I am happy to say that illegal encampment at Victoria Park was moved on Friday (4 July) evening by Malvern police after a heighten number of calls regarding anti-social behaviour.  

It has been a tense week for all involved including our community, and I can assure residents and businesses that Malvern Town Council did its utmost to find ways to remove the illegal encampment off our site at Victoria Park prior to Friday. Unfortunately we had to follow legal protocol and on Friday morning had put measures in place to act via a court order to evict, but thankfully in the end the Police did step in and placed an order to vacate that evening.

I want to thank the Malvern Town Council Operations team, who have done a fantastic job tidying up the mess that the illegal encampment had left at Victoria Park. Their work has ensured that the park is safe for the community to use again.

At the weekend, I was pleased to see the playground full of little ones, games of rounders taken place and dog walkers returning to the park. It was also great to see the community coming to enjoy a coffee and cake at the Bilberry Café.

I understand the feeling of anxiousness you all must have felt during this difficult situation, and I want to thank, you our fantastic community for pulling together, providing resilience and supporting us and each other during this time. Malvern Town Council staff and councillors have really appreciated your patience during this situation.

I want to ensure everyone that it is my intention to hold a debriefing meeting so we can learn from this situation and secure our green spaces in the future with the support and assistance of the relevant organisations and authorities moving forward.

Marilyn Birks, Mayor of Malvern

The Town Council would like to apologise to local residents for the inconvenience caused by the unauthorised encampment at Victoria Park.

Travellers moved onto the site late on Sunday (29 June) evening and the Town Council acted swiftly under the common law powers open to it requesting that the trespassers leave the site by 5pm on Monday 30June, they refused.

The Town Council has since worked with the police to manage the situation, explore all possible options and pursue a resolution.  We are grateful for Police support over this period of time, but it has become clear that the Police cannot use their powers to evict the group.

Further dialogue took place on Wednesday, and it has been made clear by those on the site that any attempt to remove the caravans will be met with resistance. There are very specific laws and powers that can be used in this situation and making legal eviction impossible.

The Town Council is now seeking the only remedy left open to it which is a Court order to evict. This will be issued as soon as possible.

We would like to stress that the Play area, Basketball courts, Tennis courts and on-site Café are all unaffected by the encampment and remain open for members of the public.

Are you a photographer? Like taking pictures? want to be entered into a competition?

We are looking for members of our community to take the best picture of Great Malvern Cemetery to be entered into ICCM photograph competition 2025.

The winner will have the chance to entered into the ICCM competition where shortlisted entries will have their photo displayed in The ICCM Journal and at their Learning Conference in September. Winners will also have their photos displayed on the Malvern Town Council website and social media with a dedicate article.

All photos must not include any identifiable individual within them and entries will close at 4pm on 18 July.

To enter either drop your photos in at the Community Hub, Victoria Park, Malvern Link or email Lyndsey at ldavies@malvern-tc.org.uk your images.

Saturday 17 May saw the opening of the new Adam Lee Pump Track by the Mayor of Malvern, Cllr Marilyn Birks.

Saturday saw many in attendance, with all ages and abilities experiencing the new pump track with the added opportunity to take home a keyring or sticker to celebrate this wonderful opening.

The Mayor of Malvern, Cllr Marilyn Birks officially cut the ribbon at 12 noon, opening the pump track to all those who had attended. The opening was also attended by Deputy Mayor Cllr Josephine Leibrandt, Town Councillors Cllr David Mead and Cllr David Watkins, and District and County Councillor Cllr Paul Bennett.

Ed Moseley, a local bike enthusiast first approach Malvern Town Council about the need for a pump track in Malvern, six years ago. The previous site had removed for housing development, leaving locals with no-where to go, other than creating their own earthwork jumps on local commons and greenspaces. Fortunately, Malvern Town Council was given ownership of some suitable land at Adam Lee and from there the pump track become a reality. Clark and Kent Contractors were allocated the tender to complete the works, and the completed track is hoped to be a much-used facility within Malvern.

Linda Blake, Town Clerk for Malvern Town Council said, “It was fantastic to see this project finally being completely and a much-needed facility brought back into the local area. Feedback from those first to ride the track has been really positive and the Council hopes the pump track will provide a safe and accessible space for riders of all ages to have fun and stay active.” The pump track at Adam Lee is now open to the community to come and enjoy 7 days a week. Malvern Town Council will be organising a further launch event coming this summer to fully open the park for the community.

The Town Council is currently advertising a Councillor Vacancy within the Pound Bank Ward.

Should electors in either ward wish to request an election, then a request in writing, supported by ten electors needs to be made to the Returning Officer no later than 14 April, otherwise the Town Council will fill these vacancies by co-option.

