Brownhills gem. And it is close to Pelsall!

On Sunday I visited for the first time Brownhills’ Canoe & Outdoor Centre courtesy of an invite to a birthday party for my dort No 2.

In short it was excellent and I’d recommend it to anybody looking for something different for a few hours.

The chaps running the shop were from Sandwell and Wolverhampton and they were just brilliant with the children, and they certainly allayed any mild fears I might have initially had about canal water/children/tipping over…

We arrived early so no photos of happy children, but they great weather just forced my hand to my phone for a couple of shots.

I wandered lonely as a… horse. Pelsall, where else?

While relating this very real issue in Pelsall, I am also watching the awful scenes from Oklahoma City after the latest tornado hit the area – and I can’t help comparing the gravity of two.

Pelsall today saw yet another case of horses wandering the public highway (Windrush Close) causing fear and anxiety to people who came across them; fear for themselves and fear for the animals that might be injured by unsuspecting passing traffic.

Horses in fields off Fordbrook Lane in Pelsall have, twice at least, recently broken out of the poorly-maintained fencing and wondered across front gardens and the public highway.

So where do residents go when trying to deal with these issues? Well, after trying unsuccessfully the various agencies (Police, Fire Service, RSPCA, Environmental Health etc) they call their Councillors because nobody actually wants to take ownership of the problem. And what do Cllrs do? Make the same calls to the same people with similar outcomes. Not good enough.

So this brief post is a plea to our ‘Neighbourhood Services’ to PLEASE get together with all agencies and sort out a ‘Partnership’ response to these types of incidents; a response that is fast, effective and one that provides residents with the assurances they need and deserve.

I know. I shouldn’t make comparisons to tornadoes in Oklahoma, it’s evidently silly to do so. But the point for me here is that there is much that we can do to control situations but we don’t seem to get a grip of them.

I wonder how they deal with wandering horses (and their owners) in Oklahoma?

Disability Launch Event 28th May 2013

Updated 15/05/2013

Here’s an update to my previous post (below) about a great event in Bloxwich on the 28th May 2013.

Please help to spread the word

Dear Councillors,

 Further to my email last week regarding the Disability Launch Event, please find attached the poster for the event.

 Please feel free to distribute this to anyone you feel it may be of interest to.

——————————

Today I received an email asking for help to promote this event – which I am more than happy to do – see details below:

Dear Councillor,

Would you mind sending this around your networks please? Your help is appreciated and will help us to promote this fantastic opportunity that is now available for people with disabilities.

Thanks

Joe

 Hello,

 

Sport and Leisure along with Children’s Services would like to invite you to a disability activities launch event at Bloxwich Leisure Centre on 28^th May 2013 (Whitsun week). The event will run between 11am and 3.30pm.

 

The aim of the event is to provide disabled people in Walsall (adults and young people) an opportunity to take part in a range of activities and to launch Bloxwich Leisure Centre as a new hub for disability sport and physical activity. There will also be a number of information stands throughout the day offering information on other schemes and services available to disabled people across Walsall.

 

Activities available through the day include swimming, hydrotherapy, boccia, skittles, try golf, interactive dance mats, seated exercise class and gym sessions.  Please ensure that appropriate levels of supervision are provided if required, especially when attending the swimming sessions where carers are required in the pool and on the pool side. Creative Activities and other entertainment will also be offered during the event.

 

Bloxwich Leisure Centre already have a swimming pool with disabled access, gym with specially designed Inclusive Fitness Initiative equipment and following the launch event will have a regular physical activity club for people with learning and physical disabilities.  The new “Move It” scheme also provides subsidised access for disabled people to most leisure centre activities.

 

Address is; Bloxwich Leisure Centre, High Street, Bloxwich, Walsall, WS3 2DA.

Look forward to seeing you there. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Joe Holding or Richard Upton on 01922 658073.

Regards

Joe Holding

Senior Health and Physical Activity Officer

Walsall Sport and Leisure

Darlaston Town Hall,

Victoria Road,

Darlaston,

WS10 8AA

Tel: 01922 658073

www.walsall.gov.uk

Walsall Collective Fuel Switch

Another useful email has landed in my inbox which appears to have been sent to all Walsall Councillors.

