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June 2021
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Welcome to the latest edition of our online newsletter for residents.
Keep playing your part
One in three people with COVID-19 have no symptoms and are unaware they could be spreading the virus. This is why it is so important to continue with regular rapid flow testing.
Public Health in Worcestershire recommends taking a rapid flow test twice a week. Information about how to get a test is on the county council's website.
However, if you have symptoms of COVID-19 please stay at home and book a PCR test.
And when you are called for a vaccine, please take up the offer. Vaccines are safe and are one of the ways to keep ourselves, our loved ones and community safe.
Let's all keep playing our part!
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Help if you need to self isolate
If you test positive for coronavirus or have been identified as a contact by NHS Test and Trace, you must now self-isolate by law.
A new £500 lump sum self-isolation support payment is available to help people on low incomes who are unable to work from home if they are told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace and will lose income as a result.
Worcestershire's Here2Help community service is available for people who may need assistance. More inforation can be found on their website.
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All change at the top!
Wyre Forest District Council has a new Leader and Chairman, elected at the annual council meeting on 12 May.
Councillor Helen Dyke is the new council leader, following the decision by Councillor Graham Ballinger to step down from the top job.
Councillor John Aston takes over as Chairman of the Council from Councillor Shazu Miah, who held the position for an unusual two years due to the pandemic.
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Election results
On Thursday 6 May, we had local elections in Wyre Forest for Worcestershire County Council, Kidderminster Town Council, West Mercia Police & Crime Commissioner and the Bewdley Town Council by-election.
A full breakdown of results from each election can be found on our website.
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MacDonald Sisters exhibition
A major new art exhibition has opened at Bewdley Museum featuring works of national significance highlighting the lives of four extraordinary Victorian women.
The Macdonald Sisters tells the stories of Alice, Georgiana, Agnes and Louisa Macdonald.
Born into an unremarkable Victorian family, they went on to forge connections with some of the most celebrated artists and thinkers of their time including William Morris, Ford Maddox Brown and John Ruskin.
The exhibition runs daily from 11am until 4pm until 15 August. There is a small admission charge of £4 - under 16s and Friends of Bewdley Museum enter for free.
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Pirates ahoy as work starts on play ship
Young pirates are expected to descend on Stourport riverside this summer to plunder a new major play attraction!
Wyre Forest District Council has commissioned a specialist play company to install the new pirate-themed pirate ship which should be open in time for the summer school holidays.
It’s part of a series of ongoing improvements being made at the riverside as part of the Stourport Riverside Masterplan project.
The project is being funded from a section 106 agreement. This is when a legal agreement is made between Local Authorities and developers; these are linked to planning permissions and can also be known as planning obligations.
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Help us to help you
It is becoming more common that we can't empty bins due to residents parking their vehicles inconsiderably and our vehicles not being able to get past.
Our bin lorries are 26 tonne trucks, they are 2.5 metres wide and need a specially qualified driver. They each cover up to 350 miles a week but they cannot reach your home if the road is blocked.
The cars are often parked legally but not in a way which makes it possible for our collection lorries to negotiate the narrower streets. If we are struggling to get through - emergency vehicles will too.
Please:
- Park close to the kerb
- Leave enough space for our bin lorries, a fire engine or an ambulance to pass
- Leave extra room near tight corners
- Fold in your wing mirrors
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Join in the Great British spring clean!
Communities up and down the country are taking part in Keep Britain Tidy's Great British Spring Clean this month.
During the campaign the environmental charity is inviting volunteers to join their #MillionMileMission and show some love for those special places that helped us though lockdown.
Wyre Forest is of course home to the very active Kidderminster Pickup Artists, which now has volunteers regularly litter picking across the whole district.
We are proud to be working in partnership with the group, providing equipment and collecting bagged litter at the end of each session.
We will continue to do all we can as a council to combat litter by working with local residents, running public information campaigns and issuing fixed penalty notices when we have evidence.
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Check out our new website
Have you visited our new-look website in the last couple of weeks? If not pop over and take a look.
The new site is easier to navigate with an improved search function and complies with more stringent accessibility standards.
Improving the website is part of an ongoing programme to transform the council’s digital services.
Have a look and please don't forget to send us your feedback!
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Helping hand with fuel bills
Families who are struggling to pay fuel bills due to Covid or can't afford to fix old and broken boilers may be able to get financial help under a new scheme that will run until the end of the month.
The scheme is being run by Act on Energy for residents in Worcestershire who meet certain criteria. The Worcestershire Crisis Fund will close at the end of June.
Applications can be made by calling Freephone 0800 988 2881 or by emailing advice@actonenergy.org.uk
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Tackling climate change through art
Wyre Forest District Council is working with the newly formed Wyre Forest Green Alliance, set up to take action to tackle climate change.
The alliance's first major event is to organise a community arts project, “Art4PlanetEarth” - to raise awareness of COP26 , the Climate Emergency Summit that the UK Government is hosting in November.
Art 4 Planet Earth will be a virtual online and a ‘real’ art exhibition (Covid restrictions allowing), taking place in October.
Everyone in the Wyre Forest – children, adults, groups, schools and businesses – is invited to get creative and show their love and concern for planet earth. The online exhibition is now open for submissions and all types of art are welcome, including paintings, poetry, dance, drama, textiles, pottery, photography, videos, posters. Find out more or submit your work via the link below.
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Be part of the "collective"
Organisers of next year's Commonwealth Games are now inviting applications for more than 13,000 volunteers to help out at the event in Birmingham next year.
If you think you have what it takes to help deliver the biggest sporting and cultural event the West Midlands has ever seen, then take a closer look at all of the volunteering opportunities available. The army of volunteers will be known as the Commonwealth Collective.
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