Wednesday 31 December 2008

Welcome Gift

An anonymous benefactor has donated the fee for the use of the Tenbury Regal for the Primary School end of term film.

Following Tenbury Town Council's refusal to waive the usual hire fee, it was feared that this additional expense would have to be met from the limited funds available to the volunteer Tenbury Film Group.

Although the Town Council were steadfast in ensuring that they made a profit from the School Film, they may not have been so lucky with the Pantomime that they promoted in the week before Christmas which appears to have landed the Council with a significant loss.

Wednesday 24 December 2008

Wall work finished?

Worcester County Council promised that work on the replacement wall in Market Street would be completed by Christmas. Well depending on your definition of completed then after 163 days it possibly is!

Saturday 20 December 2008

Tenbury Regal Cinema


I wonder if Tenbury Town Council, the owner of the Tenbury Regal are going to offer a lifeline to the volunteer led Tenbury Regal Cinema Group?

Tenbury Town Council (and by default, us the Council Tax payers) support the Bowls Club and Tennis Club with thousands of pounds of subsidy each year.

By contrast, they charge the Cinema Group thousands of pounds a year for the privilege of running a community service that is accessed by a far greater number of residents.

Playing catch up.

The two local print Newspapers covering Tenbury Wells have been playing catch up this week.

The Tenbury Advertiser leads with the destruction of the Mulberry Trees recorded here on 6th December, and the Ludlow Journal, leads with the "Use it or loose it" message from the Tenbury Wells Regal Cinema recorded here on 2nd December.

Wednesday 17 December 2008

Shop Window Competition

Traveltrail won the Tenbury Chamber of Trade Christmas window competition with their interpretation of Joy to the World.

The winner of the Public Competition to Guess as many window themes as possible should be announced shortly.

Wednesday 10 December 2008

Sculpture Reconfigured

The reconfigured plaques.

The Art Trail Sculpture at the entrance to the Burgage have been reconfigured and is now back in place.

The three plaques were originally mounted on a stone plinth, but the fixings were found to be of insufficient strength to withstand the rigours of life in the Burgage. They were also rather hard to read.

The plaques have been strengthened and remounted on a large steel plate.

Tenbury Mayor unveils the original sculpture

Monday 8 December 2008

Royal Mullberry Trees Destroyed by Vandals


Three Mulberry Trees in the Tenbury Wells Burgage were destroyed by vandals at the weekend.

The trees planted to commemorate the Queens 80th Birthday were grafted from trees growing at Buckingham Palace.

It has been estimated that the cost of replacing these trees is in the region of £150, provided replacement trees can be found.

Saturday 6 December 2008

Mistletoe Festival & Lantern Parade

A smaller and colder Mistletoe Festival took place today, with entertainment, a craft fair and charity auction. Also the results of the trader shop window competition, with Traveltrail taking 1st Prize and Soap Opera & McCartneys taking joint second.

Entertainment at the Mistletoe Festival

Mistletoe Queen & attendants
Listen to Mistletoe Queen on Radio 4 Womans Hour Programme

Santa leads the Lantern Parade


The Lantern Parade

Friday 5 December 2008

Use it or lose it.

DONT LET THIS HAPPEN TO THE TENBURY REGAL
A use it or lose it call, has gone out from the Tenbury Regal Cinema team.

Recent low attendance figures have brought about a turn in fortune for the volunteer run cinema. During the summer 7 sell out screenings of Mamma Mia helped to boost the funds, but recent very low audience numbers have eaten away at this surplus.

The Tenbury Regal Group have to pay enhanced fees to the film distributors when there is a large audience, but still have to pay a substantial distributor fee, and a hire fee to Tenbury Town Council even if no one turns up. Ironically they even have to pay a distributors courier fee when the Regal is unavailable for films due to other bookings.

A coffee morning is being held in the Regal Community Centre starting at 10am on Saturday 17th January 2009 with an auction of film posters at 11am. You are urged to come along a discuss the cinema and it's future.


