Defibrillators, or to give them their full name Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) can save lives. When someone has a cardiac arrest, time is of the essence - a few minutes can make a critical difference to the outcome.
We spoke recently with Jules Johnson from Shipston First Responders who by his own admission is fanatical about these machines. Over recent years Shipston has seen the number of local AEDs increase significantly, which is great news. But there is still more that a can be done.
You can see from this map where our local AEDs are. Defib Finder UK The closest one to The Herdwicks is at The Enterprise Centre, aka The Hub off Pittway Avenue. Whilst this may seem close, in an emergency situation when every second counts imagine how long it would take to get down there and bring the device back up to our development.
Wouldn’t it be much better if we had our own AED - or even better one on Herdwick Gate and another on Herdwick Fold? Jules kindly attended a recent General Meeting of Residents and explained the benefits of having a local AED.
The Cost
Shipston First Responders can supply and fit an AED for around £1,500. Currently they undertake to check and maintain all local devices. The devices are housed in a box that requires an electric supply and ongoing running costs equate to the cost of charging a mobile phone. In other words it’s negligible.
Hosting an AED
These devices need to be fixed to the outside wall of a property. Shipston First Responders would need to be happy with any proposed location and they would deal with the installation. In the event that a property owner subsequently wants the device removed this can be done quickly and at no cost.
AED Training
Whilst the devices do talk to you once activated and give step by step instructions, Jules confirmed that free training could be provided to residents following an AED installation. Numbers would be limited so it would be first come first served.
Guaging Support from Residents
Those residents who attended the General Meeting agreed it would be a good idea to have a local device. So with that in mind we are asking residents two questions:
Q1. Funding: How much would you be prepared to contribute towards purchasing an AED for your development? (We are not asking for money now, just an indication of intent).
Q2. Hosting the AED: Would you consider hosting an AED on your property?
Please respond by clicking on this link to send a message to the Residents Association Committee.
On Herdwick Gate and Herdwick Fold we have 238 homes, so if every home gave £6 we could afford to get one AED. Ideally one on each development would be even better.
There could be some residents who think this would be a particularly important community asset to have and may wish to donate a bigger amount.
It may also be possible for the committee to apply for grants to help with the cost, but we would initially like to understand the level of support from within our community.
This is an opportunity for us to potentially save the lives of friends and neighbours. Please respond to the questions above and let us know what you think. Contact Us
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The Committee of the Residents Association would like to remind residents about our next General Meeting.
This will be held in the The Hub off Pittway Avenue. The date is Thursday 3rd July starting at 18.30. We expect the meeting to take around one hour.
The meeting is on the first floor which is normally accessed by stairs. If you have mobility issues please let us know in advance so we can arrange alternative access.
This is an opportunity for you to find out what your Committee has been doing on your behalf over recent months and to ask any questions you may have.
To see the proposed agenda visit this page: Meeting Minutes
If there is something specific you wish to raise please contact us as soon as possible so that we can consider if it is already covered or whether we need to add it to the agenda.
We hope you will take the opportunity to be a part of The Herdwick community and come along to the meeting. We do need a quorum for the meeting to take place. We look forward to seeing you there.
Best wishes.
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In this report we bring you news of our landscape planting audit and an update on road works.
Landscape Audit
In 2024 gaps were identified in the trees and shrubs planted on our two developments. Taylor Wimpey arranged for contractors to carry out remedial planting to improve the situation.
Last week some members of the Residents Association committee plus a few volunteers walked round Herdwick Gate and Herdwick Fold to check this work.
It was evident that many of the trees identified as dead or missing from last year’s audit had been properly replaced.
However there are still a number of areas that do not reflect the landscaping plans and we are writing to Taylor Wimpey to highlight where further action is required.
As we walked round we did a spot of litter picking. By the end of the afternoon we had filled about four large bin bags of litter. We also retrieved a traffic cone from one of the attenuation basins. See image.
Road works on Herdwick Fold
Further to our article on 25th April informing residents of planned dates for road works on Herdwick Fold we are happy to report that Stage 1 road resurfacing has been completed on Barrett Place. In other areas work is ongoing to raise iron-works ahead of scheduled resurfacing work.
Barrett Place - before.
Barrett Place - after.
Stage 2 work is due to commence on Bradley Drive and Nichols Court on 20th June.
General Meeting Thursday 3rd July
Finally a note for your diary. We will be holding our next Residents Association General Meeting at The Hub on Thursday 3rd July, starting at 18.30.
We will be discussing matters relevant to our two developments and it’s an opportunity for residents to put questions to the committee.
This is your Residents Association so please come along and meet the committee and your fellow residents. We hope to see you there.
If you have any comments on this article, or if you have any questions please drop us line. You can contact us here.
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One of the things we have been talking to Taylor Wimpey (TW) about is the landscaping of our Public Open Spaces (POS) on both Herdwick Gate and Herdwick Fold.
In the summer of 2024 we conducted a landscaping audit and found lots of missing or dead trees and plants. We shared our audit with TW and over recent months they tell us that contractors have been on-site to carry out remedial planting.
