Day 88 of (now #3) Lockdown – the ‘Stories to tell?’ edition

COVID alert level 3Day 88 of (now #3) Lockdown

Day 88 starts off with a call for your Lockdown Stories, it then covers:

Village Bulletin bannerDo You Wanna tell a Story?

Would you like to contribute your story to the September edition of the Village Bulletin?  We would lie to focus on community activity that has taken place in the village & how people have supported family & neighbours during the COVID-19 crisis.  We would also like to capture your photos of nature this spring.  Contributions of up to 100 words can be sent the editor at [email protected].

Website

If you have something that you feel might be of interest to those who catch up online, please send it to the webmaster at [email protected].  Longer articles are most welcome, the sweet spot being around 300 words.

Recycling bags and boxTonnes of Recycling in Lockdown

Fortnightly waste and recycling collections are to restart in West Bergholt from next Friday, starting with a Green week (paper & plastics).  The decision to phase the return to a normal service over several weeks helped support recycling crews who, while already working in difficult circumstances, have picked up higher volumes of waste than normal during the lockdown period.

Collected Since Lockdown

The latest figures for paper and plastic, since monthly collections began on 14 April, show 1,143.5 tonnes of paper (142.9 tonnes per week average) and 449.8 tonnes of plastic (56.2 tonnes per week average) were recycled in the borough.

Since monthly collections of glass and cans began on the 28 April, 885.5 tonnes of glass (110.6 tonnes per week average) and 207.7 tonnes of cans (25.9 tonnes per week average) were recycled borough-wide.

Following the resumption, on 25 May, of Garden Waste collections 1,424.9 tonnes (474.9 tonnes per week average) have been picked up kerbside. In addition, extra vehicles on Saturdays picked up 109.4 tonnes over a four-week period, bringing the total collected to 1534.3 tonnes.

Average weekly collection figures for residual and food waste currently stand at 552.7 tonnes and 132.84 tonnes respectively.

Exhaust from carCleaner Air for Colchester?

A survey of 1,181 people has revealed a large majority of drivers in Colchester are concerned about poor air quality in the borough; they are prepared to take action, by turning off their car engines when stationary.

Colchester Borough Council launched the ‘Clean air for Colchester’ survey in October 2019.  This was part of its two-year project to raise awareness of air quality issues in Colchester and encourage people to act.

The survey aimed to get a better understanding of what people currently know about air quality and the impact it has on their health.

Vehicles Main Source of Pollution

As the main source of Colchester’s pollution comes from vehicles, a key part of the survey explored driving habits and how people could be encouraged to make easy changes – like switching car engines off whilst stationary, which can cut pollution by up to 30%.

The survey revealed that:

  • 87% of adults are concerned about air quality in general.
  • 41% of adults think of Colchester as ‘highly polluted’.
  • Only 15% of drivers regularly switch off their engines whilst waiting at traffic lights or level crossings.  After taking the survey 84% said they would now consider switching off their engine regularly.
  • 56% said knowing how long they will wait at traffic lights would encourage them to switch off.
  • 45% said roadside reminders would encourage them to regularly switch their engines off.

An important part of this two-year project is that it is guided by the people of Colchester and that the next steps in the project reflect their level of concern and desire for action.

Key Finding

A key finding was that 84% of drivers said they would now consider switching off their engine regularly. Most indicated that they would be more motivated to switch off if they knew how long they would be waiting at traffic lights and level crossings, and if roadside reminders were in place.

In response to these findings, the council put in a bid to DEFRA for additional funding to explore traffic light timers and signage for the borough. The council was successful and has been awarded an additional £59,785 grant from Defra as part of the Air Quality Grant Scheme 2019-2020.

Funding

The funding will cover work into both signage and a feasibility study of driver-facing traffic signal countdown timers. The feasibility study will determine whether it would be possible to have the timers on existing traffic lights and will explore the economic cost and technicalities of installing the timers as an encouragement for drivers to switch off their engines at red lights in Colchester. This study will not result in the installation of countdown timers, but instead, it will assess the effectiveness of the use of such technologies.

The project to help enhance the borough’s air quality supports the objectives of Livewell Colchester which aims to improve residents’ health and wellbeing.

BabyBirth Registration Services to Resume

Essex residents can now book a face-to-face appointment to register a birth for babies born before 30 April 2020.

The Government has confirmed that authorities can recommence registration services.  It must adhere to appropriate safety procedures and social distancing measures.  In response, the registration service team has worked hard to implement new processes to help manage demand.  They’ve also carried out risk assessments at each registration office to ensure people stay safe.

The registration team are initially prioritising registrations for babies born before 30 April this year. Provision will be regularly reviewed.  The service will open for appointments for families with babies born after 30 April 2020 as soon as it is able to.

Marriage Appointments

Notice of marriage appointments can also resume, although the Government’s guidance has not changed and ceremonies still can’t take place.  This week, registration staff will start to contact couples who have ceremony dates booked before 31 August 2020 and who still need to give notice for their ceremony.

If a child was born after 30 April 2020, parents and carers can still make a claim for child benefit or universal credit without registering the birth. Visit gov.uk/child-benefit or gov.uk/universal-credit for more details.

To book a birth registration appointment in Essex, please visit https://www.essex.gov.uk/register-a-birth.

I Wanna Tell You a Story

Since we started asking for stories, here is a sampling of Max Bygraves whose catchphrase was “I Wanna Tell You a Story.  First some jokes:

Of course, he sang as well:

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