While we catch up after a very welcome summer break, here’s a roundup of news you might have missed in the last few weeks. Normal service resumed next week!
Brightlingsea Free Music Festival took place over the weekend of August 2&3 on Hurst Green and was one of the biggest and busiest yet. New this year was the Festival Fringe, with musicians performing in Springmead Gardens, pubs and other venues around the town.
A Stroke 4 Stroke charity rowing challenge on June 28 saw rowers including members of the Brightlingsea Coastal Rowing Club and the Blade Rowers raising funds for Brightlingsea Stroke Support Services by holding a day of f rowing-machine relays and challenges. over 200,000 kilometers were ‘rowed’ over six hours on the machines lined up outside the Colne Yacht Club, with hundreds of pounds raised.
The annual RNLI Flag Day, organised by the local branch of the lifeboat service, raised £606 thanks to the generosity of people in Brightlingsea.
Brightlingsea Town Council has been encouraging more people to become involved in local government. Following the resignation of two councillors, the council is seeking to co-opt volunteers to fill the vacancies. with a decision to be made at the council meeting on August 6.
Essex Police’s Marine Unit has continued its joint patrols with Brightlingsea Harbour, reminding all water users to observe local speed limits. On Saturday, July 25, a jetskier in his 80s from the Clacton area was spotted travelling at 15 knots along Brightlingsea Creek, exceeding the 4-knot speed limit. He has been reported to Colchester City Council for prosecution. The latest speeding incident comes just days after three other men, aged 19, 24 and 29, were reported for travelling at speeds between 15 and 20 knots on the River Colne.
Tendring District Council has approved the release of £8,000 in Section 106 developer contributions for open space improvements in the town, following a request from Brightlingsea Town Council. The money will go towards repairing the pump serving the boating lake and yacht pound, along with tidying up the surrounding open space.
The King has appointed Nicholas Charrington, DL, as His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Essex. He’ll take over the role on the retirement of Mrs Jennifer Tolhurst, CVO, in December. Mr Charrington, 65 is a former High Sheriff and is president of the Rural Community Council of Essex, Trustee of the Fowler, Smith and Jones Charity which gives grants to organisations across the county, and co-Founder of Wild Arts, which stages operas in venues across the country with a growing emphasis on outreach to children. He lives with his wife Sheila at Layer Marney Tower.
Anglers in Brightlingsea are to work with scientists who’ve been given nearly £1m to study the movement and breeding grounds of three endangered shark species, according to the BBC. Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme will focus on the blue shark, porbeagle and tope and will use electronic tags to pinpoint migration routes, areas where they live, and how sharks respond to capture and release by local anglers and those in Looe and Falmouth.
Free bus travel is available for children aged five to 15 on some local bus services across Essex in August as part of the government’s Great British Summer Savings scheme, funded by the Department for Transport.
Participating bus operators include:
- Arriva
- First Bus
- Central Connect
- Stephensons of Essex
- DigiGo
To travel for free, children need to board the bus and ask the driver for a child’s ticket to their destination.
Planning applications/decisions in Brightlingsea:
- 1 Ladysmith Avenue– Change of use from mixed commercial/residential use to a single dwellinghouse. Approved.
- 111 Tower Street – Householder application for an outbuilding to the rear garden for boat storage, woodwork and an art studio. Decision pending.
- 114 Tower Street. – Trees in a Conservation Area notification to fell one eucalyptus and one ash. Approved.