Welcome

Welcome to the September edition of Banwell Parish Council’s newsletter. We hope you all have had a fantastic summer so far. Your council and community are planning lots of exciting events and initiatives, have a browse of this newsletter to find out more.

Your Parish Councillors

You can find out more about your Parish Councillors and contact them on the "Your Parish Councillors" webpage. They are a friendly bunch and are always happy to hear from you!

There are so many ways you can contact your Parish Council:

• Call us on 01934 820442

• Email us on clerk@banwellparishcouncil.org.uk

• Message us via our website www.banwellparishcouncil.org.uk 

• Visit us at Banwell Youth & Community Centre Tues & Thurs 10am-12noon*

• Follow and contact us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

• Send us a letter to Banwell Parish Council Youth and Community Centre, West Street, Banwell, BS29 6BD.

• Attend a Council meeting online or in person (we are working on Facebook live streaming our meetings).

*The Parish Office is located at the Youth & Community Centre (at the bottom of West Street Carpark) and is open to parishioners on Tuesdays & Thursdays 10am until 12 noon – no appointment needed. The Clerk is happy to see you at any other time if this isn’t convenient, just call (01934) 820442 or email clerk@banwellparishcouncil.org.uk

Events and Initiatives

Banwell's Big Summer Clean Up

Team up for a Clean Up September 10^th in Banwell! Meet us at Banwell Youth & Community Centre (West Street) at 10am to help make our village sparkle. We will be litter picking, painting fences, weeding and more.  Free coffee, tea and cake will be provided for all who get involved. Everyone is welcome, just turn up on the day. Contact the Parish Council if you have any queries.

Banwell Youth Club Free Cookery Course

The Youth Club will be hosting the second intake for the 6-week cookery course at the Youth & Community Centre this September. The course involves 5 weeks of training followed by a meal cooked by you for family and/or friends in week 6.  This course is fully grant funded by North Somerset Council and is completely free for participants. Anyone ages 10-18 welcome, you do not have to be a current Youth Club member, Spaces limited. Be sure to book, contact Ali 07395 797 843 or email alli.waller@ymca-dg.org.

Community Café: Free Information Sessions for Residents

Our first free Community Cafe session will be held on 20th September 2-4pm at Banwell Youth & Community Centre (West Street Car Park). The session will involve free information and advice over a cuppa and cake, including money saving advice, healthy living, legal advice, local activities and more! All welcome, just turn up on the day. Contact the Parish Council if you have any queries.

Banwell Children’s Centre / Youth & Community Centre

Banwell Youth & Community Centre has all sorts of fun activities and clubs to get stuck into. New members welcome to groups such as Forest School, Youth Club, Craft & Chat, Kickboxing, Tea & Tech and You Can Do I.T. 

The Youth & Community Centre is available for hire Monday to Friday £12 an hour Saturday and Sunday £14 an hour. Please contact the Clerk for more details and a booking form or use our new electronic booking system.

Tea & Tech and You Can Do I.T: Free Digital Dessions

The Tea & Tech and You Can Do I.T  sessions were so successful that Banwell Parish Council and Alive are continuing with the help of our wonderful volunteers. The events involve free digital advice with experts on hand to answer questions. Equipment will be available to try or bring your own.  We spoke to people who have taken part in the digital sessions and found that everyone who responded felt more confident with tech after each session.  One participant said, “these sessions are extremely helpful”, while another said that the sessions are “very enjoyable, very useful. [I am] learning a lot”.

 Upcoming sessions (2-4pm) at Banwell Youth & Community Centre:

• 6th October
• 20th October
• 25th October
• 10th November 
• 24th November 
• 29th November

Contact Liz to book your FREE spot (01934) 820442 on Tea & Tech or You Can Do I.T.

Autumn Window Wander Art Trail October 14^th – 16^th  

We hope you loved Window Wanderland 2021, followed by our Jubilee Wander event in June. If you did, we have good news for you! The Banwell Autumn Window Wander Art Trail is back for October (,14th, 15^th & 16^th). Sign up today on our online form to make a window display. After signing up, your window will be put on a public trail map. Last year we had over 40 properties take part – let’s see if we can beat that. You do not have to be an artist to take part, you have free rein to create your window designs, from paintings to cardboard cut outs. If you want inspiration head to the gallery on our website.

