Brightening up Dawley High Street

Great Dawley Town Council is brightening up the appearance of shops in Dawley High Street by painting shop shutters in keeping with the Victorian shop frontage designs.

A local artist has been commissioned to create the designs for the shutters to create a welcoming atmosphere to the High Street. Dawley High Street has many independent shops in some amazing buildings with period features that the Town Council wanted to enhance.

The shutters are a beautiful feature, but when closed they give the appearance of the High Street being closed, according to feedback from shop owners, residents and visitors. This impression is due to the businesses that form part of the night time economy closing their shutters during the day, and day time economy businesses closing their shutters at night.

The shutters will be painted with a colourful Victorian shop frontage theme that is intended to brighten up their appearance and create a more inviting welcome to the High Street.

The project is being funded by a Pride in Your High Street grant from Telford & Wrekin Council, and is part of the Town Council’s on-going commitment and support for the local community and businesses in the parish. The Town Council provides grants for shop frontage schemes to help businesses, has an annual display of hanging baskets and has recently taken on the management of the Friday Street Market in Dawley High Street.

Councillor Jane Pinter, Mayor of Great Dawley Town Council, said “The Town Council is committed to working with the shops and business owners in Dawley High Street and the Parish, to raise awareness of the wonderful shops and business so they may achieve their full potential. This scheme will improve the appearance and atmosphere of the High Street and hopefully make people feel safer which will encourage return visits.”

The first business to work in partnership with the Town Council on this project and have its shutter painted is Eyewise, which has had a great reaction from members of the public.

Councillor Shaun Davies, leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, said: “Shopping trends and habits have changed dramatically over the last few years, and we need to work with local shops and businesses to attract visitors to our high streets. This is a creative project that we hope will have a positive impact for everyone.”

Advertisements

New community facility opens in Oakengates

A new community facility has opened at The Wakes, Theatre Square in Oakengates this month.

FORGE Urban Revival has launched the facility in partnership with Oakengates Town Council which offers the local community a wide range of events, workshops, venue hire and social activities as well as an industrial styled licensed café and restaurant that showcases local food produce.

FORGE Urban Revival is a Wave-length social enterprise project that aims to engage the community to help people develop new skills and interests and reduce isolation

This latest venture in Oakengates has been made possible thanks to joint working with Oakengates Town Council and Telford & Wrekin Council’s Pride in Your High Street funding.

Ann Johnson, Director of Wavelength Social Enterprise Company, said: “This truly is a big tick for partnership working and it would not have been possible without the support and assistance of Oakengates Town Council and Telford & Wrekin Council.

“So many people have worked long hours to make this happen and I must say the facility looks amazing. Over the coming months we will be developing the range of classes and events on offer. We look forward to working with the community to make this the success it deserves to be.”

Forge at Oakengates is open Thursday to Saturday 9am to 3pm, and also open for private hire functions and events daytime or evening any day of the week.

For more information and private hire enquiries telephone 07715 667975.

Celebrating the grand opening of Edgmond Village Hall’s new extension

A lot of fun was had by all at the opening of the new extension on 14 May 2017.

Edgmond Village Hall is a community facility that is run as a charity for the benefit of villagers and those living in the surrounding areas.

The brand new extension has a spacious function room, meeting room, kitchen and WCs – providing a greater mix of rooms for parties, receptions, meetings and events.

Money for the extension came for a £95,000 Community Pride Fund grant from Telford & Wrekin Council and funds raised by Edmond Village Hall volunteer committee.

Cllr Shaun Davies praised the hard work of all those who helped raise funds for the project, which he said would make a massive difference to the community and safeguard it for generations to come.

View the video of the opening here

The full gallery of photos is here

 

Edgmond Village Hall expansion nears completion

A message of thanks from village hall committee chair Jeremy Bowman

Edgmond Village Hall committee, with the help of many people and organisations, is in the closing stages of adding 150 square metres of new accommodation to the existing hall.

The extension comprises a new vaulted ceiling function room with feature beams, new meeting room, new kitchen and new WCs.

The structure is completely new, bright, spacious, comfortable and economical to run, and more importantly enables different parts of the village hall be to let out and accessed at the same time – greatly improving flexibility to our user groups and individual hirers.

Edgmond Village Hall is a community facility that is run as a charity for the benefit of villagers, with those living in the surrounding area also welcome. A variety of community groups hold regular meetings and the hall facilities are increasingly being used to hold parties, celebrations, wedding receptions and christenings.

The committee runs the hall voluntarily and is assisted by the valued help of our caretaker David and our cleaner Teresa.  However, this is only half the story.  Our gardening volunteers have created and maintain a nature trail around the grounds perimeter in association with Edgmond Owls.

Our Events Team has generated a steady stream of funds which has been essential in topping up funds for the extension and will enable the renewal of existing facilities going forward.

Telford & Wrekin Council provided around 80% of the money required with a £95,000 Community Pride Fund grant.  This project simply could not have been started in this decade without this grant. There has also been some very dedicated community fund raising to make up the £25,000 balance – involving cakes, fish and chips, quizzes, fetes and table top sales.  Well done our fabulous events team for an immense amount of hard work.

