Welcome

The Premier Independent political party in Wyre Forest

The Wyre Forest area of north Worcestershire is the home of independent political thought - having been represented in Parliament for two terms (ten years) by the Independent M.P. Dr. Richard Taylor M.B.E.

Representing Wyre Forest people

The party has representatives at Worcestershire County and Wyre Forest District levels as well as Councillors on the Bewdley, Kidderminster and Stourport-on- Severn town councils.

Not just a ‘Single Issue’ party

As is reflected in it’s title, Independent Community and Health Concern is NOT just a ‘single issue’ grouping of independent representatives of the people; taking on-board all manner of local problems (and solving them) and local aspirations (and aiding in their delivery). It grew out of the projected closure of Kidderminster Hospital (to which so many had contributed with fund-raising). This prompted mass protest and street parades and, ultimately, the rejection of the sitting Labour MP - a junior Minister. While I.C.H.C. remains fundamentally concerned with the provision of health facilities and the delivery of all that results in ‘good health’ it is associated with concern for all aspects of a healthy community - education for all ages, support for the disabled and the elderly, transport, arts and entertainment, nature and the environment.

To contact us_

Either e-mail us using talk2us or ring us on 01562 823581 (Answerphone service out of office hours)

Councils

Bewdley Town Council, created 1974, has 13 Town Councillors all of whom are elected for a term of four years. For voting purposes, Bewdley is divided into three Wards which are Bewdley West (4 Councillors) and Bewdley East (4 Councillors) on the west side of the river and Wribbenhall (5 Councillors) on the east side. The Town Council Elections last took place on 22nd May 2014. The next election is due to take place in 2019. Monday 5th November 2018 7.00pm Full Council Wednesday 7th November 2018 6.00pm Planning Committee Monday 19th November 2018 7.00pm Community Development Committee Monday 3rd December 2018 7.00pm Full Council Wednesday 5th December 2018 6.00pm Planning Committee Monday 17th December 2018 7.00pm Policy and Resources Committee Nov. 6 - Events Nov/ 7 - Town Hall Nov. 13  - Planning Nov. 15 - Services Nov. 21 - Council Dec. 4 - Planning Dec. 5 - Finance Dec. 13 - Town Hall Dec. 19 - Council Tuesday 6th November 2018 - Tuesday 4th December 2018 - Meetings will be held in the courtroom of the Coroner's Service, Civic Centre, Stourport-on-Severn, unless otherwise stated

Stourport-on-Severn

Dixon Sheppard   01299 826941 Councillor for Lickhill Ward Janice Sheppard   01299 826941 Councillor for Lickhill Ward Julie Bennett   01299 827773 Councillor for Central Ward Gill Smith   01299 878067 Councillor for Central Ward Nicky Martin   01299 871825 Councillor for North Ward Neil Thomas   01299 871895 Councillor for North Ward Mike Salter   01299 877382 Councillor for Stour and Wilden Ward

Kidderminster

Mary Rayner   01562 748564 Councillor for Broadwaters Peter Young  01562  750529 Councillor for Broadwaters

Bewdley

Linda Candlin  01299 409414 Councillor for Wribbenhall Ward Elizabeth Davies  01299 403053 Councillor for Wribbenhall Ward Calne Edgington-White     01299  400726 Councillor for Bewdley West Ward

Worcestershire

County

Mary Rayner    01562 748564 Councillor for Kidderminster - St Georges and St Oswald

Wyre Forest District

Mary Rayner   01562 748564 Councillor for Broadwaters Nicky Martin   01299 871825 Councillor for  Mitton

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JOIN Health Concern to be part of Health Concern …

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VOTE for one of our Candidates

If you are not going to be in Wyre Forest on polling day (at work or on holiday) or

are not physically able to go to a polling station to vote in person, you can still

vote. Even if you've moved house since the electoral register was drawn up and

have not yet joined the register at your new address, this is how to exercise your

democratic right.

