Whitchurch Conservation Group

Dear Whitchurch Residents
This is a courtesy message from Whitchurch Conservation Group (WCG) to let you know about the scaffolding and paintwork at numbers 5 and 7 Wi******er St and 3 Church St.

Whitchurch Conservation Group is funding this work: earlier this year in January, Whitchurch Conservation Group won a grant from the govt Rural Prosperity Fund for a small 'town regeneration project'.

As you can imagine, it has been an extremely difficult project to bring forward and deliver, involving a huge amount of bureaucracy. We have been reluctant to talk publicly about this project as there were so elements that could have gone wrong, meaning it would have failed before it even started.

To our immense relief, a few days ago we finally received the news that we have received our scaffolding permits through from HCC Highways to erect scaffolding and carry out building paintwork on 5 and 7 Wi******er Street and 3 Church St.
This has taken 6 months!!!!

We are sincerely grateful to Cllr Thacker and Kit Malthouse MP for their efforts in pushing this forward. Without their help this project would have failed.

The scaffolding is being erected today (22nd July) and the work will take place over the school summer holidays for a period of approximately 6 weeks. Local builder/decorators Piper & Sons are carrying out the work.

We apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused, and we are sorry for this, but we hope you understand that the outcome will be positive for Whitchurch and will make the town centre look better and more aesthetically cared for. It is long overdue!

Over the next few weeks and months, once the paintwork is underway, we will be working with some shopowners to improve signage and we hope that the overall result will be far more harmonious, aesthetically pleasing and in keeping with the town Conservation Area. We will keep you posted on these updates when it is appropriate to do so.

We are also in close contact with the Premier Shopowner and are trying to help him with his heritage shopfront reinstatement. We are working closely with Cllr Ashfield to do this and are grateful for her support.

Please do contact us if you have any issues or problems and I will do my best to resolve these.
Hard copy leaflets have also been hand delivered to residents living near to the buildings in question.

Thank you
Lucie Follett Maitland
Chair, Whitchurch Conservation Group
Email: [email protected]

Good Morning!
As the weather forecast today looks pretty grim, we've decided to change our venue.

Both shows will now take place INDOORS at Testbourne Community School THEATRE.

Please do join us and we look forward to seeing you, as planned, at 11am and 2pm for today's performances of Will Tell and the Big Bad Baron.

For those travelling in from outside Whitchurch, we recommend you use the car park at Testbourne School RG28 7JF.

Look forward to seeing you all later!!!!!

We are looking forward to welcoming you to Whitchurch Open Air Theatre tomorrow
Saturday 6th July in Whitchurch Millennium Meadow for Will Tell and the Big Bad Baron .

!!! IMPORTANT !!!! We are changing the time of the afternoon performance to 2pm (instead of 3pm).

This is so that we can slightly speed up the take down and enjoy the afternoon's sporting events.....

The 11am performance time remains the same.

If there is any possibility that you can't attend the show, please let us know and we will gladly cancel your ticket and pass to someone on our waitlist. Please just don't not show up!

A few free tickets left: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/whitchurchconservationgroup/1231293

We are looking forward to welcoming you to Whitchurch Open Air Theatre this coming Saturday 6th July in Whitchurch Millennium Meadow for Will Tell and the Big Bad Baron.

!!! IMPORTANT !!!! We are changing the time of the afternoon performance to 2pm (instead of 3pm).

This is so that we can slightly speed up the take down and enjoy the afternoon's sporting events.....

If there is any possibility that you can't attend the show, please let us know and we will gladly cancel your ticket and pass to someone on our waitlist. Please just don't not show up!

We've added some more tickets (FREE) for performances at 11am and 2pm
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/whitchurchconservationgroup/1231293

Age suitability: 4-12

Trailer below:
https://youtu.be/va5LAt_ZFSk

Theatre Fideri Fidera present Will Tell and the Big Bad Baron trailer Fringe favourites Theatre Fideri Fidera are back with a hilarious reimagining of the legend of Swiss folk hero Wilhelm Tell. Trailer produced by Told Tales.C...

We are getting ready to welcome everyone to the second weekend of family theatre in the Millennium Meadow.

