Tamworth Blog

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Tamworth residents are being urged to take advantage of the HEAT scheme which has been running since last summer.  Home Energy Advice Tamworth (HEAT) has helped numerous Tamworth residents keep warm during the winter by installing free or discounted loft and cavity insulation, keeping the precisous heat inside the home.

Residents without cavity wall and loft insulation could be spending an extra £220 per year on heating alone.

As well as free or discounted insulation, there are also other grants which can help with repairing broken boilers or heating systems.  If you are over the age of 60 and on qualifying benefits you could for example receive up to £3,500 (£6,000 for oil systems) to replace your broken boiler or heating system.  If you suffer from a chronic or cold related illness you can also get help through grants for fixing/replacing heating systems as well.

Tamworth Borough Council, in partnership with the Energy Saving Trust will be sending out letters throughout the month to offer a free, personalised home energy report. The report will show households how effecient their home is and where simple changes can be made to save you money, up to £300 in some cases.  Those who fill in the survey and send it back promptly will stand a chance of winning £100 worth of shopping vouchers at a shop of their choice.

For free and impartial advice, you can call the HEAT team on 0800 043 2815.  The qualified advisor’s on the end of the phone will be able to tell you about the grants available and advice on how you can be more energy efficient.

If you are a private tenant, the councils Private Sector Housing Service can also offer advice on keeping warm this winter, whether it’s your landlord not fixing the heating systems properly or there may not be any heating systems.  You can contact them on 01827 709 372 or via email at privatehousing@tamworth.gov.uk.

B.N.P. Graffiti Across the Town

A recent spate of BNP graffiti is currently being investigated by police in Tamworth. The BNP slogan has been sprayed in several places around the town centre and Bolehall area over the last couple of weeks.

If you have any information about who is responsible for this graffiti you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

UPDATE – 24/11 – 3.30pm

The graffiti in the underpasses has now been cleaned returning the underpasses to their former state.

Thomas the Gibbon and Joyce

Drayton Manor Theme Park said a fond farewell to one of their beloved Gibbon’s, Thomas, last week on Friday November 20.

Thomas the Gibbon who took his name from Thomas the Tank Engine due to being born just before the park unveiled Thomas Land in March 2008.  However, Thomas was rejected by his mother and had to be hand reared.  Zoo managers, Joyce and Robin Roberts have played the role of mum, taking Thomas into their home feeding him and caring for him round the clock for 18 months.

Because Thomas was hand-reared though and rejected by his family, the remaining whoop of Gibbons at Drayton Manor Park’s Zoo won’t accept him.  So whilst caring for him, staff have been looking to secure him a new home, with Twycross Zoo just up the M42.  Thomas has been visiting the zoo and being integrated with the other Gibbons all year, but the time has now come for him to make the permanent move.

Joyce Roberts said:

“I think I speak for all the keepers here when I say that Thomas will be sorely missed, he is such a friendly and sociable character. However, I know that he is going to a good home where he will be properly looked after and can finally join a gibbon family of his own.”