Issue 113 Dec 2018/Jan 2019
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COMMUNITY MAGAZINE ISSUE 113 DEC 2018/JAN 2019 BLOOMING BELFAST 100TH YEAR OF ARMISTICE WOLVERTON DELIVERS SILVER FOR W&G COMMEMORATED IN WOLVERTON ADVENT WINDOWS See page 4 See page 15 See page 26 TH 18 ANNUAL FIREWORKS DISPLAY See more photos on page 12 01 COUNCIL TAX FROM WGTC The Town Council’s precept forms a small part (less than 4%) There are many changes occurring in government today, of your Council tax and is collected for us by Milton Keynes affecting the services provided. The Town Council are seeking Council. This document provides information about the ways to tend to environmental issues without a hike in the contribution provided to the Town Council and the services precept. Funding bids have been submitted to purchase it funds. equipment to eradicate weeds without the need for weed killer. This bid also includes machinery to collect litter and weeds.To We run or support a number of events in the area each year attend to all these services, we employ a team of caretakers which are mostly free to attend. These include Wolverton and office staff. Lantern Festival, Wolverton Fireworks, Summer Festival, Twinning events and trips, Remembrance Sunday, Christmas We are always looking at improving services in each area and carols in the Square, Hodge Lea Craft Sessions, Britain in welcome your views and support on how we can achieve these Bloom etc. We are also looking to hold I.T support sessions in improvements. Please send in any comments that you have Hodge Lea in 2019, providing training and advice to use online on the below budget to [email protected] by the 10th systems such as Universal Credit. January 2019. EXPENDITURE AFTER INCOME DEDUCTED COMMUNITY PROJECTS AND EVENTS £160,760 ENVIRONMENTAL £96,078 COMMUNICATION £69,925 LESUIRE AND FACILITIES (INC. ALLOTMENTS) £74,275 OUTREACH SERVICES £7,500 CONTRIBUTION TO RESERVES £11,000 COUNCILLORS EXPENSES £1,000 OTHER COSTS ATTRIBUTED TO RUNNING OF THE COUNCIL £20,866 INCOME MILTON KEYNES COUNCIL GRANT INCOME £40,892 PRECEPT £400,511 THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT WOLVERTON HEALTH CENTRE UPDATE BY FRANCES BAVERSTOCK Flu Don’t forget to get vaccinated against needs you. The group meets on the 1st Monday 1530-1800 and Fridays 1700-1800. Card Flu if you are pregnant, over 65, aged 2-3, or bi-monthly to discuss new initiatives and to payments accepted. have a long-term condition. We have a good help us understand how we can improve to stock of vaccines for all age ranges. Please meet the needs of our community. Please Logo competition We are delighted to be ask our Patient Navigation Team. We may be come in and complete a form or speak to working alongside The Radcliffe School able to vaccinate you on the same day. During Louise McCarthy, Practice Manager. inviting their Media and Art students to create our previous Saturday Flu clinic, we held a a logo for the Health Centre. Selected students cake sale with support of our PPG in aid of Travel Health Did you know that you can will get the opportunity to visit the health MacMilllan Cancer Support where we raised meet all of your travel health needs at centre during this design process. The winning over £35. Wolverton Health Centre? The Private Travel design will receive a prize and will see their clinic is a certified travel health clinic available logo used throughout the health centre. Patient Participation Group Are you a patient to everyone not just Wolverton Health Centre at Wolverton Health Centre? Are you interested patients. From malaria tablets to Yellow We wish you all a very happy and healthy in working with the partners and influencing Fever vaccinations - we have you covered. Christmas. From all the staff at Wolverton change? If so, the Patient Participation Group Appointments are available Mondays Health Centre. WOLVERTON & GREENLEYS COMMUNITY MAGAZINE DEC 2018/JAN 2019 ISSUE 113 02 WELCOME INSIDE WELCOME 04 | W&G IN BLOOM WIN SILVER Welcome to the last newsletter of 2018. I thought I would take this opportunity to reflect on a few of the things that we have been The team visited Belfast to collect their prize working on this year and what you can look forward to in 2019. 