Tough decisions facing councils

A report this week by the Local Government Association (LGA) highlights that tough decisions need to be made by councils in light of Government grants, with the threat of cuts to services and big council tax increases.

Wychavon have a track record, like few councils, of keeping council tax low and are looking to keep their council tax increase to 2.5% or less for a record the 9th year running. This small increase also comes with a promise not to cut services.

However, Wychavon are very worried about other authorities in Worcestershire and the likely impact that their financial struggles may have on partnership working and services.

Paul Middlebrough, Leader of the Council said “With the credit crunch and likely impact this will have on the economy, everything is going to be tighter for our residents and we want to do our bit to ease the financial burden on them.”

“We’re very careful with our finances and want residents to know that we intend to continue to live up to good services, good value. We will always look to be more efficient, but this doesn’t mean a reduction to services or a big council tax increase.”

Valentines flood event

An event on 14th February – 2.30 – 7pm at Evesham Leisure Centre will provide comprehensive self-help, and advice to residents on how to protect themselves from future floods.

The event will have displays and products on sale from manufacturer’s specialising in flood protection and will offer practical self-help advice.

Steve Jorden, Head of Environmental Services said “It is so important we do all we can to ensure that residents are better prepared as a result of the catastrophic events of the summer and we’re doing everything within our power reduce the impact of future floods.”

“We hope residents can come down to the event at Evesham Leisure Centre, which is just the start of a programme of events designed to help residents, businesses and organisations who want more information on protecting themselves from floods.”

This event will be run by Wychavon District Council and the Flood Forum.

Landowners must clear ditches

Landowners with ditches and brooks running through their land are being called upon to help with flood alleviation once winter floodwaters have receded.

Wychavon have discovered that one of the biggest contributory factors to flooding is land owners with ditches and brooks that are not being kept clear of derbies and growth which restricts their flow.

Steve Jorden, Head of Environmental Services said “We have noticed that over the years people have filled in ditches or made special features of them which has meant that they are no longer effective during heavy rain. In addition, many ditches are not kept clear which could also cause problems.

“We’re encouraging all landowners to check their ditches and brooks and keep them clear. If you need help or advice get in touch with us.”

“We don’t want to take action against landowners, but can serve notices on those who refuse to take their responsibility seriously and will do this because reducing flooding is very important to us.”

For further information or to report any known problems call 01386 565015.

Tree carving

A Wychavon tree carving project run with Chawson, St. Peter’s and Dodderhill school children will be officially unveiled on Monday 4th February – 1.30 p.m.

The carving is being carried out on the pine tree in front of the Lido café, Droitwich Spa by Tom Harvey who carved the beech tree in Abbey Park, Pershore in Spring 2007 and has proved an excellent community project.

Tom Harvey and Jayne O’Connor from Wychavon, worked with children from the three schools to take their inspiration for the tree by modelling clay. Tom chose ideas from the models and started the carving today (21st Jan) and will take approx 2 weeks to complete depending of weather.

Jayne O’Connor, Parks Monitoring Assistant said “We’ve worked with Tom in the past and his artwork makes a really great focal point for the park. People are really intrigued by the novel concept and we hope it will be a real attraction bringing more people to the park and enjoying this piece of public art.”

Jenny Davis, Arts Development Officer said “Art is a really important part of our culture and public art is especially important because it is accessible and free for everyone to enjoy and it raises the profile of the arts in a very visible way. What is really nice about this particular piece is that local school children have had the opportunity to have an input, which not only gets them excited about doing visual art, but makes them feel connected to the park and their community.“

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Children in Wychavon have just one week left to get their paintbrushes and pencils out and show us how to reduce our waste.

All children and young people up to the age of 18, who are in full-time education and live in the district, are welcome to take part in Wychavon’s Schools Poster Competition.  There are vouchers and goodies for all of the winners, which have been generously provided by local businesses and organisations. 

In addition, the school of each first prize winner will receive £200, to be used in an environmental project.

This year’s competition is focusing on “Waste Prevention” – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. 
Wychavon District Council wants to encourage young people to care for the environment and waste prevention provides a practical way to make a positive difference. 

Denise Ditchburn, Promotions & Monitoring Assistant, said: “We want children and young people to think about the impact we all have on the environment and to consider some practical ways we can make a difference.  We are keen to find out how they would encourage others to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.”

Schools Competition Brief:

• Design a poster to encourage people to think about ‘Waste Prevention’ – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
• A4 size only.
• Two-dimensional designs only (using pencils, inks, paints, crayons, markers, pastels, torn paper or fabric).
• The design can be full colour or black and white.
• Only one entry per child.
• Very important – please ensure that the artist’s name, age and school are written clearly on the back of the poster entry.
• The posters can be done in school or as a home activity.
• All entries need to be received by 5.00pm on Monday 21st January 2008.
• All entries to: Denise Ditchburn, Client Services, Wychavon District Council, Queen Elizabeth Drive, Pershore, Worcestershire, WR10 1PT.

 For further information, please call Denise Ditchburn on 01386 565197.

Flooding again

Wychavon staff were on standby again on Friday night as bad weather hit the district again.

Staff were ready to open rest centres at the most at risk areas and sandbags were at the ready.

