Billingham Town Council Newsletter Spring 2015 A note from Easter Fun Day the Chairman... Wednesday 8th April 2015 W elcome to our first newsletter of 2015. Here you will find information about current projects, events planned for this year and our budget for 2015-16. We are now based in the new Library & Customer Service Centre in the Town Square, making it much easier to contact us. We are also holding fortnightly Chairmanship Surgeries in the same building. Please come in and see us if you have any questions. Councillor Colin Pollard Chairman 2014/15 John Whitehead Park, 11am - 3pm B illingham Town Council will be holding an Easter Fun Day suitable for younger children in John Whitehead Park on Wednesday 8th April 2015 from 11am - 3pm. There will be various Easter themed activities for children to join in with in the Community Hub as well as an Easter egg hunt around the park and an appearance from the Easter Bunny. To register for the Easter egg hunt, please contact us on 01642 551171 or via our facebook page: www.facebook.com/JWPHUB. Harrington’s Pond Project B illingham Town Youth Council are currently working on their Harringtons Pond project, as part of their Beautiful Billingham Campaign. Harringtons Pond is located next to Billingham Town Football Club grounds on Cowpen Lane. The pond is currently derelict and run down. The Youth Council’s aim is to clean up the pond and return it to its former glory as well as installing usable footpaths which will be wheelchair accessible, a footbridge over to the ponds central island, litter and dog fouling bins, an information board of the pond’s history and overall making the space available for residents to enjoy. The Youth Council have interacted with the Harrington family, whose ancestors lived in the pond house, and have learnt a lot about the pond’s history, making them evermore eager to restore the sites beauty. Shortly, with the guidance of Tees Valley Wildlife Trust, the Youth Council will be putting together a funding bid to fund the project and have aims of starting the initial clean up process in April 2015 which will include litter picking and shrub clearance ahead of installing footpaths. The Youth Council have contacted local youth groups, schools, colleges and universities to invite them to get involved with the project. If you are interested in the Harringtons Pond project, or would like to join the Youth Council, please contact us for more information. Harrington’s Pond For more information on the Youth Council, please turn to page 4. Tel/fax: 01642 551171 • Email: info@billinghamtowncouncil.co.uk • Website: www.billinghamtowncouncil.co.uk 2 Your Town Council Schedule of meetings for 2015 May be subject to change Thursday 12th February 2015 Tuesday 24th February 2015 Thursday 12th March 2015 Tuesday 24th March 2015 Thursday 9th April 2015 Tuesday 28th April 2015 Thursday 14th May 2015 Tuesday 19th May 2015 Thursday 11th June 2015 Tuesday 30th June 2015 Thursday 9th July 2015 Tuesday 28th July 2015 Services & Amenities and Planning Committee Finance Policy & Resources Committee Town Council meeting Services & Amenities and Planning Committee Finance Policy & Resources Committee Town Council meeting Services & Amenities and Planning Committee Finance Policy & Resources Committee Town Council meeting Services & Amenities and Planning Committee Finance Policy & Resources Committee Annual Town meeting & Annual General meeting Services & Amenities and Planning Committee Finance Policy & Resources Committee Town Council meeting Services & Amenities and Planning Committee Finance Policy & Resources Committee Town Council meeting No meetings in August 2015 Thursday 10th September 2015 Services & Amenities and Planning Committee Finance Policy & Resources Committee Tuesday 29th September 2015 Thursday 8th October 2015 Tuesday 27th October 2015 Thursday 12th November 2015 Tuesday 24th November 2015 Town Council meeting Services & Amenities and Planning Committee Finance Policy & Resources Committee Town Council meeting Services & Amenities and Planning Committee Finance Policy & Resources Committee Town Council meeting No meetings in December 2015 3pm - 5pm 5pm - 7pm 6pm onwards Your Town Councillors 2014/15 Ward Billingham North 6pm onwards 6pm onwards Billingham East 6pm onwards 6pm onwards Billingham Central 3pm - 5pm 5pm - 7pm Billingham South 6pm onwards 3pm - 5pm 5pm - 7pm 6pm onwards Mick Stoker 01642 371641 Ray McCall 01642 880999 Ann McCoy 01642 533554 Jean O’Donnell 01642 559717 Paul Smith 01642 875121 6pm onwards 3pm - 5pm 5pm - 7pm Keith Robinson 01642 551171 Gina McCall 01642 880999 3pm - 5pm 5pm - 7pm 6pm onwards Royce Sandbach 07946623200 Sheila Smart 07908031924 3pm - 5pm 5pm - 7pm 3pm - 5pm 5pm - 7pm Peter Clark 01642 800835 Eleanor Mockler 01642 561046 3pm - 5pm 5pm - 7pm 3pm - 5pm 5pm - 7pm Councillors Billingham West Mike Smith 01642 371782 Helen Atkinson 01642 360645 Olive Milner 01642 646732 Colin Pollard 01642 531647 New Office Accommodation Billingham Town Council is now located in Billingham Library & Customer Service Centre, Billingham, Cleveland, TS23 2LN. You can contact us on 01642 551171 or email us on info@billinghamtowncouncil.co.uk Tel/fax: 01642 551171 • Email: info@billinghamtowncouncil.co.uk • Website: www.billinghamtowncouncil.co.uk 3 Cafe in the Park S ituated in the heart of John Whitehead Park, Cafe in the Park is set in a prime location with easy access to/from the Town Centre and is surrounded by excellent facilities such as the Community Hub, Skatepark, Tennis Courts, MUGA, Outdoor Exercise Equipment, Children's Play Park and playing fields providing a great place for all members of the family to enjoy. The cafe offers low cost family meals as well as offering daily specials priced at £3.00 each. Daily Specials: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday - Lasagne - Cottage Pie - Chicken Curry - Chilli - Fish, Chips & Mushy Peas - Chicken Parmo Following responses from a recent survey, a new dessert menu has been launched in the cafe. We will be hosting themed nights and afternoon tea. To have your say on what you would like B to see in the cafe, please ‘like’ us on Facebook or visit our website to respond to our surveys. Over the Christmas period, the cafe offered a Christmas dinner package for group bookings of between 10-20 people. The package included Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, crackers, music and a selection box for only £5 per head. The cafe supports many charities such as Macmillan Cancer Support and Butterwick Hospice Care. At our Macmillan coffee morning held on 26th September 2014, we raised over £260 for the charity and at our Butterwick Hospice event held on 29th October 2014 we raised over £71. We will be holding more charity fundraising events in the cafe throughout the year. To keep up to date with information from the cafe, weekly deals and upcoming events, please ‘like’ our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/JWPHUB. Community Hub illingham Town Council were successful in acquiring funding from Grantscape to provide a Community Hub which is located in John Whitehead Park adjacent to the Cafe, looking out onto the skatepark. Currently, youth sessions run from the Hub on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings from 6.30pm - 8.30pm. Last year, we had a range of successful workshops in the Hub such as Rag Wreath Making, Be Messy & Make and Fluent Friends which we aim to continue throughout this year. To keep up to date with upcoming workshops, ‘like’ us on Facebook or visit our website. If you have any suggestions, or would like to hold a workshop in the Hub, please contact us for more details. Following responses from a recent survey, we are looking into the possibility of holding a weekly Over 50’s Club in the Hub. The Hub is available to hire for any occasion such as meetings, group sessions, children’s parties and much more. If you would like to hire the Hub for an occasion or would like to set up a weekly session please contact us for more details. The Hub hosted several children’s parties last year. We have party packages available all year round for the Hub which can include food provided from the cafe. Parties held through the summer months are a hit with all the free facilities available within John Whitehead Park. For more information on our party packages, please contact us. Working with our local Police it was reported that with the opening of the Community Hub, Cafe and skatepark facilities in 2014 anti-social behaviour recorded incidents had reduced from approximately 50 to 2 in the first month. This is a fantastic achievement. Upcoming workshops/sessions: Bike/Scooter Security tagging - Thursday 2nd April 2015, 11am - 3pm Bike/Scooter Reclamation - Thursday 2nd April 2015, 11am - 3pm Stalls in Hub - BB Dolls, Tutuly Princess, Bow’s & Belles - Tuesday 7th April 2015, 11am - 3pm Stalls in Hub - Partylite. Sweet Lola Blue, Lady Fatpants Cakes - Thursday 9th April 2015, 11am - 3pm Rhythm Time - Friday 10th April 2015, 10am Cupcake Decorating workshop - Date to follow (Check our Facebook and website for update) To book onto a workshop please contact us on 01642 551171. Tel/fax: 01642 551171 • Email: info@billinghamtowncouncil.co.uk • Website: www.billinghamtowncouncil.co.uk 4 John Whitehead Park Billingham Town Council manage the services in John Whitehead Park in partnership with Stockton Borough Council Tennis Courts Tuesday evenings from 6pm - 9pm Saturday afternoons from 1.30pm - 4pm We are looking to start up a women’s team. If you’re interested, please contact our office on 