Bridgwater Tidal Barrier on the agenda at Public Drop-In session

Bridgwater's Maritime heritage back on the agenda
Bridgwater’s Maritime heritage back on the agenda

There will be a drop-in information session on Thursday, March 10th between 1400 hrs and 1900 hrs at Bridgwater Art Centre in Castle Street for people to hear the latest news about the proposed Bridgwater Tidal Barrier on the River Parrett.

The Environment Agency and Sedgemoor District Council are working in partnership to deliver the barrier by 2024, subject to funding and approvals. Back in December, CH2MHill were appointed as consultants to explore various technical options for the design and over the next 18 months, will be looking at a range of potential locations, gate arrangements and operating regimes for the barrier. This is an opportunity to ensure that all thoughts and opinions are taken into consideration, and so people are invited to pop along and chat to the project team. Continue reading “Bridgwater Tidal Barrier on the agenda at Public Drop-In session”

Residents Parking: We Dared to Dream…

Kings Square
Kings Square

Yes it was more than 4 years ago that residents of Westover said PLEASE can we have a residents parking scheme and councillors said ‘we’ll support that, but only in the streets that really really want them’ and so we asked Somerset County Council, but then it took all that time to get them to actually introduce the schemes and now..NOW…they’re almost.. ALMOST  here. We dared to dream, but dare we risk open our waking eyes to see what the new world looks like??

Well, if you look around Westover today you’ll see a series of roads marked out saying ‘Permit Holders only’…which means that dream is now pretty much a reality. However, it’s a little confusing. We’re not sure that they’ve marked out the right streets (and they certainly can’t have finished the job yet) and people aren’t yet sure how to obtain their permits. On top of this, visitors and people from areas not involved in the schemes are naturally wondering what’s going on and how it affects them. Continue reading “Residents Parking: We Dared to Dream…”

International Women’s Day Display at Bridgwater Library

wom 1Equalities Officer for the Bridgwater & Taunton Unite Community Branch, Sarah Shaw, is organising a display in Bridgwater Library from the 7th March until the 12th March in celebration of International Women’s Day which is on 8th March.

You can see the exhibition here.

 What is International Women’s Day?

Inspired by America’s National Women’s Day in 1909, the first International Women’s Day was celebrated on 19 March 1911 when a million women and men rallied in support of women’s rights to vote, work, train and end discrimination. In 1913, the date was moved to 8 March, and it has remained on this day ever since. It gradually became more of a truly international celebration, and the UN firmly got behind International Women’s Day in 1977 – as a day to “reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination in the history of women’s rights”.

It is a collective day of global celebration, where we celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women –whilst also acknowledging a call to action for equality. Despite the amazing achievements and contributions of women from all walks of life, we still have a way to go before we achieve true gender equality.

Celebrating International Women’s Day in Bridgwater

Event organiser is Bridgwater mother Sarah Shaw
Event organiser is Bridgwater mother Sarah Shaw

To celebrate International Women’s Day in Bridgwater, we asked individuals and community groups to nominate a woman, or women, who have made a difference, or who have inspired them. The results are shown here in this display, from internationally famous women to historical women, from the positive female characters in children’s literature to local women making a difference in the lives of individuals and in their community. The nominations will also be available to view on our website http://bridgwater.unitecommunity.org

You can also complete one of the blank cards in the library with your own nomination to add to our community display.

Event organiser Sarah Shaw says “It has been a true honour and privilege to collate your nominations and read about how all of these wonderful women have touched your lives – thank you.”

Bridgwater & Taunton Unite Community Group

Union Events at Engine Room

prideA couple of events this week with a Union flavour to them are being sponsored at Bridgwater’s ENGINE ROOM in the High Street.

PRIDE

On Thursday 25th February there will be a special benefit screening of the BAFTA award winning comedy ‘PRIDE’ which was released in 2014 and tells the true story of a London based group of gay and lesbian activists involvement in the 1984 Miners Strike and their attempts to raise money to support strikers families in a small South Wales mining village. The event is sponsored by the Rail union RMT as part of LGBT history month and will be introduced by David ‘Dai’ Donovan, the Welsh miner whose story the film tells.
The film starts at 8pm and tickets cost £5 with £3 concessions and are available from the Engine Room.

GET ONLINE IN BRIDGWATER

unite engOn Friday 26th February UNITE COMMUNITY Union will be hosting a drop-in session at the Engine Room called “Get online in Bridgwater”.

Councillor Brian Smedley will introduce useful websites relating to the local area and Unite organiser Sam Quigley will have a number of free online learning tools available. Tea, coffee and light nibbles will be available. The session will run from 11am – 1pm.

Sam, a UNITE the UNION learning Organiser says “The Engine Room is a great meeting space. Brian Smedley will be delivering a session on great websites that will give you information on what is happening in the Bridgwater Area. I will be available to offer information, advice and guidance regarding Learning Opportunities through Unite the Union as well as a number of free sites, supporting learning. Coffee and tea will be available, so why not pop along. Meet new people and find out what is happening in Bridgwater”

‘Carry On Kerry’ says Sedgemoor Scrutiny Committee

SDC CEO Kerry Rickards "An inspirational leader"
SDC CEO Kerry Rickards -“Inspirational leadership” under scrutiny

Sedgemoor’s under fire Chief Executive Kerry Rickards, lambasted in the press as ‘two job chief exec’ and ‘paid more than the Prime Minister’ had his chance to redeem himself today at the Corporate Scrutiny committee chaired by Westover Councillor Brian Smedley.

“The concern has been that the Chief Exec had received a large pay rise that had been agreed behind closed doors and that this wasn’t setting a good example at a time of austerity, not just for staff but also amongst the general public when the council was facing stark choices in it’s budget set and at the same time seeking joint working with other councils.” Cllr Smedley explained “It was therefore important that this was all fully explained and in the public eye so that Sedgemoor could be seen to be open and transparent and to have acted correctly and that due process and policies had been followed. The meeting today agreed that it had.”
Continue reading “‘Carry On Kerry’ says Sedgemoor Scrutiny Committee”