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LAYING DOWN A CHALLENGE
Mike Groom and Angela Ridler are two people who are helping to lay down a challenge to the city council in the Barnwood area.
Mike chairs the recentlyformed Barnwood Community Partnership, one of five similar organisations that have been set up across the city over the past seven years. These groups bring together residents and organisations in their areas. They are led by local people, who all volunteer their time. Along with their neighbours, they identify issues and work to find solutions. They receive a grant of £2,000 from the city council and the support of two officers.
One of them, Sylvia Webster, the council's neighbourhood partnerships officer, explained: "These groups don't just challenge the council to ensure it consistently improves its service. They challenge other service providers to do the same. They also challenge local people to get involved in their communities and to help make a difference."
Mike said: "We cover a geographical area that has around 4,500 homes and five separate communities. We want to make Barnwood a better place to live. We are lucky to have a lot of green space. We want to make sure it gets used and we are working hard to get young people in the area more involved in what we are doing."
Mavis Wall has taken over as the latest chair of the Three Bridges Community Partnership, covering Tuffley, Podsmead and Grange - the first of the groups to be set up in the city.
Now firmly established, the partnership has a strong track record and sees the saving of a local community swimming pool asone of its major successes. Explained Mavis: "We now have a five-year plan and are working on bringing that to life. Projects include a £60,000 play area in Tuffley and a sports and health clinic at a local school. "I would love people to get more involved. It's your community and it can always be improved."
John Price chairs the Kingsholm and Wotton Partnership. He said: "Gloucester Rugby Club has closely involved us in their developmentplans for the ground and we have had the chance to work with them on match day parking issues.
"But one of the really great benefits of the partnership is our ability to bring people together and co-ordinate special interest groups. In many cases these groups go on to become self-supporting." And he echoed the views of the others, "We can bring people together and enable them to get involved."
The City Council is now working to help set up more community partnerships across the city. To find out about the community or neighbourhood partnership covering your area, contact Sylvia Webster on 01452 396975 or, contact them direct on:
Mavis Wall - 01452 416446
Three Bridges
Mike Groom - 01452 226153
Barnwood
Mark Boyce - 0845 056 0256
City Centre Community Partnership
John Price - 01452 524213
Kingsholm and Wotton
Rod Browning - 01452 524217
Matson and Robinswood
CAFÉ SOCIETY
A new pavement café opens outside the Gloucester Guildhall on Monday, July 16. 'The Place' will serve hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, salads and cakes. Sue Knight, manager of the Guildhall café bar and The Place, said: "Shoppers and theatre-goers alike can enjoy delicious snacks while watching the world go by - it's a brilliant location for taking time out. And, even when it rains, our parasols will keep you dry." The Place is open from 10.00 am - 4.00 pm from Monday to Saturday.
Scores on the Doors
People eating out in Gloucester now have a simple way of seeing what environmental health officers thought of the standards of hygiene and food safety they found in local restaurants, takeaways and other eating places.
The Gloucestershire 'Scores on the Doors' scheme was launched in March and it allows the public free access to the hygiene rating score given to food premises in the county. After a 'Primary Inspection', carried out under the Food Standards Agency's Code of Practice and other
legislation, stickers are issued showing the star rating for the premises. All the ratings are published on a website at www.gloucester.gov.uk/scores|. The number of stars awarded highlights the level of compliance with legislation found on the day of inspection. The ratings range from five stars for excellence down to no stars where major improvement is required. The rating stays current until the next primary inspection takes place.
Alice Taylor, owner of the fivestar rated Oasis Café in Southgate Street, said: "People think the scheme is about the look of the place. It's not - it's about cleanliness in the kitchen and other areas. Record keeping and staff training are also very important - that way you know things are being done correctly. We think the scheme is a very good idea."
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