The Canal & River Trust continues to urge people to follow Government guidance to stay at home. If you do venture out, please remember that use of local canal towpaths should be strictly limited, keeping your distance from others and moored boats.
We appreciate the important role our canals play in urban areas – providing vital green space – however towpaths should be strictly for local use only during the coronavirus pandemic. People must follow social distancing measures at all times, taking extra care on narrow towpaths.
While the weather may make it seem tempting to go for a towpath walk, we want to remind people that public health officials have stressed the importance of staying at home, saying that the single most important action we can all take in fighting coronavirus is to stay at home in order to protect the NHS and save lives.
Birmingham and Solihull GP Practices To Open Over Easter Weekend
As part of the NHS-wide response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus), GP practices across Birmingham and Solihull will be open during Good Friday (10 April) and Easter Monday (13 April) – with many practices also providing access to primary care on Saturday (11 April) and Sunday (12 April). To access an appointment, patients will need to telephone their GP practice and should not just turn up. GP practices will be treating the bank holidays as ordinary working days to ensure health services are maintained across Birmingham and Solihull.
Local pharmacies are also being asked to provide support, by opening from at least 2-5pm on Good Friday and Easter Monday, with many others continuing to open their doors on the Saturday and Sunday.
There are over 300 pharmacies in Birmingham and Solihull and these can be accessed without breaking the rules of the current lockdown. Their trained pharmacists are on hand to provide the best clinical advice and over-the-counter treatments to safely manage unpleasant but minor illnesses.
Dr Peter Ingham, a GP and Clinical Chair of NHS Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said: “In this difficult time, people need to know that their GP practice is going to be there for them this Easter weekend. Birmingham and Solihull’s high street pharmacists will also be available too and using them this weekend for minor illnesses will save people time and reduce pressure on GPs.
“We are all working hard to ensure patients have access to primary care services when they need them the most, and offering appointments this weekend, including the Good Friday and Easter Monday bank holidays, is a great way of supporting not only our patients but the wider NHS. People can also do their bit by first using pharmacists if they or a family member has a minor illness.”
If you have symptoms of COVID-19 (a high temperature or a new, continuous cough), please continue to use NHS111 if required. To protect others, do not go to your GP practice, pharmacy or hospital. Please follow any recommended isolation period that can be found on the 111 website.
We are circulating the Government Link to Register individuals who are the most vulnerable for support and assistance.Most elderly folk in their 70’s are on medication for one reason or another for an underlying health risk and while many are fortunate to have family or other support in place a large number will need community help.Government are collecting information to enable support to be forthcoming via various agencies for the most vulnerable during the current period of crisis which is likely to go on for a while before things return to normal.The registration can be made online by individuals or others on their behalf remembering many older residents do not have access to the internet and will need help with this.Again the advice to all is not to take risks and to stay in your own home and avoid contact as much as possible even with family members that are not living in your household.Keep in touch by Email or other social media and give elderly friends and family a phone call for a chat from time to time especially those who may live alone.
Welcome to Solihull CAVA’s COVID-19 update. In this update we have news of SMBC’s new contact centre for those wishing to volunteer during the crisis; guidance on how to volunteer safely, news of support for social enterprises and a new fund for community initiatives helping those impacted by the virus.
In this edition…
Volunteering Social Enterprise Support Funding If you would like details of your group, relevant news, or volunteer opportunities to be included in our next update, please send a short paragraph to solihullinfo@wcava.org.uk or call us on 07966 380289.
Volunteering Here 2 Help Solihull If you want to volunteer (and if it is safe for you to do so) and if you can’t find a local group covering your area, then you can contact ‘Here 2 Help Solihull’ on: 0121 704 6811 or here2helpsolihull@solihull.gov.uk
Volunteer recruitment If your group needs volunteers during the corona virus, please do get in touch with Verity at Solihull CAVA on: 07966 380 289 or email vthompson@wcava.org.uk
Social Enterprise Support Social Enterprise Covid-19 Helpline In response to the Corona Virus pandemic, and its direct impact on the social enterprises and social entrepreneurs across Birmingham and Solihull, iSE CIC is launching a #COVID19 Social Enterprise Helpline to support the sector in these challenging weeks and months. iSE’s expert Social Enterprise advisors will be able to:
Provide information on newly available funds, grants, loans and social investment organisations. Signpost you to relevant resources, websites, toolkits and external support. Give Advice and Guidance on your options and next steps if you are concerned about the current impact on your social enterprise. Broker connections to organisations or wider support services beyond iSE, DSEQ and our Women’s Enterprise Hub. Enable access to wider iSE support services such as workshops, training, funded projects and start up. Book an in-depth coaching support session for social enterprise CEOs, managers and social entrepreneur leaders. iSE seeks to support and help guide the social enterprise sector through this extraordinary #COVID19 challenge by sharing knowledge and expertise, building resilience, adapting social enterprise services, and catalysing business continuity and sustainability.
