Now more people are welcome to join in the fun sessions run by Rochford District Council in partnership with Southend United Community & Educational Trust and funded by the Rochford Local Strategic Partnership.

The Blues Bodycare Fit For Life Programme is aimed at the over 55 age group and designed to increase their physical activity levels whilst providing information and knowledge in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The fun sessions consist of informal talks together with a practical session.

This fantastic five week programme is suitable for both men and women of all abilities. Each week participants are introduced to a different type of activity – exercise to music, resistance training, Pilates, fitness walking.

Following pilots in Rochford and Rayleigh, the sessions in Great Wakering and Hullbridge are proving very popular, in particular the session at Hullbridge where more than 30 people are regularly attending.

Janet Stracey, Vice Chairman of The Hullbridge Centre where the sessions are taking place, said “The purpose of the Hullbridge Centre is to provide interest and entertainment for the older residents of Hullbridge, who make up over a quarter of our population, at a reasonable cost. To do this we attempt to provide a wide range of stimulating and amusing activities and, of these, Blues Bodycare is one of the most successful.

I am sure the connection with Southend United Football Club was the initial attraction which brought in so many people. Often things that are considered to be ‘good for you’ are just a bore, this, however, is different – it’s interesting and informative.

We hope we shall be able to build on this so that such a course becomes a permanent feature at the Centre.”

Tina Adlam course tutor from Southend United Community & Educational Trust added “I have been completely blown away by the enthusiasm and energy of the members of the Hullbridge Community group. It just goes to prove that age is not a barrier to enjoy fitness’

For further information on the Fit for Life sessions please contact Sarah Potts on 01702 341351.

Don’t panic though, nothing’s changed with our stunning open spaces such as Hockley Woods or Sweyne Park, and the range of choice at our local shops remains as excellent as ever.

What have changed are the boundary signs by the side of the road welcoming people to Rochford District. Fourteen new signs have been erected across the boundary of the District, replacing the old ones which had been in place for several years.

At the same time, the Council is also putting up brown tourist signs to draw attention to some of the gems in our area, such as the 200-year old Rayleigh Windmill, which has recently had its museum given accreditation status by the Museums, Libraries and Archive Council.

The Leader of Rochford District Council, Councillor Terry Cutmore unveiled one of the first signs to go up on Friday. He said: “Although the old signs across the District had served us well, many had been in place for many, many years and were starting to deteriorate quite badly, to the point where replacement was necessary. The new signs are very, smart, up-to-date and fit in with the character of the area.”

Rochford District Council Chairman Councillor Tony Humphries chose the charity to benefit from the money that was raised on the day.

The event was an opportunity for players from businesses, local authorities and the general public to raise money for charity while doing something that they enjoy.

Ten teams gathered at Ballards Gore Golf and Country Club to take part in the event, offering prizes for the winning team as well as nearest the pin and the longest drive competitions. Money was also raised throughout the day, many people also had the opportunity to sponsor a tee.

After the round of golf many of the players were joined by their partners, local councillors and guests for a three-course meal, where a raffle and an auction took place, with some raffle and winning prizes donated by small businesses, which also helped to raise more money for the charities.

It was ladies day at the event as the winning team of the day were an all-ladies team Peggy Corbett, Barbara Watkins, Pat Cox and Dee Wells and to top it the overall winner was Barbara Watkins.

Chairman of Rochford District Council, Councillor Tony Humphries said: “It was fantastic to see so many local businesses and groups turn out and give so generously to the Havens Hospice. The charity does a huge amount of good work for people in the District so it is a pleasure to be able to raise this much money for them.”

The Community Animal Welfare Footprints awards aim to reward and promote good practice in animal welfare by local authorities and housing providers in England and Wales.

They recognise organisations that have gone above and beyond their basic service requirements to ensure higher animal welfare standards.

Councillor Mrs Mavis Webster, Member Champion for Animal Welfare said “I am so pleased that Rochford District Council has received these awards from the RSPCA. It is a testament to all the hard work that officers have carried out to ensure that standards of animal welfare are maintained to a high level”.

The awards are split into four categories and the Council have won awards in two of the categories; the Animal Welfare Principles Footprint and the Stray Dogs footprint.

The Animal Welfare Principles Footprint includes the provision of a written policy on animal welfare – our Animal Welfare Charter – and examples of good practice sharing. Additional requirements include website links and information, and adoption of higher welfare policies with regard to food procurement.

The Stray Dogs Footprint covers the policies and procedures that should ensure stray dog welfare is protected from collection to conclusion, including kennelling, both during and out of office hours, as well as swift treatment of injured and sick dogs. It also focuses on proactive work to educate the public and preventative measures to reduce long-term straying.

The Council has been nominated in the Local Authority Target Success category at the awards, which recognise the highest achieving local authorities across the country. The awards aim to reward councils and boroughs which have achieved high levels of waste reduction and that have excelled with their recycling and waste minimisation targets. The period to be judged will be from April 2008 to March 2009.

Rochford District Council launched its new Maximise Recycling Scheme on 21st July 2008. The new scheme saw the expansion of the range of materials that could be collected from the kerbside, increasing the councils recycling rates from below 20% to nearly 70%.

