Are you looking for a fun fitness challenge for a great start to the New Year?

Join the Read With Me Hundreds and Thousands club!

Every penny raised will help children in Gloucestershire learn to read well, helping towards the future they deserve. 

Sign up and set your target – in any multiple of 100K.

Walk, run, swim, cycle, row or freestyle – it’s your call. Just complete it all in January or one month from signing up.

A great start to 2022 for everyone!

£15 Entry Per Person. Feel free to join as a team to complete the distance together.

We’ll send you a well earned medal at the end of January. There will be a dedicated Facebook Group with tips, motivation and support throughout the month. Click here to go to the Facebook group.

And it’s not too late to join up! If you can’t join until towards the end of January, we will still give you the month to complete the challenge and get one of these fab zero waste medals!

At least £10 of your entry fee will go direct to fundraising for Read with me.

We’ll also have a dedicated Just Giving Page where your friends and family can support the cause without you feeling under pressure to raise sponsorship and a Strava Group if you would like to track your distances as part of a group.

Register here and view the crowdfunder here.

After a resident contacted me about the missing swing in Tuffley Park play area, I met with the Section 106 officer on site and looked at this along with other issues.

We have arranged for the equipment to be replaced at a cost of £621. As yet I don’t have a timescale for the work.

There is a limited fund of money available from Section 106 developer contributions in Podsmead. If you have any ideas for things that could improve our parks, do let me know.

I will be undertaking a ward walkabout this week, with PCSO Suzanne Sexton.

If you have areas of concern or issues you would like us to look at, please let me know.

Time is running out to have your say on the future of bus services in Gloucestershire.

Earlier this year the government published its National Bus Strategy ‘Bus Back Better’, setting out the vision and opportunity to deliver better bus services for passengers across England.

Within this strategy, Gloucestershire County Council, as the Local Transport Authority, published its Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), outlining the council’s strategic vision for bus services in the county.

It covers bus times and frequency, bus priority, zero emission buses, fares and tickets, passenger experience and information and branding.

The county council is now working on a partnership with bus operators in the county to set out how they will deliver the improvement plan, which residents can help shape by taking part in a survey. We have received 685 responses so far and would like to hear from more people before it closes on 30 January 2022.

You can take part in the survey at https://haveyoursaygloucestershire.uk.engagementhq.com/bus-service-improvement-plan-survey

A copy of the BSIP and more information is available at www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/BSIP.

With ambulance delays continuing in the UK, the Liberal Democrats have put forward a five point plan to solve the ambulance crisis.

Bold action is needed to tackle this crisis and preserve the NHS for the future.

Happy New Year, and welcome to our first newsletter of 2022 for Neighbourhood Watch supporters across England and Wales!

This year, we are thrilled to be celebrating 40 years since the first Neighbourhood Watch group was formed in the UK in Cheshire in 1982. To kick-start our celebrations, we have proudly launched a special-edition 40th anniversary logo, which you can choose to use from now and throughout 2022 as you wish. We will be sharing more ways to celebrate our special anniversary throughout the year – for now, save the date for NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH WEEK 2022 from 30th May – 5th June. You may notice this falls on the same weekend as the Queens Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend and The Big Lunch – which presents a fantastic opportunity to host a street party and connect with your neighbours.

To download our anniversary logo, find top tips on how to organise a street party, or see how you can play your part in tackling terrorism, read our newsletter here.

Kind regards,

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH NETWORK, Central Support Team
Follow us.. ourwatch.org.uk / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / LinkedIn
Neighbourhood Watch Network is a charity registered in England & Wales, CIO no: 1173349

Are you an older driver finding the winter weather or driving less a bit of a challenge?  Are you thinking of changing your vehicle to a more Eco model? Would you like advice on how to keep driving safely for longer?

Are you a family member or friend concerned about an older driver? If so the Older Drivers Forum provides a popular free ZOOM webinar that could be helpful.”

“Driving Safely for Longer” – for details of the next event please email the Forum at odfglos@gmail.com for a link to the webinar on Sat 15th January at 10:00a.m.

The below link is provided by the NHS and gives a list of Vaccination Drop-In sessions at numerous locations throughout the county.

https://covid19.glos.nhs.uk/vaccinations/#link-dropin

Please click on the link to find the nearest location to you and the vaccinations on offer and who can attend etc.

The list is continually being updated by the NHS as and when new sessions have been organised so please check on a daily basis if you are trying to find one near to you at a time to suit you.

There will be another opportunity for residents to view the plans for the regeneration of Podsmead, on Wednesday February 16th, 2-6pm in a heated marquee on Scott Avenue.

I am pleased that this is taking place, as it is vital that this is a community-led proposal and that resident views are fully heard at every point.

I was disappointed that more residents were not aware of the consultation events last year, due to Royal Mail failures. Information about this consultation will be delivered by hand, by staff and volunteers this time, to make sure everyone gets it in time.

You can view the latest plans online here.

If you have views on the regeneration, positive or negative or a mixture, please let me know.

Gloucestershire’s Health and Wellbeing Board are asking residents to provide feedback on pharmaceutical services in the county. 

Every three years, the Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) has to publish a statement of the needs for community pharmaceutical services in Gloucestershire. This is referred to as a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA). Community pharmaceutical services include local chemists, dispensing doctors (doctors that can dispense medication to patients in rural areas) and dispensing appliance contractors (businesses which dispense medical appliances such as catheters).

The PNA helps identify whether there are any gaps in the provision of pharmaceutical services in the county which means identifying if any new services, improvements or better access to existing services, are needed.  The PNA considers the demographics of the Gloucestershire population and the health priorities of the county, as well as how pharmaceutical services can contribute to improving the health of Gloucestershire’s residents now and in the future. 

Not only do pharmacies supply and dispense prescribed medication to the public, they also provide many other essential services such as vaccinations, promotion of healthy lifestyles, support for self-care, and sign-posting to other healthcare services and support. They play a key role in the community and the PNA gives residents the chance to give the Health and Wellbeing Board their opinion on the services in their local area. 

Cllr Carole Allaway-Martin, Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board in Gloucestershire said “Pharmacies play a pivotal role in supporting local residents to manage and improve their health and wellbeing. 

“The review of the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) will help shape the future of pharmacy services in Gloucestershire and I encourage residents to take part so we can make sure everyone has access to these vital services.”

The consultation is now open and will close on the Monday 31 January 2022. You can have your say by going to www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/pna

If you require a paper copy, please contact publichealth@gloucestershire.gov.uk or call 01452 328214