Orchard Community Energy Fund - Open for Applications from 1st August

Orchard Community Energy Fund open for applications from 1st August - 31st October 2020 

The Community Fund donated by Orchard Community Energy is again open for applications from 1st August - 31st October 2020. The members of Orchard Community Energy have allocated a community fund of £10,000 for projects starting in 2021. This will be the fourth round of grants made by the community-owned energy organisation.

Grants will be between a minimum of £2,000 and a maximum of £5,000. Projects must benefit the residents of Swale and/or Medway. 

To apply:

• The applicant must be a Charity and beneficiaries cannot be specific individuals.

• The project must address at least one of the following objectives: wildlife conservation, climate change mitigation and/or adaption, the alleviation of fuel poverty or support for vulnerable or disadvantaged groups.

• Orchard Community Energy is particularly keen to receive applications that achieve social goals through environmental means, ie. address at least two objectives including at least one social and at least one environmental objective.

• The project should be ready to start in January 2021 and aim to be completed by the end of the year.

• Completed applications must be received by midday on 31st October 2020.

For full details of how to apply, please download the Guide for Applicants 2020-21 and Application for Funding Summary Form 2020-21 available at orchard.coop

About Orchard Community Energy

Orchard Community Energy was established in 2015 to develop community-owned renewable energy, low carbon and energy efficiency projects in Swale and Medway. It concentrates on projects that reduce the impact of climate change and increase energy security, whilst at the same time generating significant donations to its community fund.

Its 5MW solar array near Iwade occupies low grade farmland that was formerly used for brick earth extraction. The current output from the array is enough to meet the equivalent annual electricity demand of around 1,250 homes.

Profits after the payment of costs and interest are distributed to local community organisations. Details of past grants are available at orchard.coop

Pleas contact: grants@orchard.coop

Orchard Community Energy

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Surgery Patient Participation Group - Upchurch & Rainham

Dr Supriya Das & Dr Lakshmi Subbiah

Maidstone Road Practice now has its own website:
www.maidstoneroadsurgeryrainham.co.uk

Committee Meetings

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been no face to face committee meetings.

For the past 2 months, the Chairs within Medway and Swale area have been meeting virtually via “Zoom” with senior members of the CCG from Medway, keeping us informed of what is happening within the area.

Notes from the these meetings have been circulated to members, put on notice boards at our surgeries and published on Upchurch Matters.

Dispensing activity at our practice is now back to normal after an initial demand for extra medications. This may have been due to press releases stating there would be a shortage. Our dispensing practice deliveries were not affected.

Practice Current Programme 

Annual Medication Review

The practice will telephone patients to make a telephone appointment with either the Nurse or Deepal Patel, a pharmacist (currently working within the practice).

The reviews will be to discuss current medication.

If a blood test is required, you can telephone: 01634 471098 or Sittingbourne Memorial Hospital is now offering walk-in appointments.

Postnatal and baby immunisations, smears and all essential injections will be carried out as normal.

COVID-19

If you have symptoms then please visit: www.gov.uk/coronavirus for the latest information regarding testing and self-isolation.

I am sure everyone has been following the news concerning the pandemic. Patients are now asking about this years’ Flu Vaccination Programme. The surgery is currently making preparations to ensure that this is delivered in a safe, effective and timely manner.

Attending Surgery or Blood Clinic Appointments

If you have an appointment with the Doctor or a Nurse, you must wear a face-covering at all times.

If you have any questions or suggestions on the local practice, please Email:

Jan Bunting - Secretary: janannbunting@outlook.com or 

Ray Kemsley - Chair: raykemsley@btinternet.com

Ray Kemsley

Chair - Surgery Patient Participation Group - Upchurch & Rainham

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Home in Kent - Upchurch

Listen to the cassette - Turn your volume up 🔊

The video may not be visible in your Email.
If not, please watch it at: youtube.com

BBC Radio Kent presenter David Cornett travelled to Upchurch to interview some of its best-known residents for his afternoon programme, 'Home in Kent'.

During the hour-long special, villagers Mick Blee, Eric Gransden, Elizabeth Shorthouse, Joyce Gilbert, Evelyn Veale, Fran Higgins and Jack Cook all gave fascinating insights into village life at the time with each choosing a piece of their favourite music to play.

Amongst the topics they discussed were, the Church Choir and Choral Society, sport, sailing, and putting the world to rights in the pub, fruit farming, the local building and marine trades, conservation and wildlife, the Parish Council, community care, the Wives Group, returning to the village from the US, and even choosing to live in Upchurch despite not liking it here at all!

We are grateful to Elizabeth for sharing her cassette recording - the year it was recorded is unknown.

