Author: andykirkland

Events in Hope will include the lighting of a beacon on the fields of the Hope Sports Club at 9.45 pm on 2nd June. If anyone wishes to organize a street party or equivalent event, these are generally expected to take place during the middle of the day on Sunday June 5th.

Along with the usual splendid display of daffodils in the churchyard, we can this year look forward to an equivalent display of daffodils at Jubilee Corner, thanks to the efforts of Gordon Hopewell and the many volunteers who contributed to planting the site back in October 2021.

Footpath 1 is the path which runs from near the zebra crossing in the village centre up to Losehill Farm, connecting with the onwards paths up Lose Hill, and with the path to Castleton via Losehill Hall. As such it is a key route both for residents and for visitors to the village. With winter storms and spring rain it is prone to getting extremely muddy. As residents will have noticed, we have undertaken extensive work on Footpath 1 since last summer to address the worst areas of mud and puddles. Many thanks to all those councillors and other volunteers whose work contributed to these efforts. We will be continuing to work to render footpaths useable in the coming months.

The Council continues to be much concerned about issues arising on Edale Road, both with heavy demand for parking, and with problems arising from HGVs and other large vehicles which are unable to navigate the road successfully and end up having to reverse with significant risks to people and property, including repeated episodes of damage to Townhead Bridge. The Highways Agency has recently put up more signs intended to discourage the second issue in response to our requests; it remains to be seen how much these signs will discourage HGV traffic on the road. They have also agreed to an increase in the extent of double yellow lines on Edale Road. We appreciate that any change in parking rules has the potential to shift parking problems elsewhere, and will continue…

The long-running Breedon consultation about importation of Alternative Raw Materials (ARM) to support the future operation of the site is reaching a key point in the planning process. If you wish to comment on Breedon’s plans, the most recent version of those proposals is now available at the Peak District National Park planning applications listing, application NP/HPK/1020/0929.

Mark Chapman of the Happy Tree Company attended the most recent Parish Council meeting to make us aware of tree management issues arising within the grounds of the Breedon quarry and cement works. In particular, there is an impending issue around the need for tree removals arising from ash dieback. Breedon are developing a plan for substantial replanting and regeneration which will be open for consultation in due course. Tree removals will require some temporary closures of footpaths and bridleways; watch this space for more information as this becomes available.

Members of the parish may have noticed a surge in local tree planting recently. The main driver here has been our activity funded by the Local Authority Treescapes Project. As of 1st February we had planted 159 trees at 13 different sites in the Hope with Aston Parish, with another 77 trees to plant. To date 42 volunteers, including landowners, have helped with the planting. These include pupils from the Special Educational Needs 6th Form unit at Hope Valley College, members of the Hope Sports Club Committee, Parish and District Councillors and other members of the local community. The Peak Park Rangers assisted with planting at one site and used the opportunity to raise awareness with College students about trees and the different species planted. The Parish Council would like…