Evesham’s Leisure Centre did open briefly as a rest centre late on Friday but was stood down when it became apparent it wasn’t needed.

Jack Hegarty, Managing Director said “As soon as we had the warnings from the Environment Agency we started to put our Emergency Plan into action. Rest centres gladly didn’t need to take anyone in as they did in June, but we’re still on high alert should the weather deteriorate.”

Flooding advice is available on Wychavon’s website www.wychavon.gov.uk

Sandbags

In the current emergency full sandbags are available for collection at the following locations:

• Outside Evesham Community Contact Centre, Evesham
• Outside Furlong Depot, Droitwich
• Outside Civic Centre, Pershore

Please only take what you need up to a maximum of six per household.

Smart Cut awarded

Smart Cut a Wychavon contractor, who look after verges and open spaces for the council have had their efforts rewarded with the company being certified with an internationally recognised Environmental Standard (ISO 14001).

Lynn Stevens, Parks Officer said “We are really pleased that our grounds maintenance contractor takes environmental issues seriously and we would like to congratulate them on the certification and their continued commitment to high quality service as well as the environment.”

Smart Cut is based locally at Bishampton. For further information contact 01386 462706.

Businesses have their say

Local businesses are invited to attend Wychavon’s annual ratepayers consultation meeting on January 18th in the Committee Rooms at the Civic Centre in Pershore.The event starts at 7.30am with breakfast followed by an opportunity for local businesses and business support organisations to hear about the Council’s proposed budget for 2008/09, with updates on council tax business rates, and business support available from Wychavon.

Jane Dobson, Economic Development Officer said “We run this event every year and it is always well attended but if people haven’t been before we encourage you to come down and join us for breakfast and see what it’s all about.”

For more details and to reserve a place please contact Jane Dobson on 01386 565278, email jane.dobson@wychavon.gov.uk.

Open day at Riverside

The Pershore Riverside Youth Centre is holding an open day on Saturday 12th January to celebrate it’s re-opening after the floods.

Everyone is welcome from 10am to 4pm to find out more about what’s on offer at the Riverside, with tours of the centre and car washing.

It will be a great opportunity to see what activities are on offer for young people such as Kayaking, canoeing and bell boating; music, dance, arts and drama programmes; pool, tabletennis and football. Even IT facilities and game consoles.

John Gregson, Centre Development Manager said “New members are always welcome at the Riverside and the open day is an opportunity for people to come down and see what’s on offer.”

During the floods water reached desk height in the building and some of the outside facilities including the pontoon were damaged. But the flood provided the opportunity for a complete refurbishment and the purchase of new equipment, including the latest IT facilities.

The Centre is now fully operational and has started a new youth club for young people aged between 9 and 13 meeting fortnightly on Monday evenings 6.30-8.00pm, at a cost of £1 per session.

For further information contact John Gregson, the Centre Development Manager on 02386 554713 or email john.gregson@pershoreyouth.org.uk

Wychavon has Grand Designs

Winners of Wychavon Building Design Awards 2007 were presented with plaques and certificates at an Awards Ceremony on Thursday evening, Dec 13th.

The awards recognise achievements in building design across three categories, Heritage (conservation projects) Homes and Community and reward high standards of design, sustainable construction and craftsmanship of projects within the Wychavon area and completed over the past two years.

Distinction in Building Awards were presented to:

• Judy Gardner of Eckington, for the restoration of Lower End House and the creation of the Eckington Cookery School.
• David and Emma Pearson for the design of Applewood, a contemporary new home at Kemerton in the Cotwolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
• Throckmorton Village Trust for the development of the Throckmorton Parish Hall.

The Building Design Awards were presented by the Chairman of the Council, Councillor Don Lawley, who commented, “This is the sixth year we have made these Awards and this year we received the highest number of nominations ever. A total of 14 projects were shortlisted and the judges had a tough time choosing the winners. The benchmark for building design has certainly risen, and these projects must rank amongst the very best in the area and set the standards for others to follow.”

For more information and contact details of individual award winners contact Jim Burgin, Heritage Manager at 01386 565366

New Vehicle Licensing Rules

From 28th January 2008, private hire vehicles with less than nine seats will need to be licensed – including those that were previously exempted.. The new licensing rules mean that as well as issuing licences for vehicles and drivers, officers from Wychavon will be able to carry out safety checks on vehicles and suitability checks on their drivers.

Graham Simms, Licensing Team Leader said “This new law will mean that residents are safer than ever when they get into a hired vehicle and we’ll be working hard to make sure businesses are aware of how the new law will affect them.”

This new law means that previously exempt private hire vehicles, such as limousine hire, airport travel, chauffeur services, novelty vehicles and executive hire arrangements, and their drivers, will now be subject to the same safety and checking requirements as all other commercial private hire vehicles.

Whilst the changes in the law will not affect most car sharing schemes, Wychavon’s Licensing Team is encouraging anyone who is not certain of their position to contact them for further information.

Businesses and drivers who work whilst they are not properly licensed risk significant fines – applications for vehicle and driver licences should be made before the 28th.January.

More information is available from Wychavon District Council’s Licensing Service on 01386 565016 or by emailing licensing@wychavon.gov.uk