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Belgrave Councillor Robert Pritchard is trying to raise £500 for the County Air Ambulance Trust and he is prepared to take to the skies to do it.

Councillor Robert Pritchard is doing a sponsored hot air balloon ride in an effort to raise the much needed funds for the life saving service.

Two years ago along with the leader and deputy leader of Tamworth Borough Council Robert shaved his head raising over £300 pounds for the air ambulance trust. Now Robert is aiming for a higher target and will be going very high if he raises the money.

The air ambulance operates three helicopters serving an area of 8,000 square miles covering a population of over 7.8million. This includes Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Leicestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Rutland, Warwickshire, the West Midlands and the Welsh borders.

The air ambulances are operated from bases at RAF Cosford (near Wolverhampton), Strensham North Service station on the M5, and East Midlands Airport. The helicopters are available seven days a week.

To sponsor Cllr Robert Pritchard on-line you can log on to www.justgiving.com/robertpritchard

Cllr Pritchard said

“I have never been a fan of heights but I am more that happy to go up in a hot air balloon for the Air Ambulance. The air ambulance is a fantastic life saver that is completely funded by public generosity.”

He added,

“I can stress how valuable this service is and the hard work done by its volunteers, they truly are life savers.”

A new project is currently under way to install a Multi Use Play Area in Irwell, Belgrave

The area has long been starved of facilities for youngsters and it is hoped that the new facilities will help to tackle problems in the area. The new facilities are needed to stop boredom and give young people in the area something to do with their time.

The South Area Street Wardens, Brian Lees & James Vanstone, came up with the initiative in order to help tackle the dramatic increase in ball game associated Anti Social Behaviour.

"I would like to thank the Street Wardens involved for their hard work and effort to get this facility built. We need to provide the youngsters something to do to deter vandalism and anti social behaviour" Said Councillor Robert Pritchard. "If we ignore the needs of our youngsters we are inviting boredom, anti social behaviour and vandalism into our communities."

"We cannot neglect the needs of our communities and need to make the necessary changes. We will keep trying and will do what is necessary for things to change and to tackle anti social behaviour on our estates. Every child and young person has the right to be able to play, entertain themselves or pursue leisure activities in a safe environment. The parents of these children also deserve the peace of mind that knowing their children are safe, close by and enjoying themselves.”

The play area has drawn very vocal support from all Belgrave Councillors including Cllr Steve Nicklin & Cllr Martin Summers.

The provision of facilities such as Multi Use Play Area’s, play areas and sports pitches are designed to meet the needs of local youngsters. There is evidence both locally and nationally that where such facilities are provided the incidents of anti social behaviour have reduced. This has happened in the areas of Amington, Belgrave and Kettlebrook where we currently have facilities.

Belgrave Councillor Robert Pritchard has launched a petition to seek funding to close off trouble underpasses in Tamworth.

Tamworth has about 58 underpasses, many are now completely unnecessary. With the exception of a few underpasses Cllr Robert Pritchard believes they only serve attract anti-social behaviour and vandalism, causing misery for neighbours and residents alike. As a result of this anti-social behaviour many are no longer used by residents, local people will rather go around them than through them.

The underpasses in Tamworth belong to Staffordshire County Council and they do not make funding available to remove or tackle problem or redundant underpasses. Several meetings have taken place between Tamworth Borough Councillors and Staffordshire County Council where costs of the removal scheme were discussed. It is estimates that it can cost over £40,000 to remove a single underpass.

Criticism has been levelled against leading politicians at Staffordshire County Council who still have not make the necessary funding available to address this issue.

Therefore the petition is calling on the government to make funding available directly for a project to remove as many of the unwanted underpasses in Tamworth as possible, using public consultation to target the unwanted underpasses.

Cllr Pritchard belives removing many of the underpasses from our housing estates will have a marked improvement on the quality of life in Tamworth and will also serve to reduce crime in Tamworth. Necessary underpasses such as the Bolebridge egg would remain but more troublesome ones in housing estate would be targeted for removal.

The petition, which is a completely online petition, will go directly to the Prime Minister. To sign the petitions go to http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Tamworth/

Cllr Robert Pritchard said

"We don’t want these underpasses in our estates anymore. Tamworth Borough Council is doing a lot to clean and repaint them but the County Councillors elected to serve Tamworth are not doing anything in Stafford to address this problem. We need funding set aside now to close them off and only the County Councillors or the government has access to the type of funding we need to do this. In three years of calling the Labour County Council to close these underpasses with local people supporting me nothing has been done. Please help the local people get rid of these sign the petition or lobby you county Councillor"

Saturday 15th of September saw the 1st Fazeley Festival and fun run kick off to a great start with the support of local residents. Many prople came in force on this community day generating a great feeling.

As part of the day also saw the first Fazeley Fun run held and spirits were running high that made the whole day and the events held a tremendous day for all involved and all those who attended.

Thanks go to all the organisations involved in the day including Fazeley Town Council, County Councillor Mathew Ellis, and District Councillor Cllr Ben Adams who worked along side residents, orgnisations such as the Fazeley District Initiative, the police, the fire service, Lichfield District Council, Staffs County Council, Fazeley Town Council and Local residents to put on such a wonderful day.

Touch FM provided a road show for the day and the Mayor of Fazeley was also part of the fun run. Thank you to the residents it proved yet again the great community spirit that is in abundance in the local area.

Cllr Robert Pritchard, a Belgrave Councillor, is calling on Tamworth Borough Council to rebuild an old BMX track that was removed over 15 years ago.

