Work completed (updated 7th april)
Work on the new Cobhall Common pipeline is now complete and we are pleased to report that water has been spotted flowing through it when it rained recently!
We would like to take this opportunity to thank residents for their magnificent response along with the several landowners affected and the Parish Council who supported the venture and donated £3,000 towards it.
Work starts at last (updated 30th March)
The contractor started work this morning, 30th March, and depending on the weather, hopes to be complete in a week or two. We will keep our eyes on the progress! In the meantime, we have asked for cheques from all those who pledged money to make this happen – they are nearly all in now, but we will need all of them very soon – thank you so much – a magnificent community effort!
Update 23rd March
Like ourselves, you will probably have been wondering what had happened to the proposed pipeline in the centre of Cobhall Common which we had estimated being done early in the new year. Whilst progress was much slower than anticipated we are delighted to report that, after further discussions with the developer of the building plots (M. James) and her contractor, (R.J. Thomas) together with the other landowner, we have been able to give the go-ahead today for the materials to be ordered.
You will probably be aware that construction costs have been spiralling in recent months and we were unable to afford the larger pipe that residents asked us to investigate. However, as agreed at the Residents Meeting just before Christmas, we have defaulted to the original specification of a 12’’ pipe across the whole 100m stretch of land. This will be in addition to the existing pipework that is already in place which will significantly increase the capacity of the drainage system. At the outset, we consulted with the senior drainage engineer at Balfour Beatty on this proposed pipe and he supported it as a worthwhile project.
The costs we have been given today for the project are £12,428 including VAT although fuel prices and other variables may mean a slight adjustment to the final figure. Again, as agreed at the Residents Meeting in December we intend to keep back a cash contingency of £379 (from the coffee morning and a £50 cash donation). The good news, based on the figure of £12,428, is that we will be able to reduce the amount we ask for from each of our pledgees by nearly a quarter [we calculate that it will be 76.8% of whatever you offered to donate).
Total pledged so far (updated 17th November 9am)
Latest Update (8th December)
Despite the recent communications issues(!), initiatives on the proposed Cobhall pipeline have been progressing in the background, and we know that residents are keen to hear about. The appeal organisers are intending to arrange another meeting in the village hall – hopefully next week – at which we expect to be able to give you the following information:
- Firm costings on the pipeline
- The proposed contractor
- The timeline for the work to be done [due to a number of circumstances, we now have a longer window of time than originally thought &, if residents agree, would expect the project to commence in the new year].
- How we intend to redeem the pledges that residents made to pay for the work.
Please look out for the date of the next residents’ meeting in the village hall which we will circulate as soon as it is confirmed. However, do not worry if you are unable to attend as we will circulate the decisions from the meeting afterwards.
November update following the coffee afternoon
Thank you to all the helpers, cake bakers, book donators, card makers, wood crafters … and everyone else who came to the coffee afternoon at the village hall on Saturday 13th November; lots of happy people raised another £329!!
The tremendous response to the pledge appeal has meant that the original estimated target of £10,000 has already been met. However, we will continue to accept pledges on the form below in case the final figure is higher than we thought.
If, as seems likely, too much money is promised by the time we are ready to place an order, we will collect a proportionally reduced amount from each person. So, the more pledges received the better, as the cost will be shared between a greater number of residents.
Where are we now following the residents meeting on 9/11/2021?
- The Parish Council have agreed to contribute £3,000 to the scheme and will continue to support and assist residents in their endeavours to achieve this project. At the residents’ request, this includes help with managing donations so that confidentiality, transparency and privacy are protected.
- The Senior Drainage Engineer (SDE) from Balfour Beatty has advised that the work is worth doing and that we can proceed.
- The two options (50m or 100m pipe) were considered. Residents discussed advice from the SDE along with their personal experience of the current drainage system [which is a mix of 9″ and 12″ pipes.]
- Residents were overwhelmingly in favour of the 100m option, feeling that the opportunity to upgrade the drainage network will not arise again, once the new houses near the Common bus stop are completed [the proposed pipe crosses 4 lots of private land and the landowners will assume riparian responsibility for the new works which they already have for the existing 9″ pipe].
- The window of time to do the work is very tight [within weeks] and may also be impacted by weather.
- Two qualified contractors have costed the work and other quotes are in process. On current projections, the cost of the 100m pipe is £10,000. So, taking the Parish Council contribution into account …
our remaining target figure to raise is an additional £7,000 to make the total of £10,000
How can you support this residents’ project?
PLEDGE YOUR HELP IN THE FOLLOWING WAY:-
- Complete and submit the form below [only the administrators, Tony Cramp & Nick Chapman, have access to this email address]
- Alternatively, return a printed copy of the pledge form below in a sealed envelope to Nick & Yvonne Chapman at Springfields, HR2 9BJ [01432 806 414], as soon as possible, as time to do the work is very tight
- You can change the amount of your pledge at any time by notifying the appeal organisers
- Your pledge will be acknowledged by email (or hard copy if email not available)
- We will only collect your pledge money if and when a contractor is appointed and just before an order is raised for the work. At that point we will confirm what method(s) of payment are available to deliver your pledges.
You can follow the total amount of pledges so far, on this page or look at the notices at Cobhall Common bus stop
COBHALL COMMON FLOOD/PIPE PLEDGE The appeal organisers [Tony Cramp, Yvonne & Nick Chapman] promise that this information will remain confidential and will not be shared with anyone without your permission. The information will only be used for this purpose & will be deleted at the end of the project. |