Princes Trust Presentation

The Progressive Club played venue to the Team 266 Prince's Trust Presentation celebration. 

The Prince's Trust was set up 35 years ago and has a number of strands including supporting people in need of skills and confidence development through to assistance with business start up. The group presenting here, team 266, consisted of 7 young people from Tamworth who were struggling to gain employment and could develop some of their confidence and skills through Prince's trust.

They all took part in a 12 week course which included many items of problem solving team building and other essential skills learning including first aid and in this case DIY, along with the need to fund raise towards a particular project.
On of their fund raising ideas was to kidnap me as Mayor of Tamworth, a very bizarre experience but a lot of fun.

during the 12 weeks they had plenty of experiences including residential trips, and a DIY project to decorate the Tamworth Canoe Club rooms, this project turned into a larger one when the walls they were painting fell apart and the you people were left wit the problem of finding a new wall covering to put up before the painting began.

The 8 people  that completed the course and gained their certificates last night have been on a fantastic journey and have all now either got volunteer placements of job offers as well as having improved their CV's. One of the participants commented that this course has taught them that you can turn your life around and start again putting your old life behind you.

It was really nice to see these people succeed when in the past they had struggled and the only future they could see was signing on. The princes trust do a great job and of the young people they help 85% of them go on to employment, education or training.

Student fire fighters Presentation

Student Fire Fighting vehicle

Today was a celebration and awards ceremony for the first set of student firefighters to be trained and graduate in Tamworth.

Here I met 7 of the student fire fighters who have attened at 12 week course consisting of one day per week. these young people had recived some excellent training and through 2 displays showed us what they had learnt. this wasn't thoery or playing around this was proper training in fire and rescue from cutting the roof off a car to fighting fires with breathing aparatus.

In the past student fire fighters have had to travel out of Tamworth to do this course, but now we have the fantastic facilities at Belgrave the benefits are fantastic.

A couple of the things I noticed today included 1, the weather 2, the team 3, the attention to detail.
The weather - as i sat in the cold watching I thought to myself how it would have been nice to have done this on a warm dry day, but then stopped and thought, the actual fire and rescue personal don't have a choice if its a real emergency. And today (no offence meant) you couldn't tell the difference between the regular staff and the teenagers.
The Team, these young people came from different school around Tamworth and had not met before but still in the 12 hours they worked together and developed a strong team, they way they used the spinal board and cut the roof off the car was a really team effort and was carried off seamlessly
Attention to detail and discipline, my teenage kid and other children really struggle to tidy up, but these in the team did what they did in the rescue and without a thought put all the equipment back away where is should be without a second thought.

This was a great experience and honour to share with the families, I hope the courses continue and would recommend all high schools to be aware and find out about this opportunity for young people in Tamworth.

Event of 30 years ago, Penlee and the Solomon Browne Crew

6 Sleeps to Christmas and on this day 30 years ago a particular event changed the lives of at least 16 families who lost loved ones in a single incident, of the 16 who lost their lives 8 of them were volunteers for the RNLI on board the Solomon Browne, Penlee Lifeboat, out trying to save the lives of others.

Exactly 7 months ago to the day I wrote a blog entry land-locked-tamworth-its-mayor-and-rnli where I retold the story of the disaster and explained why I would be supporting the RNLI as my chosen charity this year.  for a good but brief account of the story I have found a BBC Link of the story at the time  and included a youtube video I have found

There are so many elements to this story of heroism that I find touching and or upsetting. These men were volunteers preparing to celebrate Christmas with their families only 6 days later, the coxswain refusing to let 2 members of the same family go on the rescue due to the severity of the weather, a group of these guys were sitting relaxing the the local British legion when the alarm was raised and off they went never to return.

I'm not sure but I think I understood the heroism of this story straight away even though I was only 5 at the time, I'd had all my family holidays in Cornwall and part of every holiday was seeing a lifeboat somewhere so may be it was just that I knew of these hero's.

Anyone can write about these things and I fall into that anyone category but it takes something special to do what the volunteers of the RNLI do. Please support the RNLI though any of my events or direct through their website and local branches, none of us know when we will need their support. http://www.rnli.org.uk/

Would I go out tonight in an horrific storm to save others? I'd like to think so but I really don't ever want to be asked the question.

Wilnecote Rest Home Christmas Carols

A bitterly cold windy and wet evening was not a problem as we went inside Wilnecote Rest Home for their carol service.

Everyone was seated as we kicked off we 9 readings and a dozen carols, led by both local churches. As can be imagined some of the residents are becoming quiet elderly and so we were all allowed to remain seated for the duration.

I was really nice and relaxed sitting together and singing carols, I really noticed how many of them knew to carols so well and didn't have to look at the words at all.

Local man Graham Allcote helped organise the event and spent weeks on his mobility scooter selling raffle tickets to raise funds for the centre.

Really nice cosy event

Bolehall Manor Club Childrens Christmas Party

Bolehall Manor on Amington road is a spectacular building which many of us drive past regularly, today the venue played host to a children's Christmas party which was open to members families. I arrived whilst the children were eating their party food and shortly before Santa handed out the presents.

Bolehall Manor is always a pleasure to visit and looked great today being so busy and decorated for Christmas, the 45 kids made it look really busy. Then came the moment they had all been waiting for Santa arrived, there was a great moment when Santa announced to the cheering children that he had some helpers, his elves and the Mayor of Tamworth, at this point the kids stopped cheering looked at me then turned back to Santa and started cheering again. it was a great moment.

The keen eyed readers will have noticed a film crew who were at Bolehall Manor filming for a BBC documentary about the economy and have been following a member of the directors of the club so came along today to film the Christmas Party.

The atmoshere was really nice and there was a great mix of all ages of the families attending

Wilnecote & Dosthill Seniors Christmas Lunch

Wilnecote Parish hall played host to the 3rd Wilnecote & Dosthill Seniors Christmas Lunch. I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived at the number of people there, nearly 100 older people from the area had been nominated by people in the community to be awarded tickets to this free event. We were all treated to a fantastic Christmas meal, a Free raffle (prizes donated by the community) and entertainment from Happy Feet Dancing.

Due to another Mayoral ccommitment I had to leave before the dancing started but I was there long enough to welcome the guests and wish them a Happy Christmas and a good new year.not to mention enjoy a great meal that was served tremendously efficiently, 100 people eating 3 courses in an hour

This event, I believe, was organised by Cllr Lee Bates who funded it to the tune of around 1700 pounds from his local community fund.

We were joined by some influential people of Tamworth past and present including Terry and Pat Dix (Pat is chair of Dosthill PACT,  both are former Mayors and Terry was leader and Chairman of Staffordshire County Council), Pat Standon (chair of Wilnecote Residents Group), Brian and Joan Jenkins (former MP for Tamworth and both former Mayors of Tamworth) Brian Beale (county and borough councillor), Tina Clements (Deputy Mayor) and of course Lee Bates (county and borough councillor and former Mayor).