Tenbury Regal Website

Tuesday 2 December 2008

Christmas Window Competition

If you get a chance, take a stroll around the shops in Tenbury this Christmas.

Nearly every shop has been refitted within the last 18 months and new hi-tech lights decorate the street scene.

To add to the Christmas magic many of the shops have entered the Tenbury Chamber of Trade shop window competition. Some truly magical window displays have been created to put a smile on your face, to tease the mind and get you guessing which Christmas song they represent.

There also some unusual gift ideas and great bargains to be found in the shops.

MHDC offer help to ailing companies

Cllr Philip Grove, Portfolio Holder for Economic Development at Malvern Hills District Council has encouraged any companies in the Malvern Hills area facing financial problems to contact the Council, preferably before they need to call in the administrators.

He explained that whilst the Council does not have the funds to assist companies directly they can access a number of grants which may be enough to help companies continue trading.

New Multi Purpose Building

Its full speed ahead for the new multi purpose, health and well being building planned for the Palmers Meadow area of Tenbury.

The new building, which will incorporate new changing facilities for the football and rugby club has been given the green light and it is hoped that a design architect will be appointed soon, once suitable funding has been found.

The second multi purpose, art and culture building, proposed for the Regal site appears to have stalled.

Tenbury Play Equipment

Tenbury Town Council is still well on target to apply for up to £100K in grant aid to refurbish the children's play area and provide new facilities for older children and young people.

In conjunction with other organisations, various public consultation exercises have been carried out and others are planned.

In particular, children and young people have been encouraged to take an active part in the consultation process.

Tenbury Police

Tenbury Police have requested that the public call their new number 0300 333 3000 with any concerns about suspicious behaviour.

Although the crime rate around the Tenbury and Teme Valley area remains low, the current economic climate will inevitably lead to an increase in crime.

There have been reports of Fuel and Heating Oil thefts and thefts of scrap metal, although these have reduced with the reduction in fuel prices and halving in the value of scrap.

In recent weeks the street patrols have been tackling the problem of young people cycling on pavements and the usual problems of under age drinking.

The national drink drive campaign also starts today, and as the occurrence drink driving is still statistically high in the Teme Valley area they will be stepping up their patrols and random stops.

A national Power Company have donated a 'large' number of low energy light bulbs to Tenbury Police to distribute to vulnerable people to enable them to leave a light on for security reasons without running up a large bill. Anyone requiring a bulb or who know someone who would benefit from a bulb should contact the front desk.

Free Parking in Tenbury

Malvern Hills DC have announced that they will allow Free Parking in their Tenbury Wells Car Park on 12th, 13th, 19th and 20th December 2008.

MHDC have decided not to reduce Car Parking charged following the reduction in VAT, but to allow additional free parking.

They are also hoping to announce no increases in Car Parking charges during 2009.

It has been estimated that the Tenbury Wells Car Park is revenue neutral, and MHDC could allow free car parking in Tenbury with no overall loss of revenue, but they have refused to move from their policy of treating all their car parks the same. MHDC make significant profits from some of their car parks.

Tenbury Wells, is in competition with Leominster where parking is now free.

New Town Councillor

Following the resignation of former Mayor Councillor Bob Martin, Tenbury Town Council have co-opted the Rev Ian Williams to serve on the council.

Unusually the whole co-option process was carried out at a special meeting of the Town Council to which the press and public were excluded.

Tenbury Town Council regularly use the Section 100(1) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and public from official meetings, and where the act cannot be stretched to apply they hold informal meetings which they are also able to exclude the public and press.

(Only meetings where Councillors are "summoned to attend" are official meetings)

The Council have voted to adopt the Freedom of Information Act, model publication scheme, but rather than make all relevant documents available on their website, the will use the website to direct enquiries to the Town Clerk who will copy documents and make a charge.

Tuesday 18 November 2008

Inspired by the Pump Rooms

Read how someone was so inspired by the Tenbury Wells Pump Rooms, that they built their own version.