Today we have ‘The Extraordinary Time Travelling Adventures of Baron Munchausen’

Performances at 11am and 3pm
Most of the bench seats are already reserved but there are some walk in tickets available.
Cost: free
Duration: 55 mins

Enjoy!!!!

We are looking forward to welcoming those who have booked tickets to Whitchurch Open Air Theatre this coming
Saturday 29th June in Whitchurch Millennium Meadow for ‘The Extraordinary Time-Travelling Adventures of Baron Munchausen’.

If your plans have changed and you can now no longer attend, please get in touch so that we can pass on your tickets to our waitlist.

Sadly, we had a few no shows at last Saturday's theatre show, which took away the opportunity from those on the waitlist. We expect everyone's plans to change, but we'd rather you let us know in advance if there is a smidgeon of a chance that you might not come.
We have people waiting to take your tickets!

For those travelling in to Whitchurch from afar, we recommend you park at Testbourne School and walk over to the Millennium Meadow - probably about a 6 min walk (RG28 7JF)

We have invited Sonny Jim's ice cream van to park outside the main gate approx 40 mins before the start of each performance - cash/card accepted.

Finally; we'd also like to be a little cheeky and ask if you can to please help to support our voluntary community group by buying some event merchandise: a Mill Trail teatowel for £12.

Click on the link below to purchase a teatowel and we will have it ready for you to collect on the day. llustration by local artist Jo South.

Your purchase will help us financially: we are only able to put on events like this through hard work and ingenuity in sourcing funding and writing lots and lots of grant applications.

The Extraordinary Time-Travelling Adventures of Baron Munchausen 29th June (performances at 11am and 3pm)

Buy a teatowel here:
https://app.tickettailor.com/events/whitchurchconservationgroup/1299495

We are looking forward to welcoming everyone to today’s family theatre show ‘Boxville’ in Whitchurch Millennium Meadow (performances at 11am and 3pm)
If you haven’t booked a ticket for a bench seat, fear not as we have lots of picnic blankets too.
(Free entry)

We are looking forward to welcoming those who have booked tickets to Whitchurch Open Air Theatre this coming Saturday 22nd June in Whitchurch Millennium Meadow.

Our first performance of the three week season is ‘Boxville’. Trailer below:

https://youtu.be/Gs85u485iFE?feature=shared

We wanted to get in touch to remind attendees to bring a cardboard box!

We will have a few spare boxes available, in case you've forgotten to bring your own, but we'd really appreciate each attendee bringing a box so that we can have a veritable plethora of cardboard creations!

* for those without tickets, please do keep checking the website as there are occasional returns and these show as available *

WCG has joined forces with WIB today for a volunteering event at Lloyds Bank Andover (Keens House). We’ve just finished setting up and are very excited to have any local Whitchurch employees join us for a corporate volunteering day ahead of judging day in early July 🙂 We’d love to hear from anyone else whose company offers CSR volunteering days as we really need all the person power we can get!!!

Book the last few FREE tickets for The Amazing Time Travelling Adventures of Baron Munchausen at Whitchurch Open Air Theatre: 2x tickets left for 11am and 16x tickets for 3pm performance on Saturday 29th June. (All other shows sold out)

BOOK TICKETS for The Extraordinary Time-Travelling Adventures – THE EXTRAORDINARY TIME-TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN - SATURDAY 29TH JUNE 2024 – Whitchurch Millennium Meadow THE EXTRAORDINARY TIME-TRAVELLING ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN - SATURDAY 29TH JUNE 2024 Amazing tales, elegantly told. The ...

FREE TICKETS FOR WHITCHURCH OPEN AIR THEATRE ARE NOW AVAILABLE TO BOOK !!!!
🎭 🎉 🥳
Calling all parents, grown-ups, and grandparents of primary-school age children!
WHITCHURCH OPEN AIR THEATRE 2024 PROGRAMME

Saturday 22nd June 11am and 3pm Boxville (Age 4-11, 55 mins) https://app.tickettailor.com/events/whitchurchconservationgroup/1211196

Saturday 29th June 11am and 3pm The Extraordinary Time-Travelling Adventures of Baron Munchausen (Age 6-11, 60 mins) https://app.tickettailor.com/events/whitchurchconservationgroup/1231292

Saturday 6th July 11am and 3pm Will Tell and the Big Bad Baron (Age 3-11, 60 mins) https://www.tickettailor.com/events/whitchurchconservationgroup/1231293

///////
Join us for family-friendly outdoor theatre in the delightful setting of Whitchurch Millennium Meadow in Whitchurch, north Hampshire.

