Wellington Town Council Newsletter Nov 2002

This is our
November
2020
Wellington
THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF WELLINGTON TOWN COUNCIL
Picture by: S Hayward
Inside
George Evans
remembered
Welcome to issue three of This Is Our Wellington,
serving the residents and businesses of our town.
We hope you enjoy this issue and find it informative
and interesting...
LOVE
Wellington gets
local this Christmas
Wellington visit
for High Sheriff
Picture by: Paola Armstrong
FREE
Please take
your copy

Wellington
Town Council
www.wellington-shropshire.gov.uk
Ward
Councillors
Do you know which Councillor
represents your Ward? See list of
Councillors below, contact details
are via the Town Council.
Cllr Pat Fairclough
Mayor
Karen Roper
Town Clerk
Andrew Roberts
Deputy Town Clerk
l ARLESTON WARD Joan Gorse,
Angela McClements, Giles Luter
l DOTHILL WARD Lisa Jinks, Phil Morris
Jones, Karen Tomlinson
l ERCALL WARD Sylvia Hall, Miles Hosken,
Dorothy Roberts
02
l HAYGATE WARD Graham Cook,
John Alvey
l SHAWBIRCH WARD Anthony Lowe,
Stephen de Launey, Patricia Fairclough
l COLLEGE WARD Lee Carter,
Usman Ahmed, John Latter
Caroline Farrell
Communications and
Events Manager
Paola Armstrong
Wellington Festival and
Love Wellington
Liam McGrath
Wellington Town Crier
l PARK WARD Julie Pierce, Paul Davis,
Chris Brittain
How to contact Wellington Town Council
Civic Offsices, Larkin Way, Tan Bank, Wellington,
Telford, Shropshire TF1 1LX
Telephone: 01952 567697
Email: wellingtontowncouncil@telford.gov.uk
www.facebook.com/WellingtonTCShropshire
twitter.com/WellingtonTCI
Planters have been placed outside the Town Council offices to
commemorate three former Mayors of Wellington:
Cllr Mary Lewis
1999-2000
2002-2003
Cllr Frank Burns
2006-2007
2012-2013
Cllr Denis Allen
2007-2008
2017

This is our Wellington
www.lovewellington.co.uk
LOVE
It’s a great honour to
represent Wellington
A message from your
Wellington Mayor
Cllr Pat Fairclough
Love Wellington Business
WhatsApp Group
Love Wellington Business
WhatsApp Group
This group continues to grow as a tool to
effectively communicate all the changes and
new guidelines that have been put in place and
provides a place for businesses to communicate
and network.
There are over 80 businesses which participate
and it has been a great place of support and
collaboration between businesses, particularly
with all the information around Covid.
Meetings are held via Zoom with the last one
which was well attended on 3 November and next
one planned for early January.
Join the Group
If you are a business and want to join – please
send your details to Lovewellington2020@
gmail.com to be added to the list.
It is an honour and a great pleasure to be Mayor of
Wellington. These are very difficult times with many
events cancelled and even everyday contacts with
friends, neighbours and businesses held at a distance.
Despite all the changes we need to keep life as near to
normal as possible.
I
was delighted to meet with Kath Howard from the Friends
of the Bowring Park and Peter Seaward and Vic Young from
Wellington Rotary to mark the park’s participation in the
Toilet Twinning Scheme – a worldwide project to tackle the
problem of sanitation in developing countries.
We’re all aware that the NHS is concerned that tests and
treatments for other medical conditions may be delayed due
to Covid. With this in mind, I am making the Cancer Charities
in Wellington my Mayoral Charity for this year to maintain
awareness of this important work.
I am also determined to keep all our local businesses in
the public eye. The ‘Love Wellington’ website and Facebook
pages are full of comments and descriptions, thank you for
your good humoured participation, and I am keen to promote
the ‘Let’s Get Local in Wellington this Christmas’ campaign
– urging people to support local businesses as much as they
can with Christmas shopping.
At this time when we need to be imaginative with
communication and keep in touch even though community
groups and events are ‘different’ this year. In this season’s
Wellington Town Council Calendar we have had to adapt in
how we celebrate important events: Remembrance Day -
always very important to the whole community and this year
it was a ‘virtual’ event, filmed before and relayed on the day
itself in a most moving way.
There will be Christmas Lights and a giant tree in Wellington
centre as usual, but this year a remote ‘switch on’ will take
place; again pre filmed and photographed and streamed via
social media for people to participate from a distance.
When the nights draw in Wellington will be lit up, ‘lost
sheep’ are there to be found in Wellington’s window displays
and our traders are still here to serve you. Please support
our local charities, our community groups and businesses
as much as you are able to as we all prepare for a quiet
Christmas, probably in our own homes.
Cllr Pat Fairclough
Wellington Mayor
2020-2021
03

