Postponed – High West Jesmond Community Picnic

High West Jesmond Community Picnic on Sunday 16 June 2024

UPDATE – POSTPONED

We are saddened to announce the postponement of the event scheduled for Sunday 16 June 2024 due to the soggy venue and a 70% risk of rain on Sunday. We will be back in touch in due course, if and when the British Summer arrives! Our apologies if this spoils any plans that you might have had for Sunday.

Everyone welcome!

Come along and join in the festivities in High West Jesmond.

The High West Jesmond Community Picnic will take place on Sunday 16 June 2024 from 1pm onwards.

Bring along your picnic rugs/ chairs/ tables/ food and drink.

Community sharing table

It would be so much appreciated if you could bring a little bit extra food and put it on the sharing table for all to enjoy – last year this was a great success!

Further details

Games and activities

Music

Plants for sale

There will be NO CHARGE for attending this event.

Please bring cash for the tombola or if you wish to buy plants.

Location, Date and Time

Location – Little Dene Park (corner of Moorfield and Lodore Road, High West Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne).

Date – Sunday 16 June 2024.

Time – from 1pm.

Organised by

This High West Jesmond community event is being organised by volunteers from the High West Jesmond Residents’ Association and the Friends of the Valley, Little Dene and Little Dene Park (FOVALD).

We hope that you can join us and we look forward to seeing you on Sunday 16 June.

February 25, 2024

Have your say on a new political map for Newcastle City Council

A new pattern of wards is being developed for Newcastle City Council.

The following news release was issued by Newcastle City Council:

The Local Government Boundary Commission has decided that the number of councillors in Newcastle should be 78, the same as now.

The Local Government Boundary Commission wants to hear what residents and organisations think about their local area. A 10-week consultation inviting proposals will run until 1 April 2024.

The Commission is the independent body that draws these boundaries.

It is reviewing Newcastle to make sure councillors represent about the same number of electors, and that ward arrangements help the council work effectively. It wants to be sure that its proposals reflect community ties and identities.

The Commission is interested in views on which communities should be part of the same ward. What facilities do people share, such as parks, leisure centres or schools and shopping areas? What issues do neighbouring communities face that they have in common, such as high numbers of visitors or heavy traffic?

Have there been new housing or commercial developments that have changed the focus of communities? And are there roads, rivers, railways, or other features that people believe form strong boundaries between neighbourhoods?

The Commission will use local views to help it draw up proposals for new ward boundaries. There will be a further round of consultation once the Commission has drawn up those proposals.

Launching the consultation Professor Colin Mellors, Chair of the Commission, said: “We want people in Newcastle to help us.

“We are starting to draw up new wards for Newcastle. We want our proposals for new electoral arrangements to reflect communities. We also want them to be easy to understand and convenient for local people.

“Residents and local organisations can help us understand community ties and identities at this early stage of the process.

“It’s easy to get involved. Go to our website. Or you can e-mail or write to us.

“Just tell us what you think and give us some details why you think that. It’s really simple, so do get involved.”

People can give their views via our website at https://www.lgbce.org.uk/all-reviews/newcastle-upon-tyne/feedback

People can also give their views by e-mail at reviews@lgbce.org.uk, and by post:

Review Officer (Newcastle upon Tyne)

LGBCE

PO Box 133

Blyth

NE24 9FE

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England is an independent body accountable to Parliament. It recommends fair electoral and boundary arrangements for local authorities in England. In doing so, it aims to

Make sure that, within an authority, each councillor represents a similar number of electors
Reflect the electoral cycle so that each ward is represented by three councillors
Create boundaries that are appropriate, and reflect community ties and identities

The above news story was issued by Newcastle City Council and is available to read on the Newcastle City Council website. It has been included here for information and does not necessarily represent the views of High West Jesmond Residents’ Association.

February 25, 2024

Early morning light in Little Dene Park

Here is a photograph of the recent early morning light in Little Dene Park, High West Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne.

With many thanks to the Lending a Hand group for their further work this week undertaking autumn maintenance jobs in Little Dene Park and the other green spaces in High West Jesmond.

FOVALD caring for our green spaces

FOVALD (Friends of the Valley, Little Dene and Little Dene Park) is a small voluntary organisation based in High West Jesmond.

They have adopted the Valley from the City Council and Little Dene Park from the City’s Freemen (it is part of the Town Moor).

FOVALD also look after the original Little Dene as a nature resource.

On Tuesday mornings, FOVALD organise’s a group called Lending a Hand that does the maintenance & improvement work on the green spaces in this part of High West Jesmond, as well as keeping all the other verges and paths in the area tidy.

Many thanks to FOVALD and to the Lending a Hand group for their ongoing work to enhance our community green spaces.

