Ferryhill Town Council are flying the Pride flag this weekend to coincide with the Durham Pride Event.  Flying the flag and supporting this event will send a clear message that Ferryhill is an open and inclusive community in which people can take pride in.  The Ukraine flag will be flown again after the weekend.

Press Release   24^th MAY 2022

Ferryhill Town Council is proud to be part of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Beacons and Associated Activities on June 2, 2022

Ferryhill Town Council has announced plans to light a Beacon for The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on the evening of Thursday, June 2, 2022.

The Beacon is one of thousands being lit in the UK and the Commonwealth, and forms part of the official programme announced by Buckingham Palace for the Jubilee Weekend.

The Beacon will be lit in the Town Hall Garden, Ferryhill and it will be one of over 2,022 lit by charities, communities and faith groups all over the UK.

In addition, beacons will be lit in all 54 Commonwealth capitals and the Principal Beacon lighting will take place in a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Thursday evening. This will take the form of a lighting installation with The Queen’s Green Canopy ’Tree of Trees’ sculpture and projections onto the front of Buckingham Palace. This innovative new way of taking part in the beacon lighting will reflect the Royal Family’s long history championing environmental causes.

Bruno Peek LVO OBE OPR, Pageantmaster of The Queen’s Jubilee Platinum Beacons said; “Building on a long tradition of lighting beacons to mark significant royal celebrations, thousands of beacons will be lit across the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth. This will enable local communities to join together to pay tribute to Her Majesty as part of the official programme of events.

“For the first time, town criers, pipers, buglets and choirs from the UK and the Commonwealth will come together to join in the celebrations in their own individual and special way. It is wonderful to see the range of support for beacon lighting, which will highlight both the diversity and unity of the nation and the Commonwealth. The Queen has lit up our lives for 70 years through her dedicated service and commitment. We would like to light up the nation and the Commonwealth in her honour.”

A Spokesperson for Ferryhill Town Council said “We are proud to be part of this momentous celebration. It is only appropriate that this unique milestone in history is marked with beacons and music. We are honoured to be part of this special event for Her Majesty, The Queen’s 70^th year as our Monarch and Head of the Commonwealth on her Platinum Jubilee.”

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Beacons and Associated Activities have been conceived and organised by Pageantmaster Bruno Peek and his dedicated team.

Ferryhill Town Council is pleased to announce that it will be joining other organisations across the Country in a national Beacon Lighting Ceremony to mark Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Residents are invited to attend the ceremony, which will be held in the Town Hall garden at 9.20pm on Thursday, 2^nd June 2022.

As part of its Jubilee Celebrations Ferryhill Town Council will also be hosting an ‘Across the Decades themed Party in the Park’ event from 11.00am – 8.00pm on Saturday, 4^th June 2022 at Dean Bank Park. The event which is being organised by Stanley Events will include afternoon tea with a picnic in the park, live music performances from the different decades in which the Queen has reigned, with a range of activities and competitions being organised for children including vintage games, inflatables and Nat Lunatrick Circus Performance. The family orientated event will also comprise refreshments and street food vendors. Entry to the Event will be FREE. A limited number of tables and chairs will be provided at the venue for residents to use on a first come first served basis. Residents will be allowed to bring their own food into the venue although only sealed drinks will be permitted Residents will not be allowed to bring their own alcohol into the venue.  A fully licensed bar will however be in attendance to cater for resident’s liquid refreshments.  A programme for the day can be found using the following link, Party in the Park Programme

The Beacon Lighting Ceremony and Party in the Park events form part of a series of initiatives/events organised by the Town Council to commemorate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.  Other initiatives have included a community fund, which has seen seven local community groups receive donations to help them organise their own Jubilee Celebrations, and a Traders Jubilee Window Display Competition, which has been incredibly popular in the Town. Ferryhill Town Council is thrilled by how local Traders have really got into the spirit of the occasion and come together to decorate their windows in the Jubilee theme.  The Competition will be judged by the Town Council’s Events Committee, with the winner receiving a Trophy and a Free Hanging Basket. The winner will be announced on the Council’s website, facebook page and in local media following the Jubilee weekend.

For more information about any of the Town Council’s Jubilee Celebrations please contact Karen Younghusband at Ferryhill Town Council on telephone: 01740 652157 or email: kyounghusband@ferryhill.gov.uk

 

At the Annual Council Meeting held on Wednesday 18th May, Councillors elected Councillor Carole Atkinson to serve as Mayor of Ferryhill for the municipal year 2022/23.  Councillor John Lamb was elected as Deputy Mayor.  After being elected Councillor Atkinson thanked the outgoing Mayor, Councillor Dave Farry, for his work over the past year.

