2


The Camborne / Redruth / Hayle Gazette April 2017


News


New moves on air pollution


CORNWALL Mobility is one of the groups to receive Community Chest funding. Edward Trewhella is shown with a sand chair that allows wheelchair users access to Cornwall’s beaches


Communities gain grants


VOLUNTARY and com- munity groups in Corn- wall have so far bene- fited from Cornwall Council Community Chest grants worth £214,716.


And the final 2016- 2017 total is expected to be close to £245,000 by the end of the finan- cial year.


Every year Cornwall Council’s 123 council- lors are each given a fund of £2,000 to sup- port projects run by groups in their local area. So far this finan- cial year, they have awarded 751 grants that have benefited a wide range of people and ac- tivities, from commu-


nity facilities and envi- ronmental projects to schemes promoting healthy living, music and sport.


Councillors have given grants towards everything from cinema equipment for a com- munity cinema to trom- bones for town bands. Many groups have used the grants to at- tract match funding, leading to a further £2m investment in projects and organisations. Local community pro- jects have included Out and About with High- way Farm at Four Lanes, Redruth, with £300 for a fundraising event.


Grant to help the homeless


CORNWALL is to benefit from a £1.2m Flexible Homelessness Support Grant.


The move has been welcomed by Cornwall Council Cabinet member for housing and the envi- ronment Joyce Duffin.


She said: ‘Although most of this is not new money as such, as this funding replaces the money the council previously received to support the cost of providing temporary accommodation, it is still very welcome.


‘The increased funding will be used to enhance the council’s homelessness service.’


CORNWALL’S Clean Air Strategy, which gained na- tional attention when it was suggested that residents could possibly be moved away from traffic pollution hotspots, has been approved. While the strategy was be- ing debated, one of the sug- gestions was that people liv- ing in properties next to roads with poor air quality could face having their prop- erties purchased. The idea, however, met with opposition and Corn- wall Council is now stress- ing that the ‘Clean Air for


Cornwall Strategy and the Air Quality Action Plans do not include any plans for compulsory purchase or re- location of residents in areas of poor air quality’.


The council’s cabinet has approved the strategy. Councillor Geoff Brown said: ‘The Clean Air Strategy for Cornwall provides a firm basis for Cornwall Council to improve air quality and a clear policy for future plan- ning and local air quality management. It’s an impor- tant step forward in improv- ing air quality in our seven


Air Quality Management Ar- eas for residents and visitors alike.’


The strategy focuses on re- ducing the amount of nitro- gen dioxide and fine particu- lates caused by vehicle emissions.


It includes updated indi- vidual Air Quality Action Plans to improve the air quality within six of Corn- wall’s Air Quality Manage- ment Areas – in Bodmin, Camborne-Pool-Redruth, Gunnislake, St Austell, Tide- ford and Truro. The seventh Air Quality Management


Area in Camelford was de- clared in January and work is under way on a draft ac- tion plan for the town. The strategy also includes specific projects to help tackle air quality issues: n Encouraging the uptake of alternative fuels and low emission transport n Providing 37 new buses on routes across Cornwall with lower emissions nWalking and cycling im- provements n A review of council poli- cies on its pool and fleet ve- hicles, and travel planning


Check right to sick pay


By STEPHANIE GREATOREX


CITIZENS Advice Cornwall is urging peo- ple to check if they’re eligible for sick pay. The advice comes af- ter national research found some employers are tricking people out of pay when they are off work because of ill- ness or injury, says the organisation. Tactics used by em- ployers included: lCancelling people’s shifts after they call in sick l Reducing people’s wages and down-play- ing their working hours so they don’t meet the £112 weekly


earnings threshold


l Asking for a GP note as evidence staff are ill for a few days, even though people can self-certify for up to seven days l Refusing to fill in a


HMRC sick pay form. Statutory sick pay is payable for up to 28 weeks of sick leave and is currently £88.45 per week. You don’t have to be a full-time employee to get statutory sick pay. You also qualify if you’re on a fixed term contract, work part- time, work through an agency or on a zero- hours contract.


