…to everyone who visited Santa’s Grotto on Saturday as part of the Christmas Festival – you helped raised a fantastic £1,103 for St Richard’s Hospice, the Mayor’s charity for this year. The grotto was just one part of a great day in Malvern that saw stalls, activities, music, food and drink, and Church Street packed with people for the parade and big lights switch on. See you next year!
The Christmas tree was erected on Belle Vue Island this week ready for the lights switch on. Thanks to Leigh Sinton Farm and Nurseries for kindly donating this tree which was put in place by the Town Council’s Operations team and dressed by the Council’s lighting contractor A L B Services.
L-R: Grahame Gibbins, Malvern Town Council; Ryan Pearce from Leigh Sinton Christmas Trees, Andy Box and Laura Morgan from ALB Electrical Services, and Lyndsey Davies, Malvern Town Council)
In a clear nod to the beginning of the Christmas season, Malvern Town Council’s Christmas tree, gifted by Leigh Sinton Farm and Nurseries, was erected on Belle Vue island today.
A crane lifted the 26′ tree into place, after which it was secured and dressed with lights by the Operations Team and ALB Services. This follows a busy day on Saturday when Christmas lighting was erected throughout the town.
However, you will have to wait a little longer to see the tree lit up in all its glory – the lights will be switched on by Coronation Street star Katie McGlynn at 6pm on Saturday 25 November, at the annual Christmas Festival. We hope to see you there!
Malvern Town Council is excited to once again announce this year’s Traders Christmas Wreath Competition. Open to all traders in Great Malvern, Barnards Green and Malvern Link, we hope to receive a bumper number of entries this year, helping to fill our shopping areas full of festive cheer.
Former Mayor, Cllr Nick Houghton, chose Guide Dogs as his Mayoral Charity for 2022/23 with the aim of raising £10,000 to name and train a Guide Dog Puppy. With the target safely achieved, the task now is to choose the appropriate name.
At one of the Sunday Bands in the Park concerts, members of the public were asked to suggest suitable names for a Guide Dog Puppy. These were then reviewed and shortlisted by the wonderful group of volunteers from the Malvern and Ledbury Branch of Guide Dogs giving a list of 6 possible names. The final step is for the people of Malvern to select the final name to be given to the Town’s Guide Dog Puppy, so make sure you vote and have your say.
Vote here
The next stage in the development of the pump track at Adam Lea is coming up.
Clarke and Kent (the chosen contractor) will, in conjunction with the Town Council, be holding a user group consultation to help to develop the potential layout of the new track and discuss the feature designs.
This event will be held at 3pm on Tuesday 8 August at Adam Lea. If you are a bike rider and will be using this new and exciting track, please come along to give us your thoughts and ideas.
New Mayor and Deputy Mayor for Malvern
Malvern Town Council held its annual council meeting last week when a new mayor and deputy mayor were elected.
After two years in the post of mayor, Cllr Nick Houghton handed over the mayoral chains to Cllr Clive Hooper, last year’s deputy mayor.
Clive has been a member of the council for four years since being elected in 2019 and has been a member of the Policy and Resources Committee as vice-chair and then chair. Cllr Hooper has chosen St Richard’s Hospice as his charity for the mayoral year.
David has represented Link ward for eight years and is well known for his volunteering in St Richard’s Hospice shop in Link. He has been a member of the Operations and Planning Committee and has been chair of the council’s Malvern in Bloom committee for three years, overseeing the award of three consecutive Gold awards in the Heart of England competition.
Mayor of Malvern, Cllr Nicholas Houghton visited the Midlands Air Ambulance base at Strensham this week to make a donation from his mayoral allowance as a thank you in recognition of the volunteering work done by Steven Tyrell.
Steve has been helping at Malvern Town Council events largely in the form of a first aider for nearly ten years. The work that he does is all voluntary and Steve gives his time and skills freely, helping with events such as the Christmas Light Switch On, The Mayor’s Bonanza and Remembrance. Most recently Steve worked as a first aid marshal for the Mayor’s Peaks Challenge, an event that raised over £4,000 for the mayoral charity, Guide Dogs.
The Town Council decided it was time to recognise the excellent contribution that Steve has made to Town Council events over the years and Councillor Houghton agreed to use his Mayoral Allowance to donate £250 to Steven’s chosen charity.
Cllr Houghton said “Steve has been a huge asset to the Town Council’s event team for many years now. He gives his time freely, is willing to help in any way that he can and always conducts himself with the greatest integrity. I am delighted that I can give this donation to recognise all the help he has given as a volunteer at Town Council events over many years”.
Midlands Air Ambulance is Steve’s chosen charity, largely because he received invaluable medical assistance from them some years ago after a serious injury to his hand.
Located in Rosebank Gardens in Great Malvern, the MALVERN sign is expected to be a popular attraction for residents and visitors throughout the year. It provides a dynamic landmark and photo opportunity for local people and visitors to tag the sign on social media using the hashtag #malvernsign.
The letters, one metre in height, have been crafted from galvanised steel and are of a 3D boxed design. Town Council Operatives have today (Thursday) finished the installation of the letters to the left of the 99 steps in Rosebank Gardens.
Mayor of Malvern Cllr Nick Houghton said “I am really pleased with the style of the letters and believe they will enhance the gardens and complement the other sculptures within it. I believe the MALVERN sign will be an asset to the gardens and to the town promoting Malvern both as a desirable visitor destination and as a great place to live, work and play.”
“Some say that you do not need to be reminded that you are in Malvern, but I think this is missing the point of the sign. Similar signs around the country and indeed the world, have proved very popular in promoting towns as a destination to visit and have become a focal point for selfies.”
Cllr Houghton acknowledges there are a few people who are not in favour of the sign, but he has been contacted by more people who are in support of the sign than those who are against it.
The decision to install the sign was approved unanimously at Full Council in October last year and a small working group was established to decide on its location and design with their recommendations agreed by Council in February 2023.
Malvern Town Councillors believe the sign will be an asset to the town and hope people will enjoy posting photos and using the hashtag #malvernsign
Many towns have installed temporary signs similar to the Malvern sign and they have proved so popular with tourists and residents alike that a more permanent sign was subsequently installed. It is expected that the MALVERN sign will appear in thousands of social media posts and will help to highlight Malvern to many potential new visitors to the town.
Following approval by Full Council, we are now going out to tender for the design and construction of a pump track on land at Adam Lea, Malvern. If you are interested in submitting a tender, please contact the office on 01684 566667 or email lwall@malvern-tc.org.uk to request a set of tender documents. The deadline for return of tender is 1pm on Wednesday 31 May 2023.