COVID-19 UPDATE –22 September

 

Good afternoon,

 

NHS COVID-19 App launching this week

The NHS COVID-19 app will launch in England on Thursday 24 September.

In the run-up to the launch, the council is engaging with businesses and venues across the county to provide guidance for those required by law to print and display posters to help users of the app check in and record their presence.

The posters, which display a unique QR code for each setting, can be scanned by the app, which then saves information that can be used to help contact tracers in the event of an outbreak.

Settings that are currently required to keep records of visitors for contact tracing purposes must still maintain their own register to collect the contact details of those who have not, or could not, install the app.

Venues include facilities provided by local authorities and town and parish councils, including town and village halls, leisure centres, libraries, community and children’s centres.

Read more information about  which venues in England should display the official NHS QR code poster.

Venues that are required to display the official NHS QR code poster can download and print the QR code posters from the Government website.

For further details on the announcement please see: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/venues-required-to-enforce-rule-of-6-nhs-qr-code-posters-and-contact-logs.

Please do encourage businesses in your local area to download and display QR code posters to ensure they comply with this latest legislation. We’ll be sending out more information about how you can help encourage residents to download the app in the next couple of days so please keep an eye out for that.

Precautionary COVID-19 measures taken at ten schools

 

The following schools are taking precautionary measures with the advice and support of public health officials after one pupil at each school tested positive for COVID-19.

St Augustines

160 Year 9 pupils have been self-isolating but returned to school yesterday.

 

Kingsbury Green Academy

The pupil is in Year 12 and is self-isolating with Year 12 and 13 pupils, 110 in total, and three members of staff for 14 days until 30 September.

 

Bulford St Leonard’s School

The pupil is in Year 5 and is self-isolating with year 5 pupils, 35 in total, for 14 days until 26 September. Three teaching staff will also self-isolate.

 

The Springfields Academy

The pupil, who is in a year group bubble of Years 6 – 8 is self-isolating along with the other 11 pupils in the bubble for 14 days until 29 September.

 

St Margaret’s Preparatory School

The pupil is in Year 3 and is self-isolating along with Year 3 pupils, 27 in total and three staff, for 14 days until Monday 28 September.

 

Royal Wootton Bassett Academy
The pupil is in Year 9, and is self-isolating with all Year 9 pupils, 284 in total for 14 days until 25 September.

 

Avon Valley College
The pupil is in Year 10, and is self -isolating along with  Year 10 pupils, 65 in total, until 21 September. One member of staff is also self-isolating.

 

Trinity School

The pupil was in year 4 , and is self-isolating along with year 4 pupils, 28 in total and 2 members of staff

 

Southbroom Junior

Two pupils in year 6 are isolating. No children sent home as the positive cases had not attended school during their infectious period

 

Southbroom Nursery

One positive case with 19 children now self isolating.

 

Statement on Bridgestone British Masters motocross event

 

A decision has been made that the Bridgestone British Masters Battlecross motocross event in Winterbourne Gunner will not take place this year.

 

The event wasn’t requested to be cancelled, but assurances were not met that adequate plans were in place for the event to take place while keeping everyone in attendance as safe as possible. Such plans are standard practice for any large-scale event.

 

Following conversations with colleagues at Wiltshire Council, Public Health, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, Wiltshire Police, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, and the event organisers the decision has been made that now is not the right time for the event to take place. The health and wellbeing of our communities is our top priority and a gathering of this nature has the potential to undo some of the great work many people have done in following COVID-19 guidance and keeping each other as safe as possible.

 

The organisers already have plans for the event to take place in 2021.

 

As we continue to see outbreaks of Coronavirus across the country we want to do what we can to ensure Wiltshire doesn’t end up with a significant increase in cases.

 

Any events or gatherings of more than six people, other than those which are exempt, risk increasing the number of infections in the county.

 

In response to the current situation, Wiltshire Council is strongly recommending local businesses and event organisers postpone or cancel events that are planned to take place in the county during September and October.

