|
Local People
Local Pride!
|
Cheltenham Connect is a rapidly growing local community initiative that aims to strengthen and empower the residential and trading areas of South Cheltenham.
It is run as a membership association and is overseen by a small group of dedicated volunteer residents (most of whom have other daytime jobs!)
It is open to anyone who either lives or works in the area.
|
|
See our website
Members of the core group meet very informally every Wednesday evening at the Exmouth Arms
7pm to 9pm.
If you want to get involved or have any ideas come and meet us!
|
Who are we?
| Wendy - Chair
Clare - Secretary
Dave - Treasurer
Scarlett - Buy Local
Becky & Stuart - Go Green
Belinda- Skillspace
Jennifer - Community
Vanessa - Wellbeing
Debbie - Media and PR
plus all the other members of the CC networks.
|
|
Email us
CC Buy Local (Scarlett)
CC Go Green (Stuart)
CC Skillspace (Belinda)
CC Community (Jennifer)
|
|
|
| Transition Town Cheltenham | 
| | Transition Town Cheltenham have a new leaflet which explains all the good work that they are involved in. You can download it
here
|
Become a sponsor of Cheltenham Connect
| We are actively looking for people to help us grow. If you can help in any way let us know.
|
|
Cheltenham Connect is the proud recipient of a second Cheltenham Borough Council Community Pride Grant
|
|
|
|
|
|
APRIL 2012 UPDATE
IN THIS NEWSLETTER
Latest News
Cheltenham Connect AGM
Cash Draw winners
Olympic torch in South Cheltenham
Parking consultation
Jubilee event
Rethinking our big events
WHAT'S COMING UP - KEY DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
10th April: Skillspace - Federation of Small Businesses
17th April: Meet and Eat
25th April: Cheltenham Connect AGM
8th May: SkillSpace - Show and Tell
18th May: Quiz evening at the Brown Jug
23rd May: Olympic Torch relay in Cheltenham
2nd - 4th June: Hullabaloo Festival
12th June: SkillSpace - Google+
5th July: wine tasting at the Brown Jug | |
| |
Latest news
| Cheltenham Connect AGM
We're holding our AGM at Cheltenham Bowling Club in Suffolk Square on Wednesday 25th April from 7pm-9pm. This is YOUR opportunity to see what we have done over the last year and to have a say in what you'd like us to add or change - as well as suggesting your own ideas. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved in events and activities. Please come along and help us strengthen our community. If possible please let us know in advance if you're coming by emailing contact@cheltenhamconnect.co.uk so we have an idea of numbers. Cash Draw - only £1 a month!  The cash draw winner for February was Mrs Barbara Wills of Leckhampton. The cash draw winner for March is Graham Stopher of Tivoli. If you would like to have a chance to win, you can print out the cash draw leaflet here and the standing order form here.
Olympic torch in South Cheltenham
On 23rd May the Olympic torch will be coming through our part of town at about 6pm. The route will take the torch from Shurdington Road into Bath Road, Montpellier Terrace, Montpellier Walk and past the Queen's Hotel to the Promenade. From the corner of the Promenade and St. George's Road, the relay will then proceed along the Promenade against the normal flow of traffic and continue along the pedestrianised area in front of Cavendish House towards Boots Corner. It will then turn right onto the High Street before taking a left to continue along Pittville Street, Portland Street and then following Evesham Road all the way to the Racecourse.
Help with bunting
The Bath Road Traders Association are organising some fun activities for the road and are currently looking for people to help provide plain materials (red, white, blue, black, yellow and green) for the bunting. They have requested that you drop items into the shop Cook near the Norwood roundabout. Joan Clifford, from Emmanuel Church, has then offered to make the bunting and donations will also be gratefully received from those who wish to financially contribute. Please email cheltenham@cookfood.net for more details.
So come out onto the Bath Road and join in the celebrations!
Parking Consultation
Thanks to everyone who attended the parking consultation drop-in session in November.
The Suffolks: the Council is collating and analysing the consultation responses and expects a decision to be taken by the end of May 2012.
The Bath Road and surrounding streets: waiting restriction changes are proposed as part of the Road Safety Scheme to be implemented on Bath Road. These are to accommodate the safety features and to increase and improve parking along the road and in surrounding streets. Further information is available on the council's website, together with details on how to go about making objections should you wish to do so.