01642 551171. Outdoor Exercise Equipment There will be free training sessions on the Outdoor Exercise Equipment commencing in Spring 2015 to allow residents to learn how to get the most out of the equipment. MUGA The MUGA was installed in 2012 and has facilities to play 5-a-side football, basketball, netball and Hockey. The facility is well utilised and we are looking at introducing dedicated coaching sessions. Skatepark The Skatepark was installed in 2014 and is well utilised by members of the public of all ages. This facility is an asset for our community. Last year shortly after opening the skate park we ran a trial session dedicated for younger children on Saturday mornings. We are hoping to do this again this Spring/Summer. Details of this will be advertised on our JWP Facebook page. B illingham Town Youth Council was set up at our AGM in May 2013 and is made up of 10 enthusiastic young members. The Tennis Courts are free to use during the opening hours of the park, except the following times when the courts are used by Billingham Tennis Club: We are also looking to develop tennis coaching, for more information please look on our facebook site and notice board in John Whitehead Park. Billingham Town Youth Council At their meeting in July 2013, the Youth Council launched their “Beautiful Billingham” campaign with aims of cleaning up Billingham and making residents feel proud of the town that they live in. The campaign covers reducing graffiti, vandalism and dog fouling, encouraging more residents to recycle and making Billingham a clean and friendly environment. Since starting the Beautiful Billingham campaign, the Youth Council were informed of Harringtons Pond; a run down, derelict area of green space sited behind Billingham Town Football Club grounds. The youngsters instantly wanted to undertake work on site at Harringtons Pond as part of their Beautiful Billingham Campaign as the site has so much potential for residents of Billingham to enjoy. To keep up to date with our projects, please ‘like’ us on Facebook: Billingham Youth Council. From left to right: Cllr Ray McCall, Lewis Roe Chairman of BYC, Cllr Gina McCall, Mayor Barbara Innam and Flynn Bainbridge Vice Chairman of BYC at the opening of Cafe in the Park and Community Hub on 1st April 2014. Tel/fax: 01642 551171 • Email: info@billinghamtowncouncil.co.uk • Website: www.billinghamtowncouncil.co.uk 5 Our Events for 2015 Easter Event We will be holding an Easter Event suitable for young children on Wednesday 8th April 2015 in John Whitehead Park. There will be an Easter egg hunt, Easter themed arts and crafts, biscuit decorating, face painting, balloon modelling, magic shows and the Easter bunny will be coming along! Summer Event Following our successful WW1 themed Summer event last year, we will be holding a Summer Event in John Whitehead Park on Saturday 25th July 2015 - more details will be released soon on our Facebook page and website. Precept 2015/16 A Halloween Event Last year we delivered our Halloween event from the Community Hub and we are looking to do this again on Friday 31st October 2015 more details will be released soon on our Facebook page and website. Traditional Christmas Event We will be holding our 8th Traditional Christmas Event in Billingham Town Centre on Saturday 5th December 2015 more details to be released soon. Christmas Carol Service Our Christmas Carol service will be held in John Whitehead Park on Sunday 6th December 2015 - more details to be released soon. We will be holding other smaller events during 2015 in John Whitehead Park, the Community Hub and Cafe in the Park. To keep up to date with our upcoming events, please ‘like’ us on Facebook or visit our website. If you are interested in holding a stall at one of our events, please visit our website and complete the application form under ‘Events’. If you would prefer a hard copy, or for more information, please contact us. All of our services and facilities are delivered for you at a minimal cost of 28 pence per week (Band A). The cost of each band is shown below: Band A Cost per week (in pence) Cost for the year (in pounds) 0.28 14.67 0.38 19.56 0.47 24.44 Band B 0.33 Band D 0.42 Band C Band E 17.11 22.00 Elections 2015/16 Town or Parish Council election is held to elect councillors to sit on your local Parish or town council. Town and Parish Councillors are elected for a term of four years and must seek reelection at the next full elections if they wish to remain in office. Any councillor elected midterm as a result of a by-election must also seek re-election at the next full elections. The notice of election for borough/parish elections will be published on 23rd March 2015 and nominations can be submitted from that date until the closing date on 9th April 2015. 