Councillor Atkinson has been a Ferryhill Town Councillor since 2017.  She has been a resident of Ferryhill her entire adult life, raising her family in the town and living here ever since with husband and fellow Councillor, Peter Atkinson. Councillor Atkinson is involved in a wealth of local community organisations in the Town volunteering her time to help all parts of our community thrive.

The Mayor’s chosen charities for the year are the Ferryhill Ladder Centre and Endeavour Woodcrafts CIC, both great local charities which do amazing work in Ferryhill.

Councillor Atkinson said “It is an honour and a privilege to have been elected to serve as Mayor of Ferryhill for the forthcoming year. I look forward to meeting as many community organisations and residents as possible throughout my term and being a true ambassador for our town. I will be holding charity events throughout the year to raise money for 2 amazing charities, who both work extremely hard for the benefit of our residents and community. I will also be attending many civic functions and any events which I am able to with the support of the Deputy Mayor, Councillor John Lamb.”

Councillor Dave Farry carried out one of his final presentations this week as Mayor of Ferryhill, when he was on hand to receive a wooden bench from Alan Curry of Endeavour Woodcrafts CIC, which has been donated to Ferryhill Town Council.

The bench was made by Ex Service Personnel completing a woodworking course with Alan Curry of Endeavour Woodcrafts, which was funded by the AAP 4 Together Partnership.  The course was designed to help participants learn woodworking skills to enable them to produce wooden items, mainly for the garden.

Mayor of Ferryhill, Councillor Dave Farry said “I am very grateful to receive this bench on behalf of Ferryhill Town Council, the bench will be installed in Duncombe Cemetery.  I can see a lot of work has gone into the bench, some excellent woodworking skills and I would like to thank everyone involved, the Ex Service Personnel, Endeavour Woodcrafts CIC and the AAP 4 Together Partnership”.

Throughout the last financial year Ferryhill Town Council has provided financial support to local groups that will benefit residents of Ferryhill.

Unfortunately, for various reasons such as Covid and periods of purdah due to Council elections, presentations were unable to take place.

It was finally possible to arrange the presentations recently and the Mayor of Ferryhill, Councillor Dave Farry presented the groups with their donations.

The groups receiving financial support include Endeavour Woodcrafts £200, Ferryhill Foodbank £1,000, Green Horizons £200 & Little Treasures £1,000.

Councillor Dave Farry said “It’s always a pleasure to present local groups with funding, I am happy the Council have been able to provide financial assistance to these groups.  These donations are an example of the Town Council’s commitment to supporting local organisations working for the benefit of the community in Ferryhill”.

Ferryhill Town Council now have a new donation scheme in place, called the Members Initiative Fund.  Each Ferryhill Town Councillor has been allocated a small pot of money, which they can use to contribute towards projects and initiatives organised by local community groups/charities. Councillors will also be able to pool their resources to deliver larger projects that will be of significant benefit to the local community.

Any group who would like to apply for a grant through the Members Initiative Fund should speak to one of their local Councillors in the first instance to ensure that they have support for their project idea before submitting an application.

The first ever round of the Members Initiative Fund opened on the 11^th April 2022.  The deadline for applications for the 2022-2023 financial year will be 28^th February 2023.  Groups looking to apply should contact Ferryhill Town Hall on telephone: 01740 652157 or email kyounghusband@ferryhill.gov.uk All applicants must have a fully constituted group and have a bank account with at least two unrelated signatories. For more information, please contact Karen Younghusband, Events & Projects Officer at Ferryhill Town Council.

Following the launch of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Community Fund, Ferryhill Town Council is pleased to announce that it has been able to financially support seven local groups (see below). £1,090 in total has been donated by the Town Council, which has enabled a range of Jubilee themed events to be organised throughout the Town to mark the occasion.

EVENT NAME	APPLICANT ORGANISATION	DATE / TIME OF EVENT	EVENT DETAILS
Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebration	St Luke's Church	2.00pm - 5.00pm 5th June 2022 St Lukes's Church	Musical Entertainers with a buffet
Jubilee Joy	LADDER Centre	12.00pm - 4.00pm 2nd June 2022 LADDER Centre	Garden Party with BBQ, afternoon tea and street games for residents of the Lakes
Coffee Morning & Table-Top Sale for HRH Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Celebrations	Endeavour Woodcrafts CIC (in association with Dean Bank Dog Walkers Association)	11.00am - 2.30pm 3rd June 2022 Dean Bank Institute	Coffee Morning and Table-Top Sale to raise funds for the RBL and Stray Aid Dogs Trust
Celebrating 70 Years	Dean Bank Chat & Craft Group	12.00pm - 2.00pm 26th May 2022 Dean Bank Institute	Tea Party with food, wine, bunting and decorations
Queen's Platinum Jubilee Buffet with Entertainment	DIDO (Days in Days Out)	1.00pm - 4.00pm 6th June 2022 Dean Bank Institute	Party for Members of the DIDO with food, entertainment and bunting
Jubilee Celebration	Chance Drama	To be confirmed	Street party with young people from Chance Drama performing Jubilee themed rehearsals with a picnic and decorations/bunting
Jubilee Tea Party	Keers Patterson Residents Association	1.00pm onwards 2nd June 2022 Reading Room at Aged Miners Bungalows (Keers/Patterson)	Tea party with food, bingo, music and food, with bunting, for residents of the two sets of Aged Miners Bungalows

