Archive for July, 2014
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2014
Voluntary groups and organisations across Tamworth have received a cash boost of almost £4,000 from Conservative controlled Tamworth Borough Council.
Eight groups have each been awarded grants of between £460 and £500 from two funds – the Voluntary and Community Grants scheme and the Arts Grants scheme. The grants are given to help organisations develop and provide services for the residents of Tamworth.
The latest grants are:
- £500 for Tamworth Amateur Radio towards the purchase of a generator and to help train young people taking their Foundation Licence
- £500 for the MS Society towards tai chi classes for people with MS, to help with balance, mobility and mental wellbeing
- £500 for the Polish Community of Tamworth – towards equipment for a Saturday school at Sacred Heart Centre in Glascote to provide supplementary education for children with Polish roots. The new group will also give Polish parents the chance to meet together, support each other and take part in workshops and courses
- £500 for Tamworth Twinning Association towards the cost of hiring a venue for a concert by Tamworth Voices and the choir from Tamworth’s French twin town of Vaujours, as well as for the cost of promotional materials
- £500 for U3A towards the purchase of a keyboard for the choir group to enable them to increase the number of performances they can offer
- £500 for Wilnecote Wildlife Conservation Group towards equipment and tools to be used for the maintenance of the southern part of the Kettlebrook Linear Nature Reserve, to make the area more attractive and accessible and to encourage wildlife
- £500 for Sacred Heart Senior Citizens Club towards a social outing for the group’s 30 members
- £460 for Museufy towards a portable photographic exhibition of William McGregor’s Ancient Egyptian collection. The exhibition will be put in show at Costa Coffee in George Street – where the mummies are reputed to be buried – and Tamworth Library.
Cllr Robert Pritchard, Chairman of the Cabinet Grants Committee, said, “Tamworth Borough Council is keen to support as many local voluntary organisations, sports clubs and community groups as possible. The groups are carrying out projects to make Tamworth a better place, help local residents or just give people something to do. If your community groups, arts group, heritage group or sports club is running a project, please get in touch – we might be able to support you too.”
Grants are available to community groups and voluntary organisations, which run in the borough to allow them to develop and continue to provide their vital services. To apply for a grant, please contact Karen Clancy at Tamworth Borough Council on 01827 709709.
Friday, July 18th, 2014
Thursday, July 10th, 2014
Christopher Pincher, MP for Tamworth, has welcomed the launch of the ‘Green Deal Home Improvement Fund’ which offers up to £7600 money back for installing energy-saving measures such as insulation and efficient heating systems.
Commenting Mr Pincher said, “This new home improvement fund is another great addition to the Green Deal which have already helped many people across the country make energy-saving home improvements, saving them hundreds of pounds every year on their energy bills. Even simple measures, such as loft insulation can save you up to £300 every year on your bills.
“I would encourage anyone in Tamworth to find out what help is out there and make energy-efficient saving home improvements to reduce bills. I hope they will do it now in the summer and not wait until the weather turns colder.”
Almost 3000 applications and £8.5million has been spent in the first fortnight alone and over 800 companies have signed up to provide energy-saving home improvements. For more information, please visit www.gov.uk/greendeal or call the Energy Saving Advice Service on 0300123124.
Thursday, July 10th, 2014
A whole host of sporting events run by Conservative controlled Tamworth Borough Council are taking place to keep youngsters entertained, busy, fit and healthy during this year’s summer holidays.
And other sporting and leisure groups in the borough are being urged to let the council know about any activities and events they are organising so they can be advertised – free of charge – on the council’s website and social networks.
It is hoped by putting all the events in one place, council and non-council, it will make it easier for people find out what’s available this summer and easier to get involved.
It doesn’t matter if it is a sporting event, voluntary activity or a community fun day, whether it is free of charge or needs to be paid for, all events will be added to the council’s summer activity list.
All groups need to do is email jane-eason@tamworth.gov.uk or natalie-missenden@tamworth.gov.uk to have their event listed, free of charge. Please include a contact name and phone number, along with dates and times of the event.
Any events listed, which are run by outside groups, are not endorsed or supported by Tamworth Borough Council. It is up to parents and individuals to decide whether it is a suitable activity for them or their children to take part in. Parents are encouraged to contact the groups for more information to help make their decision.
