Lest we forget
CONTENTS Introduction
4
Review of the past year Horticultural Achievement
5 8
Impact Horticultural practice Residential and community gardening Business areas and premises Green spaces
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Tamworth In Bloom 2014
9 9 10 12 14
Environmental Responsibility & Biodiversity
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Wildlife areas, natural habitat Resource management Local heritage Local environmental quality Pride of place
16 21 21 22 23
Community Participation
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Development and continuity Communication and education Community participation Year-round involvement Funding and support
26 26 27 28 29
Conclusion
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Lest We Forget
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INTRODUCTION Welcome to Tamworth – a borough with a vibrant market town in the heart of England. Tamworth’s roots go very deep, right back to Saxon times when the town was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Mercia. Those Saxon roots are still visible today in the form of the magnificent Tamworth Castle, which was fortified by the Normans and has stood guard over the borough ever since. The Castle is just one of the attractions for which Tamworth is known. Ski and snowboarding enthusiasts from around the country regularly flock to the SnowDome for indoor winter sports, while Drayton Manor Theme Park is right on our doorstep. Famous names with Tamworth connections include Prime Minister and founder of the modern police force, Sir Robert Peel, and hospital founder Thomas Guy – not to mention Del Boy’s favourite mode of transport, the Reliant Robin, which was made right here in the borough. We are very proud of our horticultural excellence, and work throughout the year to ensure that, whatever the season, Tamworth remains an attractive place to live, work and visit. Our commitment is demonstrated through our record in the Heart of England in Bloom campaign, which we entered for the first time in 1980 and continued to enter every year until 1991. We re-entered the campaign again in 2008, this time in the Urban Regeneration category. From 2009 onwards, following the recommendation of the judges, we have been in the Small City category. During the course of the second period of entry, judges’ scores have increased year on year as we acted on the comments from the previous year’s judging. This has resulted in a gradual progression of the awards from silver to silver gilt to gold for the last four years, culminating in our being named joint category winner in 2013 and selected to represent the region in the national Britain in Bloom Campaign 2014. Although Tamworth in Bloom is a local authority entry, it is very much community-led, with the project team made up of partners, volunteers and community champions. We currently use more than 300 volunteers on year-round Bloom projects, including corporate day volunteers, Community Payback, Wild About Tamworth, schools and many others.
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Tamworth In Bloom 2014
Over the last few years, we have made sure that Bloom is part of our schools education programmes, secured a £1.7 million Heritage Lottery bid for Tamworth Castle, put all relevant open space into Higher Level Stewardship and are currently restoring one of our First World War memorials - again through external funding. Other funding opportunities have come through Derbyshire Environmental Trust, the Environment Agency, Staffordshire County Council and many other local businesses. The help we receive takes many forms - either as a direct grant, works or other in-kind contribution. This year, our theme is Lest We Forget, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War and remembrance of those who sacrificed so much. There will also be some pockets of gold throughout the borough, to mark the 50th anniversary of the RHS and its Growing for Gold theme. Here in Tamworth, we feel truly privileged to be representing the Heart of England region in the national Britain In Bloom competition, and proud to share our floral and community excellence with you. We hope that you enjoy your visit to our borough.
REVIEW OF THE LAST YEAR All of the public open space within Tamworth is managed by the Council and year round all of our operations have the thread of Bloom entwined within them. The works programme for Community Payback is driven by the ‘added value’ they can give within the community.
Most of the schools in Tamworth have gardening clubs and work with Bloom on our entry each year, growing fruit and vegetables, designing our theme logo, and entering both our local art competition as well as last year providing the Heart of England in Bloom with its winner.
Each of the Local Nature Reserves works to an annual action plan, carrying out tasks all year round on their work days.
Overleaf is a small sample of the work that has been undertaken since we saw you last…
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JULY 2013 - le Grounds, giant litter pick Lidl march on Cast
AUGUST 2013 Wild About Tamworth 10th anniversary.
DECEMBER 2013 Christmas tree decorating competitio n
NOVEMBER 2013 Belgrave Community Litter pick
APRIL 2014 - Morrisons War Memerial
APRIL 2014 - Stonydelph Commun ity Da
y
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Tamworth In Bloom 2014
AUGUST 2013 We Love Tamworth.Event in the Castle Grounds
bway grafitti JANUARY 2014 - Su
project
MAY 2014 New Landscaping Mercian Way Island - AFTER
AUGUST 2013 Pub and residential garden competition judging
FEBRUARY 2014 Tree planting in Wigginton Park
MAY 2014 - EE Giving Something Back Day
SEPTEMBER 2013 Hay making on the LNRs
MARCH 2014 New Landscaping Mercian Way Isla nd
JUNE 2014 - Volunteer Week
OCTOBER 2013 ’s- Award for volunteering Hodge Lane Queen
- BEFORE
MARCH 2014 Community Payback painting in the park
JUNE 2014 - Belgrave Community Eve
nt
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A - HORTICULTURAL ACHIEVEMENT
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Tamworth In Bloom 2014
A1: Impact
A2: Horticultural Practice
Planning for the summer bedding scheme begins in August each year in preparation for an autumn tendering exercise. Each year, we choose a Bloom campaign theme which links the borough as a whole in an effort to ensure that the benefit of our entering the Bloom campaign is felt by all residents and visitors wherever in the town they encounter our planting.
