News courtesy of Kevin Foster
The budget
If you want to find out more detail about the overall Budget you can visit the Government website by clicking here or you can find out how it may affect you personally by clicking here.
Help for businesses hit by recent storms
If your business has been hit by the recent weather then an event in Torquay on Monday, 24 March, may be of real help.
This is the date for the FREE Torquay ‘Devon is Open for Business’ Tourism Conference being funded by the Government and delivered by VisitEngland and VisitDevon to help businesses following the recent extreme weather.
The full day event on the 24th March includes a FREE lunch and is to be held at the Riviera International Centre, starting at 10am, with parking charges suspended.
The day is divided into two parts. The morning programme includes leading tourism and business speakers presenting on: Social Media, Digital Marketing, Crisis PR, Marketing and Business Planning. The optional afternoon session will provide you with the opportunity to access a range of Business Advisors Free of Charge with the additional option to also request a visit to your own business for a FREE one to one Business Advice visit.
To book your FREE place on the Torquay ‘Devon is Open for Business’ Conference on the 24th March please visit this site, where you will find more information about the speakers and the option to request a FREE Business Advice visit to your own business.
Library consultation underway
Residents, visitors and library users are being asked to take part in a needs assessment exercise which will inform the future delivery of Library services in the Bay.
The Council is facing an estimated budget gap of £22 million over the next two financial years and, like all local authorities, has to make difficult decisions about its services as the government seeks to deal with the national deficit. The library service needs to reduce its spending by £237,500 within 2015/16.
In view of this, Torbay Council is undertaking a needs assessment of its library service to help identify what local people need from this service and understand how it can deliver its statutory duty of a ‘comprehensive and efficient library service’.
The Council started its assessment on Friday 14th March by launching an online consultation which you can find by clicking here. Copies of a paper version of this survey will also be available at your local Library. There will also be public consultation events which I will include details of in a future update once they are confirmed.
New recycling point for small electrical items
At the end of last year, Torbay Council installed new recycling collection points for small domestic electrical items at its Connections offices in Castle Circus, Torquay, Paignton Library and Information Centre and Brixham Library.
Due to the success of the scheme, the Council has now installed a new recycling collection point in Torquay Library, where items can be taken for recycling, including any of the following: kettles, toasters, irons, mobile phones, remote controls, chargers, small radios, electronic toys, games consoles, small power tools such as drills and personal care items such as hair dryers, hair straighteners, electric toothbrushes, hair trimmers, shavers and hair curlers.
Residents can take these items for recycling between the times of 09.30 and 18.00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and 09.30 and 13.00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 09.30 and 16.00 on Saturdays.
Alternatively, if small electricals are still in good working order, they could be donated to charity. Refurnish Devon in Victoria Square, Paignton, collects reusable items for resale at low cost to people on low income in Torbay.
Have your say on bus services
Most of Torbay’s bus services are run by private companies on a commercial basis, with the exception of four services which currently rely on some financial support from Torbay Council (some jointly with Devon County Council for routes that link to areas outside of Torbay).
The financial support provided by the council allows local bus companies to run services at times when they would not otherwise be operated as they are not commercially viable.
Torbay Council is carrying out a needs assessment to review the current level of subsidised transport it funds. Part of this assessment is to consult with the public on their use of, and views about the service. You can read the consultation document here.
Are you ageing well?
People of all ages in Torbay are being invited to attend a community visioning event to collect experiences and share ideas about how we could age better in our communities.
The events will be held from 4-7pm at Berry Head Hotel, Brixham on April 1; April 2 at Living Coasts, Torquay; and April 3 at Paignton Zoo, Paignton . Please call 01803 212 638 or email ageingbetter@TorbayCDT.org.uk to let the organisers know you are attending or to book transport.