Jubilee event
Having looked at the costs of running the Naunton Park picnic (and the amount of work involved) the steering group decided that, with so much else already going on that weekend, the financial risks of running our own event were too great.
Instead we are planning to partner with the Hullabaloo Arts and Music Festival, which is being held at Burley Fields Lake in Leckhampton. The Green Group is currently helping the event organisers develop their environmental policy. We hope to put on a big display about everything that we have done so far, as well as the new history exhibition. All Cheltenham Connect members will receive a 20% discount on the ticket price and you can book your tickets here.
Rethinking our big events
After receiving feedback from the Bath Road Traders' Association (BARTA) that they were not happy with us running our big events on the Bath Road - as they felt that we were adversely affecting trade over the weekends in question - we are rethinking our plans for the year and are currently not planning to run the summer festival. We may also seek an alternative venue for the Christmas Fair.
We are sad about this as these events were such well supported and family friendly occasions, with an average of 2,500 to 3,000 local residents attending and fantastic feedback, but we are equally keen to ensure that, especially in tough trading times, we do not impact negatively on the traders as that is the exact opposite of what we set out to do! The events were also an enormous amount of work for such a small volunteer-run organisation.
Hopefully we have helped to put South Cheltenham firmly on the map in terms of being the most exciting part of town though - and we aim to work with BARTA and other local organisations to keep it that way. One of the issues that this raises, however, is that the raffles that we held at the two big events enabled us cover our running costs and match-fund grants and we will now have to look at other ways to do this.
|
|
| Buy Local Group | |
Local Trading History Exhibition 16-17 March- Bethesda Church Hall
We received some great feedback about the local trading history exhibition that we held at Bethesda Church Hall on 16th and 17th March. The exhibition included our film about the tramroad and the video recordings ofthe children intervieiwng local residents. Here's how the Echo covered the event:
You can read all about the project via our history website www.cheltenhamsouthtown.org and the book can be ordered here (unfortunately we couldn't keep the cost down because we self-published with a very small initial run). We are immensely grateful to everyone who helped over the weekend - especially Tony Lloyd from TL Property Services who at the last minute helped us pick up and return the university's large exhibition panels.
Connect Street Scheme
The first phase of the project has now been confirmed and will soon see the introduction of three new planters on the road island near the Norwood Triangle. In order to save money the planters will be put in at the same time as the county council extends the island as part of the new road safety scheme.
For phase two of the project we are currently hoping to see new bins, new cycle racks, newly painted bollards and lamp-posts, a renovated seat, new boundary signs and interpretation signs. We have also just been awarded a £3,200 public art grant that may pay for a Bath Road clock! You can keep up to date with the project via the website www.connectmystreet.org
To contact the Buy Local group please email scarlett@cheltenhamconnect.co.uk
__________________________________________________________
|
|
| Go Green Group |
|
Get involved in local renewables
Our friends at the newly created Gloucestershire Community Energy Co-op (GCEC), which has already successfully installed solar pv panels on the roof of the Gloucester Resource Centre, has launched its share prospectus which you can download from their website. Anyone over the age of 16 can become a member of the Co-op by buying at least £240 worth of shares. All members will have one vote regardless of the size of their shareholding. The maximum investment is £20,000.
They are looking to raise £105,000 to replace the short-term loans that were made to get the panels installed before the Feed-in Tariff rated was reduced in December. The offer closes on Saturday 21st April (or before if the offer is fully subscribed before then). This could be a great way for you to become involved in local renewable energy.
ECOHAB Open Buildings 2012
Following the success of the Eco Homes event in 2011 we are partnering with Vision 21 and Transition Town Cheltenham to run
ECOHAB 2012, which will aim to showcase local homes and buildings that have been adapted to save energy and reduce running costs. The event will coincide with the UK-wide Heritage Open Days over the weekend of 8th-9th September. If you have a suitable property and are willing to open it to the public, please contact us on 07526 668 696.
To contact the Go Green group please email stuart@cheltenhamconnect.co.uk
|
|
|
 Skillspace Group
Forthcoming meetings
April 10th: Dave Battrick from the Federation of Small Businesses.
Belinda, our SkillSpace co-ordinator, recently joined the FSB and within three days of joining had cause to use their free legal helpline. The FSB has over 200,000 members nationally. At this event you'll find out more about what they offer and how to join and attend local events.
May 8th: "Show and Tell".