 

If you do become aware of events taking place in your local area, please could we ask for your support in sharing this message to help ensure that together Wiltshire helps reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and continues to keep rates low.

 

MyWilts launch

 

The council will be launching its new online reporting system, MyWilts, this week.

 

The new system replaces the previous MyWiltshire, which was introduced in 2013. MyWilts allows people to report issues such as:

 

• Abandoned vehicles
• Fraud
• Weather emergencies
• Fly Tipping
• Dog mess
• Graffiti

 

Over time the council will be adding more services to the app and website, making it simpler, quicker and easier for residents to access council services digitally, when they choose to.

 

The new MyWilts will be available shortly via internet browser, App Store (Apple) and Google Play (Android).

 

To show you the new system in advance, watch the following five-minute video which provides an overview of the system features.

 

Wiltshire Council receives government support to help fund vital work with rough sleepers

 

Wiltshire Council has received more than £47,000 from the government to continue to help rough sleepers.

 

The pledge is part of £91.5m allocated to 274 local authorities by the government to help support vulnerable people housed during the pandemic.

 

The funding will be spent on a range of measures that will continue the council’s work with rough sleepers throughout Wiltshire to provide support and accommodation, and ultimately reduce rough sleeping in the county.

 

The council is committed to helping rough sleepers in Wiltshire, and has a dedicated outreach team that is working hard to connect with people on the streets and find them suitable accommodation.

 

If anyone sees a rough sleeper in Wiltshire, please report it on StreetLink or via the StreetLink app; this will direct our teams to help people who need it.

 

Further information about the scheme can be found here https://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/news-funding-help-rough-sleepers.

 

 

Green Homes Grant Scheme

 

Homeowners and landlords can now access funding to pay for the cost of energy saving measures under the new Green Homes Grant scheme and businesses are being encouraged to register their services.

 

The scheme means homeowners can obtain up to two-thirds of the cost of energy saving measures – up to £5000. Lower-income households could be entitled to claim as much as £10,000 to cover the cost.

 

Home improvements covered by the scheme include insulation of walls, floors and roofs, installation of double or triple glazing to replace single glazing and low-carbon heating. These measures could help families save up to £600 a year on their energy bills.

 

The scheme supports the council’s Climate Strategy and helps us prepare for the future by protecting the environment and saving money for homeowners through long-term energy savings

 

Please promote this scheme to your local communities and businesses. Homeowners can get more information and apply at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-the-green-homes-grant-scheme. Businesses can find out more and register at https://www.trustmark.org.uk/.

 

Thirty-six year record falls to Wiltshire Council-funded athlete

 

A Wiltshire Council-funded local athlete is celebrating recent success following the resumption of the 2020 athletics season.

 

Lucy-Jane Matthews, aged 17 from Salisbury, broke the British 100 metres hurdles record that has been held by British athletics legend Sally Gunnell since 1984.  This now places Lucy-Jane joint third on the British women’s U20 all-time list and in the process, earned her an invitation to compete at the British Championships – where she promptly won herself a silver medal.

 

To support her on the track, Wiltshire Council has funded Lucy-Jane via the Funding Future Olympians and Paralympians Foundation, first with a Sports Scholarship grant and in the last two years with an Elite Athlete Grant.

 

The council is proud to have supported Lucy-Jane over a number of years. We know that the council’s Sport Scholarship and Elite Athlete grants make a huge difference providing much needed financial support to athletes as they aim for success on the world stage. The council is looking forward to seeing what Lucy-Jane can achieve in the future.

 

Regards,

 

 

Cllr Philip Whitehead

 

 

 

Dear Parish Clerk,

 Attached is the North Wessex Downs AONB Annual Report for 2019/20. Please circulate this as widely as possible, perhaps making it available at your next parish council meeting?

