Blog Archives

Supporting New Community Store

30/11/2013

Debbie has always been an ardent supporter of the Community Shop, whether by investing in community share issues or representing the shop to the Parish and District Councils or liaising with the Post Office.
Today the Elders of the Adventist Church opened up the premises for the villagers to look at what they were investing in, in the latest Community Share issue. The Committee need to raise £50k by the 13th December to ensure the shop has secure premises. Debbie and her daughter visited the site together with lots of locals to view the premises.

Debbie said "This is a very exciting opportunity for the village and I am proud to be part of it, there is huge potential for us to be able to own our premises and develop the shop"

Inclusive Sport

27/11/2013

Debbie this evening visited the No Limits Club and met with Jake Pryszlak who runs the project.
The club is staffed by students from the University of Gloucestershire at their Oxstall Campus in Gloucester and aims to integrate sport for those with learning difficulties and physical disabilities with their able bodied siblings.
A wide variety of sports are provided from chair volleyball, multi-sports and tonight's golf session.

Debbie said " The smiles on the children's faces was testament to how much they enjoyed the activities. I spoke to several of the parents and they told me how much their children enjoyed it and how it gave them a hour of 'me time' which is really important for them. This is a really important project

In Our Towns

23/11/2013

Debbie spent an hour today with fellow councillor Simon Pickering supporting the IN OUR TOWNS initiative. This project is to promote the festivals, fetes, concerts, fairs that our market towns offer to encourage people to come in to the towns to enjoy the entertainment and use the local businesses.
This is a bi product of the Portas Project and Debbie sits on the Towns Team which oversees the scheme. Local MP Neil Carmichael got the initial funding from BIS which the council matched and the project is due to last for a year. The next meeting of the Towns Team on Monday will look at how the project can become self funding in the future.

If you can offer to help please let Debbie know
Debbie said " I was amazed as I handed out leaflets how far people had come to visit the farmers market today, which is great news for our local economy. I was also delighted how many people wanted to help"

2nd Neighbourhood Planning Meeting

20/11/2013

On Monday Debbie chaired the 2nd of Chalford Parish Council's consultation concerning Neighbourhood Planning.

Twice the number of people attended the meeting and there were several volunteers offering to take on some of the work.

"It has been really encouraging the number of people who have been coming out in really horrid weather to attend these meetings" said Debbie. "The Parish Clerk, Christine and the Assistant Clerk Jackie have done an admirable job in arranging these meeting and providing refreshments " she continued

Neighbourhood Planning in Chalford

10/11/2013

On Wednesday Debbie chaired a Neighbourhood Planning Meeting. This introduced the concept of neighbourhood planning to the local community. Neighbourhood Planning is about the community deciding what they want and where they want it, and this was the first of a series of three meetings to be held in the Parish.

Further meetings are on 18th November at the Methodist Hall and the 28th at the Youth Centre

Debbie said " This is a great opportunity for parishioners to have their say about development, rather than predatory developers imposing on the parish"

Services for Older People

10/11/2013

Debbie sits on the Board which is looking at services for older people. This means that support for older people which is currently only given to those in supported housing should be available for all.

This week she attended an Appreciative Enquiry whereby all those involved were encouraged to make positive comments about what is good and what can be improved.

Debbie is pictured here with her team, who developed George Pearce Mansions, a luxury older persons development which would certainly exceed the available budget. Back to reality and what could be achieved we decided that local schemes could raise money for a minibus and that it would it would be great if the council could buy mobility scooters for local residents to rent

Encouraging our Local Suppliers

6/11/2013

For the second time this week Debbie met with representatives of Westmorland, the company which will be operating the new Motorway Service Area on the M5. This company operate a very different business model to most service areas, in that all the food is home made, using locally sourced products and with no franchises.

Debbie pictured here with Gavin Bastyan, Head of Gloucester Services, has been a keen supporter of local produce, having organised the opportunity for people to sample local producers at Frampton Country Fair with Neil Carmichael, and again with Neil organise Gloucestershire goes to Westminster.

Producers who want the opportunity to have their products stocked on the Farm Shop or used in the cafes should contact Gavin on
gavin.bastyan@westmorland.com and let him know what they can offer.

Debbie said "I am really pleased to be able to help our local producers in this way. It is a fantastic opportunity for people to promote themselves and our fabulous produce"

Promoting Employment

6/11/2013

Debbie visited Stroud Ambitions today to talk to exhibitors and pupils alike. The event is to introduce pupils to the world of work, further training and apprenticeships through interactive workshops with a wide variety of employers.

Having worked on the Festival of Manufacturing and Engineering Debbie was very pleased to see numerous employers from this sector getting young people involved and interested.
Debbie said " It was great to meet up again with companies I have worked with in the past on the Festival and Jobs Fairs such as NKS. They take on local people to work locally to ensure that the kitchens they fit as of the highest standard. They also operate a fantastic apprenticeship scheme"

Debbie Young
Conservative Councillor