News (2008)
Working with NEMO
Residents in Camden Place have been working with NEMO to keep passageways clear and clean. NEMO otherwise known as Neighbourhood Environmental Management Officer Terry Bensley was appointed in September to liaise with local residents in areas south of St Nicholas to help stop enviro-crime such as fly-tipping.
Complaints from a resident in Campden Place saw Terry knocking on doors to discover what problems the community had. The outcome was that space to store wheelie bins was limited, this led to a scruffy area which attracted fly-tipping. The agreed solution between NEMO and the residents was that smaller grey and green bins should be supplied that could be stored in the resident’s backyards.
"Clearing the passages means that they have stopped becoming a target for fly-tippers, and it also allows the Council’s cleaning teams in to keep passageways neater and to clear the drains," explained Terry. "This part of the town was one area that was hit by flooding, so being able to clear drains with rods and jet hoses will hopefully help in the future. I also spoke to a couple of landlords who have agreed that their tenants can store bins on the landlord’s property. So this has been a great start and illustrates how working together can find a sensible solution for everyone."
Terry’s role is backed by a multi-agency board made up of representatives of Great Yarmouth Borough Council, GYB Services, the Police and the Neighbourhood Management Programme for South and Central Yarmouth for Comeunity.
Neighbourhood Manager. Rob Gregory explained: "The value of this approach is the joining up of services to address persistent issues which no one agency can address alone. It is about planning longer-term solutions which are underpinned by community ownership and responsibility."
To contact Terry call 01493 845920 or call at the Comeunity office at 143 King Street.
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Photos of Terry Bensley outside the Comeunity Office and household bins in Camden Passage
Middlegate Road Show
The Middlegate Health Roadshow took place on Saturday the 27th of September 08, and was aimed at providing local residents with support and access to a range of health and wellbeing initiatives. The day saw a range of agencies working together to support the community, including the Community Connections Health Trainer Team, the recently launched Community Connections / PCT Mobile Food Store, PCSO’s, Credit Union, and the Comeunity Team. The day was a great success, with between 50 and 80 residents engaged over the three hour period.
Community Connections / PCT Mobile Food Shop
A second Health Roadshow in being held on the Barracks Estate outside Peggotty Road Community Centre on Saturday 18th October, 11am-2pm. Go to Your Pics for photos of the second Health Roadshow
Got a crime to report
Domestic violence, malicious phone calls, racial harassment, homophobia, anti-social behaviour... Got a crime to report? Tell the police - Tell Comeunity. You can now report crime at the Neighbourhood Centre at 143 King Street in South Yarmouth. We are open Mondays to Fridays 9.30am to 4.30pm, and Wednesdays 4pm to 5pm for confidential reports. Got a crime to report? Tell the police - tell Comeunity - local issues, local solutions. Comeunity Safer Neighbourhood
Neighbourhood Working Day
A workshop on Neighbourhood working in a new unitary council took place on Friday, 5 September at Great Yarmouth library. The workshop, organised by Community Connections and Great Yarmouth People, involved a presentation by Norfolk County Council on the Boundary Commissiion proposals. This was followed by members of the public and interested parties participating in group exercises to address key questions.
If you would you to express your views on this issue you can do so via the Boundary Committee's website at www.boundarycommittee.org.uk.
Letter from Jane Ratcliffe,
Executive Director GYBC
Local Government review.
Neighbourhood Working Workshop at Great Yarmouth library
Rainbow Saver Anglia Credit Union celebrates 100th new member
Great Yarmouth members of the Rainbow Saver Anglia Credit Union are pictured celebrating a milestone moment at the Comeunity Centre in King Street, Great Yarmouth as they welcome their 100th member.
The credit union allows members to save up for holidays, occasional bills such as TV licence or to put money away for a rainy day. For more information about the credit union, pop into the Neighbourhood Centre, 143 King Street, where details about joining are available.
Members of the Rainbow Credit Union celebrating their 100th new member
New Neighbourhood Officer
The Comeunity Programme have welcomed Leon de Beer to the Neighbourhood Management Team as the new Neighbourhood Officer. Leon joins the team bringing a wealth of experience in community development work and monitoring and evaluation. Leon is excited to join the team and explains that "I feel privileged to be a part of the Programme, and hope to provide a fresh perspective and valuable contribution to the already successful and highly regarded projects involved with the Comeunity Programme".
