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There’s a spook-tacular Halloween in store for Stevenage this year, with plenty of activities for youngsters taking place during half term.
At Stevenage Museum – as part of the Big Draw Festival – activities are all about drawing:
• Wednesday 26 October – go big on plants
• Thursday 27 October – skulls and bones drawing workshop (free to attend)
• Friday 28 October – Spook-tacular Halloween crafts
Sessions run from 11am-12pm and 2-3pm each day. Please call or email the museum to book in advance. £4 per child or £2 concessions.
At Bandley Hill, Pin Green, and St Nicholas play centres sessions are taking place daily from Monday 24 – Friday 28 October
Activities include spooky bingo, clay monsters, Mexican themed day, and make a Halloween costume. Morning sessions run from 10am-1pm, and afternoon sessions are from 1-4pm
Activities are for children aged between five and 12 years and are free to attend. Parents and carers with children under five years old can attend school holiday play sessions, children under five years old must be supervised at all times.
There is also an after-school Halloween party for children aged between five and 12 years old on
Monday 31 October. Parties will be held at Bandley Hill and St Nicholas play centres, from 3.15-5pm, so come along in your spookiest costume!
Councillor Richard Henry, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Culture, Leisure, Children and Young People, said “There’s no grave danger of being bored this Halloween half term with plenty of activities on offer for youngsters at Stevenage Museum and our three play centres.
“If for any reason you’re no longer able to attend a session you’ve booked, please do let the venue know so that someone else can use your space.”
To book an activity at the museum, visit: www.stevenage.gov.uk/news-and-events/events/ october-half-term-holiday-activities
To book an activity at a play centre, visit: www. stevenage.gov.uk/leisure-culture-and-wellbeing/ play-services/october-half-term-activityprogramme-2022
A trial to equip frontline police officers with a nasal spray that could save the life of someone suffering from an overdose has been launched.
The nasal naloxone spray is for use when someone is suffering from a suspected opiate overdose and temporarily reverses the effects of the drug.
A total of 100 trained response drivers based in Stevenage, Welwyn Hatfield, Watford and Dacorum have volunteered to take part in the six-month trial.
Chief Inspector Jason Keane, who is overseeing the project, said: “These small nasal sprays are just another tool in our trauma kit to help us when responding to an emergency incident and in cases where we arrive at the scene before the ambulance service.
“The reversal effects are temporary, so do not negate the requirement for an ambulance, as further medical treatment will be required.
The ambulance service will also continue to provide their highest level of response to these types of incidents.
“Reassuringly, there are no side effects if the nasal spray is administered to someone who officers believe is suffering an opiate overdose, but it later transpires is experiencing a different medical condition.”
Those taking part in the trial have received specialist training through a partnership with the charity Change Grow Live. Trudy Sealy, county service manager at Spectrum Change Grow Live, said: “Working in partnership with Hertfordshire Constabulary and Hertfordshire County Council in this ground-breaking project has been fantastic.
“To raise awareness around opiate overdose resulting in the availability of nasal naloxone on the streets of Hertfordshire with our first responders is a huge step forward. If this pilot saves one life, we have achieved our goal.”
The government has started legal action against the freeholder of a 15-storey tower block over unsafe cladding.
Grey GR Ltd Partnership, the freeholder of Vista Tower in Stevenage, has been given 21 days to commit to remediating the defects.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said an application would be made to the courts if the work is not carried out.
It follows two years of delays for more than 100 residents, after fire safety checks found defects including unsafe cladding, and a waking watch was subsequently deemed necessary, for which leaseholders have been charged £12,000 per week.
Leaseholders of Vista Tower have been handed bills and been unable to sell, despite unsafe cladding being identified on the
building over two years ago, DLUHC said.
The 1960s office block on the corner of St George’s Way and Southgate - opposite Stevenage fire station - was converted from offices into flats in 2016.
Grey GR is one of the first to face action by the newly-created Recovery Strategy Unit, set up to identify and pursue firms who repeatedly refuse to fix buildings.
Levelling Up Secretary of State, Simon Clarke, said: “The lives of over 100 people living in Vista Tower have been put on hold for over two years whilst they wait for Grey GR to remediate unsafe cladding. Enough is enough.
“This legal action should act as a warning to the rest of industry’s outliers - big and small. Step up, follow your peers and make safe the buildings you own or legal action will be taken against you.”
Sophie Bichener, a leaseholder in
Vista Tower, said: “We thank the government for helping us, and leaseholders across the country - Vista Tower residents simply want to live in safe and secure homes.