LOVE
This is our Wellington
www.lovewellington.co.uk
George Evans
1923 - 2020
A tribute to George Evans by his son, Paul Evans
04
Picture © Maria Nunzia
My “
name is George Evans and I was born here in the town of
Wellington in 1923,” he wrote in his introduction to a walk
through the Wrekin Forest for the Royal Geographical Society’s
Discovering Britain website. “My home has been within sight
of The Wrekin ever since; I simply haven’t found a better place
to live. I was a teacher for 40 years, mostly of geography, and have been a
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society for over 60 years. When I retired in
1986 I began writing local interest books and have had 20 published as well
as many magazine articles. My last book was ‘How to be a Happy Old Man’. I
would like to share my special little mountain and its forest with you on this
walk.”
George’s walk took 97 years and was not always peaceful. From the
morning after his 21st birthday when he landed on a beach in Normandy and
dug a trench through the stupid horror of war, peace and happiness hung by
the slenderest of threads. It was something he would do his damnedest to
recover, through his life with Naomi, his family, his work as a teacher, local
politician, campaigner, writer, Peace Gardener.
This determination comes from the inner child who empathised with those
he came across as a school’s counsellor; the jockey who wrote his memories
into history; the David who took on the Goliaths of big business, development
corporations and the war-glorifying establishment; the George who never
bothered about winning, just making a difference for those who were less
fortunate and for the future of the place that mattered.
Paul Evans, October 2020
A tribute from the Mayor of Wellington, Pat Fairclough
As he grew older, George’s firmly held beliefs in
peace, equality and the sanctity of human life
became stronger. He never shied away from
voicing these strong commitments.
George was proud of his hometown of
Wellington where he lived all his life apart from the
traumatic period of military service in World War
Two where he experienced the horrors of D Day
and the liberation of Belsen Concentration Camp.
It was not surprising that he became a Member
and President of the Society of Friends and in
his later years established the Peace Garden in
the centre of town. Service to the public always
ranked high in his priorities; first as a school
teacher then elected to the Chair of the old Urban
District Council. He was a founder member of
the Civic Society, Wellington History Society and
All Friends Round the Wrekin. Along with his wife
Naomi, who had her own commitment to the civic
life of Wellington, together as a team they were
tireless campaigners for what became the
Princess Royal Hospital and supported mental
health work locally.
I am sure his lasting achievement will be the
Peace Garden. Establishing it was one of his
last public acts. He used to sit beside his
peace garden on Armistice Day each year
with a small group to commemorate
the many years of world peace we
have enjoyed, thanks to the strong
minded principles of men like
George.

Community News
www.lovewellington.co.uk
LOVE
New look at The Orbit
Opened in 2019, the Wellington Orbit community cinema,
which is manned by volunteers as well as staff, has reopened
with safety measures in place and has so far seen a steady
return of guests - many of whom have flocked to see
the series of Harry Potter films screened every Thursday.
Enjoyed also have been special events such as the Michael Ball and
Alfie Boe concert and a screening of the WW1 film 1917 to coincide with
Remembrance Sunday, raising funds for Severn Hospice.
In the summer Jacqueline Evans and Cllr Phil Morris-Jones who is also
Chair of the Wellington Orbit, unveiled a defibrillator in the Orbit which
had been donated by her children and her parents to the Wellington
Orbit and the community in memory of her husband. The Orbit was
helped by £150k donation from Telford & Wrekin Council as part of the
Telford50 legacy and is underwritten by Wellington Town Council.
l Jacqueline Evans and Cllr Phil Morris-Jones
Key to
the town
awarded to
Allan
Allan Frost has done so much
to put Wellington’s heritage
into the public eye. He not
only writes books about
the history of the town but
he makes sure they are
available to the public and
are distributed to our local
schools.
The Wellingtonia magazine
is always full of interesting
articles and is superbly
produced and people from
all over the world contact
Allan, through the History
group, to ask for his help with
their family histories. It is
always a pleasure to be in the
audience at one of his group
talks and be entertained with
his range of photographs and
cards and listen to his local
knowledge.
Thank you Allan, from
Wellington Town Council
l Allan Frost with Cllr Pat Fairclough
Mayor awards
charities
Despite a difficult year for
fundraising, the outgoing Mayor,
Cllr Anthony Lowe was able to make
donations to his Mayoral Charities;
Maninplace and TACT both of whom
are based in Wellington and help,
respectively, homeless people and
those overcoming addition.
A busy summer for The Friends of Bowring Park
The Friends of Bowring Park have stayed busy this summer, litter-picking and planting as
well as welcoming Beryl Boa the Community Stone Snake as a permanent record of this
strange year. In October they took delivery of button badges and postcards of the park,
and oversaw the installation of a new memorial picnic bench. ‘Tennis in the Bowring’ is a
new Facebook group for anyone looking for
tennis partners, and the Bowring Park Cafe
continues to be a hugely successful business
as well as a real community hub with their
‘Happy to Chat’ and half term ‘Kids Free Lunch’
initiatives – which even attracted the attention
of Marcus Rashford and BBC Midlands Today.
l FOBP members Steve Carden, Cllr Julie
Pierce and Jennie Coalbran.
05

