The Rev. Jonnie Parkin.

Johnnie is to be licensed to the parishes of Branston, Potterhanworth, Nocton, Dunston, Metheringham and Blankney, at a service in All Saints, Nocton on Tuesday 10th May 2011 at 7.30pm.

The service will be led by the Rt Rev, Dr Tim Ellis, Bishop of Grantham, there is an open invitation for all parishioners of the six parishes to attend and welcome him to his new role within our communities.

Afterwards there will be a welcome reception at Nocton Village Hall, put on by the congregations of the six parishes. A finger buffet and drinks will be available. If you intend to come along it would be useful to know for catering purposes.

More information will be published shortly.

Keep Nocton Tidy

History of the Nocton Estates Light Railway

I have just been reading through the MACLA website and came across a recently published article on the Light Railway formerly used on the Nocton Estate. Its worth a read if your interested in local history.

Here's a flavour which may suggest those 'idyllic days' now long gone were not as harmonious as we are led to believe.

........Mr W.H. Dennis, however, had different ideas on the farming policies of his land and one by one the 26 tenant farmers were given notice to quit so he could manage the entire land himself. Systematically, farm houses on the estate, from the edge of the Lincoln Heath to the Fens, were to be left empty and then in time totally demolished, changing the idyllic Lincolnshire countryside forever. Mr Dennis's actions continued to make him less than popular in the community as woods and hedgerows too were cleared as he increased his arable land to some 8,000 acres, to become one of the major producers of beet, potatoes, wheat and barley in the country. The fact that Nocton Station was on his doorstep was a great advantage to him as his produce could be transported to all points from here. ........

Click here to take you straight there.

More Good News!

Another grant application has turned out to be positive. The Garfield Weston Foundation base in London has sent me a cheque for £3000 towards our repairs along with all their good wishes for the project.

Thank you Garfield Weston.

The Roof Moves Forward...

Well actually I hope it stays in place just for the moment. I did however have a phone call today from the English Heritage grant officer. They are the process of reviewing our plans, costings and tenderers to make sure everything is in place. I may have mentioned before that the costs have come in nearly 50% over estimate for various reasons which did lead to a little dissapointment last year when I feared we may have to trim back our ambitions. However I did submit a strong case to EH for further funds back in December 2010 and it was indicated today that they will probably enhance our original grant by £31,000 to make up some of the deficit. I await confirmation but I am now very hopeful that the project can be completed as originally planned with a few efficiencies hear and there.

As required by the church planning law a public notice has to be displayed for 28 days to give people the chance to view the plans and write with observations to the Diocesan Registrar. The notice is on the church notice board opposite the Post Office and is displayed inside the church. The last day for observations is 30th March.

The first week in April will be the time when everything will come together and we should know exactly how th year will process and what will be being done. I will keep you updated.

March's Magazine

March's magazine is now published and paper copies will be out shortly. I have decided to change the publication date to mid-month to allow for a catch up with most meetings which tend to take place at the beginning of each month. This will make some of the info in the magazine more current. However this blog and Geoff Halls blog carry much of the 'whats on' info if you need to find any village info out.

I have put the full service pattern upto Easter Sunday on line, not quite as far in the paper copy, just in case there is a slip with publication dates.

I hope this will be useful and as I said before more current, things change very fast in Nocton!

Our New Associate Priest

The Bishop of Grantham, The Rt Rev, Dr Tim Ellis has today put out the following press release:

“The Bishop of Grantham is pleased to announce that the Reverend Jonnie Parkin, who is currently Youth & Children’s Missioner and Team Vicar in the Haborough Anglican Team in the Diocese of Leicester, has been appointed part time Associate Priest in of the benefices of Branston with Nocton and Potterhanworth and Metheringham with Blankney and Dunston in the Graffoe Deanery and part time U2Charist Animateur for the Mission Initiatives Project, subject to CRB Disclosure.  Jonnie, his wife Mel and their family hope to move to Branston in May and will be licensed by Bishop Tim during May.”

Whats Next?

Like many villagers it's the uncertainty that is the problem. Are we now going to be face with more years of anticipation of what might or might not be. I must admit while I had no problems with the dairy I do not like the sound of the 'watch this space' at the end of the press release.

I hope the village can now pull and work together for the benefit of the community, especially as the parish council elections are looming. There is a lot that can be done and lot that should be done. There's space for new people,  new idea's and new ways of doing things. So if you feel as though you've something to offer, go for it.

Nocton Dairies Plans Withdrawn.

From: Amy Jackson
Sent:  16/02/2011 1:23:39 pm
Subject:  FYI press statement being issued today - plans withdrawn


Ambitious plans for UKs largest dairy farm withdrawn

Plans to set up the UKs largest dairy farm were withdrawn today (16
February 2011), announced the applicants Nocton Dairies Ltd in the following
statement:

We are writing today to North Kesteven District Council to formally withdraw
our application for planning permission to build a 3,770 cow dairy farm at
Nocton Heath, Lincolnshire, reference 10/1397/FUL.  The sole reason for
this decision is the response of the Environment Agency, which has
maintained its objection to the proposal. 

The Environment Agencys grounds are lack of information about risks posed
to the aquifer underlying the site and uncertainty about the extent of the
benefits associated with the change in land use.  This precautionary stance
and requests for new information reflect unfamiliarity with agriculture in
general and the design of the modern dairy farm in particular.  Despite our
best efforts to address these concerns, including an additional investment
of £4 million in engineering the management of the waste to unprecedented
standards, lack of relevant research has made it impossible to provide the
reassurances required by the Environment Agency that livestock farming is an
appropriate use of land at this site. 

