Look at other Updates

PACT Update – March 2002

.

Hillfields News

WATCH

WATCH held its Annual General Meeting on Thursday 21^st March at St. Peter’s Community Centre. About forty members and supporters attended the meeting. Entertainment included a dance performance by a local dance group. The meeting included the presentation of the Hillfields Community Award to Graham Partridge, Chairman of City Farm, who accepted the award on behalf of the staff and volunteers at the farm. 

Following the AGM the members of the Organising Committee are now as follows:

 The names of the officers of WATCH will be reported in next month’s Update.

Jobs and Training

Washington Inventory Services Ltd, a stocktaking company working at Asda and Woolworths in Coventry and nation-wide, were recruiting at the WATCH Centre on 25^th March. 41 clients were interviewed for stocktaking vacancies and 22 of these were offered employment. The employer was so impressed that he is returning on Thursday. In total 37 clients of WATCH gained employment in March.

Work is currently underway on the survey of unemployment in Hillfields and Charterhouse. A fuller report will be given in a future Update.

Environment

The artwork commissioned by Arts Exchange in Volgograd Place is now complete. It looks very attractive and is well worth a detour to see. The whole of the area under the Ring Road has been brightened up by an extensive series of arts panels and decoration on the ring road pillars. The work was undertaken by Arts Exchange with funding from URBAN. For more information contact Kate Turner on 7655 3533. Arts Exchange also held a workshop for young people at the City Farm on Sunday 10^th March to help create a mural which is to be displayed outside the farm.

The Keep Coventry Clean Campaign has now been launched in the city. The campaign is a partnership between the City Council, the Coventry Evening Telegraph, Whitefriars Housing, the City Centre Company, the Environment Agency and the Highways Agency. It has the aim of reducing the amount of litter across the city and to make Coventry a better place to live. It will include a “Spring clean” roadside collection service for larger items of waste. This will start in Hillfields on Monday 8^th April and will reach the rest of the PACT area over the following months. This service will give residents the opportunity to dispose of bulky items, garden waste, etc. A leaflet will be delivered to each property about one week prior to the date of the service to give residents a chance to prepare and to advise of what can and can’t be placed outside for collection. Photographic assessment will be made in each street after the crew has completed the work.

Nigel Fisher, the Area Services Officer, has written to Resident’s Groups advising them to contact Environmental Services for material help with Community Spring Cleans. At this time of the year the Tidy Britain Group encourages and supports local communities in cleaning up their local environment. For further information contact Nigel on 7622 5052.

Community Safety

The Hillfields Sector Crime Fighting Team now has an additional six officers. The sector has been successful in securing funding with the Terrance Higgins Trust for a prostitute referral worker. When women are arrested they are put onto a referral programme. The post will be advertised soon. The Sector Team is introducing two further new initiatives. The first is the examination of “hot spots”. Crime statistics are being examined to identify hot spots for different type of crime. These areas are then visited to look at various ways of reducing the crime and understanding why it is so high in that locality. The second initiative is that all patrol cars now have a Crime Reduction Toolkit. When officers attend a crime scene they can give immediate advice on various forms of safety equipment. The toolkit contains such things as door chains, personal attack alarms and property marker pens and has been part funded from the Community Safety budget.

A new leaflet and poster has been produced promoting the use of the Hillfields Neighbourhood Warden project. Contact Vince Johnston at the Area Co-ordination Office if you are able to display a copy of the poster or would like a copy of our leaflet.

Coventry and Warwickshire Community Safety Scheme is looking for volunteers able to spare 3 – 4 hours a month to make a difference to the lives of vulnerable members of our community. Volunteers will be given full training. For more information contact Rob Dickie on 7623 1714 or mailto:burglaryreduction@hotmail.com

Funding and Fundraising

It has been a busy month for many staff working on URBAN projects. The programme closed at the end of December and final audited claims had to be submitted before the end of March.

Unfortunately there has been a delay in making decisions on the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund. The Panel will now meet on 17^th April and it is hoped that decisions on Hillfields projects will be made at that meeting.

An expression of Interest has been submitted to Government Office for an Objective 2 Action Plan for Hillfields. This will cover an initial three-year period which will be extended for a further four years after decisions are made on Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital and the Hillfields Flats. It is anticipated that a decision on this will be made in the summer.

Father Brendan Byrne, of St. Mary’s Church, is shaving off a thirty-year-old beard on 14^th April in aid of Myton Hospice. He can be contacted for donations on 7625 8901. Hillfields businessman, Clive Benfield, is abseiling down the side of the DeMontfort Hotel in Kenilworth on Sunday 21^st April to raise money for the Royal National Institute for the Blind. Send cheques made out to the RNIB to Benfield Builders, 88 Payne’s Lane, Hillfields, Coventry, CV1 5IJ. 

