Central Issue coming soon

The next edition of Central Issue, the communty newspaper for the town centre area, is being produced now.

If you have any stories or events you'd like to send to the paper contact Will Taylor on 01229 876546 or by email at swtaylor@barrowbc.gov.uk or alternatively call in to the Neighbourhood Management office at 242/244 Dalton Rd (formerly Story's the Jewellers).

It's your community newspaper - so use it!

The circus is coming to town

Visit www.lakesalive.org for details about the circus in Barrow Park this weekend.

Hindpool Buzz out now!

The latest issue of Hindpool Buzz is out now.

You can pick up a copy at 242/244 Dalton Rd or you can read it on-line at http://www.nwemail.co.uk/home/community_press_2_3646

Volunteers Week Celebration 2009

Cumbria CVS Barrow Volunteer Centre have announced details of their annual celebration. They would like to invite you and your volunteers to join them in celebrating 25 years of Volunteers Week. They have arranged to hold a picnic in Barrow park - in the bandstand area.

The event will take place at the Garden, located to the rear of Marsh Street. Anyone wishing to attend is asked to bring a packed lunch and where required something to sit on i.e. a blanket or chair

Date 5th June 2009
Time 10am-2pm

On the day there will be chance for groups to showcase their organisation, a chance to network with other volunteers and volunteer involving organisations. There will also be certificates of appreciation available which must be ordered prior to the event and these will be presented on the day.

Volunteers' Week (1-7 June) is the UK's annual celebration of the work volunteers do. During the week events are held across the country to recognise, reward and recruit volunteers.

For further information contact Lisa Millard Tel:01229 823144 or Email: lisam@cumbriacvs.org.uk

What's on ...

- 'Get set for digital' drop-in session at Age Concern, Abbey Rd 2-4pm 27 May

- FREE Holiday Sports at Hindpool Park for 8-15 year olds. Friday 29 May 11-12noon

- Family Cartoon Workshop, Barrow Central Library, Saturday 30 May 2-3.15pm FREE

Dock Museum

Half term fun at Dock Museum - Paper craft workshop for 6-11 year olds on Wednesday 27 May and Thursday 28 May. Tickets £2, for further info contact 01229 876400, email dockmuseum@barrowbc.gov.uk or visit www.dockmuseum.org.uk

News from CVS re: Big Lottery Fund

Wil Woan from the North West Regional team will deliver two workshops in Barrow in conjunction with Cumbria CVS and Barrow Borough Council.

The events will provide an excellent opportunity to promote current programmes in an area where applications have been relatively low but where need is relatively high.

BIG’s aim is to highlight the funding streams available to groups in Barrow, helping them to identify need, outcomes, both of which are essential elements of an application to BIG.

Workshop One
Venue: Central & Hindpool Neighbourhood Management, 242/244 Dalton Road
Dates: 15th June 10am-2pm
Targeting: Voluntary and Community Groups requesting under £10k
Activities - Workshop about evidencing need, improving participation and basic introduction to outcomes

Workshop Two
Venue: Roosegate Community Centre, Roose Road
Date: 19th June 10am-2pm
Targeting: Voluntary and Community Groups requesting more than £10k
Activities - Workshop about evidencing need, the outcomes approach, and considering an equalities perspective

Lunch will be provided.

Please look at the Big Lottery Fund website before attending
www.biglotteryfund.org.uk in particular Awards For All and Reaching Communities pages.

Vulcan and Brathay area Fun Day

Don't forget to visit Vulcan Road green area tomorrow, Saturday 23 May 11-5pm, for Vulcan and Brathay Fun Day.

Tombola, Raffles, Bouncy Castle, Food, Magician, Brass Band, Stalls and much more.

All welcome!

What's on at Hindpool Children's Centre

See What's on at Hindpool Children's Centre.doc for this month.

What's on ...