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If you wish to appoint someone else (a proxy) to vote on your behalf _

DOWNLOAD THIS FORM

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If you wish to vote by post _

DOWNLOAD THIS FORM

Simply print the form out, complete the details and send it to _

The Local Electoral Registration Officer.

Finepoint Way,

Kidderminster, DY11 7WF

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Or you can telephone the Worcestershire Hub on

01562 73292

Be a SUPPORTER  …  … 

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ATTEND our monthly meetings and participate in our Social Events.

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Volunteer to deliver our Newsletters (Pulse) in your street, 

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Help with fund-raising,  

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Man the office phones and talk to people (we have machines to do the printing

and paper-folding).

 

Be a CANDIDATE  …  …

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VOLUNTEER to stand for election to represent your area and have the Health

Concern resources behind you

Ring for a ‘Call-Back’

01562 823581

Preparing for the Next Elections

Join Health Concern to become a member of the party. Membership details available from Keith Robertson, our Membership Secretary

National

When you consider the outcome of negotiations with Brussels, the shilly- shallying and posturing of the politicians, the absence of leadership from government or opposition, and the standard of “debate” in Parliament on the Brexit issue (06/12); didn’t Eric Morecambe  (and Wise) say it best ? “What do you think of it so far ?” Clever move, that; Terri ! I mean, of course, “T.M. the P.M.”’s use of the ‘Irish Backstop’ to curtail “N.S. the F.M., not P,M”’s nationalist ambitions ‘north of the border’ by adding cement to the “.. one country, united, indivisible, under God” mantra. Puts “Little Nicki” in the uncomfortable position of seeming to argue for border-posts ‘tween her and England (much in the manner of Emperor Publius Aelius Hadrianus - who was Spanish, by-the-way). “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,  it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair …..” Now, one wonders, just what the Dickens was Charles writing about (in 1859) ? Was he being prescient about Brexit ?   I mean, has there been anything more divisive in the last half century ? But, thinking back before that_ Was he writing of the abolition of the Corn Laws  – and the rebellion between rich and poor ? Or maybe the Jacobean Rebellion – and armed Scottish troops advancing through England (as far as Derby) ? Or maybe the English Civil War(s) – with armies of relatives and former-friends traversing the countryside, blowing up castles and burning down towns (for nine solid years – 184,000 dead in England + even more in Scotland + and many more than that in Ireland) ? Or the Revolt of the North  (1569) to depose Elizabeth 1st – and her retribution and suppression “left no village in Yorkshire without a hanging” ? Or perhaps the Wars of the Roses – Yorkists vs Lancastrians, with the throne at stake – lasting 32 years, and leaving 50,000 dead ? Or Wat Tyler & the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 – which included the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury (Simon Sudbury) and the death of some 1,500 others ? So .. is Brexit THAT bad?

Local

Who would have thought it ? That the residents of Bewdley – that beautiful Georgian river-side town – would be such a fractious lot ?  (07/12) If they’re not cavorting around “Patrick’s Field” defending badgers, foxes, reptiles and butterflies .. then  they’re hot-on-the- heels of poor old Lucy Hodgson (county-council representative for Malvern Chase and cabinet member for ‘communities’) at, of all places, the Library !! Well, they’ve got a lot to lose. If that land is included in the ‘Local Plan’ it’s “bye-bye” mother nature and “hello” to 86 houses; if Lucy’s “consultation” goes awry then it’s “bye-bye” leisure and learning and “hello” to a long bus-ride to a neighbouring town (and what self-respecting teenager is going to put down their i-pad to do that?). Lucy defends her corner saying ..“This consultation is about how we run our libraries,” and then spoils it all by adding ..”..if we do need to close a library, it will be at a later date.” Who would have thought it?  Anyone who knows Wyre Forest people well enough, that’s who ! Things are worse than we thought. The report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the NHS’s care regulator, is the latest blow to hit Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS trust (the hospital trust at the centre of an inquiry into dozens of baby deaths and injuries) declaring it worse than ‘inadequate’ – “unsafe”. The trust runs two hospitals in Shropshire and midwife- led units in Bridgnorth, Ludlow and Oswestry, with 715 beds and 5,000 staff caring for 420,000 people. Prof Ted Baker, the CQC’s chief inspector of hospitals, said “While we found staff to be caring and dedicated, there is clearly much work needed at the trust to ensure care is delivered in a way to ensure people are safe. Particular concern about the emergency dept. and maternity services mean we have taken urgent action to protect people.” Staffing shortages in particular mean that action has had to be taken to protect the people of Shropshire from harm ! Harm caused by their hospital ! His 79-page report has revealed a large number of problems at the trust – one wonders why ? The A&E unit at the Princess Royal hospital in Telford was threatened with overnight closure but, like Kidderminster, public outcry has caused those plans to be shelved. The watchdog has downgraded its rating of the trust from “requires improvement” to “inadequate” – its lowest ranking.  A series of failings were uncovered by inspections, some involving serious lapses in patient safety standards, including • 8 breaches of the trust’s legal duties • 81 other minor breaches. The CQC has told the trust to ensure it has enough properly qualified and trained staff are on duty at its hospitals in order to care for and protect people from the risk of harm; and to review its maternity services, “to improve midwifery staffing levels to meet the needs of women and babies and keep them safe”.

