Welcome to
Meppershall
Parish Council, Community and
Local Business Information
...but placed in a dismal country upon a wretched soil, in a starving village, with roads nearly impassable: (nothing but force could set me down in such a place).John Byng, Traveller and author of The Torrington Diaries, 1794 who described his first impressions of Meppershall
Job Vacancy – Community and Environment Officer
Are you passionate about the environment?
Are you looking for a practical hands on job?
Do you love working outdoors?
THIS could be the role for you!
We’re recruiting a Community and Environment Officer
Part-time (3-10 hours per week) flexible working
A competitive starting salary of £21,189 per annum pro rata.
Benefits include generous annual leave and competitive pension scheme.
Application deadline: Thursday 31st August, 5:00pm
Interviews week commencing 11th September
Duties include working within the Council’s cemetery, parks, recreation areas and open spaces including maintaining and up keeping areas of open space, play equipment, sports facilities and buildings.
The ideal candidate will be local, friendly, self-motivated and have a positive attitude. They will have previous experience maintaining gardens and/ or managing grounds. He / She will have good organisational skills and time management, work to a high standard and be reliable and flexible in their approach.
If you are keen and self-motivated and feel you would fit into a small, busy and forward thinking Council we would love to hear from you.
Application pack can be downloaded here:
- Job description
- Person Specification
- MPC Employment Application Form v2023
- Please note that CV’s will not be accepted
A vibrant village in Central Bedfordshire
Home to a dynamic community, beautiful countryside, and local businesses & amenities. First recorded as Malpertesselle in 1086, through to adopting the name of Meppershall in 1806, the historic village is home to a number of listed buildings.
Essential Information
The Parish Council meets on the second Monday of every month, and members of the public are welcome to attend.
Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) Unitary Authority administers the village within the Parliamentary constituency of Mid-Bedfordshire. The CBC offices are off the Ampthill Road at Priory House, Monks Walk, Chicksands, Shefford, SG17 5TQ; telephone: 0300 300 8301.
The Parish of St Mary's Meppershall comes under the Diocese of St Albans.
Meppershall Organisations
Meppershall Good Neighbours Group, is a voluntary group who call themselves GNOMES(Good Neighbours Offering Meppershall Excellent Services).
The Meppershall Messenger is a magazine produced by volunteers for the benefit of the whole village. It is delivered free to every household during the last week of each month except August and December. The advertising pages reflect a wide cross-section of local businesses and tradesmen.
Refuse Disposal
Central Bedfordshire Council has more details of what can go into which bin. Black bins are emptied on alternate Wednesdays from the all-green & green-lid bin. Food waste is collected separately: each household has a small brown “caddy” for the kitchen, for which CBC provides biodegradable liners. Full liners can be decanted into the larger brown bin, which is emptied every week. All bins due for collection have to be put out before 7am on Wednesday mornings.
Several Tidy Tips are approximately equidistant from Meppershall: Biggleswade Tidy Tip, next to Sainsbury’s on the A1; Ampthill Tidy Tip on Abbey Lane off Oliver Street, and Letchworth Household Waste Recycling Centre, Blackhorse Road, Letchworth Garden City.
Meppershall Bottle Bank is in the car park outside the Village Hall, where residents can also find charity donation bins.
Education
The village primary school is Meppershall Church of England Academy, which is part of the Poppy Hill Church of England Multi Academy Trust. Meppershall Academy currently accepts children up to Year 4; however, Central Bedfordshire schools will be converting to a 2-tier system in the coming year, and once this happens, Meppershall Academy will accept children up to Year 6.
Current local middle schools include: Henlow Church of England Academy (part of the Poppy Hill CofE Multi Academy Trust), Robert Bloomfield Academy, and Etonbury Academy (an extended secondary school). All these schools are currently middle schools, however as part of the change to the 2-tier system, Henlow Academy will convert to a secondary school.
The current upper school for years 9 – 11, plus Sixth Form, is Samuel Whitbread Academy.
Medical
For emergencies the nearest A&E units are at Bedford Hospital, the Luton & Dunstable Hospital, and the Lister Hospital, in Stevenage.
The nearest Doctor’s surgery to Meppershall is in the Shefford Health Centre in Robert Lucas Drive, off Hitchin Road, Shefford. Shefford Pharmacy operates independently from within the same building.
There is also Lower Stondon Surgery at The Hawthorns, 109, Station Road, Lower Stondon, that will provide services to Meppershall residents.
Shefford Dental Practice is located 34 High Street, Shefford.
Recreation
- the CBC ROW website http://my.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/?ms=CentralBeds/AllMaps&layers=cbc_boundary_only,row_legal_network&starteasting=512647.49908447&startnorthing=238829.50027466&startzoom=1995
- Polehanger Farms website https://polehanger.co.uk/home/woodland
- Campton Plantation website https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/campton-plantation/
- CBC website https://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/info/82/countryside/431/rights_of_way
There is a Women’s Institute in Gravenhurst & Shillington. The nearest Scout & Guide groups are in Shillington.
The Meppershall Players are located in Shefford, at the STMA.
Various sports are catered for in the area surrounding Meppershall:
- Meppershall Krusader Kickboxing
- Junior Football at Shefford Saints
- Professional Football at Hitchin and Stevenage
- Rugby at Bedford, Ampthill, Biggleswade
- Lawn Bowls can be played at Shefford, Langford and Henlow
- Short Mat Bowls Clubs at Shillington and Gravenhurst
- There is a Tennis club at Langford
- The nearest golf is at Mount Pleasant Golf Club at Lower Stondon
Community Safety
Meppershall Speedwatch look to increase awareness of the necessity to obey speed limits within our village, for the safety of pedestrians and other road users.
Worship
St Francis of Assisi is a Roman Catholic Church, located on the High Street in Shefford.
The nearest Methodist Chapel is located on the High Street in Gravenhurst.
Stondon and Shefford both have Baptist Churches.