- Half term fun at Dock Museum - Paper craft workshop for 6-11 year olds on Wednesday 27 May and Thursday 28 May. Tickets £2, for further info contact 01229 876400, email dockmuseum@barrowbc.gov.uk or visit www.dockmuseum.org.uk

- 'The Asbestos Scandal' - Conference. Art Gene, Nan Tait, Abbey Rd. Friday 22 May 12.15-5pm. Ring 01229 483785 for more info

- The Fabulous Picasso Brothers - high energy country music. Forum 28 Friday 22 May, 7.30pm. Tickets £5. Ring 01229 820000

- Charity Bingo Night, The Canteen. Eyes down 7pm. Friday 22 May

- Vulcan and Brathay Fun Day Saturday 23 May 11-5pm All Welcome!

- Guided walk to Piel Island Saturday 23 May. Meet 1.30pm opposite The King Alfred £3 per adult. Ring 01229 473746

- FREE Holiday Sports at Hindpool Park for 8-15 year olds. Wednesday 26 May 11-12noon

- Family Storytime, Barrow Central Library, Ramsden Sqr 11-11.45am. Wednesday 27 May

- 'Get set for digital' drop-in session at Age Concern, Abbey Rd 2-4pm 27 May

- Learn how to draw Manga 3! at Walney Library, 2-4pm 13-21 year olds, £2.50

- FREE Holiday Sports at Hindpool Park for 8-15 year olds. Friday 29 May 11-12noon

- Family Cartoon Workshop, Barrow Central Library, Saturday 30 May 2-3.15pm FREE

Police to issue UV lights to help tackle fake ID's

'Don’t Fake It' is the clear message police in South Cumbria are issuing to youngsters who carry fake identification.

As part of ongoing Operation Siskin designed to tackle alcohol-related offences in South Cumbria, hi-vis and plain clothed officers took part in dedicated patrols on the evening of Saturday 16th May. During the evening a number of offences were detected including young people attempting to use fake ID to gain entry to pubs and clubs and the sale of alcohol to an underage youth.

Police and local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) are now purchasing a number of UV lights for door and bar staff to use in an attempt to crackdown on the use of fake ID. Action will also be taken against the young person who purchased the alcohol and the member of bar staff who served the minor.

Sergeant Paul Madden who is leading Operation Siskin said: “It has become clear that young people have been buying fake driving licences and passports from the Internet or borrowing ID from friends or older relatives to gain entry to licenced premises.

It is an offence to use fake, fraudulent or borrowed ID and we will take positive action against anyone who tries to use it - which can lead to a criminal conviction.

Youngsters don’t seem to realise that by drinking underage they are putting their health at risk and are jeopardising the jobs of bar staff by producing fake ID that does not belong to them.

We have purchased UV lights that will soon be used by licensed premises to check the legitimacy of the ID they are shown. These lights detect the watermarks in genuine driving licenses which makes it easy to spot the ones that are fake.

My message to youngsters is it’s just not worth it.”

Officers continue to conduct test purchasing attempts as part of Operation Siskin and very recently carried out 12 attempts at off licence premises and local pubs.

Sgt Madden continues: “Test purchasing is an important part of our initiative that ensures that the licensing trade are operating within the law. Unfortunately, in this case the staff in the respective premises were not as vigilant as they should have been – they did not ask for any ID and sold alcohol to our youngsters so were issued a fixed penalty.

Officers and our partners are committed to addressing the issue of underage drinking and alcohol-related offences and our efforts will continue. Success, for me, is when we do a test purchase operation and get no sales at all. This means the message is getting through.”

Barrow town centre revamp boost

A multi-million pound revamp of Barrow town centre has been given a boost after Cumbria County Council agreed to take on overall responsibility for delivering the scheme.

At a meeting in Carlisle today (May 19) cabinet agreed the county council should become the funding applicant and client for phases two and three (Dalton Road phases) of the Barrow Town Centre Public Realm Scheme.

The project, which is aimed at increasing trade and investment in the town centre and bringing environmental and landscape improvements, has been in progress for several years and phases one and four have already been completed.