For more information please contact: 0121 771 1411 or info@i-se.co.uk Or see: www.i-se.co.uk
Funding Serco Foundation – Coronavirus Community Support Fund The Serco Foundation’s newly launched Coronavirus Community Support Fund enables any Serco employee to nominate any voluntary organisation that is providing meaningful and valuable support to others during the corona virus pandemic.
This might be a food bank offering supplies to isolated people, or a local charity caring for the elderly or disabled. It might be a community or religious centre providing mental and physical care to those in greatest need, or a not-for-profit education provider helping parents while schools are shut.
The Foundation is particularly keen to offer grants to organisations supporting:
the elderly the vulnerable those affected by school closures. If you know of a good cause that could benefit from financial support at this time, please contact Partnership Coordinator Theresa Comiskey: 07718 193 934 or Theresa.Comiskey@serco.com
The Dickens Heath Covid-19 Community Support Group has been set up by the Parish Council and the Library and we hope to support our community through this very difficult time.
We heard that Dalton’s Pharmacy are expecting a huge increase in requests for home delivery of prescriptions to self isolating residents. They are a small team and will be unable to cope with this. An appeal was posted on the Support Group Facebook page and we have been completely blown away by the numbers of residents willing to help. We are contacting volunteers today with a view to setting up a group as of next week. If we don’t contact you in the first instance then please accept our apologies – we massively appreciate every offer.
This is a reduced service to Dickens Heath during the day and evening. Recommend use the Clock Island Bus Stop as used by both A4 & A5 services in both directions and where there is an approx. hourly bus into Shirley & Solihull.Bus use on these services and more generally is now very low and often run empty. For a copy timetable use the link below:
Extra delivery options have now been established by Tesco and they are working with Central Government to give the extremely vulnerable priority access to them. It also suggests other special help may be available. Follow the link for more information:
I hope this email finds you and your family well during the challenging times we are facing with the Covid-19 pandemic.
It’s been a particularly busy time here in my office. In the first instance, I have been trying to promote as many of you that were and are still trading in existing or new circumstances throughout this month via social media, especially the trades and restaurants/takeaways.
The first Dickens Heath Directory was published way back in April 2003 and Hillfield & Monkspath came along later in 2009. Never have we ever missed an edition of either and it is therefore with a heavy heart I have to inform you we were unable to get April edition printed, for several reasons all relating to Covid-19. I will keep you posted for future publications.
In the last week I’ve been dedicated to looking after our current customers, to see how I can make sure that when we are back up and printing we can fit you all in along with all the reserved premium pages going ahead as booked. Rest assured that all paid adverts will go ahead they are just on hold for now. All premium pages booked will be accommodated accordingly, it maybe some of them will not be in the month booked (ie April and May) but you will get your premium pages. Thank you for your patience if you have had to wait for correspondence on this matter.
Many of our customers have already rebooked for later in the year so that their business promotion can carry on when Government advice permits.
Finally, I want to thank all our customers for their support during this exceptionally challenging time. As it has always been and will continue to be, my priority to look after you and promote via social media, I assure you of my continued support should you need any design & print both now and in the future. Please contact me should you require a very competitive quote on pop up banners, business cards, leaflets, brochures & menus.
Here is the link to the April E-version of a combined DHD & HMM. If there is any way I can share anything for you, please email me and I will do my best for you.
Keep in touch and Stay Safe.