Arts, Sports and Leisure

The Hillfields Website attracted 2655 visitor sessions during February 2002 with an average stay of 13 minutes.

A Children’s Fun Day aimed at refugees and asylum seekers families with children but open to the whole community was held at St. Peters Community Centre on Saturday 23^rd March. It was very successful with parents and children from 15 countries attending. The event included bouncy castle, art and musical instrument workshops, stilt walking and lots of other fun activities. The event generated a nice story and pictures in the Evening Telegraph.

Local theatre company “Theatre Verité” are starting an exciting community theatre initiative working with women in Hillfields. Weekly sessions will start at St. Peter’s Community Centre on Monday 8^th April from 1 – 4 p.m. and will run weekly until the end of May. There will also be sessions at the Ellen Terry Building at Coventry University commencing Wednesday 24^th April. Participants will jointly create their own production which will be performed at Coventry University and the Herbert Art Gallery in June. Anyone who would like to participate should contact Janice or Vicky on 7627 3253 or 07789 5411 85 or mailto:theatreverite@hotmail.com

The Sports Development Team is running a Hillfields Community Sports Programme. This scheme encourages local groups and individuals to apply for funding to participate in coaching courses, hire venues, buy equipment and other suitable purposes relating to sport. So far they have supported the set-up of a non-contact boxing programme, football and cricket sessions. If you have any local sports interests please contact Rashid Bhayat on 7683 2371.

The Sports Development Team is also putting on an Easter vacation sports programme at Sidney Stringer CTC from Monday 8^th April – Friday 12^th between 2 p.m. – 4. 00 p.m. It is open to all 8 – 14 year olds. For more information contact Rashid on the above number.

Housing

Work has at long last started on the refurbishment of Harry Salt House. This is being refurbished by Touchstone Housing and will be used for people recovering from mental illness.

As mentioned in a previous Update, the City Council and Coventry Credit Unions are promoting affordable home contents insurance for residents of Coventry in partnership with Primary Insurance.  A new leaflet has been published and can be obtained from the Area Co-ordination Office, Credit Union offices or from Risk Management and Insurance in Christchurch House.

It is understood that the consultation with tenants of the Hillfields Flats is nearing completion. It is anticipated that the results will be announced shortly.

Work has started on the construction of a new hall of residence for Coventry University on the site of Avery Scales and Caterer’s Hire on Raglan Street. The University is working with Derwent Housing Association to create 72 beds ready for the next academic year in September.

A large tree in front of Unity House blew down in strong gales on Saturday 9^th March. It has now been removed but there is a photo on the Hillfields website.

Young People

Sidney Stringer CTC sends a Big thanks to all who attended the Spring Fayre on 23^rd March. They were delighted with the turn out and raised over £1500. It was lovely to see so many members of the local community at the event and they will be planning a similar event next year.

The Fun Factory are holding a celebration and public display of the work of the project on Friday 12^th April from 2.00 p.m. – 5.00 p.m. at St. Peter’s Community Centre. The project has involved nine different programmes of work with groups of children between the ages of 8-14 at a variety of different places in Hillfields over the past three years. There will be displays covering all of these programmes and a big celebration. Anyone interested in children’s work in Hillfields is invited to come along and look at the display and take some refreshment. For more information contact Kirsteen Cowell on 07773 38741 or 7622 9989.

Frederick Bird School is appealing for funds to help create an outdoor classroom for their early years pupils. The school has already raised £17,000 and needs to raise a further £13,000 to undertake the project. The project involves security and bow topped fencing to enclose a safe work area with both tarmac and grass. There will be colourful playground equipment and seating. For more information, or if you can help identify sources of funding, contact Asha Bhardwaj at the school on 7622 1920.

St. Benedict’s RC Primary School has won another educational accolade. It was named as the country’s “school of the year” by Kent-based Education Resources Management, which publishes a magazine for Head Teachers. Facing stiff competition from schools around the country, St. Benedict’s was commended for high levels of commitment and success with its pupils, staff and community. It had demonstrated “real value” to the local community and was praised for successful relationships with businesses.

Health

A health promotion fair was held at St. Mary’s and St. Benedict’s Church Hall in Raglan Street on Tuesday 19^th March. The event was organised by the Coventry Irish Society to tie in with an anti-drug roadshow it launched in February. 

Older People

St. Peter’s Community Centre has attracted resources from the Health Improvement Programme to put on an Older People’s Social Afternoon with music, refreshments and information and advice. This will take place at the community centre in July and will launch a weekly series of drop-in sessions on Thursday afternoon arranged in conjunction with Age Concern who will provide information and advice on a fortnightly basis.

