Thank You from Cia Merrall

Hi everyone, 

The village food bank for those shielding during the Coronavirus pandemic is starting to wind down now and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who supported and donated.

Every single thing went out to people who needed it.

Overall we delivered 44 food parcels and 33 prescriptions/medications.

It has been lovely to see how generous the villagers have been and I am really grateful for your support.

Thank you

Cia Merrall

15 Forge Lane, Upchurch
Telephone: 07916 151299

Email: ciamerrall@hotmail.com

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New Basket Planters in Oak Lane

Councillor Gary Rosewell installed four lovely new basket planters along the Recreation Ground fence in Oak Lane this week.

Upchurch Parish Council secured a grant from Swale Borough Council this year towards them.

🌷🌸🌼🌺🌸🌼🌺

Upchurch Matters
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Calling all Carers - Please Register with Your GP

Calling all Carers

Do you look after someone who would struggle to care for themselves without your help?

Are you helping a friend, neighbour, child or relative who has an illness or disability, or providing some extra support to someone during a difficult time?

If so, you are a carer.

We at Carers FIRST understand the difficulties you may be facing in these ever-changing times and understand that it can be difficult to look after yourself when your focus is always on the person you care for. One way to support your own wellbeing is by informing your GP surgery of your caring role.

Each surgery maintains a carers register and by simply informing your surgery that you are a carer, your name will be added to the list. Registering allows your GP to better support your needs and offers additional benefits such as receiving the seasonal flu jab.

Carers FIRST now has a member of staff working in GP surgeries across Medway, who will soon be getting in touch with all carers on the carers register to offer free health checks.

A carer is anyone, of any age, that looks after another person who could not manage without them. The care they provide is unpaid. There are no qualifications or criteria that stipulate who is, or isn’t a carer.

At Carers FIRST, we understand that caring can be hard, but believe getting the right help shouldn’t be. We work directly with and for unpaid carers to provide personalised information, advice and support; making it easier for them to continue living their lives to the fullest.

  

   

Medway Communications and Engagement

NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group

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Swale Borough Council - Plans Approved to Give Communities Greater Involvement in Local Decisions

Councillors have approved plans to give local communities a greater involvement in council decisions affecting them.

Last week’s virtual full council meeting agreed to set up four area committees to spread power into local communities and give people a greater say on council matters.

Cllr Mike Baldock, deputy leader of the council, said:

“Area committees give local councillors a chance to reconnect with the public, help develop area-focussed strategies and bring valuable local insight to council decision-making.

Each committee will have a budget and a mandate to monitor core services in their area. Members working together will be able to make suggestions and vote on how to spend money in their area, giving us a much-improved local focus.

They will also be a valuable source of information for cabinet and services, and members of the public and local parish and town councils will be able to ask questions and comment on relevant subjects.

This is a fantastic way to involve more councillors in the decisions that affect their areas and will improve the quality and quantity of engagement in the decisions affecting local communities.

We now need to work out how we can get these committees up and running with the current public health restrictions in place. We would like to see them operational as soon as possible.”

The leader of the council, Roger Truelove, said:

“This is the first major step towards bringing Council decisions closer to the public and in redressing the balance between the Executive responsibilities of the Cabinet and the involvement of all members.”

The four committees will be made up of:

• Eastern

Abbey, Boughton and Courtney, East Downs, Priory, St Ann’s, Teynham and Lynsted and Watling wards.

• Sheppey

Minster Cliffs, Queenborough and Halfway, Sheerness, Sheppey Central and Sheppey East.

• Sittingbourne

Chalkwell, Homewood, Kemsley, Milton Regis, Murston and Roman.

• Western

Bobbing, Iwade and Lower Halstow, Borden and Grove Park, Hartlip Newington and Upchurch, the Meads, Woodstock and West Downs.

The full report that was agreed at the full council meeting on Wednesday 17th June is available on the council website

Swale Borough Council

Cascading Planter

The cascading planter brightening up the corner of Horsham Lane and The Street is beginning to look lovely again this year.

Last seasons planter gave the village weeks of beautiful colour.

Upchurch Parish Council secured a two-year grant from Swale Borough Council last year towards funding both planters.

🌷🌸🌼🌺🌸🌼🌺

Upchurch Matters
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Downsizing

Upchurch resident Elizabeth Shorthouse would like to downsize from her 4 bedroom home of the last 40 years to a 3 bedroom semi in the village.

Interested in either buying or selling?

Contact her on: elizabeth.shorthouse26@gmail.com

Thank you 

Elizabeth Shorthouse

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