Councillor Winters Monthly Update – February 2024
What a turbulent month of weather January descended upon us – contending with storms Henk, Isha, and Jocelyn! I do hope it caused you all little disruption and I thank those who at this time used the reporting tool via the Suffolk County Council website to report fallen trees and debris on the roads. I include the link for future reference as it is a great way of keeping Suffolk County Council up to date with necessary alerts within the local area – https://www.suffolk.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/highway-maintenance/report-a-highways-issue.
You may have seen that Newmarket Town Council has teamed up with Love Newmarket launching a ‘Shop Improvement Grant Scheme’ in the hopes of injecting some new life and love into the Town. Open to all businesses on the High Street and adjoining streets, grants are available to improve the look of a shopfront and will cover up to 50% of the works up to £2000 per business. To apply for the scheme please visit www.lovenewmarket.co.uk to complete the online application. Please send your completed application by Sunday 12th February. Successful applicants will be notified from the week commencing Monday 26th February 2024.
Community sports clubs across West Suffolk can now apply for a council grant to help increase participation and further enhance activity. Grants of between £200 and £1,000 are being made available under West Suffolk Council’s Capital Sports Fund. There is no deadline for applications but once the money is allocated the fund will close. Grants should also be spent by March 31 and cannot be paid as retrospective funding for project costs already incurred. Applications will be assessed and all grants are subject to criteria in line with UKSPF. Please email policy@westsuffolk.gov.uk and request a Capital Sports Fund application form if this could be of interest to you.
You may have sadly heard about the increased spate of theft within Newmarket Town as of late. I would like to remind those who are local business owners about the ShopSafe Alert App, managed by Love Newmarket BID. If you are currently not on the system and would like to be added, please contact Russell at hello@newmarketbid.com who can assist you. With now over 195 members the App is proving to be a success allowing shop owners to share information about thieves, scammers, and bag snatchers alongside being able to use the radio system to keep other shop owners in the loop with live theft activity. Thank you to those who have been pushing for this system to be implemented in the hopes of keeping theft at a minimum within Newmarket. All employees should feel safe when attending work and should not have to withstand such acts. I thank the security staff, Suffolk Police, and the Love Newmarket BID Town Ambassador for their continuous efforts.
On a brighter note, it is great to see that Nationwide Building Society has been able to re-open. I am certain Newmarket residents are pleased to be able to use their services once again. Let’s hope the heritage shopfront can be repaired as best as possible to its former glory, a building like so many others within the High Street that holds so much history.
February Half-Term is fast approaching, Supermarket cafes, chain restaurants and, food venues all around the UK are offering the ‘Kids Eat Free’ or Kids eat for £1 deal during school holidays. Do take a look at where you could potentially take your children in the coming weeks to keep the cost of eating out down – https://moneysavingcentral.co.uk/kids-eat-free.
Spring will soon be upon us and I am very much looking forward to seeing the additional bulbs come to life from the mechanical bulb planting which took place last year on The Severals and Birdcage Walk, as I hope you are too.