We have seen evidence of this taking place but we are convinced that more work is required. In order to identify any remaining gaps we wish to conduct another planting audit on both developments. We will send our findings to TW and ask them to take action.
This audit is taking place on Wednesday 21st May 2025. Timing to be decided - but it will be in the afternoon or early evening.
Would you like to join us as we walk round? It will probably take a couple of hours. We have a landscape plan so it’s simply a case of walking round and comparing reality to the plan, and noting any issues.
Whilst we are doing this we thought it would be an opportunity to do a litter pick and bag up any rubbish we find lying around. Please contact us if you would like to help out.
If you have any comments on this article, or if you have any questions please drop us line. You can contact us here.
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We have good news. Taylor Wimpey has appointed Shannonside Civil Engineering Ltd as the contractors who will complete our road surfaces. They have been delivering letters to residents on Herdwick Fold advising dates when work will begin.
Final remedial works will begin over the coming weeks. This will include replacing damaged kerbs and edgings, raising iron works, resurfacing footpaths and roads, and providing the final road surface.
Access to and from your property may be restricted between 08.00 and 17.00 during these works but Shannonside workers will assist residents with any access requirements.
Road surfacing work will take place in four stages, as outlined on the plan below.
Stage 1: Barrett Place (red) - starts 23rd May 2025
Stage 2: Bradley Drive and Nichols Court (blue) - starts 20th June 2025
Stage 3: From 34 to 55 Nason Way (yellow) - starts 25th July 2025
Stage 4: Nason Way from Campden Road to junction with Barrett Place (green) - starts 22nd August 2025
Please note that the above dates are subject to change where work is disrupted due to events outside Shannonside’s control, for example adverse weather conditions.
Let’s do all we can to enable Shannonside to complete the work by keeping roads and footpaths clear at the designated times. We may finally be about to get our roads and pavements finished! We should have a party when it’s all done.
If you have any comments on this story, or if you have any questions about the planned works please drop us line. You can contact us here.
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Since our last report the Residents Association committee has been trying to get Taylor Wimpey (TW) to engage with us and share what information they have on a range of issues affecting the Herdwick Gate and Herdwick Fold developments.
Their response has been tardy and lacking in detail, but finally we have some news we can share about the roads and pavements on the Herdwick Fold development. Other important issues will be covered in separate articles to be published shortly.
Ongoing discussions
TW apologised for the delay in responding. They told us they have been in discussions with Warwickshire County Council (WCC) and United Living to resolve matters regarding the roads. United Living are responsible for the roads on the Shepherd’s Gate development (Orbit), which join Nason Way. There have been issues where the two developments meet at the junction of Hands Place and Nason Way.
The Section 38 agreement between WCC and TW is progressing and is expected to be finalised shortly. This agreement is required before TW can carry out the final road works. It’s been a difficult process, made more complicated by the need for TW and United Living to work together and agree who needs to do what where their respective roads meet.
Manhole remedials start 21st April 2025
The Section 104 agreement for Severn Trent to adopt sewers is in place and manhole remedials are due to start on Monday 21st April. This should take up to two weeks to complete.
Road remedials expected May 2025
TW tell us that as far as final road works are concerned they have already gone through the tendering process and they have chosen a contractor to do the work. It is their intention to start these road works in early May 2025 on a road by road basis, as the manhole remedials are completed.
United Living must complete some remedial works to the left hand junction of Hands Place, for the TW road to tie in to. See image.
This is a pre-requisite for TW works to go ahead in that area. So TW intends to start from the rear of the Herdwick Fold development working towards Campden Road. This should give United Living sufficient time to complete their work.
TW’s contractor will complete all back edgings and kerbs as stage one of the planned road works, and once WCC are happy with this the road topping can be scheduled.
You may have noticed over recent days that some of our pavements and kerbstones have been sprayed with blue paint in anticipation of this work.
The short footpath connecting Bradley Drive to Campden Road should disappear as part of these works, with the area being landscaped. See image.
Access to the highway
The contractor will complete a letter drop to all residents before works commence and they will be requesting your support to enable access to all areas of the highway so that road surfacing work is not held up. Residents may need to identify temporary alternative parking spots for vehicles.
Adoption of roads by WCC
Once all road works are completed WCC will check that the required standards have been met. Assuming they do meet the required standards the clock starts ticking on a 12 month transition period, following which the council will fully adopt the roads and pavements providing that no issues have emerged.
The long and bumpy road
At long last, it would appear as if we are on the cusp of getting the roads and pavements on Herdwick Fold finished. It’s worth bearing in mind that the first homes were sold back in 2019, so some residents have been waiting for this for almost six years.
It’s been a long and bumpy road getting to this point! But TW tell us they have got their resources lined up and we must hope that United Living do their bit at the Hands Place junction.
Who knows, maybe we will have smooth roads by the summer!
If you have any comments on this story, or if you have any questions about the planned works please drop us line. You can contact us here.
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