The monthly Parish Council Meeting of Ketton Parish Council was held in the Parish Office on Wednesday, 28th September, and was attended by eight councillors & the Clerk.
Councillors welcomed Nigel Roberts as a new councillor & approved his allocation to the Highways &Open Spaces Committee. They also thanked Lynn Thacker, who recently resigned from the parish council. Lynn played a very active part in village life, not only serving as a parish councillor and Whitebread Trust trustee, but at KSCC & as a member of Ketton Climate Action Group.
PC Pete Icke sent an area crime report for the past month, dated 26 September. During the last month the following crimes have been reported: one attempted break in whilst occupants were in; one vehicle in Ketton was scratched with a sharp instrument; one theft of a 4×4 was reported, vehicle later found abandoned; one attempted assault & an incident where underground copper cabling was cut in preparation of theft.
The Community Speed Watch groups continue to be trained and are out monitoring traffic.
CSW members are volunteers who are trained by Rutland County Council and the police to conduct “High Visibility Speed Checks” using a speed gun device known as SL700, also used by police. These are Home Office approved devices and are used to capture speeding motorists by the CSW. Those captured in excess of the speed limit will have their vehicle details passed to the police who will then post advisory letters to the registered keepers.
However, if it’s Police Officers conducting speed checks, expect your vehicle to be stopped at the roadside and the driver reported for the offence of Exceeding the Speed limit.
There has been one attempted residential burglary this month. If you have planned holidays and/or you are away from your home for extended periods of time, consider a few simple steps to prevent your home being targeted.
Keep ground floor windows/doors secure.
Lock gates allowing access to the rear.
Keep valuables out of sight and consider storing them in “Safe” tins or books.
Install window/door alarms and use timer devices.
The police have not seen any business-related burglaries, but please remain vigilant. Rural locations and farms are often targeted as their plant equipment are highly desired commodities due to demand exceeding worldwide supply.
Also, across the whole area of Leicestershire and Rutland there has been a significant increase in organised crime groups targeting “copper cables”. The MO is that these types of crimes will occur in rural areas on country roads during hours of darkness. A van and 4×4 type vehicle will often be in convoy together or parked up near to the roadside. Manhole covers are then removed and the BT copper internet cable is cut and pulled up and out of the ground.
If you see, witness or suspect anything similar happening, please call the police. Your call may be all that’s required to catch them in the act!
There is a police operation called “OP BATTERIES” for offences such as these, and the Rural Police Crime Team will be actively patrolling Rural areas known to be targeted to detect/deter further crimes.
The police will continue to work closely with the local residents and will alert residents as soon as a crime is reported. If anything suspicious is seen, please report it through either 999 or 101.
Ketton Parish Council are liaising with Rutland County Council to open Ketton Library on days when the library isn’t operating during the coming winter, to provide a warm space for residents, who may be struggling to heat their homes, due to the current economic difficulties we all are facing. Volunteers, supported by the Whitebread Trust would undertake to oversee these sessions, provide hot drinks, and ensure there would be no interference with the running of the library.
Fibre for Ketton – October 2022 Update
Exciting news! Very soon, ultra-fast fibre broadband will be available to everyone throughout our village. Then, we will have a decision to make – about choice.
Later this year, the first provider of Fibre broadband is set to switch on their service to the village; this company is called Upp. Shortly after, a host of other providers (the likes of companies such as BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Vodafone and more) will switch on their service to Ketton through connections installed by Openreach, currently planned for February.
Installation and connections from the latter are funded through the government voucher scheme that the majority of the village pledged support for during 2021. For those that pledged, there will be no installation costs. Upp is not part of the scheme, however it also does not currently explicitly charge for installation. Your choice is whether to take service with a single provider, Upp or wait a bit longer and have a selection of providers to choose from. There are pros and cons for each choice, let’s look at each option in turn.
If you choose Upp, you will forfeit the government voucher and should you wish to change provider at a later date, will be liable to pay any installation costs that may apply at that time. It does mean that you will get a service before any others are available in the village. Note that the Openreach service is live in some parts of the village already.
If you want to wait a bit longer for a choice of providers and you pledged for a voucher, then likewise there is no installation cost for your home or business. This is fully covered by the government voucher scheme.
So, you see the choice is about choice. All providers are running offers to attract customers in the village to them first. Consider where you want to be in 2 years time (most plans have a 24 month duration). The great news is that Ketton will soon have internet services fit for this century. We will all be able to study, work, relax, play, connect with friends and loved ones like never before. What you do next is up to you!
For further information type these websites into your internet browser:
● Option 1 see here: upp.com
● Option 2 see here for the latest list of providers: shorturl.at/fksU7
Our local Rutland South Police officer is Pete Icke, and his contact details are 07967589225 peter.icke@leicestershire.pnn
Ikra Hussain is our Rutland South beat Police Community Support Officer, who can be contacted on 07929723321 Ext: 3306555, or Ikra.Hussain@leicestershire.pnn.police.uk
If you are struggling with your smartphone, tablet, or laptop then why not sign up with Sarah at the Parish Office for free one-to-one IT training sessions on a Monday between 2pm and 4pm, with Berni, our very patient and dedicated volunteer trainer?
The Whitebread Trust is a charity for the support of individuals and organisations within the parish of Ketton. Applications for support should be addressed to the Chairman of the trust, Simon Forster, via the Parish Clerk kettonpc@btinternet.com
Useful contacts/information:
Ketton Good Neighbours Scheme: for help or support, please call on 0751 7798397, between 9am and 6pm.
The Hub meets every Thursday from 10am to 11.45am at KSCC. Come and have a coffee and a catch up with friends.
Dates for your diary
Saturday Oct 1st 9am to 10am County Councillors’ Surgery in Ketton Library, 10am to 4pm Apple Day at Stamford Arts Centre Sunday Oct 2nd 2pm to 4pm Hall Close. Big Green Festival.
Thursday Oct 6th 7.30pm ‘Ketton Talks’ at the Congregational Hall – Adam Cade ‘Trees’
Friday Oct 7th 2pm to 4pm Village Roadshow (support and volunteer opportunities and free refreshments) in Ketton Library
Monday Oct 17th to Sat Oct 22nd One World Week exhibition at Stamford Arts Centre.
Thursday Nov 3rd 7.30pm ‘Ketton Talks’ at the Congregational Hall – the Rutland Vineyard
Thursday Nov 10th Team Mindspace 10k sponsored Night Walk http://www.mindspacestamford.com
The Parish Office in Stocks Hill (Tel 01780722451, email kettonpc@btinternet.com) is open Tues and Wed 8am to 4pm. Facebook: Ketton News. Website www.ketton.org.uk
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