Planting operations begin in mid-May, with plants delivered from the chosen nursery in batches to ensure they are of the highest quality when they are planted out. The density at which we plant is tailored to each of the wide variety of plants we use. Our aim is to enable the plants to reach their full potential and minimise the need for any thinning following planting out. Our planting operations are not limited solely to annual bedding. During your tour of the borough, you will see beds renewed with locally-sourced perennial plants and shrubs. We have also begun a programme of removing aged shrub beds along highways and on traffic islands. Following renovation of the soil medium, these beds are then over-seeded with a native wild flower seed mix. The rationale behind this is to bring much-needed colour to the residential areas of the borough while at the same time being in keeping with the RHS theme of growing for pollinators.
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A3: Residential and Community Gardening The judging route was published early again this year with a challenge to residents and businesses alike to join in judging day by planting their gardens. Last year we introduced a new recognition scheme for beautiful gardens. When Council staff see a lovely garden, they post a card through the door encouraging entry into the gardens competition. This proved very successful last year, with a big jump in the number of entries, so we have rolled it out once again this year.
The Council’s gardening competition was again a huge success, with the entries judged in August by Tamworth In Bloom chairman John Garner aqnd Streetscene staff. The winner received £100 in gardening vouchers. The judges were extremely impressed by the use of the natural environment to control pests within this stunning town centre garden. This year’s competition is now open.
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Tamworth In Bloom 2014
Our elderly residents’ sheltered accommodation scheme at Bright Crescent won Outstanding for the third year running in the Heart of England It’s Your Neighbourhood Awards, and has inspired many of our other schemes to start gardening. The sheltered scheme at Glenfield also achieved an Outstanding award for the second year running. We are also continuing our own competition for these and other schemes who wish to be judged. Streetscene operates an Assisted Garden Scheme for council housing tenants who meet the required criteria. The lawns and hedges of the tenants are cut for them as part of their tenancy agreement. All Council-owned sheltered accommodation is also maintained by the Council, and many residents work with us on making the communal areas visually appealing. The Tamworth Sea Cadets have continued their work on our traffic island, providing floral displays all year round.
Most of the local schools now have gardening clubs and are continuing to grow their own vegetables and produce, while others have continued planting up beds in the school grounds or planting beds outside of the school grounds. This year we have given out thousands of sunflower seeds to help them ‘Grow for Gold’. Tamworth Borough Council owns allotment land which is managed and leased out by the Tamworth Allotment Society. There is currently a large demand for allotments and the Council is looking into the feasibility of designated new allotment sites. This year we are trialling a community allotment at Belgrave Community Fire station.
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A4: Business Areas and Premises The Ventura Park retail centre is continuing to expand with the addition of Nandos, Pizza Express and Starbucks. The Council is continuing to provide both summer and winter baskets to Ventura Park to create a floral avenue throughout the year. The Friends of Tamworth Station group are still going strong and are developing plans for the future with the advent of the Station refurbishments and the Gateway Project. The Tamworth Two have overwintered and are back in full glory!
We have seen an increase this year in local sponsorship by businesses, with all the planters sponsored by local businesses. We also welcome the Royal Mail back as one of our main sponsors.
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Tamworth In Bloom 2014
The Tamworth in Bloom pub competition proved popular again last year, with every pub in the borough invited to enter their floral displays. We had an enjoyable time judging these late last summer and this year’s competition is now open.
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A5: Green spaces verges, parks and public open spaces Tamworth’s Streetscene team is responsible for the cleansing of streets, pavements, pedestrian areas and verges throughout the town, including the emptying of dog bins, litter collection, fly-tipping removal, sharps disposal, road sweeping, and the maintenance of cycle paths. They also maintain all Council-owned open space, including all parks, grassed areas, shrub beds, trees and hedges, 24 football pitches and 22 play areas, as well as maintaining all grass verges in the borough for Staffordshire County Council. Last year, after five years of being leased out to the private sector, Tamworth Golf Course was bought back under the management of the Council. All the grounds maintenance is now been undertaken by the Streetscene department.
