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Surrey Matters Magazine, Autumn 2011 PDF

2011·3.7 MB·English
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Surrey matters www.surreycc.gov.uk Autumn 2011 In the spotlight Surrey families who are making a difference Plus! Cycle race l Improving roads l Smarter dwrwivwi.nsugrre lyc cP.groev.upka/sruirnregym faottre rws i n1 ter Have you got what it takes to foster for Surrey? Call 08000 96 96 26 Visit www.surreycc.gov.uk/fostering www.surreycc.gov.uk 2 www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreymatters Making Surrey a better place Parents Pages mag A4 ad. May 2011.indd 1 18/05/2011 14:45 Have you got what it takes Inside Welcome to foster for Surrey? 3 Welcome from the council leader Over the past six months, we have come a long way in transforming services and putting value for money at the Call 08000 96 96 26 Visit www.surreycc.gov.uk/fostering 4 News from across the county heart of everything we do. 6 Turning the spotlight on This is helping us to find the savings we need to make Surrey residents by 2015, but we still have a long way to go and working with you is key to our success. You can read about the 7 Preparing for 2012 with the challenges we face in setting the budget on page 10. London-Surrey Cycle Classic I would like to pay tribute to all those who already 8 Top tips on how to waste less food do so much selfless work and make a difference to communities in Surrey. Whether you’re a school 10 A look at the budget and what needs governor, part of the to be done to make more savings many speedwatch groups throughout the county, or 11 On the road with the council’s you deliver meals to elderly new contractor or ill residents, you help make Surrey what it is. 13 Driving SMART on Surrey’s roads We realise that many of you 14 Get ready for winter with our tips don’t have a lot of spare time, to cope with the cold but helping out in any way you can is something that 16 Find out who’s volunteering and we pledge to help how it makes a difference and support. 17 Visit Oxted, a village that mixes Take a look at the At a glance… past with present volunteering article on page Over the last few months 16 to find out how you are I have: 16 What’s on in the lead up to Christmas already making a difference. Presented the King of the across Surrey Mountains award to top I’m always happy to hear cyclist Kristian House after the 17 Tell us what you think about your ideas about how we London-Surrey Cycle Classic, Surrey Matters can continue to improve. the test event for the Olympic Email me at andrew. cycling road race. Email us: [email protected]. [email protected] Write to us: Surrey Matters, Communications Team, G29, or follow me on Twitter Provided £45,000 to Surrey County Council, Freepost, KT1 2EA. @SCCleader. Connect 2 Innovation – a not Follow us: www.facebook.com/surreymatters for profit organisation that and @surrey_matters on Twitter. Sign up to the monthly e-newsletter by emailing helps businesses grow. [email protected]. Attended the opening of the Call us on: Dr Andrew Povey Telephone: 03456 009 009 £371m Hindhead Tunnel at Leader, Overseas: +44 20 8541 9944 the Devil’s Punch Bowl in July. Surrey County Council Lines open: Monday to Friday 8am until 6pm Fax: 0208 541 6575 Produced by Surrey County Council Communications Team and printed on 100% recycled Minicom: 020 8541 9698 paper. Please recycle this magazine. 08/11/NW/CS2044. Every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine, but Surrey Visit us online: www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreymatters. County Council cannot accept responsibility for mistakes or omissions. If you didn’t receive your own copy of Surrey Matters, or you Surrey County Council also does not accept responsibility for any goods or services offered by advertisers. Publication does not imply recommendation. would like this magazine in large print, on tape or in another www.surreycc.gov.uk language, please contact us. A pdf version is available on www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreymatters. www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreymatters 3 Making Surrey a better place Parents Pages mag A4 ad. May 2011.indd 1 18/05/2011 14:45 News Eco Park moves forward Plans for an Eco Park in Surrey, which will divert waste from landfill and generate green electricity, recently took a significant step forward when the planning application was approved by the County Planning Authority. The Eco Park will be the first of its kind in the UK and will include state of the art facilities to treat Surrey’s food waste and waste that can’t be recycled, alongside an existing community recycling centre. It will help eliminate the use of landfill in the county, which costs Surrey residents £600,000 a month in taxes and is damaging to the environment, while also generating enough electricity to power the site and thousands of homes. As a routine requirement, the planning approval has now been referred to the Secretary of State to decide if he wants to review the decision. Dial 101 ChInA COMeS tO WOkIng Showcased for the first time outside of China, a fascinating collection of ceramics will be on display this autumn in Woking. If your car is stolen, For two months, the Lightbox Gallery and Museum will be home to your property has been ceramics from Zibo Ceramics Museum. Zibo is a region of China that damaged or you want to is one of the five major ceramic producing areas in the country. speak to your local police The exhibition charts the historical development of officer, you can now call ceramics in China and offers an insight into the immense skill that goes into ceramic manufacture, 101, which is available 24 with daily demonstrations given by Chinese hours a day, 7 days