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Inside this issue of ENCircle:Update on community projects | pg4When is your bin being emptied over Christmas? | pg5Where to find help over the festive period | pg7

Money - call Community Law Service on 01933 313020Home - call Care & Repair on 01933 410084Wellbeing - call First for Wellbeing on 0300 126 5000Transport - call Volunteer Action on 01832 275433Care - call Serve on 01933 315555Need advice and information? Call Serve on 01933 315555

serve

Over 60or disabled?Are you concerned about...

Save time - go online www.east-northamptonshire.gov.uk/doitonline

By the time this edition reaches you I will have completed half of my year as Chairman, and what a six months it has been!

I have tried to bring the beauty of the district to you via the regular ‘where am I’ feature in the local publication Nene Valley News. This is where, alongside my fortnightly column, I present a photograph from somewhere in East Northamptonshire and ask readers to guess where the photo was taken. The feedback has been terrific! From tweets (@ENCChairman) to people stopping me in the streets to hand written letters - yes people do still write with a pen and paper - to state where they think I was. It has, for many, brought back memories of the area where they maybe grew up or have fond memories of, should it be they have moved away.

I have come to acknowledge even more why people are looking to move to our district. We have the best of the countryside with some spectacular views over the Nene, coupled with our rural towns that provide an array of independent retailers to the unique Rushden Lakes, which brings shopping and wildlife together in one place. Our district is also steeped in history and geographically we have a perfect location to the bigger cities. My Chairmanship has provided me with an opportunity to showcase all that. Within a few miles of where we live, we have almost everything a person can require for an idyllic lifestyle.

Over the past few months my journeys have taken me across the whole district and I’ve been representing ENC as far as Daventry, Wisbech, South Cambridgeshire, Milton Keynes and many more places. Attending civic ceremonies is part of the work involved as the Chairman and supporting the various mayors and parish chairs from within this district and other counties in their fundraising events for their specific charities.

Message fromthe Chairman

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Cllr Colin Wright

For my own fundraising I am arranging an event on Saturday 20 January whereupon, in conjunction with the Swivel Club Charity, we are presenting ABBA REVIVAL at the Rushden Bowls Club. Tickets are priced at £20 and are available either from the Swivel Club or Louise Tyers at ENC on ltyers@east-northamptonshire.gov.uk It promises to be a good evening, so why not get together with your friends and come along? It would be great to see you there.

Wishing you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Christmas closing and opening dates/timesPlease note that the Thrapston offices and Customer Service Centres (CSC) at Thrapston, Rushden and Oundle will close for the Christmas and New Year holidays on Friday, 22 December 2017 and will re-open on Tuesday, 2 January 2018. The closing/opening times for each CSC are:

Customer Service Centre Closes 22/12/17 Re-opens 02/01/18Thrapston, Cedar Drive 12 noon 8:45am Rushden, Newton Road 12 noon 9am Oundle, Oundle Library 12 noon 10amIrthlingborough Library - No service on Wed 20 Dec 2017 - re-opens on Wed 3 Jan 2018 (10am-1pm)Raunds Library - No service on Thu 21 Dec 2017 - re-opens on Thu 4 Jan 2018 (10am-Noon)

You can access many of our council services at www.east-northamptonshire.gov.uk You can still pay council bills on our payment line (24 hours) on 01832 742259.Urgent problem which cannot wait? You can call our out of hours service on 01832 733530.

customerservices@east-northamptonshire.gov.uk | 01832 742000 3

Our Residents’ Survey for 2017 is now open!If you live in the district and are aged 16 or over, you are invited to take part in our consultation to give us your thoughts about the key services we currently provide.

By participating in the consultation, you can have your say about things you feel are important, or need improving, and help us to formulate plans for a bright future in East Northants.