It captures many of the activities and achievements of what was, in a number of respects, a very significant year both for the North Wessex Downs and the country’s protected landscapes. 

The closing weeks of 2019/20 were dominated by the increasing impact of Covid-19 and the lock-down that has had such an extraordinary impact on all our lives. I am pleased to report that while a number of plans have had to be altered, such as the cancellation of the annual Walking Festival, many activities have continued, with the Unit’s team working remotely and meetings held virtually. 

Please note our virtual Annual Forum will be held on Friday 6 November. Full details will follow in due course and I look forward to welcoming you, remotely. You can find more information about our work at www.northwessexdowns.org.uk

 Sincerely

Chairman, Council of Partners

COVID-19 UPDATE – Thursday 2 July 2020

 

Good morning

 

Please find below the latest update.

 

Chief Executive appointment

 

Terence Herbert has now been appointed as the Chief Executive of Wiltshire Council.

 

This follows a period of consultation on a proposed change to the Tier 1 structure at the council which sees a reduction from two Chief Executive Officers to a single Chief Executive leading the council.

 

Members of the Officer Appointments Committee panel approved Terence’s appointment when they met on 26 June. They also approved an application for voluntary redundancy from Alistair Cunningham.

 

Terence has now taken up his role and will be working with myself and cabinet to shape the organisation moving forwards and lead the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Changes to Cabinet and Portfolio Holders

 

I have made changes to the council’s Cabinet and Portfolio Holders to align with the recovery structure now being put in place within Wiltshire Council following COVID-19.

 

The changes, which came in from yesterday (1 July), will see Cllr Allison Bucknell step down from her Cabinet position and take up a new Portfolio Holder role for Communities, Arts, Heritage and Tourism. This will reduce the number of Cabinet members from nine to eight, and the number of Portfolio Holders has also been reduced from 14 to 10.

 

You can view the changes on our website http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/news/articles/cabinet-changes

 

I thank everyone for their hard work in their roles.

 

Council dismisses lockdown suggestions

 

We have dismissed suggestions the county could be one of the next locations in the country to go into lockdown.

 

Media reports this week had stated there had been a recent weekly increase of new cases in the county of 300%. However this actually equates to an increase from one to four new cases.

 

Since the start of the pandemic until 26 June there has been 550 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Wiltshire Council area, still comparatively low nationally, and the South West remains the lowest ranked region for cases. Wiltshire Council also has the sixth lowest rate of cases per 100,000 resident population with 110.4 cases per 100,000. This data is taken from the Public Health Coronavirus Case website https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/#category=utlas&map=rate

 

We have now published our Local Outbreak Management Plan which will build on local expertise and effective health protection processes that are already in place and outlines how the council and partners will positively engage with the public so they’re fully aware and supportive of the crucial part they have to play in the process.

 

The government has identified seven themes that are deemed essential to plans to manage an outbreak effectively. They are:

 

• Care homes and schools
• Identify high risk settings, communities and places
• Local testing capacity
• Contact tracing
• Data integration
• Vulnerable people
• Governance

 

We will work with the government to support test and trace services in local communities, taking a place-based approach to containing the spread of the infection as much as possible.

 

Effective governance will also play a critical part of the process. A Wiltshire Outbreak Engagement Board will be set up imminently, chaired by myself, and this will ensure that local residents and other stakeholders in the public, private and third sectors all understand and support the need to comply with the rules and principles designed to prevent viral transmission.

Today (1 July) Kate Blackburn Interim Director for Public Health at Wiltshire Council, said “Following our update yesterday (30 June 2020) about media reports suggesting there was the potential for a local lockdown in Wiltshire I wanted to respond to some queries we’ve had about pillar 2 testing results. We do have access to these results locally and have been using them in all of our local planning.

“Please be reassured that even including pillar 2 confirmed test results the  number of confirmed cases in Wiltshire remains extremely low. On a daily basis we review a number of different reports and data with our Public Health England colleagues.  Should there be any issues there are alert systems in place.

