NEWS

Residents in Felsted can now access an exciting on-demand, fully electric minibus service called DigiGo.

One of the first of its kind in the country, the service responds to demand rather than having set routes, with minibuses able to divert on and off journeys for passenger collection and drop off.

DigiGo connects rural communities in north Chelmsford, including Felsted, Little Dunmow, Barnston, Leaden Roding, Good Easter, Pleshey, Great Waltham, Little Waltham and Great Leighs to popular locations such as Chelmer Valley Park and Ride, Broomfield Hospital, and Writtle University College.

Meanwhile, the service in south Braintree connects villages, including Great Notley, Black Notley and Rayne, to Braintree Bus Interchange, Braintree Railway Station, Braintree Community Hospital, Springwood Industrial Estate, Great Notley Country Park and many other locations.

The new service operates seven days a week, from 7am to 10pm and caters for everyone; students, families, the elderly, and people travelling to work, with accessible minibuses available for people with disabilities, providing a flexible and environmentally friendly service for people who do not live close to public transport routes.

To book an on-demand journey, residents can download the TravelEssex planning app via their phone’s app store or visit www.digigo.uk. After ordering, passengers can pay for their journey via the app and track the location of their minibus in real time. Tickets for the service can also be pre-booked up to seven days in advance.

Councillor Lee Scott, Cabinet Member for Highways Maintenance and Sustainable Transport at Essex County Council, said: “The DigiGo service is the first of its kind in the area, offering a new type of responsive shared public transport which enables people to simply book a journey to when and where they need to go.

“The aim through this trial is to create a service which really becomes embedded in local communities, attracting users of all ages and creating a platform to be rolled out in other parts of the county.”

You can also follow DigiGo on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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We in the Parish Council have been working with Mulberry Homes to deliver a key component to the Felsted Neighbourhood Plan, providing community facilities with a future revenue stream for the parish and new homes to meet local needs.

With outline planning permission approved, Mulberry Homes are now inviting you hear more about their detailed plans for our new Surgery, public open space and homes.

A virtual exhibition of the detailed proposal of the new development planned for Station Road, Felsted will be held on Tuesday 5th April 2022, at 6.30pm via Zoom.

To receive a link to the Zoom webinar please contact Hannah Elwell at ku.oc.nedgushtrowsnuobfsctd-3c3185@yrreblum.

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Felsted Parish Council is very pleased to confirm that the development of the site at Sunnybrook Farm has been approved by Uttlesford Planning.

The full application can be read here.

During production of the Felsted Neighbourhood Plan key issues were raised by residents, including congestion on the roads around the primary school during drop off and pick up times and, from a housing perspective, the lack of smaller affordable homes.

This specific issue has been highlighted by the recent “Uttlesford Housing Market Report” published just two months ago, which identifies the Felsted and Stebbing Wards as having the most expensive 2 bedroomed houses in the whole of Uttlesford.

The proposal to develop part of the Sunnybrook Farm site delivers against these key areas:

• A car park for the school to reduce the need to stop on the roadside to drop off and pick up children. This will improve both traffic flow and be much safer for the children.
• 24 new houses, 16 of which are 2 bedroom, including 4 bungalows.

If you would like to read the full Felsted Neighbourhood Plan it can be found here.

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As part of the National Association of Civic Officers’ initiative encouraging civic leaders to plant a tree on Friday 11 March to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Cllrs Graham Harvey and Andrew Parker planted a tree on Watch House Green.

They were joined and assisted in the task by the School Parliament and teachers from Felsted Primary School.

This will be registered on The Queen’s Green Canopy website.

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A single storey, unfurnished, one bedroomed bungalow, set in a courtyard with six other properties at Felsted Almshouses has become available.

The bungalow is set back from the main road, with maintained gardens at the front and within walking distance to the village centre.

Suitable for a single person, with a lounge, bedroom, fitted kitchen and bathroom with overhead shower and toilet. Recently decorated and new carpets throughout.

Anyone interested must meet the following criteria:
Must be over 60 years of age
Be able to live independently
Should have some connection with Felsted village itself and have limited financial
means.
No pets are allowed.

If you are interested then please contact:
Tracy Eastop
Telephone: 01371 822600
Email: gro.detslefobfsctd-216f9f@apsrub

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The Parish Council has agreed to continue funding weekly Green Waste collections in 2022.

The collections will take place on Bannister Green from 9 -10 am every SUNDAY morning between 6 March and 4 December 2022 (inclusive).

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We have been informed of the planned closure of Station Road, Little Dunmow, from 28th February 2022 for 5 days which will involve all Flitch Green traffic being diverted through the village centre.

ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 – SECTION 14(1)

Temporary Traffic Regulation Order of Station Road, Little Dunmow

Please click on the following link https://one.network/?tm=125276172 to find details of the intended closure of Station Road, due to commence on 28th February 2022 for 5 days. The closure is required for the safety of the public and workforce while Affinity Water  undertakes new connection.

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Why oh why did they not do this whilst the school was on half term???    No joined up thinking!!!

The Uttlesford Community Safety Partnership will be bringing the Op Sceptre knife amnesty bin to Felsted at the Memorial Hall between 12.30-13.30pm on 30th March.

The Partnership is providing a knife bin where all bladed items that people do not want or should not have can be disposed of safely and without fear of prosecution.

This is also an opportunity to raise awareness of new legislation which makes it illegal to possess certain weapons in private places, such as homes. This includes items such as knuckledusters, flick knives and telescopic truncheons.

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Update: we are pleased to confirm that the gate has now been temporarily fixed to allow access to the car park.

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We received news on Christmas Day that the gate to the car park at the top of Jolly Boys Lane North had been vandalised.

Barney, our village attendant, visited the site on Christmas Day morning to make the gate safe. It had been smashed open resulting in considerable damage. It was no longer possible to fix the gate either open or closed in the usual way. Barney has therefore tied it closed in order to secure it safely.

The result is that the car park cannot currently be accessed. Fencing companies are closed until the New Year so nothing further can be done until then. We apologise for the inevitable inconvenience caused as a result of the actions of thoughtless idiots.

The incident has been reported to police. If anyone knows anything about who caused the damage please do speak to the Police or the Parish Clerk.

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