Stevenage residents will have access to free Warm Spaces across the town this winter.
Stevenage Borough Council has worked with local organisations to develop a Warm Spaces Network. The Warm Spaces will be free for residents to access from Monday 28 November 2022.
A Warm Space will be available every day of the week, at locations including: Daneshill House, Stevenage Museum, Stevenage Library, Bedwell Community Centre, St Nicholas Community Centre, churches, and the Indoor Market.
At most venues, food and drink will be provided, and residents will also be able to bring their own food and drink to any Warm Space. Staff will also be on hand to signpost anyone needing extra support with benefits, their health, and fuel and other costs.
Baroness Taylor of Stevenage said:
“We know that this winter will be difficult for many with the rise in energy bills and cost of living crisis, and some residents will be faced with tough decisions about whether they can afford to heat their homes.
“The Warm Spaces are free for anyone to use and will provide a welcoming place for people to stay warm, enjoy a hot drink and food, and socialise with others if they wish.
“We hope to add more Warm Spaces over the winter as the network grows, so please keep checking our website to find out the latest spaces available.”
More information, including locations and opening times of Warm Spaces, can be found online here:www.stevenage. gov.uk/stevenage-warm-spacesnetwork
Patients and visitors couldn’t believe their eyes when they spotted two ponies trotting down the corridors and onto wards at Stevenage’s Lister Hospital recently.
Therapy ponies Charlie and Romeo visited wards 7A and 7B “and delighted all the patients and staff who met them”, said a spokesperson for the East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals’ Charity, which supports Lister with projects above and beyond what the NHS can provide. “These visits really help boost morale and give patients
and staff a lovely, positive experience.”
A spokesperson for the company Pixie and Pickles Adventures, which took the ponies into Lister, said: “Charlie and Romeo melted everybodies’ hearts during a therapy visit to Lister Hospital. Everyone loved them, and they just loved going around the wards to say ‘hello’ to so many people.
“Many times they were completely swallowed up in the crowds of people who wanted to stroke, kiss and cuddle these cute, adorable Shetland ponies.
“Everyone had to look twice, as they couldn’t believe they were actually ponies, and we had hundreds of lovely comments about how chilled out they were and how well behaved with so many people.
“The ponies fell asleep in patients’ arms whilst they hugged them in their beds.
“This is pony therapy at its best.”
The spokesperson for the East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals’ Charity said: “A visit from the ponies is a highlight in what can be long days in hospital for patients and staff. They increase morale and put a smile
on everyone’s face.
“It costs £200 for a two-hour visit from the ponies and we have seen the amazing impact that they can have on patients, their families and staff.
“Help us fund these important visits by therapy ponies to boost wellbeing, lower stress and give patients and staff a lovely, positive experience. Visit enhhcharity.org.uk/ponies to make a donation.”
Stevenage Borough Council is running a revised collection services over the Christmas and New Year period and your bins will be collected a day late. Remember to put your bins or boxes out by 7am on the day of your collection or the night before.
Revised times below:
Week commencing Monday 26 December
Normal collection day Revised collection day
Monday 26 December Tuesday 27 December
Tuesday 27 December Wednesday 28 December
Wednesday 28 December Thursday 29 December
Thursday 29 December Friday 30 December
Friday 30 December Monday 2 January 2023
Week commencing Monday 2 January 2023
Normal collection day Revised collection day
Monday 2 January Tuesday 3 January
Tuesday 3 January Wednesday 4 January
Wednesday 4 January Thursday 5 January
Thursday 5 January Friday 6 January
Friday 6 January Saturday 7 January
Collections return to normal on Monday 9 January 2023.
Excess waste
SBC will collect up to two additional sacks of household waste with your first black bin collection after 25 December whilst they operate the Christmas schedule.
If you have extra recycling, such as glass, cardboard, cans and plastic you can leave it out for collection with your recycling (please don’t leave cardboard in the rain as it is not recyclable). Please use a suitable box or container and not black sacks.
Alternatively, extra waste or recycling can be taken to Stevenage recycling centre(opens in new window).
Please note that the recycling centre is closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and News Year’s Day.
Real Christmas trees
You can recycle real Christmas trees in your brown bin or place it by the side of your bin on your collection day, up until the end of January. Make sure to remove all decorations from your tree.
Christmas cards / wrapping paper
Plain Christmas cards and wrapping paper can be recycled in your blue box. However, cards heavily decorated with glitter and foil or glittery wrapping paper cannot be recycled and should go in your black bin. Some supermarkets also offer Christmas card recycling points. Alternatively, cut up old Christmas cards to turn them into gift tags to reuse next year!
Food waste
All food waste, including meat/fish bones and plate scrapings can be placed in your brown bin for recycling. To reduce food waste, only buy what you need and turn any leftovers you do have into tasty new meals. Check the Love Food, Hate Waste website(opens in new window) for ideas and tips on what to do with your Christmas leftovers.
After the joys of Christmas, disposing of your Christmas tree can be a real chore. So why not let Garden House Hospice Care remove this stress by collecting it from your home as part of their Christmas Treecycling service?
For the sixth year running, a team of volunteers will travel across Stevenage, North Herts, South Bedfordshire and surrounding areas collecting real Christmas trees to recycle in exchange for a donation to the Hospice.
