Cathedral Ward Worcester City

   Press Release For immediate release:  29 November 2012 Have your say on application for new Worcester swimming pool Planning permission is being sought for Worcester’s potential new swimming pool – and city residents have  until December 17  to get their views on it. The application is for outline planning permission for a new pool complex at Perdiswell. It’s been submitted following a public consultation on ideas for a pool earlier this year, which showed broad support for the idea. Worcester City Council has not made a definite decision to go ahead with a pool, and is still exploring funding options. If outline planning permission is granted, a further application for detailed permission will have to be made if the council does decide to go ahead with the scheme. Councillor Jabba Riaz , Cabinet member for Safer and Stronger Communities, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for Worcester to provide a modern state-of-the-a...

Worcester Play Council Coordinator Vacancy 15 hours/ week, £7800, 12 Month contract, January 2013 start. Worcester Play Council is looking for an experienced and driven individual to coordinate the exciting developments of play opportunities taking place within Worcester City over 2013. As a registered charity, we work with a wide range of partners within the City to seek, develop and embed local opportunities. With 2012 being such a successful year, the coordinator would enable Worcester Play Council to seek substantial fundraising to enhance a range of play developments (including the development of a robust training programme, provision, partner developments, charity developments, play capacity etc.), facilitating the Worcester City Play Strategy across 2013 and beyond. Application deadline: 6 th  December, 12 o’clock midday To apply ,   please see attached application form ,  visit:   http://worcesterplaycouncil.btck.co.uk/Jobvacancies   or fo...

Just to make you aware, there are facilities available if anyone is affected by Flooding. Worcester Community trust will open up Centres in parts of the City where needed. If any one is affected please contact me and I will make the necessary arrangements. Just to put you in the picture. The river last night was 3.35 m This morning it has risen to 4.71m Pitchcroft floods at 4.5m Hylton Road Floods at approx 5.4 m where the barrier is activated  By the Swans/Fountain it floods at 3.1m I would be grateful if you could pass this information on to your neighbours so that they are aware, help is available. Cllr Jabba Riaz 07858501118

The news earlier this month that an exciting plan had emerged for the former Historic Royal Porcelain Site was welcomed by many. The creation of a cultural Quarter where the Faithful City's rich history would be displayed in all  it's glorious splendour, where people could freely romanticise and indulge in the enigmatic exuberance of the Elgar Symphony Orchestra or enjoy a Worcester Live production of Shakespeare in the Park a stones throw away in the Commandery, or get  a sense of what it was like of  being  in the Shoes of Charles II, fleeing from Worcester at the City Gates, after  Cromwell's  forces attacked from Fort Royal  & Perrywood in 1651 is a welcome relief to the normal  drab shopping centres plans that you get these days.  Add to this, the fact that the Royal Worcester Porcelain  is one of the oldest brands of English Porcelain in existence today  & that then future American president's ...

Branching Out - hundreds of new trees planned for Worcester When: Thursday 29 November – 10.00am Where:  Meet at Pump House car park (Gheluvelt Park, Waterworks Road). Contact on the day:  Stephen Reynolds, Wildlife Ranger 07768 095831 What:  Worcester City Council has joined forces with national charity ‘Trees for Cities’ for the second year running to continue its mammoth tree planting programme for the city. Over the last few years Worcester has lost many trees due to a combination of storm, flooding and vandalism. Cecil Duckworth and volunteers from the Duckworth Worcestershire Trust will plant 10 more Small Leaved Lime trees on Pitchcroft Park to line the footpath and cycle ways which surround it. This will compliment ten lime trees which were planted last year, which are healthy and growing well.  They will be joined by students from the Worcester College of Technology. The City Council is aiming to recruit an army of approximately 180 volunteers to help with t...

Put the car parking offer to the test! Make the most of the free car parking in Worcester on Thursdays – ideal for late night Christmas shopping - and the great deal on Sundays, brought to you by Worcester City Council. “Worcester has a fantastic retail offering for people like myself who have lots of presents to get,” says Santa Claus.  “These parking deals will help shoppers’ money go even further, so they can enjoy an even merrier Christmas – ho, ho, ho!” On Thursdays, you will be able to park free from 6.00pm until the end of the day in all of Worcester’s City Council owned car parks, from now up ‘til and including Thursday 20 December. On Sundays, you will be able to pay for two hours’ parking but get rest of the day free - simply buy the two hour ticket and display it on your dashboard for the rest of the day. This fantastic offer is available from Sunday 9 December up until and including Sunday 30 December. The City Council owns the following car parks: Copenhagen St Cornmar...

