RideLondon—Essex

The partnership between RideLondon, organised by London Marathon Events, and Essex County Council means communities in Essex will soon be able to benefit from funding from The London Marathon Charitable Trust, working with Active Essex and other organisations. The Trust’s mission is to Inspire Activity and closely aligns with Essex’s new Fit for the Future strategy, which creates a strong foundation for collaborating in making physical activity a part of everyday life for everyone in Essex. Active Essex will lead on the activation of RideLondon to inspire everyone across Essex to cycle more and make physical activity a regular part of their daily lives and is also pioneering the Essex Pedal Power programme, with an ambition to level up cycling participation for more than 5,000 people in our most disadvantaged communities. RideLondon is a legacy event from the London 2012 Olympic Games. It could not be held in either 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic, but returns in 2022 with a new format and new partnership with Essex County Council. As well as the RideLondon-Essex 100, RideLondon-Essex 60 and RideLondon 30 there will be the RideLondon FreeCycle, a free, family-friendly event held on 8 miles of traffic-free roads in central London.

The RideLondon Classique is the final event in the new format. The 3-day UCI Women’s WorldTour stage race takes place from Friday 27th May to Sunday 29th May with the first 2 stages in Essex and the final stage in central London. The full route for the first RideLondon-Essex on Sunday 29th May has been revealed.

• 25,000 cyclists to ride on Essex’s traffic-free roads on Sunday 29th May • RideLondon-Essex 100 takes riders on part of the 2014 Tour de France route

Essex organisations will benefit from The London Marathon Charitable Trust funding to inspire activity in their communities.

Essex will welcome 25,000 cyclists on Sunday 29th May as RideLondon, the world’s greatest festival of cycling, comes to the county for the first time. Full details of the routes have been announced, along with the promise of new funding for Essex organisations to inspire activity in the local community. This is the first year of

a partnership between RideLondon and Essex County Council. The partnership brings the RideLondon-Essex 100, 60 and 30 mass participation rides into the county on Sunday 29th May. In total there will be 65 miles of Essex roads included in the event routes, with cyclists passing through Epping, North Weald, Ongar, Great Dunmow, Felsted and the outskirts of Chelmsford on the same roads used by the Tour de France when it came to the county in 2014. Essex will also host 2 stages of the RideLondon Classique, a 3day UCI Women’s WorldTour stage race for the best female riders in the world.

RideLondon-Essex 100 is the largest of the mass participation events and will feature thousands of riders, many of whom will be riding to raise crucial funds for charity. For the 100 mile route, the cyclists will head out of London to Woodford New Road, through Buckhurst Hill and Epping New Road. The route will then follow through Epping High Street onto The Plain before heading through North Weald turning right at the Talbot roundabout onto the A414 to Ongar, and will then left at the Four Wantz roundabout through Fyfield.

The cyclists will then head out towards Dunmow and Chelmsford, they will head back to the Four Wantz roundabout and turn left through Ongar High Street and Stanford Rivers to Passingford Bridge, they will then turn right into Stapleford Abbotts to Lambourne Road and Chigwell Road before cycling back into London for a finish on Tower Bridge. RideLondon-Essex 60 follows the same route as the 100-mile event outlined above, but after it reaches Ongar it will then turn back towards central London again. The RideLondon-Essex 30 route goes as far as Woodford before heading back to central London. I remember the Tour de France cyclists coming through the village, it was wonderful weather and a real community day.

Recently on the morning of Friday 24th January, a man was approached by a woman who distracted him in Epping High Street. His watch was then missing. Did you see anything? Essex Police would like to hear from you. There is an efit pict u r e o n t h e i r w e b s i t e — www.essex.police.uk She is in her 20s, slim with long brown hair and wearing glasses, she has an East European accent They obviously want to speak to her. If you saw anything or can identify her, please call 101 ref 42/21981/22. Source: Essex Police

Tree planting commemorates Queen's Platinum Jubilee

Epping Town Council has planted three oak trees on the Stonards Hill recreation ground to mark the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative to commemorate Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee.

The trees were planted in separate locations around the recreation ground - by Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Essex Hugh Pegrum, Town Mayor councillor Michael Wright and Freeman of Epping John Batchelor. At each planting a speech was made. "On behalf of the people of Epping, I plant this tree as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy to commemorate Her Majesty’s 70 years on the Throne. "This tree will be marked on the commemorative map which will be sent to Buckingham Palace and a plaque will be placed to mark its planting. "May this tree grow strong and healthy in her Majesty’s honour.” Representatives from Ivy Chimneys Primary School helped plant the trees with the event also attended by local residents and representatives from the Rotary Club of Epping, St John’s Church, along with Epping town councillors and Epping Forest district councillors.