The service removes the hassle of pine needles all over your car as you tackle your tree into the boot, or sad looking trees in your front garden in the spring. Instead, all trees will be shredded by their friends at settle to support local community projects in your area.
What’s more, the donations you give help support vital end of life care in our community over the festive period and beyond.
Bookings will close at midday on Tuesday 3rd January 2023 or sooner if they reach capacity.
They will be accepting bookings in the following postcodes only:
SG1 - Stevenage - North Stevenage, including Old Town and Town Centre, Great Ashby
SG2 - Stevenage - South Stevenage, Walkern, Ardeley
SG3 - Knebworth - Knebworth, Datchworth, Woolmer Green
SG4 - Hitchin - Hitchin (east), Codicote, Kimpton,
Weston, St Ippolyts, Little Wymondley, Whitwell, Graveley, Great Wymondley, Breachwood Green, Gosmore, Preston, St Paul’s Walden, Langley, Bendish, Ley Green, King’s Walden, Hall’s Green
SG5 - Hitchin - Hitchin (west), Stotfold, Ickleford, Shillington, Offley, Fairfield, Pirton, Holwell, Apsley End, Hexton, Charlton, Astwick, Pegsdon, Higham Gobion
SG6 - Letchworth Garden City - Letchworth, Norton, Willian
SG7 - Baldock - Baldock, Ashwell, Hinxworth, Wallington, Newnham, Bygrave, Radwell, Clothall, Odsey, Caldecote
SG8 - Royston - Royston, Abington Pigotts, Arrington, Barkway, Barley, Bassingbourn, Chrishall, Croydon, Fowlmere, Great Chishill, Guilden Morden, Heydon, Kelshall, Kneesworth, Litlington, Little Chishill, Melbourn, Meldreth, New Wimpole, Nuthampstead, Orwell, Reed, Shepreth, Shingay, Steeple Morden, Tadlow, Therfield, Thriplow, Wendy, Whaddon
SG15 - Arlesey
SG16 - Henlow - Henlow, Henlow Camp, Lower Stondon, Upper Stondon
SG17 - Shefford - Shefford, Clifton, Meppershall, Campton, Chicksands, Beadlow, Deadman’s Cross
SG18 - Biggleswade - Biggleswade, Langford, Lower Caldecote, Northill, Upper Caldecote
AL6 - Welwyn - Welwyn, Ayot St Peter, Ayot St Lawrence, Digswell, Rabley Heath, Tewin
Maternity and neonatal staff at Lister Hospital joined East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals’ Charity and local families at a special event to unveil the new LifeStart resuscitator trolley that has been funded by a kind legacy left to the charity.
The LifeStart resuscitator trolley, which cost £15,000, allows the care of premature babies to take place at their mother’s bedside, even for babies that need resuscitation.
As well as allowing mother to stay close to baby, the trolley ensures clinicians can support baby’s breathing and heart rate immediately after birth. It also enables the delayed clamping of the umbilical cord which maximises the amount of blood the baby receives from the placenta.
Consultant obstetrician, Dr Rachel Wooldridge, was at the event. She said: “We are delighted that thanks to a very generous legacy, we have been able to help us purchase a LifeStart resuscitator trolley which will help us give even better care to our premature babies.”
“When babies are born prematurely, it is hard to implement delayed cord clamping as they often need to go to a special unit for additional help with their breathing and heart rate.
“The LifeStart resuscitator trolley is a small and mobile machine which can be placed next to the mother so that the cord can remain intact whilst care is given to the baby. The trolley has a heated mattress to prevent babies from getting cold. It will help many families who face a worrying time with their premature babies.”
Also at the event was Amy Phillips whose baby, Isla, was born at Lister Hospital on 25 August at 28 weeks.
Amy said: “Isla was premature, but she was well enough to receive the benefits of delayed cord clamping. I’m delighted that Lister now has a LifeStart resuscitator trolley so that more babies can experience those benefits too. All babies deserve the best start in life.”
Eloise Huddleston – director of East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals’ Charity which supports Lister Hospital, as well as Hertford County Hospital, Mount Vernon Cancer Centre and the New QEII Hospital – said: “We would like the thank the very kind donor who left us a gift in their will which allowed us to purchase this machine. The trolley will make a huge difference to our tiniest babies and their mothers. Their generous gift has left a truly lasting legacy.”
Police are appealing for witnesses and information following a serious road traffic collision in Stevenage on Wednesday 21 December.
The collision occurred in Fairlands Way near the junction with Bedwell Crescent at around 7.45am and involved a vehicle and a pedestrian.
The pedestrian, a woman aged in her 50s, sustained life threatening injuries and was been taken to hospital. Her next of kin have been informed.
Sergeant Timothy Davies from the Road Policing Unit, who is investigating, said: “Our thoughts are with the injured woman and her family at this time. Investigations are continuing to establish the circumstances around what happened. “As part of this, we are appealing for witnesses to come forward to assist our enquiries.
“I’d be particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have dash cam footage. If you were in the area, please review any footage and contact me if you have captured anything of note. Thank you.”
Anyone with information is asked to please contact email Sergeant Timothy Davies on email.
You can also report information online, speak to an operator in the Force Communications Room via online web chat or call the non-emergency number 101, quoting crime ISR 83 of 21 December, 2022.
