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

 

Great work by Good2Great!

Good2Great has been running a variety of courses to help town centre businesses across the borough flourish, made possible thanks to Telford & Wrekin Council’s Pride in Your High Street grant funding initiative.

Feeback from businesses that have attended Good2Great courses has been fantastic. Below are a selection of the testimonials we have been sent.

Chris and Eira Moore, Tax Assist Accountants, Madeley

Attended ‘Locally Social’ Workshops in Madeley.

“Learning about how social media can help grow our business has been rewarding and exciting.”

 

 

 

 

Pradip Patel, The Flooring Outlet, Donnington

Pradip attended ‘Locally Social’ ; ‘Retail Sustainability’ and ‘High Street Excellence’ in Donnington, also booked onto ‘Window Dressing’.

“The course (High Street Excellence) has been tough but I now understand DISC – it’s really a very good course.

“So impressed by Good2Great’s very in depth knowledge.”

 

 

Mark and Gail Fisk, The Forge, Ironbridge

Attended ‘High Street Excellence’ and ‘Locally Social’ in Ironbridge. Also booked onto ‘Window Dressing’.

“Excellent discussions and topics, very relevant. The course provided some useful recommendations and tools to assist small business planning and control of finances. It has really helped increase our confidence level to support our current plans.  Thank you.”

 

Sue and Hannah Tranter, The Cookshop, Newport

Attended ‘High Street Excellence’ and booked on ‘Window Dressing’ and ‘Locally Social’.

“Lots of food for thought. After just one session we started moving the shop around and started seeing things through customers’ eyes. Such excellent sessions – lots to think about and implement – so much to do, but now we have the skills to take it forward”

Tina Pound, Telford Florist, Wellington

Attended ‘High Street Excellence’ and ‘Locally Social’ and is booked on ‘Successful Selling’ and ‘Window Dressing’.

“I have followed up more on the activities and homework on this workshop than I ever have with previous training I have done.

“It is simple to follow and more relevant to my business.”

 

 

Charmaine Briscoe of Bellmans Yard Garage (pictured right), Newport

Attended ‘High Street Excellence’ and ‘Successful Selling’ and booked on ‘Window Dressing’ and ‘Locally Social’.

“I’ve now done 2 courses with Good2Great. Each session has been relevant, interesting, bang up to date and full of useful information and ideas to take away to use in our own business. I thoroughly recommend Good2Great training for every business… Don’t miss out!”

Sally Finnegan of Aunt Sal’s Café, Newport

Attended ‘High Street Excellence’ and ‘Successful Selling’ and booked on ‘Window Dressing’ and ‘Locally Social’.

“I have just finished High Street Excellence Course with Good2Great.  I really enjoyed it… It gave me inspiration, and made me look at my business from lots of different angles! … never think that you know it all… , and that you carn’t ever learn something new.”

John Ellis, The Crown, Oakengates

Attended ‘High Street Excellence’ and ‘Locally Social’ in Oakengates.

“A great session – which has proved to be an excellent refresher. WOW! So many ideas – my head wants to burst!

I do urge other retailers to take every advantage of the free training provided by Good2Great. The only investment is your time. It’s well worth it.”

Helen Briscoe, Country Chic Interiors, Oakengates

Attended ‘High Street Excellence’ and ‘Locally Social’ in Oakengates.

“I always say – you don’t know what you don’t know. And these workshops have been a revelation.

“I know I need to get my shop out to a wider audience and now I have the tools to do it. Thankyou.”

 

Chris Boyles, The Grey Door Café, Wellington

Attended ‘Locally Social’ ; staff have attended ‘High Street Excellence’ and is booked for ‘Window Dressing’.

“I know I will benefit greatly from the advice offered. It was so informative – I didn’t realise social media could be such a powerful tool.”