Fuel bills are a very real concern and this collective approach to purchasing seems a great idea to me; people can register without actually switching if they don’t think they are saving.

I trust that the council is making efforts to communicate these messages to those who do not use IT – especially the elderly for whom this scheme would be ideal.

Worth looking into!

Dear Councillors

Following cabinet last week we have just launched the collective energy switch scheme and are promoting this through a range of methods and it may be something that your constituents are interested in.

 It’s free to sign up and there is no obligation on people to continue to switch if the auction doesn’t offer them savings. Almost anyone can sign up.

 Below is the text from our web-site and i attach one of the summary text leaflets we have produced. If there are any specific groups or contacts in your area that you think would be interested in this please feel free to pass on.

 If you live in Walsall or have friends or family who do you may be interested in this.

Walsall’s Big Community Energy Switch

Why pay more than you need to for your gas and electricity bills? Thousands of people have already saved money by joining collective energy switch schemes and you could join them by signing up to Walsall’s Big Community Switch.

By allowing customers to join together to form a single powerful buying unit, cheaper energy bills could be the result for each household that signs up.

Once you have registered your interest, the council will go to auction along with other councils across the country to see which energy company will offer the best tariff. The more people who register for the auction, the more incentive there is for the energy companies to offer a better deal.

Walsall Council is looking to take part in regular auctions allowing its residents to take advantage of this proven method of getting cheaper bills.

A recent auction by Wolverhampton City Council took place on 9 April 2013, on average people were offered a deal from the energy companies that would save them £114 off their annual bill for gas and electricity.

The next auction will take place on 4^th June  2013.

Interested? All you need to do is complete the quick registration process, there’s nothing to lose.

 

How to register

Registering is easy, it is free and only takes a few minutes.

This is available to all householders, including people living in rented accommodation and those with a prepayment meter, even those with a debt of up to £500 are able to switch supplier.

Simply supply your contact details along with information about your current energy supplier, the current tariff plan and how much you are currently spending on energy. You will find this information on your recent bills.

All you need to do is register your details which can be done online at www.walsall.gov.uk/bigswitch

Up to five people can be registered on one email address, so why not register a relative or neighbour who does not have internet access?

If you don’t have an email address and want the council to help you register phone us on 01922 652500.  

 

What happens next?

After the auction is held, you will receive a personal offer and will be able to see how much money you could save. You can then decide whether or not to accept the no-obligation offer.

 Thanks

David Lockwood

Housing Standard and Improvement Manager

Regeneration Directorate

1st Floor Civic Centre

Darwall Street

Walsall

WS1 1TP

lockwooddavid@walsall.gov.uk

Telephone no: 01922 658459

Register at www.walsall.gov.uk/bigswitch

Disability Launch Event – 28th May 2013

Today I received an email asking for help to promote this event – which I am more than happy to do – see details below:

Dear Councillor,

Would you mind sending this around your networks please? Your help is appreciated and will help us to promote this fantastic opportunity that is now available for people with disabilities.

Thanks

Joe

 Hello,

 

Sport and Leisure along with Children’s Services would like to invite you to a disability activities launch event at Bloxwich Leisure Centre on 28^th May 2013 (Whitsun week). The event will run between 11am and 3.30pm.

 

The aim of the event is to provide disabled people in Walsall (adults and young people) an opportunity to take part in a range of activities and to launch Bloxwich Leisure Centre as a new hub for disability sport and physical activity. There will also be a number of information stands throughout the day offering information on other schemes and services available to disabled people across Walsall.

 

Activities available through the day include swimming, hydrotherapy, boccia, skittles, try golf, interactive dance mats, seated exercise class and gym sessions.  Please ensure that appropriate levels of supervision are provided if required, especially when attending the swimming sessions where carers are required in the pool and on the pool side. Creative Activities and other entertainment will also be offered during the event.

