- As of Monday 4th March, the Cottingham Road bridge in Corby has been subject to a partial closure as vital work takes place to improve safety for bridge users. Vehicles will still be able to use the bridge; however, traffic lights will be in place with motorists advised to allow additional time for their journey. Pedestrian access will continue to be maintained throughout the work. Over six weeks, Network Rail teams will be working to remove the current crash barrier so that it can be strengthened and subsequently reinstalled at an increased height. The bridge is set to reopen on Saturday 27th April 2019.
- This year, Tesco is marking their centenary since they began 100 years ago. To celebrate, they will be holding a number of local events where local organisations will have more opportunities to benefit from Tesco’s ‘Bags of Help’. This is Tesco’s local community grant scheme which funds thousands of community projects across Britain. So far, through the scheme, Tesco have, since 2016, donated £127,380 to 33 projects in Corby. I really encourage local charities and community groups to apply for grants at Tesco.com/bagsofhelp.
- There is a free training opportunity available for teachers in Corby & East Northamptonshire. As part of the UK Parliament Teacher Ambassador Programme, the Education and Engagement Service will be hosting the next residential ‘Teachers’ Institute’ between the 1st and 3rd July 2019. This is a great opportunity for teachers to experience Parliament first-hand and I really encourage any local teachers or school leaders to apply - application forms are available online at UK Parliament Teacher Ambassador Programme and the closing date is Sunday 21st April 2019.
- Corby’s GROW Festival 2019 is coming up in July! It will be a great weekend of performances, experiences and workshops all over a weekend of fun and entertainment, inspired by the theme of food and feasting over the weekend of Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th July 2019. It will be a great event, so do get it in your diary now!
- The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government have announced that £9 million of additional funding has been allocated for the Garden Communities Programme, expected to deliver 200,000 homes across the country. Delivering a Garden Community carries significant costs which go beyond the typical remit of local authorities, and providing this additional funding ensures that the places the Government are supporting have the resources to fulfil their place-making ambitions. This seed funding will help councils get on with the job of planning the properties, paving the way for private sector investment in building those new homes. The North Northants Garden Communities, for example, will be receiving a boost of £725,000 in new funding to help drive design and delivery, with a further £300,000 awarded to East Northamptonshire Council to support the delivery of Tresham Garden Village on the Deenethorpe Airfield site. Very welcome news and I look forward to working with the local teams to make sure this money is put to good use and we get these new homes built, alongside the appropriate infrastructure to support them.
- A great new opportunity for small charities in Corby & East Northamptonshire – DFID have launched their Small Charities Challenge Fund (SCCF), an exciting funding opportunity for small local charities. This is the first DFID fund designed specifically for small British charities, and to date, £2.7million has been committed to 55 small charities delivering a diverse range of projects. The closing date for the next review of applications is Thursday 28th March 2019. If you’re interested, or know of a local charity who would benefit from this, more information, including an example application form, can be found online at: www.ukaiddirect.org/apply/sccf/.
If you have anything you would like to be featured next week, please email me all the details to pursglovet@parliament.uk.
Also, if you have taken any photos of constituency landscapes or landmarks, which could be featured in my ‘Community Notices’ headers, please send them in and I will try to use as many of them as possible (and credit them accordingly!), as a celebration of the fantastic place we live and work in. I know we have many budding photographers in our community and it would be great to showcase their work!