Officers are appealing for information, witnesses and dash cam footage following a serious collision in Stevenage.
At around 12.45am on Friday 16 December, a white Volkswagen Caddy was driving along Cavendish Road when it collided with a parked lorry.
The driver of the Volkswagen, a man aged in his twenties, sustained serious injuries.
Sergeant Mark Casey, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Road Policing Unit, said: “We are investigating the circumstances of the collision and I am appealing for any witnesses or anyone with information to get in touch.
“I am also keen to hear from anyone who might have caught the collision, or the events leading up to it, on dash cam. If you were driving through the area at the time and have a dash cam fitted to your vehicle, please check it and get in contact if you spot something that might help us.
“Please get in touch by emailing me at Mark. Casey@beds.police.uk quoting ISR 1 of 16 December.”
You can also report information online, speak to an operator in the Force Communications Room via our online web chat or call the non-emergency number 101, quoting crime reference.
Alternatively, you can stay 100% anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their untraceable online form (opens in a new window).
Plans to build a new secondary school in Stevenage have been scrapped due to a ‘lack of need’ for the facility - just days after planning permission for the project was granted.
At the beginning of November, Stevenage Borough Council’s Planning and Development Committee approved a planning application for a Michaela Community School, with capacity for 1,260 pupils aged 11 to 19, to be built on the site of the former Collenswood School and Barnwell campus in Collenswood Road.
The existing on-site Stevenage Education Support Centre was also set to be upgraded, with a new single-storey building replacing the dated buildings. However, just one week after the plans were given the green light, headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh, who founded the original Michaela Community School in London in 2014 and was behind the new Stevenage school proposals, announced a u-turn.
She explained: “When we made our application to open Michaela Community School Stevenage in 2018, the Hertfordshire local authority data showed there was a need for a six-form entry secondary school from 2023. This was needed due to the ongoing development and subsequent population
growth in the town and surrounding areas. “We were thrilled when the Department for Education approved the application in 2019 to serve this need and were looking forward to working with Stevenage’s children and families and the local authority.
“However, conversations with the local authority have made it clear that there is no need yet for a new school in Stevenage as the town’s current schools have enough places – and we don’t know when there might be enough need. As a result, we will no longer be opening our school in Stevenage.” She continued: “While we are very sad about this, we are clear that it is the right decision. To open our school would be financially detrimental to the existing six secondary schools as they would lose students. I have met a number of education leaders in Stevenage, including one headteacher who visited us in Wembley. We are not in the business of causing challenges for our colleagues at other schools. Far from it - our philosophy is to help schools be as good as they can be for the children and young people they serve.
“Of course, should the picture change in terms of school places and a clear need again be identified, then we would be delighted to consider returning to this project and opening a school in Stevenage.”
A suspended Metropolitan Police officer from Stevenage has been charged with 53 criminal offences against 13 victims and is due to stand trial in February.
Police Constable David Carrick, 47, was first arrested in October last year by Hertfordshire Constabulary and charged with rape over an alleged attack of a woman in St Albans.
As part of an ongoing investigation by the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, he has since been charged with dozens of offences, including rape, sexual assault and assault by penetration, relating to multiple victims and alleged to have taken place between 2003 and 2021.
Today (November 24), Herts police said Mr Carrick has been charged with a further nine offences,
which are linked to a new victim, who is now part of the investigation, and allegedly took place in 2003.
These offences are false imprisonment, six offences of rape - including two of anal rape, indecent assault and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
There are now 53 charges against Mr Carrick relating to 13 victims.
Mr Carrick, an officer with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, was arrested by Hertfordshire Constabulary on October 2 last year at his home in Stevenage.
He remains in custody and suspended by the Metropolitan Police Service at this time.
A trial date has been set for February 2023.
A special operation aimed at ensuring hoteliers are familiar with the early warning signs of child sexual exploitation has taken place across Stevenage and North Herts.
“Child sexual exploitation involves situations, contexts or relationships in which a person under 18 is given something, such as food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, affection, gifts or money, in return for sexual activities,” a Hertfordshire police spokesperson explained. “It can also involve violence, coercion and intimidation, with threats of physical harm or humiliation.”
Eight hotels across Stevenage, Hitchin and Letchworth were tested regarding their basic child protection procedures and child sexual exploitation awareness. The Herts police spokesperson explained: “In each instance, a plain-clothed officer or council Community Safety Unit official entered the hotel with a young person from North Hertfordshire College, who they were clearly unrelated to and unfamiliar with, and tried to book a double room without ID and using cash only. There were varying levels of checks in place, but ultimately in seven out of eight cases they were successful in booking a room.”
Commenting on the operation, Community Safety Sergeant Chris Adshead said: “Local and national evidence shows that child sexual exploitation can take place in hotels, pubs, cafes and places licensed to sell alcohol. This operation is all about working with the industry to highlight the problem and improve standards. We are working to make sure people employed in these industries are aware of the warning signs and have the confidence to report their concerns.
“Child exploitation isn’t always easy to spot, but there are signs to look out for, so these hotels will now be provided with campaign posters and training to raise awareness among their customers and staff.”
A former Stevenage man who beat his girlfriend to the ground with a belt before forcing her to walk home with no shoes on has been jailed.