“The most important thing we can do as a community at the moment is to stick to the national guidance around social distancing and maintain good hand hygiene.

“I would like to thank you for your continued support at this time.”

You can read more about testing on GOV.UK.

You can see a video version of Kate’s statement on our YouTube channel. 

Public urged to act responsibly ahead of pubs reopening

We have joined forces with Wiltshire Police to remind residents to play their part and act responsibly when pubs reopen this weekend.
At the end of June, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that pubs, restaurants, and hotels could reopen from 4 July.Several other businesses will also be allowed to reopen, such as barbers, hair salons and cinemas.
Whilst this is a positive step forward in revitalising the economy and showing that Wiltshire is open for business, it is important the public continue to take extra precautions to stop coronavirus from spreading and ensure they act responsibly at this time as anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated.
As the licensing authority we have an important role in ensuring pubs and restaurants are opening with the right conditions in place and adhering to social distancing guidelines.
To help with the reopening, the government will also relax the two metre social distancing rule, replacing it with ‘one metre plus’ in situations where keeping two metres apart is not possible.
This means people can maintain one metre apart, as long as other measures are put in place to limit the transmission of the virus.
These include wearing a face mask or covering, installing plastic screens, and providing extra handwashing facilities.

Government guidance update – shielding programme

The government has updated its guidance for people who are shielding, taking into account that COVID-19 infection rates have decreased significantly over the last few weeks. This guidance remains advisory.

From Friday 6 July:

• People who are shielding no longer need to observe social distancing with other members of their household.
• People who are shielding will be able to meet outdoors in groups of up to six people they do not live with, while maintaining social distancing.
• People who are shielding can create a ‘support bubble’ with one other household.  All those in a support bubble will be able to spend time together inside each other’s homes, including overnight, without needing to socially distance.

From Saturday 1 August, the government is advising people to adopt strict social distancing rather than full shielding measures. Strict social distancing means people may wish to go out to more places and see more people but they should take particular care to minimise contact with others outside of their household or support bubble.

From 1 August:

• Those shielding can visit shops, places of worship and outdoor spaces.
• People shielding will be able to return to work if they cannot work at home as long as the business is COVID-safe.
• Children who are clinically extremely vulnerable can return to their education settings if they are eligible and in line with their peers.

More detailed guidance will be provided as the changes in advice come into effect on 6 July and 1 August.

Those in receipt of central government provided food boxes and medicine deliveries will continue to receive this support until the end of July if required.  Anyone requiring this assistance should register online or call 0800 028 8327 before 17 July.

Wellbeing Hub update

 

The council has changed the opening times of the Wiltshire Wellbeing Hub to reflect a reduction in emails and calls to its hotline.

 

The hub will now operate from 9-5pm Monday to Friday and will be closed at weekends. Outside of these hours, the emergency duty service will be in place as usual.

 

People can make contact with the hub via email at  or by calling 0300 003 4576.

 

Business Update – Local Discretionary Grant

 

The application window for the Local Discretionary Grant closed at 5.00pm on Monday 22 June.

 

The council received 736 applications and has sent out its first grants totalling circa £1 million to local businesses with further grants being issued this week.

 

Highways update

 

The council has received confirmation of £227,000 funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) to progress the first five road reallocation schemes in the county.

The five schemes, in Salisbury, Bradford on Avon, Purton, Trowbridge, and Chippenham, are based on existing bus routes and will link the city and town centres with homes and places of work to make it easier and safer for pedestrians and cyclists to access shops, businesses and places of work without driving or using public transport.

