A New Year's message

It's been a year of uncertainty and just when we thought there was light at the end of the tunnel and the Parish Council could at last hold face to face meetings (socially distanced) we are back to wondering whether the government will permit meetings to be held remotely in the light of the Omicron variant. Despite these uncertain times I am pleased to say that Dunnington Parish Council has continued to function and so have the various voluntary groups. So on behalf of Dunnington Parish Council I would like to thank all those volunteers that gave up their time throughout the year.

The Dunnington In Bloom team have yet again organised the Christmas trees that adorn York Street and Church Street. Mercifully, most of them stayed in place despite Storm Arwen. Thanks for their tireless efforts in keeping the village looking beautiful, clean and tidy.

Thanks must also go the Dunnington Conservation Group who look after Hassacarr Nature Reserve, and the Environment Group who have brought a different kind of planting around the village with their beds of wild flowers. We are also grateful to the Green Initiatives Group who have been active in providing a new Garden Trees Scheme for residents and in assisting with hedge planting in the Parish Council cemetery and around the village.

Thank you to the many groups that offer ways to spend our leisure time: the Reading Room Committee; Dunnington Library, which is more than just books with its free internet and story times for the under 5s; St Nicholas Church, with its various community groups; the Dunnington Playing Fields Association and the various sporting groups - cricket, football squash; the Scouts and Guides; the Dunnington WI; the card game players; and the art groups. You only have to look in the Grapevine magazine to see how lucky we are in having so much choice.

Then there are the groups that during the year gave up their time to support others or to raise money for others so we also say thanks to the Dunnington Community Support Group and the Dunnington Cancer Support Group.

All of these groups have been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic as they have not been able to meet up to provide some mental health relief or to open to raise vital money for good causes. For those groups not mentioned by name, we are grateful you bring such variety and opportunities for residents.

I would also like to thank, on behalf of the village, those businesses that, despite their own problems, continued to provide a service to residents. I would also like to thank both the Grapevine magazine and the local community Facebook page, This is Dunnington, for providing a valuable source of local information.

Finally, I would personally like to thank my fellow parish councillors and ward councillors who also gave up their time and worked tirelessly behind the scenes in representing the parish and in continuing to make Dunnington the desirable village that it is.

This past year will have had mixed fortunes for each of us. Going forward, 2022 will be a significant year for Britain as we will be celebrating Her Majesty the Queen's Platinum Jubilee - the first time any British monarch has reached this historic milestone. We will also host the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and Festival UK 2022, each of which will bring a worldwide focus to the UK and will showcase the best of 21st Century Britain. The May Bank Holiday weekend will be moved to Thursday 2 June and an additional Bank Holiday on Friday 3 June will see a four-day weekend to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee. It is hoped as a village that we can join in the celebrations. If you are thinking of hosting an event, please could you contact Jessica, our Parish Clerk, using the contact form on our website. The Parish Council will be planting three oak trees as part of the Queen's Green Canopy to celebrate this significant milestone.

No doubt 2022 will have its challenges but if we continue to look out for one another we will get through it.

So on behalf of Dunnington Parish Council I would like to wish you all a happy and healthy 2022.

Gill Shaw

Chairman, Dunnington Parish Council