Village News

Jewellery Thefts
You need to be aware that we have recently began to see a rise in Jewellery thefts from dwelling burglaries. Police are constantly in contact with jewellers and updating them with descriptions of items and also photo's of items if available. This is the advice from the Police:

(1) Do not leave jewellery in plain sight.
(2) If away from your home for a period of time, put away in a safe place any Jewellery boxes etc
(3) Consider not keeping valuable items in the same place, separate expensive items and store in hard to find places.
(4) Take photos of valuable items for identification purposes
(5) Check if your items are covered by your insurance. House insurance does not always cover valuable items of jewellery.

Should anyone see any suspiscious persons or vehicles in the area, they should call police with as much detail as possible on 101

If anyone has any concerns or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact your local neighbourhood policing team who will be happy to assist with any help and advice.

Lock it or Lose it
Burglary continues to be a problem in the village so please be vigilent and report anything unusual. Individuals have now been targeted more than once. Criminals wait a few weeks until you have replaced your stolen items with new ones, then strike again. Power tools are a particular target.

The Parish Council is not happy with the response from Wiltshire Police and have written to them for clarification. Other rural counties have set up special initiatives to tackle rural crime and we should expect a more effective response.

Neighbourhood Watch
We are thinking of setting up a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme in the village but we do need a co-ordinator. If you have a few hours, please volunteer. You could make a real difference. The Police will be coming to our next council meeting and it would great if we had some volunteers before then.
Contact: Rob Hayward
r.hayward@
westernharvesters.co.uk

Scrap Metal
The price of scrap metal is now so high that it seems virtually anything is worth stealing. The lead from St Peter's has now been stolen 3 times. The police want to know if you see anybody driving through the village touting for scrap metal. Please take a note of the make, colour and license plate of the vehicle and report it to 0845 408 7000

Since Autumn 2009, we have successfully campaigned for a reduced speed limit in Great Cheverell. By the Summer 2010, Wilshire Council had agreed to introduce a 20mph trial in 5 villages across the county, including Great Cheverell. An Experimental Traffic Regulation Order made in March 2011 will be in place for 12–18 months, after which we hope the 20mph limit will be made permanent.

Click here for report and latest details

The Parish Council has long tried to get action to reduce the number of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) diverted through Great Cheverell. The problem has existed for more than 25 years and the lowering of the railway bridge at Littleton Panell to avoid damage has only increased the number of HGVs using our village High Street instead of the A360.
If you see an HGV stuck or causing gridlock, please take a photo and/or note the date, time, registration plate and any name on the vehicle. Please and send to the Parish Clerk. We need evidence.

The Council continues to pursue the issue of HGV's with the Devizes Area Board, which continues to offer strong support. A final decision will rest with Wiltshire Council, which will recognise the effect on the Wiltshire road network as a whole.
 
In December 2011, the Council was made aware of the results of a survey undertaken by Wiltshire Council in September, containing an analysis of HGV's travelling through the village on a single day. The Council has challenged some of the findings of this report, which it does not regard as particularly relevant to the debate. Parishioners may obtain a copy of this report, if required, from the Parish Clerk."

There have been several occasions when we would have liked to have warned villagers about something urgently.
We have no easy or cheap way of doing this. Photocopying and
handing out leaflets costs money and can be slow.
We need a way of getting a message to you quickly.

This would be particularly useful if we have a burglary or know of criminals targeting our village for particular crimes, or if a child wanders or a prisoner escapes.

We are proposing a HELP list (Handy Email List for Parishioners). We don't need to know who the email address belongs to and, when the email is sent out, you will not be able to see other email addressees.

Please help us to get this running as it saves your money.
Send an email to the Parish Clerk. Type HELP in the Header; that's all we need.
cheverellmagna@hotmail.co.uk