Click here.

Friday 14 November 2008

Countdown to Christmas


The countdown to Christmas started tonight in Tenbury Wells with the switching on of the new Christmas Street decorations.

After discovering last year that most of the lights were either damaged or obsolete, fund raising has been taking place to purchase new lights.

Now blue and white twinkling lights decorate the street scene in Teme Street. Some of the older coloured lights have been used in Market Street and Cross Street.

The blue and white theme has been continued in decorating the Christmas Tree in Market Square.

Monday 10 November 2008

Ask not what your Town Council does for you.

I was very surprised to find how difficult it is to discover where Tenbury Town Council spends our money.

Tenbury Town Council set the 2nd highest precept in the Malvern Hills District. For an (average) band D property, the Town Council levy a charge of £76.91, which seems quite good value until you discover that the charge for Malvern Hills District Council is only £125.40.

From Malvern Hills we get, Planning Control, Licensing, Part of the Worcestershire Hub, Street cleaning, Some grass cutting, Environmental Health, Toilets Provision, Elections, Tourism Support, Standards Committee, Car Parking, Summer Activities, Community Safety, Waste Collection and Recycling, Emergency Planning, Lobbying, and awarding of Grants, amongst other things.

What do we get from Tenbury Town Council?

They clean and maintain the bus shelter outside the Regal.

They run their own web-site, which was supposed to be income generating, but isn't, and they do not even use it to publish all their public documents, with many document only appearing on their noticeboard.

They own and control the Regal, should this (with the help of grant aid) be self sufficient and not be a burden on the tax payer?

They now own the Pump Rooms, but again should this be self sufficient? There appears to be no Management Plan for the Pump Rooms and the Town Council have publicly admitted that they have no idea how much it is going to cost to run and maintain.

They own two shops, surely these at least should be revenue generating not cost items.

They own and run the Burgage and Palmers Meadow. Once again, there is income to off-set expenditure, but in the Malvern Town Council area, similar open spaces are maintained by the District Council, so why does so much cost fall upon our local precept?

One plus point is that they do provide free car parking.

The purpose of a Town Council is to raise a precept and provide services and facilities for the public. Perhaps we cannot expect these services and facilities to be run on a commercial basis to make a profit or to break even, but at what point does the cost of a facility used by a small minority become unacceptable. For instance when does the public subsidy of a game of Tennis become too much? 50p? £5? £50?

Due to the way public records are kept and published it is almost impossible to say how much the Town Council subsidise each game of Tennis or each Game of Bowls, but we can see that the income from all the Sports and Recreation facilities (plus the Cemetery) is in the region of £6,000, where as the expenditure is nearing £22,000. The income from the Bowling appears to be in the region of £1,000, but the cost of the Green Maintenance alone is in excess of £3,000.

In the last year that figures were available, 50% of the money raised through the precept was spent on wages.

The Town Council are our elected representatives, but we should all take an interest in what they do. After all we pay for it.

Sunday 9 November 2008

Roads cannot cope with rain

Once again local roads were flooded this afternoon as they failed to cope with heavy rain.
With flooding becoming such a regular event, the County Council need to review all the local roads and find a solution to the persistent flooding.

It is ridiculous, that the local road network cannot cope with heavy rain. This is not a one-off or hundred year event, this is every few weeks!

The main Tenbury/Bromyard Road was only open to large vehicles and 4x4s.
By 11.45 pm tonight 34.8 mm of rain had fallen in Tenbury, 11.2 mm falling in one hour.

Tenbury Remembers

The main roads in Tenbury Town centre were closed for a few minutes this morning for the annual Remembrance Parade. Fortunately for all concerned there was a break in the weather which meant that the parade took place in full winter sunshine. The very well supported parade led by Tenbury Town Band, was made up of representatives of the local uniformed organisations, such as the Royal British Legion, the Royal Naval Association, the Police and Fire & Rescue Service, Scouts, Cubs, Beavers and Guides, Brownies and Rainbows. A strong contingent of Town Councillors were also parading.