International

Sorry ! The ‘game’ has appeared to have gone into ‘extra time’ .. as the ‘yellow vests’ haven’t left the ‘pitch’ .. sorry, streets of France. Hundreds of thousands out protesting, 1220 arrests, cars torched, hundreds in hospital (hand blown off/eye poked out), stun grenades, tear gas, water cannon .. and now ‘le petit President’ is due to inflict himself on the nation in a televised appeal for calm (and more tax concessions) (10/12) .. and all from the man who, on November 27th, “.. would not be pushed into changing policy by 'thugs'.” ‘La Rage du Peuple’ has resulted in some incongruous Christmas photographs – • A Guillotine in the centre of a roundabout • Burning cars under Christmas lights • Women with shopping bags crying from tear- gas • Shoppers walking past boarded-up shops • Squads of Police (brought up from the country-side) posing on the Champs- Eysees – in full riot- gear And in Holland ‘les gilets jaune’ protest in a typically Dutch ‘laid-back’ fashion .. riding bicycles decorated with Christmas tinsel .. ‘Love and Peace (on earth) – man’. Just think what things would be like if they had FREXIT to protest about ! And the Final Score (06/12) in the ‘Gillets Jaune’ (that’s ‘yellow vests’ in French- speak) vs  ‘Le Petit President’ contest just across La Manche (literally ‘The Sleeve’). Gillets Jaune – EVERYTHING they asked for; no tax increases on January 1st (so it’s “Goodbye” to France’s ‘environmental credentials) Le Petit President – NOTHING - null points - (other than his credibility in tatters). Just goes to prove, the French know the proper way to ‘negotiate’ with European governments. And the score .. so far ? Here’s the latest up-date ! The third weekend is upon us (01/12)and .. now there’s rioting in Brussels and, yes, there’s.. Water canon patrolling Belgium’s capital city.. Police cars set alight.. The EU Commission buildings being in ‘lock- down’.. Scores taken to hospital.. And the ‘Yellow Vests’ are keen to export their brand of protest to Holland, Germany and, yes, you guessed it, England ! And then there’s the ‘silly- season’ scenario of ‘Le Petit President de France’ setting-up an round-table discussion with the ‘Yellow Vests’ .. and just 2 turn up - and one immediately walks out because he isn’t allowed to film the talks ! VIVE LA FRANCE ET VIVE LA RÉPUBLIQUE. The second weekend (25/11) of the ‘Yellow Vests’ rebellion in France (named after the compulsory florescent jackets those driving in France MUST carry), and .. Firemen extinguishing burning cars on the Champs-Elysees .. Police firing tear-gas in Paris .. Water-cannon patrolling the streets .. Shop-fronts torn-out .. Policemen in hospital .. And all because Diesel prices have risen 23% in 12 months - and that’s BEFORE the planned increases by “Le Petit President”. The third day of “protest” (20/11) and, so far,  one dead, four hundred injured, 280,000 people out on the street, 13,000 manning 300 road- blocks with lorries forced away from ports, cars carrying officials stoned and smashed and their occupants dragged from their cars, punched and kicked !  And there’s over a month to go before the petrol prices are due to rise .. in FRANCE .. our friendly, local, European neightbour. “Aux Barriers, Mes Amis!”

