Big Local

Thank you to everybody at St Martins this afternoon for making us so welcome. We hope to be able to work together much more in the future.
 

Weston Rhyn has been disregarded by Shropshire Council for far too long and things are coming to a head.  All we ever get are broken promises whilst we see other parishes obtain their necessary infrastructure improvements.  The roundabout at the top of the village, and the bends leading in to it are very dangerous and now the markings have faded so much that when the road is wet you would not even know it was a roundabout. Shropshire Star are covering our concerns   http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2016/04/14/shropshire-council-treating-village-like-a-poor-relation/
Why not come along to the Parish Councils annual meeting on 25th at 7 pm in the institute and let the parish council know what you think, and what you would have on your wish list for the village.
 

We've recently awarded Community Chest grants to Fusion Arts Oswestry and The New Saints Community Foundation for summer holiday activities for young people in each of the villages of Gobowen, St Martins and Weston Rhyn.  Starting from Saturday 18th July and running until the end of August. 
Full details on our website  http://www.big-local.org/youthactivitiessummer2015-327
 

We've recently awarded Community Chest grants to Fusion Arts Oswestry and The New Saints Community Foundation for summer holiday activities for young people in each of the villages of Gobowen, St Martins and Weston Rhyn.  Starting from Saturday 18th July and running until the end of August. 
Full details on our website  http://www.big-local.org/youthactivitiessummer2015-327
 

3 Parishes Big Local would like to invite to:
Everyday First Aid at home
Sundays 14th and 28th June 2015
2 – 4 pm
St Martins Village Centre
Effie Cadwallader and John Roberts, St Martins` village Community First Responders
Under the umbrella of the Big Local: no connection with the ambulance service or any other organisation
No exam, no certificate, no charge
Open to everyone but only the first 12 registered will have the opportunity to practise CPR
The course will be in two parts:
Day 1 (14th June) will cover the illnesses, injuries and incidents you are most likely to meet every day, what to do in case of minor and major emergencies, advice on how to help yourself, how to make up a First Aid kit, when to call an ambulance (and when NOT to call an ambulance), and lots of other practical information.
We will touch upon CPR and the treatment of things that need urgent action, but the emphasis will be on the more common occurrences.
Day 2 will concentrate on those rare but major emergencies, i.e. choking, life support (CPR), and major bleeding which need fast action. Again, anyone can come along but only the first 12 registered will be guaranteed a chance to practise on our mannequins.
We hope people will attend both days.
Guests will leave with a handout of all we have covered each day to pin on the kitchen door for reference.
To attend please contact Andy or Bridget from 3 Parishes Big Local on 01691 656882 or email
a.rimmer@qube-oca.org.uk
The closing date for registering for the courses is Thursday 11th June. Book early to avoid disappointment!

3 Parishes Big Local has combined with Fairshare Credit Union to facilitate loans, particularly for businesses. Check out details on 3P Big Local Facebook page, www.big-local.org or pop along to The Gobowen Scout Hut tomorrow between 2.30 - 4.30.

Thanks to everyone who attended the Big Get Together on Saturday 15th November at St Martins School sports hall and helped to make the day a success.  We had interesting stands from lots of Community groups and Fairshare Credit Union, and great demonstrations by Love2dance, the St Martins Community Choir and Border Counties School of dance.  
 
Prizes were awarded for our "love where you live" competition - the prize winners were Tilly Manford from St Martins, Lowri Smith from Gobowen, Keira Davies from St Martins and Sue Barnett from Chirk Bank.  Congratulations to all of you.
 
We awarded the first grants from our Community Chest - £500 to Gobowen Old Friends, and £250 to The Good Companions.  More grants are available so please get in touch if you know of a Community group, project or activity that could benefit.

So who else who reads Community Online posts will be at the Big Local event?  I'm taking a display about 'Aqueducks' and the Canal World Heritage Site concentrating on the Chirk Bank part, with old photos etc, and information about how you can get involved; and also some stuff about the Incredible Edible project for which I need some volunteers.  We are also looking for some interest from people in developing a group to get involved with the canal outside the World Heritage centre, which crosses the Big Local area much of it being the boundary between Gobowen and St Martins.  It would be really nice to see some of the same things happening there as have done in Chirk Bank, with community involved in improving the area and welcoming new visitors.  

Still time to enter the competition - LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE.

The Big Get Together is a celebration of all the GREAT THINGS that go on in St Martins, Gobowen and Weston Rhyn.  
 
