- Gypsy and Traveller unauthorised encampments
- Road surface dressing season begins
- Local council planning induction training
- Current COVID rules
- COVID-19 legislation support webinars
- Re-opening high streets safely
|
- Your G7 questions answered
- Growth and Skills Hub Live Q&A
- Funded support for residents
- Bank holiday health services
- Parking charges
- Gee Seven
- Important support
|
|
Gypsy and Traveller unauthorised encampments
As we enter the holiday season, it is likely that we will see an increase in unauthorised encampments in Cornwall. Cornwall Council has produced a briefing note on the Gypsy and Traveller Unauthorised Encampment Policy, which town and parish councils may find helpful.
The briefing note explains the process that has to be followed and the timescales that apply, including:
- Cornwall Council’s approach to Gypsy and Traveller unauthorised encampments
- The powers available to different agencies
- The decision-making process that must be followed in order to move encampments on
|
|
Road surface dressing season begins
Cormac’s annual programme of surface dressing work will soon be taking place. This year over 90km (more than 585,000 square metres) of Cornwall’s roads will get a new surface dressing to extend the life of the road, prevent water getting under the surface, and improve skid-resistance.
Work will start on 1 June and continue until the beginning of August while the weather is warm and dry. Surface Dressing requires optimum road surface temperatures to ensure the treatment is effective and as such it can only be carried out between the months of April and August.
The teams will work on the heavily trafficked areas and main roads first so they are complete before the start of the school holidays. Signs will be placed to advise residents and road users of upcoming works.
You can find out which roads will be treated over the coming weeks on Cormac’s programming page. Although the programme is available in advance, the work is very weather dependent. This means the schedule is flexible and dates can change at short notice.
To allow the work to be completed safely, roads will be closed and diversions will be in place. It’s important that road users keep to the speed limits imposed.
For more information a fact sheet is available to download here.
|
|
Local council planning induction training
Cornwall Council is offering planning induction training to all local councils via Microsoft Teams events on:
Tuesday 22 June, 12 noon – 1pm:
- National, Local and Neighbourhood Planning Policy
Wednesday 23 June, 10am – 11.15am:
- Development Management
- Getting Involved
Thursday 24 June, 10am – 11.15am:
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Appeals
Local councils can nominate two delegates plus one reserve for each event. Spaces are limited, so clerks are asked to coordinate bookings please.
Recordings of the sessions will be available to all local councils after 24 June. The presentations from the event will also be published on Cornwall Council’s Local councils webpage.
To book a place
Clerks should email positiveplanning@cornwall.gov.uk by 5pm on Friday 11 June and include:
- Names and email addresses of their delegates (maximum of two places plus one reserve)
- Local council being represented
- The sessions the delegates wish to attend. This can be all three or different local councillors for different dates.
Joining instructions, including the Teams meeting link, will be sent direct to confirmed delegates by 18 June.
Privacy notice
If you’re using a personal email address for parish council business, this will be used to enable you to access Microsoft Teams in order to attend meetings. Your email address will be shared with Cornwall Council and will only be used for the purpose of managing meetings.
|
|
Current COVID rules
Cornwall Council’s Public Health team is urging everyone to follow the new Government rules which came into effect on 17 May, get tested twice a week with free Lateral Flow (LFD) kits and have the vaccine when invited. Those aged 34 or over, or who will turn 34 before 1 July 2021, are currently eligible for vaccinations.
People should also self-isolate immediately and book a confirmatory PCR test if they experience COVID symptoms.
In brief, the rule changes from 17 May are:
- You can now meet indoors as two households or as part of a group of six. This includes pubs and restaurants.
- Gatherings of up to 30 people are allowed outdoors.
- Indoor entertainment and attractions can open.
- Overnight stays are now permitted for two households or groups of six.
- Organised indoor sport for adults can take place.
- Care home residents can have up to five named visitors and more visits out of their care home.
- Up to 30 people can attend weddings, receptions, wakes, bar mitzvahs and christenings.
- The number of mourners at funerals is based on venue capacity.
