Burnham on Sea and Highbridge Town Council members and officers have over the past 4-5 months been working on a diary of celebrations to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II over the holiday week-end of 2-5 June 2012.  This may however be amended as more events are added to the calendar.

Highlights to date include:

• A new four faced pillar clock for Highbridge
• A children’s parade from the Apex Park to the seafront, and hopefully taking in some of Burnham town centre
• A commemorative mug, bearing a photograph of Her Majesty and the Towns’ Coat of Arms, for every primary school child, to be presented at school by the Mayor and Chair of the Jubilee Committee.
• A fairground organ will play at various locations in the towns over the week-end.

With all councils having to look closely at their budgets, the Town Council has allocated £9,000 spread over two years, (equivalent to 65p per household per annum), for Jubilee projects in order to ensure that there is no real impact on council tax payers in Burnham & Highbridge. 

Whilst the funds available are limited, the Jubilee committee will consider a limited number of applications for a small grant of up to £100 from groups planning some form of lasting memorial for the Jubilee.  Applications should be made at the earliest opportunity via the Town Clerk’s office.

The Jubilee Committee, under the chairmanship of Cllr Neville Jones OBE, has been able to prepare a 4-day programme of events and commemorative projects, in co-operation with other town council committees and local groups within the towns.

Cllr Neville Jones OBE said:  “Now that the Jubilee celebrations are getting ever closer, I will be interested to see which street in either town will be the first to confirm that it will be organising a street party.  I anticipate that there will be at least 20, most likely on Monday 4 June which is a public holiday.  It is the Town Council’s intention that the Mayor or one of his deputies will visit each one, to present the organiser with a framed commemorative certificate.  The Town Clerk, at the Council offices in Jaycroft Road, would like to hear from street party organisers to ensure that the event is included in the Civic diary”. 

In more detail, the programme to date includes the following:

• Saturday 2 June 

ü      A children’s parade from Apex Park, to be headed, it is hoped, by a marching band.  The parade will make a brief stop at the water feature in Marine Drive to mark the extension of the grassed area, before moving on to the Esplanade and, if possible, via the town centre.

ü      A giant sandcastle-building competition, just north of the Pavilion, is expected to attract large numbers of children (and adults too).  It is thought that this competition may well eventually be included in the Guinness Book of Records – full details of how to enter will be publicised nearer the time.

ü      A children’s event in the restored Marine Cove Gardens to link with the above.

ü      Highbridge Town Clock:  The Town Council has already commissioned a new four-faced pillar clock from a well-known firm of public clock manufacturers in Derbyshire.  This will be sited in Jubilee Gardens and will replace the now-defunct clock.  Nearly half of the cost of the clock comes from a developer’s  contribution (Raglan Housing)  as part of a planning codicil, with much of the remainder coming for local businesses and residents, many of whom responded to a personal approach from Cllr Mike Mansfield, and includes a very generous single donation of £5000. The base of the pillar will include a small plaque commemorating the Jubilee and suggestions as to who should unveil the plaque at a small ceremony on Saturday afternoon are being considered.

ü      Saturday evening will see the vintage cars from Glastonbury club arriving on the seafront, as they have done for the past 8 years, and a special cup, donated by Cllr Davey, will be presented to mark the Jubilee.

• Sunday 3 June

ü      As with the 40^th and Golden Jubilee celebrations, invited guests will be able to drink from the lion’s mouth on the Victorian water feature at the top of Sea View Road.  This feature, originally erected to mark Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, will be cleaned and restored by Wells Cathedral Stonemasons and the Royal cypher ER II 2012 will be added to the stonework.

ü      The ever-popular jazz event, organised by the Cultural Arts Development Society and much appreciated by residents of Burnham and Highbridge, will take place in Manor Gardens between 12noon and 5pm.   This year’s event will have a special Jubilee theme, and will be hosted from the bandstand in the Gardens which the Town Council is arranging to be refurbished, and a small plaque recalling past concerts and commemorating the Jubilee will be unveiled.

• Monday 4 June

ü      Working with the Hillview Juvenile Carnival Club, the Town Council is planning to light a Jubilee beacon at the northern end of the beach, some ¼ mile further on that the lighthouse on stilts.  This will be part of a national chain of beacons being lit around the country – the precise time will be dictated by the number of other beacons but will be between 10pm and 10.30pm.

ü      It is anticipated that this will prove the most popular day for street parties, being a public holiday.

• Tuesday 5 June

ü      It is anticipated that many people will be watching Her Majesty the Queen in procession to St Paul’s cathedral and returning through the streets of London in the morning.

ü      Jubilee event in Marine Cove Gardens in the afternoon, details yet to be confirmed.

The Town Council is planning to produce a souvenir booklet to mark this unique occasion.  This will be available at the two libraries, the information centre on the Esplanade and from the Town Council offices on request.  We intend to go to press by the first week in May.  Anyone organising an event not mentioned here is invited to ensure that full details are sent to the Town Clerk by the end of April to ensure inclusion in the booklet.

Eileen Shaw

Town Clerk

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