More information regarding Westbury HERE,
St. Augustine’s Church
December was a very busy month at St. Augustine’s. Paula’s Angel Workshop was attended by several enthusiastic children who made colourful angels to hang round the yew tree. These were joined by a host of lovely fir cone angels made by the little children at Beachborough. The Christmas Bazaar was very well attended by our friends old and new and raised the magnificent sum of £594.46 for Church funds. The Carol and Crib Services were also well attended and we were able to put our new sound system to good use.
A big thank you to everyone who supports us by opening and closing the Church daily, cleaning, flower arranging and helping to keep the churchyard in good order. Spring is well on the way and the snowdrops and early primroses are a welcome sight after a dreary winter.
Palmerston are at Westbury VIllage Hall 10th May in aid of our stained glass window appeal! Full details here
You can support our fabric for FREE while shopping online by clicking here or on the image below
We are supporting Baby Basics which aims to support new mothers and families who are struggling to meet the financial and practical burden of looking after a new baby
We are also supporting the Brackley Food Bank and donations can be left in the church
The Westbury Charity has helped us replace our mower and strimmer, This is a great help to our Churchyard Working Party
We put new LED lights into the church to replace our old halogen ones. Thank you to FOSTA and Beachborough School for supporting
The Parish Giving Scheme is a safe and easy way to support us on a regular or one off basis
News from the Friends of St. Augustine’s Church (FOStA)
FOStA has been set up as a charity to raise funds to help towards the maintenance of the church, with the long-term aim of creating a warm and welcoming community
space for all villagers and a variety of uses. For the next project, following on from our contribution to the new lighting, FOStA will be raising money to clean and restore the stained-glass windows in the church. We will initially be aiming to raise £2,000 towards this, and we are planning events to raise funds as well as welcoming any contributions.
A music evening with our own Alan Rondeau’s band, Palmerston, is being planned for May – watch out for the final dates, we will circulate soon. In June we are organising a Safari Supper round the village, starting at the church – save the date, Saturday June 15th. We will be sending out more details as we get nearer to the time.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to maintaining St Augustine’s in any way. If you would like to know more about FOStA and if you would be able to contribute in any way, the contact is westburyfosta@gmain.com
Westbury Parish Council
Meetings are usually held the second Wednesday of the month, 7.30pm at Westbury Village Hall. Our next one is 13th March 2024. Everyone is welcome to attend. You can view meeting dates and parish council documents on the village website at: https://westburyvillage.co.uk/westbury-parish-council/
Westbury Neighbourhood Plan update
The final version of the plan has been submitted to Buckinghamshire Council who will publicise the plan and arrange for an independent examination. If it is found to be satisfactory, Buckinghamshire Council will arrange for a referendum to take place. Only people living in the neighbourhood who are registered to vote will be entitled to vote in the referendum. If more than 50% of people voting support the plan, then Buckinghamshire Council must bring it into force.
Community Speed Watch
Our team of volunteers have been out on the roads in Westbury since last October. The aim of the campaign is to make drivers aware of the speed limits and encourage them to slow down. We hope to be able to hold at least one session a week – if anyone is interested in joining the team of volunteers, please contact Cathy, our Parish Council Clerk westburyclerk@aol.com
Village Emails
To join our popular mailing list, you can sign up at http://eepurl.com/dKP7Cc or email the clerk.
Fix my Street
Anyone can use this online tool to report a problem on a street/road in Buckinghamshire (including fly tipping) or to track the progress of reported issues at: https://www.fixmystreet.buckscc.gov.uk/
HS2 Mobile Visitor Centre (MVC)
If you would like to find out more about HS2 activity, the MVC will be parked at Westbury Village Hall on the following dates: Thursday 21st March 1-3pm; 16th May 10am-12pm and 18th July 10am – 12pm.
Lambing season
Many of the fields around Westbury house livestock. Please follow the countryside code by ensuring dogs are on leads and kept under control. Always stick to public rights of way, close gates after you and pick up dog poop – thank you.
Westbury Community Shop and Cafe
As spring beckons, we are starting to look forward to warmer and brighter days. In the meantime, we are thrilled with the success of the indoor space that the Village Hall has generously given us for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, allowing a warm space for a coffee and a catch up.
We know how popular our local producers and suppliers are with our customers. From Mellow Meats and Smith and Clay supplying all the meat for Friday Night takeaways to local flowers from Buzzy at Flowers Naturally, and our eagerly anticipated Westbury Asparagus
which will be with us shortly. Our fruit and veg from local suppliers are available all year round helping you manage your food waste and food miles. You can either order a box or pop in for just exactly what you need; whether it be one apple, two clementines or a bunch of purple sprouting broccoli.
If you are a local producer or business interested in supplying us, please get in touch. We are always on the lookout for new opportunities to support other local businesses.
If you would like to celebrate Mother’s Day with us, we are again offering a Celebratory ‘Tea and Treats’ afternoon, so you can spoil you mum, and let us do all the work. If you would like to book, please pop in or call the shop.
Following the success of ‘Bangers, Beers and Bingo’ in January, we will be donning our Lederhosen and Dirndls in April for a night of German beers and sausages on the 19th April, and would love your support. Every Friday in between though, celebrate the end of another busy work week, and let us take the strain with our delicious Friday Night Takeaways,
available to both takeaway or to eat in with us. Look out on social media for the current week’s menu.
The Easter holidays bring the Easter Bunny to the shop and café. Look out for Bunny related treats and activities, and take advantage of the park and great open space to enjoy the outdoors with your family and friends.
We will be open the entire weekend with the exception of Easter Sunday (closed all day) and shortened hours on Easter Monday (10am – 4pm).
To celebrate Spring, we will be hosting a ‘Spring Fling’ on Sunday 26th May, with a BBQ, music, with support from Roman Way; the Weedon, Northants based brewery, the producer of our famous ‘Westbeery’!
Westbury Community Cinema continues to go from strength to strength. Our next film, on 14th March, will be The Greatest Escape. Doors open at 7.00pm, with the film starting at 7.30pm. Refreshments are available for purchase from the shop prior to, and during the film. The next dates for your diary are 18th April and 16th May. If you would like to be added to the mailing list to receive film title information directly, please email westburycinema@gmail.com.
Facebook page ‘Westbury Community Shop and Café
It costs over £20,000 each year to keep the church open and maintain the churchyard. If you are able to help at all, please click here or on the Parish Giving Scheme logo below or support us through your online shopping for free here