Contractors working for eon/Central Networks, turned off their machinery and paid their respects as the parade passed.

(If I've missed any organisation out, or mis-named anyone please let me know and I'll correct)

More photo's

Saturday 8 November 2008

Flood Defences

With estimates of a ten year wait for flood defences, Tenbury's campaign will be featured on BBC Midlands’ Politics Show this Sunday at noon, with two local political candidates appearing on the show to pledge their support.

Harriett Baldwin
Harriett Baldwin 2

Richard Burt
Richard Burt 2

Watch on i-player (Fast forward to 8:15)

Disdain for the system, or search for the truth?

Leading politician, Hazel Blears claimed this week that political blogs fuel a culture of cynicism and despair, but Sandi Toksvig, Chair of the BBC Radio 4 newquiz commented that the quote should continue....

"political blogs are written by people with disdain for the political system and politicians, who see their function as unearthing scandals, conspiracies and perceived hypocrisy." (Hazel Blears)

"Dam the electorate and their morbid facination with the truth" (addition by Sandi Toksvig)

Monday 3 November 2008

EA not keen on gauge for Kyre Brook

It seems that the Environment Agency is not keen on the proposal to fit flood warning gauges to Kyre Brook.

They already monitor the water level on Ledwyche Brook at Little Hereford and Mill Brook at Newnham Bridge and feel that Kyre Brook does not need to be monitored.

This decision appears to be rather strange as Kyre Brook rises on the opposite side of the Teme Valley and has a direct effect on flooding in Tenbury.

MHDC in charge confusion

A local business appears to have been charged in the region of £300 by MHDC to ascertain whether they need to spend £300 on a planning application.

This sound similar to Business Link paying a consultant £350 + Vat to turn down a Training Grant application for £400!

Government agency red tape, don't you just love it!

Zebra comes to Tenbury

It was confirmed tonight that Tenbury is to get it's own Zebra.

A "Zebra" pedestrian crossing is to be installed to assist crossing Market Street from the Royal Oak area to the new Toilets.

Pub Closes

The credit crunch and general economic turn down has taken it's first casualty in the Tenbury licensed trade.

The multi award winning Fountain Inn has ceased trading.

The fate of some other licenced premises locally must also be in doubt. A quick walk around town shows that whilst some of the Pubs are busy (incredibly so in one instance), others have no drinkers at all.

Thursday 30 October 2008

Teme Valley Times

Local newspaper, Teme Valley Times, now has an interactive online edition.

http://www.temevalleytimes.co.uk/

Teme Valley times has quickly established itself as the highest circulation paper for local news and events, and is now the first newspaper in the area to have a full online edition.

Thursday 23 October 2008

Applefest 2008

Once again Tenbury Applefest was blessed with dry weather and large crowds.

Numerous interesting exhibits and stalls appeared around the town. This approach helped to encourage the crowds out of the main display and entertainment area an into the town's retail centre spreading the benefit of additional shoppers across a wider number of retailers.
People had travelled from far and wide, and for many this was their first visit to Tenbury, where they were surprised to find 'such a gem' of a Town, with such diverse independent retailers.

The one issue that hadn't been solved, and needs urgent attention before anymore festivals are promoted is that of parking. Numerous people had for months been concerned about the lack of additional temporary car parking in town and insufficient consideration to traffic flow on festival days. Once again this caused many visitors to have a very slow approach and unsatisfactory and muddy parking provision when they arrived.

Undoubtedly festivals and special events are a bonus to Tenbury and help to maintain the viability of the retail centre, but proper plans need to be put in place, whether they be, park and ride, or school car parks, or better use of on-street parking.

Tenbury Advertiser
Tenbury Advertiser (Parking)

Saturday 18 October 2008

Mamma Mia Plays to Another Full House


Mama Mia, the hit Musical of Summer 2008 returned to Tenbury today as part of the Film Festival. Once again, the film played to a full house. This must have been the most successful film screened in the Regal in recent years with a record 7 full houses.