Local kids from Belgrave, Glascote, Stonydelph & Wilnecote had the use of a dirt BMX track that was located next to Torc High School, between the bypass and Glascote allotments and next to the footbridge over the bypass to Belgrave. The track was removed when building began on the new A5 bypass over 15 years ago but it was never replaced.

With a new stake board park being developed in the town centre Cllr Robert Pritchard believes it is time to build alternate extreme sport facilities for other children elsewhere in the town.

Cllr Robert Pritchard Said,

“When I was a kid this track was a great facility and we used to come ride our bikes on it all the time, when the bypass was built to park was removed but when building was finished it was never replaced. There is plenty of room on the waste ground so I am calling for the park to be replaced.”

The BMX track is located in a central area giving local children from many areas of the town access to it. The proposed location for the BMX track is also far enough away from houses to cause nuisance to local residents.

Cllr Robert Pritchard concluded

“This is a win win situation for everybody, the BMX track will provide something for kids to do in the area while being just far enough away from houses to cause a nuisance to home owners. It is also a nice central place servicing children from many different estates and areas. I will be taking this issue up at Tamworth Borough Council with a view to building it in the next financial year.”

Tamworth’s Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman, Christopher Pincher, and Robert Pritchard are pushing ahead with their campaign to stop dodgy traders selling their cars from grass verges on the public highway. They are delivering thousands of leaflets to local homes in affected areas – such as Stonydelph, Wilnecote and Amington telling local residents how to report “grass verge car lots”.

The Conservative team is also paying regular visits to local hot spots where sale cars are known to appear. If they find a car for sale, they take the make and registration and report the vehicle to the local police.

Mr. Pincher said:

“Local residents do not want this sort of dodgy practice in their community. The cars are being sold without proper checks and parked where they are they present a distraction for other motorists."

“The new system we have championed really works. On Saturday at 11am Cllr. Robert Pritchard and I reported two cars for sale on Pennine. Within two hours local Police Constables Dave Kelly and Steve Thornhill were on the scene and within three hours both cars were gone. That shows how good, visible policing which involves the community can really make a difference.”

Cllr. Pritchard commented:

“Local residents raised this concern with us and we have responded by getting the police and council involved. But to really make this work we need to community involved too. So do please report these dodgy dealers’ cars.”

If local residents see any cars for sale from grass verges, they should make a note of the registration, make and colour of the car and where it is parked. They should then call the Police Public Service Desk on 08453 30 20 10 to report the vehicle. The police will then take action.

The Linear Lakes got a big spring clean on Wednesday 30th May with local people helping clean the local nature reserve. The clean up event was a great success.

Tamworth Borough Council is eager to help clean up the area and get local residents involved at the same time. Tamworth Borough Council’s Street Wardens took the lead at the days clean-up and enlisted the help of the Tamworth’s Sea Cadets who were more than happy to get wet on the day.
Tamworth’s Sea Cadets used canoes row out into the lakes and hooked large items that were dumped in the lakes. The junk was then dragged out of the lakes by the Street Wardens Councillors, Residents and Tamworth Borough Council Mobile Caretaking Team.

At the same time local Councillors and residents carried out a litter pick of the area around the lakes.
Not only will the Sea Cadets be rewarded with the knowledge that they have ‘done their bit’ for the local area, they will also be given a certificate to commend them for their efforts. The Council are working in partnership with the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and have sought advice to ensure that the wildlife on and around the lakes was not disturbed during this sensitive breeding season.

Local Belgrave Councillor Robert Pritchard said:

“Getting involved is always a lot of fun, it is really good to see that the Sea Cadets are taking part in the clean up. It was a great day out and an opportunity to meet other people as well as do something positive for the area. We all enjoy a walk or bike ride around the lakes and its better when there is no litter spoiling the view. We collected a huge of junk that had been dumped in the lakes. I am really proud that we collected so much, but would have been even more proud if we didn’t need to collect other people’s fly-tipping to begin with.”

The lake cleaning day is a small part in the ongoing scheme to keep the lake system clean and tidy. The Council already looking into dredging the lakes in the near future to ensure the water is flowing well and wildlife is healthy. There is also a multi agency “Operation teamwork” style clean-up being planned.

Councillor Danny Cook, Deputy Leader of Tamworth Borough Council said,

“I have been to many lake clean-ups and it is great to see the Council, local groups and residents working together to tackle problems. It is important that areas such as the local nature reserve are preserved for the environment and local wildlife. I would ask those who abuse the lakes to think about their actions and the effect they have on the local environment. I would also like to thank the Street Wardens and sea Cadets once again for the amount of effort and hard work they put into projects such as this. They are an asset to the local community.”

The Mayor of Fazeley, Cllr Robert Pritchard, presented St Paul’s Church in Fazeley with a new lawnmower.

The new mover was donated by Fazeley Town Council as a replacement for the old lawn mover that was breaking down.

The mower is to be used by the Probation Service who maintains the church grounds and cemetery. Probation Service teams carry out work on the church grounds every Sunday.

Fazeley Mayor, Robert Pritchard said

“St Paul’s Church as a big part of the Fazeley Community, the council supports the Church as much as it can. It’s also great to see the probation board doing good work in the community that gives something back.

Carol Graham of St Paul’s Church Parish Office said,

“I would like to say thanks to Fazeley Town Council for donating us a new lawnmower. Its great for the Church, great for the community and it’s great to Fazeley”