For more information about any of the events supported by the Town Council as part of this initiative please contact the individual groups direct.

Town Mayor, Councillor David Farry said ‘It’s a pleasure to be able to donate funding to local community groups, to help them organise their own celebrations to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The Town Council is extremely committed to supporting local organisations wherever possible and look forward to working with and supporting even more groups in the future.’

Councillor Joe Quinn, Chair of the Town Council’s Events Committee said ‘I am thrilled that Ferryhill Town Council have been able to support so many local groups in their plans to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.  All of the Town’s Community groups work tirelessly for the benefit of Ferryhill and it really is a pleasure to be able to donate funds to support them.”

To find out what else the Town Council is planning to mark the Queen’s Jubilee please contact Karen Younghusband, Events and Projects Officer at Ferryhill Town Hall on telephone: 01740 652157 or email: kyounghusband@ferryhill.gov.uk

Ferryhill Town Council would like to invite local residents and businesses alike to attend this year’s Annual Town Meeting, which will be taking place from 6.00pm onwards on Thursday, 26^th May 2022 at St. Luke’s Parish Centre.

Representatives from a range of organisations operating in the Town will be delivering presentations and/or providing displays for everyone to view.  Refreshments will also be served, and there will be a chance at the end of the Meeting for questions.

The Meeting will provide an opportunity for local groups to share their plans for the forthcoming year whilst also reflecting on their recent successes.  The meeting will help to facilitate an exchange of ideas and information between the Town’s various stakeholders, encourage partnership working, and provide a snapshot for residents of some of the great work that is being undertaken by organisations operating in the Town.

For more information about Ferryhill’s Annual Town Meeting please contact Karen Younghusband on telephone: 01740 652157 or email kyounghusband@ferryhill.gov.uk

The Co-option for a Town Councillor in the Ferryhill Station Ward was held on Wednesday 11th May 2022, to view the notice see below:

Co-option Notice of Result – 11 May 2022

Ferryhill Town Council is celebrating having secured a grant of £9,500 through the Big Lottery’s Awards for All Fund to enable an ‘Across the Decades themed Party in the Park’ event to be held from 11.00am – 8.00pm at Dean Bank Park on Saturday, 4^th June 2022. The event which is being organised by Stanley Events to celebrate the Jubilee will include afternoon tea with a picnic in the park, music from the different decades in which the Queen has reigned, including war-time performers. For children there will be a range of vintage games, inflatables and fairground games. The family orientated event will also comprise side stalls and a range of refreshments, with a bar. Entry to the Event will be FREE. Anyone who would like to hold a stall at the event should contact Danielle on telephone: 07951479165.

The Party in the Park event will join a programme of events/initiatives being organised by the Town Council to commemorate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, including a Beacon Lighting Event in the Town Hall garden on the evening of Thursday, 2^nd June, a Traders Window Display Competition, and a Community Fund for Local groups to apply for monies to be able to host their own Jubilee Celebrations. For more information about any of the Town Council’s Jubilee Celebrations please contact Karen Younghusband at Ferryhill Town Council on telephone: 01740 652157 or email: kyounghusband@ferryhill.gov.uk

Mayor of Ferryhill, Councillor David Farry said ‘It is great news that Ferryhill Town Council has managed to secure such a large grant to support the Town’s Jubilee Celebrations. I would like to say a big thank you to the Big Lottery for supporting the Town Council’s plans for a Party in the Park event, which promises to provide a fantastic community event, which the whole family can enjoy’.

Councillor Joe Quinn, Chair of the Town Council’s Events Committee said “Officers at Ferryhill Town Council have worked extremely hard to secure £9,500 through the Big Lottery’s Awards for All Fund, which is great news. Funding will enable the Town Council to host an across the decades themed Queen’s Jubilee Party in the Park event, providing something for all generations to enjoy and bringing the whole community together.”