To remain cost-effective, we would be grateful if as many people as possible could complete

Freedom Leisure, which operates three centres in the district on our behalf was delighted that on Friday 20 October our Chairman, Colin Wright, formally cut the ribbon to the brand new gym and reinstated flume at Splash Leisure Pool after Freedom Leisure’s £180,000 investment into the centre.

The event also included the launch of our Healthy and Active Lifestyles Strategy. Our Leader, Councillor Steven North said: “Our aspiration for East Northamptonshire is to build a healthier and more active community through increased participation in sport, physical activity and active recreation. Through the Healthy and Active Lifestyles Strategy, working in partnership with Freedom Leisure and other organisations, we want to inspire people to make active choices, increase engagement with sport, encourage people to use their local facilities, such as Splash Leisure Pool, and grow local talent.”

the survey online. It is available from our website homepage or at www.east-northamptonshire.gov.uk/currentconsultation Both our website and the survey are mobile friendly, making it easy to access from a range of devices.

If you are unable to access the electronic version, paper copies are available at our Customer Contact Centres or can be requested from our Corporate Support Team on 01832 742203 or customerservices@east-northamptonshire.gov.uk

The survey will remain open until Friday 15 December.

Building a healthier district with

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at community projectsSince 2013 we have supported more than 50 projects with over £1m from our Community Facilities Fund (CFF).

Our Leader, Councillor North, and Chairman, Councillor Wright, took a trip around the district to revisit some of the projects to see for themselves where some of the £1,187,000 has been spent.

From round one (2013/14) they visited King’s Cliffe Heritage (1), who received £7,530 from the fund to convert their 19th Century school room into a Heritage Centre. This now houses their vast collection of historic artefacts from the village’s past, for present and future generations to explore.

We also awarded £50,000 to Islip Parish Council (2) in round one towards their brand new fully fitted pavilion at the sports field. Our Leader and Chairman were pleased to hear how this facility is now enjoyed by clubs and associations and available for individual hire.

From round three (2015/16), Councillors North and Wright revisited Oundle Town Rowing Club (3) (£34,000 for the clubhouse development), Stanwick Community Garden (4) (£10,000 to improve access to the garden), Irthlingborough Cricket Club (5) (£38,000 for grounds upgrade) and Rushden Town Council (6) (£50,000 to refurbish Spencer Park Pavilion).

The CFF was established to support and develop community facilities within the district. It can help with building and construction costs, refurbishment works or to purchase large items of equipment, for example. The maximum grant available under this scheme is £50,000 and there must be at least 25% of match funding to be eligible to apply.

Leader, Steven North, says: “It was great to go out with the current chairman to visit some of the previous recipients of the CFF fund and to see what an impact they have had and the progress they have made. We have now given grants to 52 over the last four years and this year’s applications are progressing well. Its really good to give something back to the community.”

Round five is currently underway with the eligibility stage completed and the full application stage in progress for those successful at eligibility stage. Awards are expected to be approved at committee in February 2018.

Specific details about each of the projects we have supported are available on our website:www.east-northamptonshire.gov.uk/cff

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Please remember to recycle your paper wrapping, cardboard boxes and recyclable packaging from all those presents!

Don’t forget to use your food recycling caddy for all your cooked and uncooked Christmas food waste.

Food waste is usually collected separately from the refuse/recycling bin. This may be considerably earlier or later than whenyour wheeled bin is emptied.

Please place your bin outfor collection by 7am.

Please note there are no garden waste collections between 23 Dec – 7 Jan.

To find out your bin collection day, visitwww.east-northamptonshire.gov.uk/waste

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Christmas is a time to enjoy good company and good food without worrying about what’s happening in the kitchen. There’s one easy way to set your mind at rest, visitwww.food.gov.uk/ratings

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme rates food businesses on their hygiene standards, based on inspections carried out by our food safety officers.

Businesses are ratedon a scale ranging from0 which means ‘urgentimprovement necessary’to a top rating of 5which is ‘very good.’

Even Santa knows to check before booking a table!

