Tamworth Blog

River Anker - Pic: Paulette Sedgwick.

Tamworth’s first big tidy up took place Saturday Feb 6th 2010, was a success.

130 bags of rubbish were collected and two Derby vans filled by the river operations team who fished out dumped shopping trolleys, traffic cones, metal bed frames and car exhausts from the river Anker.

The day’s event co-ordinated by Ian Owen, Development Officer, Tamworth Borough Council (TBC) was the culmination of months of planning and collaboration between Tamworth Borough Council, Environment Agency, The Angling Trust, Sea Cadets, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and Staffordshire County Council.

50 enthusiastic volunteers in three teams led by Chris Fitzsimmons, Street Scene TBC; Alan Freeman, Sea Cadets and Mark Owen, Environmental Campaigns Officer from The Angling Trust, cleared the stretch of the river bed from Bolebridge to Tamworth Castle and a drainage channel at the rear of the Jolly Sailor Car Park.

Overhanging tree branches catching river surface debris were cut back by the tree gang aided by sea cadets and volunteers and shredded to make bark chippings.

Councillor Lee Bates said

“I was delighted by the turn out and positive attitude.Everyone quickly got into the spirit of the day and took great pride in being able to get involved in a local project to benefit the community.
The outcome of the day and feedback has been extremely encouraging.”

A follow up meeting is being planned to discuss the event, lessons learnt and the next steps.  The project has certainly put Tamworth on the map as part of the first “BIG TIDY UP”, all part of the national Keep Britain Tidy campaign, who have been notified of it’s success.

Full details of the national campaign can be found at www.thebigtidyup.org and it is hoped that future litter picks will be branded under this banner across Tamworth as a positive step to getting involved in environmental issues and making a difference.

Property Raided in Bolehill

Tamworth Blog was given the opportunity to speak to the new Commander of the Tamworth Neighbourhood Police Unit, Inspector Emma Griffiths and learn about what was going to happen in Tamworth after the Dawn raids on Tuesday December 1.

The dawn raids were just the beggining of making Tamworth a safer place to live and work.  Taking 14 dealers of the streets could send the wrong message to other dealers in the region who could see Tamworth as having a gap in the market, but Staffordshire Police and new Commander for Tamworth, Inspector Emma Griffths are keen to use this period to catch those who try to take their places.

Speaking to us after the raids, Inspector Griffiths spoke about over the coming weeks a huge operation monitoring hot spots for activity relating to drugs as well as the ongoing work with the partners in helping those who have grown dependant on drugs throughout the town.

Inspector Griffiths told Tamworth Blog:

“Operation Nemesis and the dawn raids are just the start.  The coming weeks will see us working with our partners to assist drug users and those concerned relatives.

“But this isn’t the end of the policing.  Over the coming weeks we will be monitoring locations throughout Tamworth for any new dealers coming into Tamworth. If they do, we will catch them.

“It is our aim for Tamworth to become a safer place for those that live here, but not for criminals.”

So were you in Tamworth Town Centre last night for the big Christmas Light Switch On? If you were? Are you in the photos below?

The Christmas Lights were switched on by Joshua Reeve who won a competition in local newspaper Tamworth Herald. Joshua was joined on the stage by Mayor of Tamworth, Cllr Gerry Pinner and special guest, Father Christmas who had come all the way to Tamworth especially for the lights switch on.

The town centre was packed with numerous events on at the same time, including a Christmas Fayre in both the Castle and Assembly Rooms, live entertainment under the canopy in St Editha’s Square and the Christmas Tree Festival in St Editha’s chruch proved a hit with people browsing the tree’s and getting out the cold.

Wherever you was in Tamworth there was something going on, George Street saw Street Dynamix entertain the teenagers who were in town, this roving reporter got caught at the cash point as they setup.

What was good was that many of the shops remained open, Co-Op, The Works, Costa Coffee, and Interflora to name a few remained open for the waves of people.

At 8pm, Santa Clause appeared as if by magic to join Joshua and the Mayor on stage, ready to light up Tamworth. The lights came on then Tamworth Ladies Choir led the crowd in a selection of Carols, accompanied by the Amington Band.

More feedback and stories from the event will be on the blog tomorrow. If you would like any photos please contact us.

You can also view the photos on our Facebook Fan Page, click here.

