Newport and District Civic Society/Newport Society will be hosting John Hughes, Development Manager, Shropshire Wildlife Trust at its meeting on Tuesday 27th September 2016.

John Hughes will be talking about the wide-ranging work of Shropshire Wildlife Trust’s work in Telford & Wrekin which covers so much more than you might think.

As an example, BBC Midlands Today earlier this month gave coverage to the purchase by the Trust of a scrapyard covering 6 hectares which lies on one of Britain’s largest peatbogs known as the Marches Mosses. Come along to the meeting to find out why it was purchased and what the Trust intend to do with it.

Speaker background:

John Hughes has worked for Shropshire Wildlife Trust for 16 years developing projects to protect wildlife and enthuse people. John is an entertaining and informative speaker, is well known for his autumn “fungus forays” and as an expert on Radio Shropshire’s Sunday gardening programme. Over these years John has successfully won many grants for the Trust to work on all kinds of environmental projects across the county, including health, heritage, land acquisitions and working with young people.

The event takes place on Tuesday September 27th at 7.30pm in St Andrew’s Church Hall, Church Aston TF 10 9 JG.

Everyone is welcome to attend. A small charge is made to cover hall costs & refreshments; £1 members, £2 to non-members.

The new membership year for the Society starts this September. Members of the public will be able to join the Society at our meeting held on 27th September 2016.

THE NEWPORT SOCIETY has great pleasure in announcing a very special event for Newport and area.
Professor Ralph Early, Professor of Food Industry at Harper Adams University and Head of the University’s Department of Food Science and Agri-Food Supply Chain Management is kindly hosting a special talk and visit to the Regional Food Academy.
All are welcome to attend, both members and non-members of the Society and the evening promises to be really interesting. There is no charge for this event.
Professor Early will talk on “Our broken food system: problems and solutions.”
David Parker, Chairman of the Newport Society is enthusiastic about this event:
“This is such a topical subject right now with the national dairy industry suffering from low milk prices, changes in farming methods and the potential threats to the food we eat from the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) currently being negoiated between the EU and the US, and other developments in the news. We are looking forward to hearing an expert view. Newport is now a University town and is proud to have one of the world’s leading Universities on our doorstep”.
Those intending to come should arrive between 7 and 7.15 ready for a prompt start for Professor Early’s talk at 7.30pm with a tour of the Regional Food Academy at 20:30, finishing at 21:30. Direction signs will be provided on the evening.
Further information from : prchadwick353@gmail.com

The Editor of the Shropshire Star, Martin Wright, will be speaking at St Andrew’s Church Hall, Church Aston, Newport on the evening of Tuesday March 22, to give us a flavour of the challenges facing Regional Newspapers. In today’s world of Social Media with a multitude of channels bombarding us with information, the ‘Citizen journalist’ when everyone and anyone can broadcast news and views, what is the future for the traditional Press?

Martin Wright will be giving a presentation which will be of great interest to us all and there will be a chance to ask questions and find out more about your local newspaper.

The event is on Tuesday 22nd March 2016, at 7.30 pm at St. Andrew’s Church Hall, Church Aston TF10 9JG. Do join us. A small charge of £2 for visitors and £1 for members includes refreshments.

Want to hear the facts about the changes to benefits which will progressively come in over the next few years; what is ‘universal credit’ and how with it affect those people on some form of income support due to low wages or zero hours contracts; who is entitled to use the food bank; how and why the level of homelessness could rise over the next few years; how and why ‘sanctions’ on benefits are imposed and the immediate devastating effect this can have; reduced care for the elderly in the home; cuts to support for the disabled as well as answers to many other questions, then come and hear speakers from the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) who deal with ordinary people who may need to access benefits at various times in order to maintain even a basic standard of living or a levels of support from carers etc., as well as interpreting the many changes in the rules and regulations.

The presentation is sponsored by NEWPORT SOCIETY and is on Tuesday 23rd February 2016, at St Andrew’s Church Hall, Church Aston TF 10 9 JG, starting at 7. 30 pm.

Everyone is very welcome to attend and to ask questions. A small charge of £2 is made for non-members which will be donated to the food bank.

