Warwickshire County Council has launched a new countywide Community Pledge, an extension of the positively received Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire (CSW) Business Pledge, to include community venues not covered by the Business Pledge.

Over the course of the pandemic, organisations have been required to undertake a number of actions to operate safely. The Community Pledge brings these together and provides an opportunity for settings across Warwickshire, such as communal halls or places of worship, to make a positive commitment to ensuring COVID secure best practice is observed by staff and visitors in their facilities. The pledge covers key guidance including social distancing, face coverings, ventilation, vaccinations, testing and isolating, staff health and well-being and risk assessments.

Warwickshire community groups can sign-up to the Community Pledge and find out more about how to be COVID secure at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/covidcommunitypledge. Once signed-up they will also have access to a Community Pledge poster to promote the venue as a safe space to be enjoyed responsibly by the local community.

For more information visit https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/community/warwickshire-covid-secure-community-pledge

A news release about Warwickshire’s Community Pledge has been shared with the media has also gone live today on the WCC website:

https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/news/article/2138/warwickshire-community-groups-invited-to-pledge-support-to-offer-covid-secure-environments

Please share this information with any community contacts, groups, or venues you are aware of that would like to publicly commit to implementing COVID safe best practice within their facilities.

Warwickshire County Councillor Andy Crump, Portfolio Holder for Community Safety said:

“In 2019-20, UK fraud victims reported losing over £2.3bn to scams. These ranged from bogus investments to romance and computer ‘fix’ scams. This year we’ve seen many COVID related frauds as well.”

“Fraudsters are very clever and are quick to take advantage of new technology and national and global situations, such as the pandemic.”

“It almost feels like there is a different scam for everyday of the year, but whilst scams come and go, the underlying reasons we fall for them doesn’t change. Recognising these can help us all avoid becoming scam victims.”

Please help us to spread information about this national campaign by forwarding this message on, featuring the information on a website or in a newsletter, or posting a link on social media.

For more information, visit: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/news/article/2171/scams-awareness-fortnight-2021-launched

Lucy Brown, Editor of Choose has put together this helpful information on broadband in the village.

Broadband in Avon Dassett

Thanks to the CSW Broadband project, superfast fibre broadband has been available to most homes in Avon Dassett since 2016/17. That means most properties can access fibre broadband speeds of up to around 66Mb from mainstream providers like BT and TalkTalk.

Coverage isn’t absolutely complete though, so some homes in and around the village may only be able to receive speeds of around 10Mb because they’re stuck on old copper broadband lines.

Using a broadband checker tool, like this one from Choose.co.uk, allows customers to enter their postcode to see how fast the broadband line to their property is. Bear in mind that other factors affect how fast broadband will actually be, especially in villages like Avon Dassett where the distance to the exchange can be lengthy and so the signal can degrade over that distance.

As an example, the distance between houses in the CV47 2AW postcode and the local exchange at Farnborough is 1.35 miles, but the good news is broadband connections are usually routed through street cabinets on their way from the exchange so the speed loss along the line will be less pronounced.

Which broadband providers are available?

Avon Dassett superfast broadband runs on the Openreach broadband network, so customers able to receive superfast speeds will have their pick of the following providers: BT, EE, Direct Save Telecom, iTalk, John Lewis Broadband, Now, Origin Broadband, Plusnet, Shell Energy Broadband, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk, Vodafone and Zen.

If customers can only access 10Mb broadband (or they don’t want superfast fibre) then Shell, Sky, TalkTalk and Vodafone are removed from the list because they’re only focused on fibre deals.

There’s also an issue any customers looking at Plusnet should be aware of – geographical pricing.

Plusnet class Avon Dassett as an “out of area” location, also known as a Market 1 location. This means customers won’t pay the headline prices they see advertised by Plusnet on TV or elsewhere but will pay a premium for being in a difficult area to reach.

Disappointed customers can access a workaround though thanks to John Lewis Broadband. As they’re a reseller of Plusnet services and they use Plusnet customer service teams too, signing up to John Lewis Broadband is actually cheaper than signing up to Plusnet in Avon Dassett.

Other connection options

If a property still hasn’t been connected to the superfast broadband network, looking to the 4G network might be the way to boost home internet speeds.

Mobile broadband coverage across Avon Dassett varies depending on network and location so consulting a mobile coverage checker can give customers an indication of which network is best in their area, although remember these are only indications.

EE, O2 and Vodafone all claim to have good coverage in the Avon Dassett area, although Three have a bit of a not-spot north of the village.

Having a decent 4G signal means customers can sign up to mobile broadband deals or, if they’d prefer a more traditional and reliable broadband experience, they could consider 4G Internet instead. They use the mobile signal of either O2 or Vodafone’s network to deliver a home broadband solution using 4G on a 12-month contract.

Charity Ladies Fashion Show at The Yew Tree on 14 June 2021 from 7.30 pm

The fashion show will be hosted by The Style Lounge

Tickets are £5 which include food brought to your table!