“This action is a step in the right direction for the innocent leaseholders still desperately pleading with their building owners to take responsibility. “Now the leaseholder protections are in force, it should serve as a warning to those entities still playing games and doing all they can to dodge their legal obligations.”
The Secretary of State will also consider issuing an application for a Remediation Contribution Order against other entities associated with Grey GR, including Railways Pension Trustee Company Limited (RailPen) and Railtrust Holdings Limited (Railtrust), requiring them to financially contribute to the remediation costs.
The relocation of a day service for vulnerable adults, due to the current building needing “extensive repairs and improvements”, has been given the green light by Hertfordshire County Council’s Cabinet.
The council will replace the Leyden House Day Service in Stevenage’s Leyden Road with a new purpose-built facility on the former Pin Geen School playing fields in Hayward Close, 2.4miles north of the current facility.
The facility provides daytime services during the week for adults with learning disabilities.
Rachel Halliwell, head of day services at the county council, said: “The current building needs extensive repairs and improvements.
“By relocating the service to a modern purposebuilt building, we hope to secure a local service for the future.”
She added: “Everyone who uses the current service will be able to continue to attend, and Leyden House will continue to operate until the new service opens.”
Councillor Richard Roberts, the county council’s chairman, said: “Not only, at long last, are we relocating Leyden House, which ties into the redevelopment of Gunnels Wood Road - one of our premier commercial estates in the county - but it’s also an opportunity to upgrade a tired building.
“I visited Leyden House and met a lady who’s been going there for nearly 50 years. It’s not lost on me the wonderful work that’s done there by staff, and the great comfort and opportunity to do all sorts of things, both social and learning, and that will be replicated, probably enhanced, with better facilities on the new site.
“I think we also have to acknowledge that our capital funding is not going to go as far as it did, and there are other projects that may not be as lucky to go forward. I hope the cost can be contained.”
The county council says the new site has good public transport links across to local amenities, and the new facility will have parking and outdoor space.
A new retirement living facility is proposed on the remainder of the site.
Pin Green School opened in 1964 and closed in 2005.
Cllr Tony Kingsbury, the county council’s executive member for adult care, health and wellbeing, said: “It’s important to say that no one will lose service, and better services can be provided.
“Consultation took place for 12 weeks, completing in June, and responses were positive about the plans in terms of improved facilities and location. “These proposals represent major investment in improving day services in the county.”
Cllr Fiona Thomson, executive member for children, young people and families, added: “It’s always pleasing to see a positive response to consultations. Too often proposals can go forward and not receive a positive response from the consultees so, in this case, to see about 85% agreed with the proposed changes, and to hear that every effort has been taken to minimise disruption, I’m happy to support this.”
Cllr Bob Deering said: “This is a multi-million-pound investment we’re making it, and I think it’s a very good thing that we’re able to find that money in these very difficult circumstances.”
Four new mobile CCTV cameras have been installed in Stevenage to help tackle fly-tipping, thanks to funding awarded to Stevenage Borough Council.
The council was awarded £28,144 to fund new measures to deter fly-tipping in the town at known local hotspots. The four new mobile CCTV cameras will be dedicated to catching perpetrators.
The funding also paid for signage, which will warn potential offenders of the fines related to flytipping and be installed at locations around the town.
The council has also created a working group focusing on tackling fly-tipping, and officers will be discussing the project at events throughout the year, including talking to residents about how to report any fly-tips.
Stevenage Borough Council is one of only 11 councils in the country to receive funding from the Fly-Tipping Intervention Grant, which supported projects trialling approaches and interventions to prevent or address the issue of fly-tipping. Delivered by WRAP on behalf of Defra, the grant provided capital funding for projects at known fly-tipping hotspots that showed the potential for improving infrastructure, raising awareness and supporting enforcement activity.
Councillor Simon Speller, the borough council’s portfolio holder for environment and climate change, said: “Fly-tipping blights our town, and these new measures should go a long way in helping to tackle the issue by deterring potential perpetrators, raising awareness, and giving the council additional resources to take action when necessary.”
Fly-tipping is a criminal offence which can carry a fine of up to £50,000 and five years imprisonment. Leaving items beside street bins, recycling banks and outside closed Household Waste Recycling Centres and charity shops is all fly-tipping.
You can report incidents of fly-tipping in Stevenage via fixmystreet.stevenage.gov.uk.
An estimated £5,000 worth of illegal vapes and other products have been seized from licensed shops by police following reports of underage people vaping in public areas.