Whitchurch Conservation Group is very excited to offer a season of FREE interactive, family-friendly theatre, with different shows taking place over three Saturdays in June and July 2024, as part of Basingstoke Festival.

Audiences are purposely kept small and intimate (seating 72 each performance): there are two ticketed performances each day, at 11am and 3pm, with bench seating. Adults and children require tickets.

Thanks to a grant awarded by the govt Rural England Prosperity Fund, we are able to offer tickets for FREE (*instead of a £9 per ticket cost).

Our hope is that we can hold Whitchurch Open Air Theatre every two years, to alternate with Whitchurch Children's Festival, our award-winning family arts festival, and continue to offer high-quality arts and cultural experiences for children and families.

The official website for the event is www.whitchurchopenairtheatre.co.uk but the above links allow you to book tickets directly.

We are grateful to the trustees of Whitchurch Millennium Meadow for allowing us to use this special space as the venue for Whitchurch Open Air Theatre. Thank you.

Whitchurch Conservation Group Community Organization

Calling all parents, grown-ups, and grandparents of primary-school age children!

Join us for family-friendly outdoor theatre in the delightful setting of Whitchurch Millennium Meadow.

Whitchurch Conservation Group is very excited to offer Whitchurch Open Air Theatre, a season of FREE interactive, family-friendly theatre, with different shows taking place over three Saturdays in June and July 2024, to coincide with the Basingstoke Festival.

There will be two performances each day, at 11am and 3pm, with bench seating. Performances are strictly ticketed events, advance booking only.

Tickets will be available to book from May onwards.

WHITCHURCH OPEN AIR THEATRE 2024 PROGRAMME

• Saturday 22nd June 11am and 3pm
Boxville (Age 4+, 55 mins)

• Saturday 29th June 11am and 3pm
The Extraordinary Time-Travelling Adventures of Baron Munchausen (Age 6+, 60 mins)

• Saturday 6th July 11am and 3pm
Will Tell and the Big Bad Baron (Age 3+, 60 mins)

🏆 🥳 🎉 We are very pleased to announce that we have won the ‘Best Family Festival’ award for our family arts festival - Whitchurch Children’s Festival - at the U.K. Festival Awards 2023!

A great result and testament to lots of hard work by our really fabulous team of creatives, artists and arts organisations and volunteers.

❤️ A huge thank you to our supporters; your support has been invaluable: Arts Council England, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, Hampshire Council, Basingstoke Voluntary Action, Kier, Backstage Trust, James Tuttiett Charitable Trust, Sir Jeremiah Colman Gift Trust. ❤️

💖 And thank you to our partners, all the amazing creatives, freelancers, arts organisations and volunteers who made this happen! 💖

A special thank you to Paul Rampton who very kindly took event photos for us. A special thanks also for Simon Brown for drone footage and photos. We used these to create our highlights video

https://youtu.be/IOp-9RoS_i8?si=DHgExS0Swy78Vo9v

Whitchurch Children's Festival 2023 Whitchurch Children's Festival 2023 is a family arts festival in Whitchurch, Hampshire; shortlisted for Best Family Festival at the UK Festival Awards 2023. ...

Thanks to everyone who took part in our town centre survey - we received a whopping 819 responses.
The survey is now closed. We will announce the Amazon voucher winner this weekend and hope to share a summary of the data collected in time. We are currently working up our grant application and will be submitting this later in December.
Our hope is that we can use your feedback strategically, constructively and positively and, most of all, demonstrate why this matters so much to Whitchurch residents.
Thank you for your time; it is very much appreciated.
Whitchurch Conservation Group