We are slowly uploading all the photos from last nights Christmas Lights Switch on in Tamworth.  We will have these posted shortly. In the meantime, here are a small selection of photos from last night.

Christmas Pudding Making in the Castle

Pupils from Millfields Primary School with their Tree in St Editha's Church

The Christmas Lights are Switched on

The Christmas Lights up George Street

Keep an eye on Tamworth Blog for more photos from last nights festivities which will be posted this afternoon.

The Walkabout Group

A recent Walkabout in Amington and Bolehill has been branded a success by Tamworth Borough Council.

Residents from in the Bolehill and Amington areas joined local Housing Officers, Caretakers, local councillors, Police and other key agencies to give suggestions on how their estates can be improved.

The walkabout saw the group walk about the area highlighting issues that needed addresses, whilst members of the agencies involved logged these suggestions.  At the end of the walk, residents were then involved in developing an action plan on how best to address the issues identified, improving their estates.

Because of the event, the improvements made include:

• Residents whose gardens were overgrowing were sent letters advising them to maintain their gardens after the walkabout highlighted that many gardens in the area were overgrown.
• Overgrown bushes have been cutback around the estate after it was highlighted that many of them were over grown.
• Letters have been sent out to residents concerning the issues of fly tipping and rubbish in the area.  During the walkabout, a lot of the rubbish was was removed.
• Graffiti around the area has now been removed with the ‘tags’ being used to identify the perpetrators.

All three walk abouts have been completed this year along with their action plans.  Plans for next year are being made and if you think your area benefit from one of these walkabouts, you are encouraged to contact the Estate Management Team on 01827 709 491 or mail them at estatemanagementteam@tamworth.gov.uk.

Marmion House, Tamworth Borough Council

Tamworth Borough Council are inviting voluntary and community groups the opportunity to provide services to the council and gain vital funding.

The Council currently gives out £164,000 a year of direct support to community groups through grants.  An additional £80,000 a year  is given in-kind through rents and building subsidies.  However, through the tender process, allowing organisations to bid for funding from the council, they can ensure they are getting value for money and getting the right services from the right provider.

Councillor Jeremy Oates portfolio holder for Economic Development and Enterprise.

“We conducted a review of the current Commissioning Framework process and procedures for awarding grants to voluntary and community sector organisations and carried out consultation with a number of partners and organisations.

“The new Commissioning Framework went through unanimously at Full Council in September and will allow us to work more closely with the voluntary and community sector as well as bringing consistency and clarity to the way we work with partner organisations. We have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for the services that the voluntary and community sector continue to provide locally, joining up and pooling resources is definitely the way forward to strengthen the sector locally.”

The services the council are inviting tenders for are:

• Financial Inclusion
• Parenting Support for families
• Generalist and debt advice
• Voluntary and Community Sector Capacity Building
• Increasing Volunteering
• Environment

If you are an organisation and interested in finding out more about any of the services outlined above you can find out more information by clicking the advert in the top left of Tamworth Blog or by clicking here.

Closing date for applications is January 11 2010.  To help you with your application, there are two commissioning surgeries on December 8 at the Town Hall between 6.30 and 8.30pm and December 10 at Carnegie Centre between 1.30 and 3.30pm.

Green Party Logo

This week see’s the official launch of the Tamworth Greens a new political party for Tamworth.

The Tamworth Greens will be in Tamworth Town Centre on Saturday November 21 gathering the views of Tamworth people on what our town really needs.

The group that is lead by local Community Officer, Garry Jones and local Primary School Teacher, Lisa Crane, aim to give local people a real choice when it comes to election time some point during 2010.  The group will be promoting social and environmental justice through campaigns, direct action and the electoral process.

Garry Jones said:

“Whilst there are good politicians in Tamworth there are also some who have just become the same old suspects and others who see it simply as a career opportunity. The result is that most people don’t even bother to vote, because they think it makes no difference. Tamworth Greens are real people with a stake in the local community, not just as politicians. We will offer people a real and fair choice. ”

The Tamworth Greens are keen to hear from you about what matters to you.  If you can’t make it to Tamworth to visit their stall on Saturday November 21, there will be an evening session at the Phil Dix Centre on Wednesday December 9 at 7.30pm.