We believe the Environment Agency has not acted under any pressure in
reaching this decision and that no undue influence from other individuals or
organisations has been brought to bear; any claims to this effect would be
both disingenuous and self-serving. 

We would like to emphasise the following points:

·       The challenge has been laid down to the farming industry to
produce more with less.  We need leadership to help us do this and proactive
advice from regulatory experts  only a practical, informed and can-do
approach will move this whole agenda forward

·        The industry needs to stand up to those who would twist the facts
about animal welfare, and highlight lack of investment as the issue, not
scale or type of system. If our industry does not tell the public the facts
and open its doors to show how we are great at farming in many different
ways, then misinformed single interest pressure groups will fill the void
with untruths to the eventual detriment of all

·        The fundamental concept we have been proposing is a sound one:
expand dairying toward the east to re-integrate livestock and arable
farming, make better use of resources, proactively manage welfare, gain
economies of scale, and look to support a long term reduction in water
pollution.  We challenge other farmers to pick up the baton and see where
these concepts can take them.

In conclusion, we would like to thank those in the dairy industry who have
voiced support over the past few weeks  you know who you are  and the many
local people who have approached us to express their backing. We would
especially like to thank our neighbour Robert Howard, and Ralph and Mary
Timms of Nocton who had the open mindedness to fully research the project
and the courage to change their position and express their views openly in
the face of overwhelming criticism. 

Our other two applications for a pipeline and reservoir remain active. Our
farm at Nocton is a tremendous site with much potential for the future, so
we wont be selling it, but will now be taking some time to consider our
options.  Watch this space!

-ends-

New Shape of Ministry in our Joint Benefices is forming.

Some of you may by now be aware that the Rev Jonnie Parkin has been appointed as a part time associate priest in our joint Benefices of Branston, Potter and Nocton, Metheringham, Blankney and Dunston. Along wth Sister Liz and The Sisters of St Francis at Metheringham,  they are forming the basis of a new style of ministry which we will be the prototype for. The setup is still not complete and Bishop Tim along with others is considering the options. I'm not sure as yet where Jonnie Parkin will live, but it may potentially be the Branston parsonage house that Darol used to live in. We wish Jonnie well as he joins us.

What a Wonderful Day.

We were out taking the dog for a walk this morning so I'd thought I might capture some of the fantastics vistas of snowdrops carpeting the woods around the hall. It's a great time of year to hope that the dreadful weather we had during December is well and truly behind us, and things can and will get on with the 'back to normal' seasonal routine of things. Go and take a walk and enjoy the air and the views.

Back and Refreshed

Got back from my retreat this afternoon and what an experience. I will relate a little more of it later and possibly in next months magazine. I have also added a new link you might be interested in. It is to the Sisters of St Francis, in Metheringham. They are a recent addition to the worship in the area . Their house, the former vicarage in Metheringham was formally opened by Bishop John towards the end of last year. If you wish to know more about them and their work please take a look. I will repeat the link here for ease. Sisters of St Francis . Sorry about the delay in this months magazines but they should be with you over the next couple of days.

Feb's Magazine

This months magazine will not be delivered until around 10/11th of Feb as I am away on an 8 day Ignation Spiritual retreat organised at very short notice and wont be back until the 9th Feb. There will be a few paper copies in the post office if anyone wants one and the electronic copy has been circulated and will be available to download from http://www.allsaintsnocton.org.uk/ from tomorrow.

Last Nights Nocton Dairies Village Meeting.

On 19^th January the Parish Council hosted a meeting between Nocton residents and representatives of Nocton Dairies.  The aim of the meeting was to provide residents with an opportunity to ask questions about all aspects of the proposed Dairy development on Nocton Heath.

The meeting was independently chaired by Liz Murray (one of the Church Wardens) and was attended by some 100 people, the overwhelming majority of whom were from Nocton.

After short presentations from Peter Willes of Nocton Dairies and Andrew David, a Nocton resident who outlined some of some of his concerns about the proposal, there followed a lengthy and detailed question and answer session covering environmental, traffic, spreading of digestate, public health and economic issues associated with the Dairy development.  There were also a number of questions and comments from residents about Nocton Dairies’ recently submitted application for an underground digestate pipeline from the Dairy  to Wasps Nest.

Left: Andrew David, 2nd Left: Liz Murray, Centre: Peter Willes, Right: David Barnes.

The discussion was lively and generally very good-natured and covered a wide range of issues and concerns about the Dairy.

At the conclusion of the meeting Liz Murray received a vote of thanks for the effective and very fair way in which she had chaired the meeting.

(Thanks to Ian Goldsworthy for his parish mag submission which I have abridged here. The full unabridged version will appear in the Feb parish mag.)

Meetings of Interest.

Wed 19th Jan. The Nocton Dairy Q&A Session with reps from Nocton Dairies & Opposition Groups. In the Village Hall starting at 7.30pm. Independently Chaired by our own Dr Liz Murray.

Wed 2nd Feb at 7.30pm. The Village Hall AGM, the positions of Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and Booking Clerk are all up for election. If you interested in standing for any of these positions you must have you interest registered in writing with Doreen Green (Secretary) prior to the meeting. Other committee members may also be elected. All villagers are eligible to attend and vote