This event also served as a presentation for some Staffordshire Volunteer awards which amongst others Terry Dix was awarded on for the contribution he has made to the Dosthill community. When I get a list of all those who received awards I will add them to this blog

As I said at the event "councils don't build communities, communities build communities" and today the 90 odd people that were there showed that community spirit is alive and growing in Dosthill and Wilnecote.

Another Great Christmas event

Amington Band Christmas Concert

I've just got in from tonights Mayoral duty and I'm that excited about it I have had to turn the computer on and write this blog entry.

So I have seen Amington Band before and would recommend them to anyone especially if you have not seen them before. Tonight was a fantastic treat, we had the band playing a variety of pieces and playing backing to a great Tenor Richard Lloyd Owen as well as the Birmingham Citadel Timbrel Brigade.

The Night began with the band playing Little Drummer Boy and White Christmas, then came the Birmingham Tinbrel ladies came out and performed with Amington Band providing the music, for anyone who doesn't know what a Timbrel group does (me about 4 hours ago) search them on google, but it involves some really good tambourine dancing with tassel's. When a Child is Born was followed by the Tenor singer who entertained and amazed us with his vocal talents.

Another highlight were the 2 performances by The Lichfield Players who were really good and added some great humour to the evening.

I had a great night and really enjoy listening to Amington Band but for me the highlight of the night was the last set, the audience was asked to stand and join in singing some Christmas carols. The whole of the assembly rooms were on their feet, the band was playing louder than they had all night, all the other performers joined then on stage and we raced through 9 carols with an atmosphere and volume you would not believe if you were not there, we all really raised the roof. Everyone joined in and sang their hearts out, it was truly a fantastic moment in such a great venue.

Wilnecote Childrens Christmas Party

So it was straight from Stonydelph Arch to Wilnecote Working Men's Club for the Wilnecote Children's Christmas Party,
This event was organised by Tina Clements and had around 15 children attending from the very you through to around 9 years. It was a nice little event and when Cllr Clements couldn't find the present for Pass the Parcel she had to improvise and came up with the great kids game of Pass the Beer Mat, when the music stops the person with the beer mat is out. To the kids the beer mat didn't matter they were having a great time at their Christmas party.

The culmination was a Christmas present and a photo with the Mayor of Tamworth. great event and great fun to attend.

Santa comes to Stonydelph Arch

For the first time Santa and his helpers landed at Stonydelph Arch, Crossfell. any child that attended with their parent were able to sit with Santa and have a FREE gift.

Other attractions were also on hand including face painting, free craft sessions making table centre pieces and Christmas decorations, Finger printing and mug shots by the Police, a visiting Fire Engine, tombola, raffle and finally must not forget the Community cafe providing refreshments.

Throughout the morning around 100 people visited on top of the group of volunteers from the community who help put the event on. It was a great display of community togetherness, local councillors, public sector staff and volunteers all pulling together to make this free Christmas event happen for the benefit of the local area. However there were some disappointed faces when the fire engine suddenly disappeared on a shout, but all was restored on its return.

This event and the Amington one last month was supported by my Local Community Fund

No big message here just reporting on some of the fantastic work that the local Arches are doing , great event well worth looking out for next year if there is another one.

BiBs breast feeding peer group

You know the feeling when you get invited to something and your not quite sure what to expect, well today was on of those feelings as I made my way to the Breast Feeding Peer Group graduation at Glascote Sure Start centre.

I was expecting to get there and find half a dozen new moms who had chosen to breast feed their new child, what I was a room fiull of volunteers who not only had chosen to breast feed their babies but also help other moms who maybe struggling to do so. I learnt that the group now had 14 volunteers moms providing advice and support including a 24/7 phone line and home visits. In that last 20 months they have helped 285 moms at anti natal stage. We presented a number of certifcates to the newly qualified peers.

This group provides a fantastic service which is not provided by any public service, the advice has been put together with personal expeirence and training all this is done by the 14 volunteers free of charge. I was told of many visits made to new moms homes for periods of 3 hours to help the mom breast feed. The great thing about this 'service' is that just when a mom is at her most anxious and worried about her new baby these ladies can provide calming advice, any mom who can not easily feed will immediately become worried and anxious, today I learnt of how it took some moms around a week to be able to achieve what they wanted, by which stage many would have given up.

So a really good afternoon with some great volunteers from our community.
I never did find out what the knitted breasts were about ????


I would recommend all moms to be or new moms should get in touch with Bibs at Surestart and consider their help with breast feeding or any other anxiety.

Long time no blog

Ok I have not blogged for an ages so I will be trying to fill this gap with memories of what I have been up to and back dating them.

Apologies

Staffordshire Performing Arts Christmas concert

A great afternoon in the warm protected from the cold by the Coton Centre we settled down to a great performance from local people young and adult who performed a wide array of pieces.

We were treated to a Christmas concert  (which this year was in December, we learnt last years was snowed off and so was held in February)which involved a rotation of 6 different groups including sax, strings concert band etc and had children as young as 8 performing.

It was a great enjoyable event.

I didn't realise (and maybe I should) that whilst Staffordshire performing arts carries the Staffordshire logo it is a separate entity and now has to bid for funding through central government. I hope that the good work of this organisation continues and I wish the friends of SPA all the luck in the world in fund raising and organising more concerts in the future.

the level of talent in Tamworth's youth is fantastic I only wish more people knew about it and not the odd few that blight out landscape

Help for heroes

Staurday morning (5th December) I attended a charity fund rasier for Help the Heroes at Topp Tiles at Wilnecote. This event also included the entrance to the Coop superstore and was orgainised by a local army cadet from Glascote who had invited other organisations to join in suck at the local police, fire service and sea cadets.
The cadets there were also treated to some one on one time with a current serving airman allowing an in sight into his day tro day life etc.

It was a nice small event and hopefuilly raised some cash for charity as well as brought sea and army cadents closer together

Bad Laasphe Pt 3 (Small Walks and Christmas Market)

Our second day in Bad Laasphe started with some free time which we used to have a short wander around the centre of the old town which consists of some really old timber framed buildings dating back to the 1200's.

When the time came to be met we were invited on a “Small Walk”, this sounded great however our hosts idea of a short walk was not quiet the small walk I was expecting. We were taken to a small park up a small hill which housed the local war memorial, and what a fantastic view of the town there was from there, you really got a sense of the wooded hills surrounding Bad Laasphe.