LOVE
This is our Wellington
www.lovewellington.co.uk
06
Community News Extra
Wellington Walking
Festival 2020
This year’s 9th Wellington Walking Festival
took place despite Covid 19. Wellington
Walkers are Welcome, who organised the
event, were delighted with the turnout for
the walks with only 3 events having to be
cancelled due to Covid restrictions.
Places were limited and the enthusiasm for being
out enjoying the outdoors as well as the diverse
pathways and routes which intersect Wellington was
infectious. The weather throughout the week was
perfect for walking, which added to the atmosphere.
The organisers estimate at a total of over 1160 person
miles were walked during the week.
In 2021 they hope the 10th Festival will return to
its normal format with more varied events, and will
take place , as usual, during the second week of
September.
Make Love Wellington
your homepage!
Remember to visit the Love Wellington Website for a wealth
of local information all about Wellington.
www.lovewellington.co.uk
Food court
Work is still pressing ahead at Wellington Market
with the Food Court coming soon… exciting times
for Wellington as we will see a whole array of new
food experiences on our doorstep!
The Vintage Saleroom
A new business has popped up in Wellington Market – The
Vintage Saleroom, run by Brandon and Lee Thornton.
Selling pre-loved vintage items, giftware, collectibles and
more, the shop recently moved from the Market Annexe to
the outdoor part of Wellington Market. All the very best to
Brandon and Lee for new beginnings!

Business News
www.lovewellington.co.uk
LOVE
Chop and Wok opens
Chop and Wok has opened in Bridge Road as the
food scene continues to grow in Wellington. The new
premises is the latest in the Chop and Wok franchise with
several businesses operating in Birmingham and one in
Wolverhampton.
The business will be offering an option to dine-in,
takeaway or have the food delivered and was helped by
a £10,000 grant from Telford & Wrekin Council through
their Pride in Our High Street initiative.
Owner Anil Dass said the decision to open in
Wellington was made after identifying a need in the town. “We
decided Wellington was the best place for us. I looked around all
the different locations and wanted to open here because there
is a specific market for us - something no-one else is doing,
really.
“The council’s empty unit grant has helped a lot. It’s a
substantial amount of money which is always welcome when
setting up a new venture or expanding to a new area as we are,”
he said.
Anil said Chop and Wok, which opened on October 19,
employs six staff, all from the local community.
“We provide a wide range of foods with a variety of flavours
- dishes from all over Asia, noodles, rice, soups, curries and a
range of side orders. We are really looking forward to bringing
our unique way of providing wonderful Asian food to the people
of Telford.”
Blondie’s Cakery
Abi Smith opened Blondie’s Cakery on Queen Street
at the end of October. “Everything is homemade and
made fresh in store” says Abi, “cupcakes, occasion
cakes, cookies, brownies, blondies, ice cream and
savouries. Due to Covid it will all be take out for now.”
Good luck Abi!
07
A new farm shop
coming soon
to Wellington!
Tony Nicholls of Ken Francis Butchers
is set to open a butchery and farm
shop in the site of Jaynes Fishing
Tackle. “We are looking forward to
opening a high quality farm shop
which will incorporate Ken Francis
Butchers. The aim is to sell fruit and
vegetables before Christmas and then
expand as work and licences allow to
sell artisan bread, high quality coffee,
local real ale, wine, condiments and
more!” said Tony.
Little Green Pantry
Keli King with her Little Green Pantry is now a ‘fortnightly regular’ at
Wellington Market. Her wide selection of refill products allow people to come
with their own containers to be refilled in order to reduce single use plastic
and help the planet – and your pocket!

