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Gunton Estate Community Hall receives unique plaque
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'Love Your Neighbourhood' comes to
Normanston
On Saturday 7th June
it rained quite a lot. In particular, it rained on the 4th
Lowestoft Scout Group's Hall in Rotterdam Road. But Waveney
District Council and Lowestoft Together's Love Your
Neighbourhood Visioning Day remained upbeat and were very
happy with the number of local residents who took the time to visit
the hall and chat with the various organisations on show.
Probably the most successful aspect of the day was
the number of young people who were enthralled by the children's
entertainer - Charlie - and made use of the 4 Towns Bus, which was
making a rare visit to urban Lowestoft. (Thanks to the Waveney
Rural Partnership and Waveney Community Forum for that). Several of
the young people thought a bus like that in Lowestoft would be a
good idea. The number of young people perhaps showed how there
is not the best of provision in the area, and how keen they are to
participate when offered the opportunity.
Waveney Cohesion Team asked visitors to highlight problems in the
area, by putting pins in a map, which marked fly-tipping
places or where speeding cars are thought to be a problem, for
example. Several contacts were made with young people
interested in the North Lowestoft Skateboard Park.
Lowestoft Together was out in force, and collected names and
addresses of people who wanted to make use of their Free Bulk Item
Removal service, which WDC offered to residents during Love Your
Neighbourhood week.(Sorry, it's too late for the free offer
now!).
The Safer Neighbourhood Team was there, offering advice about
security and hearing what residents felt, as were the Environment
Support team. Other groups included 1st East - 'Lowestoft and Great
Yarmouth, Two Towns, One Vision', Gt Yarmouth and Waveney Health
Trainers, and Families United Network. Waveny Saturday Football
Club were on hand with goal-posts and footballs but the weather was
somewhat against finding fun outside!
The free raffle caused great
excitement, as there were some great prizes, including a boom-box
and male and female watches.
We many thanks to all the participants, to the residents, and to
the 4th Lowestoft Scout Troop who so kindly hosted the event
and prepared the refreshments, including some most excellent
cake!
This was the first event Lowestoft Together and
Waveney District Coucil have put on in the area. It was followed by
a very successful Give Or Take Day in Normanston Park, organised by
Bright Green, funded by Lowestoft Together. LT are very keen to
listen to what people in the community have to say, so please get
in touch if you want to make a suggestion or have an idea for an
event.
Whitton Life Opening!
This was a very successful
event, celebrating the opening of the
the Whitton
Life Cafe. Lowestoft Together was a
major funder of the work that's just
been
completed, because Whitton Life is
working in the community, for the community,
and with the
community.
Though Lowestoft Together supported
the project financially, it became
very
apparent from Esther Day's speech that
it was members of the local community who
had brought it to life, with their
energy, committment, and sheer hard
work.
Lowestoft Together - in the happy form
of Bob Russell, Neighbourhood Manager -
presented a unique plaque to
Whitton Life, made from re-cycled glass.
The plaque was designed and created by
Jon Andersson, a local
artist.
The atmosphere on The Green was very pleasant. The sun shone, music
played, Nu-flo - a street basket ball group - demonstrated their
skills, a queue of young children patiently waited for their face
to be painted, food was eaten, and balloons were released.
Lowestoft Together were out in strength, taking bookings for the
free bulky item collection they had arranged, chatting and meeting
people. One of the things LT wanted to do was find some people
interested in helping out in running and developing Whitton
Residents' Hall. The Volunteer Centre's post-it notewall generated
a host of ideas. But what is really needed is people. It's people
that make the difference, and people who make things happen.
All in all, a good day. Thanks to Esther and all who worked so hard
to make it a succesful
event.
It's Our Community
Lowestoft Together and
North Lowestoft FairShare Trust organised a well attended
celebratory community event on Saturday, the 23rd
February,
at St Margaret’s Church Hall Lowestoft.
Twenty different organisations had stalls, promoting their
services, ranging from Stella Maris Toddler Group to Fadoo! Most of
the groups had won funding from Lowestoft Together, or
FairShare Trust, or both.