November 12, 2023

Little Dene Park bathed in autumn sunshine

Here are some photographs of Little Dene Park, High West Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne bathed in autumn sunshine.

We thought you would like to see the autumn sunshine and the colours of Little Dene Park, High West Jesmond from earlier this week.

With many thanks to the Lending a Hand group for their further work this week undertaking autumn maintenance jobs in Little Dene Park and the other green spaces in High West Jesmond.

FOVALD caring for our green spaces

FOVALD (Friends of the Valley, Little Dene and Little Dene Park) is a small voluntary organisation based in High West Jesmond.

They have adopted the Valley from the City Council and Little Dene Park from the City’s Freemen (it is part of the Town Moor).

FOVALD also look after the original Little Dene as a nature resource.

Many thanks to FOVALD and to the Lending a Hand group for their ongoing work to enhance our community green spaces.

October 15, 2023

Lending a Hand volunteer group repair benches in Little Dene Park

Many thanks to the community volunteers in the Lending a Hand team who have recently repaired the benches in Little Dene Park, High West Jesmond.

We thought you would like to see how much hard work went into cleaning and preparing the third park bench earlier this week.

With many thanks to Steve, David and Cornelia – your efforts are much appreciated by the High West Jesmond community!

FOVALD caring for our green spaces

FOVALD (Friends of the Valley, Little Dene and Little Dene Park) is a small voluntary organisation based in High West Jesmond.

They have adopted the Valley from the City Council and Little Dene Park from the City’s Freemen (it is part of the Town Moor).

FOVALD also look after the original Little Dene as a nature resource.

Many thanks to FOVALD and to the Lending a Hand group for their ongoing work to enhance our community green spaces.

June 20, 2023October 15, 2023

Flexible plastic recycling with new blue bag trial

Newcastle City Council has joined four other local authorities across the UK in piloting the FPF FlexCollect project

The following news release was issued by Newcastle City Council:

Flexible plastic recycling with new blue bag trial

“From June 5, 5,000 homes have been able to recycle flexible plastics such as plastic bags, wrappers, packets, and film, which are currently some of the hardest items to recycle.

Residents are provided with a new blue collection bag for their flexible plastics.

This is placed in their existing recycling container in their blue bin, which is then collected and pulled out at the material recycling facility.

The eligible households received information about the trial last month.

At present, the only way for residents to recycle plastic bags and wrapping is at supermarket collection points.

Cllr Jane Byrne, Newcastle City Council Cabinet member for a Connected, Clean City, said: “Improving the quality of recycling and reducing waste are among our key priorities so I am delighted more than 5,000 homes in Newcastle will be taking part in this exciting trial.

“Residents will be able to recycle a wider range of plastics which is another step towards making our city greener and more sustainable.

“The trial will gradually expand to more homes over the next two to three years.

“The pilot supports the fantastic work we are doing to improve recycling rates in the city, from engaging with communities to highlight the importance of recycling to reducing contamination through the use of indoor recycling smart bags.

“I am also proud that the pop-up recycling centres continue to be very popular with residents, making recycling easier for those without access to a vehicle and helping to tackle on-street fly-tipping.”

With only 8% of flexible plastics currently being collected from homes, the industry is stepping up its game ahead of the introduction of compulsory kerbside collections planned for 2027 across the UK.

To tackle this issue, key players in the industry, including manufacturers and brands, set up the Flexible Plastic Fund in 2021.

The £3m FPF FlexCollect project was then launched in May 2022 and is co-managed by a consortium comprising the project co-funders, Ecosurety, RECOUP, SUEZ recycling and recovery UK and WRAP.

Newcastle and Somerset have joined South Gloucestershire, Cheltenham and Maldon in taking part in the pilot.

Gareth Morton, spokesperson for FPF FlexCollect and Discovery Manager at Ecosurety, said: “We are pleased to see the FPF FlexCollect project building steadily, with now five local authorities on board to help us gain valuable insights into how to successfully collect and recycle household flexible plastics.

“We are looking forward to share openly our learnings at the end of this year to get the UK ready for widespread collections by 2027.”

Thomas Merry, Commercialisation and Innovation Manager for SUEZ recycling and recovery UK and FPF Project Director, said “The addition of Somerset and Newcastle to the FPF FlexCollect project complements the current pilots well, with the urban inner-city area of Newcastle and Somerset’s rural population providing an interesting contrast with pilot areas already up and running.

“This will build on our learnings so far, providing valuable insight into participation rates and volumes from different communities.”

For more information about the trial and recycling plastics, visit www.newcastle.gov.uk/services/environment-and-waste/rubbish-and-recycling/recycling/recycling-plastics.