Right walk over and off to open the Christmas market, this was a small market in the old town which had a real Christmas feel to it and as far as I could see only sold take away food, beer and mulled wine which was fantastic. Once again I found myself going through the motions of guessing what to do as I had no idea what was being said. I stood on stage as their mayor thanked people for coming and thanked those who had sponsored the event. This was done with parcels wrapped under a tree one with each sponsors name on which were read out in tern.

Later that evening before dinner we had the opportunity to return to the market which was packed, there were loads of people eating drinking an milling around it was a fantastic atmosphere really welcoming.

Bad Laasphe (Pt2) Fire Fighting

It was a privileged to be able to attend the handover of a new turntable ladder at the Bad Laaspe fire station. The weather was a tiny bit damp, more drizzle than rain, and there was a cold wind as we arrived at the Fire Station, as we rounded the corner into the yard we where greeted by around a dozen appliances and  vehicles plus loads of people.

The handover ceremony started almost immediately after we arrived with the Bürgermeister (mayor) of bad Laasphe making a speech and presenting the chief fire officer with a giant Iveco Key to symbolise the had over of the new appliance. After a few speeches (in German obviously and well translated by the person next to me) I was Introduced and called forward to make a presentation to the chief fire officer, before I left for Germany being on the Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority I arranged for an authority plaque to take. I presented my gift much to the pleasure and honour of the Chief fire officer this was followed by Tony Goodwin (Chief Executive of TBC) presenting the station with a gift from the council, we too received gifts  and relaxed to chat.

Our relaxation was short lived and replaced with exhilaration as Tony and I were given the opportunity to go up in the new ladder platform, we both stepped in and the platform began to rise. to our surprise the movement was very smooth and stable without wobble or jolt, before we knew it we were 6 storeys up (100ft 30m ish) swinging around in the air looking down on roof tops and about 150 people below. the feeling was amazing, I would never had dreamt I would have the opportunity to do this but there I was 6 storeys up and not able to speak the same language as the person operating the controls.

Feet back on the ground and legs becoming shaky it was time to join the other guests in the fire station and enjoy some refreshment, conveniently the chief fire officer is also the local brewer and the local Bosch Pils was flowing nicely. Once again the residents of Bad Laasphe were really friendly and we spent allot of the evening talking to both members of their twinning and local fire fighter who made us feel really welcome.

The Fire service in Germany is voluntary (in a similar was to our retained crews a payment is paid however this goes through their employer) and the local community raises funds for equipment, but the dedication of these fire fighters is second to none.

We had a fantastic evening till around 10 o'clock when a days travelling from Tamworth began to take hold and we made our way to our hotel room for the week end.

Bad Laasphe (Pt1) The Golden Book

31 years ago Tamworth and Bad Lassphe (Germany) signed a declaration that we would Twin and build relations between the two areas. This year as Mayor of Tamworth I travelled to Bad Laasphe to sign their Golden book in the spirit of reaffirming this relationship and also attend the handover of some nice fire fighting equipment.
The first thing that struck me about the visit was the genuine welcome we received, and the pleasure they had that we had made the effort. speaking not a word of German made the speeches interesting but not a problem as we had great a translator who had volunteered to assist, not only that but many of the people we met spoke good English too and made us feel very welcome. They still have a real grasp as to the value of twinning and the learning and sharing opportunities that it provides, the weekend really opened my eyes to this and I feel we in Tamworth should do more to raise the profile of the learning that is available through twinning.

So signing the golden book. Every visiting dignitary that Bad Lassphe has is invited to sign the golden book, this is kept in the Rathaus or town hall and serves as live reminder of the recent history of Bad Lassphe. I quickly scanned the book to see what to do and who else had signed it the first page I opened at random was on from 1985 and contained the signature of the greatly missed Sammy Munn. Having taken a moment to inform the councillors of Bad Laasphe of his sad passing it was on with the ceremony which was attended by local councillors and the local press.

So with the book signed by myself, the Mayoress and Tony Goodwin the chief exec of Tamworth we retired to another room where we had time to met and chat to members of the twinning group in Bad Laasphe and councillors of the area including exchanging stories about the Staffordshire Hoard and previous twinning triumphs.

Kibblestone and a load of Scouts

I have to admit i had never heard of Kibblestone and also knew very little about the Scouts (I was a member of a different uniformed organisation for boys the Boys Brigade) so I was a little unsure as to what to expect when I received an invite to their Born Survivor weekend. Just add that i was only there for a few hours.

So the site is just outside stone and had 1200 scouts from the age of 10 upwards taking part in a number of activities and camping there for the weekend. There was loads to do an well organised ration of activities some of which seemed to be just fun whilst others were of great learning value and sharing of skills which can be seen on TV practised by the head scouts Bear Grylls (top bloke check him out on google or discovery channels).
 I ran into a group of scouts from Tamworth just at the point they had finished a team building exercise which included building a shelter, lighting a fire with a flint and making a cup of tea on it. I did miss the cup of tea however got a full description of what it was like from on of the scouts, apparently she didn't like it as it was like warm milk and a bit weak.
This was done just up the hill from an area where scouts were gutting and cooking trout on open fires, great life skills and new horizons, one of the leaders mentioned that a number of scouts started off saying they didn't like fish but once they had prepared and cooked it they nearly all ate it.
Away from the main site across the road there were yet more activities in the trees including a fantastic yet little scary set of apparatus for scouts to climb either racing each other or using teamwork and communication skills, for me these looked scary and high let alone to a 10 year old but they just take it in their stride.

How high is that.

These activities along with live music, inflatables, activities on Trentham lakes made for a fantastic event for the youngsters of Tamworth and Staffordshire.

Scouting along with other organised youth groups provide some fantastic life skills and a sense of belonging and worth in the world as well as fun, they do a great job and should be recognised.



Shakespeare in the Glade. Much Ado About Nothing

English countryside, British weather, outdoor venue and a group oozing with passion, what more do you need to bring a Shakespeare play to life ? well after Friday evening I would say absolutely nothing else is required.

At the kind invite of Alex Farrell and Ian Gibbons of Turnright Productions I was joined by a number of civic heads from around Staffordshire and North Warwickshire as we traveled the very short distance to Middleton hall for a performance of Much Ado About Nothing. During my A levels I had looked at some Shakespeare but not this particular play.

The outdoor setting was fantastic in the walled garden at Middleton hall with the addition of a few gazebos to fend off the rain and nearby thunder and lightening, The rain did not put off any of the cast who took to the stage at 6pm prompt and did a fantastic performance full of passion, commitment and professionalism. I sat there genuinely wound up by the actions of some on stage, I had to keep reminding myself they playing a part and not to judge the actor themselves should I meet them after the show, they were extremely convincing. Maybe I shouldn't pick individuals out but the poor chap that Dogberry (Ian gibbons) kept smacking round the back of the head got some proper clouts. All the actors & actresses brought the characters to life in the most convincing way.