- All outdoor entertainment can take place, including performances.
- All accommodation can reopen, including hotels, hostels and B&Bs.
- Some large events will be allowed.
- Some international travel is now permitted, but not to ‘red list’ countries.
|
|
COVID-19 legislation support webinars
Cornwall Council’s Business Regulatory Support team is running more free support webinar on COVID rules and regulations for businesses, town and parish councils, and voluntary and community groups in May and June.
The next sessions will be:
• Tuesday 25 May at 3pm – Event organisers’ special. Sign up on Eventbrite.
• Thursday 3 June at 11am – Preparing for Step 4 and summer. Register on Eventbrite.
You can also catch up with recordings of previous webinars online.
If you have any questions that you want to put to the team prior to the webinar, please email them to businessadvice@cornwall.gov.uk.
|
|
Re-opening high streets safely
Cornwall Council has been working with town and parish councils and local businesses to put lots of COVID-safety measures in place so local shopping areas can reopen safely for everyone to enjoy once again. This includes signage with social distancing and face covering reminders in high streets and on train station platforms and at the airport, one-way traffic flow and designated pedestrian-only areas, and hand sanitiser stations.
To bring this message further into our local communities, on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through to the end of June, stilt walkers will be making appearances in towns across Cornwall to remind people to do their bit to keep each other safe. This has been arranged by the Reopening High Streets Safely Fund which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Look out for them in:
- Bude: Thursday 20 May
- Bodmin: Friday 21 May
- Saltash: Saturday 22 May
- Camborne: Thursday 27 May
- Hayle: Friday 28 May
- Newquay: Saturday 29 May
Watch this space for where they’ll be living the high life in June.
|
|
Your G7 questions answered
Head for Cornwall Council’s Facebook live events and the G7 Summit website for the latest on the preparations for the G7 Summit.
Facebook live events
Cornwall Council and its partners have been hosting Facebook live question and answer sessions covering the ways different aspects of the summit will impact on local communities. The next one will take place on Wednesday 26 May at 6pm on Cornwall Council’s Facebook page. In the meantime, you can watch recordings of the previous Facebook live events on the Council’s Facebook page.
You don’t need a Facebook account to watch the live event or the recordings.
G7 Summit website
There’s also a dedicated G7 website www.dc.police.uk/G7 providing up-to-the minute information. It includes a news section and answers to the most frequently asked questions. There are localised maps of the affected areas, which show road closures and restrictions, along with diverted routes, that people in and around the area can use to plan their journeys. Find out more about traffic management measures here.
|
|
Growth and Skills Hub Live Q&A
Growth and Skills Hub Operations Manager Stu Anderson is hosting a live question and answer session for town and parish councillors on free support available to businesses in your area.
The webinar takes place on Tuesday 8 June at 10am.
Sign up to learn more about free business support and how it can help businesses in your area. If you can’t watch live, sign up and you’ll be sent a recording after the broadcast.
|
|
Funded support for residents
Join Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Growth Programme’s webinar on Monday 24 May at 1.30pm to hear the latest on the funded support available to people across Cornwall and Isles of Scilly on issues such as:
• Employment
• Redundancy
• Skills development
• Retraining
• Volunteering
• Health and wellbeing initiatives
This event is aimed at anyone working in an advisory or support role, such as careers, employment support, voluntary community services, health and social services, foodbanks or housing.
Register here.
The first part of the webinar will outline the bespoke, independent, and FREE support on offer to individuals. It will also provide details of the dedicated signposting service available to them through the People Hub – no matter what their circumstance.
During the second part there will be an opportunity to ask further questions of the presenters.
Those presenting on the webinar include:
- Josh Hoole, project manager at the People Hub
- Gemma Aldin from the Job Centre Plus
- Frances Brennan, Chair of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership Employment and Skills Board
For more information visit the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Growth Programme website.
|
|
Bank holiday health services
With another bank holiday coming up on 31 May, the NHS is asking everyone to be prepared to use the right service. Please share this information with people in your area.