Upchurch Matters

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Swale Borough Council Parking Concessions to Support High Streets

Councillors have agreed a parking concession of an extra half an hour for free from Saturday 18th July to help residents access town centres more easily.

With social distancing still in place, there are more queues for shops, banks and barbers and hairdressers, and it can take longer to do the essential jobs in the high streets.

Paying for extended time in car parks often dissuades people from visiting town centres, so an additional half an hour for free could encourage people to linger longer and make use of cafes, restaurants and pubs, which are so important in our town centres.

Cllr Roger Truelove, leader of Swale Borough Council, said:

“We have been working hard to make sure we are supporting local businesses during this pandemic, but we also need to ensure we are getting the right balance and are able to keep people safe.

Businesses in our town centres are helping residents to shop safely, which can often mean waiting for longer and queuing outside in order to do your banking or to go into shops, so we’ve pedestrianised high streets to keep everyone safe, but this also means that waiting times are longer.

We want to take the pressure off so extending parking tickets by an extra 30 minutes allows for more flexibility. You no longer need to rush around to get the essential jobs done and can take your time, or even take a moment to get food and drink.

Most importantly it helps everyone to stay safe, stay apart and stop the spread.”

At last night’s Annual Council meeting, councillors voted to allow all car park tickets purchased to have an additional free 30 minutes added from 18th July, enforcement officers will add an extra 30 minutes to the expiry time when checking tickets in windows. This will also be applied to users of RingGo. The concession will cease on 30th September.

To enable more people to park closer to Sittingbourne High Street and to the train station, the Bourne Place Multi Storey Car Park will reopen from 20th July, however the parking concessions will not apply to the multi storey car park as this is a pay on return, barriered car park and such a concession cannot be applied.

Swale Borough Council

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Please Support Sittingbourne Community First Responders - Saving Lives in Your Street!

CFRs really do make a difference

Community First Responders provide care to patients within the local community before the arrival of the ambulance service. They are trained by SECAMB to deliver life-saving defibrillation's and interventions to patients in cardiac arrest, increasing the patients chance of survival.

In an ideal world, there would be an ambulance available on every street corner in every town and village, sadly this is not the case, making Community First Responders a vital resource to the ambulance service and the community they serve.

Saving lives in your street!

Sittingbourne Community First Responders are members of the local community who volunteer to respond to emergency and life-threatening calls through the 999 system, working in conjunction with SECAMB the South East Coast Ambulance Service and the NHS. They also run local CPR & AED sessions to the public for FREE.

Using their own vehicles, their 9 CFRs respond to incidents within a 5 mile radius of their home or work location.

The group name suggests 'Sittingbourne' although this is just the ambulance base station, in fact, they cover a vast area in support of SECAMB.

How are CFRs funded?

As a non-profit voluntary group, Sittingbourne Community First Responders rely solely on donations and receive no funding from SECAMB or the Government.

Set up costs for a new responder are approximately £2,500, and training, equipment and ongoing costs are high.

How can you help?

Sittingbourne Community First Responders has not been able to run their regular CPR & AED sessions because of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Without these sessions, their essential funds have become dangerously low. This is a major concern now, and it has become vital they gain much needed support from local communities and businesses by asking you for your help.

However much you able to give towards their £5000 target will help them continue to make a real difference in the lives of so many.

Please donate whatever you can at their new GoFundMe page >> https://gf.me/u/yfh9jd

Thank you

Find out more at >> www.sittingbourneresponders.org.uk

Upchurch Matters

On behalf of James Folan-Young - Sittingbourne Community First Responders

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UPDATED - Who Do You Recognise From These Old Photographs? What Was The Year?

Click the photographs to enlarge.

Just for fun

Thanks to Janet Latter (now Fordham) for sharing these 2 old photographs she came across recently of a children's Christmas party at Upchurch Infant School. Janet's mother was a Wraight. Her father had the Bakery in Forge Lane.

It's not known exactly which year they were taken, possibly 1950.

Thanks to Mrs Singyard for kindly sending in some more children's names:

Margaret Stevens
Barry Tyler
Roy Wildish
Peter Wildish
Ken Wildish
David Feist
Janet Hodgkins
Janet Latter
Susan Latter
Valerie Sifleet
Rosemary Gransden
Joan Gilbert

Pauline Singyard
John Singyard

Roy Kitney
Pauline Kitney
Ruth Kitney

Joe Wralght

Barry Madden
Wendy Madden

Robert Trice
Trevor Hart
Margaret Everest
Maureen Finn
Ronnie Finn
Norman Humphries
Eric Neame
Allan Neame
John Hills
Keith Pamplin

Who do you recognise?

What was the year?

Upchurch Matters

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