Streetscene also manages the burial service and maintenance of the five Council cemeteries. The Wigginton cemetery expansion has just been completed and has secured burial space for at least another 50 years. Streetscene currently employs 35 Environmental Maintenance Operatives covering the borough as well as a dedicated arboriculture team for all tree maintenance. This is further enhanced with partnership working with the Probation Service, which recently has been extended to provide teams five days a week year round. Streetscene continues to fund additional supervision to support this project. The annual work programme for Community Payback offers an additional resource estimated at ÂŁ188,000. This year, Streetscene reviewed its bulb planting programme as it was felt that we had exhausted new planting sites. In light of the review, we have planted many areas of wild flowers along verges to enhance the visual amenity and encourage native species and insects, as well as reducing maintenance costs in some areas. We have also planted thousands of poppies to coincide with our Lest we Forget theme and The Real Poppy campaign http://realpoppy.co.uk/
Streetscene is in the ninth year of its Apprentice Scheme, and is very proud to announce once again that the newlyqualified operative has been offered a permanent position with Streetscene. We have also been able to recruit two new apprentices for the following year.
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Tamworth In Bloom 2014
B - ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
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B - ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY It’s wonderful to be able to look back on over a decade of the hugely successful Wild About Tamworth, an initiative that has taken Tamworth’s only Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in 2003 and added land to it, then created another four LNRs, while also taking another two sites to the brink of being confirmed as LNRs. Throughout this time, the solid base upon which Wild About Tamworth has been able to grow has been the network of eight community conservation groups which have each supported their local sites and made such a difference on the ground. The volunteers’ input was acknowledged two years ago when Wild About Tamworth picked up the Heart of England In Bloom Community Achievement Award. Judges stated that Wild About Tamworth had become “a very impressive example of bringing a range of communities from across the Borough together to improve their local environment in a cohesive and sustainable manner.” This excellent achievement recognised the hard work put into the project both by the Wild About Tamworth partnership and the network of volunteers that it supports. Wild About Tamworth started in September 2003 and has always been supported and funded by Tamworth Borough Council, with the single project officer employed and managed by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. Big Lottery, via its Wildspace! programme, provided the first three years of match-funding, with Staffordshire Environmental Fund providing help for another three years from September 2006. Over the last decade, more than £200,000 worth of funding has been secured to manage and improve such sites in the borough; looking ahead, the LNRs look forward to a rosy future now that a Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) grant has been won that will help to pay for annual costs at each site, as well as a few one-offs! The HLS grant will benefit local people, as the LNRs are well used. Over the last three years, for example, more than 2,500 children have been on educational visits to these natural havens, while well in excess of 500 people, including nine community groups and four schools, helped to plant more than 5,000 trees recently, thanks to a Big Tree Plant grant.
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Tamworth In Bloom 2014
B1: Wildlife areas, natural habitat Hodge Lane Local Nature Reserve
stories, photographs and memories of Hodge Lane and the surrounding Amington village and amenities. In collaboration with a local school, a history booklet and an audio CD were developed to document the findings of this project for future generations, with Amington Heath Primary School also benefiting from regular Forest Schools sessions throughout the year. Dosthill Park Local Nature Reserve
The Hodge Lane Conservation Group formed in 2004 to make a difference to what had been a neglected and vandalised area. The site had previously been a Victorian brick factory and public tip as well as the site of small cottages. The area of site designated a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) was extended thanks to the hard work of this group and the Wild About Tamworth Officer. The group has also improved the site immeasurably for people and wildlife. Paths have been re-established, the pond is regularly cleared, and the area litter picked. The group has created new entrances and paths for families with all ages able to access the area, which in turn protects it from vandalism. The group has created a haven for wildlife with hibernacula to encourage newts and small mammals, as well as clearing woodland and bramble to under plant with blue bells and snowdrops. The group was delighted in 2009 when the wildflower area was designated a Site of Biological Interest (SBI). This nationally recognised designation acknowledges the value of the species present on the site and is a testament to the hard work of the group. In 2010 the group secured a Heritage Lottery Grant (HLF) of ÂŁ50,000. This has enabled further habitat improvements and the development of educational work on the site with several local schools. The group has also carried out an intergenerational oral history project which engaged the local community to come forward with
Dosthill Park is a 12ha site to the south of Tamworth town centre. The Dosthill Park Wildlife Group formed in 2007 and has met monthly since its inception, carrying out practical conservation and community involvement tasks. Tamworth Borough Council designated the site as a Local Nature Reserve during 2010 and the group bid successfully to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for ÂŁ50,000 to improve the wetland habitats, access and heritage value of the site. As part of that grant, the group worked closely with the Wild about Tamworth Officer and local schools and developed an education pack which enables schools to use the site as a curriculum resource. To mark the end of the HLF grant, there was a celebration day at Dosthill Park in June. The guided trail was promoted, with the new trail leaflet being used to introduce visitors to all the other improvements made to the park, thanks to the grant. Among the many displays to highlight both the work of the Group and Dosthill Park itself was one which showcased the history project carried out with Dosthill Primary School. The group has also benefitted from a range of training, which will enable it to become more self-sufficient and better manage the site.