Blog

Comments about what’s going on in political life …  … Please note that views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of Health Concern or of it’s Councillors or members - so enjoy them - or ignore them (!) It’s your choice.

News

What’s On for ICHC in Wyre Forest

LOCAL PLAN CONSULTATION

GIDDY-UP AND GET-ALONG TO http://www.wyreforestdc.gov.uk/localplanreview PLENTY PRONTO, TONTO, AND PUT IN YOUR 2 CENTS WORTH (BEFORE THE ‘COWBOYS’ DO SOME THING STUPID). SEE THEIR SUGGESTIONS (AND THEY’RE ONLY “SUGGESTIONS” UNTIL YOU APPROVE THEM) _ Friday 16 November 2018 3pm – 7pm Cookley Village Hall Saturday 17 November 2018 10am – 2pm Offmore Evangelical Church Hall, Kidderminster Tuesday 20 November 2018 5:30pm – 8pm Heronswood Primary School, Spennells, Kidderminster Friday 23 November 2018 3pm – 7pm Areley Kings Village Hall Saturday 24 November 2018 10am – 2pm Stourport Civic Hall Tuesday 27 November 2018 3pm – 7pm St Georges Hall, Bewdley Thursday 29 November 2018 3pm – 7pm Kidderminster Town Hall Friday 30 November 2018 3pm – 7pm St Oswalds Church Centre, Broadwaters Drive, Kidderminster

Christmas Party Lunch

A   most   enjoyable   lunch   was   held   at   Le   Brasserie   in   Kidderminster   -   Sunday   25th   November   (I   know   it   was   a   little early but we need to get in practise for all the Christmas Dinners ahead). We   enjoyed   the   music   of   a   fine   guitar   player   as   we   assembled   (please   pass   our   appreciation   on   to   the   performer, Mary)   and   then   dined   ‘right   royally’   -   at   modest   expense   (please   pass   our   appreciation   on   to   the   restaurant,   Mary)   - and our thanks should also go to the organiser of the whole event (so, ‘Thank you’, Mary). Afterwards,   our   Life-President   (and   there’s   many   a   President,   world-wide,   who   would   like   to   be   in   office   for   their   entire life)    Dr.    Richard    Taylor    M.B.E.    gave    a    stimulating-ly    (short)    address    to    the    assembled    multitude    in    which    he congratulated   the   government   (!)   for   (eventually)   implementing   the   Wyre   Forest-led   scheme   for   ‘MART’   (Multi-Agency Response    Teams).    He    concluded    by    recommending    “A    Merry    Heart”    as    being    the    best    medicine    he    could recommend! £127 was raised in the raffle. The   Team   from   Table   Two   (Graham   &   Harry,   joint   team-leaders)   won   the   Quiz   (and   a tube of ‘Smarties’) leading me to suggest this as the Health Concern Christmas-Cracker joke ..

“What do brainy people eat at Christmas ?”

“Smarties .. !”

‘Brainy people’ .. ‘smart’ .. get it ?

Contact

Health Concern

I.C.H.C. office Station Approach, Comberton Hill, Kidderminster. Worcs. DY10 1QX Tel: 01562 823581 Fax: 01562 77 00 11 e: talk2us@healthconcern.org.uk

How to find us

Directions

Google maps Our office is located on Comberton Hill, next to the Severn Valley and West Midlands railway stations. There are a number of Pay & Display car parks in the immediate vicinity. There is a bus service along the main road.

Hours of Business

Please ring to make a weekday appointment. 01562 823581

THANK YOU for visiting