The awards ceremony will take place on 27th October.

Portfolio Holder for Environment Councillor Michael Starke said: “It’s a fantastic achievement to have been shortlisted for the award and we’re proud to have been recognised for the work we have put in. However, it’s also important to note this particular category recognises levels of waste reduction, so it is a great credit to the residents of the Rochford District who have helped make this scheme such a success.”

“Although this comes as a disappointment for residents and the Council alike, the Council is taking action. We have recently set up a Friends of Sweyne Park group and are developing a Friends of Cherry Orchard Park group as well as planning “Friends of” groups for other open spaces across the District. One of the aims of “Friends of” groups is to try and address issues such as these and work with the residents to stop vandalism occurring in the future.

If you are interested in becoming a member of a Friends group or require further information then please e-mail beafriend@rochford.gov.uk“.

Rochford-born Dean who struck gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne as well as winning silver and bronze at the 1999 and 2001 World Championships, will attend the event and present awards.

As well as spending more than a decade as Britain’s number one decathlete he also won BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Best Newcomer 1999.

Commonwealth Gold Medal winning decathlete Dean Macey said: “It’s an honour to be asked to appear at the Rochford District Sports Awards, sponsored by Virgin Active. Having been born in Rochford I’m proud to have won many medals and awards in my career and am looking forward to meeting the next generation of sports stars from the District.”

Nominations are still open for the second Rochford District Sports Awards. activerochford the Community Activity Network for the Rochford District is organising this year’s awards, sponsored by Virgin Active and in association with The Rayleigh Times.
The event will take place at The Freight House, Rochford on the evening of Thursday 22 October and nominations can either be submitted online or the form can be downloaded via the Rochford District Council website at http://www.rochford.gov.uk/sportsawards
Awards will be presented in the following categories:
• Sports Personality of the Year
• Disability Sports Personality of the Year
• Young Sports Personality of the Year
• Services to Sport
• Sports Club of the Year
The closing date for nominations is 30 September 2009.
Once again Squires Café Bars, Waters & Stanton PLC, Southend United Football Club and Southend United Community & Educational Trust and Connaught Environmental Ltd will be sponsoring categories and they will be joined this year by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.
For more information on the awards please contact Mark Aldous, Sports Development Officer at Rochford District Council on 01702 318121 or mark.aldous@rochford.gov.uk

The Essex Tourism Award-nominated attraction is celebrating its 200th birthday on Sunday September 13 and as part of the celebrations an oral history project is ongoing. The project has been made possible thanks to a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Oral history projects are compilations of people’s memories put on tape for future generations. Trained researchers are available to record memories of the Windmill which will form part of the celebrations.

So whether it’s a wartime tale to tell or a wedding at the windmill and wherever you live in the world, every memory counts for this unique project, contact Rochford District Council’s Leisure Services team on 01702 546366 for more details.

And to celebrate, Rayleigh resident Chris Jones has created a song dedicated to the windmill itself!

‘Sails in the Wind’ was written and sung by Chris, and produced by Aviv Cohen and recorded in his own studio in Barling – a totally home grown production!

Chris is very passionate about his local area and has been writing and composing his own material since the 1970’s. He was approached by the Arts Development Department of Rochford District Council to create a song for the Sails in the Wind project and took on the challenge with gusto and enthusiasm.

Chris had this to say about his involvement in the project:

“The final result has been well worth all the time and effort and I’m proud of what I have been able to contribute to this landmark celebration in my hometown through this song. I just hope it gives pleasure to those who will get to hear it in the coming weeks”

As part of the 200th Birthday celebrations for the Windmill foundations of a new public art sculpture inspired by the Rayleigh Windmill will be laid on Friday 21st August. The sculpture designed by Nicola Burrell will show the inner workings of the windmill before it became a museum including grinding stones, cogs and pulleys.

For more information about the project and to download the track go to www.rochford.gov.uk/windmillcelebrations

Over the next two years, the TGSE sub region will receive a regional government investment of £1.5 million, to be used to pay for improvements to empty homes.

Pathmeads Housing Association, part of Genesis Housing Group, has been appointed as managing agent. Under the scheme property owners, the local authorities and Pathmeads will identify properties that would benefit from renovation and then agree terms usually with a five-year lease. Pathmeads will then be loaned the money up to £20,000 per property from the regional pot to bring the homes to decent homes standards. This loan will then be recovered through regular repayments when a tenant in housing need has been placed in the property. Affordable rent levels will be set for all properties in the scheme. These repayments to the local authorities will ensure that the scheme is self-funding, beyond 2011.

Councillor Mrs Tracy Capon from Rochford District Council and Councillor Mrs Wendy Goodwin from Castle Point Borough Council said “ This will scheme will improve the housing choice of families waiting for housing and will provide a long term contribution to meeting the sub region’s housing need. All the TGSE partners are keen to be pro-active and improve accommodation standards to provide a greater range of available properties. The scheme has the added value of reducing the blight of empty homes and will help increase the sustainability of housing options in the area.”