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Tameside Local Nature Reserve
Warwickshire Moor Local Nature Reserve
Designated as a Local Nature Reserve in 2008, Tameside LNR is an 18.6 hectare site situated in Fazeley, in the south west of Tamworth Borough which is owned and managed by Tamworth Borough Council. The site comprises: a stretch of the River Tame; a lake containing nesting islands; ditches and streams; marshy areas; reed beds; hedgerows; grassland; wildflower meadow; areas of trees and scrub. The site is a Site of Biological Interest (SBI), and it is a very important wildlife haven in a busy town.
Warwickshire Moor is a 5.74ha site in Bolehall that has been managed by volunteer group The Friends of Warwickshire Moor since 2006. During this time the group has applied for, and received, more than ÂŁ13,000 of funding and has delivered more than 3,000 volunteer hours of work on the site.
The Tameside Wildlife Conservation Group was established in April 2006. Since this time, the group has carried out monthly management tasks in line with the management plan, which have included bench construction, bridge building, footpath maintenance, wetland habitat management, otter holt construction, bird box installation, wildflower meadow improvements and management and Himalayan balsam removal. One key point in the management plan was to improve the value of the river and wetland habitats on the site. After several years of planning and preparing, during winter 2009 the Environment Agency, with the support of the Wild about Tamworth Officer, the volunteer group and Tamworth Borough Council, began work on site. Work was completed in early 2010 and now the banks of the river have been re-profiled, creating a gentle slope down to the water’s edge; the lake and the river have been linked and a series of small pools and scrapes have been created. The Environment Agency funded the ground works, while Tamworth Borough Council match-funded monies to improve access and improve the biodiversity of the site after these works were completed.
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Tamworth In Bloom 2014
During 2006, the Tame Valley Project and Green Arc Partnership funded extensive wetland improvement works on the site, opening up the main ditch that runs through the middle of the site and creating a series of pools and scrapes of various sizes. These works have benefited birds, amphibians and dragonflies, which in turn have provided a food source for their predators and thus increased the biodiversity of the site. The group continues to meet once a month to carry out tasks such as footpath maintenance, wildflower meadow management, reed bed management and scrub and tree management. In addition, a group of volunteers from BT have visited the site on a couple of occasions to help out with labour-intensive projects on the site such as path improvements and reed clearance. The group was delighted when Tamworth Borough Council designated the site as a Local Nature Reserve during 2010 and was able to produce a leaflet to encourage more visitors to the site. The group has since designed and installed an interpretation board near the entrance to the site to educate visitors about the value of the site.
Town Wall
Broadmeadow
The Town Wall Conservation Group formed in 2008 and began carrying out practical conservation tasks on the Town Wall site every month. The group was keen to improve access to the site and to reinstate some of the original features including a wildflower meadow and the Town Wall, a dry-stone wall which historically would have been the boundary between Tamworth and ‘the countryside’ (at that time it would have been Sutton Coldfield).
After many years of negotiation, Tamworth Borough Council finally concluded the transfer of Broadmeadow into Council ownership as part of a Section 106 agreement, then immediately pledged to declare this jewel in Tamworth’s crown a Local Nature Reserve. Broadmeadow is of special biological importance to both Tamworth and Staffordshire, being the second only place to view the Snakes Head Fritillary in the area. Tamworth Borough Council is relishing the opportunity to improve this unique island in conjunction with partners and has secured more than £120,000 to improve access to the site by constructing a vehicular access. This is currently being tendered and it is hoped will be completed late summer 2014. The management plan has been drafted and local people consulted, with the aspiration to form a new volunteer group before the year’s end. This site forms the upper end of the Tame Valley Wetlands Project, for which a successful second-stage bid to Heritage Lottery has bought in significant funding to help improve Broadmeadow through its ‘fantastic fritillaries’ project , together with monies secured via a Higher Level Stewardship grant, both of which will enable significant improvements to the site. Broadmeadow is also at the lower end of the Central Rivers Initiative, which is involved in gravel pit restoration along the river corridor from Burton to Tamworth. www.centralrivers.org.uk
Working closely with Tamworth Borough Council and the Wild about Tamworth Officer, the group was awarded £50,000 funding through the Community Spaces Grant to return Town Wall to its former glory and increase its value to the wider community. Following completion of these major improvements, the group has continued to broaden its skills by taking part in a series of training workshops, including wildflower identification and Wildplay training to educate others about the site and to involve and engage the local and wider community. A new management plan was written for Town Wall in October, including annual species surveys to show the vast improvements this work has made.
