Lowestoft Together back
in
business!
On Wednesday 15th October 2008 Lowestoft Together Board voted to
agree to the revised budget devised by Waveney District Council.
Though unhappy with the situation, the Board felt it more important
that they resumed their business of supporting the community with
grants. The Appraisal Panel, who look at applications, and
the Neighbourhood Management Team, will now start the process of
assessing applications.
Click
on Archive on the left to see previous stories on funding
rollercoaster.
Wissett Pond
Disappears!
Odd things have been going on round Wissett Way.
A yellow monster has sucked the pond almost dry, revealing a large
number of exciting objects, including a satellite dish, assorted
masonry, a leather wallet, several bicycles, and a lot of confused
ducks. (photo: Paul
Ayton) Click here
for full story
Lowestoft Together Website
is being
re-structured. That is, I'm trying to re-organise
it, and make it easier to see what's happening now, and what's
happened in the past. Old stories will be found via the Archive
pages. (See Navigation Bar to the left). Dangerous stuff indeed -
"A plan which succeeds is bold, one which fails is
reckless" General Karl von Clausewitz
On War
1832.
Wissett Pond
Disappears!
Odd things have been going on round Wissett Way. A yellow
monster has sucked the pond almost dry, revealing a large number of
exciting objects, including a satellite dish, assorted masonry, a
leather wallet, several bicycles, and a lot of confused ducks.
This is Stage 2 of Lowestoft Together’s plans to rejuvenate the
pond and its surrounds. First, Chris Levett of WDC’s Parks and
Gardens arranged for scrub and ivy to be removed, followed by Paul
McDowell-Veitch (WDC’s very own tree-man) overseeing removal and
coppicing of trees and saplings. Last week, Neil Dobson of Suffolk
County Council, organised the pond emptying.
The emptying happened much quicker than was expected – a few
hours, rather than the days anticipated. The pond and its banks
look a little naked now, but hey no gain without pain. Once the
next stage of the operation has been completed, local residents –
many have said they want to help make the pond into a thriving
wild-life open-space - can get to grips with organising new
planting, and finding ways to make it the nurtured community asset
they want it to be.
Stage 3 is dredging – removing all the unwanted gifts, the mud
and organic matter. This will help aquatic life to flourish. The
pond was effectively dead, unable to support much wildlife,
essentially because the water was so rich in nutrients it prevented
growth.
Dredging. Simple concept. Not so easy in practice. Plan A has
been abandoned. Plan A was to use a Drott (one of those small
tracked diggers that look so much fun to play with), introduce it
to the pond bed, and push and pull the silt and rubbish to the side
of the pond. However, though the edges of the pond bed are pretty
solid, there are parts in the middle which are not. These are
possibly where the water comes from. It’s always been assumed the
pond is fed by a spring, and this might prove it. Anyway, we don’t
want to lose Drott, up to its churning tracks in grey mud, so Plan
B it was. Plan B was to use a digger with a very long reach, so it
can sit in one place and scoop up the treasure at its leisure. But
Plan B was very expensive. On to Plan C.
Plan C: a medium sized digger being careful about banks and
grass and even ducks. All things being equal, this will happen in
the week beginning the 24th November.
If there’s no rain, it’s hoped to cart away the pond detritus.
It might not be so easy if we have a lot of rain, as water-logged
material is harder to dispose of. So, fingers crossed on the
weather.
What next? Foxborough Middle School are keen to make the pond
into a project, and they hope to start a study of the plants and
insects that are around the pond. This is great news. It will help
us see how the pond can be developed. More information on the
project soon.
To read the previous recent exciting episodes in the Wissett
Pond Opera (now there’s an idea),
click
here.
Click Here for Lowestoft Journal
report
Fun
Afternoon at St Andrews
Church Hall - Click
to
download newsletter:
080531AccessAllAreasnewsletterfinal.pdf
F.U.N. Fun Exercise days Launched.
For more
info:
ExercisevarietyProg081updated.pdf
Whitton Life
Cafe Opening and
Love Your Neighbourhood -
May 10th Click here for
story and photos
JUMP official
launch
Click here for Lowestoft Journal
report
Latest groups
to have received grants from Lowestoft Together
funding!
Click here
Click to find
out
about:
Give or Take Day in Gunton - 1st
Results
What is Lowestoft Together?
It’s a Neighbourhood Management Community Action Group. It’s
dedicated to improving the quality of life of residents of central
Lowestoft.
Residents are at the centre of decision-making of the
Lowestoft Together Board, ensuring that solutions come from
and are ’owned’ locally, rather than being imposed. Increasingly,
Neighbourhood Management is seen by Government, Other Agencies and
local communities as one of the best ways to improve
neighbourhoods.
Lowestoft Together does have money. It is funded by central
government. It supports and invests in local community groups, and
organisations that aim to improve our lives. That is one part of
its purpose. It has granted funds to Gunton Signpost, Fen Park
Friends, St Andrews Church Hall, Whitton Life Project and the Yard
Project, and a whole host of smaller grants. It is passionate about
our community, and believes local residents collectively know
best.
But of course funding doesn’t last for ever. So the other part of
Lowestoft Together’s task is to help and ensure that the people who
provide our services give us the best service they can—right time,
right place, right sort. So we’ve funded two Community Police
Support Officers, and an Environment Support Officer, done research
into men’s health needs, and lots more. If the community shows
these things DO make a difference, and we can provide evidence,
then the service providers will usually be persuaded to do it
themselves. This re-directing of funds is known as ’service
bending’!
So Lowestoft Together is about three key things, empowering
the community to take or influence decisions, helping the community
to help itself and finding ways to make sure that services improve
to meet the needs of local residents.
Advice and support comes from Waveney District Council, CDRP,
WaveneyPartnership TV, Local Councillors, Energy Saving Trust
Advice Centre Anglia, and Suffolk County Council, amongst many
others.
It believes in the power of communities to get things
done.
How can I get involved?
If you are a member of a community or voluntary group that is
based in or operates in Central Lowestoft and the group has an idea
that would help the local community in any way— ring Bob Russell,
Neighbourhood Manager.
Lowestoft Together is made up of residents and other interested
parties, like elected councillors, council officers, and service
providers e.g. the Primary Care Trust. The Board looks at bids for
funds, and monitors the projects it funds. It has three groups,
which are: Health and Well-Being, Community Safety and Environment,
and Community Engagement and Capacity Building.
To get involved with Lowestoft Together, ring Bob Russell,
Neighbourhood Manager, on
01502 523183.
Email
bob.russell@waveney.gov.uk
Or
john.ellerby@waveneycf.org.uk
Lowestoft Together is based at 15 Surrey Street, Lowestoft NNR32
1LJ