Friday Blog

Friday is the day that perhaps everyone looks forward to as it kind of finishes the working week. My week has been hectic as every week is! But there have been some interesting things happening this week.

Residents Complaints
Residents again complained about the car park at Tonadine about concerns about young people using it for alleged drug use. The police have been made aware of it and the City Council are going to clear the site up take the garbage away.

Neighbourhood Watch Conference
I have been invited to a Neighbourhood Watch Conference on the 16th April in the Wulfrun Hall organised by West Midlands Police. I intend at this moment to go. It is aimed at finding out what level of support there is in Wolverhampton for the creation of a Borough Wide umbrella group that could represent Wolverhampton at Regional and National meetings..sounds interesting.

Police Meeting
Also I have been invited by 'C'Sector which is Wednesfield {police to a Consultative Meeting to be held on Monday 28th February . The meeting is due to take place at 7pm in the Hall at Wednesfield Communitycentre where performance initiatives will be discussed. I do hope it is better publicised this time. When I attended last year only 3 persons turned up!

Seminar
Another Invitation is for a seminar called 'Kick Start' . This is a new initiative which is being promoted by the City Council in association with six other Midland Authorities . The Kick Start programme is being financed by the Regional Housing Board and will run for a 2 year period April 2004 -March 2006.

It is intended that Wolverhampton City Council will receive £390k out of a total pot of £6m, the funding is being offered to home owners through an equity release scheme in order that they can pay for essential maintenance and repair to their property. These loans are aimed at those who are unable to access funding from High Street lenders. The Property Appreciation Loan (PAL) on offer is a no repayment loan with a guarantee of no repossession.

This seminar looks as though it is a very good scheme for home owners who have limitations both in finance and have older properties.

Gas Servicing
I am also informed that the procedure for gaining access to dwellings outstanding a gas service for 2004/5 will commence from February 7th 2005. The initial part of the action will be to isolate the 160 dwellings with external meters. All residents have been carded and will receive correspondence outlining what is to happen. This is the first stage and does not involve forced entry yet.

The gas section can be reached on 554907 if you as tenants have any questions. My advice is to ensure that gas servicing is carried out. It is for your own safety and for that of your neighbours please co-operate with the City Council on this matter.

Conference

Another conference is being held on the 9th March at the Quality Hotel -Strategies for Parents and Community Education (SPACE)
the aim of this conference is to highlight positive action that parents,schools and the community can take in order to raise the achievement and attainment of those who are underachieving or disenfranchised. This will be done through a series of talks and workshops. The event starts at 8,45 am and finishes at 4.00pm.