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Wigginton Park
Kettle Brook Local Nature Reserve
Yet again the Friends of Wigginton Park group has continued working together with Tamworth Borough Council and Staffordshire Wildlife Trust to enhance this popular site. In 2013 residents, school pupils and others took on another major tree planting programme which saw a further 400 small saplings planted and ten major specimen trees sited at several locations in the park. The saplings are establishing well and helping to create several wildlife corridors linking the existing copses on the site.
Kettle Brook LNR is a large site, which extends for approximately 3.5km, between Glascote in the north-west and the Borough boundary near Wilnecote in the southeast. It is a Site of Biological Importance (SBI) due to the areas along the brook and also includes man-made lakes, wet woodland, landscaped parkland and semi-improved grassland linked by the Kettle Brook. These areas have less wildlife value but form an important green corridor through central Tamworth.
In spring 2013, the first stages of a wild flower area of reflection were created. When complete this will form a small area where residents can sit on one of two planned benches and quietly enjoy a more relaxed area of the park. This will join up with the wild flower meadow, which will be created using green hay from a local source in 2015.
During the last year two new groups have been established, each of which work on a specific area of the site. The Wild About Tamworth Officer is currently working with these groups to increase skills, knowledge and competency and to update the management plan to reflect community aspirations.
The work to complete the tree trail is planned for later this year, where a dedicated route, interpretation boards and leaflet will guide visitors through the wonderful specimen trees within the park.
Tamworth Borough Council actively encourages its residents to participate in all opportunities to restore and rejuvenate its natural open spaces and in the first four months of 2014 alone, the Wild About Tamworth project has created opportunities for more than 260 adults and children from Tamworth who have not engaged with the project previously to do so.
These three projects, coupled with regular litter picks and school projects, has seen the group grow considerably over the past few years. The work of the Friends regularly sees residents working together to make their community a better place to live.
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B2: Resources management
B3: Local Heritage
As an organisation, we endeavour to minimise the environmental impact of our operations wherever possible. From recycling our green waste (circa 700 tonnes annually) to carefully routing our cyclical maintenance teams to reduce fuel consumption and subsequent emissions, consideration for the environment forms a key part of our decision-making process.
The Gateway Project, Creative Quarter and Assembly Rooms Heritage Lottery Fund bids:
We have secured an extraction permit from the Environment Agency, which allows us to draw water directly from the River Anker. This enables us to water all bedding plants in the Castle Grounds from one source. We also enrich the soil in the beds prior to planting, thereby reducing the amount of synthetic fertiliser needed during the season.
An ambitious £3 million regeneration project aimed at transforming part of the town centre and improving links throughout the town from the railway station to Ventura Park is in the pipeline. Phase one will concentrate on revitalising the town centre to Ventura Park through the Castle Grounds. Work has already started on securing funding and redesigning the Castle Grounds to maximise the visitor experience. The Creative Quarter project aims to provide a busy and attractive square in the heart of the town centre, focusing on the area around the library, Assembly Rooms, Carnegie Centre and Philip Dix Centre. The Creative Quarter will help to boost the town centre and make it more vibrant, as well as improving opportunities for businesses at the same time as capitalising on Tamworth’s cultural and heritage sites. The area also sits on one of Tamworth’s busiest bus routes, making it is ideally situated to attract visitors to the town centre. As well as plans to develop and improve the 125-year-old Assembly Rooms, the project could see a new restaurant based in the Carnegie Centre, 15 incubation units to help establish small and new businesses in the Philip Dix Centre and improvements to the library. There are also plans to improve links from the railway station, town centre and Ventura Park. The majority of the £3 million funding would come from external sources, including the Heritage Lottery Fund, Staffordshire County Council and the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership. There are further plans to extend to the former Gungate shopping centre and improve links across the town centre, as part of the wider Gateways Project. A successful £50,000 bid had enabled ANPR cameras to be fitted on some of the town centre car parks to assist in more cost-effective management.
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B4: Local Environmental Quality Tamworth Borough Council Street Wardens, working with the Clean Neighbourhoods Officer, continue to patrol, educate and enforce on environmental matters and promote social responsibility. They also work with the Police and other agencies to assist in the reduction and prevention of anti-social behaviour. Dog fouling, despite contrary evidence on our Local Environmental Quality surveys, remains a topic of complaint, together with those of out-of-control or vicious dogs. Since the introduction of Dog Control Orders in 2012, the mascot character for all dog-related campaigns, Saxon Hound, has led on all anti-dog fouling campaign Mucky Pup – Clean it Up and has appeared at many community and partnership events to engage with the public.