a week. ceramicists from Zibo. In an emergency always The exhibition is at the Lightbox Gallery and Museum call 999. For other ways to in Woking from Tuesday 11 October to Sunday 11 contact Surrey Police visit December and is free. To find out more please visit www. www.surrey.police.uk. thelightbox.org.uk or call 01483 737800. Apply online Is your child due to start school or transfer to junior or secondary school in September 2012? If so, it’s fast and easy to apply online. You’ll get an email to confirm your application and a second email to confirm the outcome once school places have been offered. For a place at secondary school, apply by Monday 31 October 2011. For a reception or junior place, applications need to be in by Sunday 15 January 2012. Applying on time will give your child the best chance of getting a place at one of your preferred schools. Visit www.surreycc.gov.uk/admissions to find out more. 4 www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreymatters Superfast broadband Surrey County Council has been awarded £1.3 million to help every household in the county get access to superfast broadband by 2013. ‘Life-saving’ The council has now produced two surveys - one for residents and one for show returns businesses - to gauge current broadband access and The free award-winning road safety show described what demand there is for by Formula One World Champion, Damon Hill as faster speeds. “literally a life saver”, opens to the public again in November. To take part in the surveys, ‘Safe Drive, Stay Alive’ is a hard-hitting interactive visit www.surreycc.gov.uk/ show that tells the story of a road traffic collision. superfastbroadband or call A video reconstruction is shown along with 03456 009 009. testimonies from serving members of the emergency services. A parent also tells how their child lost their life in PUTTInG A STOP TO UTnhfea irC oTrnasduimnge rR Pergoutleactitoionns f2r0o0m8 a road traffic collision and a man shares his story DOOrSTEP TrADErS WARNING about an accident with a young driver which left him disabled. We do not deal with Free door stickers will soon be available uninvited traders The show is at Dorking Halls on Thursday 17 to stop doorstep traders. The ConsuPmeLr PEroAtecStioEn f rLomE AVE November 2011 at 7.30pm and anyone aged 15 Unfair Trading RegulaAtionNs 2D00 8 or over is invited to attend. Contact Surrey Fire residents are being invited to pick up a WADRO NNOITN REGTU RN and Rescue Service on 01737 242444 or email free Surrey Trading Standards sticker pack Failure to do so is a [email protected]. from their local council office, library or We do noctr imdienaal lo fwfenitceh uninvited traders police station from Monday 17 October, PLEASESu TrrLraedyEi nCgoA uSntatVyn dCEaorud ns c il Watts Gallery Surrey Police as part of a new anti cold-calling AND trader campaign. DO NStOick Tth isR ouEtsiTdeU yoRur fNront door is a big success The initiative aims to tackle the rising Sticker.indd 1Facilruimrei ntaol dooff esno cies a 15/03/2011 13:06 number of doorstep traders who prey on Surrey County Council vulnerable residents and carry out shoddy Trading Standards Crowds of people have already been to see Surrey Police some of George Frederic Watts’s finest work work, often at extortionate prices. Stick this outside your front door in Compton’s newly restored Watts gallery. Kay Hammond, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety saiSdticker:.in d“d Y1 ou should never fee15/03l/2 011 13:06 Alongside Watts’s famed paintings, the gallery displays many of his sculptures. pressured into making a decision on your doorstep and the best the restoration project is the result of advice is to always say ‘no’ to cold-calling traders. If you are in need of county and nationwide fundraising of £11 a reliable and trustworthy trader, we recommend residents use the million. Surrey County Council funded part list of vetted businesses from our ‘Buy With Confidence’ scheme.” of the restoration work on condition the To find out where you can pick up your free sticker pack and gallery continues to provide apprenticeship for more details about the scheme, visit www.surreycc.gov.uk/ schemes, maintains stopcoldcallers or call 03456 009 009. support from its 200 volunteers and offers discounted entry for looked after children. For more information, visit www.wattsgallery. org.uk. www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreymatters 5 In THE spotlight Surrey Matters turns the spotlight on a group of Surrey residents who got together to help young people in the county. Dan Curtis is Deputy Director of the Halow Project – a charity and social enterprise, which has been running for just over two years, offering services to young people, aged 16-35, with learning disabilities. Five families set up Halow in 2006 because they wanted an organisation that offered support for young people with learning disabilities once they leave school. They formed the charity and named it after their children – Harriet, Amber, Laura, Oliver and William. The charity’s patron is Damon Hill, dad of Oliver and is supported by up and coming racing driver, Sam Bird. It offers young people trips and days out like bowling, theme parks and performing arts classes as well as advice and support on a range of services, including housing, benefits and personalised budgets. A course called ‘Building Futures’ is also available, where the young people can develop their skills. The social enterprise part of the organisation is known as Halow Care and provides paid-for one-to-one support to young people who are often referred by Surrey Social Care Service and other agencies. The funds raised from this service help to cover the costs of the charity, so there is less reliance on grant funding. Dan believes Halow is an example of how Big Society could work. He said: “We are innovative in the way we fund the work we do and being a young organisation, we have a modern perspective, so can respond to need quickly. “We have a Youth Committee, that shapes activities and feeds back on the services and support we provide. This has really helped ensure we are doing something that people want.” Around 60 volunteers currently help Halow by carrying out social activities and taking part in fundraising events. Dan added: “We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without them. They help us in so many ways and in return we make sure they have opportunities to develop, provide training and make them feel part of the team.” To find out more about Halow and the support it offers, visit www.halowproject.org.uk, email [email protected] or call 01483 447 960. 