Margaret Jones

Lichfield District Councillors each have £300 to spend on local projects.

The application period for 2021 will close at the end of November, so groups are being reminded to apply for a small grant of between £50 and £300 for projects and activities that will have a positive impact on their local area.

Individuals can also apply for funding, provided they can show the application is on behalf of a local community project or activity.

Find out more and apply for funding at www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/councillorfund.

Voters across Lichfield District are being urged to take action if they receive an invitation to register to vote, to make sure they don’t lose their voice on decisions that affect them.

Through this year’s annual canvass, which started in the summer, hundreds of people across Lichfield District have been identified that are not registered to vote at their home address.

As a result the council is sending out invitations to register to these individuals, either by email or through the post, to encourage them to register to vote.

Simon Fletcher, Electoral Registration Officer for Lichfield District, said: “If we have sent you an invitation to register to vote, please take action if you have not already done so. The easiest way to register is online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

“Not only is it a requirement, registering to vote is an important opportunity for our residents to make sure they can take part in the democratic process.”

People who have moved address recently are particularly encouraged to make sure they are registered at their new address. Research by the Electoral Commission indicates that recent home movers are far less likely to be registered than those who have lived at the same address for a long time.

The council has also posted 4,628 household canvass form reminders and is urging residents to respond by 15 October, whether or not there have been any changes in the household. This will be followed with a telephone canvass in October to target any properties that have not responded to their reminder forms.

To find out more, go to www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/canvass and to register to vote go to www.gov.uk/register-to-vote and make sure you have your national insurance number to hand.

Residents, businesses and community groups are being asked for their views on local issues to help shape priorities for Lichfield District Council.

Lichfield District Council has launched an online survey for people to put forward their views on its priorities and spending for the next financial year on local services such as refuse collection and recycling, street cleaning, anti-social behaviour, the local economy, homelessness, sports, leisure and events. The council spends around £11 million each year on local services. Around £7 million of this comes from council tax with the rest from business rates and other income.

The survey is open until 30 November at www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/prioritiesandbudget alongside other opportunities for taking part in the consultation including polls, an online ideas board and the chance to post questions to the council about its work. The council is also looking to organise a series of question and answer sessions with a variety of groups across the district to discuss local priorities as part of the consultation.

Councillor Rob Strachan, Cabinet Member for Finance, Procurement, Customer Services and Revenues and Benefits, said: “Our priorities and budget consultation is an important element of our planning process because it helps us better understand the issues that our residents, businesses, and voluntary sector groups want us to focus on.

“We would like to gather views from as many local people as possible about the issues that are important to them to help shape our spending priorities for the next financial year.

“The past two years have been extremely challenging in many ways for many different parts of the local community so now, more than ever, it is vitally important that we focus our energies and resources where they can have the most impact.”

Feedback gathered through the priorities and budget consultation will be used to inform discussions on spending priorities over the next year and beyond. The final budget decision for the 2022 to 2023 financial year will be made at a meeting of the full council in February.

The Parish Council has been informed that the Mease Farm forestry access is now open again following works by  the River Authority on the River Mease banks.

At the last Parish Council meeting two residents attended to discuss the lack of school transport for sixth formers. The Parish Council invited our local Councillor Alan White to the meeting and he explained the background to Staffordshire County Council’s decision not to allow these pupils to use spare seats on the school coach. The parents explained the difficulties this was causing for several families in Edingale. The Parish Council argued that the lack of any public transport in the village made a change in the policy essential for Edingale. It is important that all families affected now and those with children who will enter sixth form over the next few years should complete Staffordshire’s survey on this before October 12th. Those currently affected should register their interest with the student transport team. Cllr White explained that he would continue to look at how best to resolve this and was in regular contact with transport operators and others. The Parish Council contacted Christopher Pincher MP after the meeting to express these concerns and received an informative reply. More information can be found on https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Education/Schooltransport/VacantSeats/temporaryvacantseatscheme.aspx

It’s time to snap up your £2.50 tickets for Lichfield Community Games, which is returning to Beacon Park later this month.

Lichfield Community Games is taking place at Beacon Park on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 September from 12noon to 5pm.

The two-day event will offer everyone the chance to try a wide variety of sports and leisure activities that are available across Lichfield District.

Organised by Inspire Activity, in partnership with Lichfield District Council and community partner, Central England Co-operative, the local Community Games weekend will also feature the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games roadshow on the Sunday.

Councillor Iain Eadie, Lichfield District Council’s Cabinet Member responsible for Leisure & Parks, said: “It’s great to see so many of our local sports and activity clubs getting involved, and we hope lots of people will take the chance to try new things and then, if they like it, join our local clubs as new members.

“And, with next year’s Commonwealth Games taking place in Birmingham and the surrounding area, it’s the perfect time to get a bit of inspiration and discover new ways to keep fit and active.”

Clubs that will be available at Lichfield Community Games include:

• Happy Healthy Cycling
• Moo Music
• Tennis MicroSports
• Beggars Oak Clog Dancers
• Rugby Tots
• Active Lichfield with panna football, soft archery and badminton
• Freedom Leisure with Burntwood Leisure Centre and Friary Grange Leisure Centre activities
• Lichfield Swimming Club
• Silhouette Dance Academy
• BFAB Dance
• Urban Boxing
• British Canoeing
• Staffordshire FA
• Squash Commonwealth Games
• Table Tennis Commonwealth Games
• Wrestling Commonwealth Games
• Vision School of Dance
• Mini Athletics Lichfield

This year’s event is ticketed. It costs £2.50 per person and is free for ages 3 and under. To book your tickets please go to www.trybooking.co.uk/BDFR.

If your home or business flooded in February 2020 you may be entitled to a grant to help prevent your property from being flooded again.

After an extension to the national scheme, Lichfield District Council is inviting owners of homes or businesses that flooded in storms Ciara or Dennis in February 2020 to apply for a property flood resilience grant of up to £5,000.

Councillor Rob Strachan, Cabinet Member for Finance, Procurement and Revenues & Benefits, said: “We know how heart-breaking it is to have your home or businesses flooded, and we want to help make sure local properties are able to withstand possible future flooding events.

“This is why we’re inviting anyone who owns a property in the district that flooded in February 2020 to apply for funding to install measures to help make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

To be eligible for a grant, an independent surveyor will need to assess the property to advise on the best way to make a property more resilient to future flooding, such as putting in flood doors and raising electrics from ground level.

The funding can only be spent on flooding mitigation measures and cannot be used for repairs.

To find out more and how to apply for a property flood resilience grant, go to www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/floodrelief.