Reports for follow-up actions and investigation by the Clean Neighbourhoods Officer via this reporting mechanism have risen to one per week in 2013/14 – a rise of 48.5% from 2012/13. Ongoing monitoring of call and intelligence will continue to target campaigns and Saxon Hound will continue to appear at events. Litter and fly-tipping is also a main focus for the Wardens. There has also been publicity around the increase in flytipped fridges and duty of care concerns, with increased publicity for the public about scrap metal dealers following new legislation. Abandoned vehicle rates remain low and fly-posting is dealt with by immediate removal of items, backed up with advisory visits and informal actions. During 2013/14, 55 Fixed Penalty Notices were issued and paid for littering, with three successful prosecutions for littering and one for duty of care after fly-tipping investigation. 14 warning letters were issued and 20 litter picks undertaken with juvenile offenders. Six FPNs were issued for dog fouling and three for dogs without leads, with 17 warning letters sent out to dog owners. New legislation due in October will give local authorities and partners a much welcomed tool to deal with many aspects of environmental quality more effectively assisting in graffiti control, vacant premise and other areas of anti-social behaviour. We have been working with local landlords to try to use the windows of vacant shops as advertisement for the town and Bloom.
The Street Wardens have undertaken several targeted patrols areas based on intelligence received. The last Mucky Pup - Clean it Up was held in the town centre residential areas, with information leaflets and engagement with the public. Dog control information is freely available and handed out. This has resulted in a greater awareness of the reporting process and a reduction in complaints of fouling in this area.
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B5: Pride of Place We in Tamworth are always keen to showcase our best assets and ensure that visitors and residents alike are able to enjoy what the town has to offer. To this end, we carry out regular maintenance and if necessary replace the furniture. We are continually assessing and where appropriate redesigned landscaping to enhance areas within the town and Castle Grounds. We have endeavoured to provide seating in locations that enable the public to appreciate the floral displays while visiting our open spaces. This rationale is particularly evidenced by our Jubilee Rose Garden, created in 2012 to coincide with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and this year replanted as a Growing for Gold tribute.
We are in our fourth year of partnership with Virgin Media, which enables us to coat and paint their cable boxes throughout the town, while providing a financial contribution to the Council. The War Memorial in Amington cemetery is currently undergoing renovations following our successful Heritage Lottery bid. It will be fully restored and re- landscaped in time for this year’s judging and - more importantly – for August 4th and the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War. The project has also included research into the fallen of Amington and a website has been developed showing the history of both the memorial and the war veterans.
The Street Wardens inspect all play areas weekly to ensure they are maintained to the highest possible level.
The planters in the Castle Grounds and town are all coordinated with the hanging basket baskets fitted to our lampposts and barriers for Tamworth in Bloom. In previous years we have seen the arrival of ‘Torch Man’ for the Olympic celebrations, and his floral colleague ‘Saxon Man’. Both can be found within the Castle Grounds. This year we have our World War 1 soldier, guarding the entrance to the town centre on Moor Street island.
Our work with the Youth Service has continued and we are still involved in several projects where ‘graffiti art’ is painted onto the walls of the underpasses and skate park to brighten them. These art projects are themed to individual areas. The Council recently engaged consultants to assist in developing a long-term project to link the town to the railway station and the shopping outlet at Ventura Park. This project is known as the Gateway Project and its main aim is to kick-start town centre regeneration. The ambitious plans to redevelop and improve Tamworth Assembly Rooms are also underway.
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Staffordshire’s highway network is the bedrock of the economy, ensuring that goods, people and services make the connections they need. The roads link everything together and are vital for the county’s prosperity and growth. Staffordshire County Council has a massive task maintaining and improving more than 3,500 miles of roads, 1,000 bridges and 100,000 street lights and illuminated signs. Neighbourhood Highway Teams were recently brought into force to help to tackle issues that the public has put at the top of its agenda. The teams aim to deliver more, more often and in closer liaison with local town and parish councils as well as local county councillors. They deal with issues such as weeding and grass trimming, verges and fencing, painting, ditching, cleaning and environmental improvement schemes, and have been of great assistance in Tamworth. The plans have received initial backing from the Heritage Lottery Fund, with almost £90,000 of development funding. A further grant application for almost £1 million has just been submitted. The project will also require additional external funding to deliver all of the desired improvements. The project aims to modernise and improve the Assembly Rooms, while preserving its historic character and heritage. In addition to the capital works, an archive charting the development of the building over the past 125 years will be developed. Tamworth Assembly Rooms – which was built to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee and paid for by public subscription – will be celebrating its 125th anniversary on October 8 2014. We continue to work extremely closely with our Staffordshire County Council partners in managing and maintaining the hard landscaping of Tamworth. The County’s Neighbourhood Highway Team has been instrumental in improving areas and we are currently in discussions with the County Council as to how to best restore areas of the town centre paving.
