Latest news with #communityspirit
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Outraged priest blasts huge hypocrisy after locals and council turn against his plans to install new set of church bells in ritzy suburb: 'Unacceptable noise'
Locals have hit back at a century-old church over plans to install a new set of bells, claiming it will be too noisy despite already living next to a loud pub. St Augustine's Church in Balmain, in the Sydney 's Inner West, has come up against a flurry of complaints from residents who fear the bells will result in a 'loss of sleep'. The application includes increasing the number of church bells it rings out during Sunday masses and religious events such as weddings and funerals. However, Balmain residents have lodged concerns of the noise impacts this development could have on the local area. The 119-year-old Catholic church has applied to increase the number of bells inside it's 38-metre tall bell tower from one to a set of eight. Bell-ringing would take place between 8.30am and 9pm for up to 20 minutes at a time for a maximum of five sessions a day, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The plans submitted by the church to Inner West Council claim the new bells would 'preserve the acoustic tradition' of bell-ringing. St Augustine's also noted in the plans the new bells will remind local residents to cherish community spirit in 'an era of increasing digitalisation and detachment'. But the plans have been met with objections from neighbours who claim the new set of bells could result in 'unacceptable noise' disturbances. In submissions to the council, some residents have claimed sleeping babies, living in homes as close as 20 metres away from the church, could be disturbed by the bells. Parish priest Father Peter Smith has shut down critics of the proposal and shared his disbelief at some of the complaints. 'The church is 100 metres from a noisy pub that goes all night, so for people to say the bells will wake babies or will keep people awake at night is a bit of a stretch,' he said. He argued the existing bell in the church has rung for more than 100 years and residents who moved into the area would have been aware of the bell tower. 'Places like Balmain are noisy places and I think that's part of the charm of living here,' he added. However, residents' concerns have been echoed by the council during the early feedback stage of the application. Inner West Council has also raised concerns over potential noise disturbances and how this could impact the local area. Praxis Acoustics, which carried out noise modelling on behalf of the church, slammed the council's early feedback and claimed it was using noise restrictions that wouldn't typically apply to the area surrounding the church. The church bells were funded through donations from The Australian and New Zealand Association of Bellringers, which plans to use the new bells for training. Daily Mail Australia contacted Inner West Council for comment.
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
'Our job is to protect a fort - to be fair it hasn't been attacked lately'
Final preparations are underway for a celebration that will take a County Down village back in Hillsborough will play host on Saturday to the warrant ceremony of 13 new members, bringing the United Kingdom's oldest and smallest private army back up to its full Hillsborough Fort Guard was formed by Colonel Arthur Hill, he built the fort in its members have only a ceremonial role."Our job is to protect the fort and to be fair, it hasn't been attacked recently," Simon Walker, a corporal in the guard, told BBC News NI. The guard has a centuries-long history, although it has not always been well the Plantation of Ulster, King Charles II granted a Royal Charter to have 20 soldiers to protect Hillsborough that time, Mr Walker says, sometimes only one man has kept the guard going."But the tradition has never ended," he Investiture of Warrants ceremony is a rare historical moment as Hillsborough Fort Guard welcomes its first full complement of 20 warders since the late Victorian in their new bespoke uniforms, the warders will parade up Park Street, onto Dromore Road and down Main Street to Hillsborough Parish Church to music by the band of the Royal Irish Regiment."The last time that it had 20 men, my great grandfather was one of the warders," Mr Walker said. The Guard takes pride in the village and strives to improve community spirit and increase Trevor Hill said: "We are very much centrally based within the community, we do various walking tours and presentations, and we also run bingo nights, which is great for getting the community together.""I think will be brilliant for the village, the whole district, and just a wonderful experience, a once in a lifetime opportunity," he Nicholas Hill, 9th Marquess of Downshire leads the Guard, he said this will be the first time in living memory that they will be at full strength."There is nearly 400 years of history in this Guard," he Hill selects who becomes a warder, and they must be from County Down."The large majority of them have all done some public service, not necessarily be in the army as some have been in the fire service or the police or the prison service."The future is bright for the regiment as the quota will be filled."We haven't yet got our first lady member, but we have one in our sights. So that could be exciting as well that would be a new part of history."