Cumbria County Council, Barrow Borough Council, West Lakes Renaissance and the North West Regional Development Agency (NWDA) are all involved in the scheme, but as the county is the highway authority and responsible for the roads and pedestrian areas that are being revamped, Barrow Borough Council has requested the county takes on the role of applicant and client. This means the County Council, rather than Barrow Borough Council, will now become the accountable body for the project.

Barrow Borough Council has already approached the NWDA for around £3.8million, which has been agreed in principal and outline designs have been drawn up by Capita Symonds.

The next step is to put the scheme out to tender for phases two and three – which will be a continuation of phases one and four and will see improvements in Dalton Road, Portland Walk and surrounding streets, including revamped footways and new street furniture such as benches.

Work is due to kick off on site in the middle of September, with the transformation of the current town centre expected to be completed by December 2010. Works will be suspended in key areas on the run up to Christmas to reduce disruption to local businesses and shoppers.

Phases two and three are estimated to cost around £4.13million and will be funded from the NWDA (£3.72million), Barrow Borough Council (£160,000) and Cumbria County Council (£252,000).

As well as supporting improvements that will benefit residents, local businesses and visitors, being involved in the delivery of the project should ensure the county council faces lower long-term costs for the maintenance of the highway.

The link to the Cumbria County Council cabinet paper on this item can be found at http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/CouncilMeetings/Content/Public/2941/39944143613.pdf

The circus is coming to town

Lakes Alive launches on 23rd May with a week of free activities across Cumbria please see here for further details.

The circus comes to Barrow Park on 30th and 31 May. Don't miss it!

Barrow pupils get early lesson in road safety

Officers in Barrow have found an innovative way to get important road safety messages to local pupils - by giving them a 'licence' to drive a petrol powered go kart.

After successfully completing the safety checks and being issued with a 'licence', the pupils are able to drive the go kart on the school yard every Thursday evening after school. PC Huddart and teacher Mr Price monitor their driving and PC Huddart decides whether their licences should be kept clean or whether they should be endorsed with points for speeding, carelessness or failing to use safety equipment.

On Thursday 7th May, traffic PC Steve Wilson attended the school to assess the youngsters' driving skills and give them a talk on road safety. He then checked their speed and showed them his police car, radar, taser and stinger. All nine pupils completed five laps each and only one pupil accrued 3 points - for 'burning rubber' on his last corner.

PC Huddart said: "This initative has been very popular with the pupils since it started and aside from being good fun, the youngsters are learning about road safety which is essential for their future.

"It is up to the pupils to demonstrate that they are able to drive sensibly and within the law to ensure they keep a clean licence - and if our safety advice is ignored they are issued with points and when they get 12, their licences are removed.

"This gives them a realistic taster of what it is like to drive safely and their enthusiasm for the project is inspiring."

Inspiring Communities

We are in the process, with Cumbria County Council colleagues, of writing a funding bid to try and obtain government funding from the Inspiring Communities Fund. See more about this here.

The fund is to improve educational attainment and aspiration amongst young people aged 11-14 years. We really hope our funding bid is successful. We would like to hear from you about what you think could help achieve a neighbourhood where young people feel they can achieve what they want, and where they get that encouragement from the wider community, as well as their school.

Please let us know what you think.

Latest report about volunteering and charitable giving

'Helping Out' is a the most recent report about volunteering and charitable giving you can download the report here.

Streetsafe clean-up at Green Heart Den

Follow the link here to see story and photos from the recent Streetsafe clean-up at Green Heart Den community garden project in Marsh St.

For more information about this project visit http://www.marshstreetprojects.org.uk/

Barrow Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership

For updated information about the Barrow Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership click here.

You can contact Rebecca Rawlings the CDRP Co-ordinator at 242/244 Dalton Rd, Barrow LA14 1PN by phone on 01229 876475 or by email at rrawlings@barrowbc.gov.uk.

What's on this week ...

