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This year’s Summer Reading Challenge has been launched. It's designed to ensure youngsters’ reading skills don’t dip over the school holidays.
This year's theme is sport and games. Find out more at your local library or on our website.
Children can read or listen to any six library books over the summer holidays and be rewarded every step of the way with stickers, culminating with the award of a medal and certificate.
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Local residents and visitors to Derbyshire are being offered free bus rides on six summer Sunday mornings.
Most bus operators across the county are taking part in our scheme, with free bus journeys being offered from the first service each Sunday from 23 July 2023 to 27 August 2023 up until midday.
Buses that start their journeys in Derby are not included. Passengers who start their journeys in Derby cannot take advantage of the free fare offer.
The free fares are being paid for from the £47 million that the government awarded us to improve bus travel in Derbyshire.
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If you live in or around Long Eaton please keep an eye out for a new pest which is threatening the county’s oak trees.
A number of oak trees in the area have become infested with the Oak Processionary Moth whose caterpillars feed on the leaves of several species of oak trees, causing them to lose their leaves and stunt their growth. They can cause itchy rashes and eye and throat infections when touched too.
The caterpillars have black heads and grey bodies covered in long white hairs, and they usually move nose-to-tail in a procession. Their nests are typically dome or teardrop-shaped, averaging the size of a tennis ball. They are white when fresh, but soon become discoloured and brown.
Anyone who spots an infestation is advised not to touch them but take a photo of the caterpillars and report it online or email opm@forestrycommission.gov.uk or call 0300 067 4442. Owners and managers of oak trees can help by giving access to Forestry Commission surveyors to assess whether their trees are infested.
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We’ve launched a consultation on proposed changes to the council’s community care charging policy to make it fairer, sustainable and protect those who need us most.
People are being asked for their views on three options designed to make the council’s charging policy for those who receive adult care and support in the community more sustainable.
The consultation launched on Monday 3 July and will run until Wednesday 4 October.
Why not sign up to learn something new this autumn with our Adult Community Education Service? You could skill up, find a new career or start a new hobby.
Bookings are open for a wide range of new courses starting in September and it will be easier to book online with a new system where you'll be able to set up an account and a profile and search by course, venue, date and time.
Meanwhile a selection of our ‘Family Learning’ courses, including bushcraft and pottery, will start in August to provide learning opportunities for children and families in the school summer holidays.
You can view qualifications and skills courses online or pick up a brochure from your local Adult Community Education Centre or library and book online.
The autumn term range of opportunities include academic courses and qualifications, languages, crafts, dance and other courses to help boost career opportunities.
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We're so lucky in Derbyshire to live and work in such a beautiful county with so many diverse natural habitats – woodland, moors, waterways and so on. And we're going to be taking a new lead in protecting them now that we've been appointed by the Government as a 'responsible authority' for nature recovery.
It means we'll be responsible for putting together a Local Nature Recovery Strategy, which will map the location and condition of Derbyshire’s habitats and identify where biodiversity is in decline or limited in ecosystem value.
It'll also set out the long-term vision and action plan for local organisations, businesses, landowners and the public to work together to improve the natural environment across Derbyshire – including Derby and the part of the Peak District National Park within the county.
We'll work closely with relevant public, private and voluntary sector organisations to draw on their collective expertise to produce the plan, with the aim of co-ordinating existing efforts and driving forwards new initiatives to improve the natural environment in Derbyshire.
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There’s a great opportunity this month, and again in October, to take a look around homes and businesses where the owners have taken steps to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and cut fuel costs. |
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Properties old and new, big and small, will show a range of improvements from large-scale projects such as internal wall insulation, air source heat pumps and solar panels to small but effective measures costing little money. The owners will be on hand to chat about their experience in creating more eco-friendly homes. |
On Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 July the events are in Wirksworth and Belper.
Find out more on their websites including how to book a tour: Belper and Wirksworth
Information on the Belper website will be available by Friday 14 July at the latest but in the meantime you can get more information and make a booking by emailing: ChrisRing@TransitionBelper.org
The October events are the weekend of 7 and 8 October in Chesterfield and Hope Valley. Visit and watch these spaces for more information: Chesterfield and Hope Valley
If you are considering using a tradesperson to do any work on your home you should always ensure they are Trustmark registered or listed on Derbyshire County Council’s Trusted Trader register
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