Come along to St Martins School Sports Hall on Saturday 15th November 10:30am - 2:30pm  to find out about clubs, projects and activities in the villages.
* Displays, demonstrations, information
* Presentation of Community Chest grants
* Judging and prize-giving for our "love where you live" competition (click here for more information)
* Refreshments
* Free Entry
 
Free transport available from Gobowen, St Martins, Weston Rhyn and Chirk Bank - booking essential as places are limited.
 
Contact Bridget on 01691 656882 or email info@big-local.org for more information or to book transport.

I noticed something this week; that on the 12th October the Community Online forum was 3 years old and if you are wondering what the number in the Topic Title is then take a look at the figures below.
 
In the 3 years the forum has been live:
 
242 members have joined
433 people followed the Twitter page
113 people 'liked' the Facebook page
711 Topics have been posted
10 local businesses advertised in the business section
3,286 posts have been made
 
and a whopping 311,432 views have been made to posts on the forum.
 
I hope that you'll agree thats pretty impressive for a local website. I also have a very exciting project in the pipeline, as things progress I will keep you updated.
 
So thanks for the past 3 years, I'll keep moderating the forums, posting stuff and keeping all the workings up to date and running smoothly. All you need to do is keep posting topics, adding events to the calendar and adding pictures to the gallery, because community forums aren't about me posting things its about the members of our community sharing information with each other, collaborating and hopefully making the place in which we live better for everyone.
 
See you in the forums,
 
Lee

Please follow 3PBigLocal on Facebook.

Application packs for the Three Parishes Big Local Community Chest will be available from next week.  This is a fund for small grants (up to £500) for Community groups based in, or active in, the communities of Weston Rhyn, St Martins and Gobowen.
 
To register for your pack, or for more details, e-mail communitychest@big-local.org, write to the Big Local Co-ordinator at Qube, Oswald Road, Oswestry, SY11 1RB, or ring Bridget on 01691 656882.  
 
You can also keep up to date with Big Local news by following us on facebook - 3PBigLocal.
 

There are a few of us Unltd folk, as mention in HERE

Several of us have already received UnLtd grants to develop projects and can vouch for what a good organisation this is and that there is not only money available, but lots of support as well, so if you have a good idea then really really look at contacting them.

Each of the 150 Big Local areas has to publish a Community Profile as part of the development work for their Community Plan.  The Three Parishes Big Local Community Profile published today, 23 June 2014, serves several purposes:
* It provides a description of the three communities of Weston Rhyn, St Martins and Gobowen
* It provides statistical information to underpin the description that will serve as baseline information against which changes in the community over the next ten years can be measured.
* It summarises the consultations which have taken place so far within the community.
 
You can find the Three Parishes Big Local Community Profile in the Resources section of our website, www.big-local.org or by following this link:
 
http://www.big-local.org/images/Three%20Parishes%20Big%20Local%20Community%20profile%20June%202014.pdf 
 
Three Parishes Big Local would like to thank the community members who have contributed to the development of this Community Profile.  

Can I put my vote in for a seperate section for BL, so that we can all get involved as things progress?

Hello Keith,
                  There's no reason at all why something like this couldn't form a part of the Big Local programme, if there's enough support for it.
One way it might work would be for the local partnership to deposit a part of the £1m as a 'corporate deposit' with a suitable organisation (such as Just Credit Union, who are the credit union for Shropshire). They would then manage the money on a day-to-day basis on behalf of the Big Local partnership - but I imagine the partnership would have responsibility for deciding which applicants get the loans, and would also have responsibility for deciding other details (such as maximum/minimum loan sizes, length of term, possibly interest rate charged, etc).  
This is all in the very early stages at the moment, but I'm trying to open the dicussion with the credit union so that, if there is enough local support, we can develop the idea knowing that we have a willing partner who would undertake the day-to-day management of the scheme, and also what the various practicalities are.
I'd be interested to know how many people think this might be an idea worth pursuing.
The next Big Local Delivery Group meeting is on the evening of Wednesday next week, 20th March, at 7pm at Gobowen Scout Hut. If you're able to come along that would be great, but it would also be good to see an open discussion of the idea on this forum, and particularly hear from anyone willing and able to help develop the idea (assuming enough people think it's a good one, of course).
If you've got time and inclination, there's some interesting stuff about this sort of thing on the Local Trust website (under the heading of 'Social Investment' in the resources section), which will also be on our 3 Parishes Big Local website when it goes live in the next week or so.