We have also benefitted from individual and group donations and local charity auctions at the Lion P.H. and our own 200 Club lottery.

Conscious of the privileged position we are in to have been in receipt of these funds, the build has been achieved at a very impressive cost per square metre. This has been achieved partly by employing a very skilled, thoughtful and efficient builder in Otto Blank but also by organising volunteer labour and assistance in the closing stages.

Groups of volunteers have fitted doors, skirting and architrave, and have applied over 90 litres of paint to the walls and woodwork!

We are very proud of the quality of the new facilities and are expecting the new flexible spaces to appeal to fitness and skills groups as well as an even greater number of individual hirers for parties and celebrations.

All in all this project has involved research, discussion, expertise, loaned equipment, grants, donations and self-generated funds and last but not least a whole heap of volunteer time and dedication. Thank you everybody, no matter how small or large your involvement.

We are grateful to Telford & Wrekin Council and everyone who has had anything to do with supporting Edgmond Village Hall and its events during the past three years.Our particular thanks go to:Harper Adams University – various departments and especially the grounds team

• Harper Adams University – Students Union
• The Edgmond Lion – Sam & Laura
• Anne Green
• Derek Longstaff
• Otto Blank – Otto, Joe and Peter
• Acorn Electrical
• Ashley Bishop, Andrew Bishop, David Blinkhorne
• John Hill, BEW
• Carpetloom
• Alan and his Grounds Team
• Our events team

There will be a grand opening for the new extension on Sunday 14 May at 12pm during a community celebration event that is open to all.

 

 

 

 

 

Mayor opens refurbished loos at Wellington Market

The Mayor of Wellington, Councillor Phil Morris-Jones officially opened the newly refurbished toilets at Wellington Market yesterday (30 March 2017).

The toilets have been refurbished thanks to a £5,000 grant from Telford & Wrekin Council’s Pride in Your High Street fund.

The refurb has created a fully accessible disabled toilet and baby changing facilities that are available to all.

Photos courtesy of Joy who was at the opening.

For more information about Wellington Market visit www.wellingtonindoormarket.co.uk or  Facebook and Twitter.

 

Refurbished Wellington Market toilets to be opened by Mayor

Story shared by Wellington Market

Mayor of Wellington, Councillor Phil Morris-Jones will open the new Wellington Market toilets on Thursday 30^th March.  The toilets have been refurbished thanks to a Telford & Wrekin Council Pride in Your High Street grant of £5,000.

Telford & Wrekin Council has set aside £1 million to support local High Street projects, and Wellington Council has chosen to use its share to refurbish the toilets in Wellington Market’s piazza, used by customers as well as the general public.

A spokesman for WMC, the company which runs Wellington Market, said: “We are hugely grateful to Wellington Council and Telford & Wrekin Council for the opportunity to improve this important facility.  We applied for the Pride grant in 2016 and, as part of the process, successfully proved that there was a demand for the provision of public toilets in the town.”

The previous toilet block was run down and in need of refurbishment to the point the general public were having to use the portacabins formally used by market traders. The £5,000 grant has led to a complete refurbishment allowing for a fully accessible disabled toilet and baby changing facilities available to all.

Established in 1244, Wellington Market is an indoor market hall, housing over 120 stalls (with an outdoor market area also). With some of the finest food merchants around, along with stalls of women’s fashion, IT support services, butchers, bakers and everything in between, Wellington Market has been a focal part of the community for centuries and continues to be so today.

Councillor Morris-Jones is to cut the ribbon on the new toilets on Thursday 30 March at 11.30am.

For more information about Wellington Market visit www.wellingtonindoormarket.co.uk or visit Facebook and Twitter.

New murals toast Wellington’s creative past

The first two in a series of ‘false window’ murals depicting Wellington’s historic makers have been unveiled at The Pheasant Inn on Market Street in the town.

Painted by artist Paula Woof, the murals depict local toy designer Norah Wellings and famous poet Philip Larkin sharing a celebratory VE Day drink.

The project is the idea of local community group Wellington H2A, which organises events including the annual Midsummer Fayre and Sounds in The Square. Wellington Town Council is a partner on the project, and funding has being provided by Telford and Wrekin Council’s Pride in Your High Street Fund.

More ‘false window’ murals will be appearing in coming months, creating a ‘Makers Town’ trail around the town’s conservation area and highlighting a range of craftspeople, manufacturers and creative minds from several centuries of Wellington’s history.

H2A volunteer Rob Francis said: “We could have just put up a series of plaques around the town, explaining which makers lived where, but with the support of this Council fund, we’re able to do something much more creative that grabs people’s attention and makes them smile. We’re literally creating windows into Wellington’s past.’

Once all ten murals are complete, a Makers’ Guide will be printed taking visitors around the trail and including a map pinpointing the town’s modern-day makers, from brewers to cake-bakers and jewellers to potters. A new website featuring an online version of the guide plus details of events and attractions will complete the project.

The Norah Wellings mural, with Norah’s great-nieces Julie Corley and her sister Deb Fox

Norah’s great-niece Julie Corley again and artist Paula Woof

The Philip Larkin mural

Both murals with Norah’s family, Paula the artist and Jim Preston the landlord of The Pheasant which is host to the murals