Monthly Archives: April 2021

Walking for Whitchurch Silk Mill

One of the Mill’s supporters, Simon Coates, has undertaken to walk 10 miles a day for 8 months (a total of 2000 miles) in aid of 16 charities in the region, of which the Silk Mill is proud to be one.

Simon was inspired to add the Mill to his list of charities by Lisa Gale, who manages the exhibitions and events programme that delight visitors at the Mill. He said, “Whitchurch Silk Mill brings to life for new generations the history of Britain’s oldest working silk mill still in existence. It provides an opportunity for them to gain first-hand experience of the skills, techniques, and methods used to create beautiful silk fabric. It is a cause close to my heart”.

Like most heritage attractions in Hampshire, Whitchurch Silk Mill was closed for 7 out of the last 12 months. Despite receiving grants from the Emergency and Recovery Funds, the Mill’s reserves have shrunk since the pandemic started. Essential maintenance and repairs to the 200-year-old building and gardens risk being delayed if additional funds are not found.

To read more about this challenge and find details of how you can contribute, go to http://www.charityhikes.org.uk.

Whitchurch Conservation Group – Website Launch Whitchurch Conservation Group (WCG) are very excited to announce that our website is finally live!   We are a constituted community group set up last October, initially to garner public engagement for the Basingstoke & Deane (BDBC) Issues and Options Consultation. Thanks to your support, we submitted several hundred individual responses to BDBC, and are now seeing that being fed through into the Local Plan.  

We seek to preserve Whitchurch’s green spaces, whilst also recognising the need for proportionate development and improvement of infrastructure, enhancing Whitchurch’s status as an economically and socially vibrant town with a strong rural and heritage identity.

  We would like to draw your attention to the FAQ page on the website, which we hope will be a big help in explaining the special designations that may apply to a piece of land and the planning policy jargon that residents often find difficult to understand.   If you haven’t already done so, then please do sign up to join us (link below) – we currently have 650 members, all local Whitchurch residents, and work alongside Whitchurch Town Council. We have some really important issues relating to planning and development looming on the horizon – we need your support, more than ever.  

Thank you, 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩   https://whitchurchconservationgroup.org/join/  

National Lottery Community Grant Awarded to the Whitchurch Association Whitchurch Association trustees are thrilled to announce that the Association has been awarded a £7,800 grant from the National Lottery Community Award scheme for their project ‘Working For All as One’. Trustees would like to thank Association member Lucie Maitland for all the work she undertook on behalf of the Whitchurch Association (and town) during lockdown to secure this award, which will benefit all residents.

Aimed at helping communities ‘re-open’ post lockdown, the grant has been awarded for the following….

The award will support the weekly, professionally led Singing For The Mind sessions. With many people suffering long periods of isolation during the pandemic, it was very important to the Whitchurch Association that these sessions were not put at risk through lack of funding. Trustees and staff at the Gill Nethercott Centre are delighted that Government guidelines will allow us to welcome back Singing For The Mind from Monday 12th June 10.30 am – 12.15 pm. If you would like to attend, please let Julia or Sue know on 01256 896270 or gillnethercottcentre@btconnect.com

If you would like to volunteer to help us run this session either making teas and coffee, driving or helping with leading the singing we would like to hear from you too. All are welcome!

The award also covers the purchase of essential equipment for the Walkers are Welcome footpath volunteers. At the moment volunteers are tackling vegetation with standard garden tools; the new brushcutters, hedge trimmer (& PPE) will enable the work to be carried out more effectively and efficiently and enable the team to cover a wider area. New lobby chairs at the GNC to replace the old/damaged seats. An Air Humidifier for the main hall.

Staff at the GNC are working hard to get the Centre ready for activities to resume from the 17th May and don’t forget we have local elections on the 6th May when the GNC is once again expecting to be used as the polling station.

For further information please contact: Julia /Sue at the The Gill Nethercott Centre. Email: gillnethercottcentre@btconnect.com  or  telephone: 01256 896270

Support us with Membership: You can support the work of the Whitchurch Association by becoming a member. After your first year of membership, you are eligible for 10% discount on all personal bookings at the Gill Nethercott Centre.

Individual membership – £2.50/year

Family membership – £5/year

Contact us if you would like to become a member. secretary@whitchurchassociation.org.uk