Our website is smart phone friendly,so you don’t need a PCto accessour services!

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We offer a treatment service for mice, rats, wasps, fleas, bedbugs, cockroaches and carpet beetles.To book a pest control treatment please call 01832 771949 or email office@ppmlimited.co.uk

Pest problems?

Tackling anti-social behaviourIn a bid to tackle arson and anti-social behaviour in Irthlingborough, we launched ‘Operation Rebuild’ in June 2017.

We carried out a community engagement exercise in a number of streets across the town, asking residents a handful of questions about the state of their neighbourhood and how safe they felt in their community.

At the same time smoke alarms were tested and people were encouraged to raise any issues or concerns they had. All residents were given an information pack which included information about Crimestoppers (an independent crime fighting charity where you can report crime anonymously).

We managed to speak to 82 residents, 78% of who described their neighbourhood in a positive way. The majority of residents felt safe walking alone after dark (66%) and over half (64%) said they would report anti-social behaviour if they saw it.

Over the past few months, more activities have taken place around Irthlingborough to promote fire and community safety messages. This has included work with Groundwork and the JAM project, where young people have taken part in fire safety awareness sessions.

In August we held a community safety awareness day in the town, supported by various partners. Residents were invited to enjoy a cup of tea and talk to various professionals about fire safety.

There were also activities during the October half term focusing on Halloween, bonfire safety and other community engagement events.

If you have any concerns about crime in your area, you can give Crimestoppers information anonymously online at crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling 0800 555 111.

We are also here to help and can take reports of anti-social behaviour and hate crime as well as give advice and information on crime prevention. Please call 01832 742204 or email communitysafety@east-northamptonshire.gov.uk to speak to a member of our Community Safety Team.

(Below is a word cloud analysis of the words given that best describe the neighbourhood. The size of the word indicates how many times it was mentioned.)

customerservices@east-northamptonshire.gov.uk | 01832 742000 7

Finding a pound coin on the floor, a fiver in your pocket you forgot about, how about winning £10 on the lottery? Getting money you weren’t expecting puts a smile on anyone’s face. So how about the possibility of having an extra £350 in your pocket? In under 10 minutes you could register to receive an offer from an energy provider and save money on your energy bills!

Register your details at www.east-northamptonshire.gov.uk/switchor call 01832 742121 for more advice. Please have your last annual energy statement ready.

In East Northamptonshire, we recognise the extremely important role we can play in helping combat issues relating to domestic abuse. Working with the Community Safety Partnership and domestic abuse services, we aim to create a safe environment where victims can seek practical support and advice and ultimately take positive action to end domestic abuse.

Information and support services exist in East Northamptonshire to respond to the needs of all of those affected by domestic abuse.

Northamptonshire Domestic Abuse Service: 24/7 helpline 0300 0120154 / www.ndas.co.uk(helping individuals, family members and friends affected by domestic abuse. NDAS is a countywide service for women, men and young people both victims and perpetrators).

Northamptonshire Sunflower Centre:01604 888211 / SunflowerCentre@northants.pnn.police.uk(offers non judgmental support to high risk victimsof domestic abuse in Northamptonshire).

Northamptonshire Voice:0300 303 1965 / info@voicenorthants.org(free, confidential support for anyone affectedby crime in Northamptonshire).

Northamptonshire Police:101. Always dial 999 in an emergency.

Midland Heart Housing Options Team:0345 600 5050 / homelessness@midlandheart.org.uk(housing advice, access to the Housing Register andassistance in relation to homelessness prevention).

Community Law Service:01933 313020 / enquiries@communitylawservice.org.uk(local service offering help and advice with debt,housing and benefits).

Community Safety Team, East Northamptonshire Council:01832 742204 / communitysafety@east-northamptonshire.gov.uk

For more information please visitwww.east-northamptonshire.gov.uk/domesticabuse

Help is here– whenever you need it

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