Christmas Banquets

What better than getting into the Festive spirit at Tamworth’s Medieval Castle at one of the special Christmas events that have been organised.

This year there are three major events planned at the Castle during December with a mixture of something for everyone, from bargain hunters to those who like to celebrate in medieval style.

Christmas Fayre

Running alongside the Christmas lights switch on, the Christmas Fayre runs at the Castle on November 27 and 28. A festive experience for all the family with stall holders selling food, jewellery and crafts, hearty pig roast and costumed characters. The fayre will run on the Friday evening into the Saturday daytime. The event is on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th November 2009 £2 adult, £1 child. Friday 5.00pm – 8.30pm Saturday 12pm – 5.15pm.

Christmas Medieval Banquets

The much loved Christmas Banquets are now a staple of the Christmas run up at Tamworth Castle, so much so that the Banquets for 2010 are already planned.  You’ll receive a short tour of the castle before making your way to the Great Hall where a 5 course banquet will be served.  The ticket includes your meal, half a bottle of wine and a glass of mead.   On top of this, you are given the opportunity to get into the spirit and dress in period costume.

Tickets for this event sell out quick and are available from Tamworth Tourist Information Centre.  Tickets are priced at £42 each and it’s strictly over 18’s only.  The Medieval Banquets take place on December 4, 5, 11 and 12.

Santa Trails

Tamworth Castle opens specially for the week before Christmas. Explore Tamworth Castle at its most magical as the Victorian family prepare to celebrate Christmas. Be welcomed by roaming Victorian characters, enter Santa’s grotto and join in with a fun Santa trail. All children will receive a Santa goody bag. Discount admissions apply.

The public dates for the Santa Trails run from Saturday December 19 through to Sunday December 20.  The week before will be for school groups.

The Santa Trail will be ideal for nursery groups and children at Key Stage 1.

For more information on any of the above you can visit the Tamworth Castle Website.

TCR FM

TCR FM launched on Saturday night (October 31) at 5pm on 106.8FM and online, marking the full time launch of Tamworth’s Community radio station.

As you would expect the first night was a bit of a celebration after being granted their full time license from Ofcom and the necessary funding to get the radio on the air.  Going live at 5pm joint Managing Directors and presenters, Martin Summers and Dan Hoult introduced listeners to the station, the first song played out being Republica, Ready to Go…

The majority of the presenters were at the launch and were each introduced to the listeners, explaining how they got to be involved with the community radio station whilst playing two of their favourite songs.  Broadcasting live from their studios for the first time since the month long broadcast in 2007.

The party moved from the studio’s over to Trinity Night Club which opened early to celebrate both the launch of TCR FM and Halloween where DJ Little Matt (Sunday nights from 10pm) played a live launch party to involve listeners around Tamworth and as far afield as central Birmingham.

Watch out later today for a video interview with Joint Managing Directors Martin Summers and Dan Hoult.

Also, listen to the shows, with Tamworth news broadcast throughout the day, all from us here at Tamworth Blog.

Police Tape - Photo: Andrew Rickman

The Crime rates in Staffordshire are down with the total number of victims down 1,200 so far this year.

The latest figures show that the figures for the Trent Valley region, which is home to some 280,000 people and includes Lichfield, Burton-upon-Trent, Uttoxeter as well as Tamworth are down for the sixth year in a row.

The half year results also show that 80% of people questioned are satisfied about the forces responses to Anti Social behaviour.  Other stats from the half year report include:

• There were 1,206 fewer crimes between April and September, the number of crimes during the period was 9,523, a reduction of 11% on the same period last year.
• Serious acquisitive crime, covering burglary, robbery, theft of vehicles and from vehicles, fell by 181 offences (10.7%) to 1,506.
• Business related crime showed a 21% decrease. There were nearly 300 fewer business victims to a new low of 1,098 offences.
• Reports of Anti-social behaviour showed a significant reduction across the arean with more than 600 fewer reports in the first half of the year.
• The number of people killed or seriously injured on the division’s roads fell by nearly 16-per cent to a total of 32 incidents.

The only area that saw an increase in incidents were Violent crimes resulting in injury, an increase of 9 incidents on last year.

Chief Superintendent Mick Harrison, Commander of Trent Valley Division said:

“These figures are extremely encouraging and reflect the hard work and success of police and their community partners this year and in the past.”