Billy Smith, aged 24, of Westminster Gardens in Houghton Regis, appeared at St Albans Crown Court and was sentenced to two years and four months imprisonment after assaulting his ex-partner and controlling her with fear.
He was also given an indefinite restraining order preventing him from contacting the victim.
The court heard Smith had been in a relationship with the woman for around six months, and that during the summer this year Smith punched her in the face following a verbal argument outside the Mulberry Tree pub in Stevenage, causing a cut to her mouth.
The court also heard that on a separate occasion, outside the Tranquil Turtle restaurant in Stevenage, he grabbed her by the hair and beat her to the ground using a belt, before forcing her to walk home with no shoes on - all the time threatening her with violence. The victim thought he was going to kill her, the court heard, and when she ended the relationship, Smith bombarded her with abuse and threats.
When Smith was arrested on July 27 in Houghton Regis, he assaulted a police officer by punching her, causing her nose to bleed.
Smith pleaded guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour, assaulting an emergency worker and breaching a restraining order with a different victim.
Investigator Jayne Atkin, from Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Domestic Abuse Investigation and Safeguarding Unit, said: “Smith’s actions have had a huge impact on the victim’s life. No one should live in fear of physical harm from their partner. “We were able to build a case against Smith, with the victim’s support and bravery, demonstrating that he was responsible for the injuries and psychological abuse inflicted on her.”
Detective Sergeant Louise Cleary added: “I am pleased that
the court recognised the harm he had caused and served him a custodial sentence, with an indefinite restraining order to protect the victim from further abuse.
“I would like to thank the victim for her bravery and support for this investigation, and staff at the Tranquil Turtle for assisting in the investigation.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, call 0300 790 6772 for advice and support from Hertfordshire’s Independent Domestic Abuse Advocacy service. This number operates from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Outside of these hours, calls may be diverted to a national service.
Further information and advice is available at hertssunflower.org. In an emergency, always call 999. If you are afraid to speak, call 999 from a mobile and press 5, 5 to alert police that you are in danger.
By Paul FryAs Steve Evans prepares his Stevenage squad for a tilt at FA Cup glory at Aston Villa, he could do worse than look to the past for inspiration.
A good result would be taking Ashley Young and Co back to Young’s hometown for a replay. The former John Henry Newman pupil played in the same school team as another sports hero from the country’s first New Town: Sir Lewis Hamilton.
The Boro FA Cup heroes of 1998 never achieved anything like those two but they undoubtedly brought global acclaim for a Hertfordshire pheonix club that sprung up only 22 years early and raced through the lower leagues before reaching the Vauxhall Conference (today’s National League).
In the Third Round that January, Boro won 2-1 at Steve McMahon’s Swindon Town, who a few weeks early had topped the Championship. The rain lashed down sideways, goalkeepers watched as their clearances barely left their 18-yard box before blowing back toward them. As McMahon said, “It was a great leveller but they deserved to win. Too many of my players weren’t at it.”
The win brought Stevenage a trophy at the end of the season for the Cup giant killing of the year. But what happened next dominated the front and back pages for three weeks as Stevenage were handed a home tie against Premier League Newcastle. There followed farce, acrimony and drama. And it was kicked off unwittingly by Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish’s predecessor as Magpies boss.
Keegan’s former Liverpool strike partner pulled Stevenage out of the hat before the man who led the Toon ‘Entertainers’ paired them with Newcastle, before his throwaway line to the Boro contingent at the draw. ‘You’ll probably want to switch that one to St James’ Park.’
A new book* by journalist Paul Fry, who was Boro’s programme editor, revisits the controversy that
ensued as ebullient Stevenage chairman Victor Green insisted on his right to stage the game at the 6,000-capacity Broadhall Way. There should not even have been a debate about the safety of the tie to be staged there. Two years earlier Stevenage had won the Conference but were denied promotion because their ground didn’t reach League standards by that spring. It did when the new season kicked off in August. By then Green had lost a High Court challenge which highlighted an effective closed shop with Boro the third club to be denied promotion in recent years.
With SkySports picking up the game for live coverage, moving the game back to 4.30pm on the Sunday of the Fourth Round and the Sun paying Boro a tidy fee to co-sponsor the match, the media attention skyrocketed. At one Boro training session, there were 16 foreign TV crews in attendance, while club secretary Frank Ratcliffe fielded a call from a Norwegian outlet asking where ‘Stevenarger’ was located.
The Boro players - all part-timers, with day jobs ranging from painter and decorator, salesmen, van drivers, students and teachers - had reporters following their day at work and looking for any
angle that showed the gulf between the two sets of players: Alan Shearer on £30k a week, to Giuliano Grazioli, allegedly signed for two Mars bars and a packet of crisps.
Or goalkeeper Des Gallagher, who had multiple claims to fame, from wearing his wife’s vest under his keeper’s shirt, being banned after a drunken streak at a local league game, and for being David Seaman’s body double in an advert. Defender Robin Trott, who had been painting the church hall where his dad was priest, was pictured applying Boro kit body paint to a Page 3 girl... a gig that was the envy of his team-mates. But the Boro boys were all on a crazy journey.
As the hype grew, with Dalglish desperate to switch the game to Tyneside because of his fears over the safety of a 2,000-seat temporary stand Boro were installing for Toon fans, attracted accusations of bullying. On Newsnight, Jeremy Paxman asked Dalglish if he eas a ‘big girl’s blouse’, afraid of playing at Stevenage.
