Tag Archives: Sustainable communities

Warwickshire’s Country Parks’ Big Jubilee Picnic

Warwickshire’s Country Parks are joining in this year with the ‘Big Lunch’ celebrations by hosting a family picnic day on Sunday 3 June at both Kingsbury Water Park North Warwickshire and at Ryton Pools Country Park near Rugby.

Starting from midday, the idea is for visitors to come along to the country park with family and friends, a picnic blanket and picnic lunch, and enjoy some quality time in the sunshine!

There will be a children’s fancy dress competition at 4pm with a theme of ‘Kings and Queens’ so parents who gets their kids dressed up can win a prize of a £10 voucher.

At Kingsbury, Echills Wood Railway will be running trains all over the bank holiday weekend, and the donkeys and boats will be on site, subject to weather.

In addition children can complete the ‘Summer Spotter’ sheets to see if they can spot different things around the park. At Ryton Pools youngsters can take a ‘Springwatch Trail’ following clues to crack the code and complete a Springwatch challenge. Trail and Spotter sheets are available from the Visitor Centres.

The fourth annual Big Lunch event falls on the same weekend as the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Anyone who would like to celebrate and commemorate the Queen’s 60 year reign who is not already going to a street party, can come and join us at the parks. No barbecues are allowed on site.

Cllr Helen Walton, Warwickshire County Council’s spokesperson for Country Parks, said: “Some 10 million people came out in sunny 1977 to celebrate the Silver Jubilee so we hope a large number of people will take part in our very first ‘Big Picnic’ in 2012.

“We hope to see a patchwork quilt of blankets out on our events fields on Sunday 3 June. The Big Lunch is all about community, friendship and fun, so bring along your outdoor games, share out the sausage rolls and make new friends.”

The Big Jubilee Lunch will be a part of the main programme of events over the central weekend of Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June.  During this special week Warwickshire’s Country Parks service has a whole host of events on in the parks to celebrate.

Here is just a flavour of what’s on:

Monday 4th June – Green Man Masks at Pooley Country Park

Tuesday 5th June – Outdoor Art at Pooley Country Park

Wednesday 6th June – Green Men at Kingsbury Water Park

Wednesday 6th June – Small mammals up close at Ryton Pools Country Park

Wednesday 6th June – Ladybird hats at Pooley Country Park

Wednesday 6th June – Toddler Trundle at Ryton Pools Country Park

Thursday 7th June – Beetle Mania at Kingsbury Water Park

Thursday 7th June – Jellyfish windsocks at Ryton Pools Country Park

Thursday 7th June – Bugs on Sticks at Pooley Country Park

Friday 8th June – Summer Swimmers at Kingsbury Water Park

Friday 8th June – Fishy underwater world at Ryton Pools Country Park

All events are bookable, for more information and prices please visit the website and download the events booklet at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/parks or call on 01827 872660.

Household Waste Recycling Centre opening

On Bank Holiday Monday the following Household Waste Recycling Centres will be OPEN:

Princes Drive Leamington
Hunters Lane Rugby
Judkins Tuttle Hill Nuneaton
Burton Farm A46/Bishopton-Stratford.

The following sites will be CLOSED:

Cherry Orchard Pipers Lane Kenilworth
Grendon Spon Lane Grendon
Wellesbourne Loxley Road Wellesbourne
Shipston Brailes Road Shipston
Stockton Rugby Road Southam 

Opening Hours are listed on the website at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/hwrc

‘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

Bumper year for country park visitor numbers

Warwickshire’s Country Parks have enjoyed a record breaking year with more people enjoying the parks than ever before.

Visitor numbers, at Kingsbury Water Park were up 8.6 per cent on last year, with record breaking visitor numbers in April, August and October meaning shorts, T-shirts and ice-creams flavour of the month in the ‘Indian summer’ sunshine! The New Year was also off to a great start thanks to the fine early Spring weather.

Cllr Alan Cockburn, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Communities, said: “It is fantastic to see our country parks doing so well and it is testament to our hard working staff, volunteers and partners who work so hard to keep the sites so clean and welcoming and offering terrific value.”