- DARE DANCE and Barracudas - IRIE! Dance Theatre, Nan Tait Centre, Wednesday 20 May 7-8pm contact 01229 833228

- Street Soccer @ Dalton, Dowdales and Ormsgill MUGA both venues Wednesday 6.30-8pm 9-12yrs and Thursday 6.30-8pm 13-16yrs.

- Summer Wine Tasting Evening, Forum 28, Thursday 21 May 7.30pm Tickets £7.50 box office 01229 820000

- The Fabulous Picasso Brothers, Forum 28 Friday 22 May 7.30pm Tickets £5 - high energy country music box office 01229 820000

- Charity Bingo Night, The Canteen - eyes down at 7pm Friday 22nd May

- Vulcan and Brathay Fun Day Saturday 23 May 11-5pm - FREE - all welcome!

Deadline date for Hindpool Buzz

Hindpool Buzz - deadline for stories 22/05/09 send your news, ideas and events to Will Taylor at swtaylor@barrowbc.gov.uk or ring 01229 876546.

It's your neighbourhood newspaper so use it!

International Day Against Homophobia

International Day Against Homophobia

Cumbria police have pledged their support to this year’s International Day Against Homophobia, which is taking place on Sunday 17 May 2009.

In line with the Constabulary’s policing pledge, officers are promising the public that they will investigate reports of hate incidents as a matter of priority, to ensure that neighbourhoods remain safe from harm.

From April 2008 to March 2009, Cumbria Constabulary recorded 43 reports of homophobic hate crime - a 33 per cent decrease compared to the previous year, when 64 crimes were recorded.

Police hope the reduction means their message is hitting home that homophobia will not be tolerated in Cumbria and have appealed to victims to continue coming forward to report incidents of hate crime.

Detective Superintendent Andy Slattery, head of the force’s Public Protection Unit, said: “We simply will not tolerate hate incidents in Cumbria and do everything we possibly can to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice. Each and every incident reported to us is investigated thoroughly and we have put measures in place to ensure victims receive all the support they need.

“We don’t want victims to suffer in silence and have opened a series of Third Party Reporting Centres across the county in to encourage victims who don’t want to speak directly to police officers to come forward and report crimes. Trained staff in these centres can help victims to record crimes correctly, which then get sent to us to investigate.

“Third Party Reporting centres are helping us gain a clearer picture of the true nature of hate crime in Cumbria and we need victims to continue reporting crimes to us so that we can catch offenders and ensure people don’t become repeat victims.

“We have also assigned dedicated police officers in North, South and West Cumbria who are specially trained to support victims, study trends and identify hot spot areas for this type of crime. I’d urge anyone who is a victim, or who would like help or advice, to contact them directly. Details of the officers and your nearest centres can be found on the Constabulary’s website.”

The Constabulary’s dedicated diversity officers can be reached on the following numbers:

North Cumbria – PC Julie Dodd on 01228 558256
West Cumbria – DC Eric Field on 01900 604531
South Cumbria – PC Chris Isherwood on 01229 848910

Hate crime forms can be downloaded from the Cumbria Constabulary website at www.cumbria.police.uk or report hate crime directly through the True Vision website at www.report-it.org.uk

CHNMT on Flickr too!

You'll all be pleased to hear that you can also follow Central and Hindpool Neighbourhood Management Team on Flickr.

You can view our photo gallery at www.flickr.com/photos/chnmt/

Let us know what you think.

CHNMT on Twitter

If you're the twittering kind you can now also follow CHNMT on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CHNMT

Events coming up soon ...

Barrow Central Library -

14 May - Set up an email 1pm-2.30pm FREE SESSION

15 May - Learn to Hoop-la 1.30pm-2.30pm

Ring 01229 407375 for more details.

Welcome ...

Welcome to the newly established Central and Hindpool Neighbourhood Management Team blog.

It's really important to us that we keep in touch with what's going on locally and also to make sure you know what we're doing to help make Central and Hindpool safer, cleaner and stronger places to live and work.

We'll be posting our project information and photos - old and new. Some information about what's happening in the area and our general thoughts and ideas.

We'd love to hear from you ... please get in touch.