Boro hit back, saying the stand was the sort seen at major golf events and even the Trooping of the Colour and the contractors knew what they were doing. It didn’t even net the club any extra revenue because of the install and deinstallation costs, though they would have kept it up had they won at Broadhall Way and faced Tranmere in the Fifth Round.
At one point the Scot said he’d play Stevenage on Hackney Marshes if it came to it. Ian Morgan, the former QPR player who was in charge of pitches at Hackney offered to help out, though the teams would have to share a dressing room and use a map to find one of 77 pitches on offer there.
Green played the drama for all it was worth. When Newcastle sent down a safety team to inspect the stadium, he locked the doors until a local TV crew arrived. Ticket prices were hiked from £9-£11 to more than £30 for the 8,000-capacity crowd. Commercial manager Clive Abrey worked his magic, bringing in lots of perimiter ads and still more ads for the special 64-page programme which sold at £2.
Manager Paul Fairclough was in his element. A disciple of Arsene Wenger who had scouted for him in Europe, the former schoolteacher who led Boro on their rise through the pyramid, was a sponge when it came to new ideas. That season he had the players on new diets, and ahead of the Cup clash, he piped crowd noise in the stadium and had half his players train in Newcastle kit. He had his players doing pre-match warm-up routines while rivals did a few stretches and rubbed hands.
And he got in a sports psychologist, Dave Elliott, who worked with Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ to get inside his players’ minds. ‘It was groundbreaking stuff,’ said Grazioli. ‘I wasn’t sure the lads would buy into it but they did.’
The players were asked to share their biggest fears. When one said: ‘Being thrashed 10-0 on live TV,’ Elliott retorted: ‘You’re supposed to lose so you have nothing to lose. They are expected to win and have it all to lose.’
Newcastle fielded eight internationals in the game at Broadhall Way, including Shearer, who was making his full comeback after injuring his ankle in a pre-season friendly. ‘When Shearer scored inside three minutes, we thought “here we go...”, Boro striker Gary
Crawshaw said. ‘But we had mentally rehearsed for this and it actually helped us to relax and play our pressing game, which was new then but lots of teams do it now.’
Grazioli had the ball in the Newcastle net but it was disallowed for the most marginal offside and keeper Shaka Hislop brilliantly turned a header from former Grenadier Guardsman Neil Trebble for a corner from which Grazioli brought the house down shortly before the interval. Jason Soloman obstructed Shearer, leaving Grazioli to head home unimpaired from six yards out. Every neutral would say Stevenage had the better of the first half and they were deserving of at least being level. Defender Mark Smith and 18-year-old rookie fullback James Dillnutt – were excellent in the second half as Boro held on for a replay at St James’ Park, sparking wild celebrations. Boro’s players were much the worse for wear as they boarded a bus at 4am to appear on The Big Breakfast the next morning with Denise van Outen and Johnny Vaughan. The lads also had a brush with Mr Blobby as their celebrity media round continued.
Dalglish brought yet more criticism down on himself by criticising the Spalding Top Flite ball, sponsored by Stevenage-based best-selling author Ken Follett - and endorsed by Dalglish himself, for being ‘too bouncy’.
Green had to cancel a family break in Florida to be at the replay 10 days later. By then, Boro had to regroup, losing key players to injury and suspension, notably Grazioli, who suffered a gashed shin in an FA Trophy win at Gateshead four days
before the replay. The squad took the chance to visit St James’ Park while they were on Tyneside but nothing could prepare them for seeing the place with 38,000 fervent Geordies. But Boro’s 1,800-strong fans who made the four-hour journey north outsung and taunted the Toon Army at times.
After 15 minutes, Alessandro Pistone stood up a far-post cross that Shearer headed down across the keeper, Gallagher. A brilliant, acrobatic overhead kick by Smith appeared to have saved the day, shinning the ball to safety. But Shearer started celebrating, the partially unsighted linesman flagged for the goal and referee Peter Jones, stood on the 18-yard line, agreed, though he could not be certain from his vantage point.
Smith said later that he was certain the ball didn’t cross the line. And while VAR would likely have ruled the goal out, judging by computer simulations by university experts afterward, Smith maintains he has no time for technology and would ‘rather have the debate later in the bar’.
Stevenage battled gamely but fell further behind early in the second half when Rob Lee twisted and set up Shearer with his third far-post header of the tie to make it 2-0. Still Boro refused to wilt. Gary Crawshaw hooked home a near-post volley from Niall Inman’s cross to reduce the lead, making it a nervy last 17 minutes for the Magpies’ bench.
Aside from a half-chance for Crawshaw, Stevenage could not breach the Newcastle defence again. But thinks for a little spicy, notably when Geordie Paul Thompson, a Toon season-ticket-holder, came on for Boro and cleaned out Stuart Pearce, who briefly
grabbed him by the throat before walking off with a grin and the promise of a shirt swap. The England veteran who started his career in non-League football and has since been an ambassador for the grass-roots game, was true to his word.
