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All Staff Webinar
In this month's all staff webinar we met the Facilities Management team, learned about upcoming Carbon Literacy Training heard about the Strategic Plan and Financial Update and more.
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Borough Insight Spring 2023
The Spring 2023 Edition of Borough Insight magazine is here and is being delivered to over 82,000 residential properties across the borough of Maidstone.
This edition of the magazine is an environmental special with articles all about the exciting community, business and MBC efforts to cut down on emissions, increase our recycling rate and to do our best for our borough and the planet.
There is also a handy pull-out brochure with quick and easy guides to what should go into residents' bins as well as top tips to reduce waste.
Borough Insight has already received positive feedback from readers, including a resident who said that this edition was "the best thing I have seen from MBC" and Cllr Martin Cox, who said:
"I’ve just received the Borough Insight Magazine which I am now reading – it looks great – in fact, it is brilliant; great setting and layout.
I love the cover too. Well done to all involved – please pass on my thanks."
The Communications Team would specifically like to thank Gemma Bailey, Biodiversity & Climate Engagement Officer, Graham Gosden, Waste Manager, Jennifer Stevens, Head of Environmental Services & Public Realm, and James Wilderspin, Biodiversity & Climate Change Manager, for their content, direction and passion for the project.
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Turkey: Sema's Story
The terrible earthquakes in Turkey and Syria are affecting people globally. Sadly this also includes some of our own staff. Sema Yurtman is a Graduate Planner in the Maidstone Borough Council Planning Team and has set up a JustGiving page to raise funds which she will arrange to be sent to local organisations in Hatay where her family's, friends' and neighbours' lives have been destroyed.
Thank you to everyone who has already donated to Sema's JustGiving page which has now raised over £1,600.
These donations have already helped to provide more that 40 tents, water, blankets and hygiene products which Sema's family and friends have been busy distributing.
Sema's hometown of Hatay
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Sema's father, brother and sisters distributing aid, including blankets and tents, to those in need.
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Sema's family and friends delivering donations purchased through your support.
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 Mid-Kent Services London Landmarks Half Marathon
We are proud to announce that three of our colleagues across the Mid-Kent Partnership will be running the London Landmarks Half Marathon in April. It's great to see this collaboration across MKS, and while Georgia Hawkes, Mid Kent Services Director, Catherine Harrison, Mid Kent Learning & Development Manager, and Paul Stevens, ICT Technical Analyst, will be running together, they are each fundraising for different, but brilliant, causes.
Please read their stories below and consider donating, if you can:
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Paul
I will be running for Diabetes UK. My best mate Jack is Diabetic Type 1 so I will be running for him and raising as much money as I can for this amazing charity. My target is £375, so if you would like to support me by making a donation, large or small, it would be much appreciated.
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Catherine
In many training courses I talk about the importance of setting goals and challenges, self-care and wellbeing, and giving something back, so here I am practicing what I preach. I’ve done a few Race for Life runs at Mote Park, but this is my first big running event. I am running for Great Ormond Street Hospital where my daughter had her most recent surgery; an amazing hospital providing fantastic care to children…and their parents.
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Georgia
I am not a natural runner. More a natural eater and drinker. This is my first half marathon and I questioned when I started if I could actually run 13.1 miles, but training is all going well and I even enjoy it from time to time! Having a goal and working to it does actually work! Who knew! I’m doing it to support an absolutely brilliant charity - King’s College Hospital – who saved my husband’s life after a fall in 2021 and then put him back together again. I’m so proud to be part of the Mid Kent Services London Landmarks half marathon contingent!
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Back to the Floor
This week John Littlemore, Head of Housing & Regulatory Services, went 'back to the floor' to spend a day on the front desk at Trinity. Here is John's account of the day, being on the frontline of Maidstone's housing hub:
An opportunity arose to get ‘back to the floor’ by providing cover for our Housing Team at Trinity while they attended Personal Best training. I parked myself on the reception desk and was quickly in the mix as over 20 people arrived to attend an excellent Trauma Awareness course being hosted at the venue.
Trinity also provides facilities for Maidstone’s One Stop Shop for domestic abuse support, and for mental health professionals within the Housing Team. Both services were well-used throughout the day and it was clear that they provide an invaluable service to our community.
Over the course of the day I greeted a number of people, some single and others with children, who had a range of housing issues. I was very impressed by how well the various teams within the Housing Service pulled together to ensure everyone received the best possible assistance.
The experience of being back on the frontline, taking time to talk with and advise applicants was very rewarding for me. As we bring forward our new Housing Strategy, it was a palpable reminder that helping our residents to overcome significant challenges is at the heart of what we do at Maidstone Borough Council.
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Strategic Housing Training
Earlier this week, Natalia Merritt, Housing Advice Manager, delivered a Strategic Housing training session for HM Prison staff including Governors, Officers and support workers based at HMP Elmley, HMP Standford Hill and HMP Swaleside.
The training gave an insight into housing legislation and the processes of support for incarcerated people that are homeless or at risk of homelessness on their release date.
The training was well received and in the exit survey, all who submitted a response said they could now confidently advise individuals about the homelessness process and could support them with their applications to the Local Authority.
Natalia's training has been featured in this week's HMP Elmley Governor's Bulletin and has received great feedback from the attendees:
Very informative! More face-to-face delivery please!
I would just like to thank you both for a very interesting morning.
It was really well presented, and I gained a lot of knowledge around the process I never knew before.
It was very informative and engaging. Thank you so much.
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Spring is on the way
Staff at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust have sent their thanks to the MBC Parks & Open Spaces Team as the flowers that were planted at the Trust a few years ago are starting to bloom again with the warmer weather.
The flowers, just outside the entrance to Maidstone Hospital, were planted as a mark of memorial to those we lost, and thanks to the staff who worked throughout the Covid pandemic. As the flowers begin to bloom again, they have brought a lot of cheer and comfort to patients and staff who have shared their lovely comments.
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Join the Pollution Patrol
Have you heard of Pollution Patrol? It's a great resource created by the Mid Kent Environmental Protection Team that teaches children about all the ways we can improve our air quality using interactive games and colourful characters, set in the fictional town of Sooting.
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Great British Spring Clean
Back for its eighth year, the Great British Spring Clean is the nation’s biggest mass-action environmental campaign.
The project, along with the Great Big School Clean will take place from 17 March to 2 April, and you can pledge to pick up a bag of litter – or more – from today.
Litter-picking is a simple action that anyone can do to make an immediate and visible difference to their area that will boost a sense of pride.
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David Warren, Housing Triage & Support Officer, has received a compliment from a resident at risk of homelessness for their support. They said:
As of Sunday I will be sleeping rough. I have received a Section 21 notice and have been dealing with David Warren who has been superb.
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The Team at Trinity has been thanked by Kent Police Officers after they worked collaboratively to assist an extremely vulnerable customer.
The Officer said:
Can I please also pass on my thanks to the team that were there to help at Trinity yesterday, they were brilliant.
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Get Around For £2 *Extended* until June!
With rising prices affecting the cost of living, now is the time to travel by bus for less than £2! It’s true. You can take a single journey and never pay more than £2*.
The Bus Fare Cap Grant scheme is a Government funded scheme being introduced on most single (including Child and Student) bus journeys offered by Stagecoach and Arriva across England from 1 January 2023 until 30 June 2023.
*Variations and exclusions apply.
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 Remember to tell your friends and family!
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GOT A STORY? EMAIL: COMMUNICATIONS@MAIDSTONE.GOV.UK |
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