Home Heat Helpline: A Fact Sheet As the weather gets colder and households turn on their heating, the Home Heat Helpline is reminding people worried about staying warm this winter that there is lots of help available – from financial assistance to practical advice on managing their energy bills. What is the Home Heat Helpline? The Home Heat Helpline is a free, impartial and confidential service that connects people or families on low incomes or those in poor health with financial help and practical advice on how to manage their energy bills. How can the Home Heat Helpline help me? The Home Heat Helpline can give you advice on: Rebates – helping to get money off your energy bills. Some great ways to save energy and money – including grants available for things like insulation and new boilers. What other benefits you might be eligible for. The Priority Services Register – this is the industry’s disconnection safety net and means vulnerable customers will not be cut off even if they...

Just a quick reminder, there is an organised gang, possibly with inside information targeting Asian households in particular. They stake out before entering. Today a house on Victoria Avenue was targeted. The occupants left the house for only 40 minutes, nothing was taken they were after Jewellery & Cash.  I have written to the police to inform them of the increase in targeted burglaries in the area and for some urgency to be put on the matter. In the mean time there are some practical steps we can all take, they are logical and common sense tips if followed, will result in frustrating the burglars and lessening the impact of the burglaries. Graham Houghton  can be contacted as well as the Community Safety Officer  Jude Langton  at Worcester City Council for more information. Lock all doors & Windows Install an Alarm Install & invest in a CCTV system Keep Large amounts of Cash & Jewellery in a Safe or Safety Deposit box in the bank, Inform your nei...

Friends of Fort Royal Park & Commandery Gardens Monday 24th September 06:30pm to 08:30pm (6:30pm meet at the Wylds Lane entrance to the park for History Walk till 7:00pm) Agenda Matters Arising from Previous Minutes Fort Royal Park Heritage Lottery Fund Project Update Events Reviewing Past Events Drumhead Celebration Worcester Sixth Form College Fresher’s Faire Future Events Halloween Event Discussion identifying the Groups Aim and Objectives Committee Roles Budget City Council Report Any Other Business Date of Next Meeting

A new Website and Online Forum has been set up by a group of  of enthusiastic volunteers and local residents from Diglis. The website seeks to encourage local involvement and discussion regarding local issues. In addition to this the Forum is in the process of setting up a formal Friends group for the Diglis Playing Fields. If you would like to get involved please contact Claire Marshall @ claire-marshall@tiscali.co.uk or wisit the web-site register and get involved in the discussion boards. www.diglis.com I think this is a brilliant idea and could not come at a better time. The playing fields have to be protected for community use and the best way to go about this is by forming a local friends group and then lobbying Local Gov for action. I am fully supportive of this forum and will help as much as I can to help with local issues.

Thank you to all those that turned up last night at the SWDP meeting it was an informal consultation, where officers were at hand to answer local residents concern, both Lynn Denham , Cllr Ditta and I were there to answer   questions that arose. It was a very useful meeting and a special thanks to officers along with Lynn for arranging it. Remember if you have not filled in a consultation form or have not had a say ,you have until 14 th September to do so.   Here is the link and leave comments please http://www.swdevelopmentplan.org/

A sad situation which has come to light over the last month. It is in relation to a TRO on London Road between St Martin’s Church on London Road and Wych Elm Close on London Road. I heard about this TRO in December last year. I immediately let the Warden of St Martin’s church know as well as the Rev Ken Boyce about the matter as they and their Congregation would be most affected by this. The historic Church and Hall of ST Martin’s is an integral part of our community where many users use the facilities for Worship, community activities such as Fitness activities, Playgroups and meetings, parties as well as the traditional marriage ceremonies, christenings and funerals. The use of on street parking is vital to the Church and its success. The TRO proposed would effectively cause residents and Church users alike to park in already congested side streets like Victoria Avenue & Sebright Avenue or much further away, thus causing the same issues further along the road. The T...

