Gloucestershire County Council is offering £200,000 to support digital community projects across the county.

Through its Digital Innovation Fund the council has £200,000 worth of grants available to community or voluntary groups and charity organisations to fund digital and technology-led initiatives.

This is the second year of the fund and applications of up to £20,000 per project will be accepted from Monday 12 July. Collaborative partnership bids will be considered for combined funding but would need to clearly demonstrate the added benefit of the collaboration.

The funding panel is particularly keen to hear about projects that could continue this support, address digital exclusion and help people remain independent. 

Successful applications would be likely to demonstrate how their use of technology or digital methods will support adults in Gloucestershire by:

• Improving literacy, including digital literacy
• Preventing a decline in independence, health or wellbeing
• Encouraging digital access opportunities amongst BAME communities
• Providing equipment and support to those with disabilities and sensory impairments 

In 2020, funding was used for projects that enriched people’s lives by tackling social isolation, helping to maintain independence and improve personal wellbeing.

Last year’s grant was oversubscribed, with 38 applications received and 21 projects funded. Some of the projects funded supported teaching residents digital skills to help them use video platforms to keep in touch with family during the pandemic. Others used the funding to purchase health and exercise monitoring devices to support virtual fitness and wellbeing classes.

Successfully funded projects will work together to bring their ideas to life within a Digital Innovation Forum group, in which all the other funded projects can support each other.

Members of the council’s Adult Transformation Team will be attending Know Your Patch meetings and sharing information about the funding through this network. The Know Your Patch network is a multi-sector network bringing together the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector and public body organisations for effective partnership working across each district of Gloucestershire.

Further information on this grant, including access to application forms, can be found at https://www.yourcircle.org.uk/Information/DigitalInnovationFund.

The closing date for applications will be on Friday 6 August, with successful applicants receiving grant funding in September.

For more information, please email asp@gloucestershire.gov.uk.

New play areas are currently being installed at Manu Marble Way and Neven Place.

The original plans for the site show public open space at these two locations.

I am meeting the Managing Director of Matthew Homes on site later this month and will be asking about the plans for the play areas, security in the development, and other issues that residents have raised with me.

Visitors will get the chance to see Gloucester’s remarkable history when artist Joe Hill returns on 30 July to bring the city’s past to life in spectacular 3D technicolour.

 

Wherever you go in the city centre you’re walking over Gloucester’s history; city walls, Roman buildings and even medieval churches survive beneath Gloucester’s streets. 

 

Returning this year after a successful event last September, Joe Hill of 3D Joe and Max will be creating three more amazing optical illusions based around the city’s heritage during 30 July – 1 August. 

 

Joe has been making holes in the ground come to life all over the world, and this will be a spectacular way to bring the city’s archaeology to life as part of the National Archaeology Festival. 

 

Come and have your photograph taken to share with friends over social media and find out about the plans to conserve and revive Westgate Street.

 

There will be eight pieces of artwork set out along Westgate Street and Eastgate Street, and an exhibition and consultation event will be running in the former jewellery shop at 21 Westgate Street.  

 

Joe has created artworks for a range of clients over the years including Google, Disney, Reebok, Save the Children and Coca-Cola.

 

The artworks will be revealed on Friday 30 July and will be on display until Sunday 1 August. Access is available from 11am – 4:30pm except for Sunday when they will close at 4pm.

 

The event will be weather permitting and will be re-scheduled if there is high wind or heavy rain.

Gloucester City Council are hoping to begin works with contractors in Milton Avenue soon.

Letters have been sent to local residents (see below) and the initial timetable is included, along with the plans as above. The works are those as agreed with stakeholders but as with all projects of this nature they can possibly be subject to delay or revision as the project progresses.

The funding has come from the European Union to improve green space. This was secured before Brexit and the money is safe.

If you have any questions do get in touch. You can also see more detail on the Gloucester Urban Greening Project page.

Neighbourhood Watch are hosting a series of weekly online webinars in July to expose the truths behind scams.

The webinars are FREE to attend and are open to anyone who would like to know more about scams, the psychology behind scams, prevention and how a fraud case is investigated.

The webinars bring together experts in their field relating to online fraud, a topic which we are all too familiar with and can affect anyone and everyone, as our lives are played out more digitally.

The dates of the webinars and their topics are as follows:

6th July, 5pm
Exploring the psychology behind scams and how scammers are so effective at their crimes
Paul Maskell, Fraud & Cyber Crime Prevention Manager, Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU)

14th July, 5pm
Insights into how a fraud case is investigated and how not to be the next victim 
Ben Hobbs, Detective Sergeant; and Catriona Still, Head of Fraud Prevention & Training, Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU)

23rd July 5pm
Scams awareness training from the Friends Against Scams initiative
The National Trading Standards Scams Team (NTSST)

30th July, 5pm
Don’t get hooked by scammers! What you need to know about flubot and phishing scams
Christopher Budd, Senior Global Threat Communications Manager, Avast

How to book your place
You can click on the links within this message on each of the webinars topics to register your place or you can go to www.ourwatch.org.uk/webinars and click on the webinar that you wish to attend. You can attend all of them if you wish – make sure that you complete the registration page for each of them.

It was a pleasure to go along and present medals to the young competitors at the Blackbridge Jubilee Athletics track today.

After seeing the last few events I said a few words about what being a councillor involved and why it was great to see young people being active from a young age.

I then presented the prizes to the winners and competitors and chatted to the Managing Director about the strategic future of the track and the nearby hub that is planned.

I saw some complaints on social media about the hedges overgrowing the footpaths on the bridge from Bristol Road over into the industrial estate/Hempsted Lane by the canal.

I asked for them to be trimmed and this has now been done by the council, making it easier for pedestrians to get by.

Do let me know if there are any similar issues you would like me to take a look at.

The Club at Tuffley Park CiC are celebrating their 2nd birthday and held a party at the park.

It was great to attend, enjoy the food and drink and see all the stalls. There was a good mix of sellers, local groups, partners and charities present. We really enjoyed the day.

Well done to Ross and all the team at the Club. Here’s to many more years!

I caught up with PC Lea in Podsmead and joined PCSO Sexton on her foot patrol.

We looked at several issues including security in Earls Park and traffic and speeding issues in Tuffley Crescent. I also picked up some casework issues to report.

It is important to be visible in the community and I am pleased to work with the police on a regular basis to make our residents feel safe and reassured.

Here is a picture of the potholes that have been recently filled on Scott Avenue, after I reported them.

I’m pleased they’ve been done but the road is really looking like a patchwork now. What Scott Avenue needs is a full resurface. The Conservative-run county council do not agree that this road meets the threshold for action yet. I will keep pushing them to resurface the road properly rather than keep endlessly patching.