Spring Clean for the Queen Entry - Rolleston on Dove Parish Council

Rolleston on Dove Parish Council is celebrating after being named as second prize winners of the Daily Mail’s Spring Clean for the Queen competition. In the run-up to the Diamond Jubilee, the national newspaper ran the campaign to encourage communities and businesses to ‘spring clean for the Queen’. Below is the Parish Council submission along with associated before and after photos:

The community turned out on various occasions during May to undertake a “Spring Clean for the Queen”. After potential improvements were highlighted at John of Rolleston Primary School, in Chapel Lane, governors, parents, families, the school’s head teacher and people from the community spent more than 300 hours undertaking the work over the weekend of 19th & 20th May. The main focus of the improvements was to repaint the front roadside railings and the parents’ waiting area at the school a project in the pipeline for several years but unable to be started due to a lack of funds in the school budget. It is thought the railings at the front of the school had not been painted for more than 25 years and work was last undertaken on the frontage prior to two former village schools merging in 1986 to form John of Rolleston. Shrubs were removed, trees were pruned and all of the railings were given new life as they were transformed from various shades of rusty white and yellow to heritage green.

The project was funded by Rolleston on Dove Parish Council and the school’s Parent Teacher Association, Friends of John of Rolleston Primary School.

A second weekend of work took place over 26th & 27th May in which a team of around 30 volunteers turned out, to carry out litter picking in the village, replant flower beds and to install an additional five planters along Burnside.

The banks of the brook were tendered to and most significantly the three rotten weirs along the Brook were replaced and fish passes installed. The existing weirs had been in place for around 40 years and were rotten and beyond repair.

A grant towards the cost of the materials was awarded by East Staffordshire Borough Council and the replacement of the Weirs was undertaken on a voluntary basis by members of the Parish Council, Residents, Borough Councillors and Andrew Griffiths MP who turned out to support the “Spring Clean for the Queen” campaign. The Brook runs through the centre of the village and partly lies within the Conservation Area making it a focal area for residents and visitors to the village. It also hosted Rolleston on Dove’s very own water pageant with over 50 handmade boats on display during the Diamond Jubilee weekend. Long awaited tree works and removal of shrubs also took place on the Spread Eagle Island an area of land handed to the Parish by Sir Oswald Moseley in the 1920’s.

To commemorate the Queens Diamond Jubilee, the Parish Council will be managing the creation of a Jubilee Orchard on an area of land which is owned by the Parish Council. The Orchard will host 40 fruit trees which have been sponsored at £10 each and the Orchard will have open access to the community. Should the Community be lucky enough to secure one of the cash prizes from the Spring Clean for the Queen competition, the money will be put towards the creation of the Orchard. However, if we are really really lucky, the £10,000 would go towards providing permanent Changing Facilities for Rolleston Football Club.

Return to Village Grapevine 2012

Last updated: 21 July 2012