Big Local North Cleethorpes Activity Update for April 2022

This is a short update on what Big Local North Cleethorpes has done in April 2022.

We’ll provide these updates monthly now and if anything in this report is of interest and you would like to find out more or get involved, then please contact John or Karl at Big Local North Cleethorpes to discuss (Email: john@vanel.org.uk or karl@vanel.org.uk)

Arts and Culture

The Big Local North Cleethorpes funded “Cleethorpes Culture Festival” takes place at St Aidan’s Church, Cleethorpes over the weekend of 14th/15th May 2022. Hammond House are leading on the delivery of the weekend’s activities for Big Local and are well progressed with the planning and promotion of the event.  The webpage has been updated here, a new flyer can be downloaded here, and the Facebook page for the event is here.  Everyone is encouraged to attend (booking tickets for the activities where appropriate).

Craft sessions for local people continue to meet in the community shed at 82 Grimsby Road on Tuesday from 12 to 3pm.

Supporting Older People

Our team have now held briefings with all the Neighbourhood Policing teams that cover Cleethorpes wards to discuss Neighbourhood Watch, Neighbourhood approaches and partnership working.  Hugely helpful to have the opportunity to speak to these teams.  VANEL and BLNC continue to work very closely in partnership with the Neighbourhood Policing Teams across our wards.

The community noticeboard at the end of Barcroft Street (sea end) has been refreshed with new materials including details of the latest Policing team for Sidney Sussex ward.  We’re looking to re-establish a neighbourhood group in Barcroft Street and have a resident become responsible for this noticeboard.

A commercial sized, high security shredder has been donated by BLNC to Age UK’s Cleethorpes office. This is for community use (probably largely older residents visiting their offices) and people are being encouraged to use it to dispose of documents containing personal information.  A new “avoid identity theft” campaign will be launched in Cleethorpes during May to accompany this shredder.

We are continuing to support residents in Cleethorpes who are interested in setting up Neighbourhood Watch groups in their area.  A number of residents are exploring how to do this.

We’ve delivered a “Friends Against Scams” briefing to Friendship at Home volunteers and will continue to support groups and residents with this training.

Big Local have a supply of the “Little Book of Big Scams” and “No Cold Caller” window stickers available for residents in North Cleethorpes.

BLNC now have a range of small items of personal and household safety equipment available to residents in DN35 7 or DN35 8 postcodes.  We’ve supplied a couple of elderly residents with items this month.  In addition, after a referral from the local Policing team we helped provide a lockable letterbox to a local elderly resident who was concerned over theft of her mail.

A couple of Neighbourhood Watch Groups in Cleethorpes will be closing their streets during Jubilee weekend to hold street parties. We’ve been assisting these groups whilst they apply for the appropriate street closure licenses and get their street parties underway.

Supporting Young People

Green Influencers (young people aged 10-14 years) in Cleethorpes are working with a volunteer at Reynolds Family Hub to empty an old sand pit then design/build a new one for Cleethorpes children. Also working with a young person to design promotional leaflets.

The Young Reporters continue to meet fortnightly at 82 Grimsby Road with longer serving group members mentoring new ones. The next session on 11th May will be the last one before we look at new applicants, so we welcome new young people who are interested to apply here (insert link). The range of topics discussed this month included: bullying, mental health hospitals, ladies’ football and the metaverse – see here (insert link) for the young reporters’ articles.

Youth Working Links is supporting a young man with anxiety issues and finding other young people interested in forming a social group on Manga (Japanese style comic).

Environmental

Support was provided to Cleethorpes in Bloom to help them apply for a National Lottery Fund Awards for All Grant to run a Jubilee project to create a micro-park within Sidney Park.  The award was successful and Cleethorpes in Bloom, the Sidney Park Watch, Green Influencers and other partners are now busy getting the project underway.

Plastics Free Cleethorpes Campaign: A second meeting was held in April. The group awaits council support before it can take things further as this is a campaign requirement (Purdah preventing progress until 6th May). Grimsby Town football club are supporting. We are talking with Anglian Water for leaflets and posters about reducing use of plastics and working on a funding bid around providing plastic free reusables. If you would like to get involved contact jenny@vanel.org.uk

The resident led Pocket Park group met again this month. Once local elections are over, the group will approach local elected members, portfolio holders and others to tackle the next step of forming a working party so that work on plans for developing the patch of land into a ‘pocket park’ can be progressed.

Community and Partnership working

Four Clee Clubs are now running weekly at 82 Grimsby Road. We have an Ancestry Group; a Model Making Group; Craft Group and a Gardening Group.

Work on our Community Shed – “Brocklebank Hall” and our garden area at 82 continues with the support of staff and volunteers from our groups. Artwork on the doors of the community shed is complete and further options for artwork in the garden space are being explored.

Whilst Big Local investigates ways to further develop foodbank support locally.A donation has been made to the foodbank at Old Clee church. In the last week 30 people attended the foodbank which means 55 people received food.

We’ve been supporting local residents on their efforts to collect clothes and essentials for Ukraine refugees. Their collections were stored at St Aidan’s church and are now being sorted for distribution.

For more information about anything above, please contact us.