See here for details of how everyone can  get involved in keeping the community free of litter this September

Lichfield District Council is backing this year’s Great British September Clean and will be helping residents, community groups, businesses and schools with their clean-up activities by providing litter pickers and bin bags, as well as organising for any waste to be collected afterwards. These are available to book on request, but are subject to demand.

To book litter pickers, bin bags, and waste collection, please contact the council by emailing nicky.haycock@lichfielddc.gov.uk or call 01543 687550. 

Coffee Shop

Dear coffee shop customers and helpers!
I do hope you are all well and are at last able to have some freedom!
We have so missed being together at coffee shop and for the foreseeable future we will remain closed. Hopefully by September we will have a plan to open our doors.
The running of the morning will be slightly different with us adhering to the government guidelines. We will let you know nearer the time.
We just wanted to say we miss you and please stay well until we can all be together again to share friendship and of course CAKE!!

Elford Corona Task Force

Are you worried about Corona Virus, do you need someone to chat to, or someone to go out to the shops for you, walk your dog or maybe pick up a prescription?  If the answer is yes to any of these then we have a team of volunteers who can help.  Just contact either Irene on 07870201323, Becky on 07447450254 or Clare on 07891785820.

Elford Hall Gardens

Boules nights have started again! On a fine evening, it is so lovely in our Walled Garden, to bring a drink or two and meet up for a very informal game and a chat.  Please add the following dates to your diary; 7^th and 21^st August, 4^th and 18^th of September and 2^nd October.

St Peter’s Church

St. Peter's Church Elford has opened its doorsn. We are open for individual prayers and quiet contemplation. (Not for services yet ).  We will be opening on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays 10am-4pm.  Social distancing must be observed and hand sanitizer used on entry and exit too.  There are posters on site and instructions to help guide people safely.

Village Hall

After reviewing current government guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been decided that Elford Village Hall will remain closed in the short term.  This is something that we will review again from September. We have also regrettably, decided to postpone our ‘Events’ program until next year.  We are hoping that the ‘Silent Disco’, Skittles and Fish & Chips’ and ‘Murder Mystery Evening’ events will all be back on course for next year. We are still taking enquiries and bookings for future events, so please get in touch. Enquiries@elfordvillagehall.co.uk

Playground

Parents in Elford will be pleased to know that the playground reopened on Saturday 4^th July. Following government guidelines the Parish Council requests that parents supervise their children, clean their hands and handles etc before and after using the playground equipment, and don't let them eat and drink there. Please observe social distancing guidelines with no more than 6 using the playground at any time. Obviously don't use the playground if showing symptoms of Covid. We will be putting up reminder signs at the playground and on the fitness equipment.

Parish Council

Although we can’t hold our meetings as usual the government has now allowed local councils to hold remote meetings.  As usual if there are any issues you’d like us to deal with, please contact clerk@elfordparish.co.uk or phone 01827 50230.

Ursula Middlemore 07970099141

Council encourages residents to recycle right

Through its shared waste service with Tamworth Borough Council, Lichfield District Council is once again urging its residents to ‘recycle right’ and waste less.

After a recent increase in loads being rejected by the recycling centre, the council is reminding householders across the district to follow its advice about what can and can’t go in blue bins.

To support this, the council will be putting stickers on blue bins to outline the materials that can be recycled and to ask residents not to bag up recycling.

In the past the council has accepted recycling in clear bags, but from now on the council will not collect any bagged up waste in blue bins. This is because it has been finding too much contaminated waste in bags once opened.

The stickers also remind households that only the following items can go in blue bins:

·         Paper, including newspaper, writing paper, envelopes and magazines

·         Cardboard

·         Plastic bottles, tubs and trays

·         Glass jars and bottles

·         Cans and tins

·         Aerosols

They also remind residents that recycling crews will continue to check blue bins, and cannot empty them if they contain materials that cannot be recycled or any bagged waste.

Councillor Richard Cox, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Parks & Waste, said: “We’re asking everyone to be extra careful about what they put in their recycling bins and not to bag up their blue bin waste.

“Our high recycling rates reflect residents’ hard work sorting their rubbish, but recently we’ve had a number of loads rejected by the recycling centre.

“The environmental impact of one contaminated bin can be huge, as it can cause an entire truckload to be rejected, meaning it all ends up in landfill or being incinerated. It’s also expensive - if the recent pattern continues it could cost us around £250,000 extra a year.

“Most residents are great at recycling, remembering to rinse out food and drink containers and not to bag up recycling. If you do want to use a bin liner in the home, simply tip out the recycling into your blue bin and re-use the bag.

“I hope we can bring our recycling efforts back up to previous standards. It will help our waste and recycling crews, save resources, and help the environment.”

To check what can and can’t go in your blue bin, go to www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/bluebins.

See the following County Council site for details of funding for community groups

https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Coronavirus/I-can-help/COVID-19-Support-Fund/COVID-19-support-fund.aspx

Each County Councillor has funding available to support community organisations affected by Covid-19.

Please see the link for details

https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Coronavirus/I-can-help/COVID-19-Support-Fund/COVID-19-support-fund.aspx

The Parish Council has now shelved this proposal.  The bus company and School Transport team had safety concerns and it would have been too near to parked vehicles. It has been decided that there is no suitable alternative site for a shelter for school pupils waiting for their coach. There is a possibility that it may be possible to locate it as a seat elsewhere in the village, and local organisations will be approached to see if they would like to have it.