Unannounced visits to licensed shops in Stevenage that sell vapes were visited by Hertfordshire police’s licensing officer and Hertfordshire Trading Standards officers following “numerous complaints by concerned members of the public”, a spokesperson for Stevenage police said.
He said: “Following reports from the public regarding underage people vaping in public areas, our licensing officer joined forces with Hertfordshire Trading Standards officers to carry out unannounced visits to local licensed shops that sell vapes.
“During these visits, an estimated £5,000 worth of illegal vapes and other products were seized.”
Licensing officer Gill Akroyd said: “We work very closely with all of the licensed premises in Stevenage, most of which are responsible retailers. However, when we receive information that items are being sold illegally, we have a duty to protect the public by taking action.”
A vape is a device that allows you to inhale nicotine in a vapour rather than smoke.
Vapes do not burn tobacco and do not produce tar or carbon monoxide - two of the most damaging elements in tobacco smoke. They work by heating a liquid that typically contains nicotine, propylene glycol and/or vegetable glycerine, and flavourings.
redevelopment of The Forum in Stevenage town centre, and people are invited to have their say online before the plans are submitted.
Property developer Reef Group wants to demolish eight retail units - including TK Maxx and Home Bargains - and get rid of the existing 328-space surface car park, in favour of building four new science lab buildings, a STEM teaching lab, five to seven retail units and a multi-storey car park on the site.
Reef says the proposed £120 million redevelopment will create 1,850 jobs and generate an economic boost of £98 million per year.
A spokesman said: “The investment would support the revitalisation of the town centre, enhancing Stevenage’s place as a leader in the life sciences industry and adding to the list of businesses already in the local STEM cluster.
“All the retail units will be flexible and be double the height to attract a range of retailers, along with the potential for a boutique cinema and a large restaurant / pub unit to enhance the evening economy.”
A new landscaped square, together with street art and play provision, is included at the heart of the scheme, Reef says, and there will be a focus on new and enhanced cycle and pedestrian links.
The spokesman said: “Reef’s aspirations for the Stevenage Life Science Quarter are to improve and enhance the character of the town centre
by delivering new high-quality laboratory buildings that support the life science industry, along with creating welcoming and improved public spaces for the community to enjoy. “The proposed development would create new jobs, apprenticeships and training facilities that would bring physical jobs back into the town centre and provide a direct route of employment for students, particularly those specialising in life sciences. “The new employees, apprentices and students working in the new buildings will increase the local expenditure and boost the revenues of retailers –helping to sustain and improve the retail provision within the development and wider in Stevenage. “We are preparing a full planning application and would like to hear your views as we finalise our plans.”
Earlier this month, Stevenage Borough Council approved plans to relocate TK Maxx to the Roaring Meg Retail Park, after the retail chain said it had failed to find suitable alternative premises in the town centre.
TK Maxx and Homesense, its sister store specialising in furniture and homewares, will move into the former Toys R Us unit. Moving to the Roaring Meg presents “the only genuinely realistic opportunity for TK Maxx to remain in Stevenage”, a spokesman for the company said.
For more information about Reef Group’s plans,and to have your say online, visit www.forumstevenage.co.uk
The name for the former bus station on Danestrete has been announced as Event Island Stevenage.
Earlier this year school pupils were invited to enter a competition to name the space, which was chosen by a panel of judges from over 260 entries received.
The Saint John Henry Newman Catholic School came up with the winning entry.
A PE teacher at a Stevenage secondary school who had to have her leg amputated after a wall collapsed on her during Storm Eunice in February has completed a 5km charity walk as a thank you to her physiotherapy team.
Lauren Cooper’s left leg was crushed so badly when a garden wall collapsed on her during the storm that she had to have it amputated below the knee. Intensive physiotherapy at Lister Hospital in Stevenage has led to Lauren learning to walk again using a prosthetic leg.
Of the Lister physiotherapists, Lauren said: “They are just brilliant. They have listened to me, laughed with me, fought my corner and given me the confidence to keep pushing on.
“They haven’t just helped me with the practical elements of learning to walk again, they have also helped me mentally and genuinely care about how I am.”
Lauren set her sights on completing the 5km Rainbow Run at Ridlins End Athletics Stadium in Stevenage in October - an event organised by the East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals’ Charity, which supports hospitals including Lister.
“I just wanted to do something for the physio team because I don’t think saying ‘thank you’ is ever going to be enough for what they’ve done.”
She said: “We all know the NHS doesn’t have the funding it deserves, so I did this fundraiser to not just say thank you to the physios, but to give them a little something so they can help more people how they help me.