Tuesday 14 October 2008

Tenbury awarded £25,000 Grant

Tenbury Wells is to receive a £25,000 grant, funded by the regional development agency Advantage West Midlands as part of a £1 million “Better Welcome” campaign to improve local towns tourism appeal,

Supported by Malvern Hills District Council, the Tenbury Wells project will include a new civic garden with a specially designed sensory element to be built on currently unused waste land behind the Burgage.

There will also be a number of improvements made to the planted area adjacent to Tenbury Swimming Pool, as well as additional seating, signage and a series of plaques erected on some of Tenbury’s listed buildings.

Come out and support the town!

Friday 10 October 2008

SWJCS Preferred Options Paper

If you have any comments or objections to the following, then you need to act now.

Details of how to comment are on SWJCS website.


Proposed Policy CS7 Tenbury Wells

Growth should respect the existing urban form, particularly in relation to the undulating landform and opportunities for views in to the town, and its historic characteristics.

Housing growth should be balanced with increases in employment development to allow further choice of jobs for new and existing residents, and to help to reduce longer distance commuting.

Accessibility to Tenbury Wells from the surrounding rural areas will be enhanced through improvements to sustainable transport infrastructure to ensure better access to higher-level services such as health, employment and educational opportunities for the rural population. This will include more frequent bus services and rural transport initiatives in line with the County Council’s Integrated Passenger Transport Strategy.

Development of the former Cattle Market site for commercial uses, including retail, employment uses, and / or for recreation, leisure and community uses will be encouraged where these are of a scale and size appropriate to the location and compatible with flood policy.

Employment development at Tenbury Wells will be limited to meeting local needs only enhancing the economic prosperity of the town and its rural surroundings., No specific allocations are anticipated beyond the continued implementation of the existing Tenbury Business Park. The release of any additional land for employment uses at Tenbury, will take place only once Tenbury Business Park has been fully developed and subject to consideration of the full range of employment development opportunities which exist on a cross boundary basis within Burford which is within South Shropshire District.

Development should support the role of Tenbury Wells as a focus for the provision of services and employment for the surrounding rural areas.

The Site Allocations Development Plan Document will identify the phasing and the location of up to 100 new dwellings to 2026.

Pavement Repairs in Church Street

Temporary pavement repairs have been completed in Church Street following the complaint of a local resident who fell and injured his leg.

The damage, possibly caused by heavy vehicles travelling with one wheel on the pavement had left the level of the tarmac surface well below the curbstone.

This damage may have happened during the upgrading of the sewage pumping station, where tonnes of soil was moved by Tractor & Trailer to the temporary transfer station set up on the Old Cattle Market.

Theft at the Regal

Emergency temporary repairs were being undertaken this afternoon after the shock discovery that the lead flashing had been stolen from the roof at the back of the Regal Cinema complex in Teme Street Tenbury Wells.

Fortunately the dry weather this week meant that the complex avoided extensive water damage, although the likely cost of repairing the roof will run into thousands of pounds.
The picture above shows the flashing in place prior to the theft. The sloped roof is the top of the screen box. The cinema volunteers had noticed light leaking onto the screen, but didn't immediately link this with the theft which was discovered later.

It is hoped that the temporary repairs will enable the 50s-60s Rock & Roll Concert, featuring Roger Brown & No Agender to go ahead tomorrow Sat. 11th October 2008 at 7.30 pm despite the forecast of rain.

Wednesday 8 October 2008

Hidden Treasure - Dragons Wood Forge

It's not every day that you are driving along and are suddenly confronted by a Dragon.Well not everyday, unless you live near Dragons Wood Forge, Stoke Lacy a few miles from Tenbury Wells.

Artist/Blacksmith Neil Lossock, has created some amazing creatures and other interesting objects for a wide range of customers.
For full information visit http://www.dragonswoodforge.co.uk/

Monday 6 October 2008

To elect or to co-opt that is the question?

