Monday 4th June in the evening, we will be lighting the Beacon at Riccall Park at 10.15pm (this is the time given to us as part of the National lighting ceremony). There is a long and unbroken tradition in our country of celebrating Royal Jubilees, with the lighting of beacons. In 1897 beacons were lit to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and in 1977 and 2002 beacons were also lit to celebrate the Queen's Silver and Golden Jubilees. As part of the Diamond Jubilee, communities up and down the country will be joining the celebration by the lighting of beacons. It is fitting that Riccall Parish Council lights the beacon at Riccall Park to give thanks for the Queen's reign. Everyone in the village is welcome to join us by walking up to the park with a lantern, where the beacon will be lit at 10.15pm and there will be a toast to Her Majesty the Queen. 

From 1st April 2012, Riccall Parish Council has a limited amount of funding available for Riccall Community Groups to apply for. In an effort to support its community groups, the Parish Council would like to encourage applications for small grants, up to a maximum of £400. You will need to clearly demonstrate why you need the funding and complete an application form.

Deadlines for applications during 2012 are:

15th June

14th September

Guidance notes for Community Grants Scheme application 2012 2013

RPC Community Grants Scheme Application Form 2012 13

Carr Lane (the public right of way running between Main Street to Back Lane) is currently closed due to the development of the Dunelm Farm site. Linden Homes have a temporary closure order which operates until 1st October 2012. The path has been closed due to drainage and sewer connection works and should be open again towards the end of May. The developers can close the path again at any time up until 1st October but are hoping that once the drainage work is done, it should be able to stay open most of the time.

Riccall Community Library is now open at the Regen Centre (in the bar area, where there is a coffee machine) on Mondays between 10 am and 12 noon and Tuesdays between 2pm and 4pm and is run by local volunteers.

The Parish Council has worked with North Yorkshire Library service to provide a collection of books for Riccall and these will be changed every three months. 

The cut in services at NYCC has seen the loss of our mobile library service and the reduction in opening hours of many libraries, whilst others have closed completely. It is hoped that the community library can bridge a gap and will be a really sucessful initiative for Riccall, that can be developed as it becomes more popular with residents. 

Please do come along, have a coffee in the bar area and relax whilst choosing a book. There will be a wide selection to choose from, including some children's books.

Riccall Neighbourhood Watch is a well established and important group, recognised by the Police as one of the best within this area.

The group already has many key members but currently needs a Chairman to help drive the projects and priorities forwards. Interested?

Get in touch  lindsey.ryan@riccallparishcouncil.org.uk

Many thanks to the volunteers that have come forward to offer their time to help run the new community library that will be held at the Regen Centre. It is likely that the library will open on Monday mornings and Tuesday afternoons in the bar at the centre from early May this year.

Watch this space for details later in April and please do come and have a cup of coffee, relax and use the new library once it is up and running.

Last year Danny Rodwell of Riccall was nominated to be a torch bearer in York. He recieved a phone call in November to say that he had been given a conditional offer, based on security and background checks and finally recieved an email this month to confirm his place.

He was nominated last May for his participation in cycling from John O' Groats to Lands End with his dad back in 2009, raising money for Cancer Research and also for his help with coaching youngsters at Riccall Utd.

Danny said 'This is a once in a life time experience and I feel very honoured to be given this opportunity.' 

The Council wishes Danny well with the experience and hopes that the community feels proud of his achievements. Well done Danny!

Users of the Abbey Leisure Centre from across the district are being contacted by WLCT, the organisation that runs leisure services on behalf of Selby District Council. Members of the centre, badly damaged by fire earlier this week, are being written to advising them that all further direct debits for Profile members are being frozen.

Users that have paid for swimming lessons will have monies paid for courses refunded, however an alternative venue is being sought.

The cause of the severe fire is currently being investigated by forensic experts and the structural damage to the building is being assessed.

Both Selby District Council and WLCT are working with a number of other venues that could potentially be used to accomodate activities. Further details will be released as soon as they have been confirmed.