As Mayor I get to meet the "Chain Gang" (the other civic heads) regularly and so when we go to an event such as this we get to talk about it the following day or weekend. Well I can report that they all loved the performance and were full of praise for the small cast and show they did for us.

A big thank you to all who have put this on and a thank you for the contribution to the Mayor's Charity the RNLI, great evening enjoyed by all.

Middleton Hall

This blog entry will be written later but i need the link now so have inserted a blank one for now .

Pride of Tamworth Awards

Now in its second year the Pride of Tamworth Awards landed at Drayton Manor for the Presentation.

The evening went really well as we were treated to a performance of dance and singing from by the children from Birds Bush School and choir followed later by 2 performances from 2 students of QEMS who played the piano and violin.

And then came the awards,

I do not have a full list of the runners up and winners so i will just talk about generalities.

The Pride of Tamworth Awards celebrate the huge contribution that both individuals and groups make to Tamworth and there were a vast amount of nominees from a wide range of backgrounds. Some had been volunteering for many years some only a short time, some had used their skills to influence, some had provided manual labour. They all had one thing in common and that was they have all made a difference to Tamworth and none of them had done it for an award.

It is the contribution that these people make that makes Tamworth Tick, these people provide the glue that holds our communities together in fact if it weren't for the contribution these groups make we would not have a community just a set of buildings with beds in. And Tamworth would be a much duller place.

Ventura park road up date just some facts

From tomorrow evening, Wednesday 6^th until next Friday 15^th the smaller island at the junction of Bitterscote Road and Venture Park will be resurfaced.  The compactness of the junction actually makes this resurfacing element more difficult to deliver whilst ensuring access to businesses and maintaining workforce safety.

A series of overnight road closures are again planned.

On 6^th, 11^th and 12^th Ventura Park Road to the west of the island will be closed although access into and out of Sainsbury’s and McDonalds will be maintained.  Lane closures will restrict the traffic coming off the A5 to a single lane through the island to enable surfacing to take place alongside the traffic.  No traffic management systems will be in place on these nights before 6pm and work through the night will continue until 6am.

On 7^th, 13^th, 14^th and 15^th Ventura Park Road to the east of the island will be closed as will the section of Bitterscote Road from Jolly Sailor to the A5.  This road closure will not commence until 8pm to enable the larger retail car parks to clear.  After 8pm access into Asda will be via River Drive, Fazeley Road and Ventura Park Road.  Traffic wishing to access the A5 will be diverted along Bonehill Road to access at the Mile Oak junction.  Again works will be completed each morning by 6am in readiness for the morning rush hours.

There will be no overnight closures over the weekend period.

After this series of overnight closures there will be minimal disruption to traffic flows as the project will then be substantially complete other than cabling and wiring of the traffic signal equipment.

Rawlett fashion show

When I received and invite to a fashion show at Rawletts I had to admit I wasn't sure what to expect. 

This show was put together with purpose and an eye on the outcomes. A selected group of students were given the opportunity work outside curriculum hours to design, create outfits for a fashion show. The students were picked specifically as they had all showed signs of low confidence and the school was after a boost to rectify this potential issue. Working through the project the girls not only had the chance to design clothes but also learn key life skills in regards to design, pattern making, purchase of material, presentation, make up and performance skills, all from one project.

So what did we see? 
We were treated to a display of around 30 designs of the "little black dress" all were unique and well designed and made, this was followed by a selection of others.
We could see clearly that these girls were proud of what they had achieved and were happy to walk up and down a catwalk displaying their work. It was certainly hard to believe there was a lack of confidence in any of the girls in the show.

All those involved did a fantastic job and it was a privilege to have been able to join parents in watching what their girls had made and achieved, and that sense of achievment came over from all involved. It was a great example the use of a little inovation in tackling potential challenges before they manifest themselves.

School Strikes, supporter of emotion not supporter of extra days off.

Health Warning . . . whilst I use this blog to talk about Mayoral duties this blog is still my own and the opinions I share here are mine and may not be attributed to any authority of which I am a member.

Today 2 of my 4 school age children are in school 2 are not.  In the extra hour the 2 have been at home they have had 30 minutes of PE (or trampolining) and are now improving their co-ordination and geography skills exploring  Donkey Kong country through the use of technology (Nintendio Wii). So at least they are destined not to missed out on a days education??????

I have often wondered what the impact is of public sector strike action and who is affected. I do think it should be remembered that regardless of what sector people work in there are some very hard workers in Britain and some massive challenges facing all. I do find it interesting that some people today are bashing the public sector over teachers strikes but have not recognised that teaching staff in independent schools may also have their pensions effected be changes .

So what has the strike achieved ?
Its caused me a problem with having my kids off.
made me aware that there are changes in education (OK I knew that any way but not everyone did)
given the message to my kids that if you don't like something you can just refuse to work
increased the respect I have for the teachers that have gone into work.

OK a little tongue in cheek, but today's strike action has not reduced the amount of widgets made etc so apart from raising awareness and having wandering blogs written about it there is little impact to the public at large its merely a way of getting a message across to and it's certainly got our collective attention.

Will it work? Not sure
Is it right? I never support strike action, my family suffered financially during my childhood and I remember being told off for eating the last slice of bread in the house whilst my father struggled on reduced hours caused by strike action.
Are there any good points?  Yes Drayton Manor have a strike day offer 2 for 1 I believe

My message you can make your point in a number of ways and the best one is through hard work and discipline and dedication to others especially when the sun is shining in June.

Speed Indication Devices for Amington

Following requests from the public and the matter being raised at PACT I have requested that the section of Tamworth Road Amington near to Florendine school recieves a set of temporary Speed Indication Devices to slow traffic down.

These will be in for a 3 month period from September to December and will light up to display whether or not a car is speeding as they aproach, these devices also record vechile speed which i will be looking at after the period. the great thing is even when the illuminated signs are turned off they are still recording speeds of cars etc.

I will Publish more information on this when I get it but in the mean time SLOW DOWN

Coton Green Pre-school Garden opening

This morning I was asked to open the new pre-school garden at Coton Green, It was great there was not only a load of space for the kids to play and learn but with the help of volunteers and fund raising they have a great sensory garden and wild flower bed.

Some of the funding for this project including the wooden bridge and bench was supplied by County Councillor Ben Adams' community fund which is available to community groups from their county councillors. This i felt was a great use.

There was a sense of pride in the kids there today who once opened walked round the garden watering plants with their watering cans, some sat on the bench and read books not forgetting to take a plastic frog along to listen too.