Following the shock resignation tonight of former Mayor Cllr, Bob Martin, Tenbury must once again wait to see if the vacancy will be filled by Election or Co-Option.

If ten local residents request an election then one must be held, although the last time this happened, earlier this year, only one name appeared on the ballot paper, so they won by default.

For a separate vacancy three names were put forward for co-option. The final choice was decided by Town Councillor in a secret vote.

Supermarket for Cattle Market Site?

Chase Tenbury LLP the owners of the old Cattle Market site in Tenbury Wells are in negotiation with planners about the redevelopment of the site. Soil testing has recently been taking place, and whilst no firm proposals have been submitted it is hoped that the redevelopment will commence within 18 months.

It seems that the most likely planning application will be for a small supermarket along with substantial parking facilities.

There is no information about the likely operator of the site but the ownership is expected to remain with Chase Tenbury LLP.

Sainsbury plc made a submission regarding the site, during the District Plan revision.

Tesco's are expected to apply for a Tesco Express in Burford in 2010 when further development is due to take place.

Saturday 4 October 2008

Good old English

I heard the following on BBC R4 PM

English should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.

In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
  • We ship by truck but send cargo by ship.
  • We have noses that run and feet that smell.
  • We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.
And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

Toilet Design Competition - Result

Tenbury Mayor, Cllr Richard Jones, and District Cllrs Phil Grove & Tony Penn pose for photographs with the Project Manager and the Architect of the winning design.

The winning design emerged as clear favourite during the public consultation exercise held earlier this year. Following meetings with the planners, conservation officer and other council officials it was agreed that the popular design was suitable and could be built.

MHDC Press Release
Tenbury Advertiser

Mayor unveils Sculpture

Tenbury Mayor, Cllr Richard Jones unveils the main art panel sculpture at the entrance to the Burgage. This 3 panel sculpture is the starting point of an art trail that winds it way around the town with additional panels in a number of prominent places and on various buildings, such as the Library and Regal.
At the well attended ceremony, Caroline Palethorpe explained how the project had progress and had involved children and adults from around the town and in the outlying villages.


Tenbury Advertiser 16/10/08

Friday 3 October 2008

Market Street Wall - Progress

Day 81. The wall is beginning to appear.

Sculpture to be unveiled tomorrow

This art panel sculpture is due to be unveiled tomorrow and marks the start of the new Tenbury Wells art trail.  Similar art plaques have been fixed to various buildings and structures around town.

Four Year Battle Won

After a four year battle by Councillor Margaret Austin, Worcester County Council have agreed to install a new gully to remove the water that collects in the notorious splash point in Kyrewood Road.

They have also agreed to a new drainage system in Bromyard Road to alleviate the water run off from Tenbury High School and Dark Orchard.

Thursday 2 October 2008

Cattle Market Car Park to CLOSE!

Although not the best car parking facility in town, the cattle market car park usually contains 40 to 50 cars a day.  Some are shop staff and others are 'short stop' shoppers.

News that this privately owned facility is to be closed from 9 am on Sunday until further notice is yet another blow to the already struggling retail centre.  It will also impact on the parking available for Applefest and the Mistletoe Fayre.

Malvern Hills District Council have consistently refused to make their car park behind the library free of charge, even though the cost of running and enforcing the ticketing system makes the car park 'revenue natural'.

Although the fees are not very high by national standards,  if all you want to do is post a letter, then they add considerably to the postage cost!

If you have concerns about this or any other local issue, the District Councillors Phil Grove and Tony Penn are available, (by appointment) this Friday from 5.30 to 6.30 in the library.  Call in to book an appointment or phone 01684 862 151.


Wednesday 1 October 2008

Tenbury Tourism

A few weeks ago the Tenbury Advertiser ran an article about the increased number of visitors visiting the Tenbury TIC and thereby Tenbury.  They recorded 8,000 visitors, 16% up on the previous year.