6 www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreymatters SuRRey GeTS prepared Find out more Visit www.gosurrey.info/cycling, call 0300 200 1018 or email olympic. [email protected] for more OlyFmOR THpe ics information. You can also follow us at www.facebook.com/gosurrey to get all the latest information on the london 2012 games in surrey. Thousands of people lined the and Paralympic Games) has carried out streets of Surrey to catch a glimpse and involved the biggest number of of nearly 150 of the world’s most road closures London has ever seen. elite cyclists in the dress rehearsal for the The aim was to test the race before Olympic cycling road race. next year and we certainly have learned Spectators came out in force to a lot to prepare us for the real thing. support the riders of the London-Surrey Cycle Classic in August, where Britain’s Why did the roads have to be closed top cyclist Mark Cavendish stole a win in for so long before and after the race? a nail-biting sprint to the finish. Some people have compared this race Denise Saliagopoulos, Surrey to the Tour de France, but the route is County Council’s Cabinet Member for actually a lot longer. It involved nearly Community Services and the 2012 1,000 roads being closed, 350 of which Games, said: “The race was spectacular were in Surrey. and was made even more so by We had to start work on the roads the backdrop of our breathtaking early to put signs, cones and barriers in countryside and cheering crowds.” place, remove cars, remove highways infrastructure, such as islands and to Your questions answered clean and check the route before the you have been asking lots of questions race started. about the London-Surrey Cycle Classic These all needed to be cleared and so Surrey Matters has spoken to Surrey infrastructure put back in place before County Council’s 2012 team to get we could safely open the roads up again. the answers. Why were so many support vehicles how did the race go from the council’s driving alongside the cyclists? point of view? It’s very important that the police have Overall, we were pleased with how a strong presence at these events, as we it went. We were overwhelmed by need to be prepared for all situations. the support from residents and the Other support cars included hundreds of spectators who came out breakdown and recovery vans, to watch on the roadside. This was by ambulances and medical support. far the largest and most complicated each team also had its own car, test event LOCOG (the London which carried spare bikes, wheels Organising Committee of the Olympic and equipment that riders may need. What you said Here are just some of the hundreds of tweets from the day of the race. @wasteisbad: “Watched London-Surrey Cycle Classic today on hairpin bend by Surrey Downs. Those guys are legends.” @buttonjon: “I watched the race go past at Walton Bridge, can’t wait for the Olympic races next year.” @kaijalarke: “@Markcavendish Congratulations! Awesome win and Race winner Mark great to see you all charging through Surrey.” Cavendish powering @jo365: “Had a fantastic day watching #cycleclassic on Box Hill.” through Surrey. www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreymatters 7 What a waste One in five bags of food shopping are thrown away. That’s not good for your pocket or the planet. Statistics show that most families “We understand that there are lots of on the environment, save them money waste up to £50 a month throwing reasons why food can end up going to and help reduce the disposal bill.” away uneaten food*. In Surrey that waste,” explained Dr Lynne Hack, Surrey The Love Food Surrey campaign will be adds up to a staggering 83,000 tonnes of County Council’s Cabinet Member for the running countywide over the next few food and drink being binned every year. Environment. “But the cost of disposing of months raising awareness of the issue and So Surrey County Council is urging food waste is around £7.6 million per year offering helpful tips and advice on how to residents to try to make some small and we have to tackle it. reduce food waste. The website changes to their shopping, storage and “If every resident took just a couple of www.lovefoodsurrey.com is packed cooking habits, that could make small steps to cut down on their food with ideas to help and a big difference. waste it would have a big positive effect inspire people. Here are some tips Perfect to help you reduce portions your waste. Savvy storage Weighing and measuring food is the guaranteed way to Knowing how to cook perfect portions: store foods could l A mug (300ml) is Know mean it lasting extra handy for measuring your dates It pays to plan days, weeks and even uncooked rice. 1 adult months: portion = 1/4 mug; l Keep the fridge at a (as sizes of mugs vary, There’s lots of Planning what you cool 1 - 5°C and chilled use this measure as a confusion about what buy and cook is food will stay fresh for guide to work out your the dates on food Lovely the best start to longer. own perfect portions). actually mean: leftovers reducing your food l If use by dates are l A tablespoon is l Use by – this date waste: approaching put the good for measuring is for safety and must l Before you do your food in the freezer to out portions of rice be followed correctly. If you’ve cooked too next big shop, check eat later. and beans. 