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Retailers Association
Following the successful retailers
meeting held on 4th February 2010, several
retailers have expressed their interest and
support in setting up a Retailers
Association.
The Town Council will be providing
administration support and have agreed a
budget of £2,000 to assist in promoting the
Town of; this is to be used for advertising
i.e. website/brochures/Trade Fairs.
The inaugural meeting of the Retailers
Association is scheduled for 4th March
2010. All retailers in Newmarket are
invited to attend and it is hoped that the
committee will be decided and its members
appointed at this meeting.
Memorial Gardens Sensory Garden and
Sunflower Challenge
As part of the regeneration of the
Memorial Gardens Play Area, we are
installing a Sensory Garden. The Sensory
Garden is being planted by our Town Keeper,
with assistance from the Foley House Youth
Club, who will also assist with the
management of the garden in the future. The
plants and flowers have kindly been donated
by Newmarket in Bloom.
Sensory gardens are areas deliberately set
out to provide a wide range of sensory
experiences (smell, sight, sound, touch and
taste). They are commonly used for education
because of the different areas which utilise
different senses, allowing people,
particularly children and people with
learning disabilities, to recognise
different senses along the way. Usually, a
sensory garden will also allow users to
touch and feel objects and plants along the
way, use of plants with strong fragrances
and the use of objects and flowers that make
sounds in the wind make the experience ideal
for people with visual and hearing
impairments.
One of the most popular flowers used in
Sensory Garden’s is the Sunflower, ideal
because of its bright colours, large blooms
and textured seeds, the sunflower also
produces edible sunflower seeds. To utilise
the sunflowers assets and to help get local
children involved in our project, we set up
a Sunflower Challenge.
One pupil from each of the Primary and
Middle School’s in Newmarket was invited to
participate in the challenge. Pupil’s from
Ditton Lodge First School, St Felix CEVC
Middle School, Laureate CP School, Fairstead
House, All Saints Primary School and St
Louis RC Primary school attended a Sunflower
seed planting session at the Memorial Hall
on Friday 12th February 2010. The pupil’s
will transplant their seedlings into the
Sensory Garden at the Memorial Gardens Play
Area Opening Event on Saturday 27th March
2010, where they will each receive a
certificate of participation. The Sunflowers
will be measured over a 12 week period and
the Pupil who has the tallest Sunflower will
receive a prize.
A-Boards Update
Plans are currently under way to install
alternative signage within the High Street
to replace A-Boards. The target areas are
the off roads, namely; Sun Lane (including
Palace Street), Rous Road, Old Station Road,
Crown Walk, Market Street and Wellington
Street.
The Town Council has met with retailers
representing these target areas and the Town
Centre Manager and has short listed several
designs and suppliers for the alternative
signage.
Newmarket Town Council are due to meet with
Forest Heath District Council and Suffolk
County Council and following this meeting a
date will be scheduled to hold a
presentation of the designs and retailers
will be given the opportunity to put
questions to the suppliers.
Memorial Gardens Play Area
We are pleased to announce that works on
a major refurbishment for our popular
Memorial Gardens Play Area started on 15th
February 2010. The project was awarded a
grant of £50,000 from the Government backed
Play Builder scheme and funding was also
obtained from the Suffolk County Council
Corporate Regeneration Fund. Cllr Lisa
Chambers, who represents Newmarket and Red
Lodge on Suffolk County Council, has also
contributed £1,000 towards the project from
her locality budget.
The project will include Toddler and Junior
areas with inclusive equipment also suitable
for disabled access. The new equipment being
installed includes an Activity Net with Rope
Bridge, a Cantilever Swing, Free Standing
Music Panels, a Rockblock Climbing
Structure, Totem Poles and a Dual Slide.
There is also DDA specific equipment such as
a DDA Inclusive Roundabout and an Accessible
Swing Seat. The installation is being
carried out by PlayWorld Systems who are
specialists in this field and will be
completed before the end of March 2010.
Whilst these works are being completed the
play area will be out of use to members of
the public, due to Health & Safety
considerations. We apologise for any
inconvenience.
Alongside this project we are also
organising a group of Newmarket based
community volunteers, to assist with the
refurbishment of the existing play equipment
located within the Water Play Area. We have
volunteers from Newmarket CRU, Safer
Neighbourhood Team, Town Pastors, The
Voluntary Network, Foley House Youth Club,
Newmarket Youth Council and students from
Newmarket College are also due to help out
on their extension day on 4th March 2010.
Newmarket Town Council is looking forward to
completing this project for the benefit of
our community and we hope to see many
Newmarket residents at the official Opening
Event to be held on Saturday 27th March
2010 11am-2pm. FREE Admission and FREE
refreshments will be available along with
many FREE activities.
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