A little oasis in the middle of the community

Rawlett Sports Celebration Evening

Had a wonderful evening at the Coton Centre last night attending the Rawlett Community Sports College Sports Celebration Evening. As I type this I am trying to think of anything missing form the evening, I know that sounds negative but the evening had the lot, an aspirational guest speaker -Craig Heap, a celebration of sporting success for the schools teams, awards and accredited qualifications for sporting work, celebration of individual's achievements in and out of school, dance/martial arts/gymnastic displays and even teachers being put on the spot. So it had everything i could have possibly wanted in the evening.

There were a fanastic amount of certificates given out to a variety of sports people and these included accredited Sports Leader Level 1 awards. These are not just about being good at a particular sport but are also about organisation skills coaching etc etc and not only take good performance on the pitch into account but also require a significant amount of classroom based work to achieve. As I sat and watched these being handed out i thought about the life skills that will be falling out of these achievements and that will stay with these young people for the rest of their lives. One phrase that was heard a few time was "sport changes lives" even one small steop at a time I feel it can and these awards can clearly be linked to that phrase.

Throughout the evening there was a sense of enthusiasm and achievement not only from the young people but also the staff and rightly so. The sports leader level 1 awards given out last night menas Rawletts have double the national average for a school, what a fantastic position.

There were 3 displays last night including karate gymnastics and boys dance. The great thing for me is that through the schools celebration of sports and performance arts a group of boys were able to perform without the stygma that I remember boys being subjected to when I was at school.  The karate not only involved a huge range of moves but this was also done to music and perfectly in sync. For those who know me I am fond of gymnastics and really enjoyed the dispaly we saw last night which included gymnasts from all years of the school and involved a very much acro style, it was fantastic to see so much going on on stage at teh same time.

Afterwards I spoke to Mr Bassett and Mrs Middleton as I felt I had to say how impressed it was that the school also celebrated the sports success of it's students outside of school. We saw certificates presented and well as hearing stories as to what they had achieved on a county, regional, national and sometime international level. This for me was great as it not only celebrated their success but also rasied awareness of some of the sports including crown green bowling horse riding, snow boarding and ice skating. One that did stand out for me is the success of a student Claudia Walker who plays Girls Football for the girls England squad, not only this but she also travels to leicester every weekend to do coaching and training of others. she came across as well presented and polite, she was a pleasure to meet but more importantly she must be a huge inspiration to the other students there and across Tamworth.

In the above photo you can not only see Claudia Walker but will notice she is also wearing Craig Heaps medals. Craig was last nights guest speaker and was invited as a British Olympian competing in the 2000 Sydney games. This blog entry is getting a bit long and i would not do Mr Heap justice but i will say he made a fantastic inspirational speech about starting from nowhere to achieving a dream and daring to try. He started gymnastic as a 9 year old bouncing around the house and then went on to have 2 golds at commonwealth and compete in the Olympic games, yes he is talented but he also knew what he wanted and worked for it. great inspiration to us all.

Fantastic evening I know i have missed a lot of what I wanted to say but there was just a huge amount of stuff going on.

End of road works gets moves closer. with Road Closures

So after weeks of mild irritation and only one complaint the road works around Ventura feel like they have always been with us but as you drive round you can see the signs of progress. Curbs have been moved, signal heads are up and holes are beginning to fill back up. It is no difficult to see the extra width and more tarmac that is going down as well as better pedestrian crossing points some with signals too.

Progress have been rapid and despite a few moans about the early start time the overnight working has been successful.

This week there will be a significant change to the retail park and we will all be struggling with overnight road closures, these are needed so that the roundabouts can bee resurfaced properly and efficiently.

Later this week the road between the large (sainsbury's roundabout) and Banatynes Gym will be closed over night with temporary traffic lights on the roundabout. this will allow for the roundabout to be closed a third at a time to be resurfaced overnight. so some nights traffic will travel the wrong way around the roundabout. there will also be diversions along the dual carriage way of Riverdrive including using using both sides for two way traffic.
so that's as clear as mud for you,
Basically the Bonehill road A453 will have overnight closures between Tame drive/Bittescote drive and Venura Park road.
If i can get a map i will share it here


As I write this I do not have all the details and what I get more I will update this blog.

Tina McBain's Coffee, Chocolate and Chat Morning

The first of this years Mayor's Charity events took place in Peel's Cafe, Tamworth, and was organised completely by Tina McBain with some help from Ian I'm sure.
The morning was relaxed and enjoyable with a variety of different people coming through the door top support Tina and also the RNLI. The picture we are holding was Lent to us by the local branch of the RNLI who have recently raised the money to buy the D-Class lifeboat featured in the pic. Some of the money i will raise this year will go to keeping that lifeboat running.

During the morning a raffle was ran along with guess the weight of the cake, these raised over £100 on the day and tickets for the raffle are being sold until Friday 24th June so final totals are not in yet.

It was a really good morning in a nice venue looking out at Tamworth Town Hall.
Big Thank you to those who donated including Cabury's Tk Max Asda and many more. also thanks to Nicola Oates for her support. Finally we must all Thank Tina and Ian for putting this fundraiser on and kicking off a year of raising money for the RNLI.

Don't forget you can still donate via   http://www.justgiving.com/Christina-Gibbons

St Peter's Church AGM + Gala Day

Saturday 11th June 2011 and I attended an open morning at st Peter's church right in the middle of the Silver Link loop.  This building is now 7 years old and is not only place of worship but also a set of community rooms both small and large.

The open day kicked off with a display from the Dance group that uses St Peters and we were treated to ballet displays and street dance displays, through out the day the fire service had an appliance on show and there were many other activities such as face painting and origami to get stuck into. There was a great sense of community and a sense of worth.

What I felt was clearly on display was that whilst anew big building may be a catalyst to changes a community facility can not become that purely by having a new building it's the people that make it a community facility. There are a number of groups who use the church which may otherwise be empty or closed during those hours. these groups are sometime small groups of interested people who meet in a relatively informal environment whilst others are structured classes like the dancers or Zumba groups. But if it wasn't for the drive of individuals these groups would not exist.
I was told the prior to the church being built the old community centre only had one group using it now there is something going on most mornings and evening at st peters church so the building has given an opportunity to do something that wasn't there before but the people the ones that make it happen. I got a real sense of that when I visited. the sense of community was certainly healthy and reaching into the area. A great success for all involved.

Landau Forte 11- 16 centre New Build

Years of discussion & years of debate as to what is the best for the young people of Tamworth in regards to their education and for now i am not going to talk about governance etc of schools but I am going to talk about the new school being built at Amington.

I had the opportunity to visit the site back on a cold windy morning in February issued with a pair of black wellies, Hi-viz vest & hard hat, this visit was really a building sites, the floors were not in, many walls were missing and no sign of windows.

