Member of Staffordshire County Council representing Lichfield Rural East – Cabinet Member for Adults and Wellbeing

These volunteers give up so much of their time to help others in life and death situations…

Tame community first responders were established about a year ago to cover the rural areas around Tamworth and the town itself.

A group of volunteers who are trained to very near paramedic standards, they are there to support the ambulance service and being community based can get to emergencies and incidents much faster than their fully qualified colleagues.

Fundraising firmly underway to pay for their specially kitted out vehicle

They are not in any way there to replace the main ambulance service but that faster response time can be crucial and life saving in some medical emergencies.

I’ve supported the group from my County Members’ funding scheme a couple of times because as well as doing an amazing job they actually pay for much of the equipment from their own pockets as they don’t get any financial help, only advice and training, from the ambulance service.

A dedicated bunch of people, as well as being at the heart of life and death situations they are on strict and regular rotas so there is cover the whole time but no chance of dodging a shift because they don’t fancy it.

But with that responsibility comes great satisfaction and enthusiasm for what they do. And they’ve recently forked out for a replacement vehicle which is far better fitted out than the first one that the group started with.

So fundraising is now well underway because it is the group members who have underwritten the cost. I’ll be actively looking for further funding to help them out because rural areas around Tamworth receive much faster emergency medical cover because of their dedication.

Just a few pounds will help so if you can support them with a small donation you can find out how here.

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Absolutely packed when I got to Drayton Bassett for their annual summer fair…

It’s been going for a few years now as part of the growing number of events organised by a community group in the village known as the VEGs (village entertainment group).

Always busy, a combination of the nice weather and a growing show saw even more people turn out this year. The, now, traditional welly-wanging, Morris Dancers, loads of stalls, pigeon racing, animal displays and traditional rural activities were enjoyed by over a thousand people.

Excellent community spirit from Drayton Bassett people and valuable funds raised to help with future events and local organisations.

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HS2, the national project supported by the previous and coallition government, would devastate our local area…

And not just in Staffordshire. It would also cut a swathe through the green and pleasant land of England across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire.

Drayton Bassett, Hints, Weeford, skirting Whittington and onto Lichfield

Up and down those counties people affected are organising themselves into campaigning groups against the proposals and the three County Councils are organising public meetings to inform communities of the details and to provide advice.

In Staffordshire, the County Council is currently doing the same and public meeting(s) will take place in the Lichfield and Tamworth area sometime over the next month.

Details will be publicised in southern Staffordshire media and I’ll also notify everyone registered for my HS2 email update ring.

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This is remarkably similar to the situation that kicked off the amazing Elford Walled Gardens restoration…

You may recall the efforts that went into persuading Birmingham City Council to grant a lease to a community group so they could restore and make sustainable use of the historic gardens at Elford.

Early days at Elford Hall Gardens with an enthusiastic community group

BCC hold, in trust, a very significant estate around parts of Lichfield and Tamworth. The situation regarding Woodhouse Farm is extraordinarily similar to that which I found at Elford.

It’s an unbelievable four and a half years ago since I started in earnest as a newly elected County Councillor to assist the group at Elford with their Birmingham issue. The Elford Hall Estate had fallen into serious disrepair under their trusteeship and there appeared to me to be a viable way forward in reversing that decline and making the Gardens sustainable as a community asset.

Community support at Woodhouse Farm could lead to something great

And it was some time before the City agreed with that point of view and allowed the community group in Elford to take on the project and grant a lease. The latter only happened in the last few months. The group had barely been able to get Birmingham to speak to them for the first eighteen months.

That said,  Birmingham City Council have more recently been exceptionally enthusiastic and helpful to the Elford group including granting substantial funding towards the restoration work. So a huge turnaround!

Woodhouse Community Farm, near to Fisherwick Lakes, is a longstanding family home which is also held in Trust by Birmingham along the same lines as Elford was.

About eighteen months ago the death of the principle tenant resulted in the City Council serving an eviction notice on the remaining family members. Just like the Elford Hall estate, Birmingham were keen to sell off the property to put cash into the Trust and were less than willing to speak about it.

A lovely setting which could be educational and recreational for everyone

But the Stone family at Woodhouse Farm fought back and over the last year or so have received massive support from local people in their efforts to encourage the City to take a more pragmatic stance.

To be honest, whilst lending moral support to the efforts at Woodhouse  Farm, I’ve been conscious not to jeopardise the progress at Elford. But that progress is now irreversible and solid so I’m very happy and willing to throw any influence I have behind the similar community efforts at Fisherwick.

I’ll be writing to Birmingham and assisting the group in a more proactive way to see if we can together replicate the sensational and motivational outcomes enjoyed at Elford.

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