Voting and elections

Wells and springs across the district will soon be decorated when the popular Malvern Well Dressing Festival returns this week.

The festival this year will have a 'Literature' theme and will be held from Friday, 28 April to Sunday, 8 May 2022.

The annual event celebrates the history of the Malvern Hills District, from its iconic spring water and Victorian Water Cure to the area's ancient Pagan traditions. It is brought to the town by the Malvern Spa Association with local businesses and community groups taking part.

Around 200 adults and over 500 school children will all be involved in dressing the wells across Malvern.

The festival starts with the dressing of the wells on Friday, 29 April.

Saturday, 30 April, will see a well blessing at 8.30am St James's Church with Revd Becky Elliott and 4pm at the Malvhina Fountain, Belle Vue Terrace, with Revd Rod Corke.

On Sunday, 1 May, at 10am there will be 'Beautiful Music' by Ray Mytton at St Anne's Well, a 'Ceremony' with Rainbow Guardians at 2pm and a 'Ceremony' with Malvern Border Druids at 3pm, both at Hayslad Spout.

At 4.45am on Monday, 2 May, there will be a Dripping Well Dawn Ceremony with Jonathan Penley, as well as a Family Fun Day in Priory Park.

Organised by Malvern Hills District Council in partnership with Malvern Spa Association, the Family Fun Day will be held from 10am to 5pm and will host a mixture of children's activities and entertainment.

Children will be able to play on the newly revamped play area, as well as take part in the Freedom Leisure Xplorer Trail and water-inspired rides.

There will be circus skills, clay pottery workshops, Victorian Water Cure re-enactment and the Well Dressing Prize Giving Ceremony.

The festival will end on Sunday, 8 May, with a well dressing closing ceremony at North Malvern Clock Tower at 4pm.

Visitors can view the wonderful creations by setting off across the hills on foot, by bicycle or on a self-drive tour. Maps can be downloaded from the Malvern Well Dressing Facebook page or from Malvern Tourist Information Centre.

Cllr Daniel Walton, Portfolio Holder for Tourism and Economic Development at Malvern Hills District Council said: "It is exciting that we get to welcome Malvern's traditional Well Dressing Festival once again. This year's theme will give people the chance to not only celebrate the district's history but also its literature connections too. It is always great to see the local community coming together to dress the wells and springs around Malvern."

Rick Banbury, Well Dressing Organiser said: "Well Dressing will explore the theme of Literature this year and what a rich seam it is. Malvern already has a grand literature heritage with connections from the middle ages with William Langland to the more contemporary Barbara Cartland, C.S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Come May Day we shall hope to be delighted with many rich tableaux of literary inspiration."

Visit www.visitthemalverns.org/welldressing for more information.

The updated South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) will not be published for consultation in July as scheduled, because work on the key documents relating to development sites and the infrastructure needed to support them is yet to be completed.

More time is required to finalise the Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) which is a crucial evidence document setting out how strategic infrastructure, such as roads and new schools, will be delivered to support proposals in the SWDP for the additional 14,000 new dwellings that we are required to deliver across Malvern Hills District, Worcester City and Wychavon District by 2041.

The Regulation 19 publication draft of the SWDP was scheduled for public consultation in July, with the Submission version timetabled for independent examination later this year.

The impact of the latest delay to the SWDP is still being assessed and a new timetable will be drawn up for elected councillors to consider.

Cllr, Aaron Powell, Chair of the SWDP Joint Advisory Panel, said: "We know that infrastructure and how it will be delivered is one of the key concerns of our residents. We are disappointed by this latest delay to the review of the SWDP but the Infrastructure Delivery Plan is a critical piece of evidence, to demonstrate the proposed strategic housing sites are viable. It is therefore better that we take the time now to make sure we are getting it right as we look to deliver a Plan that will have a profound impact on South Worcestershire over the coming years.

"We will identify the next steps in the review process and a timetable for them as soon as we can."

Notes:

The revised SWDP, sets out how a Government requirement to build another 14,000 new homes across Malvern Hills District, Worcester City and Wychavon by 2041 will be met. This is on top of the need for 28,400 new homes by 2030, more than half of which have already been built, as set out in the current plan.

Part of a house, two five-metre lamp posts and a skateboard were amongst the many items found in Priory Park's lower pond during the desilting works.

The pond, which hasn't been cleaned in 30 years, is currently undergoing enhancement and repair works as part of the council's Five Year Plan priority to improve the popular Great Malvern park.

Amongst the items found during the desilting works were:

• Part of a house
• Two five-metre lamp posts
• One section of gutter
• One chair
• Five traffic cones
• One road sign
• One wall mounted cigarette bin
• One skateboard
• Two tennis rackets
• One frisbee
• Two banners
• Mobile phones
• Litter including glass and plastic bottles, cans and crisp packets

The house found in the pond was originally located at the Rose Bank Gardens and was left to the council by Dyson Perrins. It was used as an art studio until it fell into disrepair and was knocked down in the 1950s.

As well as this, 310 lorry-loads of silt has been removed from the lower pond. This will enable the pond to start capturing carbon again and provide the right environment for plants to grow.

The next stage is to incorporate new wildlife habitats and log piles around the pond for aquatic invertebrates and insects. Shrubs and woodland bulbs will also be planted, along with the installation of gabion baskets to create planting shelves.

Cllr Peter Whatley, Portfolio Holder for Resources at Malvern Hills District Council, said: "We always knew there would be some interesting finds when we started the much-needed desilting works on the lower pond and we weren't disappointed. It has been great to see the work progress on the pond which will improve the water quality and make it more suitable for wetland wildlife to thrive."

Works on the lower pond will continue on the lower pond until early May.

The project has received funding of £102,716.37 from the European Regional Development Fund, awarded by Natural Networks. This makes up 45% of the project cost, with Malvern Hills District Council providing the remaining 55%.

Visit www.malvernhills.gov.uk/priorypark to keep up to date with the improvements to Priory Park.

Date published: 14 March 2022

Notes:

The project is receiving up to) £102,716.37 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Natural Networks programme is delivered in partnership between Worcestershire County Council and Worcestershire Wildlife Trust. Further information can be found at www.worcestershire.gov.uk/naturalnetworks.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding. 

Priory Park's newly revamped play area will be open to the public in time for the Easter weekend.

The exciting half a million-pound project in Great Malvern will open on Good Friday (15 April), with a formal opening event held on 5 May.

Malvern Hills District Council has worked with specialist play equipment company, Flights of Fantasy, on the new, state-of-the-art design which is unique and eco-friendly.

The council has also been working with Avery Landscapes Limited, who are the main contractor for the project.

The new play area has sustainable timber, planting and materials to give a natural and rustic feel, while also allowing for a range of play.

Children will be able to climb on natural boulders, crawl through hobbit holes, hide in a hollow tree trunk, walk across a rope bridge, swing on a basket swing and even meet a giant dragonfly.

The play area replacement is part of the wider improvement plan for Priory Park which includes refurbishment to the shelters, desilting the pond and more.

Cllr Peter Whatley, Portfolio Holder for Resources at Malvern Hills District Council, said: "I am delighted to announce that the newly revamped play area will be open to the public in two weeks. We want to thank our partners on this project for their hard work and to the public for their patience. We can't wait for everyone to enjoy this brilliant space which is a wonderful addition to our popular park".

Building works on the park began in mid-November last year.

Visit www.malvernhills.gov.uk/priorypark for more information on the park.