Citizens Advice Cornwall is urging peo- ple who are too ill to


Accessories & Repairs Phone Unlocking,


PHONE CASES, CHARGERS, SCREEN PROTECTORS, BLUETOOTH SPEAKERS, HEADPHONES,


SIM CARDS, SELFIE STICKS, IPAD ACCESSORIES, AND MUCH MORE!


Visit us every weekend at Pool Market near Redruth 01209 712807


& Cornish Market World (Par Market) near St Austell 01726 813637


PHOTOGRAPHIC PARLOUR


PICK UP A PROP STRIKE A POSE & GET A PRINT!


Our mobile studio is now taking bookings throughout Cornwall.


Bespoke fun photographs for your event or special occasion


PERFECT PICTURES 01736 364407


work to check if they are eligible for sick pay, and to seek advice if they believe they are but their employer won’t pay. Nationally, Citizens Advice helped with 19,800 problems with sick pay and sick leave in 2016.


Over the same pe- riod, Citizens Advice Cornwall helped people with 199 sick-pay re- lated problems, includ- ing those where em- ployers exploited confusion around the rules to try to get away with not paying people who need time off sick. Cornwall Citizens Advice chief executive Neil Colquhoun said:


‘Many workers are en- titled to sick pay and it’s very concerning that some employers are going to lengths to avoid giving people the pay they’re owed.


‘The last thing people should be worrying about when they’re un- able to work is not be- ing paid properly. ‘Time off is not only important while people recover, but it stops them from being left with a hole in their fi- nances they are unable to fill. If you think you are owed sick pay but your employer won’t pay, contact Citizens Advice Cornwall for help on 0344 411 1444.’


Health plan under fire


THE proposed NHS Sus- tainability and Transfor- mation Plan (STP) for Cornwall has been criti- cised by the Cornwall Council Health and So- cial Committee. The STP is due to set out plans for funding and delivering healthcare for the next five years. A scrutiny committee of seven councillors, chaired by Lib-Dem Rob Rotchell, concluded that the Outline Business Case (OBC) for the STP


was not ‘fit for purpose’. The Government has set Cornwall NHS services a target of saving £277m. The scrutiny committee raised serious concerns about the plan as it stands.


Cllr Rotchell said: ‘By rejecting the Outline Business Case we have sent a message to the Government and NHS England, that we will not stand idly by and watch Cornwall’s health and care services decline.’


Hair It Is Mobile Hairdresser


Call Cathy 07977 396416


01209 200754 City of Guilds credited


CHILDREN will be taught about looking after their teeth


Bid to help pupils look after teeth


A CAMPAIGN to improve children’s dental health has been launched.


The Brighter Smiles scheme will see dentists and schools working together in Cornwall in an at- tempt to prevent tooth decay among children aged 5-9.


Around 1,000 children aged 5-9 in the county go into hospital to have a tooth out each year – but the problem is 100 per cent preventable, said Cornwall-based dentists Smile Together. ‘We know that parents, guardians and schools welcome oral health education,’ said clinical direc- tor Chris Roberts.


‘The Brighter Smiles campaign will see us step up our work in tackling this issue.’


The company plans to run its Brighter Smiles project as a pilot in Indian Queens, with funding coming from commercial sponsors and local donors. It then hopes to see the scheme rolled out across Cornwall and taken up in other parts of the UK.


Please send us


your pictures We welcome pictures from readers of the Gazette. Please send photographs of community events and fundraising activities to the email address simon.artymiuk@cornish-times.co.uk


Guidelines – Pictures need to be added to emails as jpeg attachments. They should be at least 300KB and ideally no more than 5MB.


n A publicity campaign to increase awareness of air quality problems and to re- duce vehicle engine idling


n A Developers Contribu- tion Strategy to ensure that developers contribute to air quality measures.


Councils are required to monitor air quality against national targets and to de- clare areas with poor air quality as Air Quality Man- agement Areas.


Cornwall Council moni- tors air quality in more than 180 different locations.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15