There is a special Consultation meeting on the SWDP being held at the Horizon Community Centre on Midland Road on Wed 5th September 2012  between 7-9pm    I would like to thank Cllr Lynn Denham in helping bring this about after some discussion between officers. This has been arranged because of the new sites being identified in the Plan that have not been consulted upon, Including the Stanley Road Site. If you have any queries or concerns please do come on the night or if you are unable to make it, please contact either Myself, Cllr Ditta or Lynn Denham.

From September I will be holding a surgery at the Guildhall in Worcester  You can see me about local Cathedral Ward Issues as well as Issues or concerns across the city regarding Sports provision, Crime & Disorder , Police Crime Commissioner Elections, Housing & Homelessness, Community Safety, Worcestershire Regulatory Services, Museums and Art Galleries. Surgery Dates are 1st Saturday in each Month except November 2012 which will be the 2nd Saturday   Please book in advance VIA e-mail or phone to avoid disappointment  on jabba.riaz@worcester.gov.uk  07858501118 or 01905 360840 or Via Twitter @JabbaRiaz Venue & Time the Guildhall Worcester The Randall Room  10am - 12pm H igh Street Worcester WR1 2EY 01905 722 033

After my eagerly anticipated visit to the CCTV facility on Friday 3 rd August 2012, I am pleased to state that I was impressed with the level of service that we are offering. There is 24 hr Coverage 365 days a year at the centre & the quality of the Images are very high. The data transfer rates are exceptionally high, with the final refresh rate delay being in milliseconds to negligible.  The service is exceptionally well run and key incident hot spots are known to the CCTV operators who monitor them constantly. Members of the public should feel safe and secure in the knowledge that our CCTV network is maintained to a high standard and regular servicing/checks are done in order for the network to be running at optimum levels. The new maintenance contractor Delaware have done a very good job after taking over from Integral on May   1 ST ,   whilst making efficiency savings in the process. There is regular contact with the Police and a hig...

When is it ok to say I didn’t know guv? Or to plead ignorance? A lot of the time we get away with pleading ignorance in situations that actually with a little research we could have found out a bit more information. But for a Large Multi-national who supply a key service like Water I say it’s inexcusable. Last night at approx 2am I was woken by an Irate resident stating that his water supply had been cut off and wether I could find out what was happening, I said I would try to find out but unlikely to get a response till the morning, he insisted that I found out as soon as possible because it was the Muslim month of Ramadan and people needed water to eat the pre dawn meal (Dawn being approx 3 am). He had a point , He along with millions around the world were about to embark upon another days fasting, without food and water for approximately 18 hours in the UK so it was vital that everyone had water. My mum Along   with at least 4 other residents called me to check ...

I have today set up a petition for the above propostion in response to a a few enquiries from concerned local residents .  This is a new site under the SWDP so we have a right to object to it. I will be consulting local residents in the next few weeks so all our views are heard, I campaigned for a roadshow to be put on at the Midland Road community centre last year to explain what the SWDP meant for our community, but these never happened . I am determined to make sure all of our views count, So please can all the people who object to this scheme please contact me, if you don't know what it is about then please contact me directly so that I can explain this to you. Petition to Object to Land Identified in the SWDP at Stanley Road to be allocated for Housing purposes Petition Summary: We the Undersigned object to the former PRU Site on Stanley road to be allocated as housing land. This is due to several factors. Stanley road is the HUB of a thriving local commun...

Story by Tim Clarke Worcester Standard 21st June 2012 CHARITY muggers’ who roam Worcester’s High Street are facing a major clampdown after angry councillors described them as “parasites” and a “plague on the city’s streets”. Under a new agreement face-to-face charity fund-raisers - or chuggers as they are often called - could be banned from the city centre for up to six days a week. The move comes after we previously reported in March Councillor Jabba Riaz’s concerns that some people were being put off going into the city centre because of persistent street fund-raisers. The city council’s licensing committee has given officers the green light to thrash out a deal with the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA), which regulates its member charities, to restrict the number of days chuggers can operate in Worcester to no more than one or two a week. Although the agreement would only be voluntary the council has warned it would consider passing a bylaw, like Birmingham City...

10:20am Friday 22nd June 2012 Worcester News Article A NEW £13 million swimming pool could be built in Worcester – with council chiefs calling it a “golden opportunity to create something great”. The city council’s cabinet has formally backed an option to build a new pool next to Perdiswell Leisure Centre. It will be include a 25-metre, eight-lane pool, a learner pool, 150-station gym, dance studios, creche, 250 seats for spectators and parking for up to 350 cars. The two five-a-side football pitches will be resurfaced and rearranged. The council will launch a public consultation in September and October to make sure the public’s view does not differ from its own, and is seeking funding. The current building will be demolished once the new leisure centre is open, which is estimated to be February 2016. Councillor Marc Bayliss, deputy leader of Worcester City Council and the cabinet member responsible for regeneration, said: “This is £13 million worth of investment. "Th...