Now in June i have had the chance to walk around again with some local residents as well as site staff. The building have progressed well and the building almost feels finished except for final fit electrics and furniture etc. The think that really struck me was the brightness and level of natural lighting in the building along with the feeling of open space. really wide corridors with large glass walls at the end and widows around the top of the walls flooding in loads of light.

For a feel I have included this video, and the actual build is very similar it's almost confusing as to which is reality.

The new building is a fantastic new start for the school and is happening  at the same time as so much in Tamworth including the post 16 centre, new fire stations and other development, it's quite an exciting time for Tamworth.
This is a real iconic building with a university feel to a high school.

Official Opening of Belgrave Community Fire station.

Guests witnessed a fantastic display of a rescue from a 2 storey property, The display took place in the training facilities built at Belgrave Community Fire Station.

My views are included in the start of the this video

Success announced and Scouts District AGM

Scouts are one of the most recognised uniformed organisations for young people in the world and here in Tamworth the District held its AGM last night. In the last 5 years their numbers have increased by 44%, that's over 1070 young people involved in scouting in Tamworth.

This is fantastic and the benefits of the scouts to Tamworth and the young people of Tamworth are tremendous. Providing a sense of self worth, pride, value, leadership, community and so much more really shapes an individual for the rest of their lives and performance in the workplace.

There are some great people involved in youth provision in Tamworth and the Scouts cater for young people from young through to 25 yrs old with a huge array of activities including camps trips and even this year 4 people from Tamworth will be spending 3 weeks in Europe at the international jamboree.

Great work

DMS Whittington Field Gun Display

And They Let Me Have A Go

Wonderful afternoon today at Whittington Barrack for the first ever Navy Field Gun Run in Staffordshire. We were treated to a walk through demonstration of the field gun run followed by a full real time run involving 18 personnel taking about 90 seconds to put it together move it take it apart put it back together fire 3 rounds, move it again fire another 3 rounds swap the wheels whilst holding it all in the air and run it to the finish. a massive amount of detailed jobs to do in a tiny amount of time. I have made this sound a lot simpler than it was and have probably missed whole sections out.
The team, we saw today competed last weekend and have trained outside their normal military medical work, during lunch breaks and after work.

SPRINT The field gun competition at the HMS Collingwood Open Day. Picture: Steve Reid (112037-884)

The history of the field gun run dates back to the Boer War and particularly the 119 day siege of Ladysmith, where defenders were helped enormously by the arrival of a Naval Brigade of 280 personal four 12 pounders and two 4.7inch guns. All of which traveled there by land having moved these guns over a number of physical barriers. All of the carriages and mountings had to be improvised there and then. Today we saw a display of the most recent type of race in which the gun is moved along a 85 yard track and then back again. To say is was amazing is an understatement, it was a fantastic display of precision and physical ability.

And to finish the afternoon off they let me and around 70 school children from the local primary school fire the gun, each having a turn. Notice the big grin on my face .

Royal Centre for Defence Medicine Fund Raiser

Bolehall Manor club play host last night to a fund raising event for Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, the place packed it was fantastic to see so many people supporting this cause.

The RCDM provides immediate care and surgery to our injured soldiers and continues to provide rehabilitation care for all those injured in conflict and war. These nurses, surgeons and medics not only put our soldiers back together on the "front line" but they support them back to health on their return to the UK at Sellyoak. they are often the unsung heroes whilst the the media is full of pics of events in far flung lands. These people of performing some of the best medical work in the world.

We all owe a debt of Thanks to these medics and also our thanks to the people in the room last night organising events and raising funds. Often these specific charities are over shadowed by larger campaigns  who also do fantastic work but often get the lions share of fund raising.

It was a privilege to meet some of the team last night and listen to some of their stories and here of some of the patients they have dealt with either in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere in the world as well as back in the UK at Sellyoak.

Great job being done.

Tamworth Fitness Festival

Throughout today (4th June 2011) Tamworth Castle Grounds played host to the first Tamworth Fitness Festival, this was a community organised event which attracted thousands of spectators join in, watch and meet over 40 local groups and fitness companies from Tamworth.

The thing that continues to get me about Tamworth is the massive diversity of activities that are available.

I was there in the later part of the day as Mayor of Tamworth and managed to watch dance displays including a Zumba session (keep an eye out or the Mayors Charity Zumbathon coming soon). I also managed to meet some of the activity groups in Tamworth and some of the commercial club/gym operators, one of which is a fantastic story of achievement. LDFitness, a local firm owned and ran as a new family business starting in 2005 as a personal fitness training instructor now has a gym at Tame Valley and is looking to expand. certainly bucking the national trend.

With all these events and groups in Tamworth there is no excuse not to get involved, we all need to shout about them and look at ways to find them online etc.

 Today was a great event that showcased what Tamworth has to offer and also a credit to the community members who put it together with the support of Tamworth Borough Council's events and sport development staff.

Well done to all

Former Councillors

Last week I chaired the Full Council meeting of Tamworth Borough Council. Part of the agenda is for the Mayor, Leader, Cabinet or Chief Exec to make announcements, this year I decided to use this opportunity to make sure we say Thank you to the councillors who have either retired or did not get re-elected.

I have always felt that it is a tragic shame for outgoing councillors to simply leave without mention. Well they get a letter asking them to return their badge and laptop, doesn't even warn them that the door may hit their backside on the way out. So as simple as the gesture is I had some certificates printed which I signed and framed, these thanked the former councillor on behalf of the people of Tamworth and listed their terms of office.

Mr Martyn Price served on the council from 2007 to 2011
Mr Ben Price served on the council from 2007 to 2011
Mr Steven Nicklin served on the council from 2007 to 2011
Mr John Wells has served a number of terms totalling 24 years on the council retiring in 2011

There names will be recorded in a set of minutes which their children or grandchildren may never see, In fact John Wells has also been Mayor so will have more recognition in local history but still little. I hope the certificates I gave out will give them some pride that they can share with their kids and grand kids in years to come.

Simple gift but a Thank you and the respect they deserve.

Tamworth Unicorns Swimming Gala

Tamworth Unicorns website

On Saturday I was invited to attend the 35th Annual swimming Gala organised by Tamworth Unicorns, for those who do not know this group provided swimming coaching for disabled people. This Gala attracted swimmers from all over the midlands.

During the evening we watched 58 races and 4 relays all except 2 were 25 meters or one length of the Peaks pool or should that be snowdome. The effort and dedication shown was tremendous, due to different levels of ability there were staggered starts with some competitors having up to 20 seconds head start and still finishing in a tight finish. The thing that I noticed from this staggered start was the shear time some of them spent in the water, they may not have been the fastest swimmer in the world but the effort and stamina they put in was huge. they just kept going until they finished regardless of their position.

When i was younger I attended Moorgate infants school where the school motto was "there is a Can in Can't" these people Saturday night proved this.