All proceeds go to Cancer Research

For tickets please contact Liz Hirst: lidhirst@yahoo.co.uk

This email is to inform you that the County Councillors Grant Fund for 2021/22 is now live and open for applications.

The Fund is aimed at community and voluntary organisations and provides each of the County’s 57 Councillors with a pot of £6000 to support small-scale projects within their division that support the following outcomes:

• Warwickshire’s communities and individuals are supported to be safe, healthy and independent
• Warwickshire’s economy is vibrant and supported by the right jobs, training, skills and infrastructure

All applications should aim to build community capacity and improve the health and wellbeing of people living in Warwickshire.

• Improve community assets and their sustainability
• Improve access to services
• Improve financial capability
• Reduce loneliness and isolation
• Improve physical and/or mental health and wellbeing
• Promote equalities and inclusivity
• Improve the physical environment or reduce the environmental impact

Projects that continue to support Covid-19 and the wider impacts of the pandemic will also be considered.

Please ensure you read the guidance notes carefully before submitting your application

Applications will need to be submitted using our online application form. Please note that you cannot save this form and you will have to complete it in one go. Applications cannot be edited once you have submitted, so please ensure you prepare your answers before submission.

You will get an email with a copy of your responses after the closing date.

Deadline for applications is Sunday 11 July 2021 5pm.

For more information and to complete an online application form please go to www.warwickshire.gov.uk/cllrgrants 

Nominations are now open!

During an exceptionally challenging year, people from all walks of life from across Warwickshire have taken the time to make a huge difference to people and their communities. People have come forward to help one another in a variety of ways, from delivering food parcels to vulnerable people, collecting essential medication for those who were shielding, fundraising for local charities, to making scrubs for NHS staff. When possible, volunteers helped to keep community centres, or charity shops open, or worked remotely to support charities and community groups. This list is by no means comprehensive!

Every year in Warwickshire, CAVA celebrates the phenomenal achievements of volunteers across the County through Volunteer Awards events. Sadly, due to the COVID emergency situation, we were unable to celebrate in 2020. This year, we will be holding a series of events across the county – a virtual celebration of volunteering during the pandemic. We are asking for nominations from organisations, and the community, for outstanding individual volunteer achievements and outstanding volunteer team achievements.

We would like you to use this form to nominate an individual or group of volunteers who have made an outstanding contribution during the pandemic. The deadline for nominations is by 9am on Monday 7th June 2021.

2021 Nomination Form

All nominations will be reviewed by local panels for the following areas: North Warwickshire and Nuneaton, Rugby, Warwick and Stratford Districts. The most outstanding stories of individuals and groups will be selected to be showcased at events happening across the county: Nuneaton and North Warwickshire (7th July), South Warwickshire (13th July) and Rugby (14th July). All nominated individuals and groups will receive a limited design card to celebrate their achievement.

In Memoriam requests: We would also like to recognize those who are sadly no longer with us and who we remember because of their outstanding contribution. If you would like us to celebrate an individual, please email us directly and include the name of the person, their year of birth (if you have this), the date they passed away, the area in which they volunteered, a description of the individual and their achievements (no more than 500 words). Where possible, please provide a few images – by providing the images you are giving us permission to use them on our website and during volunteering celebration events.

Thank you in anticipation for your nominations. We look forward to celebrating with you – the absolutely amazing contribution of volunteering, during the pandemic, in Warwickshire.

It is with great sadness that the death has been announced of Councillor Chris Williams. Chris had been both District and County Councillor for Avon Dassett for over two decades, retiring only at the recent election.

Recently, past chairs, vice-chairs and clerk to Avon Dassett Parish Council paid this tribute to Chris.

Condolences are sent from Avon Dassett to Carole and Chris’s family and friends.

The Chief Executive of the Plunkett Foundation was joined by members of Avon Dassett Walking Club on the first phase of his 3 day charity walk to raise money for the foundation which supports local community businesses including The Yew Tree. The walkers were met with chequered flags and banners provided by Avon Dassett Soapbox Derby team.

The charity walk has raised nearly £7000. For more information see: https://plunkett.co.uk/walk-for-plunkett/

Well done to all the walkers!

The scam alerts can also be found at: https://safeinwarwickshire.com/2021/05/14/census-21-text-scams-and-other-scam-warnings/

Free Gift Pop Ups Warning

Warwickshire residents have been caught out by scam computer pop ups offering free gifts. To receive their free gift, consumers are asked to input their credit or debit card details to pay for postage and packaging. £1 is usually taken immediately. However, what consumers don’t realise to that they may have unwittingly signed up to a subscription service (for example for face creams or health supplements) and authorised a continuous payment authority. Later on larger amounts of money, usually close to £100 is taken and this continues on a monthly basis until the continuous payment authority is cancelled.

More about continuous payment authority: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/recurring-payments/

Continuous payment authority and subscription scams: https://www.getsafeonline.org/shopping-banking/subscription-traps/

Recycling Banks – Know the Difference!

Recycling banks for clothing and shoes etc. often located in car parks or other public places are a common site and many people use them in the belief that their donations will always benefit charitable causes.

However, not all charity recycling banks are genuine. Scammers sometimes place bogus charity banks amongst genuine ones! These often appear to look like genuine charity recycling banks.

Residents are advised that if you want to ensure that your unwanted items will benefit a charity, read the information on the recycling bins first. Genuine charity bins will usually carry the name and registered number of the charity. You can look up a charity here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission

Recycling banks are also operated by private businesses that collect for profit. These are usually marked with a business name and sometimes a limited company number. Some may be signed ‘commercial recycling’.

Scammers Turn from National Insurance Numbers to NHS Numbers in Telephone Scam

Scammers are now cold calling Warwickshire residents to tell them that their NHS number has been suspended, Warwickshire Trading Standards is warning. Recipients of these bogus recorded phone calls are encouraged to press a number to speak to someone to ‘resolve the problem’. Victims are pressured in to handing over personal and financial information in order to obtain a new NHS number. The more a fraudster knows about you, the easier it is for them to commit identity theft and other frauds.

Never provide cold callers with any personal or financial information.

Help and advice on identity theft: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/a-z-of-fraud/identity-fraud-and-identity-theft

‘Met Police’ Scam

Warwickshire residents have reported receiving bogus phone calls from people claiming to be from the Met (or Metropolitan) Police. The callers claim that the resident’s debit card has been used recently. These bogus callers then attempt to get the call recipient to reveal personal and financial information and may ask them to move their money to a ‘safe’ account that is really controlled by the scammer.

Bank transfer scams: https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/what-to-do-if-you-re-the-victim-of-a-bank-transfer-app-scam-aED6A0l529rc

Census 21 Text Scam

Despite the Census having been completed, some people are still receiving bogus Census text messages. One reads: ‘CENSUS: There is missing information from your Census application.  Failure to update your details may result in a £1000 penalty’. A link then directs the recipient to a scam website.

Another text message states that the recipient has not completed and returned their CENSUS form. Again it threatens the recipient with a £1000 fine and directs them to click on a link in the text message to resolve the matter.

Always treat text messages with caution. Avoid clicking on links in text messages where at all possible. If you think a text message is genuine, visit the organisation or business website by typing the genuine web address in to the web browser.

The Government state on their website that now Census Day has passed, they are sending letters to everyone who hasn’t returned their census. If you receive any sort of communication purporting to be from the census and are not sure if the letter, email or text is genuine or not, you can contact the census to check.

Census has advisers available to help you at the following times:

• Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm
• Saturday, 8am to 1pm

Telephone free: 0800 141 2021 (England)

Visit: https://census.gov.uk/

Safety Campaign Information

Register my Appliance ‘Safer in Seconds’ Campaign

Register my appliance is a public information safety campaign which encourages people to register their domestic appliances so manufacturers know where the products are in case a safety repair is ever needed.

• Never miss out on appliance recalls
• Be the first to know of any safety repairs or recalls
• Improve your after sales service
• Keep in touch with upgrade news

People can register 60+ brands of appliances of up to 12 years old at www.registermyappliance.org.uk

New Blind Cord Safety Campaign

The Government is reminding people of the potential dangers of blind cords and loops to children and the steps they can take to reduce the risks.

Looped blind cords and chains can strangle children and young people. Although changes to standards for blinds in 2014 have led to improved product safety, products installed earlier may not have these safety features and millions of households could be affected.

New blinds with looped cords must have child safety devices installed at the point of manufacture or be sold with the blind.

Safety tips below to help make homes safer

1) Fit a tidy, tensioner or a cleat

Tidies and tensioner should be firmly fixed to an adjoining surface to ensure that the cord or chain is permanently held tight. Cleats should be positioned out of children’s reach on an adjacent surface that is at least 1.5 metres from the floor. After blind use, cords should be fastened up in a figure of eight making sure all the spare cord is secured on the cleat.

2) Move furniture away from windows

Children love to climb so keep furniture away from blinds. This includes cots, beds, highchairs, and play pens.

More help and advice: https://www.rospa.com/campaigns-fundraising/current/blind-cord

To make a consumer complaint or for consumer help and advice, please contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133.

For consumer or business help and advice, including details of our approved trader scheme, please visit our website: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/tradingstandards

Sign up for regular scam alerts to your email inbox: https://mailchi.mp/warwickshire/scamawareness

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/warwickshiretradingstandards https://twitter.com/WarksTSS

Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick District Councils are working together to produce a new South Warwickshire Local Plan to cover our combined geographic area.

Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick District Councils are currently undertaking a Scoping and Call for Sites consultation, which runs from Monday 10 May until Monday 21 June 2021. This is the first stage in a long process and we want to hear your views. The consultation asks a series of questions about what issues the new Local Plan should cover, and seeks your views on how we should tackle these issues. In particular, it seeks your views on where in South Warwickshire new development should be located and how best we should accommodate growth. At the same time, we are also running a ‘Call for Sites’ inviting suggestions for potential sites to be allocated for a variety of land uses.

Please consider completing the consultation if you have views on housing and development in South Warwickshire. Visit https://www.southwarwickshire.org.uk/swlp/ to complete the consultation