Cllr Robert Pritchard, Deputy Leader of Tamworth Borough Council, said, “I hope as many groups as possible let us know what is taking place over the summer. This means we can give local groups a hand to advertise their events and let people know how many fantastic events are taking place during the school holidays.
“As ever, Tamworth has lots of activities taking place and I would like to see people have an easy way to find out what is available to help plan their summer activities. So if you are running sports events, community fun days, heritage events or wildlife activities please let us know. That also includes events that are outside Tamworth which are open to local residents.”
Tuesday, July 8th, 2014
Bikers from Tamworth and across Staffordshire are being targeted in a new campaign to help promote safer riding and improve road safety.
The ‘Staffordshire Bikers Breakfasts’ events are part of a new campaign being rolled out by the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership. The campaign aims to promote safer riding amongst the county’s bikers, with the events offering advice, the opportunity to access training courses and the chance to have their riding skills assessed.
Cllr Mark Winnington, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy and Infrastructure and a biker himself said, “Keeping our roads safe is one of our top priorities and this includes helping our bikers to improve their riding skills when out on the county’s roads.
“The breakfast events we’ve held so far have been very successful and are giving bikers a great opportunity to learn more about the importance of safer riding. And all over a bacon bap and coffee with their fellow bikers.
“Recent figures show that Staffordshire is still amongst the top three counties for road safety in England, which is a record we are proud of and will continue to work hard at to improve even further.”
This event is just one of a number of schemes that the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership runs, which has seen a steady fall in the number of motorcyclists killed or injured on the county’s roads. Rider error accounts for a high proportion of all motorcycle deaths and serious injuries and campaigns such as our Bikers Breakfasts, ‘Ride it Right’ and ‘Bike Sense’ help bikers develop the necessary skills to ride safely.
Tamworth’s Biker Breakfast is being held on Saturday 19th July at Sutton Motorcycles and will run from 9am to 3pm. For further details on the event search for Staffordshire Bikers Breakfasts, email bikers@staffordshire.gov.uk or call 0300 111 8012.
Thursday, July 3rd, 2014
Christopher Pincher, MP for Tamworth, spoke up for the importance of work during an Opposition Day debate in the House of Commons on the performance of the Department for Work & Pensions.
He said the debate reflected “the state of mind” of the Labour Party because nowhere in their motion did they mention jobs. Mr Pincher pointed out that since 2014 the unemployment rate in Tamworth has fallen to just 755 or 1.6% of the working population.
He said, “Nowhere in the motion does it mention work, the engine of growth in our country. It is also the best mechanism to raise people up out of dependency and despair, on to the road to achieving their aspirations.
“In 2005, when Labour last won a general election in Tamworth, my constituency was bedevilled by dependency. Because the Labour Government failed to reform welfare and relied too much on public sector work and the financial services industry-and because they spent more than they earned-unemployment was twice the rate that it is today.
“Those were meant to be Labour’s good times. Fast forward a couple of years to the bad times and unemployment had risen to 8%. Firms were going to the wall, jobs were being lost and down the Tamworth road or the Glascote road, house after house bore repossession notices.
“Under Labour, people were not simply losing their jobs: they were losing their homes as well. That is the grisly welfare and work legacy that Labour bequeathed to us in 2010.”
After the debate Mr Pincher added, “Since 2010 Jaguar Land Rover have recruited in Tamworth and John Lewis have set up in Tamworth. Now we have BMW coming to town and Tamworth has become the automotive hub of our county with a state of the art automotive centre planned for the Torc Vocational Centre. Skilled professional jobs are coming to Tamworth which is good news.”
“That is why we need to press on with our reforms to the welfare system so it always pays to work and continue to invest in apprenticeships whilst getting taxes and regulation off the backs of local businesses so they can continue to expand.
“Sadly Labour has still not learned the lesson of their last government where an over reliance on public sector jobs (important as they are) and the financial services sector, together with a “spend, spend, spend” mentality led to an almighty crash. We cannot risk them doing that again.”
Voluntary groups and organisations across Tamworth have received a cash boost of almost £4,000 from Conservative controlled Tamworth Borough Council.
