Press Releases... | Newcastle-Under-Lyme Borough Council

Judges on the way Horticultural experts from a nationwide community and gardens campaign are all set to pay us a visit. Judges from Heart of England in Bloom are touring gardens, parks and projects on Wednesday, 26 July as part of this year’s entry in the competition’s small city category. The borough is aiming for a 16th consecutive gold award. Read More	Friday, 21 July 2017
Bradwell Gold Once again Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council’s bereavement service has been declared one of the best in the country. The standards authority for crematoria – the Industry of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) - has completed its annual assessment and awarded the service a Gold Standard for a 13th consecutive year. Founded in 1913, the ICCM provides best practice policy and guidance to burial and crematorium authorities, such as the Council. Read More	Friday, 21 July 2017
Council continues abandoned car crusade Court action has been taken against a motorist who abandoned his vehicle in a car park. A district judge ordered the vehicle’s owner, Michael Hackney, to pay a £400 fine, costs of £400 and a victim surcharge of £40 following another successful court action by Newcastle-under-Lyme-Borough Council. This case is the third to be taken to court after the Council began issuing fixed penalty notices to help tackle abandoned vehicles in late 2016. Read More	Friday, 21 July 2017
Green Feet Litter louts beware – a summer litter campaign called “Bin it for a better borough” is taking place. The #BINITFORABETTERBOROUGH campaign was originally developed by Keep Britain Tidy to “nudge” people towards bins with their litter. Further research, carried out in Denmark, found this to be a very effective way of reducing litter problems, with some comparisons showing a 40 per cent reduction. Read More	Friday, 21 July 2017
Sheila's life work on show at Brampton Museum Artist Sheila Beech is holding her first local exhibition at Newcastle’s Brampton Museum from this week. The exhibition, which runs until the beginning of September is the first exhibition by Sheila in her home town. This month Sheila will be celebrating her 82^nd birthday and the exhibition aptly marks a life-time of achievement, spanning a 60 year collection. The display showcases just a snapshot of her talent and skills. Read More	Thursday, 20 July 2017
Toddlers Release Butterflies as Brampton Park Wildlife Garden Opens Toddlers from the Giggles and Wiggles will join the Mayor of Newcastle, Cllr Simon White, and sponsors for the opening of a new wildlife garden and outdoor classroom in Brampton Park. Children from the Brampton Park-based nursery joined council gardeners and staff from project sponsors, Brampton Recruitment, in the spring, to help plant out the wildlife garden. Read More	Wednesday, 12 July 2017
Newcastle Buzzing as Bee Sculpture is Lowered into Place A spectacular bumble bee and dandelion sculpture, commissioned by the Borough Council, is set to be unveiled today, Thursday, 6 July. The sculpture will be fixed permanently into place on the A34/Knutton Lane roundabout. Internationally-renowned sculptor Andy Edwards has created the12ft-high mild steel sculpture with the help of apprentices from PM Training. It depicts a bee with a 14ft wingspan, sitting on top of a dandelion. Read More	Monday, 10 July 2017
Five Arrested as Illegal Waste Dump is Secured Five men have been arrested at an illegal waste dump in Keele. Residents had reported activity at the site, near to Pepper Street and Hollywood Lane, and police were alerted. Now the Borough Council and the emergency services as well as the Environment Agency, are working together to secure the site, make it safe and oversee the removal of the waste while a criminal investigation takes place. Read More	Friday, 07 July 2017
Lyme Lottery – Just the ticket today is the day! Lottery tickets are now available online for the newly-launched Lyme Lottery. This gives players a chance to scoop a £25,000 jackpot and other cash prizes as well as helping local good causes. In addition to the cash prizes there are a number of other prizes to be won. Winners will be drawn at random and could walk away with an Apple iPad, a Smart TV and tickets to a variety of local attractions such as Alton Towers. Read More	Tuesday, 18 July 2017
Review Begins into Election Processes AN INDEPENDENT review has begun into the processes carried out during the Parliamentary Election in Newcastle-under-Lyme on 8 June. Following a request made by the Borough Council through the Association of Electoral Administrators, Andrew Scallan CBE, the former Director of Electoral Administration at the Electoral Commission, has been appointed to conduct the assessment. Read More	Tuesday, 04 July 2017