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C - COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
After six years back in the Bloom campaign, Tamworth has firmly established community participation. Every community project is looked at to see how or where it fits the ‘Bloom mould’, thus endeavouring to establish Bloom within the community and pushing the message that the campaign is so much more than the wonderful floral displays. We have two long-standing members of the community who have supported the project group through the last five years. Priority again this year for the Council has been the Locality Working Areas, focusing on the issues that are important to the community; and we have been working hard with the community development teams within Tamworth.
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C1: Development and continuity
C2: Communication and Education
Streetscene is now in its seventh year of working with the Staffordshire Probation Service; once more we have been able to fund the additional supervision for the Probation Service to provide teams for five days a week, all year round. This enables additional environmental improvements to be carried out throughout the year, over and above what the Council offers as a public service. For example, they have assisted in preparing the Bloom judging route - painting all that does not move - improving garden areas for pensioners, repairing street furniture and are now firmly embedded in the day-to-day work of Streetscene. They continue to work in the four locality areas, which are Amington, Stonydelph, Belgrave and Glascote.
The comprehensive education programme for primary age children (See Appendix 4) has been updated and expanded and the care of the environment/littering presentations also include the effect of littering on both wildlife and domestic pets. The section on responsible dog ownership focuses on the importance of training, affection, chipping, leads and clearing up after pets. A new development has been the introduction of internet safety talks for children and parents and presentations on alcohol - commissioned as part of the Healthy Tamworth initiative which aims to improve the health and wellbeing of Tamworth residents. Many factors play a role in keeping a person healthy; from good employment and decent housing to eating well and having good social networks. The Healthy Tamworth initiative will develop various activities which residents can get involved in. The Street Wardens will be supporting this initiative by continuing work in the schools and assisting with Tamworth in Bloom healthy eating projects. The consistent message to the community on all aspects of the Street Wardens’ environmental, social responsibility and preventative work on ASB is also publicised as part of the Tamworth Community Safety Partnership Community Engagement Days, school fetes and Tamworth Borough Council annual events.
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Tamworth In Bloom 2014
C3: Community Involvement When we talk about Tamworth In Bloom, a lot of people just think about the flowers. But that’s just one aspect of the campaign – its real heart is about bringing the community of Tamworth together to work on projects to make the borough a better place. Here in Tamworth, the Bloom magic would not happen without the help and support from people of all ages and backgrounds who get involved in a wide range of projects. The annual schools competition is a big part of our Tamworth In Bloom campaign and sees schools from across the borough take part in growing projects. Each year, hundreds of pupils are tasked with growing flowers, fruit or vegetables, in projects tied in with our theme for the year. This year we have asked them to Grow for Gold and have issued thousands of sunflower seeds. Our art competition asked for an allotment to be designed and we have been most impressed with the entries. Many more events have taken place, with Florendine School, Greenacres School, Coton Green Church group, Friends of Stonydelph Lakes, Town Wall Nature Group and Rawlett School to name but a few. Street Wardens, Councillors, Police and Streetscene have supported the community with these events through their presence and provision of extra bags and litter pickers. Tamworth Borough Council Housing team have also used the Big Tidy Up clean-ups with their tenants.
Community Payback also plays a vital role in keeping Tamworth looking attractive throughout the year. We have been working with Community Payback for the past seven years, with teams out working on various projects five days a week. All their work revolves around making a difference in Tamworth and giving something back to the community. Our Senior Citizens Many of our sheltered accommodation schemes have been renovated over the last couple of years, with a number having new paving, walls and landscaping. This has encouraged residents to take more care of the garden areas. The gardeners work as a team, helping each other, swapping plants and setting up watering rotas. The gardens are a social activity enjoyed by all, as well as a physical activity for those who do the gardening. There is also a competitive side involving other schemes and the in-house competition run by the Council The gardens on our scheme are enjoyed by the residents, their families and visitors, and we take great pride in all the favourable comments that we receive all year round. They care about the environment they live in.
