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Friday 22 July
A vigil will be held by the local community to commemorate the 12-month anniversary of the Keyham tragedy.
On Friday 12 August there will also be a civic ceremony at St Andrew’s Church in Royal Parade for invited guests, who will include the first responders on the scene.
At 7pm on the same day a vigil will take place for the Keyham community in North Down Crescent Park. The wider Plymouth community will also be able to pay their respects and light candles near Smeaton’s Tower on the Hoe from the same time.
Trained staff, including members of Victim Support, will be present at a number of community venues on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 August to offer support to anyone who needs it. These venues will be listed on the Plymouth Together website.
From the Friday to the Sunday, appropriate artwork, designed by young people in Keyham, will be projected onto Smeaton’s Tower and Theatre Royal Plymouth.
If anyone has been affected by what happened in Keyham the Plymouth Together website features a large range of support and help options for adults, children and families.
A permanent memorial to those who lost their lives is still under consultation with the families, the survivors and the community.
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COVID-19 rates are still rising in Plymouth, with 1,115 new cases recorded in a week, compared to 877 the previous week.
These figures only reflect those who are testing and reporting the results. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) coronavirus survey show one in 17 people in England has COVID-19.
Ruth Harrell, Plymouth's Director of Public Health, has urged Plymouth residents to take extra care while rates in the city so high and to help reduce the spread by staying at home if they feel unwell.
The Government has announced an autumn booster and flu vaccine programme for people aged 50 or over and details will be announced nearer the time. In the meantime, if you haven't already had your spring booster, you can still get it. Walk-in sessions are available or you can book online.
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Plymouth’s waterfront will be the focus of lots of great events over the coming weeks.
The National Marine Park Big Blue Splash takes place this weekend (23 and 24 July), giving everyone the chance to enjoy and explore our amazing National Marine Park.
If you haven’t managed to book an activity in advance, there’s still plenty to enjoy over the weekend. Head to Tinside Lido and Cove between 10am and 4pm each day to try rock pooling, a beach explorer session or riding an e-bike. There will also be face painters, entertainment from the Barbican Theatre, music and food.
Over at the Mount Batten Watersports and Activities Centre there will be free stand up paddle boarding taster sessions.
The following weekend (30 and 31 July) the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix returns to Plymouth with 10 international teams competing in short, intense races. Sir Ben Ainslie is leading the GBR team in the competition, which will see hydro foiling F50 catamarans, flying at speeds approaching 100 km/h.
For the best experience, grab a ticket to the race village on Plymouth Hoe. Tickets start at just £5 plus booking fee for adults, and free for all under 18s. You’ll get a great view of the racing over Plymouth Sound with big screens and live commentary, as well as extra entertainment and a great line-up of local food and drink traders.
New this year, you can also visit the Blue Green Village, which will be free for everyone to enjoy on the Hoe. Here you can enjoy interactive activities and games, rock pooling experiences, face painting and arts and crafts.
If you fancy watching classic films against the stunning backdrop of Plymouth Sound there’s a programme of Open Air Cinema at Tinside Lido throughout August.
And it’s not summer in Plymouth without the British Firework Championships, which takes place on 17 and 18 August.
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Tinside Lido was transformed into an outdoor classroom for two days this week when hundreds of schoolchildren engaged with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) activities.
Around 400 pupils from Years 5 to 8 got involved in interactive experiments, making and racing sailing boats and controlling hi-tech remote-operated vehicles.
They were able to hear from employers such as Babcock, CityFibre and City College Plymouth about the varied careers available.
Children will also be among the first to add their artwork to a giant aerial view of the National Marine Park, demonstrating what the UK’s first ‘Park in the Sea’ means to them, as well as learning more about climate change and how the sea is helping to combat it.
Their work will be attached to a big canvas representing an aerial view of Plymouth Sound, which will be available for everyone to contribute to during the SailGP weekend.
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We all know how frustrating it is to be caught up in roadworks on our daily journeys.
There's a number of schemes and works under way at the moment and Cabinet Member for Transport, Councillor Jonathan Drean, says he understands the frustrations, particularly for those who have to travel to and from the north of the city.
In a letter to Plymouth residents and businesses, Councillor Drean explains why a number of roadworks are taking place now and how the Council works hard to minimise the disruption to travel as it invests in a better network to meet the city’s present and future needs.
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A disused Council depot is set to make way for a new care facility.
We have awarded a contract for the demolition of the Outland Road depot on the fringes of Central Park to make way for a new purpose-built facility for some of Plymouth most vulnerable adults.
The new centre will combine specialist emergency and planned respite/day care services for people with complex physical and learning disabilities.
We have invested £10 million to kick-start the scheme, which will provide a range of modern en-suite bedrooms and flats specifically designed to maximise independence and allow support for adults with a wide range disabilities.
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Our Natural Infrastructure Officer Jane Ashford has been exploring what’s growing under our feet this summer with a series of videos about Plymouth’s wildflowers.
We’re managing 40 per cent of our grass for nature this year to encourage insects and pollinators to thrive.
Some residents have contacted us to say that they haven't managed to see many flowers where they live, only long grass.
In her latest video Jane is in Radford Park in Plymstock to explain why just being able to find grass isn't such a bad thing and looks at the variety of grasses now flowering.
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We are still looking for friendly and reliable people who are interested in being involved in some of Plymouth’s most exciting events as volunteers.
Those joining the Ocean City Volunteering Team are amongst the first to hear about new volunteering opportunities at events such as the National Marine Park Big Blue Splash and SailGP.
Typical tasks might include: welcoming spectators to event sites, helping set-up and pack down events, providing information to participants and spectators, signposting spectators around the event and supporting environmental issues
Signing up as an event volunteer doesn’t commit you – it just means you’ll receive details of volunteering opportunities coming up.
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The Mayflower Museum on the Barbican has re-opened following a major overhaul of its displays.
The refurbishment brings together materials from the Mayflower 400: Legend and Legacy exhibition, which was on display in the city during 2020/21, and the Wampum: Stories from the Shells of Native America exhibition which toured nationally over the same period.
Images featuring the faces of descendants of the Mayflower passengers, as well as descendants of the Wampanoag people who met them just over 400 years ago, are now on display.
There's also a new children’s trail to help younger visitors learn about more Wampanoag life and culture, as well as the Mayflower and its passengers.
An animation called Turtle Island, which was created for children and young people, is also on show for the first time and helps tell the story of the emergence of America.
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