2 minute read
Editorial
Chairman David Wilson leads members of the Stewards Committee in laying a wreath on Remembrance Sunday
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At long last the World is beginning to come to terms with Coronavirus. Most restrictions have now been lifted and vaccines are readily available. Of course, we are conscious of the need to remain cautious and take appropriate actions to keep ourselves, our families and colleagues safe. With this in mind, the Stewards Committee are delighted that, whilst taking appropriate Covid safe measures, we were able to hold Close Guild in our traditional venue of the Guildhall on 10th October.
We have been concerned that the Covid-19 pandemic has delayed the swearing-in of new Freemen, you can read in this issue about a special swearing-in event held to address the backlog of applicants, arranged with the Lord Mayor’s Office.
In common with most other organisations, we have had instances of staff needing to isolate. However, due to the efforts of our Team, our operations have not been impacted and we have continued to maintain the Town Moors and keep the open spaces open to the public and in excellent condition. Whilst we still observe a strict low risk approach to Covid-19 we have now reopened the office to external visitors.
Despite the pandemic, there has been demand for cattle in 2021. This has allowed us a successful grazing season, with healthy herds on all of the grazed Moors. Under the management of the Town Moor Superintendent our own Town Moor Herd has had a good season, reinforcing our strategy for cattle purchase and sale.
Climate Change mitigation continues to be an important national and international priority. In this issue, you will read that we are continuing our environmental protection in many different areas and will ensure that the Town Moors continue to have a significant role in achieving this locally without impacting on grazing or the character of the Moors.
On behalf of the Freemen of Newcastle, I was honoured to lay a wreath as part of the Remembrance Day service and parade at Eldon Square on 14th November. Our City and Armed Forces presented an excellent memorial and display of which we should all be proud. We are delighted that the lifting of restrictions has enabled us to work with organisers to facilitate several major events and we have included some of these for your information. One such event was the return of the Great North Run, with the run starting and finishing at the Town Moor. The Great Run organisers and other key stakeholders have expressed great thanks to the Freemen for their support, acknowledging that without it the event could not have taken place. This is one of the many instances where the Freemen of Newcastle work to support our City’s national status, economy and business development.
“We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Freeman of Newcastle upon Tyne to deliver three fantastic tree/woodland/hedgerow schemes on the Town Moor in line with the North-East Community Forest initiative in support of tackling global climate change”.