Should anyone wish to enquire further about the process or the role of being a town councillor, please contact the Town Clerk on lblake@malvern-tc.org.uk

Notice of Vacancy Pound Bank Ward March 2025Download

The Town Council is currently advertising two councillor vacancies, one in Chase Ward and the other in Link Ward.

Should electors in either ward wish to request an election, then a request in writing, supported by ten electors needs to be made to the Returning Officer no later than 13 March, otherwise the Town Council will fill these vacancies by co-option.

Should anyone wish to enquire further about the process or the role of being a town councillor, please contact the Town Clerk on lblake@malvern-tc.org.uk

Cllr Vacancy Freya Matthews Jones – LINKDownload
Cllr Vacancy Nick Houghton – CHASEDownload

At a meeting of the Council held in January, it was agreed that Malvern Town Council would submit a petition to the House of Lords, objecting to the Private Parliamentary Bill deposited by the Malvern Hills Trust.

Following a detailed response to the original consultation, which was submitted to the Malvern Hills Trust in July, it was agreed that the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Town Clerk would be delegated to submit the petition summarising the main points and in particular hi-lighting the issue of representation.

The Town Council’s response is below..

Malvern Town Council Petition for MHT Parliamentary BillDownload

Malvern Town Council is thrilled to announce that the Mayor’s Peaks Challenge is returning for 2025 in aid of the Mayor’s chosen charity, Cube Youth.

Scale the heights of the Malvern Hills on 3 May as part of the Mayor’s Peaks Challenge 2025. The challenge will see participants take on either the long walk of 18km (approximately 12 miles) or the short walk of 9km (approximately 6 miles) across the Malvern Hills, with both walks finishing in Priory Park. All walkers will receive a sustainable medal, t-shirt and free transport to the start of each of the walks.

The walk will welcome both walkers and their dog friends to the hills, with all registered dogs receiving a dog treat bag and rosette for completing the walk, proudly sponsored by Austin & Co.

Mayor of Malvern Marilyn Birks commented “I’m thrilled to be launching the Mayor’s Peaks Challenge for 2025 with all the money raised going to Cube Youth one of my chosen charities. Cube Youth work with young people of all backgrounds and is inclusive in reaching out to provide social, creative and learning opportunities across all areas of Malvern.  We can’t wait to welcome everyone to take the challenge of walking either the long or short walk, it’s going to be such fun and don’t forget that your dog is also welcome to come and walk with you. I want to extend my thanks to ZXLidar for sponsoring our medals and t-shirts and to Austin & Co for supplying the doggy prizes (Rosette and Treat Bag). A great day lies ahead, and I am excited to welcome you all to take part.”  

If walking isn’t your thing, then join Malvern Town Council and Cube Youth for an afternoon in Priory Park to welcome the walkers back with live entertainment, light refreshments along with fun family friendly activities.

Early bird tickets for both walks on the 3 May are available now at the Malvern Town Council website, with the long walk costing £19 (normally £22) and the short walk costing £14.40 (normally £17), with all participants receiving a sustainable medal and t-shirt kindly sponsored by ZXLidars as well as travel to start locations of both walks.

Tickets can be booked via https://www.malverntowncouncil.org/event/mayors-peak-challenge-2025/  (Early bird tickets end 16 March at midnight)

Image is taken from last years Mayor’s Peaks Challenge

Following the successful launch of the Happy to Chat bench in April this year, a new pilot is being launched from this December across 4 cafes within Malvern to include Happy to Chat tables within their premises on certain days and times.

The Happy to Chat initiative started in Malvern in April 2024 with 3 benches lead by Councillor Julie MacLusky in aid of improving social connections and interactions which has been a great success.

The Malvern Happy to Chat initiative is now expanding into cafes in hopes of reaching a wider audience and getting people talking. Malvern is one of many locations across the UK taking part in the Happy to Chat table initiative with a lady from Bradford on Avon stating the Happy to Chat table at her local café “saved her life” after she suddenly becoming widowed.

Cllr Julie Maclusky “We are thrilled to be expanding the Happy to Chat initiative to include a wider more diverse audience of Malvern. The Happy to Chat tables will provide a space for people to strike up chats in more central locations across the town. As a Council it is important that we take the appropriate steps in pro-actively addressing the epidemic of loneliness, something the Happy to Chat initiative is critical in doing.”

As we come into Christmas there will be four cafes taking part in this first phase of the pilot including Faun, Abbey Road Café, Book and Cup café at Malvern Library and the Cube. All these cafés will have happy to chat tables located in their premises with a destinated place that people can go for a cuppa and a chat. This will be particularly beneficial at this time year when Christmas can be a lonely time for some.

All premises will be advertising when their Happy to Chat tables will be available.

Every year the Mayor of Malvern raises funds for their chosen charity. During the 2023/2024 Mayoral year Cllr Clive Hooper raised £10,345 for St. Richards Hospice which will provide much needed support for this local independent charity.