Full details of the five projects are as follows:

1. Salisbury cycleways to link Harnham to the city centre, allowing cyclists easy access to the city. The scheme will see one southbound lane on Brown Street turned into a cycleway and the removal of on-street parking on Exeter Street to create a cycleway on the street while maintaining two-way traffic.
2. A segregated cycleway and footway on the B3108 between Winsley and Bradford on Avon, allowing easy access between the two, and giving cyclists the option of a traffic-free ride from Winsley, into Bradford on Avon and then on to Bath along the Kennet and Avon Canal.
3. On the A420 in Chippenham, a segregated cycleway linking Bumpers Farm to the town centre, giving cyclists easy access to the centre of the town.
4. The removal of through traffic on Hook Street in Purton, which runs parallel with the A3102 between Royal Wootton Bassett and Swindon. This will install a 3.5km route for cyclists and walkers, linking Purton with Swindon’s Lydiard Park.
5. A segregated cycleway on the A361 Hilperton Road in Trowbridge, from near the fire station into advisory cycle lanes from Stancomb Avenue to Hilperton Road roundabout, of more than 1km in total.

Work is due to start in the next four weeks on these schemes, and the council will have more to announce on the next round of funding, and other major cycling and walking projects, soon.

Re-opening of children’s play areas operated by Wiltshire Council

 

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on 23 June regarding the reduction of restrictions to public movement, the council will be reopening the 59 play areas it operates from 4 July.

 

The council will be erecting signage onsite to advise the public of social distancing, hygiene and safety rules and will be monitoring use of play areas when they reopen. Council officers may re-close any play area where it is considered not possible to minimise the risk of COVID-19  infection and will respond to further guidance issued by the government in respect of their use.

 

For all town and parish council’s looking at the reopening of play areas, please find links to the governments’ updated guidance on managing playgrounds and outdoor gyms and safety in outdoor spaces. to assist in your own decision making.

 

Library service update

The council is seeking the views of residents and library users to help with its planning for reopening library services safely in the county during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During this challenging time the council has to manage its resources carefully and has put forward three possible options for how the service might operate during the COVID-19 pandemic. People are also being encouraged to provide their own ideas to help the council deliver the most appropriate service in the circumstances and within the council’s current resources.

The possible options take into account COVID-19 guidelines and social distancing measures and the resources available – meaning that there will be a partial and phased reopening of library services.

The possible options being considered include:

• Option 1
  An order and collect service.

This involves customers contacting the library service by email/phone to request books or other materials that they wish to borrow. This might include specific authors or topics such as crime or autobiographies. These would then be collected in person from a library.

This would operate from 10 August at some main library hubs in Wiltshire, and in each of the 18 community areas across the county by the end of September. This means that 20 libraries could potentially be open by the end of September, subject to staff and finances being available.

• Option 2
  An order and collect service with bookable computer access.
  The order and collect service as detailed above and the ability to pre-book a computer session for those without access to the internet.
  This would operate from 10 August at some main library hubs in Wiltshire and in each community area across the county by the end of September.
• Option 3
  A socially distanced service offering the public some access to browse stock and use computers. This would operate in up to six libraries from the end of August and a maximum of a further four, subject to staff capacity and social distancing requirements.

A four-week public consultation is now underway. Hard copies will be made available at County Hall, Trowbridge; Monkton Park, Chippenham; and Bourne Hill, Salisbury. The consultation closes on 26 July 2020.

Following analysis of the feedback received, the favoured option will likely be introduced initially for a six-month period from 10 August. Monthly reviews will also be carried out to assess how the impact of COVID-19 is changing, the financial impact of operating, lessons learnt and the opportunities for change.

In the meantime, the council’s libraries service has a range of online resources for Wiltshire residents. They can be found at http://www.wiltshire.gov.uk/libraries-online-resources.

 

New affordable homes at Porton

 

The council has agreed a partnership with developer Cavendish and Gloucester Properties to build six new affordable council houses at the Chalk House development in Porton.

 

The affordable homes, which will be ready in the late autumn, represent a significant investment, which will be funded from the rents charged on the new homes and income to be received through the shared ownership sales.