I was privileged to hand out some of the medals and must say that Tamworth swimmers received a fair few. This was a great opportunity for my to see the sheer delight in the faces of those receiving medals but also their team mates who were all really pleased for each other.

Apart from mentioning the great efforts of the swimmers who performed so determinedly and well on Saturday but I feel I must pay tribute to the coaches and organisers, some of which were also disabled and some who were parents of disabled people. Their love and dedication to that club is fantastic. these people are truly hero's in Tamworth and the midlands not only improving swimming skills but also elevating spirits of the community.

Saturday was truly fantastic and a real pleasure to attend

Land Locked Tamworth, it's Mayor and the RNLI

This week I Jeremy Oates swore an oath and became Mayor of the Borough of Tamworth. This was for me possibly the most emotional Council Meeting I have attended. Nerves played like never before and to say I feel proud and honoured is simply an understatement. I have lived in Tamworth all my life and coming from a political background the Mayor of Tamworth has always been someone I have looked upto and aspired to. two days later and I am still pinching myself.

As Mayor of Tamworth one of the roles is to choose a charity and raise money for throughout the year, This year I have chosen the RNLI and i thought it might be useful to explain here why I have chosen this particular group.

Within the UK it is difficult to get further away from the sea than we are in Tamworth but as I do there are hundred possible thousands on people from Tamworth who visit the uk coast line every year and for me that means it's only time before the RNLI will be involved in a rescue involving the a resident of Tamworth. Along with this the RNLI is also the charity my gran left money to when she passed away and she was a great supporter of them, I'm pleased to support the same charity as my gran did.

We all talk about the value of volunteering and this should not be diluted, for me the lifeboat men of the uk are a fantastic example of what I have termed "Extreme Volunteering" they go out in awful conditions at their own risk and no income to rescue the lives of other.

I recall a story from my childhood which to me is a story of fantastic heroism and bravery I can only dream of, this is the story of the Penlee lifeboat on the night of the 19th December 1981.

Only 5 nights before christmas a call was recievd by the falmouth coast guard that the union star, a brand new gargo ship, had lost it's engines and could not restart them. That night the weather was horrendous and worsening, a call was put out to the crew of the Penlee lifeboat in the village of Mousehole cornwall, who sped to the rescue in the boat above. These guys displayed a selflessness and command of the seas that has me in tears just to think of. that night events happened quickely and some of those on the union star made it to the life boat, this life boat then stayed on the scene to rescue the rest when tragedy struck and took the lives of all on board the union star and the volunteers on the Penlee lifeboat.

I have missed alot out of this story but remember it from my childhood and remember being in cornwall when th new lifeboat was delivered. I am can not start to comprehend the selflessness of these men and their families. whilst I will not be collecting for any Penlee memorial I feel this story of heroism should be told and this year I will be supporting the RNLI and the volunteers who genuinely put their own lives at risk for other simply because they want to.

May Concerts, Brass, Woodwind, Strings and Saxophone

Tamworth Performing Arts Centre
Amington Band

In just 3 days I was privileged enough to be invited to 2 concerts displaying the fantastic talents that Tamworth manages so well to hide. This week not only have I enjoyed two great shows but I have also learnt about two sets of people who I knew existed but didn't really grasp what they do.

Royal Wedding

Every young girl in the country will at some stage dream of a fairytale wedding and marrying a prince, in Great Britain it really happens.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-13231282

I suppose I must be a royalist but I don;t think on a day like today it matters, we are currently the today the envy of the world, we have a strong democratic system and a monarch, where else in the world would you have such a huge event like a Great British Royal Wedding.

This country is built on it's traditions and to join in and watch, celebrate the royal wedding is for me what makes us British.

Going to get soppy now so will end with that

Savings Verses Cuts

With election fever gripping the nation and the media getting all excited about providing a 'balanced view' I thought I would take the opportunity to talk about how myth, rumour and hype are running away with us.

This year (as I have already covered) the council tax bills for the people of Tamworth have not increased and there have been no cuts to services. however in order to achieve this there has been some savings made over the last 7 years and to make savings as everyone knows you have to change the way you do things. Recently there has been some scaremongering about the numbers of police in Tamworth and we have a statement from the local commander to state that this is not the case. so how does the public sector make savings without cuts to services.

The way I look at it is reasonably simple, I want better services costing less, so somewhere savings must be made either without cutting services or where possible making them better. The police argument is a great one as the public has said for years they want more police on the street and officers top spend less time in the office doing paperwork and feeding process chains. So with the savings that must be made to get this country back to where it should be the police are looking at and changing the processes they perform thus allowing more police on the street without the cost of extra personal. So doing what the public have asked of them changed systems to make savings without reducing the number of police on the street, and reducing the huge amount of paperwork generated by a simple arrest.

Another example I can think of is the new waste management system that Tamworth Borough Council and Lichfield District Council have joined forces on.

• The new service launched last year saves over £500k per year.
• All Tamworth Bins are done in half a week.
• All dry recycling is mixed
• More items can be recycled
• Food waste can be collected every week.

So how can this change to a service and saving produced be deemed a cut in front line services, it simply can't. there may have been a cut to staffing levels somewhere (contractors and back office) but the service is bigger, faster and what the public asked for, the removal of blue boxes.

It would be wrong of me to comment on the savings over cuts argument without mentioning swimming. Now in Tamworth we have the chance of free swimming at Wilnecote Leisure centre for the first time ever and we still have the same services we had at peaks before the sale. The difference is we are getting those services at Peaks for only £70k per year and not the £600k that it was costing the tax payer of Tamworth. Peaks needed over £1m spending on it at the time of sale to keep it running. The extra investment needed has been put in place by the new owners and the swimming facilities, gym, sports halls are brighter, better and more used than ever still at affordable cost, so a saving and again a better service.

My last example of a saving has to be the opportunity costs of running 2 outlets in the town centre at different times of the day rather than one building. The new TIC in the Phil Dix centre took more money in the first day than the old one in nearly a week, it is bigger and brighter and has most to offer than the old one could giving the opportunity to develop the service further.

So now onto cuts, for me cuts should only be made if a service is under used and not just for cash savings. My approach to the council is simple money is a scarce resource and as councillors we have to allocate that scarce resource correctly. It is not easy to run all services at a profit and this is where the council should be taking up the slack, but for me we should not be providing the same services as shops and local business.

I don't want see any cuts to services that are used but I do want to see less paperwork and better services.
I think that's enough for now because I'll end up listing and dispelling some of the local myths of present

Jeremy's got it wrong again

Can I just breifly clarify a mistake I have made on here.
It was in fact Ian Gibbons who set up and created the St Georges's Day celebrations that have been held in St Editha's square for years.

I did not know this and I apologise to Ian for not giving him the credit he deserves for this.