LOVE
This is our Wellington
www.lovewellington.co.uk
Good reasons
to shop local
this Christmas
51. Shopping locally is a
lot less stressful – no
queues, parking charges
08
We all know that 2020 has been a really difficult
year for many people – especially for many of
the businesses in Wellington some of whom
couldn’t trade for a number of months, and
indeed are affected by the second lockdown
and have had to adapt to many changes and put in place
myriad safety measures.
Every year, but this year more than ever, residents and
visitors are being urged ‘think local’ and to do as much of their
Christmas shopping as possible right here in Wellington.
The Let’s Get Local in Wellington this Christmas campaign
is there to remind us to support the businesses who make up
the lifeblood of our town. They are here during the pandemic
– delivering food to those who are isolating and supporting the
local community. Now is the time to support them.
And, from the customer point of view it is so much easier
to shop in Wellington this Christmas – avoiding the queues,
remaining socially distant, with free parking and plenty of
wonderful places to stop for takeaway refreshments. There
are many interesting shops to find unique and surprising items!
2. Boosting the local
economy – money spent
locally stays in the local
economy
3. Shopping locally is
‘greener’ – fewer food
miles, less packaging
4. You can find something
really unique – think
about buying local
experiences such as
Cinema tickets at The
Orbit
5. A thriving town and
community attracts
more businesses, more
investment and boosts
house prices…

LOVE
@LoveWellington
@LoveWellington1
lovewellington2019
The Lost Sheep
of Wellington
A creative project which also
encourages families to visit Wellington
this Christmas has met an enthusiastic
response.
We all know the Christmas story of the
shepherds visiting the infant Jesus in the
stable in Bethlehem; well this advent
Wellington’s sheep have been scattered
all around the town and local children are
invited to walk around the town spotting the
sheep to help round up the flock in time for
Christmas Eve.
09
Our local Wellington
businesses have had it really
tough this year – so please
Let’s Get Local This Christmas!
Lighting up
Wellington
Love Wellington is also organising a ‘Lighting Up Wellington’ Competition
- rather like Wellington in Bloom - judging people’s efforts in
decorating the exterior of their houses during the festive season. It’s
been such a challenging year - so nice to see Wellington looking so bright.
To enter please email: Wellington2020@gmail.com
The ‘lost sheep’ are already being lovingly
crafted by various Wellington residents
and groups for this community Christmas
project and anyone is welcome to donate
a hand made sheep. They will be placed
in shop windows around the town – with a
name tag and a Love Wellington badge.
Sally Themans of Love Wellington said that
the treasure hunt would bring parents and
children into Wellington to look for sheep in
their own time without the need to attend
an event.
l At the time of going to press, we are
unsure whether The Lost Sheep of Wellington
Trail can go ahead. We apologise for any
disappointment this may cause. Please
follow the Love Wellington Facebook page
for any updates.

This is our Wellington
www.wellington-shropshire.gov.uk
News from Wellington
Town Council
10
WEST team
news
Mick and Joe of the WEST Team
have been doing some path
clearance on the path leading from
Dothill Play area to Harley Close as
well as doing path clearance work
on Harley Close – here are the
‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures.
Climate emergency
Along with Telford
and Wrekin,
Shropshire and
many other
Parish and
Town Councils, Wellington
declared a climate change
emergency at its meeting
in August and the newly
formed Climate Emergency
Committee are now
deciding on priorities for
Wellington. We will be l Cllr John Alvey, Paola Armstrong, Cllr Anthony Lowe
working in partnership (Chair) Cllr Paul Davis (Deputy) Cllr John Latter. Cllr Giles
with Sustainable Telford & Luter is also a member but missing from this photograph.
Wrekin.
Wellington Town Council have removed all single use plastic cups, have
recycled obsolete stationery and have almost eliminated printing of agendas,
minutes and other reports in line with all meetings now taking place virtually.
It may be that meetings will take place in the Council chamber in 2021 but
Covid has triggered this dramatic reduction in our consumption of paper and
has significantly “greened” our working practices.
Telford & Wrekin have confirmed that all street lighting within the wards of
Wellington have now been converted to LED and our town Christmas lights are
all LED.
Wellington Town Council will be acting as an “influencer” within our town to
encourage residents and businesses to improve their recycling practices and
to move towards carbon neutrality by 2030.
Ideas from residents will be welcome at all stages. Please be assured that
Wellington Town Council will do all we can in coming months and years to
address the climate change emergency in our town.
Beyond the Rainbow
To illustrate the impact of Climate Change on our
society, retired artist Ann Easthope has worked with
Tristan King of Voodoo Design in Wellington to produce
this illustrated bedtime story to reassure young children
about the effects of global warming on animal life.
Please contact Ann if you would like to purchase a
copy of the book for a small charge: anneasthope@
blueyonder.co.uk