7th May will see local elections taking place. If you are interested in making a difference for your community then why not pick up a Councillor nomination pack from our office. Executive Officer on 01642 551171 or email dianne@billinghamtowncouncil.co.uk. Town Council meetings are held on a monthly basis, and run all year with the exception of August and December. For more information about standing as a Councillor, please contact Dianne Rickaby, Tel/fax: 01642 551171 • Email: info@billinghamtowncouncil.co.uk • Website: www.billinghamtowncouncil.co.uk 6 Look how far we have come since inception! Installed 8 entrance signs “Welcome to Billingham” to give our town identity Produced 5 newsletters to residents after which we progressed onto assisting the setting up of Billingham Community Newspaper Sponsored extra hours of Enforcement provision with two dedicated Officers who patrolled Billingham on Friday and Saturday evenings between 7pm - 10pm Consulted with businesses and Stockton Borough Council to ensure that any community benefit funds generated from new ventures must be kept within Billingham for the people of Billingham Entered into a management agreement with Stockton Borough Council in assisting managing services in John Whitehead Park such as skate park, MUGA, Outdoor Exercise Equipment and Tennis Courts Supported the development of a Skate park in John Whitehead Park and are now managing the facility and the coordination of the JWP stakeholders group Development and delivery of successful Summer and Halloween Events Sited 29 flower tubs around Billingham and 8 planters at the base of entrance signs in partnership with Shaw Trust 2007 Launched a “Keep Billingham Tidy Campaign” Supporting local community groups, events, charities and organisations with donations who carry out projects that benefit the community Assisted Billingham Food Bank with the setting up of the new site in Billingham town Centre and assisted with funding applications (which were successful targeting industries in Billingham) Assisted residents with the time capsule project Representation at Northern Locality Forum, Parish Liaison Forum, Safer Billingham Partnership, Billingham Environmental Link Programme, Billingham Legacy Foundation, A19 Noise Action Group, Northern Area Transport Strategy Group and attendance at resident association meetings Opened Cafe in the Park (2014) Supporting/assisting with the proposed new developments for John Whitehead Park Bowls Club Day to day assistance to residents with queries Delivered 7 successful Traditional Christmas Events 2015 Launched Pride of Billingham Awards at AGM in 2010 Lobbied for improved accessibility to Billingham Train Station Successful in obtaining 105 free trees from the Woodland Trust to plant at Billingham Beck Successful in obtaining funding to renovate the rooms adjacent to the cafe to form a Community Hub (£27,000) Established a Youth Council in 2013 who are now working on their Harrington’s Pond project as part of their Beautiful Billingham Campaign Sponsors of Billingham International Folklore Festival & Billingham Carnival and Garden Show Assisting St Cuthberts Church Hall Group with renovations and looking at potential funding streams and managing the project on their behalf Achieved Quality Town Council Status in January 2013 (only second Council in Cleveland to achieve this status) Assisted residents to look at transport needs and issues (Isolated areas such as Port Clarence and Cowpen Bewley) Registered an interest to Stockton Borough Council in developing the peninsula area of Osborne Park into a community orchard Held a competition between local schools to design a coat of arms for the Town Council. The winning design was created by Lydia Bailey, student at St. Michaels Secondary School, Billingham and the design has now been made into a Chairman and Vice Chairman’s pendant Installed 6 litter bins and 18 dog fouling bins throughout Billingham Working in partnership with Stockton Borough Council we installed a suite of outdoor exercise equipment in John Whitehead Park (Successful in obtaining funding and were awarded £16,000 from PCT and £500 from Grants 4 Health) Developed a new website Developing a Neighbourhood Plan for Billingham Working in partnership with Stockton Borough Council we will be delivering aspects of Health & Wellbeing from our Community Hub and Cafe. This is a taster of what we provide, for more details please visit our website. Your local Town Council working for you. Billingham Town Council John Whitehead Park Community Hub & Cafe @billinghamTC Billingham Town Council, Billingham Library & Customer Service Centre, Billingham, Cleveland, TS23 2LN Tel/Fax: 01642 551171 • Email: info@billignhamtowncouncil.co.uk • Website: www.billinghamtowncouncil.co.uk
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