Plans for new town square approved in Biddulph

Plans to create a more appealing public space in front of the town hall have been approved by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council.

The plans will see the removal of the railings and the space opened up lending the possibility for it to be used for socialising and small scale events. The towns heritage in the form of the old mining wheel will be kept.

Kidsgrove Station to lose ticket office

Kidsgrove Station is included in the government’s proposals to shut down almost all of the 1,007 remaining station offices in England, except at the busiest stations, within three years in an attempt to “modernise” the railway.

The Rail Delivery Group who are responsible for the decision says it wants to modernise customer service, and that the industry is also under pressure from ministers to save money amid huge losses due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

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A new Barclays Local service to open in Kidsgrove

Barclays are due to close their Kidsgrove branch on 11 August and have confirmed a new Barclays Local service for customers in Kidsgrove will be available from Monday 14th August 2023 at Kidsgrove Sports Centre.

The Barclays Local will provide face to face support for customers, with colleagues on hand offering financial support and education for customers, without the need to travel.  The opening times are as follows:-

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Public consultation on planning proposals

Public consultation on possible future locations for homes, businesses, community facilities and protected green spaces has begun.

The Local Plan determines what can and cannot be built in different places.

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has unveiled the first draft of its Local Plan, which will eventually determine which areas are earmarked for different land uses and which are not.

The first round of public consultation is underway and runs until August 14th.

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Reduced opening times for library?

Cheshire East Council has consulted on revised proposals for library services across the borough after listening to feedback about how essential savings can be made over the next four years. 

The council is proposing to reduce the current opening hours of libraries across the borough so that all sites are closed for at least 1.5 days during the week. This will mean libraries such as Alsager that are not currently closed in the week will close for a day and a half.

The consultation, which has now finished, follows the approval of the council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) in February, which includes proposals for how the council will balance its budget for the next four years. 

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Moorlands Community Lottery set to launch

Good causes across the Staffordshire Moorlands are set to benefit from the Community Lottery – an exciting new fundraising initiative being launched by the District Council.

Leading lottery management company, Gatherwell, has been appointed by the Council to run the scheme having already launched similar lotteries in other parts of the country.

When the lottery launches in July, people will be able to buy tickets online and choose the good cause they want support through their purchase. Tickets will cost £1 per week. There will be a weekly prize draw with a jackpot of £25,000 and prizes of £2,000, £250 and £25.

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Year of Reasons to Visit the Moorlands

Making Kidsgrove a dementia friendly town 

Kidsgrove Town Council is working in partnership with GO Kidsgrove and Kidsgrove Rotary to make Kidsgrove a Dementia Friendly Town

Victoria Hall Kidsgrove will be hosting the first of several hour long Dementia Friendly Training Sessions on Tuesday 11th April at 11am and then again at 6.30pm where residents can learn how dementia affects a person and how to make a difference by joining the more 3 million Dementia Friends.

To book a free place, please email community@kidsgrovetowncouncil.gov.uk

Biddulph on the road to recovery

Biddulph will receive £800,000 to repair roads as part of the governments £30 million Capital Improvement programme.

Repairs will include the roundabouts on Meadows Way

In the Spring Budget the Chancellor committed to £4,456,400 to fix potholes in Staffordshire and Biddulph will be getting £800,000 of this. 

Councillor Nigel Yates said; “I can report that following an extensive period of fault logging and personal lobbying, including a question to full council at Stafford requesting that the ‘138’ potholes and damage to the surface of Meadows Way and the roundabouts at either end are repaired and resurfaced, that an £800,000 surface repair and treatment, including the reconstruction of these roundabouts was approved by Staffordshire County Cabinet on Wednesday 15th March.

This is part of a £30 million countywide Capital Improvement Program, and I am delighted that Biddulph has been included.

There is still much more to do with regards our road network, and I’m also pleased to report that a number of Town Centre roads – including Wharf Road and South View and the Mill Quarter will also be treated in the next financial year.”

Biddulph starts its own Repair Cafe

What do you do with a broken toaster? Or with a jumper full of moth holes? Bin it? No way! Social Connective CIC is organising the first Repair Café in Biddulph on Saturday 15th April 2023. As part of Community Hive, the Repair Cafe will be run alongside a space to enjoy a cake and a drink, and a small number of local traders to browse.

At Biddulph Town Hall, on Saturday 15th April everything centres on making repairs. Starting from 10am and ending at 2pm, various volunteer repair experts will be available to help make all possible repairs free of charge. Tools and materials will also be on hand. People visiting the Repair Café will bring along their broken items from home. Toasters, lamps, hair dryers, clothes, toys, crockery… anything that is broken is welcome. And we’ll do our best to repair the items. The Repair Café specialists almost always have the know-how.

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