underground, or via overhead cabling, and connect the electricity systems of two countries. They allow the trading and sharing of ‘green’ electricity and Eurolink will deliver a new electricity link between Great Britain and the Netherlands.
Sealink Interconnector
Sealink is a proposed new 2 GW subsea high voltage direct current (HVDC) electricity connection, approximately 140km in length and predominately offshore. It includes HVDC convertor stations and high voltage current (HVAC) connections on to the electricity transmission system. The link will be between Suffolk and Kent. The purpose is to take the power brought in by East Anglia One North (EA1N) and East Anglia Two (EA2), Nautilus*, Eurolink, and Sizewell from Suffolk down to Kent to distribute within the Thames Valley where it is needed.
*It is proposed that the Nautilus interconnector will connect 1.4 GW of offshore wind in the UK to Belgium.
There are currently five offshore wind energy projects and interconnectors that are widely believed to be planned to connect with the National Grid substation at Friston to form an energy hub. With the addition of the Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station, this will potentially be the largest complex of energy infrastructure in the UK.
Play time! – managing play areas
Recently the Recreation and Amenities Committee (R&AC) agreed to the final touches to the Jubilee Play Space improvements; this included new metal ‘bow top’ fencing – a replacement to the existing wooden fencing that surrounds the equipment which has been prone to vandalism in recent years, and improved safety surfacing under the climbing arch and the multi activity unit.
As well as these improvements, work behind the scenes goes on throughout the year to keep the play areas we manage (Kronjis Piece Play Area – situated on the Recreation Ground, Old Martlesham, the Centenary Play Space, the Jubilee Playspace, and the Harry Higgins Play Park) safe places for children to enjoy. Each year a rota is compiled scheduling weekly inspections undertaken by wonderful volunteers (we can’t thank them enough!!) who report back on things that need to be monitored, fixed, or improved. These reports are filed and the works undertaken recorded and presented to the R&AC to scrutinise at its meetings. Martlesham Council is fortunate in having a land maintenance contractor who is experienced in managing play areas and is able to deal with most of the work that arises from the inspections.
If you would like to help with inspecting our play areas and/or the Trim Trail and bike trails, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Clerk (contact details below) and we will add you to the rota!
Forthcoming meetings
Parish Council – Wednesday 11th January 2023
Recreation & Amenities Committee – Wednesday 18th January 2023
Please note that Parish Council meetings will be held in the Parish Room, Felixstowe Road, Martlesham, IP12 4PB. All meetings start at 7.30pm and are open to the public, who are welcome to ask questions or make comments to the council during a public forum.
Before attending, we strongly recommend you check our website or noticeboards in case of changes.
Contacting the Council
Clerk to Martlesham Parish Council, Parish Room, Felixstowe Road, Martlesham, Woodbridge IP12 4PB
Telephone: 01473 612632 – please leave a message if no reply and we will get back to you as necessary
e-mail: enquiries@martleshamcouncil.org.uk
website:http://martlesham.onesuffolk.net
Please “Follow Us” on our Facebook page which is @Martlesham Parish. The full address is https://www.facebook.com/MartleshamParish