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April 2019
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Welcome to the latest edition of our online newsletter for residents.
What you get for your money
You should have received your Council Tax bill for 2019/2020 last month. Most Wyre Forest residents saw their bills increase by around £80, but did you know only approximately £5 of that is for the district council? The majority goes to other bodies such as the county council, police and fire and they all put their share up by a bigger percentage than the district council. We do have a big funding gap, but we are working hard to reduce it and generate income in other ways. This is to try to protect the services you value. We included a leaflet explaining more with your bill but you can also read about our plans online.
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Got 5?
Five minutes is all it takes to register to vote online. You will need your National Insurance number but that’s it! We have elections for all 33 seats on Wyre Forest District Council on Thursday 2 May. There are also parish and town council elections. If you are not already registered, recently moved home or just turned 18, you need to register by Friday 12 April. If you’re interested in standing in the election you will need to submit signed nomination papers by 4pm on Wednesday 3 April. More information and nominations packs are available from our Be A Councillor webpage.
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New season ticket offers savings
If you regularly park in Kidderminster town centre you could save hundreds of pounds a year by buying one of our new value parking season tickets. For less than £1 a day you can park all day, every day in Bromsgrove Street Car Park. Monthly, six monthly or a yearly pass are available and there are payment options. The yearly pass costs £300, which is a saving of £406 on the price of a full unrestricted season ticket. All the details, terms and conditions are on our application page.
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Go large and hire a Jumbo Bin!
Hire a Jumbo Bin from our Depot and save yourself time, money and the inconvenience of taking waste to the tip. The new service will give you a hassle free way to dispose of unwanted household waste, or you can hire one for garden waste. Hiring a Jumbo Bin (1100 litre) costs just £79 and you can decide how long you would like to hire it for, from 5 to 21 days.
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Easter activities ‘egg’stravaganza
From bunny bags to Easter wreaths and chick egg cups there are lots of fantastic craft projects for youngsters to take part in at Bewdley Museum this Easter. There are daily activities from 11am to 3.30pm in the Sawyard. It costs £4 per child, there’s no need to book, but we do ask you stay to supervise! We are also holding an egg hunt on Sunday 21 April, 12m-3pm around the beautiful Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Gardens. £3 per child.
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Explore our wedding venues
Come along to discover our magical wedding venue set in the heart of Bewdley. We are holding an open day for couples to explore all the options for their big day at Bewdley museum. There is the impressive Guildhall, the historic Shambles the charming Sawyard, and the outdoor Green Theatre in beautiful Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Gardens. Join us for a tour and a prosecco on Saturday 27 April between 11am and 1pm.
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Helping you go greener
How can you be more ‘green’?! We will be highlighting ways you can reduce, reuse, recycle and repair at our Greener Living Fair in Bewdley. Find out about the alternatives to single use plastics and refillable cleaning/ toiletry products will be on sale - don’t forget bring your refillable containers. There will be activities for the children, including recycled arts and crafts and seed planting. Children (and adults) will also have the chance to meet a range of reptiles, amphibians, tarantulas and other invertebrates! Find out about conservation projects and watch a cookery demonstration. Entertainment includes morris dancing and a ukulele band. Saturday 6 April, 10.30am – 2.30pm at Bewdley Museum and St. George’s Hall Bewdley.
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Is volunteering for you?
Building on the success of last year's volunteer fair we have teamed up with Kidderminster College and the Jobcentre to bring you two volunteers and skills fairs in 2019. Come along to meet some of the local organisations who can help you gain valuable work experience, learn new skills, make new friends and improve your own wellbeing all whilst giving back to your local community. We will be at Kidderminster Town Hall on Thursday 16 May between 10am and 2pm and at Stourport Civic Hall on Thursday 17 October between 10am and 2pm.
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Help our heritage project
Many thanks to everyone who took part in our survey about Brinton Park. The results can be viewed here. There is a lot of work going into our project to gain funding to restore the park for future generations. We have carried out a business survey to see if there is a demand for the use of the Sons of Rest / Community Pavilion in Brinton Park and during March some of our volunteers are conducting an observation study on the park’s visitors. This information will help create evidence and demonstrate that there is local support for the project, which we can then present to the National Lottery Heritage Fund in our second application for more funding. If you would like to get involved we have an Easter Egg hunt for under 11s on Saturday 20 April and we are working with the litter picking group the Pickup Artists for a mass clean up on Tuesday 30 April. Information about the project, volunteering and events in the park is available from the Brinton Park website.
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