Now up to 800 responses! Its the FINAL DAY of our quick survey on Whitchurch Town Centre - our survey closes at 5:30 pm today, so please get your responses in.
We REALLY want to give our best shot to get some funding to improve the town centre - hence the need to show 'community need'.
Please take part - be as blunt as you like, answer anonymously if you wish, otherwise be in with a chance to win a £25 Amazon voucher.
Thanks!!!
WCG
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/whitchurchtowncentre

We are now up to 766 responses to our quick survey on Whitchurch Town Centre!
We REALLY want to give our best shot to get some funding to improve the town centre - hence the need to show 'community need'.
Please take part - be as blunt as you like, answer anonymously if you wish, otherwise be in with a chance to win a £25 Amazon voucher. Survey will close tomorrow (Wednesday 29th) at 5:30pm.
Thanks!!!
WCG
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/whitchurchtowncentre

We are up to 603 responses to our quick survey on Whitchurch Town Centre! Please help us get to our overall aim of 750 by Wednesday 5:30pm.
We REALLY want to give our best shot to get some funding to improve the town centre - hence the need to show 'community need'.
Please take part - be as blunt as you like, answer anonymously if you wish, otherwise be in with a chance to win a £25 Amazon voucher.
Thanks!!!
WCG
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/whitchurchtowncentre

We are up to 470 responses to our quick survey on Whitchurch Town Centre! Please help us get to our overall aim of 750 survey responses by Wednesday 5:30pm.
We REALLY want to give our best shot to get some funding to improve the town centre - hence the need to show 'community need'.
Please take part - be as blunt as you like, answer anonymously if you wish, otherwise be in with a chance to win a £25 Amazon voucher.
Thanks!!!
WCG
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/whitchurchtowncentre

Please answer our quick 2min survey on the state of Whitchurch Town Centre and be in with a chance to win a £25 Amazon voucher!

Survey link here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/wcgnewsletter

Help us win some funding!

Whitchurch Conservation Group is in the process of building up an application for a small grant to make cosmetic changes to Whitchurch Town Centre with the aim of ‘improving the look and feel of the neighbourhood’ and ‘improving the perception of our rural community’.

As part of our grant application, we need to carry out a ‘baseline survey’ to present resident thoughts about the visual state of the Town Centre as it is at present; ie the appearance of the individual buildings and shopfronts.

We need as many responses as possible to provide evidence of strong community need for this change.

Whitchurch Conservation Group Community Organization

We are excited to see Whitchurch Children’s Festival shortlisted at the U.K. Festival Awards 2023 in two categories:
- Best Micro Festival
- Best Family Festival

We have sent out a newsletter to our WCG database last night and would be very grateful if you could vote for us!

Yes; it's that time of year! WCG is looking for volunteers to act as stewards at Whitchurch Children's Festival on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th July.

We need your help to:
- keep an eye on the workshop/stage area and signpost people on
- check in (check ticket names off a print out)
- monitor bouncy castle session timings
- keep to timings at The Big Tent and Stage

We are also looking for volunteer photographers to take event photos so that we can collate one or two photos of each activity into a highlights video.

We are happy to be as flexible as you like in terms of length of hours offered on either/both days...but we really do need the help.

For those able to offer 3hrs +, we will gladly offer you a free daily family festival ticket to say thank you for making the effort.
Please get in touch: [email protected]
Thanks
WCG

Flagging this up for parents of children receiving free school meals at Whitchurch Primary School .
Please get in touch!!!! [email protected]
*******

Hello!
We know how expensive and hard it can be to entertain the children in the school holidays so we would like to remind you about a fabulous, free day of fun, activity, crafts and entertainment for your family happening on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th July, The festival is in the Fulling Mill meadow, so you can walk. You can buy food there or take a picnic to keep the costs down further.

All you need to do is email [email protected] and say which day you would like your ticket for.

The family ticket is for 2 adults and 2 children but extra siblings can have free tickets too.You will be sent an email which you show to get your festival wristband at the entrance on the day.

