Category Archives: Warwick District

Look and listen when you walk and talk

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The green cross code appears to have been rewritten as more as more pedestrians seem to stop, change a track, and make a phone call, than stop, look, and listen when crossing the road.

Using MP3 players, mobile phones and similar devices when walking near roads is a major distraction for pedestrians so a new road safety poster campaign has been launched to remind people to avoid danger by giving traffic their full concentration.

In 2011, 33 pedestrians were killed or seriously injured in road accidents in Warwickshire and a further 122 suffered slight injuries. It’s unclear how many of these deaths and injuries were the result of pedestrian distraction, but road safety professionals are concerned that this plays a part.

The campaign to reduce distraction is running across Warwickshire and West Mercia. It urges pedestrians to ‘stay alert to traffic’ and to avoid using phones or other similar devices when crossing the road or walking near traffic.

Traffic is the biggest cause of accidental death of 12 to 16 year olds so campaign posters will be distributed to secondary schools across Warwickshire over the coming weeks to warn young people of the potential dangers. Parents are also being asked to support the campaign by talking to their children about the dangers of not paying attention to traffic.

Warwickshire County Councillor Richard Hobbs, portfolio holder for community protection said: “The immense popularity of mobile phones and other portable devices presents a major risk to pedestrian safety. It’s not uncommon to see pedestrians so completely absorbed in their phones that they are entirely oblivious to where they are and what’s going on around them.

People are increasingly using mobile phones on the move to perform complex tasks that demand a huge amount of attention, such as texting, accessing emails and the internet, updating social media or making use of apps. If you are focused on texting or selecting a play list you can’t be fully aware of traffic. It’s a recipe for disaster.”

Warwickshire Police Head of Incident Resolution, Superintendent Adrian McGee added: “This may appear to be a trivial issue to some but the risks are clear. It is all too easy for an inattentive pedestrian using a mobile phone to take a quick glance before stepping off the kerb to cross when they should take the time to look both ways properly. This makes it easy to miss an approaching vehicle.

“Similarly a pedestrian listening to music impairs their ability to hear approaching traffic. Pedestrians need to be aware of the risks they are unknowingly taking and ask themselves how important is that text , everyone needs to take more responsibility for their personal safety.”

Free parking for Warwick visitors

Warwickshire County Council and Warwick District Council are putting out the positive message that Warwick is open for business by offering free parking in the town centre at weekends.

Warwick town centre is currently undergoing improvements to High Street and Jury Street and as an act of goodwill to businesses and visitors the county council and district council are relaxing the rules to allow motorists to park for free on Saturdays and Sundays for the next three weekends.

From this Saturday (May 19), the county council will waive the charges for on-street parking and Warwick District Council will do the same for its off-street town centre car parks at West Gate, New Street, The Butts, Barrack Street, Linen Street, Priory Road, and Castle Lane. These measures will be in place on May 19 and 20, May 26 and 27, and June 2 and 3.

Cllr Peter Butlin, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transport, said: “We recognise that there has been disruption in Warwick while the town centre improvements have been carried out, and have decided to offer free parking as a gesture of goodwill. We hope this encourages shoppers to enjoy their time in the town and stay longer without having to worry about the cost.

“Warwick remains well and truly open for business and we thank everyone for their patience while these works are being carried out. Once completed, High Street and Jury Street will be much more user-friendly for pedestrians and have considerable long-term benefits for the town.”

Cllr Dave Shilton, Warwick District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhood added, “We are well aware of the difficulties that drivers are experiencing in travelling in and out of Warwick town centre at the moment.  We hope that by offering free parking at seven of our car parks in the town, residents and visitors will be encouraged to continue with their usual visits into the town centre.”

During the improvement works, businesses have remained open as normal and traffic patterns have settled down after initial delays caused by the diversions.

The county council is continuing to endeavour to keep disruption to a minimum and ask that people bear with us while the work is completed.

For more information on the Warwick improvements visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/highstjuryst

Details on parking in Warwick district can be found at www.warwickdc.gov.uk/WDC/roads-parking-and-transport

Young Firefighters celebrate cheque presentation with Waitrose!

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Young Firefighters from Kenilworth are celebrating this week after receiving a cheque from Waitrose for £464

Warwickshire County Council’s Young Firefighters Association, were put forward for the Waitrose initiative ‘Community Matters’ after being approached by a cadet from the Kenilworth YFA branch.  The initiative allocates £1,000 a month to each of Waitrose’s 190 branches to distribute amongst three local community projects. The YFA were chosen by shoppers as their charity of the month which earned the Association £464 to help with costs towards an outdoor activity weekend.

Young Firefighters Association Co-ordinator, Sue Such said

“We would really like to thank Waitrose and their customers for making us their charity of the month. The money we have received will be used to enhance the facilities we have available for young people from the Warwick and Kenilworth area to use.

“At present we have 13 young firefighters at this branch who meet once a week for two hours. During that time they undertake training in ladder and hose drills, take part in competitions and carry out work in their local community.”

Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Gary Phillips said:

“I am delighted that our Young Firefighters have been nominated to receive this funding from Waitrose and the local community.

“The nomination for the YFA came from one of our cadets, George Halpin, who used his own initiative to approach Waitrose about the ‘Community Matters’ initiative.  This is really commendable and I am honoured to be part of a presentation event which highlights just how committed our young people are to the Service.”

