A message to all volunteers

Thank you very much for your support so far, and we hope you will continue to help support our residents throughout this difficult time.

We do want to know a few things from you to help us target the support we can give going forward:

1. Are you still happy to volunteer to assist vulnerable and elderly residents?

2. Are you currently assisting any residents, either by shopping, etc or checking they are okay?
If so, we would like to know about this to help us better understand the scale of need.

3. If you are already assisting anyone, however you’re doing it, what problems have you discovered?
We would like to know this so we can work on solutions to common problems wherever possible.

If you are able to answer any of these questions, please send your replies to the Chairman of the Parish Council, Councillor Dan Kinsey at – dankinsey@hotmail.co.uk

We have now established a private Facebook group for all of our registered volunteers. It is called ‘Wombourne Community Assistance Group’. Please find us and join the group (you do have to have a Facebook account to join). Here is a link – https://www.facebook.com/groups/1628099680686569/

We realise just how important building and maintaining a strong community is at this time, and we hope this group will enable us all to better share this experience with each other, support and celebrate all of our efforts.

This is a private group and only individuals who have signed up to be a volunteer will be able to access it. We would ask you to respect the privacy of others and do not share personal details of anyone you may be supporting with this group. If you do need to seek support, please anonymise the resident you are talking about.

Thank you once again for your time and your assistance, it’s very much appreciated.

If you have any queries, please feel free to call the Parish Council Office on 01902 896300.

Kind regards,

Rachael

Mrs Rachael Wright
Clerk to Wombourne Parish Council
Tel: 01902 896300

 LET’S CELEBRATE WOMBOURNE!

From the organisers of the Christmas Tree Festival at the United Reformed Church…

If you can knit, crochet or sew and would like to celebrate the kind and generous people of this village, why not spend some time making flowers, leaves, butterflies, bees or similar to decorate your houses, gardens and trees when all this is over?

 A burst of colour is what we all need!

If you are interested please email

 wombournectfestival@gmail.com

Have your say!

The Parish Council have been contacted by RPS of Bradford Street, Birmingham who wish to inform you that they have been instructed to hold a public consultation in relation to a proposed retail-led development at Wombourne Enterprise Park, Bridgnorth Road, Wombourne.

The applicant is South Staffordshire Council.

Given the current circumstances, RPS are going ahead with an online consultation.

This will run from 27 March to 10 April.

To have your say, please visit http://www.wombourne-retail.co.uk

In view of the current situation Wombourne Civic Centre will be closed with immediate effect for private functions, classes, meetings and to members of the public accessing the Parish Council Office, until further notice.

For those who have functions booked in at the Civic Centre in the forthcoming weeks, if you haven’t already spoken to a member of staff this week, they will be in touch with you from Monday onwards.

We shall be following the Government’s recommendations closely and if there are any changes to the advice given, we will of course review this decision. The Parish Council will keep you informed via this website and our social media pages.

The health and welfare of our hirers, staff and members of our community is our utmost priority at this difficult time.

The Parish Council staff will continue to work from the Civic Centre where possible during office hours so if you have any queries, please contact them on 01902 896300 or via email – enquiries@wombourneparishcouncil.org.uk

Tenants leasing office space are not affected by this decision to close the Civic Centre and can continue to access their offices for as long as the Government will allow.

Thank you for your understanding and co-operation.

Wombourne Work Club

Are you looking for help with your CV and letter writing? Maybe you need some IT coaching or self employment advice?

Wombourne Work Club can help you… they meet every Tuesday at Wombourne Library/Community Centre from 10am until midday. No appointment is necessary, you can call in for free help and advice.

For enquiries call Val Chapman on 07718911367 or email val.chapman3@btinternet.com

Small office to rent

From Monday 2nd March 2020 a small office suitable for a sole trader or small company will be available to rent at Wombourne Civic Centre.

Electricity, gas, water and full internet connection (from April 2020) will be included in the rental price of £270 per month.

The office comes with ample parking on the Civic Centre site.

For enquiries or to view the room, please call the Parish Council office on 01902 896300.

10 years of Sytch Lane Cemetery, Wombourne

This article has been extracted from the South Staffordshire Review Magazine issue 74.