The students at The Rawlett School have always enjoyed taking a pride in their local community and actively getting involved in Tamworth in Bloom is something our students have always been keen to do. In the last 12 months, they have developed and designed a community allotment within their grounds, providing produce for their classmates. Dozens of community and voluntary groups also take part in Tamworth In Bloom projects, including the two Community Cafes, Friends groups and Morrisons community volunteers. In fact, participation in Tamworth In Bloom has become an integral part of volunteering in Tamworth, with no shortage of volunteers wanting to get involved. Last year, one Tamworth resident decided to go the extra mile and organised a series of community litter picks, under the banner Love Where You Live. The culmination of this project was almost 1,000 children from schools throughout the borough litter picking around their schools, before converging on the Castle Grounds.
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Community Fire Station Tamworth’s Community Fire station opened in February 2011 and is widely used by the community for meetings and leisure activities. Community is central to the building and the Police and Street Wardens have a ’hub’ base here.
C4: Year Round Involvement Tamworth in Bloom is now fully embedded in the work of Streetscene and the Council; the Councillors have made a long-term commitment to the project and this is reflected in how yearly events are programmed. The Local Nature Reserves volunteers work year round throughout the seasons to deliver their management plans, Streetscene spends the winter months planning for the floral displays for the following years and working on preparing and repairing the infrastructure to support it. Sponsorship for Tamworth in Bloom begins earlier each year and this year we are looking for businesses to support us in providing additional Christmas trees and lighting. A full programme of year-round events is evidenced in our presentation, which will be supplied separately. Funding and support
Raising public awareness of Tamworth in Bloom 2014 For the past four years we have worked in partnership with the Tamworth Herald, providing regular Bloom press updates, showing the seasonal programme and actively encouraging the public to participate. This year we have publicised the route well in advance of judging day and thrown down the gauntlet to the community to join in. In short, Tamworth In Bloom is about much more than the flowers – it’s about the whole community getting involved and doing their bit.
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Tamworth In Bloom 2014
Tamworth Borough Council recognises the importance of the long-term commitment to Tamworth in Bloom; and this is reflected in the Council’s corporate priorities. Despite severe budget cuts we have been creative in attracting additional funding; for example through partnership with the business community, we have been able to erect the hanging basket avenue through Ventura Park and sustain it for future years, independently of Council funding. Many of the judging day activities have been donated or supplied through sponsorship and the wider community, and the Council would like to thank all local businesses and sponsors for supporting this year’s campaign.
Tamworth in Bloom 2014 Sponsors
Royal Mail E F Edwards Funeral Directors Tamworth Herald Staffordshire Probation Service
Staffordshire County Council Ramora Tamworth Co-op Staffordshire Wildlife Trust The Peel Hotel Tamworth Townsafe Seaton Hire Tamworth Railway Station Andrew White Fencing Evans Funeral Directors Co op Funeral Services B and Q Planters Garden Centre Florascape
Ankerside Shopping Centre Fletchers Wilkinsons Ventura Park Casa Bar LSD Promotions (market) Three Tuns pub The Boot Inn Roasters Cafe Arriva Tamworth Hunt Butchers
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CONCLUSION Tamworth in Bloom is now firmly embedded in all the work that the local authority and its partners does within the community, linking friends of groups, schools, its elderly citizens and businesses alike. Throughout the recent economic downturn and knock on effect to the Council and its partners, we have been able to continue to develop Bloom by sharing resources and working practice and working ‘smarter’ with the community to get the job done. Without the help of our partners in delivering Bloom, we would not have achieved this level of success.
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Tamworth In Bloom 2014
We have seen major projects come to fruition over the years, for example the £1.7 million Heritage Lottery Grant for works on Tamworth Castle. We have two other major projects in second stage bidding with the Heritage Lottery, Staffordshire Council and the Local Enterprise Partnership which, if successful, will restore more heritage within the town and provide better access for the community. Neighbourhood Services will continue to work with the community and partners as the lead for environmental education and enforcement.
Further campaigns are planned and the full impact of the new ASB, Crime and Policing Act 2014 is currently being assessed across all areas of the Council and with the Police. The wider use of new powers to include Public Space Protection Orders and Community Protection Orders will undoubtedly bring further tools for education and protection of the amenities in the borough and provide effective tools for the prevention of anti-social behaviour. We are currently looking for sites to dedicate as Centenary Fields, where we intend to create a poppy field as a lasting tribute to those who lost their lives in
the First World War. Once dedicated the land will be protected for the future as a mark of our thanks to the fallen. www.fieldsintrust.org/centenaryfields.aspx Although Tamworth in Bloom is a local authority-led campaign, we would not be able to achieve the results we do without the commitment of many volunteers and partners. As for the future we hope to continue the good work we have done by working with others and the community, ensuring that their enthusiasm is not lost on future generations and the fruits of our labours are there to be seen for years to come.
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