The YFA in Warwickshire has been running since 1997. Meeting at least once a week on local fire stations young people can get involved in a variety of fun and challenging fire service related tasks and activities. These include:

  • Marching
  • Fire Service Drills
  • Parades
  • Pitching Ladders
  • Hose Running

For further information on the Young Firefighters Association, log onto http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/yfa
 

 

 

 

 

 

How do we know? Whodunnit

Hear and read about crime stories from the past at the ‘Whodunnit’ investigative session on Saturday 26th May at Warwickshire County Record Office.

CR2212 Photograph of Mary Ann Clifford taken from the Known Thieves Album at Warwickshire County Record office. Ms Clifford, was found guilty of pedalling bogus birth control potions in the 19th century.

The latest in Warwickshire County Council’s Heritage and Culture’s How Do We Know? series focuses on the criminal records held at the record office and online.  The session will explore the English justice system from the medieval period onwards.

The activity will appeal to those with an interest in both local and family history and participants will be able to study and search for records themselves.

How Do We Know?  is a series of discovery sessions involving lively discussions, artefacts, archives, specimens and illuminating information about Warwickshire’s past.  Held in the spacious searchroom at Warwickshire County Record Office, these regular sessions will focus on different topics across the Warwickshire Museum collections, including archaeology, geology, social history and archives.

How Do We Know … Whodunnit? takes place on Saturday 26th May at 2pm at Warwickshire County Record Office, Priory Park, off Cape Road, Warwick, CV34 4JS. The session costs £6 (concessions £5)..Please call 01926 738959 to book your place.

Line the Streets for the torch

The Olympic Flame starts its’ epic 70 day journey around the UK this month and to mark the occasion Warwickshire County Council is urging as many people as possible to ‘Line the Streets’ when it arrives in the county on July 1.

Local Leaders of the 2012 Games and community groups are already getting their neighbours, friends and family together to support their Local Torchbearer and show the world how proud they are of the place where they live.

Games organisers are urging people to make maracas and shakers, hang bunting, bake flame ‘cone-cakes’, plant golden marigolds, dress up in gold and make some noise to welcome and celebrate the arrival of the Olympic Torch. Downloadable toolkits, posters and save the date cards are available to help along the way from the Line the Streets webpage at www.london2012.com/join-in/local-leaders/line-the-streets/

Julie Crawshaw, Warwickshire County Council’s Olympic co-ordinator, said: “The Warwickshire weekend on July 1 is our opportunity to get into the Olympic spirit and welcome the torch as it makes its way through the county. There are many events being planned and we hope our residents will line the streets in their thousands.”

On Sunday 1 July and Monday 2 July communities in Alcester, Newbold-on-Stour, Alderminster, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, Leamington, Kenilworth, and Rugby will share in the excitement of the Relay as it travels through Warwickshire.

The route takes in major streets in the county including Shipston Road in Stratford, West Street in Warwick, The Parade in Leamington, Castle Road in Kenilworth and Lawford Road into Rugby.

The streets along the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay can be viewed in full at www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelay, which gives street-by-street details and proposed start times for when the Olympic Flame will travel through Warwickshire. Residents living in and around the county can find out when it will be travelling along their nearest high street, through their town square or past their local village shop.

The county council is encouraging as many people as possible to sign up as Local Leaders at www.london2012.com/localleaders and help organise the celebrations in your local area.

Residents are also being asked to tell the Games organisers how they are celebrating, so they can use their examples to inspire others. To do this all they need to do is email TellTom@london2012.com

‘Give Back to the Earth’ this Compost Awareness Week

The twelfth annual international Compost Awareness Week (CAW) will be held from Sunday 6th to Saturday 12th May 2012. The Warwickshire Waste Partnership is encouraging residents to “Give Back to the Earth” in line with this year’s theme to promote the making and use of compost at home.

During the week, the partnership plans to stage a series of compost sales around the county and promote the benefits of composting.

Green waste collected from households is delivered to large scale composting facilities, which, once composted down, results in a nutrient rich soil improver ideal for enriching flower and vegetable borders or using as part of a potting mix.

Warwick District Council and SITA UK are offering bags of locally produced compost, made from the County’s green bin collections, for just £2.50 per 20kg bag. The offer is for Warwick District residents who visit SITA’s depot at 10 Blick Road, Heathcote Industrial Estate, Warwick, CV34 6TA between 9am and 12noon from Tuesday 8th May – Saturday 12th May to make a cash purchase.

40 litre bags of compost will also be on sale at the following re-use shops at Warwickshire’s Household Waste Recycling Centres;

Age UK at Hunters Lane Recycling Centre in Rugby – £2.99 per bag or 10 bags for £25.

  • The Shakespeare Hospice at Burton Farm in Stratford – £3 per bag
  • Action 21, Re-useful Centre, Ramsey Road, Leamington Spa – £3 per bag or 2 bags for £5.

Cllr Alan Cockburn, Chair of the Warwickshire waste Partnership, said: “Most people do not realise that up to 30 per cent of their household bin is made up of organic waste which can be turned into compost. Composting is an inexpensive, natural process that transforms your kitchen and garden waste into a valuable and nutrient rich food for your garden. It is both easy to make and use. Home compost can improve soil structure, maintain moisture levels and help to keep your soil’s PH balance in check while helping to suppress plant disease.”

UK households in England throw away around 4 million tonnes of waste every year that could have been composted. Home composting not only helps to significantly reduce carbon emissions, it can also be used as an effective and sustainable waste management method to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

For those interested in home composting, now is the perfect time to get started. Through the Warwickshire Waste Partnership, householders can purchase home compost bins for as little as £16 for the 220 litre capacity and £19 for the larger 330 litre bin.

For further information about these products, please call 0844 571 4444.  Alternatively, you can also order your home composters and composting accessories online, just visit www.getcomposting.com