Kidsgrove Sports Centre Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council have pledged to work together to develop proposals for new leisure services in Kidsgrove. The sports centre – which is run by the borough council and owned by Staffordshire County Council – is in a poor state and is no longer fit for purpose as it needs £2.4million of repairs just to bring it up to an acceptable condition. Read More	Monday, 03 July 2017
Lyme Lottery Goes Live A new online lottery has been launched by Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council to support local good causes. In October 2016 the Council’s Cabinet agreed that the Council will be among the first local authorities in the country to launch its own online community lottery to benefit good causes. Tickets will go on sale on Tuesday, 18 July and will cost £1 with 60p going towards local organisations compared to just 28p in the pound for the National Lottery. Read More	Tuesday, 27 June 2017
New Powers Protect Tenants Against Rogue Landlords Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council is to introduce new penalties to protect tenants against rogue landlords. New legislation gives councils the ability to impose civil penalties of up to £30,000 on landlords who fail to comply with legal notices and orders. Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has moved swiftly to be amongst the first housing authorities in Staffordshire to adopt the new civil penalties regime under the Housing and Planning Act 2016. Read More	Tuesday, 13 June 2017
Review of Parliamentary Election A review is to take place into the Parliamentary election for Newcastle-under-Lyme on 8 June. The Borough Council announced today it has asked the Association of Electoral Administrators to carry out the independent piece of work. It comes after adverse coverage in the media and also social media about the process of the election. Criticisms focused on the following issues:- Read More	Tuesday, 13 June 2017
Boundary Commission Recommendations The independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England has published its final recommendations for new electoral arrangements for Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council. Today’s publication follows public consultation on its draft proposals earlier this year and draws new boundaries for each council ward across Newcastle-under-Lyme. Read More	Tuesday, 13 June 2017
Customer Service Excellence Recognised Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has been recognised for major improvements which are ensuring money is collected quickly and benefit claimants receive a fast, high quality service. The council’s Revenues and Benefits Service has been awarded Customer Service Excellence accreditation. It is the first Revenues and Benefits service in Staffordshire to be recognised by the Cabinet Office scheme. Read More	Monday, 12 June 2017
Lottery Win for Brampton Museum Project MAPPING THE PAST: NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME FAMILIES TO TAKE PART IN UNIQUE BRAMPTON MUSEUM PROJECT FOLLOWING NATIONAL LOTTERY WIN Families are set to learn more about relatives who died in a Cholera epidemic after Brampton Museum was awarded £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). Research into the 1849 epidemic will form a major part of the Newcastle-under-Lyme Maps – a Plotted History project. Read More	Tuesday, 13 June 2017
Cabinet news round-up June 2017 Electronic Document and Records Management (EDRMS) Cabinet agreed to continue a maintenance contract with Northgate Public Sector for a further three year period. The EDRMS is a system used to track, manage and store documents. The Council has been a devoted user of electronic document management software for more than 20 years, with the first system introduced to the Revenues and Benefits team in 1996. Read More	Friday, 09 June 2017
General Election Results 2017 A number of issues have been reported in the media relating to the Newcastle seat. A spokesman for the Borough Council said: “We have followed all proper processes both for postal votes and for online registration. “After every election we review all feedback received and we will obviously be doing that again on this occasion.” *Paul Farrelly has been re-elected as MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme. The General Election result was:- Read More	Monday, 12 June 2017
Fashion on a plate NEW organic and freeform shapes, and bold, stylised and abstract patterns. This is just a taste of what to expect from the attractive and colourful exhibition, ‘Fashion on a Plate’ at the Brampton Museum. The exhibition will feature 1950s contemporary tableware, with a display of pottery by Midwinter, Ridgway, Poole, Beswick, Hornsea, Alfred Meakin, J&G Meakin, Crown Devon and Wade. The exhibition is open from 10 June to 16 July. Read More	Tuesday, 06 June 2017