Dalglish had journalists open-mouthed with an ungracious appraisal of events, saying he hoped Stevenage would lose in the FA Trophy. Fairclough said he thought Newcastle could now go on and win it and labelled the Scot ‘a very sad man’. “I get his concerns over ground safety. He was at Heysel and Hillsborough. They will have scarred him as he took on a central role, attending scores of funerals. I don’t know how you’d deal with that. But I just wanted him to shake my hand and the end and say ‘well done’. He couldn’t bring himself to say that, which was disappointing. I expected more of him.”
At the final whistle, a great many Newcastle fans stayed to salute Stevenage for their efforts. Some Toon fans were clearly embarrassed by the way their club had treated Boro in the lead-up to the first game. Even Sir John Hall, who stepped down from running the club the previous November, took Green aside to apologise for any awkwardness between the clubs.
Most of the boys of 98 were in attendance in 2011 when Stevenage hosted Newcastle again, in the Third Round. Alan Pardew’s side were not a patch on a Dalglish squad that had beaten Barcelona 3-2 at St James’ Park in the Champions League. And Graham Westley’s Stevenage were battlehardened, having won the Conference six months earlier, were full-timers, and on their way to promotion to League 1.
Stevenage’s win was rated the third biggest giant-killing in an academic statistical analysis but Crawshaw thinks that undersells Boro’s achievements in 98. “I know we didn’t win, but when you think we were all part-timers, all doing a day job and training twice a week, and played a team stacked with internationals over 180 minutes and only lost to a dodgy goal up there, I think that deserves special merit.
“I know the Boro fans think that. And even neutrals remember me. I had some people looking at me recently in a pub I didn’t use often and thought I might be in trouble. Then someone said: ‘Aren’t you that guy who scored against Newcastle?’ “It was a surprise that people still remember it. But I think if you ask all the lads, most would say it was the time of their life. We were a real band of brothers. When we meet up it is like we have never been apart.”
And for anyone underestimating the power of football to bring people together, there is the tale of the lady Boro steward, who was stationed at the temporary stand end. She met a Georgie lad a few years later on holiday in Portugal. They got talking football, then Stevenage v Newcastle. They worked out that they had spent the match just a few feet from each other. They started dating and later married.
One love match, at least, sprung from what was an overhyped grudge match.
*We Only Lost 1-1: When Stevenage Borough were the talk of the Toon. By Paul Fry. Available on Amazon. Kindle version, £8.99. Print version to follow in early January.
There is a need to ‘turbo-charge’ the number of new homes being built in the country, the leader of Stevenage Borough Council has said during her maiden speech in the House of Lords.
Baroness Sharon Taylor, who was first elected onto Stevenage Borough Council in 1997 and has been its leader since 2006, has joined the House of Lords after being nominated by Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer.
The focus of her maiden speech was the housing market, highlighting that Stevenage Borough Council’s housing stock has fallen from 32,000 to less than 8,000 homes, and that, nationally, “affordable social housing has been turned into unaffordable private rented housing, with a consequent catastrophic effect on family budgets”. Baroness Taylor said: “Between 1945 and 1980, local authorities and housing associations built 4.4 million social homes - more than 126,000 a year - but by 1983, that supply had halved to just over 44,000 a year. This followed a major shift in social housing policy, particularly, but not exclusively, the right-to-buy scheme of Margaret Thatcher’s Government.
“Failure to replace the stock bought under right-tobuy means that, in Stevenage, our stock has fallen from 32,000 to less than 8,000 homes. The promise to our pioneers that their children, grandchildren and parents would be housed has been broken.” She explained that the retained right-to-buy funding regime permits only 40% of the cost of constructing a replacement dwelling to come from
right-to-buy receipts. “Failing to take account of rising property, land and commodity prices in the construction industry, the shortfall on a new-build property in my area is currently £186,000,” she said, “forcing us to use additional borrowing, with a trade-off between repairs and management of existing stock or building private homes for sale simply to fund any replacement homes at all.” Baroness Taylor also said that more than two million sales of social homes have taken place, but that research shows over 40% of these are now rented privately. “Affordable social housing turned into unaffordable private rented housing, with a consequent catastrophic effect on family budgets,” she said. “The average monthly rent for a two-bedroom privately rented property in my town is now £312 a week, against the local housing allowance of £195. No wonder there is a cost of living crisis.”
She continued: “Against a target of 300,000 homes a year, we are currently building a little over 100,000. This problem will not get better unless we turbo-charge the number of homes of all tenures, particularly social housing, that we build in this country.”
In 1946, Stevenage became Britain’s first post-war new town, which were intended to help alleviate congested urban areas and provide homes for people displaced due to the Second World War. Baroness Taylor urged: “Let us get back to those first principles of our new towns - of building communities and homes, not just places and houses. Let us take the design and detail of our development seriously and let us build sustainably, so that we do not exacerbate the backlog of £204 million that I will need to decarbonise 8,000 social homes in Stevenage.
“We all know that a safe, warm, secure home is the foundation stone for every individual, family and community. My passion for housing is undimmed, as is my pride in Stevenage, the town I grew up with.
“Let us renew our vision, our focus and our inspiration so that everyone in our country, and indeed future generations, will have the opportunity of a home that enhances their dignity.”
If you’re stuck for last minute gift ideas, why not treat your nearest and dearest to a weekend of festival fun.
With music that suits every taste, award winning street food, camping and glamping this really will be the gift that keeps on giving!
With less than 7 months to go the Todd Team have been busy little elves this December making sure Todd in the Hole 2023 is the biggest and best yet.