“I just wanted to do something for the physio team because I don’t think saying ‘thank you’ is ever going to be enough for what they’ve done.”
Lauren posts videos about her physio sessions on social media, and said: “You can see the laughter and fun we have while they are getting me moving again.
“What you don’t see are the times I’ve turned up and burst into tears and they pull up a chair and just sit and listen, the follow-up communication just to check I’m ok, and the times I hesitate to do something and they give me a little push to try it because they know I can do it before I do.”
Lauren also described “the sheer amount of confidence-building they do,” with a team even attending a netball tournament with Lauren because they know how important the sport is to her.
Lauren completed the 5km Rainbow Run with a team that included Lister senior physiotherapist Matt Alexander, with Lauren raising more than £2,000 for the East and North Hertfordshire Hospitals’ Charity.
Matt said: “It’s really why I became a physio - to work with people like Lauren and take somebody from ineffectively being in a wheelchair to actually getting some good quality of life back, and being able to return to some sort of previous level of function.”
Eloise Huddleston, the charity’s director, said: “Lauren is a true inspiration. Taking on the challenge of the Rainbow Run just seven months after the amputation is incredible. She is aweinspiring.”
Lauren said: “I’m at a point where I now feel more confident to go and try things, and more confident to think about returning to sport. I think that’s down to the confidence-building the physios have done while I’ve been at the Lister physio department.”
You can still support Lauren’s fundraising efforts by making a donation at justgiving.com/lauren-cooper38
“Lauren is a true inspiration. Taking on the challenge of the Rainbow Run just seven months after the amputation is incredible. She is awe-inspiring.”
Last Summer saw the triumphant return of Todd in the Hole Festival, and after it’s resounding success the festival organisers are already busy planning their biggest festival yet for July 2023!
Situated in the beautiful Hertfordshire countryside, Todd is rapidly establishing itself as a destination for music lovers of all ages. The team behind the festival have already announced an incredible first drop of artists to perform at the 4th Todd in the Hole next summer.
Headlining the main stage on Friday night, Ultimate Coldplay are widely recognised as being the world’s most accurate Coldplay tribute and are frequently described as being the ‘next best thing’ to one of the UK’s most famous bands.
Saturday continues the musical spectacle with The Rocket Man –
a tribute to Sir Elton John. No one else recreates this flamboyant megastar with such vigour and brilliance, with dazzling costumes, stunning vocals and sensational piano solos.
Sunday, headliners Supersonic Queen will take you on a trip back in time to experience the magic and excitement of a Queen concert. Made even more special as the festival is so close to Knebworth – the location of Queens last live performance in 1986 at the end of their Magic Tour. Belting out hit after hit it’s safe to say they will be closing the final night of the festival in stunning fashion.
The musical extravaganza continues with the return of the fabulous Rick Parfitt Jnr & The RPJ Band, back by popular demand after their sensational Todd debut last year.
And it’s not just the Main Stage that will wow! Team Todd have also secured an impressive line up of DJ’s to headline the Todd 23 Afterparties.
For almost 3 decades Judge Jules has led the way in the world of dance music and the festival are delighted to announce his headlining slot at their Friday night Woods After party.
Judge Jules
With a hardcore fanbase and unforgettable sets week in week out at the world’s most iconic clubs and festivals this is an opportunity not to be missed to see this legendary DJ in action! David Nye, Festival Co-founder explains ‘We’re delighted to have such an iconic DJ playing at Todd this year. So many of our visitors grew up listening to the sounds of Judge Jules.
We know he’s going to go down a storm. If you can’t get that Ibiza holiday in next year, then just come to Todd instead!’
Todd 2023 also welcomes back 80’s icon, Pat Sharp as their Saturday night after party headliner.
‘Pat went down a storm this year, we were blown away by how many people have asked us to book him for next year – you asked, we listened!’ Mark Watts, Festival Co-Founder.
Todd in the Hole is about much more than headliners though, and with a huge emphasis on ‘community’ the festival will also continue their support of Herts talent, giving local musicians a platform to perform to a live audience.
All this, plus the return of the Woods Stage, Buskers Stage, Vincent Stage, a Kids Arena, Camping & Glamping and new for 2023, a Wellbeing Area.
Early bird tickets sold out within
24hrs but you can still grab yourselves a bargain with Tier One tickets.
A 3 month payment plan also allows you to spread the cost of your festival tickets in to affordable instalments.
With more band announcements coming soon this is going to be one weekend you don’t want to miss!
Visit www.toddinthehole.co.uk for more information.
The Rocket Man Ultimate Coldplay
