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Barwell

Barwell Community House
43 Bradgate Road
Barwell
Leicester
LE9 8FB

Telephone 01455 255 633 (Sally Crossfield)
Email barwellcommunityhouse@hotmail.co.uk

Opening hours:
Monday 9:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 2:30pm
Wednesday 11am - 6pm
Thursday 9:30am - 2:30pm
(Please note these hours may vary slightly due to staff training/meetings)

NAT Co-ordinator - Rachel Duncan
Email: rachelduncan@btconnect.com
Tel: 01455 255941 / 0758 763 5211

The aim of the community house is to provide activities for young people and adults, environmental and educational programmes, and schemes that are devised to tackle residents’ crime and anti-social behaviour concerns.

Newsletter

For the latest newsletter, please click on the link below.

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Work is progressing well on the new headquarters for Barwell Scout group.
Click here for the latest news.

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Rooms are available for hire at the George Ward Centre. Rates are:

Sports Hall - £30 per hour
Youth Room - £25 per hour
Multiuse Room - £15 per hour
Meeting room double - £15 per hour
Meeting room single - £8 per hour

The George Ward Centre, Church Lane, Barwell, Leicestershire, LE9 8DG. Tel : 01455 847410

Newlands School Children have their say about Barwell

During February 2011, 242 pupils of Newlands School were consulted using voting handsets on their views of Barwell. They were asked about a number of topics including their views of the parks and feeling safe in the park, things they like, dislike and would like to change. Parents were also given the opportunity to give their views.

Patch walk with PCSO Jack
Newlands Primary School children have been thinking about their local area and things they like, dislike and would like to change. Children from Year 3/4 (aged 7-9) went on a patch walk around the local area with Jane Reed, Community Development Officer from RCC (Rural Community Council) and CAHB (Community Action Hinckley & Bosworth) was accompanied by PCSO, Jack Cornick. The children took photos of things they liked – HOT SPOTS and things they didn’t like – GROT SPOTS.

Jane Reed says ‘We wanted to hear what the children of Barwell think about Barwell as their views are so important to the future of the local area. This is also a celebration of all the good things about Barwell from as seen from a young person’s perspective. We are also keen to hear all of their ideas for changing and improving Barwell.’

Newlands School say ‘We are very pleased that the local PCSOs are joining Jane for these activities. This is a real opportunity for the children in school to have their say on the local community.’

The Local Police Team say ‘We were really pleased to be asked to help on this school project at Newlands Primary School. It gives the beat team the opportunity to get an idea on how the younger children of our community see Barwell and how we can help to improve it for them.’

The children paint the model and make houses and buildings. They then use the map to highlight areas and place flags on the area where they want to make a comment.

Jane Reed says ‘The model of Barwell gives us very specific data about areas providing a detailed picture of the children’s opinions, thoughts and needs. Working in conjunction with local beat team and other partners we can feed this information into an action plan to make things happen.

Newlands School Consultation Summary:

187 (77%) children liked the parks in Barwell. 188 (78%) children played in the parks in Barwell.

A massive 210 (87%) pupils would say hello to a Police Officer in the street, this may have been due to Jack being involved in this project.

Out of a 138 pupils 84 said they go to the park without an adult. 80 Pupils advised that they felt safe in the park without an adult.

When asked is there enough to do/places to play in Barwell 79 (57%) said no. There was a definite shift in opinion from year 3 to year 4, suggesting that the older children from age 9 – 11 feel there is not enough to do/places to play.

54 out of 65 children said that they thought adults in Barwell don’t do enough to look after Barwell. They were then asked if they thought they did enough to look after Barwell, 43 out of 65 thought they did.

Newlands Parents Consultation - 99 responses		number	%
Where do you live?	Barwell	64	67
	Earl Shilton	30	31
	Elsewhere	2	2
Do you like where you live?	Like	84	85
	Don't like	15	15
Do you like the parks/play areas in barwell?	Like	85	91
	Don't like	8	9
Do you feel the parks/play areas are safe places for children?	Yes	58	64
	No	33	36
Is there enough to do/places to play in Barwell?	Yes	34	37
	No	59	63
Do you think children in Barwell do enough to look after Barwell?	Yes	29	31
	No	65	69
Do you do enough to look after Barwell?	Yes	55	56
	No	43	44

What happens now?

This data is ‘hot off the press’ and still being analysed. Some ideas already been explored for the Action Plan are:

• Working with the school council a Dog fouling health awareness campaign around the school with posters and poo-bags
• Awards from children for ‘thumbs up’ nominations for local businesses and facilities
• Working in conjuncton with HBBC organising a local litter pick
• Many more action plan points and potential further consultation

Restore Pride in Barwell

Campaign restores Pride in Barwell
Community Action Hinckley and Bosworth’s Neighbourhood Management and Stronger Communities teams, working with Barwell Community House are involved in the local community campaign to restore pride in Barwell following the tragic, sad deaths of Fiona Pilkington and her daughter Francesca Hardwick.
People in Barwell want to present the positive points of living in their village and although it is not intended to minimise the scale of the tragedy, the Pride in Barwell campaign is aimed at restoring people’s pride and confidence in the area.
There are a lot of positive things happening in the village, involving many people who love being actively involved in their community. A new community run website has been launched at www.barwell.eu.

Barwell has a lot to be proud of and the villagers want to remind people of that. Some recent examples include:

HILLTOP Radio, the new community-based radio station serving Barwell and Earl Shilton. It is actively seeking adult volunteers and presenters from the Barwell area. Anyone interested in community radio is invited to contact the station by calling 07905 101748 or sending an email to studio@hilltopradio.com. For more information, tune-in to the station or visit www.hilltop-radio.com.

BARWELL’S new £2million George Ward Community Centre. The centre includes youth facilities, a sports hall, and meeting rooms. It will also be the home of the new Barwell Library. The building replaces The Cedars, which was given to the County Council in 1946 by local benefactor George Ward, and has been built by Galliford Try on a site close to the Junior School, near the village centre. The building of the centre has been directed and monitored by a group of residents in association with Leicestershire County Council.
For more information about the centre and some fantastic photos of the facility visit www.georgewardcentre.co.uk.

The village is home to a popular summer carnival and several well-attended youth groups, and new shops are starting to open up in previously empty buildings.

Ideas include launching a Barwell in Bloom competition in the summer.

Learn about bikes and motorbikes: The garage at Barwell Community House has been transformed into a workshop for bikes and motorbikes. Courses and sessions are currently being set up and if anyone is interested in taking part or volunteering with a group they should call Sally on 01455 255 633 or pop into the house.
Also Ride to Knowledge courses targeted at parents and children (aged 5 to 16), to learn about cycling and cycle maintenance together. The five-week courses have been funded by the Big Lottery Fund as part of their Family Learning Programme and can also be tailored specifically for parents and carers of children with disabilities.

The project is aimed at:

• non-resident parents wanting to spend more quality time with their children and learn a new skill;
• single parents and their children;
• female only groups, for mothers and children;
• special needs and disability groups, including parents and primary carer.

The course is free of charge to these groups and families should bring their own bikes if they can. Each family will get a passport of achievement and the most confident learners will have a chance to work towards designing and building their own bikes from scratch.

Help for council tenants: DROP-IN sessions for council tenants in Barwell are now being held every month at the Community House. Marie Hope, the Tenant Liaison Officer from Wilmott Dixon Partnerships (formerly Inspace), is available at the house on the second Monday of each month between 10.30am and 11.30am. She will be able to discuss any questions or issues that tenants may have concerning the repairs and maintenance carried out to your property by Willmott Dixon Partnerships.