BBC News
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Search is on for artist to create mural at Ashley Down station
The search is on for an artist to create a mural at a railway station after £4,000 in funding was is hoped the artwork, which will brighten up the entrance of Ashley Down station in Bristol, will capture "community spirit" as well as celebrating local rail heritage Down, which was completed in September, was only the second new station in just under 100 years to open, one year after Portway Park & Ride station mural, to be unveiled this September, is being funded by a £3,000 grant from GWR's Customer and Community Improvement Fund and £1,000 from the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA). The MCA will work with Bristol City Council and Severnside Community Rail Partnership to find a local artist who will work with community groups to produce the Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said she was "delighted" the station would get a mural."The station has been a great addition to the local area since opening, with an average 2,000 journeys being made each week, including by Bristol Rovers and Gloucestershire County Cricket fans," she Morris, from GWR, said the artwork was an "important local project".
BBC News
23-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
DIY SOS youth club in Beverley recruits 80-year-old volunteer
DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles has hailed the "community spirit" of volunteers in East Yorkshire as hundreds of people joined forces to build a club for homeless young building was finished on Thursday after the team spent eight days transforming a field in Beverley, East Yorkshire, into a new home for the Cherry Tree Youth the crew was 80-year-old retired tradesman John Whelan who volunteered on the project for the BBC programme every Whelan, from Beverley, said he took part "for the kids - for their future - so that they can learn, enjoy something and be taught new things in life". Cherry Tree supports around 90 young people a week aged 10 to18 - and for those with special educational needs and disabilities up to the age of youth club was launched in 2016, but members of the group had been meeting in a gazebo in a park since the pandemic while a permanent home was Whelan's daughter, Angela Oldroyd, urged her father to participate in the community project after his wife said he would have loved to take part if he was Oldroyd said: "He was in the trade for 50 years, he knows his stuff inside and out and what better person to have on site than somebody who knows his stuff?" 'Buzzing' "He's had a tough year health-wise. We thought it would do him the world of good mentally and physically to get out and do something for the community," she Whelan has been sweeping up and helping the joiners. He called the work "good fun". "I'm buzzing just watching it all happen," he said. The single-storey building featured a communal area, a kitchen, meeting room, storage area and toilets. There was also an outdoor gym and a cycle path. DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles said people came from as far as Scotland, Devon and London and "pulled off a miracle"."To be able to build out of the ground with no services in eight days to provide a place for the youngsters around here and let the people who run this amazing place and carry out the amazing work - they're the people that did it," he added."People in the area should be really proud of the community spirit that's alive and well." Gabrielle Blackman, an interior designer who also presents the show, described the project as a "superhuman effort" from "incredibly talented people who really care"."I've been crying for about an hour, I'm so thrilled. Everyone is amazing," she said."They've all made friends, people have been given jobs. It's an explosion of good stuff."DIY SOS is due to broadcast the story later this year. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
BBC News
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Flamborough villagers to 'go potty' for third annual festival
Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Darth Vader could feature in a village festival which encourages residents to "go potty". The Flamborough Flowerpot Festival involves making models using plant pots and displaying them on a trail around the event is returning for its third year throughout June. Chair Julie Sanders said "The idea of the event is to promote community spirit and village pride whilst having fun and going potty in public." In previous years, the festival has included full-size plant pot versions of Elvis, King Charles and Queen Sanders said after the Covid-19 lockdown she wanted to do something for the community to get people out of their said when she asked villagers "does anybody want to go potty with me", the reaction was "fabulous" with lots of people joining in."Anybody could get involved who lives in the village - old, young, any ability, it doesn't matter. "We just wanted people to become engaged, go potty, have a bit of fun, meet up in our free workshops, meet other people and make models," she said. Ms Sanders has formed a group called Team Potty which put on a workshop to help provide materials and advice to new year, the group raised funds by selling trail maps, which they used to buy materials and also donated £1,500 to the Brownies and the same amount to a local Sanders added: "It's a good fundraiser, but that's not the main reason we do it. "We just do it because we want people to have a laugh, make people smile and get people out visiting Flamborough." Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
