Tomorrow Sunday 6th October – Litter Pick on the Wyrley and Essington Canal Gathering at 9.00am at The Nickelodeon Bentley Bridge Wednesfield – We will once again be out on the tow paths of the Wyrley & Essington Canal litter picking all over again!

You see keeping our Local environment rubbish free – needs some hard work and dedication.

It just will not get done unless we all do something for the good of the wildlife and the flora.

The Canal & River Trust are providing a boat once again to support the event, and they will also provide gloves and bags and other equipment. But if you are more comfortable bringing your own gloves- equipment, please do so.

I am still looking to know roughly how many people intend to come along?

Also the work that we put in now will help with our preparations for the delivery of the Wednesfield Canal Festival in 2020!

We are of course making preparations to ensure that the Wyrley and Essington Canal is fit for purpose, all the year around. If you would like to be part of the Volunteers that will be undertaking the ‘Litter Pick’ of the canal, please let me know. Give me a rough indication of attendance by responding via email- email@philbateman.com Or leaving a message on Facebook.

The Litter Pick will start at 9.00am and finish at 13.00 on this Sunday the 6th October 2019- We will gather outside of The Nickelodeon at 9.00am – I am looking forward to meeting you all….

United Nations World Teachers Day today – 5th October 2019

UN – World Teachers Day
Held annually on 5 October since 1994, World Teachers’ Day commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers.
World Teachers’ Day is co-convened in partnership with UNICEF, UNDP, the International Labour Organization, and Education International.

Councillor Phil Bateman said Today “I want to say how I support the teachers of this World and recognise the fine work they do educating our youngsters.
I also want to use this day to appeal again to the Prime Minister and the UK’s Government to take action now, and agree to continue to Fund the 400 Maintained Nursery Schools that we have here in England.

Locally Ashmore Park & Phoenix Nursery Schools, are in this group of schools that are still waiting to see if they are going to survive. The Maintained Nursery Schools are committed to giving children the very best start in life.

Teachers are the educators of the generations, they are dedicated people who work within the Maintained Nursery Education Sectors. yet today they are having their futures blighted, by the uncertainty hanging over the ‘dilly-dallying’ the UK Government is demonstrating – with no decisions over continued funding for this important sector of education. The delay in announcing funding for this educational sector has gone on for far too long.

It’s a growing concern for teachers, schools and parents, that the funding for these schools has still not been agreed. My appeal to the Government is please announce what you are going to do soon. It’s a scandal that you keep people anxious over their careers, their futures, and in consequence the education of of our communities children”

I received a note recently this is what it stated!

“We are currently recruiting for more young villagers to join the Air Cadet Squadron in Wednesfield. We have posted on our own Facebook page as well as ‘The Village Alliance’ page and requested with the ‘wv11.co.uk’ page.

Would you be able to share on your own social media pages to reach as many Wednesfield-ers as possible? Any help as always is appreciated!”

So I have today raised the recruitment request by placing the news on my Social media and Blog pages! Hope it is successful for you Sarge!

Contact – Rhys Morgan RAFAC

07583 245894
01902 307800
snco.1290@aircadets.org

An interesting day for your three Councillors today Monday. Early this morning we met with the Chair of Governors and senior staff at the Corpus Christi Primary School. We had a tour of the school Met the senior team, and spoke with Asan Wood Saints and Jessops. We were all gathered to have a discussion about an exciting new community project that will be led by the school. More about this later.

We then visited The Hub at Ashmore Park, where we had a nice Cup of Tea, and a chat with the Volunteers there.

Followed by an important Labour Group meeting tonight in the City of Wolverhampton.There is never a quiet moment! Today gave us the chance to talk about the individual cases and activities that are being pursued by the three of us. There is a lot going on…..

Our new Local Nature Reserve on the Wyrley & Essington Canal here in Wednesfield, needs your Help!

The Litter Pick will start at 9.00am and finish at 13.00 on Sunday the 6th October 2019- We will gather outside of The Nickelodeon at 9.00am – Will we see you there?

The 2019 Wednesfield Canal Festival has again beaten its previous footfall figures for 2018.

Without you this last four years would not have taken place. I Am in awe of everything you do for our Community.

Today September 2nd 2019 – There is a very important date for St Albans Church congregation taking place..

The Reverend Tom Fish is to be made vicar of Saint Albans Church, Ashmore Park in the Wednesfield Team.

The event will be led by Rt Reverend Dr Michael Ipgrave, Bishop of Lichfield. And the Reverend Nick Watson Area Dean.
This event will start at 7.30pm –

This is a very important Inauguration for Christians on Ashmore Park.

Mary will be attending as I will after I have attended the City Council meeting. St Albans Church and the congregation has been with out a Vicar, since Rev Sam Leach left to take up a position in a Church in Torquay.