Leon will be heading up the work around the performance management of the programme and the communications strategy. Leon is based at the Neighbourhood Centre and can be contacted on 01493 845928 or e-mail ldb@great-yarmouth.gov.uk
Salsa Day at the Sealife Centre
Sizzling summer sun shone down on a mix of residents and visitors at the first outdoor "Melting Pot" Cabaret evening on Sunday 27th July.
Latin American beats and a Salsa workshop wooed local residents into the free community event on the SeaLife Centre lawns on Marine Parade.
The 150 participants also enjoyed a South American buffet served by volunteers and outreach workers from Seachange Arts.
Melting Pot Cabaret events are being programmed by Seachange Arts as part of the Comeunity Safety programme to support the diversification of the early evening economy and promote community cohesion. The follow-up event will take place in the newly revamped St Georges Park on 31st August. For more information contact Penny at SeaChange Arts on 846550.
Revolution Sk8 Squad: Project- Skate Park
The first stage of a new and exciting youth project is well underway. The Revolution Skate Squad, a community youth group based in South Yarmouth, worked for months to organise a ’Skate Demo Day’ for local residents in the area. The committee, aged between 8 and 15 years, officially formed at the beginning of the year due to frustrations at the lack of affordable teenage facilities in the South Yarmouth area.
Recent research conducted through the ’Comeunity’ Neighbourhood Management programme highlighted that around 70% of residents believe there are not enough facilities for young people in the South Yarmouth area, and the teenagers felt the same. The ’Comeunity’ Forum, formerly the South Yarmouth Community Partnership, also held wider community consultation around facilities in general, which resulted in similar responses. Picture left, youngsters on the temporary skateboard park
After taking the matter into their own hands, the Revolution Skate Squad decided to hold the event as the first step in their project to develop their dream of a skate park facility in the area. The fun day focused around a temporary skate park facility, hired in by the group after accessing a ’Comeunity’ Builder Grant. The fully insured and professional facility was open during the day on a Saturday 7th June at the St. Nicholas Recreation Ground, South Beach Parade.
Despite grey skies and looming rainclouds over 100 young people, families and local residents attended the 5 hour event which was open for skating, rollerblading and BMX-ing. There were 2 competitions, one for skaters and one for BMX riders, with prizes ranging from stickers and T-shirts, to a helmet and a brand new skateboard. Even those who were not into extreme sports, were still encouraged by the group to come along, see what it was all about and express their opinions on the ideas that the group have to develop a skate facility on the site. Tony Wright MP said, "I was brought up in the area and I’m very happy to support the initiative of the young people and wish them every success".
The day was a great success and results from the group’s questionnaire, administered by them on the day, clearly show support from all age groups for the development for a permanent facility on the site. Revolution Skate Squad have now got a huge job on their hands, and they have already started working on the next stage of their project. Picture right, youngsters on the temporary skateboard park
If you would like to become more involved in developing the skate-park project, the group is currently recruiting adults (especially those living in the immediate area) to form a ’Steering Group’ to support the developments of their work. They are also happy for any young people, who are passionate about having a skate-park and would like to be involved, to come along and see what it is all about. For more information, contact the Revolution Skate Squad, at the Neighbourhood Centre, 143 King Street.
Local Residents Leading Improvements to their Neighbourhood
Residents in the Market Roads area of Yarmouth are now able to sit back and relax as over a year of hard work has finally paid off. Members of the Market Roads Community group and active local youth group Sunshine Crew have been working side by side to give their neighbourhood a well deserved makeover. As part of the Grey2Green project, both groups and other local residents got involved in various community planning events, supported by the Grey2Green team, and continued to gather and refine ideas, prioritise, plan and design the small green space opposite Swirles Place.
The ’Comeunity’ programme, which heads up the ’Grey2Green’ project, concentrates on working to improve the quality of life in South and Central Yarmouth, with local residents at the centre of decision making. Grey2Green is a partnership project, working with Community Connections, GY Borough Council, GY Borough Services, County Council, and C. J. Yardley Associates. Local residents take the lead from the very start on re-designing small, neglected spaces in their neighbourhood, and are involved at every stage of the process turning a previously ’grey’ area into a revived community space.
