| Bromsgrove North Safer Neighbourhood Team will be in Fairfield (outside the Cafe) Thursday 22nd April from 6pm for 1hr. Please come and say hello. Share any concerns or seek advice that is needed. |
| A representative from FVCA, your local Neighbourhood Watch Group, will also be present. |
The Duke of Edinburgh’s ceremonial royal funeral will take place at St George’s Chapel on Saturday 17th April. The procession and service will be televised. Details tbc. After the service, the duke’s coffin will be lowered into the royal vault below the quire. A national minute’s silence will be observed as the service begins at 3pm.
The death of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, has been announced, the Union Flag in front of the Village Hall has been lowered to half-mast. Many residents have expressed deep sorrow at this news, and wish the Queen and the Royal Family strength at this very sad time.
• Keep calm & collect evidence
• Block & stop communication
• Report to the police and the platform where threats are made
• Find more advice here: Sextortion and webcam blackmail advice | Revenge Porn Helpline
Don’t accept bullying, watch Danny’s story:
For 70 years the Countryside Code has been guiding us on how to protect our outdoor spaces, and it’s still as important as ever.
Read the updated Countryside Code: CLICK HERE
| The school PTFA have created an Easter Trail around the village that will run throughout the Easter holidays. Along the trail, attached to benches, there will be some clues that children can use to find a winning word. If you see these clues, please do not remove. The PTFA have asked that people participating in the Easter Trail follow clear rules: 1) Adhere to social distancing and all of the current government COVID guidelines, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do 2) Dogs are kept on leads and any dog mess to be picked up. 3) All litter is taken home and/or disposed of correctly. 4) Vehicles parked with consideration to village residents. If you have any questions please contact the PTFA at the following email address fairfieldfirstschool@gmail.com |
A Fire & Rescue crew from Bromsgrove attended a fire in the open involving 25m of hedgerow today (Tuesday 30th March), Middle Road, Wildmoor.
| If your property is connected to the Mount Road OpenReach junction box, you can now upgrade your internet connection to FULL FIBRE. |
| Contact your internet service provider to upgrade your package – see what deals they are offering. |
| Your Internet Service Provider will arrange for an engineer to visit your property to install the fibre connection. |
Philip Shipway, Appeals Manager at the Woodland Trust, has provide FVCA with a Pepper Wood appeal update.
In his email, Philip said how pleased the Woodland Trust are to have the support of residents and Fairfield Village Community Association and that it is wonderful that local residents have been contributing to the appeal.
Public support for the appeal has been phenomenal, and with money from other funding sources the Woodland Trust are confident they will raise the money needed to acquire the extension which will allow them to double the size of the wonderful Pepper Wood. However, they do still need donations to take them over the line, so please keep spreading the word.
For further information about the appeal and to make a donation CLICK HERE
Frequently Asked Questions
Philip has provided some answers to some frequently asked questions, plus an aerial photograph from which you will be able to see the area of land we are hoping to purchase to extend the existing Pepper Wood.
“We aim to establish a lot of the new trees on the extension via natural regeneration but there will still be a need to prepare the ground, and protect areas from deer etc so any young trees can flourish. We will carry out some tree planting and this will give us the opportunity to run several low-key tree planting events with, for example, local schools. This is very much a conservation-driven project. We are not necessarily aiming to attract lots of new visitors to the site and put extra pressure on the already limited parking facilities at Pepper Wood. There will be a footpath network across the new land linking to Pepper Wood but on the whole facilities and any public events will be relatively low-key.“
In the last few days, more attempts to defraud people have been reported to the police, with some victims handing over thousands of pounds. West Mercia Police are aware that criminals, pretending to be police officers are targeting people in Shropshire and North Worcestershire in a scam known as ‘Courier Fraud’. Again, the victims are elderly and vulnerable people.
Detective Inspector Emma Wright said: “Sadly, these predators are again targeting vulnerable people who may not have seen the news recently or aware of media and police reports about this scam.
“I urge everyone who has elderly or vulnerable relatives to please give them call, call over the fence to their neighbour or remind them if they pop into your shop that the police will never, ever, call you and instruct you to withdraw your cash. No officer will ever ask for you to travel to a bank and hand over your money as part of an investigation, if a loved one is in custody or if your account has been compromised. These are all lies.
“These criminals are significant members of organised crime gangs with the confidence and the experience to be very convincing and ‘Courier Fraud’ is just one element of their criminal activities. But we can defeat them in one simple act: hanging up the phone. No police officer will telephone your granny, your dad or you and ask for your money. They are lying, they are criminals and you can beat them by ending the call.
“So please, tell anyone you think needs to know, that no police officer from any force or department will ever ask you to hand over money or transfer funds, regardless of their name or unit. If you work in a bank, you can help us by using the Banking Protocol and preventing vulnerable people who potential victims of fraud from withdrawing large amounts of cash to hand over to couriers in these scams. Please alert us if you suspect a vulnerable person is withdrawing cash for this purpose, so we can check they are not a victim. I would like to reassure people in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford and Worcestershire that we are investigating these crimes and these gangs and want to hear from anyone who has been contacted in this way”
“If the crime is still in progress, because for example, you have recently provided bank details or handed over cards or cash or are going to visit your bank or the caller has arranged for someone to visit your address to collect items, you should call the police to report this on 101. In an emergency dial 999.”
“Please remember the police will never contact you asking for your bank card, details, cash or ask you to go to a bank to withdraw cash. If someone does, it’s a scam – provide no details and hand nothing over, hang up, wait ten minutes then call 101.”