Community Hall re-opens with Flower Festival

St Anne and All Saints’ Church is re-opening it’s Community Hall, which is located below the Church on Acacia Avenue on Saturday 6^th and Sunday 7^th of April. The Hall has been refurbished as a result of a grant from the National Lottery’s Community Fund.  On Saturday 6^th there will be an Open Day between 10am and 4pm, for local residents to come and have a look around the building.  Several local groups are preparing a ‘flower festival’ to brighten up the church and hall for the weekend. A special Church service will take place on Sunday 7^th in the afternoon to mark the project. Leanne Wallis and Area Co-ordination have put together a reminiscence memento, including newspaper articles, information from the Church’s opening in 1930 and memories of local residents.

Area Forum

A meeting of the South Central Area Forum took place on Thursday 14^th March at the Whitley Social Club. The meeting included a presentation on Far Gosford Street, feedback from the NRF consultation event and a discussion on health. A special meeting is to be arranged to discuss housing issues.

The Area Forum also received a report on work that it commissioned to examine the problem of the low take-up of Housing Benefit in Hillfields. Following a multi-agency meeting involving Ward Councillors, Council Officers, the Hillfields 12 Tenants Association and Whitefriars Housing an action plan has been developed to help address the problem. For more information contact the Area Co-ordinator, John Payne, or Forum Chairman, Cllr Dave Nellist.

Area Co-ordination Team

Area Co-ordination will be represented at the Council Open Day on Saturday 20^th April between 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. at the Council House. There will be a Planning for Real Demonstration, video and information leaflets on a stand on the first floor landing. Why not drop in!

Jobs and Training

New Deal 50 Plus is a programme to help people over 50 who want to work. It consists of  personal advice and a wide range of support to improve your chances of finding the right sort of job. Up to £60 per week is paid directly to the clients who take up a job. A training grant is payable while in work to improve long-term job prospects. To find out more, contact Chris Gibbons or Jittendeer Kaur at Cheylesmore Job Centre.

The Learning and Skills Council, Coventry and Warwickshire, is putting on a programme of Bitesize Training between 20^th May and 21^st June. Organisations that would like to put on training sessions under this programme should submit their proposals now. Bitesize courses are between one to three hours and offer high levels of interest to new adult learners. The emphasis is on “new learners” – i.e. those who have not participated in learning since leaving school or “lapsed learners” – those who have not participated in learning for three years or more. Any organisation wishing to participate should return a pro forma by 8^th April. Funding is available at £25 per course and £20 per learner. For more information contact Jayne Moore at the LSC on 0845 019 4156.

Unemployment

The following table is an extract from City Development’s Research and Strategy Newsletter identifying unemployment figures for St. Michael’s and Cheylesmore Wards.

Health

Coventry Health Promotion Services are putting on an extensive training programme in health promotion between May 2002 and March 2003. The courses cover national and local priorities and are designed to develop both general health promotion skills and understanding of specific health topics. The courses are free for people who work in a health-promoting role in Coventry. Courses include display skills, introduction to mental health promotion, anger management, using media creatively, introduction to health promotion, promoting exercise, young people’s self esteem, working with groups, adult weight management and a health promotion foundation course. There are also half hour one-to-one advice and consultancy sessions designed to give help and support in planning health promotion initiatives. For a copy of the brochure, including an application form, phone 7624 6095 or mailto: Pauline.Lennon@coventry-ha.wmids.nhs.uk

Welcomes and Goodbyes

A special thanks to Kirsteen Cowell from Hillfields Play Centre who has now finished work with the Fun Factory Project and has moved to work with our colleagues in Area Co-ordination South East. Welcome to Matt Feeley, who has departed the City Council’s Regeneration Team to take a post with the Swanswell Trust in Hillfields.

Planning Applications

The following lists some of the key planning applications in Hillfields, Charterhouse and Cheylesmore Ward received over the past month. It is not a comprehensive list. Anyone wanting to be put on the mailing list to receive weekly details of all planning applications should contact Ian Prowse, in City Development on 7683 1227. All planning applications can be inspected in the reception of the City Development Directorate, Tower Block, Much Park Street, during normal office hours.

·        37043/C 98 – 101 Far Gosford Street. Installation of anti vandal screens to ground floor windows.

·        48503/B Faurecia Midland Ltd., Humber Road. Erection of two additional silos for storage of polypropylene and ABSI polycarbonate moulding granules.

·        43838/A 1 Burlington Road. Change of use from retail shop to a single dwellinghouse with associated external alterations to building.

·        AD/6681 Advertisement – Express Consent. Land at corner of Canterbury Street and Raglan Street. Display of construction signboard.

·        48648/B Land at and to the rear of 19 – 33 Raglan Street. Erection of three-storey building to be used as student accommodation with associated bin store, landscaping and means of enclosure.