10 | PLANNING ON A CHANGE? Your council is always looking at ways to improve and at the start of All you need to know about living in the conservation area the year the council chose to move towards paperless working to manage the data that we hold for the new General Data Protection 12 | 18TH ANNUAL FIREWORKS Regulation which came into force in May this year. This has How the display went off with a bang transformed the way that we work, streamlining our processes. There is still loads that we can do to keep improving and this move hasn’t 15 | WOLVERTON REMEMBERS 100 YRS been without challenges, with all our councillors having to be I.T savvy, but this will make us a more efficient council. As part of these Events that took place over Remembrance Sunday efficiencies the council also opted to move our payments for our WOLVERTON ADVENT WINDOWS allotment sites to direct debit to manage the costs for administering 26 | our allotments. How you can witness the lighting up of the town Greenleys saw its first summer event in Pinders Croft, in the form of a sports day. I am pleased to say that we have had some keen volunteers come forward to run future events and they have formed THE SALE OF THE AGORA a community group called The MK12 Partnership. MK12’s first Love it or hate it the Agora has been a hot topic for many years. event will be Santa visiting Greenleys and Hodge Lea on his float. Hodge Lea Meeting Place improvements have continued with new Following the agreed sale of the Agora and the Carpark owned doors, windows, external painting and a landscaped garden being by Milton Keynes Council to TOWN, the redevelopment of this installed this year. The Meeting Place is now being well used by the site is looking promising. A planning application has not yet community and we plan by April 2019 for this building to become been submitted, detailing what this site will look like. However, self-funding. over the years there has been many planning policies created to shape what the development of the site should include. The With Milton Keynes Council making savings each year to manage re-instatement of the link between Church Street and the Square the reduction in funds from local government we are looking at is a priority to improve the flow of movement around the Town. new ways that we can deliver more, without huge increases to your There is a requirement for the development to include a mix of council tax. You rated the upkeep of the environment as the most housing and retail units. The developer is hoping to submit a important service in our 2017 survey. With the reduced services from planning application for the public consultation in March 2019. Milton Keynes Council, we have noticed an increase in weeds, litter and leaves. To tackle these areas along with dirty street signs, we The Town Council represents your views and are part of a group have submitted a bid for funding to purchase a machine which kills to shape this development with the developer. We are currently weeds using hot environmentally friendly foam and a street sweeper striving to ensure that visitor parking is accommodated, following to collect litter and leaves. We hope to hear back in the New Year the sale of the carpark. on whether we have been successful in obtaining this funding. We are always keen to hear from you on what services you would like your council tax to provide. Included in this newsletter is the council budget for 2019, please let us know your thoughts by completing WOLVIE THE WOLF CHALLENGE this questionnaire. How long will it take you to find Wolvie All that is left to say is to wish you all a the Wolf? She’s hiding somewhere in Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! this newsletter. Sally McLellan Editor Colleen Wren & Mandy Shipp Designers TravisBead Town Clerk www.wolvertonandgreenleystowncouncil.gov.uk 03 WOLVERTON & GREENLEYS COMMUNITY MAGAZINE DEC 2018/JAN 2019 ISSUE 113 04 THE W&G IN BLOOM GET OUT AND TEAM WINS SILVER GILT PLANT PANSIES IN IN BELFAST FROM WGTC WOLVERTON AND GREENLEYS BY WGTC The super-enthusiastic Wolverton and Greenleys in Bloom team plan to brighten up the town with flowers this winter, and they are looking for people to join in. They have hundreds of colourful winter pansies and would really appreciate some willing hands to help plant these in sites around Wolverton and Greenleys. Everyone is welcome, you don’t need to be an expert gardener, and you can spend as much or as little time planting Lynda Hammond & Cllr Hilary Saunders receiving the National Silver Gilt Award as you like. Two of our volunteers, We were accompanied by our If you can help, contact Community Officer Tracy Pearson mentor, Norman Parker, an Hilary Saunders and experienced judge who had at [email protected], phone 01908 326800 or just call in Lynda Hammond, were been advising us on how to at the Town Hall office in Creed Street. thrilled to receive a impress the national judges to good effect. The following The Wolverton and Greenleys in Bloom team are behind Silver-Gilt Award at the morning, our judges told us the town’s success in the 2018 national finals of Britain Britain in Bloom UK where we had lost a few marks in Bloom.