Country Parks Manager Paula Cheesman added: “The economic downturn and the rise of the ‘staycation’ has meant that people are looking for great value local days out for the family – and Warwickshire’s country parks are the perfect place to visit.

“The new Lake View play area installed at Kingsbury last July has been a huge hit, alongside a great events programme providing activities for all ages during the school holidays.”

The country parks service continues to develop, and in response to our visitor surveys we have introduced pedal boat hire at Kingsbury this season, a new toilet block/tea kiosk at Hartshill Hayes is currently under construction, and an exciting new play area is coming to Ryton Pools Country Park later this year.

Green spaces can play a vital role in our health and well-being and access to a park or green space can have wide-ranging benefits through exercise, fresh air, informal sport. access to nature or just somewhere to relax and unwind.

Warwickshire’s country parks comprise over 1,500 acres of the finest countryside offering something for everyone.  For more details log on to www.warwickshire.gov.uk/parks, visit the Facebook page, or pick up a free events booklet from our Visitor Centres at Kingsbury, Pooley or Ryton.

 

Suppliers invited to engage with superfast broadband project

Warwickshire County Council is calling on suppliers to register their interest if they hope to get work from the superfast broadband project.

The project aims to provide superfast broadband speeds across Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire, but is concentrating on the rural areas, where there have traditionally been much poorer broadband services available.

Cllr Alan Cockburn, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Communities, said: “We see this as a real opportunity for local businesses to get involved in this exciting project. We are hoping to tender for a main contractor in the autumn and will be using the BDUK framework for this. However, there will also be a need for sub-contractors across a wide range of disciplines and trades, and we would like to see local businesses having an opportunity to bid for that work.

“Potential work packages might include areas such as surveying, civil engineering or cable laying, but also includes wireless and other broadband suppliers and a host of other services. While we will not be engaging these trades directly, we can make sure that our main contractor is aware of the very broad range of skills and services that are available within our sub-region.”

The superfast broadband project currently has funding of over £8m for the delivery of a wholesale network in the area, and it is anticipated that there will be further significant investment in the future. To register go to www.cswbroadband.org.uk and look for the suppliers tab, or for more information email broadband@warwickshire.gov.uk

Health and Wellbeing Blog Launched!

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Warwickshire’s Health and Wellbeing Board have been celebrating the launch of a new Health and Wellbeing blog.

The aim of the blog is to give our residents news and information about the important health issues affecting them within the County.  Those visiting the site will be able to see details on local health initiatives, agendas and minutes of all meetings, information on board members and information on how the board will work together to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes for the residents of Warwickshire,

Health and Wellbeing Boards are a central concept in the government’s reform of health and social care, which is outlined in the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The vision is that the Board will act as the main strategy forum for health and care in the County; bringing together colleagues from the county council, district and borough councils, the NHS, public health and social care. The Board’s key responsibilities will be:

  • To ensure a coordinated approach to health, social care and public health across the County
  • To lead the development of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment
  • To develop a shared Health and Wellbeing Strategy that will act as an overarching strategy for all the partners involved
  • To receive and consider the commissioning plans of the GP led Clinical Commissioning Groups
  • To receive and consider patient and public feedback via regular reports from Warwickshire HealthWatch

Speaking about the blog, Director of Public Health, Dr John Linnane said:

“The blog will provide us with a great way to communicate key messages to a variety of audiences in a timely manner. Warwickshire was one of the first local authorities to establish a Health and Wellbeing Board in 2011 and yet it is already becoming a useful forum for reaching high level agreements on the principles of how health and social care will be delivered in the future. I am hopeful that the blog will now be used as a regular tool to see how that will be achieved.”

Bryan Stoten, Chair of the Health and Well-being Board said

“Good health for Warwickshire residents is what the County Council puts at the heart of its priorities. We can only do that with people’s support , they need to know what we are doing and why we think it will improve their health and social care. The goal for all of us must be to achieve the fullest engagement about their Health and Wellbeing between our residents and those providing their care.”

Follow for more information on the Health and Wellbeing Board.