St. Georges Day celebrations

Once again this weekend Tamworth Borough Council will be delivering another fantastic Free event to celebrate St. Georges Day, whilst reading the promotional material I remembered the difficulty we had getting the event started. This year the thought of a bank holiday for to celebrate our patron saint also crossed my mind and how would it possibly have fit into Easter, royal weddings and may bank holidays.

Tamworth has for years had St Georges day celebrated with the kind help of local volunteers in St Editha's square and not only were we grateful for what they did we also didn't want to take that away from them( I would name them but I'm really not good with names and have forgotten them, the gent that runs the cooked meat stall in the indoor market organised most of it). When I was leader of the council the now leader of the council came to me and said we should look at doing something about celebrating St. Georges Day and off we went to discuss it with officers at the council. the initial response we got was not as positive as we had expected  but was based on common sense. Once again the proposals of a pair of 30 something year olds had been clouded by the behaviour of others in other areas in the past and the hijacking of St. Georges Day by shall we say fascism. This left us with a small problem, how to push the idea further without causing trouble or providing opportunity for trouble

St George's Day in Tamworth has become a great family day of celebration, this is the theme that Tamworth Borough Council strives for in all its outdoor events, they are about bringing the people of Tamworth together to celebrate our history. Over the last few years we have seen one and two days events, activities in the old lido building, civil war re enactments and so much more. The thing I love about all of this is that in Tamworth St George's Day is really an annual celebration as are other patron saints in Wales and Ireland etc and they are a family affair.

The reason we can do this is down to some clear determination from politicians and a can do attitude from staff at Tamworth Borough Council.

I'm looking forward to taking the kids to the Castle Grounds this weekend and hope to see many other families in Tamworth enjoying the weather and free event,

Have a good weekend.

Bring Back Our Gold, Glascote Torc

It's been around 2 years since the Staffordshire Hoard was discovered just down the road and triggered a modern day gold rush with all sorts of local authorities trying to get in on the action or raise funds to acquire the collection.
This year the hoard will be coming to Tamworth castle allowing people to see it for FREE, tickets are available at the new  Tamworth Information Centre and are just for crowd management. This is a fantastic thing for Tamworth and serves a s a great reminder of some of the history we have to offer, remember and celebrate. Tamworth has a colourful history, which other people will know better than I, including evidence of Saxons, a Norman castle, Sir Robert Peel, Thomas Guy and so on, all of which have helped shape Tamworth as a place. For me there is one thing missing from the above list and it is something I spoke about at a cabinet meeting in 2004, I want to see the Glascote Torc brought back home and back to Tamworth.

The Glascote Torc is currently ( I believe) in storage at Birmingham Museum, (click this link). The fight to bring it back to Tamworth has gone on before and has been raised in the local press a number of times, it was actually a relative of Tamworth's Mayor Lee Bates who found the Torc which became treasure trove and went to Birmingham.

So why do I want it back now? Well the Staffordshire Hoard will be coming to Tamworth this August with an amount of security around it and the argument has always been we don't have anywhere secure to display it (it has been said for at least 5 years now that this is no longer the case) so why not put the two together and let the people of Tamworth see the Glascote Torc in Tamworth this August. It's our history let's celebrate it together in it's rightful home and along side the Staffordshire Hoard.

So please re post this and lets start a campaign to get our Torc back.

Bus Passes for Young and Old

This year the Bus pass over pensioners recieve has been returned to the service they deserve in Tamworth, 24 hours a Day 7 days a week, this has been done by moving the responsibility of the Bus Passes to the county council.

Also as from June evryone under 20 years old will be able to have a bus pass in staffordshire that will allow them to make a bus trip for no more than One Pound.

Just thought you might like know.

St Editha's Square Canopy

A few years ago the borough council built a tent top or canopy in St. Editha's square, at the time it was perceived that this would hide the frontage of the first floor of the indoor market and provide a space for performance, cafe culture and including space for the market. This never really started with the exception of some lectures that were organised by a good willed local couple.
Councillors were aware it wasn't working but late last year it was time something was done to rescue the investment. The committee I am chairman of set about defining a purpose for this structure and attempted to put a strategy together for usage and promotion. Last week Cabinet accepted the committees suggestion and so the st Editha's square canopy now has a purpose.
We found that there was very little interest in running cafes underneath ands so have suggested the council does not pursue that avenue but considers any approach for cafe use. The council will now improve the way they advertise the canopy and push for more usages as a display/performance space, a place to advertise large goods like cars etc and house the markets.
The key thing we found was that currently the council does not push the canopy as it should and so we have suggested this improves and that groups such as schools and youth groups should be made aware that it is let able.
So look out for more usage, better signage and easier booking for the canopy.
A nice piece of scrutiny work there I think.

Sitting Thinking in Traffic

Earlier I was queuing in the traffic caused by Ventura Park and had the time to think a little about the traffic I was in. I don't think I could see any commercial vans or lorries so all these cars are taking people to and from Ventura of Tamworth for either leisure or shopping, that has to be a success story for Tamworth.

The downside is the Traffic I have talked about, every weekend Ventura grind to a snails pace and for many years nothing has been done about it. This year things are going to change.

In a few weeks work will start on the two roundabouts where problems occur, this will see traffic lights installed on the roundabouts and while the works go on this is going to be hellish but once finished some benefits and improvement will be seen. The traffic will still remain at Ventura and there will still be queues BUT with traffic lights every cycle there will be gaps created in the traffic so where as now we are reliant of drivers finding gaps in the traffic gaps will be created. These Traffic lights will also monitor traffic flows and respond accordingly giving priority to the queue that need clearing quickest or is longest.
   So you will still queue but you will queue for less time.

The success of Ventura park is fantastic for the local economy but without massive investment I fear the traffic issues will never be completely removed, almost a price of success. but works can be done to help and assist the driver going through the retail park, this year new lights will be put in along with new units to towards the Bonehill road side and by the CIN building, this will improve and grow Tamworth's retail offer. Once this is done traffic studies can be done and future changes to other exits to ventura could be funded and built. I know it's a long process but each step will make an improvement.

Whilst talking about Ventura it would be wrong not to mention the town centre, this area has a different offer to ventura, smaller shops selling different products etc. i would love to see the town centre as busy as it was when I was growing up and I hope that when the Henry boot development is complete it will be. I must remind people that the council didn't own the old precinct or the land it stood on, it was privately owned.
We had some great shops in the town centre and still have some great building these need to be preserved and this will only happen if we use them, the delays in the redevelopment do frustrate me but i know it's a marathon not a sprint.

Wouldn't it be nice to have the town centre as busy as Ventura.
I think the message I am sending out here is improvements are coming, they may not be quick or provide a utopia but they will provide further improvements to or town