Anyone can talk for 2-3 minutes about something that interests them. It might be an aspect of your business, a hobby, an article you have written, a holiday you have been on or just a concept you want to share. Please email belinda@cheltenhamconnect.co.uk to book your slot.
June 12th: Google+ with Jonathan Pollinger of Intranet Future. Google+ is the up and coming social media platform and everyone with a website should be using it as it seriously improves your search engine ranking. Jonathan will tell us more about how to use Google+ successfully.
All Cheltenham Connect Skillspace meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month at the Beehive, Montpellier Villas, and start at 7.30pm with an opportunity to network with other members.
Connect Business 2012
We are starting to plan the SkillSpace Connect Business Day 2012. If you would like to help in any small way to shape the event, please do let Belinda know, as we are just working out the format, location etc. for the day. Email belinda@cheltenhamconnect.co.uk
Laptop Friday
We meet every Friday morning at Maison Chaplais, Andover Road, Tivoli. Come and join us for a coffee, cake and some co-working. It's a 'water cooler moment' for those of us who work from home!
To contact the Skillspace group please email belinda@cheltenhamconnect.co.uk
|
 |
Community Group
|
Events team
We were delighted to have such a fantastic response to our call for a new events team and the ideas discussed at the first meeting include a quiz, wine tasting, event linked to the Olympics, Happiness Week, autumn fair, swishing (clothes swapping), children's clothes and toys sale, murder mystery and Cheltenham's Got Talent! Please let jenny@cheltenhamconnect.co.uk know if you would like to be involved.
Meet and Eat 17th April
"MEET AND EAT" is a new regular event we are going to run where we will go and dine at some of South Cheltenham's fabulous restaurants. It's a social event where you can meet new people and enjoy some great food!
The first event is at 7.30pm on Tuesday 17th April at the Suffolk Kitchen, the new restaurant in Suffolk Parade which is championing local produce. We will be having two courses and a glass of wine for £15. There will also be a raffle running on the evening. We will receive the menu choices the week before, so will be contacting you then for your choices and your payment in advance.
You can book your place here. PLEASE BOOK ASAP SO WE HAVE AN IDEA OF NUMBERS. If you have any queries, please contact belinda@cheltenhamconnect.co.uk
We have lots of other events in the pipeline, including a Quiz Night on Friday 18th May and Wine Tasting on 5th July, both at the Brown Jug. We'll be setting up a bookings page for the Quiz Night shortly - in the meantime if you'd like more information please contact debbie@cheltenhamconnect.co.uk
Hullabaloo Arts and Music Festival 2nd - 4th June As mentioned above we're partnering with this event, which is being held at Burley Fields Lake in Leckhampton. It describes itself as a family friendly and affordable festival: a mix of quality music with a huge range of children's activities plus comedy, poetry, arts and craft market, displays, exhibitions, workshops, real ales and ciders and much more. There's more information on their website. All Cheltenham Connect members will receive a 20% discount on the ticket price and you can book your tickets here. Children 5 and under are admitted free.
To contact the Community group please email jenny@cheltenhamconnect.co.uk
__________________________________________________________
Health and Wellbeing Group
Happiness
With our new Health and Wellbeing group we have been thinking about happiness and how easily we can change our state from one minute to the next. Most of us were feeling pretty happy a couple of weeks ago when the the sun was shining and the flowers all blooming - Cheltenham at its best. But an unkind or thoughtless comment can so easily bring us crashing down. So can the various worries that accompany our family or our working lives.
Happiness tip
Our tip for the month is to try and step into the shoes of anyone who has upset you and to see yourself through their eyes. What are they thinking and feeling? What would they want to say to you? And then step even further back to be an observer of the whole thing. What actions would this observer suggest to help resolve the situation? Sometimes simply stepping outside a situation can give you the perspective that you need :)
Meditation anyone?
We are looking to set up a Meditation Group. If you're interested in joining please contact vanessa@cheltenhamconnect.co.uk (and feel free to suggest other ideas!)
To contact the Health and Welbeing group please email vanessa@cheltenhamconnect.co.uk
|
Sponsors
It's hard to keep up with our list of sponsors! We are immensely grateful for everyone's help. Please let us know if we have missed you off the list.
See our current sponsors list
|
|
Please feel free to send a copy of this newsletter to anyone that you think might be interested in Cheltenham Connect.
If you are an editor please help us to let people know about Cheltenham Connect by asking for articles/editorial.
It really is all about people power! The Cheltenham Connect Team |
|
|