Gail Orton
0121 745 8904 Mobile 07796 334955
Producing The Dickens Heath Directory and Hillfiled & Monkspath Monthly
Over 72000 properties able to connect to the fibre network
Topics in this edition:
CSW Project updates – Contract 3CSW Project updates – LFFN programmeCoronavirus – Will Broadband networks cope with increased levels of home working?Coronavirus – How can we stay in virtual touch with our older relatives?Ordering an FTTP service – valuable information for customersEmail address charges branded ‘daylight robbery’Copy for your own website or newsletterQuestions and Answers
CSW Project updates – Contract 3
Another 12 Contract 3 cabinets / structures have gone live since the last newsletter was sent out at the end of January.Communities benefiting from these upgrades included parts of:Barford (Wasperton Lane area), Caldecote, Hampton in Arden, Kingsbury, Spernal, Stretton on Dunsmore and Wormleighton.Over 72,000 properties across the region are now able to connect to the fibre network thanks to the work of the CSW Broadband Project.As always, once we have received confirmation that a particular cabinet or structure upgrade has been completed, we will inform as many of the affected residents as possible. Remember, once your property has been upgraded, you won’t get a faster service automatically. You need to order the improved service with your chosen ISP (Internet Service Provider) to benefit from the upgrade. To check on your property’s superfast status, enter your landline number or address into the BT Broadband Availability Checker. Our How to use the BT Broadband Availability Checker webpage will help you make sense of the Broadband Checker results. You might like to use a broadband comparison site such as MoneySavingExpert.com, Broadband Choices, Broadband Genie, Choose or uSwitch to find a fibre broadband package to suit you and your family’s needs. If your property has benefited from an FTTP upgrade, our Ordering an FTTP service webpage provides you with all the information you need. Finally, it should be noted that we are fully expecting the deployment of the fibre network in our area – as with the rest of the UK – to slow down significantly in the coming weeks and possibly months as government restrictions come into play to try and halt the spread of the coronavirus / Covid 19 pandemic across the UK.Our build partners, Openreach, may have to prioritise their network support to critical services such as the NHS, emergency services, the armed forces, key utilities and banking services, as well as enabling much of the wider UK to work from home wherever possible. We will obviously keep you updated on any major developments as and when they happen via email.
CSW Project updates – LFFN Programme
After a number of delays, we have finally signed our Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) programme contract with Openreach.The LFFN programme is designed to stimulate commercial investment in full fibre networks in both rural and urban locations across the whole of the UK.CSW will be using the £5.7 million we were awarded, in line with Government requirements to bring full fibre gigabit connectivity to 320 public sector buildings across the region – 250 in Warwickshire and 70 in Solihull.It is hoped that with the new full fibre network in place that suppliers will then use it as a springboard to bring full fibre to residents and businesses in the wider community as well.We’ve already held a kick-off meeting with Openreach to get the ball rolling on this and the plan is to start site surveys soon with the first full-fibre connections being completed later this year. However, once again, the proposed timetable may be subject to delay depending on how badly the UK is hit by the coronavirus and the government restrictions in place to tackle it.
Coronavirus – Will UK Broadband networks cope with increased levels of home working?
Over the last couple of weeks a number of websites and newspapers have run stories claiming that the UK’s broadband networks ‘will be unable to cope’ if millions of us start working from home during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. However, as ISP Review’s Covid-19 – Home Working Probably Won’t Break UK Broadband article suggests, such reports can be misleading.Amongst other things, it notes how the vast majority of work that ordinary people tend to do – e.g. sending/receiving emails, database updates, replying to online messages, writing reports – is fairly lightweight in terms of its data impact upon a broadband network.A bigger challenge could occur when the demands of greater remote working clash with those of a typical family environment (heavy video streaming and downloads etc.) particularly as coronavirus has now resulted in the closure of schools. This may cause a slowdown in service speeds at some providers on some connections but they should still be able to cope.ISP Review contacted a number of UK broadband ISPs for their views and the general consensus seems to be that none are particularly worried and all say they can increase capacity to cope with rising demand and that consumers shouldn’t expect their broadband service to break down.
Coronavirus – How can we stay in virtual touch with older relatives?
