Council and district news

Elections

Your vote is yours alone. Whether you vote at a polling station, by post, or via a proxy, it’s your decision. It’s illegal for anyone, even a partner, family member or friend, to influence you to vote against your will.

Electoral fraud can take many different forms, including:

• undue influence - no one is allowed to intimidate you into voting a certain way, such as by threatening you with injury, damage or harm.
• bribery - it’s illegal to offer bribes such as money or gifts, directly or indirectly, to persuade you to vote a certain way or not to vote at all.
• personation - no one is allowed to pretend to be you in order to use your vote, whether it’s a postal vote or at the polling station. In addition, no one is allowed to vote by pretending to be someone who has died or is completely fictional.
• applying for a vote under false pretences - it’s illegal to apply for a proxy, or postal vote, using false details or under false pretences.
• asking you to show your completed ballot paper - it is an offence for someone to directly or indirectly persuade you to display your ballot paper after you have completed it so they can see who you have voted for.

If someone tries to take the vote of anyone you know, call us anonymously on 0800 555 111 or report it online

Funding opportunities drop-in session

South Staffordshire Council is hosting a drop-in funding session at the Codsall Community Hub on April 11^th,  4-6pm. 

The funding opportunities available are:

• Community wellbeing funding:
• Health Inequalities Fund
• South Staffordshire Community Wellbeing Fund
• West Midlands Interchange (WMI) Project Community Fund
• Community is the Best Medicine
• UK Shared Prosperity fund

The session is for those wishing to learn more about these and how to make an application - officers will be on hand to answer your questions. 

No need to book – just pop in!

For further information about the community lottery funding, click here.

For further information about the community wellbeing funding, click here.

For further information about the UK Shared Prosperity fund, click here.

Vacancies

• Planning Solicitor, open closing date
• Casual/Relief Ranger Baggeridge Country Park, closing on March 24th

All vacancies can be viewed in full and applied for on our recruitment site: https://www.sstaffs.gov.uk/vacancies

Leisure latest

Our offer

South Staffordshire Council’s leisure centres are running an offer on memberships this April, enabling new joiners to sign up for just £20. 

Normal payments start June 1st, which means that customers can enjoy April and May for just £20!

For full details, click here.

Easter activities for children

Easter school holiday activity camps are available at Codsall and Wombourne Leisure Centres for young people aged 5-14 years old.  Use the code EASTERFLY24 for a 15% discount. For details and to book; click here.

Active youth, students and apprentices

South Staffordshire Council’s leisure centres provide a range of activities and schemes for young people which are available all year round. The leisure centres run ‘Active Youth’ sessions. These are supervised gym sessions for young people aged 13 years+.  For full details on all the activities, visit https://www.sstaffs.gov.uk/sports-and-fitness/school-holiday-activities

The leisure centres are also offering students and apprentices discounted memberships packages. For further details; click here.

Swimming Teachers Association training courses

Wombourne Leisure Centre is holding a training course this Easter for people to qualify in the Swimming Teachers Association  Award Course in Teaching Swimming. The Award Course is the first qualification required to enable candidates to instruct swimming lessons. Course information STA Level 2 Award Course in Teaching Swimming Date: March 24th– 29th Cost: £295 for the course For more information, click here. Potential funding is available for our courses. To find out more regarding eligibility please call 01902 696228 or email peopleandskills@sstaffs.gov.uk

Gentle exercise in Featherstone

South Staffordshire Council want to encourage healthy aging and an active retirement.

As part of our Health and Wellbeing in the community, a gentle exercise class which is aimed at older people takes place at Featherstone Community Centre on Tuesdays at 10am. 

The class is friendly, welcoming and suitable for all abilities with tea and coffee available after the class.

For further information, please contact Louise Colman on 07939631131 or email louisecolman07@gmail.com

Partnership updates

Road safety

Following a higher number of fatalities on Staffordshire’s roads during 2023, Staffordshire Police and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue services are encouraging drivers to take extra care on their journeys. Nearly half of serious or fatal road collisions in Staffordshire in 2023 were caused by driver error. When driving, please give the road your full concentration to stay safe when driving as hazards can appear at any moment. Don’t be complacent when driving even if you know the road well or you are only travelling a short distance; you still need to pay full attention to your driving and: always consider other road users on your journey. Drive with courtesy and consideration to make sure every road user reaches their destination safely. always travel appropriately for the road and the conditions. The speed limit is a maximum rather than a target and you should adjust your speed for the conditions.

Poor driving such as; over confidence, rushing to a destination or not paying full attention can cause collisions. Incidents caused through driver error are avoidable, you can make a difference to the safety of the road through your actions. The repercussions of a collision can be devastating and can affect more than the people involved – including family and emergency services staff.

Staffordshire County Council HAF

It’s back for the Easter holidays!  

The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme delivers inclusive, enriching activities including a hot meal over the school holidays. For the Easter holidays, eligible children can book four free places, up to­­­ four hours a day.

If your child is eligible for a free place on the HAF programme, their school will issue a letter with a HAF code. Booking opens at 4pm on March 11th. Quote your HAF code to get a free place.

If your child is not eligible for a free place but wants to attend, most of our clubs offer paid places too!

The Staffordshire HAF programme is aimed at 5-16 year olds and will run at various locations in local areas between March 25th and April 5th. 

Activities include dodgeball, cooking, horse-riding, dance, football, swimming, arts and crafts, bushcraft and lots more! They’ll get a chance to make new friends, have fun and enjoy a healthy meal.

The scheme is funded by the Department for Education.

For more information and to book places, click here: Holiday Activities and Food - Staffordshire County Council

Village halls encouraged to ‘go green!’

Rural community buildings across the county will be considering how they can save energy and work with groups in their community to contribute to Net Zero this week as part of a national campaign led by Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE).

Run almost entirely by volunteers, village halls are a cornerstone of rural community life in Staffordshire providing what are often the only spaces where people can meet and socialise locally. They also sustain many livelihoods connected with use of the venue.

But many halls have struggled to meet increasing energy bills.

Campaign organisers, including local charity Support Staffordshire believe there is great potential to connect these concerns with broader action to address the climate emergency.

Village Halls Week 2024 is a call to action with management committees being encouraged to consider how they can ‘go green!’ – to safeguard their own future, and that of the wider environment.

The campaign is also encouraging village halls to work with and provide a space for environmentally minded groups and initiatives – from repair clubs, conservation volunteers to refill stations.

More information about the national campaign, including resources for getting involved is available on ACRE’s website.

Easter break

There will be no news roundups for two weeks.

The next publication will be April 12th.