When I read this article, my immediate reaction was disbelief, but I though the figures must be right, otherwise they wouldn't have been published.

Now several weeks later, I have spoken to quite a few people, consulted with the Tenbury & District Tourism Group, who represent a number of the local tourist accommodation providers, and talked with a number of retailers. They all say, that visitor numbers are down, both day visitors, and overnight stays and holidaymakers. Even local people are visiting town less frequently.

So the question remains, why do the TIC figures show such a significant increase?

Live Weather in Tenbury Wells

Have you ever wondered just how hot it was yesterday, or how heavy the passing shower really is? If you have, thanks to a Weather Station installed at and run by Tenbury Wells High School, you can view weather statistics live. In addition the site also shows interesting past data such as:-

The highest daily rain fall in the last year was 54.4mm on 5/9/2008
The highest hourly rainfall was also recorded on 5/9/2008 as 18.3mm whereas the highest rate of rain fall was recorded on 19th July.

Other interesting facts which highlight just how random our weather has become is the coldest day of the year was 16th April at -1.8c yet the hottest was only a few weeks later on 11th May at 26.7c

Monday 29 September 2008

Whoops!

The Crisis Support Team, Evacuation training session scheduled for 20th September was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.

I hear that despite some teething problems the team and their support network are doing some great work and have plans and procedures that are far more advanced than some District and County Councils.

Anyone wishing to have a live update should attend the Crisis Support Team meeting to be held on Monday 29th September 2008 at 7.30pm in the Pump Rooms, off Teme Street, Tenbury Wells.

Henceforth the Crisis Support Team will be know as CEST. Community Emergency Support Team who will operate the Community Emergency Support Plan.

Congratulations Sadie - President Elect

Sadie Chalkley the Tenbury Wells Chamber of Trade Chairman and Managing Director of Hardware & Houseware retailer, J G Banfield, is to become the first ever women President of the BHF (British Hardware Federation) in 2009.

Wednesday 17 September 2008

Town Council - Call on residents to lobby for Flood Action

Tenbury Town Council has taken the unprecedented step of issuing a press release stating its position with respect to the security of the town because it is concerned at the lack of action taken by the relevant authorities in respect of flood defences.

Click here for statement.

Tuesday 9 September 2008

Mamma Mia Returns

After it's extended sell out screening in August, the hit musical film is set to return to Tenbury in October as part of the Film Festival.

Full details are on the Regal (unofficial) website.

Tenbury's infamous water splash


One Tenbury Councillor has been campaigning for years to get Worcester County Council to solve this puddle problem.

The puddle appears after every shower, and cars then splash anyone unfortunate enough to be walking by.

For years the response from the County Councillor has been unhelpful suggestions such as "use the opposite pavement" (There isn't one) and it is a low priority.

Now Worcester County Council have promised to review the problem and see if funding can be found to resolve the problem once and for all.

Six months ago.

Tenbury standing by.

With heavy rain forecast for Thursday a temporary sandbag wall has been erected at the Market Street Wall Works.

This is try to stop water spilling from the Brook into Market Street should the heavy rain cause the waters to rise.

Sand Bag Volunteers Wanted


New Lease of Life for the Tenbury Regal

A study commissioned by the Tenbury Area Partnership is to propose the development of the Regal Cinema/Community Centre into a vibrant arts, heritage and cultural centre.

New facilities could provide opportunities for people of all ages to participate in sports, arts and recreational activities.

A well designed re-development of the site could provide a vibrant cultural centre with cross over facilities by combing meeting rooms and office space with a wide range of activities including museum facilities, events and exhibitions, gallery, whilst keeping and upgrading the existing Cinema and Theatre space.

It is hoped that £2M Grant funding from a variety of sources can make this plan a reality.

Market Street Wall - Progress

Day 57. We have a big hole. Compare that with the project at Nailsworth - Completed in 17 days.
(Click on link below)
Yes, I am the first to admit I am not a structural engineer or a hydro expert, but I just find the contrast interesting.