 

Bloxwich Leisure Centre already have a swimming pool with disabled access, gym with specially designed Inclusive Fitness Initiative equipment and following the launch event will have a regular physical activity club for people with learning and physical disabilities.  The new “Move It” scheme also provides subsidised access for disabled people to most leisure centre activities.

 

Address is; Bloxwich Leisure Centre, High Street, Bloxwich, Walsall, WS3 2DA.

Look forward to seeing you there. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Joe Holding or Richard Upton on 01922 658073.

 

 

Regards

 

Joe Holding

Senior Health and Physical Activity Officer

Walsall Sport and Leisure

Darlaston Town Hall,

Victoria Road,

Darlaston,

WS10 8AA

Tel: 01922 658073

www.walsall.gov.uk

Pelsall Canal Festival is back!

I’m really pleased that the BCN Society Pelsall Canal Festival is back in June on the 15th and 16th between 10:30 and 5pm.

As per last time the venue will be Pelsall Wood Common with access via Highfield Road North.

Entry and parking will be free (!), but the bit I’m looking forward to most is the ‘cheese boat’…

Lots of activities will be taking place and for more details see the poster I have been sent:

I have the privilege of being invited to the opening together with the newly elected Mayor and Mayoress of Walsall.

I hope the weather will be a touch kinder – and certainly warmer! – than last time.

Would be great to see lots of people attend.

Update: Measles outbreak and my views on Walsall’s position

Since publishing my first post (below) I received this communication from the Director of Public Health:

Dear Cllr Longhi,

Historically, the NHS in Walsall has achieved and maintained very high uptake rates for all childhood immunisations including MMR.

This is reflected in the figures received from  Public Health England on numbers of confirmed and probable cases of measles: very low numbers in Walsall as compared with Shire Counties in the West Midlands

Early indications from local figures are that we have around 2000 children (under 18) unimmunised with MMR (approx 3.5% of the age group ) which is above the level required for ‘herd immunity’ in which unimmunised children are protected because the high levels of immunity in the community means the disease does not circulate and therefore they are not exposed.

Nevertheless, we will be asking parents and carers of young people who have not had two doses of MMR to take this taking this opportunity to bring their immunisations upto date and achieve maximum protection.

Uma, Mandy and I are meeting @4pm to agree the details of local action, in partnership with PHE, NHS Commissioning Board and CCG Colleagues

I will update you with the details later on.

——————-

The outbreak of measles in Wales is having a major impact and the widely debated, and disputed, ‘research’ by Andrew Wakefiled published in 1998  is now being blamed for the serious risk to public health this is posing in Wales mainly (for now).

Predicting how this outbreaks may affect the rest of the country is not easy, but sufficient concern is clearly present amongst NHS chiefs that they have announced a large programme of vaccination around the country. Here is how the BBC has reported this.

Walsall Council has chosen to respond with this release which enforces the advice to ensure that all young children who have not received the MMR to do so by arranging an appointment with their local GP.

I have received two helpful documents from NHS Central Midlands Commissioning Support Unit, this first describing Public Health England plans and how these relate to the West Midlands, the second a briefing pack for Councillors – which I include as it is a very helpful and informative document.

I have consulted with senior officers as to whether, in their view, Health Scrutiny should conduct a special meeting to understand the detail of responses by NHS Walsall, Cabinet and Health and Director of Public Health to the Measles outbreak. The response I have received suggests that our Director of Public Health has reported to Cabinet and that – based on this report – it is not considered necessary to hold a special Health Scrutiny meeting.

While I trust the judgement of senior officers I have not seen or heard the DPH’s briefing and when I asked for the cabinet minutes that would reflect this advice I was told that no minutes were taken. So, while I have a degree of reassurance I am not as yet assured as to what is being done – which is unfortunate.

I am not a physician, I am just ‘another person’ who happens to be an elected member. However, I do know that if my children had not received the immunisation I would want it administered asap and I also feel that, locally, I would prefer to see a greater effort made in raising awareness and in giving people clear guidance and information by all stakeholders.