Parish News 2024
The Rural Community Council of Essex launched a competition to find Essex Village of the Year recently. I completed the submission for Tendring Village ,which can be read below. It was difficult to explain in 500 words just how much goes on in this Village so apologies to anyone I have left out.
Although Tendring is a small village with limited funding, we have a vibrant Community life.
We have numerous clubs hosted in our Village hall where there is something for everyone, from Coffee and Chat, Baby and Toddler groups, a youth group for older children and exercise classes ranging from Yoga to Morris Dancing. We also have a Cricket club, a bell ringing group at our local Church and a Pony Club. We have craft groups for the more creative and a local history group who’s members act as the guardians of our past. All these initiatives help in minimising social isolation
Tendring has many events which bring our Community together. We hosted a Christmas drama production for the enjoyment of all age groups, and the Village hall, Church groups and Parish council all worked together to help host this event with three local charities benefiting from the profits raised. We recently ran our 2nd annual Scarecrow trail which involved Villagers constructing scarecrows and placing them outside their houses, with children and adults then following a trail map. Our Village School took a prominent part in this event.
On a more sombre note, we also held a remembrance service where members of the Tendring Youth Group researched and presented the life stories of those villagers who sadly lost their lives in the wars. This helps to build a shared Village identity reaching back across the generations.
Regular events at our 13thCentury Church support our community in collaboration with the Village hall and Parish Council. Wine tasting events have become a regular occurrence at the local restaurant supported by international winemakers, and several vineyards have recently been planted locally. An annual Burns Night is very popular too.
We organise 2 litter picks each year which sees villagers of all ages working together to protect our quiet rural environment, which serves to enhances our community cohesion along with regular working parties to maintain common spaces within the Village. A Village Facebook Group & monthly magazine serves the Community and advertises events and an active Parish Council interfaces with the Community to identify needs and opportunities.
We are fortunate that we have a number of additional active initiatives that help strengthen Village cohesion. One of these is the Primary Recycle Project. They encourage Villagers to reuse and recycle materials which they collect, thus reducing the need for landfill. There are allotments which provide an opportunity for Villagers to be more sustainable which also helps reduce social isolation. Tendring has a very popular play area which is used extensively by members of the Village and surrounding communities which strengthens Village identity, fostering a sense of belonging which is the envy of many. This area is often used as a meeting point for families and ramblers.
Our plans for the future include more community events and a development of the various organisations in the Village working together to enhance our Village life and to support each other to make full use of the resources we have.
We have been awarded a highly commended award for the Village in a recent awards ceremony. This is a very pleasing as the competition was very fierce with larger villages also in this category.
Well done Tendring.
Jill Brattan
Chair of Tendring Parish Council