This is our Wellington
www.wellington-shropshire.gov.uk
Mayor’s civic awards
Anthony Lowe, former Mayor of
Wellington, presented civic awards to local
people who have gone ‘above and beyond’.
Amongst the recipients was
Stuart Tyrer, of Rosemary’s
Blinds and Curtains in Wellington
Market, who was proposed
for a Mayor’s shield by a town
resident for his work over many years with
West Midlands Search & Rescue. Kath
Howard, chair of Friends of Bowring Park,
was also recognised in the awards scheme
for leading the revival of this park, regarded
as the ‘jewel in the Wellington crown’.
Both Kath and Stuart are active volunteers l Stuart Tyrer
for Love Wellington. Awards were also
presented to: Inspector Gary Wade for services to Wellington over many years
and for being a ‘true friend’ of the town.
Eddie Fanneran for acting as parade marshall over many years at
Remembrance Day and on other civic occasions. Bob Coalbran of Wellington
Walkers are Welcome and Friends of Wellington Station. Dorota Sobilo of the
Polish Support Group who put together a team and produced thousands of
safety masks. Julia Fletcher of the Bowring Park Covid 19 Support Group and
Debbie Farley of Shawbirch, Dothill, Admaston & Bratton Covid 19 Support
group.
A word from Sgt Tandy
Sgt Tandy arrived as north Telford safer neighbourhood team
sergeant in January. “I see at the centre of every community is
an approachable and engaging local policing team and as such
have been working hard to improve relationships with partner
agencies and local communities.
“COVID 19 has brought its challenges in neighbourhood policing however as
a team we are still really keen to engage and integrate with all those that we
police. Can I please take this opportunity to thank the community in Wellington
for following the national guidance when it comes to COVID 19 and if you have
any concerns relating to that or anything else please do contact your local
team.”
Town Council award grants
Wellington Town Council have recently awarded the following grants to groups
within our community.
l Belmont Community Hall - £604 l Friends of Bowring Park - £500
l Hope House - £500 l Read Easy – Telford & Wrekin - £576
l Telford After Care Team (TACT) - £3,000 l Telford Carers - £900
l Telford Chinn Woo - £498 l Wellington History Group - £100
l Wellington Local Agenda 21 - £500 l Wellington Walkers are Welcome - £200
l Wellington Rotary Club – Toilet Twinning initiative - £180
Christmas
lights
Again following government
guidance Wellington Town Council
are sadly unable to host the annual
Christmas Light Switch on event.
This year Santa and his friends
will be coming to you from the
North Pole via the Wellington Town
Council Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/
WellingtonTCShropshire
We will of course still be providing
a spectacular tree and lighting
around the town. Please keep
following us for updates…
Expenditure
So how does your money get spent
in Wellington?
Management and Administration
£156,444
Civic Activities £30,040
Promotions and Tourism £77,573
Public Amenities £70,670
Community Funding £62,870
Environmental Services £53,699
Looking to
expand!
Wellington Town Council will be
seeking views from the community
about extending the parish
boundary to include new housing
developments and generally tidy up
of the confines of the parish.
We need to do this to ensure
our boundaries accurately reflect
the identities and interests of the
community in the areas that have
changed. ‘Your View Counts’ and
there will be an online questionnaire
in the next edition of this magazine.
11

This is our Wellington
www.lovewellington.co.uk
LOVE
High Sheriff of
Shropshire visit
to Wellington
It was a packed day for our then
Mayor and Mayoress Anthony and
Julie Lowe who, along with Sally
from Love Wellington, spent the
day showing the High Sheriff of
Shropshire, Mrs Dean Harris around the
town.
They visited many shops and
businesses including the station,
Maninplace, TACT, The Walnut, The
Orbit, Wellington Market and meeting
lots of friendly Wellington folk along
the way including our new Mayor Pat
Fairclough and some of her fellow
Councillors.
She was so interested in the work
to help the homeless, those with
addiction problems and also to hear
about the work going on to regenerate
Wellington.
We were so glad that she chose to
visit our town.
+
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