Sign up form for the Autumn Window Wander Art Trail (or contact us if you require support). 

Terracyle: Recycle Confectionary Wrappers at the Y.C.C

Can't recycle sweet wrappers? What a load of rubbish! From mid-September, you will be able to recycle your confectionary wrappers of any brand at Banwell Youth & Community Centre (West Street). We have signed up to become a Terracycle drop-off location, helping recycle more waste in Banwell that cannot be collected by your recycling team at North Somerset. You can drop off chocolate wrappers, sweet pouches and chocolate pouches to us and we will send them off for recycling. The drop off location will be outside the building, meaning you can use it any time. This is our first Terracycle trial, let us know if you would like to see more recycling options in Banwell. 

Zoom Booths

Did you know that the Youth & Community Centre has FREE WiFi and a quiet space for you to connect remotely for advice, training & health services?  Our Zoom Booth can be booked by contacting the Clerk or using our new electronic booking system https://venuehire.scribeaccounts.com/Banwell-Parish-Council-

Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)

Book an appointment with the Citizens Advice Bureau if you are having problems with paying your council tax, discrimination, paying your water bill, universal credit, managing other debts, budgeting, consumer issues or benefits. Weekly appointments held at either Banwell Youth & Community Centre or Winscombe Community Centre can be booked via the Parish Clerk on (01934) 820442 or email: clerk@banwellparishcouncil.org.uk. 

Community volunteers 

We are always looking for more community volunteers to help run events and initiatives for everyone in the village. You can get involved as often or as little as you like! We have several opportunities, such as:

• You Can Do I.T digital skills volunteers

• Tea & Tech session volunteers

• Environmental volunteers

• Walking Buddy volunteers

Contact Liz to get started clerk@banwellparishcouncil.org.uk / 01934 820442

What keeps you happy, healthy, and well?

Our ability to stay happy, healthy, and well depends on many things – from employment to housing, education, and social connections. To make a real difference, health and care services need to consider all these factors to form a long-term strategy for the area and make a real difference.

Now is your chance to share what matters most to you. By sharing your views in a short survey, you can help shape the future of local health and care services for the next five, 10 and 20 years.You’ll also be in with the chance of winning £125 worth of shopping vouchers, just by giving your opinion. Find out more and have your say.

Notices and Updates

Welcome to our New Parish Councillors

We hope you will join us in giving a warm welcome to our two newest Parish Councillors: Mike Bailey and Tara Wright. We are excited to have them both on board and cannot wait for them to get stuck in on local projects and initiatives. Did you know our councillors are all volunteers who dedicate their time to make Banwell a great place to live? Thank you to all our councillors for their continued support.

Riverside Play Area and Fencing

We are excited to share that we have been awarded almost £20,000 from North Somerset Council to install new play equipment at Riverside. The Parish Council will match this amount to pay for a new play area. We want to thank North Somerset Council for the grant. This funding will go towards a multi-use piece of play equipment, multi-user see saw, accessible swing, tactile topiary and another picnic bench as requested in the Riverside consultation in 2019.

For health and safety reasons, the fence surrounding Riverside play area needs to be removed and replaced by the Parish Council. The fence will be replaced by a steel fence, which will be powder coated in green to maintain the rural nature of the area. The replacement fencing will cover a smaller area, however the current internal fencing around the play area will also be removed, resulting in a larger, more open play space.

New Action Plan for Banwell

The Parish Council has created a brand-new Action Plan for Banwell, with projects and initiatives to improve the area you live in. You can check out the plan over on the Parish Council website. From events to green initiatives to play areas, the plan covers several topics to help make Banwell a fantastic village for everyone to enjoy.  Get in touch with the Parish Council if you have any comments or questions about the plan.

Community Pages and Community Events

Did you know that Banwell Parish Council has a section on its website for community pages and community events? We also have a Local Business Directory. If you have a community group, business, event, club or initiative in Banwell that you would like to put on our website, then please do not hesitate to get in touch with Daisy on comms@banwellparishcouncil.org.uk. 

Parish Council E-Newsletter - Tell us what you think!

You asked us to make an E-Newsletter, and we listened! We hope you are enjoying your Banwell content. We would like to know what you think - what do you like about the E-Newsletter, and what could we do to make it even better? Fill out our quick survey and let us know! Banwell E-Newsletter Feedback - Google Forms