With Headliners like Ultimate Coldplay, Supersonic Queen, The Rocket Man – A tribute to Elton John and legendary DJ Judge Jules already announced there’s still plenty more surprises to come.
A new Wellbeing and Wellness area in The Woods will be a welcome addition to an already jam-packed weekend and plans are also underway to increase the size and activities in the Family Arena.
With families feeling the pinch this year the team have frozen the tickets at Tier 1 prices so a family of four can currently enjoy the three day festival for less than £200.
‘We know times are tough at the moment and we want to provide an experience that is accessible and can be enjoyed by all of our community. To try and help we have a three month and a sixmonth payment plan in place which means monthly payments of less than £14’ David Nye Festival Founder
In addition to the payment plans the team have also set up a group discount scheme which offers 10 adult tickets for the price of 9. The six month payment plan offer runs until mid January visit www. toddinthehole.co.uk for more information and to purchase tickets. Todd in the Hole 2023, 14th – 16th July.
Brian Hall served as Leader of Stevenage Borough Council for 37 years (1971– 2006) and was one of the longest serving council leaders in the country has passed away aged 88.
He was made Honorary Freeman, the highest honour that a council of a city or borough can award in September 1996. He was given the title of Honorary Alderman in July 2007. Honorary Aldermen may attend and take part in civic ceremonies as invited.
The former Leader of Stevenage Borough Council was born in Brockley, South London and educated in Haberdashers Askes School. He joined the Air Force and served for three years and went on to study mechanical engineering.
In 1965, he became the youngest serving councillor for Hertfordshire County Council aged 29 years old. He was Leader of the Labour Group from 1969 until he retired in 2006, and he took a short break to become Mayor of Stevenage from 197576.
Tributes
“I first met Brian when I came onto the council in 1992 when he was The Leader of the Council. Brian was certainly a force to be reckoned with and lead the council in his own unique way. Although we were not in the same Political Party, I still admired his determination to get
things done and he was always very hospitable to me, especially when we were partaking in our Town Twinning visits. Brian was the Mayor of Stevenage in the second year Stevenage became a Borough. I did not know him then, but getting to know him many years later, I am sure he would have held that office with a terrific sense of pride. This is my second time as The Mayor of Stevenage and I know what an honour it is. I send my sincere condolences and deepest sympathy to his wife Stella and family at this very sad time.”
Cllr. Margaret Notley, Mayor of Stevenage
“Very sad to learn that one of the great founding fathers of Stevenage new town, Brian Hall, passed away on Saturday. Brian died peacefully at home surrounded by his family. My thoughts and prayers are with Stella, his wife, his four children and his grandchildren all of whom he adored.”
Baroness Taylor of Stevenage and Leader of Stevenage Borough Council
“Brian was for some years also a county councillor on Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) for Chells Division – the division that I now represent on HCC.
I knew of Brian for many years before I was first elected to SBC in May 1982, so we worked as political opponents, and leaders
of our respective groups, for almost 25 years. Our periods on HCC did not overlap.
From 1982, as a member of SBC, I came to know Brian very well. He was a forthright and formidable political opponent. You picked a fight with Brian only after very careful weighing up of the odds. Brian was a determined and knowledgeable councillor, who knew in which direction he was going and what longer term plans he had for Stevenage.
Asked about how he led his Labour Group, he often gave the answer “I find out where the Group are going, then I lead them there.”
Brian was, it seemed, ever present in the council building, although he did have a job outside as well – as a draughtsman at BAe, I think. He made it his business to know what was going on. He was always very supportive of the council’s officers in public. He left any admonitions to private discussions.
He devoted a substantial part of his life to local politics and could not be faulted for his sincere commitment and strong belief in local democracy and the best interests of Stevenage. I clashed with him many times in the chamber and in committee meetings. Not surprisingly, with the large majority that he enjoyed, he always got his way. However, he very occasionally
did yield, if he saw the strength of your case. But then he would quickly adopt an opposition idea, so it became Labour policy anyway. If the issue later went wrong, he was, of course, the first to point out that it had been my idea in the first place.
His grasp of local government finance was second to none amongst elected members far and wide.
Brian was very argumentative in nature. I always said that the best way to get Brian to change his
mind, was to agree with him. Leading a council can – I assume – sometimes be a lonely job. Now it can be told that, a couple of times over the years, he did - perhaps unbelievably - contact me in private for my views on some course of action, or to complain to me about what his own Group were doing or planning. Such is the occasional – perhaps strange – communication between politicians of different parties. Did he act on what I said? Who knows!
A couple of times – also in private
– he told me how I could become Leader of Stevenage Borough Council. However, his method unfortunately involved me joining the Labour Party, so was of interest only in some parallel universe.
Whilst we are naturally sad at his passing, as I think about him, a smile is not out of place, as I recollect some of his funny verbal interventions. Brian had the disarming ability to attack you with a sense of humour, but never in a personal or rude manner.
Sometimes, Brian was a bit of an enigma. After he retired as a councillor, I was – to say the least - a little surprised to be reliably told by at least one local resident that, when he canvassed them for Labour, and they admitted that they would be voting for me, he commented “Yes, you should definitely vote for Robin.”