During the course of the last year the Market Roads Community Group kept residents updated through regular meetings, flyers, newsletters and a community fete. Meanwhile, the Sunshine Crew, supported by ’Comeunity’, Community Connections, and Broadland Housing, kept the green space high profile, giving it a mini makeover in the summer by planting flowers and creating colourful hanging baskets for the surrounding residents. Just over a year later, the difference is obvious. A once tired looking patch of grass is now a great community space, with local residents putting in the finishing touches by getting together to plant the flower beds with GY Borough Services.
 Swirles Place before makeover |
 Swirles Place after makeover |
Other areas in the Grey2Green project include the nearly completed Fox’s Passage, Victoria Place, Louise Close, Peggotty Road, and new sites at Artillery Square and Runham Vauxhall.
Do you have ideas on how your area could be re-vamped? If so contact the Grey2Green team on 845920, or pop into the Neighbourhood Centre at 143 King Street. Alternatively you can visit the website www.comeunity.info for more information on the ’Comeunity’ programme.
75 Local Residents Linked into Employment Pathways
An innovative project to tackle issues of unemployment in the borough’s most deprived wards has heralded several early successes after just twelve weeks of delivery.
Target Opportunities provides a gateway and support service for local residents in South and Central Yarmouth by linking them into employment, training and volunteering opportunities in the local area. The initiative which started at the end of October last year has already supported 75 local residents, 52 of which have progressed onto further informal and formal training opportunities.
Rob Gregory, Neighbourhood Manager, explained, "during local consultations residents expressed the need for a tangible link between training and actual opportunities in the labour market. There also appeared a lack of seamless support, which meant local residents were very often passed from pillar to post when wanting to explore the opportunities available. The Target Opportunities programme has evolved in response to these issues. We are overwhelmed by its initial success and are keen to explore its development over the coming months."
Simon O’Leary from NVS explained that the project draws upon the diversity of services offered by Great Yarmouth’s third sector, adding "The great thing about Target Opportunities is that it acknowledges volunteering and training as important steps towards gaining employment".
Target Opportunities is a pilot project being delivered by Norfolk Voluntary Services and GYROS as part of the Comeunity Neighbourhood Management Programme in South and Central Yarmouth. For further information please contact Target Engagement Lead: Simon O’Leary on 01493 845925 or pop into the Neighbourhood Centre at 143 King Street, Great Yarmouth.
The Target Opportunities Team
Valentine's Day at the Neighbourhood Centre
Love was in the air at the ’Comeunity’ Neighbourhood Centre on King Street on St. Valentines Day. Staff and volunteers at the centre welcomed passers by and visitors with balloons, heart shaped cookies, ’I love GY’ badges, postcards and car stickers, and the occasional ’free hug’ for those who wanted one!
The ’I love GY’ campaign was launched at the end of 2007 as part of the ’Comeunity’ neighbourhood management programme, and was felt to be the perfect way to celebrate St. Valentines Day! The campaign was designed around generating positive community spirit towards life in South and Central Yarmouth, encouraging local people to celebrate all the good things about the area.
The ’Comeunity’ programme, which launched in June of 2007, has supported a wide range of local initiatives, most recently including the promotion of the Kittywitches Centre at 156 King Street, offering free sexual health advice and contraceptive services for local residents.
If you did not get a chance to visit the Neighbourhood Centre on St. Valentines Day you are not too late. You can still drop by to find out was to collect limited edition ’I love GY’ merchandise from the Neighbourhood Centre CLIP office, open weekdays from 9.30-4.30, where you can also find support from a wide range of services available. Alternatively you can visit the website www.comeunity.info for more information on the ’Comeunity’ programme.
I Love GY and Valentine's Day Photos
The Future of your Community?
Meetings were held across the Borough of Great Yarmouth for members of the public to express their views and opinions regarding the development of the town. They were designed to help the Local Strategic Partnership deliver services which would make a difference to the lives of local residents.
Meetings were held at the following places:-
- Martham Village Hall
Monday February 4th, 6.30pm - The Priory, Great Yarmouth
Friday February 8th, 12 noon - Magdalen Methodist Church
Tuesday February 5th, 10am