 

The development will consist of two two-bedroom shared ownership houses, which will be available for purchase, with the remaining properties – three two-bedroom houses and one three-bedroom property – offered as affordable rents. Each of the homes are being built to a high standard with a modern specification, and the properties will be advertised via Homes4Wiltshire around six weeks prior to their completion.

 

The council is committed to building or acquiring 1,000 affordable homes throughout Wiltshire over the next 10 years, and this development will go towards meeting some of this target in the south of the county.

 

 

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue service

 

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service has produced a short video which summarises some of the major incidents they have attended and the good work being achieved across all of its departments.

 

This is produced quarterly and is made publicly available on the Service’s YouTube channel. The link to the latest video is here: https://youtu.be/rIegTTKFSI8

 

We hope you will find this informative in summarising some of the wide-ranging work carried out by your fire and rescue service.  We also hope that it will be useful if you wish to share the video as part of your communications and engagement with your communities.

 

Chippenham Minor Injury Unit to re-open for booked appointments

 

The Minor Injury Unit (MIU) at Chippenham Community Hospital will start to receive referrals from NHS 111 from Monday 6 July 2020. Chippenham MIU will have appointments available from Monday – Friday 10am – 6pm for patients who have rung NHS 111 and are referred to be seen in the MIU. Chippenham MIU closed in April after a decline in the number of patients attending since the start of the COVID-19 crisis. Staff employed at the units were redeployed to help look after patients across the local health and care system.

The MIU will not be open to ‘walk in’ patients and there will be no x-ray facility on site. This temporary change in service has been designed to maintain the safety of patients and staff. Patients will not be able to directly book an appointment. NHS 111 will continue to triage all appointments and if a patient meets the criteria they will be referred to the unit and a member of staff will call them back to arrange an appointment. Anyone with a life threatening condition should call 999.

 

Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms should not attend any medical setting unless explicitly directed to do so by the NHS 111 service or a 999 call operator.

 

Minor Injury Units offer a facility for treating injuries that are not serious, such as sprains and strains; minor burns and scalds, wound infections, insect and animal bites, and minor injuries to the eye, head. They are not specifically equipped to treat more serious conditions.

 

 

Regards,

 

Cllr Philip Whitehead

 

COVID-19 UPDATE  – Wednesday 24 June 2020

 

Good evening

 

Please find below the latest update on COVID-19 and other council matters:

 

If you haven’t already done so, please sign up to receive our digital newsletters. You can sign up using either your Wiltshire Council or your personal email address.

 

To Sign up

 

 

Opening certain businesses and venues from 4 July

 

The Prime Minister confirmed yesterday that all businesses and venues can re-open from 4 July 2020, except for the following:

 

• Nightclubs
• Casinos
• Bowling alleys and indoor skating rinks
• Indoor play areas including soft-play
• Spas
• Nail bars, beauty salons and tanning salons
• Massage, tattoo and piercing parlours
• Indoor fitness and dance studios, and indoor gyms and sports venues/facilities
• Swimming pools including water parks
• Exhibition or conference centres must remain closed for events such as exhibitions or conferences, other than for those who work for the business who run the venue

 

Cafes, restaurants and shops that are self-contained and can be accessed from the outside, will still be permitted to open.

To support the NHS Test and Trace, businesses are being asked to keep a temporary record of their customers and visitors for 21 days. Many businesses will have a booking system but for those who do not have such facilities, the government will soon be issuing details of a system they can use that complies with data protection legislation.

 

Local authority administered grant schemes

As of Friday 19 June 2020, we issued £86.37 million to 7,221 local businesses. This has supported 5,301 businesses with Small Business Grants totalling £53 million and a further 1,920 businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors with grants totalling £33.36 million. Of the 1,920 businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, 944 local businesses received a £25,000 grant and 976 businesses received a £10,000 grant.

 

We have also received more than 700 applications for the local Discretionary Grant. The application window closed on Monday at 5pm (22 June) and applications are now being reviewed, assessed and paid.