Support for adults experiencing financial hardship

Up to 3,900 of the county’s most vulnerable adults will be receiving letters in the coming days that include a £200 voucher from Essex County Council (ECC) to help with energy costs and food.

This is a new voucher scheme funded by ECC’s Household Support Fund (HSF), a fund set up with a one-off £9.4m grant from the Department for Work and Pensions in October 2021.

In November, the county council announced how this £9.4m would be allocated. This included allocations for free school meals during the holidays, support for rough sleepers and support for residents who need help with food and utility bills. With the cost of living continuing to rise nationally, this new voucher scheme will allow those who may be struggling to use the vouchers to feed themselves and their families, and keep warm this winter.

The vouchers, which can be redeemed at any Post Office have been posted out recently to up to 3,900 adults in Essex, who have known care and support needs. Information of what additional support is available can be found here: https://www.essex.gov.uk/money-debt-and-

County Council sets out its commitments to carers

There are an estimated 150,000 unpaid carers in Essex who play a vital role in supporting people across the county to live independently within their own homes and communities. Whilst rewarding, caring can also be demanding. Children, young people and adults can face many challenges. Maintaining school attendance, employment, social activities and friendships can be hard and that can impact carers’ own physical, emotional and financial wellbeing. Essex County Council (ECC) has launched its proposed Essex Carers All Age Strategy 2022-26 Commitments. These commitments have been produced with carers themselves and the many voluntary and community sector organisations that support them They are now asking the many more carers across Essex their views about them.

Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, Cllr John Spence said: “Unpaid carers are heroes in our communities, often putting their lives on hold to support their loved ones. It can be a rewarding task but does not come without its challenges. We want to make sure we are there for these individuals and support them when they need it.” ECC is reaching out directly to carers of all ages to engage on these commitments. Communities in the county are also welcomed to have their say by taking part in the survey until 13th March 2022 at consultations.essex.gov.uk If you require the survey in an alternative format, please contact essexcarers@essex.gov.uk. Specialising in plastering, external rendering and K rend

Essex & Herts Air Ambulance first in UK to add hybrid Volvo vehicles to its fleet

As part of its commitment to make the very best choices for the environment and reduce its carbon impact, Essex & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) has added two new plug-in hybrid vehicles to its fleet of rapid response vehicles (RRV). The local life-saving charity is the first air ambulance in the UK to purchase the Volvo XC90 Recharge plug-in hybrid SUV for use as part of an emergency response fleet. As well as providing pure electric driving producing zero tailpipe emissions, the new vehicles will give better results when measured against the traditional miles per gallon, thereby reducing fuel costs. The hybrids are powered by an electric motor and a combustion engine, which work together seamlessly to deliver optimal efficiency, reduced tailpipe emissions and a smooth, powerful drive. Overall performance is not affected in any way. Both RRVs are also fitted with a modern and innovative AI-powered telematics platform, which will further allow EHAAT to ensure optimum operational efficiency is maintained. Wrapped with innovative and highly reflective branding, with the latest blue light system to enhance visibility and safety, the two new RRVs join the existing petrol Volvo XC90 response vehicles used by EHAAT, which were purchased in May 2018. Scott McIlwaine, Head of Operations at EHAAT, has been leading on the acquisition process and said: “The rationale behind EHAAT’s decision to use Volvos follows the extensive market research and testing exercise we carried out in 2018 when we purchased the petrol XC90s. This ensured that the right vehicle was selected to meet the very specific demands needed for our fleet of emergency response vehicles. “Volvo Car UK has a dedicated blue light team and continues to provide fantastic support and aftersales. This was certainly the case in recent months when they provided a spare car to assist with the transfer service during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The RRVs are crewed by a Pre-hospital Care Doctor and a Critical Care Paramedic and carry the same life-saving equipment as the helicopters. They are used before sunrise, after sunset or when the helicopter is unable to fly because of poor weather or maintenance. Overnight, the service is provided using an RRV based at EHAAT’s North Weald Airbase. With quick and easy access to the new charging points that have been installed, the hybrid RRVs will now take up residence at their new homes. One will operate from EHAAT’s new airbase at North Weald, the other from Earls Colne, where they will serve the communities of Essex and Hertfordshire providing advanced life-saving prehospital care directly to the side of patients with a sudden life-threatening injury or medical emergency. Over the coming year, EHAAT will be continuing to innovate when it intends to purchase two further SUVs, becoming the first air ambulance in the country running an RRV fleet that comprises entirely of Volvo plug-in hybrids.