City’s homeless to get their own lettings agency 8:00am Saturday 23rd June 2012 in News By Tom Edwards A NEW council-owned lettings agency is to be set up in Worcester to find vulnerable people places to live. Under the deal, residents at risk of being homeless can access private sector rental properties to keep them off the streets. The city council’s Conservative cabinet has agreed to formally back the scheme, and are hoping it will help tackle a waiting list 4,000 strong. The agency, which will be run by Worcester Community Housing, will identify landlords who want to rent out unused properties at lower rates.   A report before the cabinet, which recommended it be accepted, stated the private sector market is “closed off” to people unless they have rent in advance, references, a bank account and guarantor. As your Worcester News reported this week, 588 people were declared homeless in the city during the last year, the highest rate since 2005 and a 25 per cent surge since las...

Almost a year on from Tweetgate in which I was banned from using Twitter in the Council chamber,   the Council have come to a unprecedented and historic point on Tuesday 26 th June the Council will hear a recommendation from the Constitutional Review Committee on the use of Social Media, it includes the use of Twitter in Council meetings with certain conditions and quite rightly so. To reach this point is something I could have only dreamed of a year ago, where the Image of the council was a staunch supporter of old outdated rules and traditions. The incident last year showed how outdated our laws regarding this area were, the frightening change of the pace of technology has highlighted this further. This acceptance and realization that the council needs to move into the 21 st century has caused some heated debates in the Chamber of late and shown the Democratic Process in full flow with almost every member participating and having a view. I sincerely hope that we can accep...

I have been promoted to the Cabinet and now hold the portfolio for safer & stronger communities. Under my remit I will take ownership of policy in the following key areas: -Responsible for delivery of Safer & Stronger Communities key priorities -Oversee the work of strategic housing, licensing & environmental health, sports & leisure,museums, CCTV & community safety and Service Managers for Safer & ... Stronger Communities and Strategic Housing I am the Cabinet link to Worcester Community Trust, Regulatory & Museums Shared Service. During my year as Chair of licensing I managed to introduce several key policies including the introduction of a cumilative Impact Zone in the city centre, the acceptance of rear access vehicles to the fleet and the delegation of powers to officers. Amongst the things I was working on were the introduction of a agreement for 'Chuggers' on the high street and was looking for an increase in vehicle inspections to increas...

17 August 2010 Last updated at 12:55 Share this page Email Print Share this page 2 Share Facebook Twitter Worcester children raise £300 for Pakistan flood appeal Aid agencies have said flood survivors were at risk of malnutrition and diseases like cholera Continue reading the main story Related Stories Pakistan flood children at risk Floods response 'pitiful' - Clegg Charity hits £2m for flood relief A group of children in Worcester raised about £300 in two hours for flood victims in Pakistan by collecting cash door-to-door. The youngsters from Redfern Avenue ordered the clothing online and wore specially-designed T-shirts, saying "Pakistan Needs You". Ward councillor Jabba Riaz said the youngsters were "kind of putting the adults to shame". At least 1,600 people are known to have died in the monsoon floods. 'Human cost' The Pakistani government has said up to 20 million people have been affected and some six million have been es...

We want to return historic park to its former glory 6:10am Friday 24th June 2011 in Local By Flora Drury , @floradruryWN #worcsnews CASH INJECTION: Fort Royal Park which has huge historical significance. AN ambitious vision of what a neglected Worcester park could be has been outlined. We reported how Fort Royal Park is to get a much needed cash injection earlier this month. The park – once named the eighth best park in the country by a national newspaper – has become a little tired over the years. The views across the city and the Malverns – which clinched the position – may still be there, but so are crumbling walls, overgrown areas and a playground which one resident said “wouldn’t look out of place in Beirut”. Worcester City Council intend to use some of the £1.7 million surplus from last year’s budget to revamp the park. As yet it is unclear what form this will take but if Cathedral councillor Jabba Riaz and Ben Humphrey, chairman of the Battle of Worcester Societ...