SILSOE PARISH COUNCIL

Two Silsoe Stalwarts Stand Down

This month, two of our longest serving Councillors will be standing down after 20 years’ service to the village.

Ian Kelly and Philip Kevan have worked tirelessly for Silsoe over that time, entirely voluntarily, and their list of achievements is long and varied.

Ian worked alongside Mike Jarrard as Vice Chair for many years before moving up to the role of Chairman when he passed away.

Philip has looked after the finances of the Council with great skill and insight.

Both men will be greatly missed.

However, there is one achievement for which they, and others, should be especially commended.

Major Announcement

The Parish Council is delighted to reveal that after a battle lasting over 10 years, we have at last managed to secure the handover of a significant area of land from developers, Bloor Homes. This land consists of the Village Park (cricket pitch), the Community Woodland to the west and the Plantation View play area. All of these areas were promised to the Parish Council but never delivered, until now. Thanks to the efforts of our hard-working team consisting of Ian and Philip, David Swain, John Robinson and Mike Jarrard who refused to give-up when all seemed lost, we can now rest assured that this land will be safe from further development. It cannot be overstated how important this achievement is for the future of the village, and I would like to personally thank everyone involved for their incredible efforts.

All this extra land will inevitably mean a significant increase to the Council’s ground maintenance responsibilities, but it is felt it is a price worth paying to preserve an important area of green space against the ever-growing threat of development.