For those who need urgent – but not emergency – medical care when their own GP is not open, NHS 111 can be contacted online or by phone any time, day or night.
People should not turn up at the minor injuries units (MIU) or urgent treatment centres (UTC) without contacting 111 first. After contacting 111, those who need to attend an MIU or UTC will be given an arrival time, which will help everyone continue to follow Government guidance, maintain distance and keep people safe while COVID continues to circulate.
Anyone who is on holiday or visiting from another part of the country and needs non-urgent advice should call their own GP – not the one closest to where they’re staying in Cornwall.
Pharmacists across Cornwall will be available during the bank holiday weekend and can provide expert, confidential advice and over the counter remedies for minor injuries and illnesses.
Anyone with serious or life-threatening illnesses or injuries should dial 999.
|
|
Parking charges
Parking charges were reintroduced in Cornwall Council car parks as of Monday 17 May, in line with the latest stage of the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown. Charging had been suspended in Cornwall Council car parks in January to limit the spread of coronavirus and help those working from home find a parking space.
As the Council has implemented its own Healthcare parking permit scheme, Government-issued NHS Free Parking Passes are no longer being accepted in Cornwall Council car parks or where on-street restrictions are in place. More than 2,500 Cornwall Council permits have already been issued to healthcare professionals working in local communities. These permits enable the holder to park safely on yellow lines, maximising the time they can spend delivering care to local residents in their homes.
Car park users are encouraged to use the JustPark app, a touchless system using their own mobile phone. There is also an option to buy batches of reduced rate parking sessions via JustPark for most long stay car parks.
|
|
Gee Seven
Truro Cathedral’s 35 choristers aged 8-18 are rallying schools and choirs from around the world to sing Gee Seven, a new joyful but poignant song by Peter Hobbs and Sir Tim Rice. It’s directed at world leaders as they gather in Cornwall in June for the 2021 G7 Summit. An emotive music video has been produced, and over 13,000 voices have signed up so far from 18 countries. Sing2G7 has recently released the Gee Seven single, and with schools throughout UK already learning the song, numbers are rising daily, with 50,000 being the target by the time Summit begins.
The song is just one way of putting young voices at the heart of world affairs. There’s also Cornwall Council’s Y7Cornwall website designed to celebrate and inspire a generation as Cornwall prepares to host the G7 Summit. It’s being developed with the support of young people and will be packed with ways for them to get involved and get their voices heard. Young people are already recording one minute messages to tell world leaders what they want them to do.
|
|
Important support
For vaccine questions, please email nhskernowccg.ciosc19vaccine@nhs.net or visit the NHS Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group’s website.
Please send all other coronavirus related enquiries or issues to Cornwall Council’s dedicated email address covid19@cornwall.gov.uk. Residents can also ring 0300 1231 118 for any COVID-19 related queries.
You can see the latest COVID-19 data for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly on Cornwall Council’s website.
Cornwall Council has a dedicated telephone line 0300 1234 334 specifically for residents who are in the clinically extremely vulnerable group.
Find out more about Cornwall Association of Local Councils at www.cornwallalc.org.uk or email enquiries@cornwallalc.org.uk.
Anyone who needs help can request a volunteer by ringing Volunteer Cornwall on 01872 266988 or emailing requestforhelp@volunteercornwall.org.uk.
Community volunteers can register with Volunteer Cornwall on their website or by emailing mid@volunteercornwall.org.uk. Volunteer Cornwall will match people who ring up needing help with the community volunteers in their local area – or, if they have more complex needs, with specialist services.
Support for those living with domestic abuse is available from Safer Futures. People can make a referral online, email saferfutures@firstlight.org.uk or ring 0300 777 4777. There is also refuge and support via the Cornwall Refuge Trust website and their 24 hour helpline 01872 225629.
There’s information about support for those facing hardship or redundancy, including help with food, benefits and council tax, on the Do you need a helping hand? page on Cornwall Council’s website.
Find out more about the support available for businesses here: Support for businesses and Growth Hub.
|
|
|
|