I have always believed that it was a travesty that he was never awarded any national honour and, a couple of decades ago, many of us privately backed an application for such a thing, but to no avail. He was, I am pleased to say, with cross party agreement, made a Freeman of Stevenage.
Brian leaves his widow, Stella and other members of his family and naturally our thoughts are with them at this sad time.
So, many thanks Brian for everything that you did for local government, for Stevenage, for the role of humour in the council chamber and even for me.
Cllr. Robin Parker, C.C. Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group
The team at the Anne Robson Trust are grateful to Austin’s Funeral Directors for choosing them as their Charity of the Year, and supporting their work to improve the compassion and companionship people receive at the end of their life.
Too many spend their final days alone, with no one at their side While many services exist to support those who are bereaved, there is very little support available for the period before someone dies –helping people to cope when a death is anticipated. Anne Robson was the founder’s mother. She died soon after being discharged from a week-long stay in hospital. In hope of creating something positive from this terrible experience, her daughter Liz Pryor began working in NHS hospitals to improve their provision for people at end of life. In 2018 she founded the charity to provide emotional support for people nearing the end of their life, and those caring for them.
They help hospitals set up volunteer teams to visit patients who are in the last days of life, prioritising those with no other visitors.
Telephone support provides somewhere to turn for people who are nearing the end of their life or caring for a friend or family member who is dying. The volunteers at partner hospitals read to patients, talk with them about their grandkids, or simply hold their hand. Four years on from launch they have enabled over 13,000 visits to people spending their last days in hospital, and are a trialling a weekly support hub in Stevenage Old Town to support local people living with a terminal diagnosis, and those caring for someone who is approaching the end of life.
This work would be impossible without the generosity of individuals and organisations like Austin’s. They are proud to join Austin’s in serving the people of Hertfordshire and beyond with compassion and sensitivity at such a poignant point in their life.
To donate to their work, or access support, please visit www.annerobsontrust.org.uk
Our end-of-life support line is: 0808 801 0688.
There are celebrations all round as this year marks 20 years of the Austin’s Charitable Fund.
The fund was set up back in 2002 by the Austin family to support and benefit charities and organisations in the local community, and includes a local Annual Charity selected by the family alongside some significant other financial support to local causes.
Managing Director, Claire Austin, explained that, prior to the Fund being set up, they would always have a lot of people writing to them with small charity requests, such as sponsorship for the London Marathon and other challenges; so they decided to focus their efforts and raise even more money for a few, select causes each year instead.
Each Annual Charity is promoted through their branches, website and social media.
Funds are raised through families donating to the cause after losing a loved one, a percentage of profits, annual events such as the Christmas Carol Service at Harwood Park, and donation boxes in all of the branches.
Claire said: “The original concept of the Austin’s Charitable Fund was to find a way to ‘give back’ to the community we serve. The bereaved families we look after live and very often work locally.
Jackie Lawrence and Maggie Bashforth hand over the cheque to EHAA
Many of them have been supported by local hospices and care providers. Therefore, we feel we are creating a ‘circle of giving’.”
Over the last 20 years the fund has raised an incredible £242,385.54, after the most recent donation of £5,709 was made to 2021 Charity of the Year, the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT).
A representative from Austin’s always visits the charities to hand over their cheques and this year it was Jackie Lawrence and Maggie Bashforth who were delighted to present the donation to EHAAT at their base in North Weald.
“We chose Herts Air Ambulance as our 2021 charity because they provide an amazing, but largely unseen, lifesaving service to our community and are
Austin’s raise almost £250,000 over 20 years of their Charitable Fund
funded purely by charitable giving,” said Claire.
A blog published last year by the Charity Commission stated that over 90% of charities had experienced some negative impact from Covid-19,
“whether on their service delivery, finances, staff, or indeed on staff morale, resulting from the months of frustration and uncertainty”.
Furthermore, 60% saw a loss of income, and 32% said they experienced a shortage of volunteers.
While charity fundraising is always vital to their survival, the last few years have been particularly tough for everyone and highlights the impact something like the Austin’s Charitable Fund can make.
Just some of the charities represented by the Fund over the years include: Riding for the Disabled (2005), Hertfordshire Young Homeless Group (2007), Cancer Hair Care (2014), North Herts Samaritans (2015) and Resolve (2018), as well as local hospices, hospital charities and bereavement charities.
They’ve all received donations between around £5,000 and £7,000, and some even more. Alongside the Charitable Fund, there are other avenues of fundraising that Austin’s finds to raise more essential funds.
Claire herself has had her fair share of challenges, visiting India in 2010, Vietnam in 2015 and, most recently, the Arctic Circle just before Covid hit, to raise funds for Home Start Hertfordshire.
In fact, Home-Start Stevenage (as it was called back then) was Austin’s first ever Charity of the Year back in 2002.
Another avenue is the recycling scheme at the crematorium at Harwood Park.
The metal that is left over after a cremation (hip joints etc.) is collected and sent over to Holland who then send some money back.
Around every 4-6 months, Austin’s submit an application to the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management with a suggestion of who this money should be donated to.
We will shortly be donating £15,000 to the Rennie Grove Hospice.
This year’s chosen Charity of the Year is the Anne Robson Trust.
Austin’s look forward to raising funds for this wonderful charity and another 20 years of fundraising, because, in the words of Helen Keller, “alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
