Election of a Parish Councillor for Hadley Manor Ward

Casual Vacancy Notice - Hadley & Leegomery Borough Ward

Casual Vacancy for The Hadley Manor Ward of Hadley & Leegomery Parish Council

NEWSLETTER - Autumn/Winter 2024

Election of a Parish Councillor for Hadley Manor ward

Declaration of Poll result

Notice of Election - Election of a Parish Councillor

Notice of Election of a Parish Councillor for Hadley Manor Ward taking place on 25th July 2024.

Notice of Election for Hadley Manor Ward

Notice of Poll - Hadley & Leegomery Parish

Notice of Poll for the Parish Poll taking place on 26th June 2024. 

Notice of Poll for the Parish Poll


Parliamentary Election on Thursday 4th July 2024

The Notice of Election for Telford and The Wrekin constituencies have been published for the Parliamentary Election on Thursday 4th July 2024.

Notice of Election Telford 

Notice of Election The Wrekin 

NEWSLETTER - Spring 2024

Press Release

Following our recent announcement regarding the sale of Hadley Cemetery Lodge, Hadley and Leegomery Parish Council would like to address some of the questions and concerns that have been raised.

The cemetery lodge had been neglected over a twenty-year period, with just £24,495.84 being spent on its upkeep between 2004 and 2019. It is estimated that the average yearly maintenance of such a building could be around £3.5k (1% of the value), which would total around £50-70k over 20 years). In-fact when the previous cemetery manager moved in, it was already in need of repair. In 2019 the new administration undertook that responsibility, and had the lodge renovated.

This was during Covid, when the council also spent a large amount on support for residents.

We are unable to share information around employment, due to the laws around this. However, we can confirm that over the last couple of years, many of the cemetery duties have been carried out by contractors or external partners. There are lots of rumours around this which are incorrect, but we as employers are unable to address them due to employment law. All work carried out in the cemetery previously, has always been under the guidance and supervision of the clerk, and the council, and we thank ALL previous custodians for their work there.

Multiple possibilities were considered, as to what to do with the lodge moving forward. However, the decision to sell was taken due to it providing the best value to residents, with a definitive payment and ongoing savings on the upkeep of the building, in comparison to potential rental income, and the legalities and risks associated with becoming a landlord.

The cemetery now has limited burial space. It is anticipated that there may be only 8-10 years more capacity, and once full the cemetery will go on to be maintained by the parish. This has informed the decision-making process around how the cemetery is run moving forward. The council believe it is no longer feasible to provide free accommodation for this role to be carried out, and is using other more suitable and cost-effective methods of security, like CCTV to monitor the cemetery. We ask people to remember that most of the councillors also have relatives buried at the cemetery, so it is just as important to them that this is done correctly, and to a high-standard.

 

Plans for The Chapel at the Cemetery

We would like to reassure residents that the cemetery will continue to be as well looked after and well-cared for, under the new cemetery management plan, as it has always been. We want to share one of the ideas we have around this and we will consult residents on this idea. The Chapel, is a lovely building situated in the heart of the cemetery. We would like to see this building used as the new Parish Office, meaning the Clerk to the Council and the Deputy Clerk would be on site at the cemetery during the working week. This will enable the Clerk to deal with any funeral arrangements and burials on-site - something that the previous cemetery manager had to travel between the cemetery and Hadley Community Centre to do. It would also mean that residents can access the parish office centrally, and possibly make a great community hub for small groups and councillor surgeries. We are looking to take the lodge - which none of our residents have access to, and bringing into use another - the chapel, that will be open and accessible to everyone.

This would also free up two further rooms at Hadley Community Centre - which is also in need of some overdue maintenance, and hopefully improvements like solar panels etc…, to make the building more useable and efficient to run. With the parish office no longer linked to Hadley Community Centre, there would be further possibilities around accessing grant funding for the centre, which is very difficult when the parish office is housed there.

There are lots of projects that residents have asked us to fund, for example Haybridge Avenue play area improvements, more CCTV, road safety schemes and improvements (like the road next to HCC), and lots more. These are the exact kind of projects the proceeds from the sale of the lodge will pay for.

We believe that it is the right decision to sell the lodge. To stop asking residents to pay for the ongoing maintenance of the lodge - free accommodation for one employee- and to put this money back in to invest across the parish for everyone.


White Ribbon

We are proud to announce that Hadley & Leegomery Parish Council has become a White Ribbon Supporter Organisation as of 20th November 2023.  Being a White Ribbon supporter organisation demonstrates our commitment to ending violence against women in our workplace and in our community.  By working towards the seven commitments we signed up to when undertaking this role, we will be working towards ending harmful attitudes to ensure women on our teams and in our community feel safe.  This only works if everyone gets involved and we invite you all to support this and wear the white ribbon.  

About Us — White Ribbon UK 


Sale of cemetery lodge to fund parish improvements


The cemetery lodge in Hadley and Leegomery is being offered for sale so that the money released can be invested into the wider community.

Cemetery lodges – residential buildings that would be occupied by custodians of the cemetery – were commonplace across England in the Victorian times but are no longer widely used.

In a recent meeting, Hadley and Leegomery Parish Council voted to approve the sale of the Hadley cemetery lodge to re-invest the proceeds into improvements across the parish. The decision was made in a private session due to the link between the use of the lodge and a contract of employment.

In the future, the cemetery will be administered by the Clerks team.

A spokesperson for Hadley and Leegomery Parish Council said: “The cemetery is an important part of all of our lives and we will ensure that it continues to be well looked after, providing a space for reflection and to remember loved ones.

“It is not unusual for cemetery lodges to be owned privately. The sale of the lodge could raise hundreds of thousands of pounds towards projects that will improve our neighbourhood and see the costs of maintaining the building also re-invested into the community.

“We will be consulting residents about how this money used.”

Next Meetings

Full Council

17 Dec 24 - 18:00 to 19:00

Extraordinary meeting

Agenda