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Thursday, October 20, 2022
FOOD BANK TO BENEFIT FROM GRANT Share of £90k will help vital service cope with unprecedented demand matthew.panter@mnamedia.co.uk port which he says will be crucial as he anticipates things ‘getting worse’ for families following a government U-turn on energy. New Chancellor Jeremy Hunt dramatically scaled back support for household energy bills this week. He said the energy price guarantee – which had been due to cap prices for two years – will end in April. “As a food bank we will be very grateful to receive extra funding,” Mr Partridge said. “It will help us to provide extra food to help our clients at this challenging time and we thank Telford & Wrekin Council for their support. We have been fortunate to receive a lot of help from the community, with schools and churches bringing us donations as
a result of Harvest Festival. Lots of hard work is now going on to sort donations for distribution.” He added: “We are still very busy and its only going to get worse with the energy situation and the fact costs are now only being frozen until April. We will wait to see how things pan out as a result of that.” Councillor Paul Watling, Telford & Wrekin Cabinet member for stronger and safer communities, said: “As part of the council’s support around the cost of living crisis, we are providing additional funding to organisations that provide free food parcels. It is devastating that so many people in our borough are struggling to afford the basics. As a co-operative council we are committed to funding charitable organisations but they still need your help with donations.”
School is recognised for its eco-credentials Newport Girls’ High School has been hailed for its green credentials. The school has received Eco Schools Green Flag Status with merit for 2022/23. To achieve this accolade, the school had to perform exceptionally well against a number of criteria, from biodiversity, to waste, to litter. SustaiNGHS – the school’s eco committee – has been the principal driver behind the award and
members were delighted to receive the merit award. They undertook a range of different projects across all aspects of the environment including craft projects, environmental awareness and learning about seasonal wildlife. Some of the notable achievements which helped the group on its journey to success were setting up the school’s second-hand uniform initiative and attending the first climate
change conference for young people in Telford and Wrekin. The group will be undertaking many new projects in the future, including aspects such as water management and use, recycling and waste. Headteacher Michael Scott said: “It is inspiring to lead a school with such passionate eco-students. Our SustaiNGHS group, spearheaded by Mrs Gill, provides a voice for positive change in our local area.”
Ready to plant in Newport are councillors Peter Scott, left, and Tim Nelson
Ambitions to bring back ‘green vision of Newport’ Councillors want to bring back a ‘green vision of Newport’ after pledging funds to a tree scheme for the town centre. Councillors Peter Scott and Tim Nelson say they have jointly agreed to use money from their Telford & Wrekin pride fund to pay for trees and pots to be used in the High Street. They say they will more than a dozen initially with the plan to increase the number if feedback from the public is positive. “Going back decades, there used to be a lot of trees on the High Street,” said Mr Scott. “In recent times, people I have spoken to have started to say, ‘it’s a shame we have lost all the trees’.
“We used to have them in places like Audley Avenue as well and we lost them. The High Street is wide so we have discussed how we can re-introduce them. “You can’t put them into the ground as it causes issues so Tim and I have said we could fund some that are put into large pots that are movable. We will start with a dozen or so and choose what we feel are the right types of trees. If the trial is successful, maybe businesses can have a tree and a pot outside their shops.” The joint venture between the councillors, working alongside Newport in Bloom, could see the trees introduced in the spring.
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Telford Crisis Support and Telford & Wrekin Interfaith Council have already received support for delivering seven-day a week food provision across the borough and catering for cultural needs. And Newport Food Bank and Dawley Christian Centre are among those also set to benefit from a share of funding. Matt Partridge, Newport Food Bank manager, welcomed the sup-
MATTHEW PANTER
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Food banks across the borough – including the one in Newport – are to receive a share of £90,000 from Telford & Wrekin Council to help cope with unprecedented demand for their services.
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