Exciting future plans for land off Audley Avenue will be presented by ‘designforum’, a Shropshire architectural and design practice very much involved in Newport for several years.
In addition, Cllr. Eric Carter, in his role as Chairman of Newport Regeneration Partnership (NRP) , will also talk about other potential future developments with which NRP is involved, including national initiatives at Harper Adams University which will aim to ensure that high quality employment opportunities are retained in the town.
There will also be an opportunity for wider discussion about car parking changes, possible library closure, the well-publicised Telford & Wrekin Budget proposals currently under consultation and the future for Newport, including the “Newport Proposition” a document from Telford & Wrekin Council.
The meeting is on this Tuesday January 26 – 7.30 pm – at St Andrew’s Church Hall, Church Aston TF 10 9JG . For non–members a £2 charge is made towards the cost of refreshments and the hire of the hall. Alternatively, join the Society for £10 a year and get free entry to the meeting.

….or is it ?

Following on from the recent programmes on BBC 1 by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall entitled ‘Hugh’s War on Waste’, in which Hugh focussed on how we are failing to recycle many items which can be recycled in a whole variety of ways, Sarah Maythorne, the UK Community Liaison Officer for the award winning French owned Veolia group who provide the waste and recycling collection services for T&W, will provide background details on the transnational operations of the Veolia group and how it is providing services for the collection of waste from households in Newport, how much of the waste is either recycled or used to provide power from waste incinerator facilities together with initiatives to increase the amount waste that is recycled.

In addition, Sadie Roberts,the Waste Contract & Customer Engagement Team Leader at T&W and Debbie Germany, T&W Waste & Neighbourhood Services Performance Service Delivery Manager, will be attending to answer any questions on the T&W bin and recycling service or to hear how you think it could be improved.
The evening is being hosted by Newport and District Civic Society. The meeting will be held on Tuesday 24th November 2015, commencing at 7.30 pm at St. Andrew’s Church Hall, Church Aston TF 10 9JG.
Non members are very welcome to attend at a small charge of £2 which includes for refreshments after the presentation

Newport & District Civic Society presents the inaugural Annual Newport Lecture

“PEOPLE & PLACES – Keeping Newport Different”

Tue 20 Oct 7.30pm
Newport Girls’ HighSchool, Wellington Rd.

Les Sparks OBE, distinguished architect, planner, adviser & Chair of Heritage Lottery Fund West Midlands & of Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site Steering Committee

Free and everyone of all ages is welcome and a lively debate is expected!

Sula Rayska, the principal of a small independent firm of heritage consultants, has considerable experience as a project manager and fundraiser for heritage projects across the West Midlands and beyond.
She has previously worked for government organisations, local authorities and building preservation trusts. Sula is qualified both as an archivist and a surveyor and is a former area manager with the National Trust.
The presentation by Sula will cover details of a number of successful bids together with advice as to particular issues which are relevant for any bids which any individuals or organisations may be looking to prepare.
The evening is being hosted by Newport and District Civic Society. The meeting will be held on Tuesday 29th September 2015, commencing at 7.30 pm at St. Andrew’s Church Hall, Church Aston TF 10 9JG.
Non members are very welcome to attend at a small charge of £2 which includes for refreshments after the presentation.

Newport 21, Newport’s environmental action group, and Newport and District Civic Society invite you to please put

Monday 14th September

in your diary now, 7.30 p.m. in the Cosy Hall, Water Lane, Newport TF10 7LD, for

Houses that don’t cost the earth – Buildings fit for the 21st Century

· Is it possible to build affordable houses that are 80% more energy efficient than the current standard new UK house?

· How would you like your annual heating bill to be less than £70?

· Is there a really sustainable alternative to the houses that are being built all around us now?

Come and hear Jonathan Hines share his vision and his experience as an architect and managing director of Architype, the UK’s leading architects for sustainable buildings. Based in London and Hereford, Architype build to the highest ‘Passivhaus’ quality standard and have won awards for their buildings. Jonathan has also recently set up a Hereford-based company, ArchiHaus, to help realise his vision for ‘living villages’. Named in a list of the top 50 people most influencing sustainable development in the UK, he is much in demand as a speaker.

At a time when Newport is working on a Neighbourhood Development Plan and Telford and Wrekin’s draft Local Plan is out for consultation this is a priority date for all who care for our future here in Shropshire