Councillors Mary and Phil Bateman with Councillor Rita Potter want to welcome Rev Fish into our community, wish him well in his ministry. I do hope we will see him carrying on the great work that Rev Sam did across the wider community. Welcome to Ashmore Park Reverend Fish and your family. I know you will have a very warm welcome from everyone here! Plus it is always great to have The Bishop of Lichfield visiting our community….Big Day Folks.

Wolverhampton rightly sees transportation as a key requirement for the City now and into the future. Recently the Head of Transportation told Councillors that in the last three years £33m had been spent as part of the Transport Capital Programme.

In 2019-2020 there is to be a total investment of £14m and an additional £3m will be spent on highway maintenance.

Yet we all know of roads where the surface standard is quickly breaking down, more Potholes etc. I thought that the telling response we received to questions about the state of the roads was very illuminating.

“If all the roads in Wolverhampton was brought up to a reasonable standard it would cost an additional £24m”.

The City Council and Councillors are aware that our highway network is indeed degenerating. But this Government and successive Governments have cut back and axed the transport grants. All of that does in the end is to force a ‘make do and mend’ capacity. Areas like road safety get cut because there just is not enough resources to deliver on. Austerity we are told is ‘dead’. But there is little or no evidence coming from this Government that is showing that essential spending on the basic infrastructure is going to be re -assessed anyway soon.

I remain committed to delivering better more modern transportation system for the City. Where and when we can. I want to see Wednesfield with an extended metro route serving New Cross and the Village with the huge Bentley Bridge retail and Leisure complex.

We know climate change is having a dramatic affect on the Global weather. We need to plan for at least two new extensions to Line One of the current Midland Metro network. An extension to Wednesfield, and we need an extension that serves the Molinaux and then travels on towards the I54 site, and the M54 and Staffordshire Boundaries. We need that extension because the Government and Local Government in Staffordshire are building big on there Villages. All that extra car traffic over the next 10 years will be flooding the city. We need an extended and efficient Public Transport service built now to deal with the future prosperity and health of the City of Wolverhampton. The remaining time I am on the City Council I will be reminding and campaigning for transportation development.

Councillor Phil Bateman said today “Trading at Bentley Bridge Retail Park is holding up well as the latest statistics that I have seen indicates.

Some 69,000 vehicles on average visit Wednesfield Bentley Bridge Retail Park every week in August! That is a really important statistic. That and the statistic that 2.5m vehicles have already visited the Bentley Bridge Retail Park underlines the importance of the facility here in Wednesfield. The Retail Park boasts some of the largest Brand names in the UK They include – JUST FOR PETS,PUREGYM,ALDI,TK MAXX.DREAMS,HOBBYCRAFT,HOME BARGAINS,JD SPORTS,CARD FACTORY,COSMO RESTAURANTS,B&M,PEACOCKS,SPORTS DIRECT,DOROTHY PERKINS,BOOTS,COSTA,LAURA ASHLEY,NEXT,ARGOS EXTRA,BURTON

Bentley Bridge Retail Park has become an important activity centre for our Local Economy here in Wednesfield, and of course by implication for the City of Wolverhampton’s Economy also.

It’s not just the fact that it is perhaps one of the largest centres of its kind in the Black Country, but it is also a ‘Shopping City’ that provides some 600 local jobs too. Wednesfield and all its Wards benefit substantially from the economic activity that takes place there.As does the City of Wolverhampton’s economy with the Business rates being collected from the activity helping Government and City finances

Earlier this year I was delighted when the Bentley Bridge Retail Park Management looked outside its Retail Park and so generously supported the volunteers of ‘Hands on Wednesfield and Wednesfield in Bloom’ with a £1500 donation.

This donation was delivered to the ‘Hands on Wednesfield’ volunteering group, specifically for the ‘Wednesfield in Bloom’ volunteers. The donation was kindly accepted and it allows the Wednesfield in Bloom volunteers to plan and finance the wonderful planting that makes Wednesfield stand out.

This with other individual, and smaller donations, provides for the planting of flowers in Wednesfield Village, and the expansion of Wednesfield in Bloom over an even wider swathe of Wednesfield.

Again its only my opinion but its this great work that is adding much environmental value to Wednesfield. Making Wednesfield stand out for both business and commerce as well as the great social benefits it brings for those of us that have chosen to make our lives here. Personally I think its the fact that Wednesfield business and the individuals we have working in partnership together, that is the magic ingredient that produces these spectacular flower displays, and Volunteers of quality. That in turn allows Wednesfield to look so darn good through-out this Summer-and onwards throughout the rest of the year.

Giving a feel good factor for all our businesses, retail and manufacturing.