A month in the life of St Columb Major Town Council. As part of his training, St Columb Major’s Town Clerk, Jeremy Stuart, has been asked to write an article that highlights the work of his council. Here, Stuart describes some of St Columb Major Town Council’s notable activities during October and November of this year.
St Columb Major Town Council is responsible for four play areas: in Hawthorne Close; in Talskiddy; the Hurlings; and the Recreation Ground. The Recreation Ground play area has needed improvement for some time. Thus, having engaged the services of Outdoor Play People, a local firm based in St Mawgan, the Council began Phase I of its plan to renovate and refurbish ‘the Rec’ play area.
With a budget of £17,000, Phase I began after the school holidays and was designed to improve the safety of the play area. Using the recent Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents assessment, Cathy of Outdoor Play People produced a programme of works that would make the Rec compliant with the latest Health & Safety requirements.
An array of repairs and improvements has been undertaken: worn D-shackles and brackets, rotten timbers, post and end caps, rails, and ropes have all been replaced.
October’s successful completion of Phase I has meant that the agility circuit, chin-up bar, climbing frame, toddler unit, multi-play towers, rocket, see saw and the slide have all been improved and made safer.
Phase II, which will begin in the spring, Phase II, which will begin in the spring, will see a programme of painting and surface improvements, as well as plans for a new skate ramp. October saw the planting of Millennium Yew trees in the churchyard of St Columb Major Parish Church, in part to replace a yew felled last year.
Following discussions with the Diocese of Truro, St Columb Major Parochial Church Council and Cornwall Council, the Town Council, which is responsible for churchyard works, sourced two Millennium Yew saplings. The saplings were grown from cuttings taken from ancient yews that first took root around the time of Christ. On 31st October, the Rector of the Lann Pydar Benefice, the Reverend Helen Baber, and Bishop Hugh Helson, the Bishop of St Germans, planted the saplings during a ceremony attended by council members and the churchwardens. Bishop Hugh also blessed the yews. Councillor Scot Taylor, the Mayor of St Columb Major, thanked the Bishop for attending, and was particularly grateful for the blessing of the trees, “which are a living link from the time of Christ” to future generations.
November, of course, witnessed St Columb Major’s Remembrance commemorations, which are the biggest events in the civic calendar and take months to plan. At 2.30pm on Remembrance Day, Sunday 9th November, some 300 people, including RAF St Mawgan personnel, civic leaders and the Royal British Legion, marched off from Trekenning car park and paraded through the town, before assembling in St Columb Major Parish Church.
The Reverend Helen Baber led a moving service in a packed church, before wreaths were laid at the War Memorial. The Town Council was honoured by the presence of Deputy Lieutenant Mrs Jackie Stanley, one of the King’s representatives in Cornwall, who laid the first wreath on behalf of His Majesty. At 11am on Tuesday 11th November, Market Place fell silent, as the St Columb Major branch of the Royal British Legion marked Armistice Day. Veterans of all ages paid their respects, amid the silence, which was signalled by the sounding of the Last Post and ended with Reveille, after the Mayor and the Legion Chairman laid wreaths. Remembrance images credit: Cpl Tom Cann, RAF St Mawgan photographer. Churchyard images produced by the Diocese of Truro.