As the government continues to encourage “social distancing” in the fight against coronavirus, older people (and now much of the rest of the population) are facing the prospect of being told to stay at home for weeks, possibly months.One way that they can stay in touch with their loved ones is by getting a specialised device to make video calls, as outlined in a BBC website article on how to stay in virtual touch with older relatives, published last week.The article gives information and advice on the advantages and disadvantages on a number of different solutions to help you stay in touch during these difficult times. For those of you reading a Word version of the newsletter, you can find out more information at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-51933618
Ordering an FTTP service – valuable information for customers
If your property has benefited from a Fibre to the Premise (FTTP) upgrade, the process for installing ‘full fibre’ services inside your home involves a number of steps and may vary slightly depending on which internet service provider (ISP) you decide to go with.Whichever ISP you choose to provide your service however, the installation process will typically be similar to that shown in Openreach’s ‘Installing Full Fibre to your premises’ video.The number of ISPs offering FTTP services is still quite limited at this moment in time. However, ISP Review announced last month that Sky Broadband UK will soon be launching FTTP services via Openreach’s national FTTP network. This will provide consumers with more choice and hopefully more competitively priced packages as well.In fact, hot on the heels of this announcement, ISP Review ran another story suggesting that Openreach are planning on offering big discounts on their own FTTP broadband packages later this year. Our Ordering an FTTP service webpage provides further information about the installation process as well as details of all the FTTP service providers who have stated that they currently offer residential and business packages in our area.
Email address charges branded ‘daylight robbery’
Ofcom is writing to broadband companies to ask why some customers are having to pay to keep their old email addresses.The communications regulator found that of the big four providers who supply 90% of the UK’s net-using homes with broadband, TalkTalk charges £5 a month and BT charges £7.50 a month if customers switch providers but want to keep using their email addresses as before.Virgin deletes the email addresses it gives to customers 90 days after they leave, while Sky lets customers keep theirs for free.As well as customers having to pay to keep their old email addresses, another possible concern for Ofcom is the risk that customers are being put off switching providers to get better broadband deals because of the hassle of losing their existing email addresses.Ofcom can’t see any reason why customers should have to pay to keep their email address and are looking further into this to consider whether they need to step in and take action.
Here are some of the Questions and Answers (Q&A’s) that residents have raised recently. Our website has a full set of Frequently Asked Questions, which are regularly updated.
How do I switch to a different broadband provider?
You may wish to transfer broadband for a variety of reasons, such as: · Poor quality of service· You need additional features that your current internet service provider (ISP) does not offer· You think the deal you are subscribed to is not providing good value for money· You are moving house/business premises First of all, check if the contract period you signed for with your existing supplier has expired. Contracts are generally for either 12 or 18 months. Most contracts require you to give a month’s notice, even after the initial 12 or 18 months. If it hasn’t expired, you may be liable for a cancellation fee or even the balance of the fee until the contract runs out. It’s your choice if you decide you want to buy yourself out of a contract that hasn’t yet expired. It is also important that you check that the new service you wish to sign up to is available in your area. A couple of useful and impartial sources of advice are the Which? broadband speed checker and Moneysaving Expert which has lots of advice about switching provider. You can also use a variety of comparison websites and we’ve listed a few below. Please remember that some comparison sites work by receiving a commission from the ISPs and may not list all of the available options. You may therefore want to try several such sites before making your final decision. · www.moneysupermarket.com/broadband· www.uswitch.com/broadband/ · www.broadbandgenie.co.uk· www.broadband-finder.co.uk· www.broadbandchoices.co.uk· www.broadbanddeals.co.uk
Can CSW Broadband influence how much suppliers charge for their services?
We have no influence over the prices charged by commercial providers. Our role is to extend the wholesale fibre network as far as possible, and we are doing this through the contracts that we hold with Openreach. As access to the network is available to all suppliers on an equal basis it is a purely commercial decision on the part of an ISP (Internet Service Provider) as to which packages they offer and at which price range. The best thing is to shop around to find a deal that is right for you (see previous FAQ above for links to comparison sites/websites offering impartial advice). Of course you could always try haggling with your ISP to try to get a better deal. Back in our September newsletter, we noted how ISP Review had recently published an article on the best UK Broadband Providers to haggle with and also provided some Tips for Cutting Your Broadband Bill Without Switching ISP. MoneySavingExpert.com have also recently published an article on broadband haggling which provides top tips for slashing your internet and line rental bills.
We need to reach as many people as we possibly can. You can help us by emailing this to all your local contacts and encouraging them to email it to all their contacts.
Why not join the CSW Broadband conversation on social media!
To keep up to date on what we’re doing and to have your say on how the project develops:
