Please see linked below the Caring Together Warwickshire Bulletin – Issue 9 (March 2024):
Please see linked below the Caring Together Warwickshire Bulletin – Issue 9 (March 2024):
If you are a smoker, aged over 18 and registered with a Warwickshire GP, you are entitled to 12-weeks of free 1-1 support from our qualified Stop Smoking practitioners, backed by the new government national stop smoking campaign which includes your own ‘Vape Quit Kit’.
THE COMPTON CHRONICLE – MARCH EDITION
Hello everyone, the March edition of the Compton Chronicle can be found below.
Paper copies will be delivered in the coming days.
For contributors please note that the closing date for submissions for the April Edition will be 12th March.
– The Chronicle Editorial Team
What funding is available?
Through UK government Help to Heat schemes, Stratford on Avon District Council is delivering the second phase of the Home Upgrade Grant scheme – also known as ‘HUG2′.
HUG2 provides energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating to low-income households living in the worst performing, off-gas grid homes in England.
The scheme aims to improve the warmth and comfort of homes that do not have mains-gas heating, whilst also reducing energy bills, carbon emissions and levels of fuel poverty across the county.
Eligible households could receive free energy efficiency improvements or clean heating (such as air source heat pumps) for their homes, following a home assessment.
Who is eligible?
You could be eligible if you:
For more information see:
Young black spaniel lost on Burton Dassett on 19 February 2024. Please call 07915 029 230 with any sightings.
As you may already be aware, the UK’s telephone network is changing. By the end of 2025, most phone providers will have moved their customers from landlines served by the old analogue Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to new upgraded services which use digital technology. This is commonly referred to as the ‘Digital Switchover’.
The PSTN or ‘copper landline network’ is nearing the end of its life. It is becoming increasingly unreliable and more expensive to maintain. The new digital network will provide a more resilient, reliable, sustainable and energy-efficient phone service for decades to come.
It will also provide customers with other benefits including clearer calls and extra features that will include blocking most scam and nuisance calls, offering customers better protection against fraud.
Around 90% of all Warwickshire residents and businesses currently receive their service from one of the ‘big four’ fixed landline providers: BT (BT Business & BT Consumer Group), VMO2, Sky and TalkTalk.
VMO2 have already completed the switchover for the vast majority of their Warwickshire customers, while those in the Atherstone area of North Warwickshire due to be migrated in August 2024.
The situation with Sky and Talk Talk is slightly different. As most of their customers do not receive their phone services via the PSTN network that Openreach is switching off, there isn’t the same requirement to switch their phone lines over.
As for BT Consumer Group – the largest provider of residential fixed line phone services in the UK, they will start the migration of customers to their Digital Voice network in the Solihull and Warwickshire areas in February 2024.
They have a number of drop-in sessions planned across the region in the coming weeks to address any issues or concerns that customers may have about the switchover process. More information on events in your area can be found by visiting: Digital Voice Events | Digital Home Phone | BT
Each of the phone service providers has extensive plans in place to notify affected customers well in advance of their switchover date. This includes providing them with easy to understand step-by-step instructions of what they will need to do on the day to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible.
One of the main drawbacks of the new digital network is that differences between the two technologies means that there is a risk that devices that currently rely on the old network – such as telecare devices – will not necessarily work when switched over to the digital one.
All telecoms providers have plans in place to provide extra support to their more vulnerable customers and all have now signed up to a charter agreeing that they will not migrate vulnerable customers over to the new digital network until they are sure that a compatible telecare solution is in place.
However, if you think that you or someone you know may be affected by this, we would advise that you to get in touch with the phone service provider to ensure they are aware of the situation.
Another drawback is that your new digital landline may not work if there is a power cut. Openreach are working with the government and the power networks to help make the digital phone network more resilient in the event of any power outages.
Those with access to a mobile phone are advised to ensure these are sufficiently charged so that in the event of a blackout, calls – including those to emergency services – can still be made.
Battery back-up solutions can also be purchased and OFCOM has stated that if an ‘at-risk’ customer does not have any other means available, their telecoms provider must offer a solution to allow calls to be made to the emergency services. Your phone service provider will be able to provide more information on this.
Finally, it is worth noting that BT Business are following a totally separate migration rollout plan for their customers compared to BT Consumer Group. If you are a BT Business customer, we suggest you contact them to discuss the migration of your phone services to the digital network.
Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership has distributed two ‘Dead Slow’ boards to Avon Dassett to help improve the safety of horse and riders whilst using roads in the village.
The boards, produced in partnership with the British Horse Society and Warwickshire Horse Watch, ask drivers to pass horses wide – two metres – and slow – 10mph or less.
This reflects the new 2022 Highway Code that is now specific about what drivers and motorcyclists need to do to safely pass horses. Those travelling on two wheels such as off road bikes and motorbikes with a loud engine can be particularly challenging for horses. These road users should be prepared to stop and turn their engine off.
The signs have been erected just over a year after an accident where a rider was seriously injured and her horse was killed in Kineton.
Have you seen a dangerous pothole that needs fixing?
Report it to Warwickshire County Council here and they aim to report back within 5 working days.
Advance notice of a local road closure:
More details will follow including any diversions.
The latest newsletter from the Southam Safer Neighbourhood Team is now available with information on local property crimes and suspicious vehicles, as well as advice on road safety, wildlife and romance crime!