December marked the tenth anniversary of the opening of Sytch Lane Cemetery. Located on the outskirts of Wombourne, this seven-acre cemetery opened in 2009 and includes an area for lawn burials, a babies and children’s
section, a natural burial meadow area, a bird bath memorial and a Four Seasons woodland scattering area.

Sytch Lane originated from the area between Ounsdale Road and Blakeley open field called ‘The Sitch’, which is taken from the old English word for ‘boundary’. The site was a disused playing field prior to being developed into a cemetery by the Council.

Iron making was a thriving industry with local smithies and the nail-making industry of the village is depicted with the use of the nail head details on the cemetery gateway created by local artist and blacksmith, Ian Moran. Keeping respectfulness, calmness and peacefulness at the heart of his design, Ian used the universal mark of respect, a bowed head and clasped hands for the figurines and the wavy line on the gates is taken from an ordnance survey map of the waterways in Wombourne.

For more information and for help and advice on all
aspects of burial and memorial options, please contact the
Bereavement Services team.
Tel: 01902 696111
Email: bereavementservices@sstaffs.gov.uk
www.sstaffs.gov.uk/bereavement-services

Did you know?

You can book a registrar’s appointment at the Council Offices in Codsall to register a death, a birth or give notice to marry. The registrar is here on Tuesdays from 9am until 1pm and appointments need to be booked through the County Registrar’s office by calling 0300 111 8001 or using the online appointment booker at  https://staffordshire.zipporah.co.uk/Registrars.Staffordshire/DeathBookingProcess

Bereavement Services video

A new information video providing an introduction to the Council’s two cemeteries at Sytch Lane in Wombourne and Strawberry Lane in Great Wyrley and showing all the different memorial options is now available to view on the
Council’s YouTube channel southstaffordshire.

Bereavement Information Hubs

The death of a loved one can turn your life upside down. Many find that talking can help and in South Staffordshire
there are two Compton Care Bereavement Information Hubs hosted at Perton and Wombourne Libraries.

Wombourne Library
Every first Monday of the month, 1.30pm
to 3.30pm.

Perton Library
Every second Friday of the month, 2pm
to 4pm, and every third Thursday of the
month, 6pm to 8pm.

For more information, please contact Perton or Wombourne Library via the Contact Centre on 0300 111 8000 or
Compton Care on 0300 323 0250.

Charity bike ride

A charity bike ride inspired by the Land’s End to John O’Groats cycling challenge will be taking place on static cycles at South Staffordshire Council Offices and the four Leisure Centres in Codsall, Cheslyn Hay, Penkridge and Wombourne on Wednesday 25 March 2020.

“Land’s End to John O’Groats is a classic end-to-end cycle challenge and Council staff, volunteers and members from the Leisure Centres will be covering the same distance as this iconic 874 mile cycle route,” explains Councillor Kath Williams, Chairman of South Staffordshire Council. “We’ll be raising money for a great cause – the Kaleidoscope Plus
Group, which promotes positive mental health and wellbeing for children and young people.”

If you would like to take part in this cycling challenge or if you’d like to donate, please contact:

Tel: 01902 696254
Email: h.astley@sstaffs.gov.uk
www.justgiving.com/fundraising/helen-astley1

Time to book your February school holiday activities

Bookings are now being taken for the children’s school holiday activity camps which are running at the Leisure Centres from Monday 17 to Friday 21 February 2020.

To find out what’s on each day at Wombourne Leisure Centre visit https://www.aspire-sports.co.uk/sites/default/files/content/Wombourne%20-%20Feb%20-%20Green%20-%200.pdf

To book, go to https://www.aspire-sports.co.uk/active-camps.

Meet the Community Lottery family – South Staffordshire Council

Click here to meet the new lottery family. These cheeky balls are set to bring some lottery fun over coming months, so you’ll be seeing a lot more of these delightful characters. Sadly though, the balls have joined us with no names. If you’d like to suggest a name, simply tell us the number of the ball and the name. If you name is chosen, we’ll give you a free lottery play for two weekly draws. Closing date is Sunday 26 January 2020 at 9pm. Please forward any suggestions to n.taylor@sstafs.gov.uk.

To support good causes in South Staffordshire and to buy a lottery ticket, simply register on the website (www.southstaffslottery.co.uk) or telephone 01902 213777.