1 adult Don’t use any food much, try to use what you already l Keep the foods with portion = 4 spoonfuls; after the end of the the leftovers for have and make a the shortest dates at 1 child portion = 2½ use by date, even if it another meal: meal planner for the the front of the fridge spoonfuls. looks and smells fine. l Keep staples in the week so you only and cupboards so they l By using a spaghetti Eating it after this date cupboard, which can buy what you need. get eaten first. measurer, you just pick could put your health be added to leftovers l Involve the kids to l Freeze as much as the amount of people at risk. to make a new meal. see what they’d like possible. you’re cooking for and l Best before - this is l Put leftover cooked on the planner. fill the hole with dry about quality not food meals in the freezer, l Make a list and try spaghetti. safety. Foods with which will be a quick to stick to it and not l You can use a best before date and easy meal for be tempted by offers weighing scales to should be safe to eat another day. on foods you help manage meal after this date (except l Visit our website might not portion sizes. for eggs), but they www.lovefood end up may no longer be at surrey.com for lots of eating. their best. leftover recipe ideas. 8 www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreymatters Lots of food gets thrown away because of confusion over best before and 9) use by dates. 0 0 2 er b m Feeding the kids ve o N P, Love Food Surrey chef and mum of three Carmela Tomkins, has had RA W years of experience of feeding kids who aren’t always too keen on K ( what they are given! She shares with us what worked for her. u e “Over the years, my kids have helped to prepare dinner which h I’ve tried to make as fun as possible. n t e i “We’ve experimented with easy-to-follow recipes such as st a smoothies - a great way of using up leftover fruit, yogurt or juice. They’ve also W k chosen how much they want to eat before a meal is cooked, and suggested their n favourite ingredients to add to a meal, like pizza toppings. Dri d “Another idea I’ve used is presenting food in creative ways, like cutting n a sandwiches, pancakes, waffles and pizza into various shapes using cookie cutters. d o o “When my kids were toddlers, I dreaded meal times and the possibility of F d throwing away perfectly good food, but using these tricks made a big difference.” ol h For advice on planning your shopping, portion control, recipe ideas and more, e s visit www.lovefoodsurrey.com. ou H * www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreymatters 9 Savings of over £80 million have been identified by the council since 2009, but in the tough economic climate, a lot more needs to be done. Facing the financial challenge The council needs to make savings of l Driving down supplier costs, like bringing needed to ensure we have the right pattern at least £200 million over the next four in the new highways contractor, May and quality of services for Surrey people. years . One of the ways these savings Gurney, which will save £20 million Mr Hodge explained: “More local control are being made is through the Public over four years. and decision-making is vital to understand Value review programme, which looks at l Building on partnerships, such as Surrey residents’ priorities and allow local people to improving each council service and making be in the driving seat to transform services. “There are lots of ways them more efficient. So far, 16 services have “There are lots of ways Surrey people are been reviewed, which has identified savings Surrey people are already already getting involved. For example, we of up to £88 million by 2014/15. have received a number of community getting involved.” David Hodge, Deputy Leader of Surrey proposals to run 11 local libraries.” County Council, said: “The savings we need If you’d like to understand more about to make are the equivalent of a Surrey First – a project that is improving joint what the council budget covers, why not household reducing their spending by working between Surrey County Council, try out our YouChoose budget calculator, 10%, but with costs continuing to go up, the 11 district and borough councils and which shows you the consequences this is no easy task. Surrey Police, aiming to save 15% across of different budget decisions and the “We have faced significant financial Surrey’s public services through challenges we face. challenges over the last few years. The joined-up buying. For this and more information about proactive approach we have taken has l Boosting the local economy, by giving the budget, visit www.surreycc.gov.uk/ meant that we have been able to reduce grants and guidance to Surrey businesses getinvolved. You can also tell us your our costs while ensuring the services we and helping to secure more than £700 views on twitter @surrey_matters or on provide are improving and focused on the million in Olympic-related contracts. www.facebook.com/surreymatters. needs of residents.” How you can help The story so far The council will continue to look at its The savings that have been identified services and identify more savings that can so far, include: be made. However, community support is 10 www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreymatters

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Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.