Even before the public had arrived there
were a lot of conversations going on, and the air was full of
energy and the exchange of ideas and information. Over 150 people
turned up during the three hours, many entering the free
raffle!
Lowestoft Together co-chairs Sue
Henderson and Margaret Oldham presented a cheque for £50,000 to
JUMP (Junior2adult Unbiased Mentoring Project). JUMP epitomise what
it’s all about really. A group of people (most of whom happen to be
young), full of energy and drive, helping people in their
community.
The Lowestoft Signing Choir were
another hit on the day. They gained an unexpected cash boost
when Councillors Alyson Barron and Malcolm Cherry donated £1000
between them from their Locality Budget towards the Signing Choir’s
dream of being crowned for the third time ‘City Lit
National Signing
Competition Champions’. Bob Russell, Neighbourhood Manager of
Lowestoft Together, added another £100 from his
discretionary funds.
For the full story, check out Claire
Taylor-Crisp’s
article. A list
of participating organisations is available.
Visioning Day
Success!
"Love Your Neighbourhood Week"
Gunton Tenants’ and Residents’ Hall in Hollingsworth Road hosted
a highly successful ‘visioning day’ event on Saturday
9th February. Many local people visited through the day,
and enjoyed the chance to have their say, try the delicious
home-made soup and amazing muffins cooked by Sophie Leggett of
Gunton Signpost, and enter the free raffle.
Hollingsworth Road
Lowestoft
Together had a display, showing some ways the Hollingsworth
Road area could be improved, which featured an ‘artist’s
impression’ by Uhi Millington. There were several positive and
exciting ideas suggested.
Wisset Way Pond
Photos of Wisset Way
pond stimulated a lot of comment. The pond is going to be
dredged and cleaned, funded by Lowestoft Together, but
the questions are ‘What happens next? What should it look
like, and how can it be kept a pleasant place for wildlife and
residents?’ It’s hoped that a local group might take on the
task of deciding what to do – Wisset Ponders, perhaps?
MUGA!
Local community groups had stands, including the Friends of Gunton
Community Park, who were displaying possible designs for a Multi
Use Games Area, often called a MUGA. Stuart Halsey of Waveney’s
Community Cohesion Team was impressed by the turnout and the good
ideas suggested. “Our cardboard graffiti wall, which was a fun way
for people to express their ideas and concerns, was nearly full by
the end,” he said. “It seems young people were concerned about the
same things
a
s adults – dog mess,
rubbish, vandalism, and bullying. But they were very keen on
the MUGA and thought it would be brilliant. The MUGA has
funding – it’s just a question of which design to go for.”
Clean up
Environment Support Officers from Waveney District Council had a
stall, displaying leaflets about our local environment, including
re-cycling, litter, dogs, and noise. They also had a large map of
the area, and people used pins to mark particular concerns, like
fly-tipped rubbish or where dog fouling was a problem.
Lowestoft Together
had arranged with the Cleansing Department for free ‘large
item’ removal, if people signed up on the day, which resulted
in about 12 requests.
The event was also supported by the Waveney Crime and Disorder
Reduction Partnership, the local crime reduction officer, and the
Safer Neighbourhood Team, who were kept busy giving community and
crime reduction advice.
A Fire Service Crew were there, complete with Fire Engine.
Naturally enough, once they had set up their stall, they got a
‘shout’ and disappeared up Hollingsworth Road, sirens wailing and
lamps flashing. They got back just in time for the raffle draw.
Who can help?
Bob Russell, Neighbourhood Manager, said, “Lowestoft
Together have driven this project, along with a whole range of
partners, including councillors and Waveney District Council. It’s
been a really enjoyable and constructive day. I hope we can build
on that, and residents realise how much is already being done, and
how much more could be done with more people active in the
community. We’d really like to hear from residents who would like
to help. They can call me on 01502 523183, or drop into our
building at 15 Surrey Street,
Lowestoft.”