 

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

From 1 July, employers can bring furloughed employees back to work for any amount of time and any work pattern, while still being able to claim the grant for the hours not worked.

 

This scheme closes to new entrants on 30 June and so from 1 July, only employees that businesses have successfully claimed a previous grant for will be eligible for more grants under the scheme. This means they must have previously been furloughed for at least 3 consecutive weeks sometime between 1 March and 30 June 2020.

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme

Wiltshire Council joins Countryside Climate Network to help tackle climate change

Wiltshire Council has today (Wednesday 24 June) become a founder member of a newly-launched network to promote the voice of the countryside in climate change discussions.

 

The Countryside Climate Network aims to ensure that the voice of rural knowledge and experience on climate action is listened to in Westminster, and asks that rural councils are an active participant in transforming the national economy into one that saves, rather than harms, our environment.

 

The network brings a voice on climate change to the two-thirds of the country who live outside major towns and cities, and calls for investment, such as the government’s delayed £100bn infrastructure fund, to be targeted at rural areas.

 

The council is also working closely with the Local Government Association (LGA) and the County Councils Network to develop a tool that measures the council’s levels of carbon emissions.

 

The tool will create a standard, comparable measurement for all councils in the country, which can then be used to baseline carbon emissions and report on them regularly, as Wiltshire seeks to become carbon neutral by 2030. The trial of this new system is expected to begin later in the summer.

 

The Countryside Climate Network has been established by UK100, a network of local leaders that campaigns on climate change. The 21 councils represent 14.3 million people in total, a quarter of the population (25%) and two fifths (41%) of England by area. The group is chaired by the Leader of Cambridgeshire Council, Cllr Steve Count. To find out more about the Countryside Climate Network, please see: www.uk100.org.

 

Hot weather warning

Public Health England has today issued a heat warning encouraging vulnerable people to take care during the exceptionally hot weather forecast this week.

 

People ‘shielding’ indoors from COVID-19, older people, those with underlying health conditions, and very young children are all more vulnerable from the higher temperatures.

Advice for keeping healthy:

• Drink plenty of fluids and avoid excess alcohol, everyone is at risk of dehydration in hot temperatures, but babies, children and older people are particularly vulnerable.
• Stay cool indoors: open windows when the air feels cooler outside than inside; shade or cover windows exposed to direct sunlight; move to a cooler part of the house, especially for sleeping.
• Slow down when it is hot: exertion heats up our bodies so plan any strenuous activities (e.g. exercise, gardening) outside the hottest time of the day, typically 11am – 3pm.
• Cool your skin with water, you could use a cool wet sponge or flannel, cool water spray, cold packs around the neck and armpits, or a cool, wet sheet.
• Stay connected and listen to the weather forecast, knowing the forecast can help you plan ahead and adapt what you’re doing.
• Dress appropriately for the weather, protect yourself against the sun’s radiation and keep yourself cool by wearing thin cotton clothes.
• Eat smaller meals, more often. Cold salads and fruit are the perfect summer foods.

For more information on the common signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heatstroke visit NHS Choices.

Garden waste renewals

Since sending out garden waste reminders we’ve had more than 36,000 sign ups and over 32,000 of those have been completed online.

 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic garden waste collection renewals were delayed this year, but customers can renew their garden waste subscription if they wish to continue to receive the service. The cost of having garden waste collected will be £50 per bin for the year.

 

Current garden waste subscriptions were due to expire on 30 June 2020, but customers should continue to present their bin to be emptied on their usual collection day with their current 2019-2020 red sticker until they receive a new one. Garden waste bins displaying a red 2019/20 bin sticker will continue to be emptied until 31 August.

 

Once people have renewed, they will be sent a letter within three weeks, containing a new garden waste bin sticker.

 

People can renew or sign up to receive garden waste collections at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/gardenwaste People don’t need to contact us if they do not wish to renew.

 

Regards,

 

Cllr Philip Whitehead