All leisure service users and members can also use the Tadcaster Leisure Centre - they can be contacted by phoning 01937 834375 or visiting www.selbyleisure.co.uk/tadcaster

Leader of Selby DC, Cllr Mark Crane said, 'This has been an absolutely devastating fire. The damage is very extensive for all those who have enjoyed the revamped facilities. It has also been particularly heart breaking for all those who have worked so hard in recent years to ensure that centre benefitted from the state of the art facilities. Right now, the only consolation is that no-one was injured. I'd like to thank the fire service who worked so hard dealing with this incident and I'd like to praise the professionalism and dedication of the fire officers who did everything they could to bring the fire under control and make the area safe.'

Martin Eden, WLCT's Executive Director (Sport and Healthy Living) added, 'I would like to thank everyone who is working so hard behind the scenes to deal with this incident. Leisure centre users should be reassured that great efforts are being made to secure alternative venues for classes and lessons.'

A group of young people that approached the Council after filling in our recent 'youth survey' are currently developing plans to hopefully extend the skate park in Riccall. The group would like to additional facilities for BMX riders and have come up with a comprehensive set of designs.

The Council is currently working with the group to develop ideas, look at costs and possible funding, although no decisons have yet been taken about the possible new facilities.

If you want to join in, contact lindsey.ryan@riccallparishcouncil.org.uk

Last weekend's adverse weather saw the first real chance for Riccall Snow Patrol to leap into action. The scheme managed and developed by Riccall Parish Council, involves a team of local volunterrs who are willing to grit footpaths and clear snow as necessary within Riccall.

After the severe winter of 2011/12, Riccall PC appealed for volunteers and was amazed by the positive response. Local people came forward to offer their time and become snow wardens, in an effort to keep the main footpaths open, allowing much easier access for all residents, particularly the elderly and those with young children.

Council Clerk, Lindsey Ryan said, 'Last winter, lots of residents were complaining to us about the fact that they were cut off from local services and did not feel confident to walk on the icy footpaths. As a community, we decided to take action and set up a team of volunteers. This really is community spirit at its best!'

Selby DC are working hard to make sure that refuse and recycling collections take place where possible during current adverse weather conditions.

Green waste collections will be suspended until further notice, allowing those vehicles to be used on the main refuse rounds.

Residents are advised that they should continue to present bins or boxes, where collections have been missed and they will be picked up as soon as possible.

If adverse weather conditions continue, keep checking for further news on the Selby DC website or on this website.

Riccall PC is looking to create a 'Youth Council' to help with the continual improvement of facilities and the development of new ideas for the community.

If you are between the ages of 11 and 19 and would like to be involved, please get in touch.

Our first meeting will be on Monday 30th January 2012 at 6.30pm.

Contact Lindsey Ryan lindsey.ryan@riccallparishcouncil.org.uk

Riccall Snow Patrol has been created after the Parish Council appealed for volunteers in the latest edition of the Riccall Beacon. Twenty five local residents came forward to offer their services for snow clearance and gritting within Riccall. RPC has now provided each volunteer with a snow shovel, high visibility wear and gloves and they work as needed to try and keep the central community footpaths as accessible as is possible during the Winter months.

The Council is really thankful to these volunteers for giving their own time and efforts to do something really positive for Riccall and to help all members of the community, particularly those that are more vulnerable. The scheme will be trialled this year, with a feedback meeting in the spring. If you have comments to make, we are always happy to hear them.

The national non-emergency number 101 came to North Yorkshire Police on 12th December 2011 and replaces the 0845 60 60 24 7 number. Whilst 999 is a well recognised number used to report emergencies, the 2010 British Crime Survey found that only 54% of the public knew how to contact their local police if they wanted to talk to them about policing, crime or anti-social behaviour.

The introduction of the 101 number will offer the public one easy way to contact their local Police force.

The benefits of this new number include:

Calls from landlines and mobile networks cost 15pence per call, no matter what time of day you call or how long you are on the phone.

101 is available 24 hrs a day

When you call 101, you will be able to speak to the force control room via the automated switchboard and information will be acted upon as quickly as possible.

Negotiations are currently taking place between NY Library service, Riccall Parish Council and the Regen Centre to try and provide a small library for Riccall. Likely to house around 150 books, the library would be run by volunteers and would open limited hours within the Centre. Watch this space for further news and updates...