After that, all activities are free. Children will be able to fill a whole day (10 to 5) with all of the following activities-
claywork * jewellery making * weaving * origami * mural painting * printmaking * weaving * recycled art * willow weaving * bookmaking * dance workshops * author readings * dance performances * rhymetime and storytime * storytelling * poetry * live theatre * walkabout performances * music workshops * live music performances*donkey rides * inflatables * face painting * cookery

🌷🌺🦋 🐟 We are looking forward to welcoming you later today along the riverside footpath stretch of the Mill Trail for
Please do stop by our stall outside Fulling Mill as you walk along the river (1-5:30pm): we will be selling some beautiful prints by artist/illustrator Jo South featuring many of the recognisable Whitchurch heritage buildings you will pass along the Open Gardens trail. We are especially excited to show you a new, very special Mill Trail teatowel commissioned by Whitchurch Conservation Group and Whitchurch Walkers Are Welcome (£13).

🌷🌺🦋 🐟 We are looking forward to welcoming you along the riverside footpath stretch of the Mill Trail for tomorrow (Sunday 2nd July) Please do stop by our stall outside Fulling Mill as you walk along the river (1-5:30pm): we will be selling some beautiful prints by artist/illustrator Jo South featuring many of the recognisable Whitchurch heritage buildings you will pass along the Open Gardens trail. We are especially excited to show you a new, very special Mill Trail teatowel commissioned by Whitchurch Conservation Group and Whitchurch Walkers Are Welcome (£13). Hope to see you tomorrow!

Just a polite heads up to say we've passed on letters offering free family tickets to Whitchurch Children's Festival to those eligible for free school meals at Whitchurch Primary School. (*not universal fsm)
We have also passed letters to Rising Fives and Whitchurch Montessori so that those eligible for Y2 funding and EYPP can claim their free family ticket.
Please do make sure you claim your ticket (if you have received a letter)
Thank you,
Lucie, Jackie, Andy
Whitchurch Conservation Group

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=557248899946315&id=100069836284053

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=540087571662448&id=100069836284053

🌷🌺🦋 🐟 We are excited to announce that tickets for Whitchurch Children's Festival 2023 have gone LIVE
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/whitchurchconservationgroup/876002

All activities once inside the festival are included! A daily family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) costs £20 (ie, £5 per person). Daily tickets can also be bought individually at £5 each. Proudly supported by Arts Council England.

See our 2021 highlights video to get an idea of what to expect:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQwYPfQ8kR0&t=2s

Our 2023 line-up includes:

* ceramics * jewellery making * weaving * origami * mural painting * printmaking * weaving * recycled art * willow weaving * bookmaking * dance workshops * author readings * dance performances * rhymetime and storytime * storytelling * poetry * live theatre * walkabout performances * music workshops * live music performances *

as well as non-arts activities including

* donkey rides * inflatables * face painting * cookery *

The sun is out! If you are looking for something to do over the Easter weekend, we would like to suggest the Whitchurch Mill Trail, a series of public footpaths connecting historic mills in and around Whitchurch, Hampshire.

The Mill Trail: Explore North Hampshire’s hidden gem

*NEW* Updated trail guide here:https://whitchurch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Whitchurch-Mill-Trail-Leaflet.pdf

*NEW* Video trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXIHZQ2rzYg

Along the way, you will also see the new interpretation boards to explain more of the highlights and heritage of the trail.

Thank you to the Test & Loddon LEADER grant programme for funding this rural tourism project.

Lucie, Jackie, Andy
Whitchurch Conservation Group

The Mill Trail, Whitchurch, Hampshire The Mill Trail, Whitchurch, HampshireView the trail leaflet here:https://whitchurch.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Whitchurch-Mill-Trail-Leaflet.pdf

WCG have set up a Justgiving page towards our day-to-day core running costs. Can you help?

Since establishing our voluntary constituted community group in late 2020, we have been extremely proactive and successful in sourcing external funding for special projects which benefit all of Whitchurch including a new, accessible bridge at Town Mill Lane, all new Mill Trail tourism interpretation boards, the design of Mill Trail marketing leaflets and cast iron fingerposts.

We are very appreciative of any donations you might have towards our day-to-day core running costs which include:

* Newsletter software
* Website hosting
* Cloud storage
* Public Liability Insurance
* Accountant fees

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/whitchurch-conservation-group-core-running-costs

Thank you!

Whitchurch Conservation Group

Help raise £750 to help fund Whitchurch Conservation Group core running costs Weʼre raising money to help fund Whitchurch Conservation Group core running costs. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.