Kingsway Villagers

‘The Gardening Competition for 2013’

Kingsway Residents’ Association is again running ‘Kingsway a village in bloom’ competition, with even more great prizes on offer this year.
Do you fancy a challenge?
Planning to tidy up your front garden?
Can you work miracles in a planter or window box?
Want to encourage the kids to do some gardening?

Look out for the flyer coming through your door or use the links below to enter online and find out about the categories, prizes and rules.

This free to enter competition is open to all Kingsway residents with or without green fingers! Entries will close on 20 Jul and the competition runs until 17 Aug when the prizes will be presented at the Village Centre.

Good luck! Someone has to win, it could be you!

Online Entry Form | Prizes | Rules | Entry Form (A5 – Printable)

I’d like to apologise to all those who have been unable to log in for the past few weeks, Some extra security procedures were instigated on my server recently, which were not supposed to affect normal users… I did have some tests run… which were fine… but apparently the problem affected everyone – except my “test-pilot”

To make matters worse, I have been unable to find time to get in myself! My wife is still quite ill (it’s been more than 12 months since she was last at work) and I’ve had very little time to spare in recent months. Being self-employed is no fun in these situations (no cover)! If I hadn’t been so rushed, I should have noticed the lack of posts and picked up on the problem sooner.

I finally managed to add a gallery of pictures from the litter pick day (here) and to add the post below about the Litter Pick Poster Competition.

Hopefully I will be able to catch up soon… (extra big sorry to Mark at MSPC-Repairs for my unforgivable delay… I will make it up to you)!

I will be back soon to post about the 2013 Kingsway Big Lunch: Diary Date – Sunday June 2nd (don’t miss it – there’s loads going on this year, it’s gonna be epic)!

 
Sorry again to everybody, and welcome back

As part of the Community Litter Pick which took place on April 20th, the Kingsway Police Pumas (cadets) were asked to produce poster designs for the event.

The winning entry will be used for future Kingsway Litter pick days, and the winner(s) will also receive a prize from the Residents Association (I won’t spoil the suprise…)!

The following nine entries were received:

Please note that these were scanned from drawings- some of which were A3, so some of the detail doesn’t show up well on these small thumbnails… clicking the pic’s will open printable .pdf doc’s which will allow you to see them much better).

1. abi-keeley	2. kiamzn-dawn
3. mia-mackenzie	4. milly-talluiah
5. callum-and-calum 6. kaylie-jess-t 7. paulina-adrianna-sandra 8. shanneea-lexy-khianna   9. shyla-megan-enid-morris

The Residents Association Committee will be meeting on Tuesday 28th May to decide/announce the winner, and local residents are welcome to comment on this post if they have a preference… your votes will be counted (provided that they arrive in time).
 
Note: The names are (I think) a compilation of the creators, so I numbered each entry to make it easier for you to vote.

I would like to thank all of the residents who voted in the recent County Council elections, and in doing so, placed their trust in me to be our Councillor for Grange and Kingsway.

I know that the two areas of Grange and Kingsway have a lot we can bring together to learn from the experiences of both communities Before and during the campaign I spoke to a great many residents, picking up many issues to resolve. However this needs to be an ongoing process and I encourage you to get in touch with me with any issues you may have, or things you think are good that we should do more of.

I do intend to hold regular surgeries both physical, and some trialing of internet based surgeries, as well as making use of other social media to pick up your thoughts. I am available on twitter (@baz_k) as well as Facebook, or though my website at www.barrykirby.co.uk.
Email me at barry.kirby@gloucestershire.gov.uk or just ring/text 07951330534

I look forward to continue working with you in our community.

Barry

In under 2 weeks, on the 2nd May, we have the County Council elections. This year will see a change from what we are used to, because of the reduction in the number of councillors and the redrawing of the County Ward Boundaries. Currently, the Quedgeley ward covers all of Quedgeley and Kingsway and has 2 Councillors to cover the area. This is going to change to having Quedgeley Ward covering the traditional area of Quedgeley up to the A38, and then a new ward called Grange and Kingsway covering Kingsway, Grange and Copeland Park. Both of these wards will have 1 Councillor each.

It is a great honour for me to have been selected as the Labour Candidate for the Grange and Kingsway Ward. I have lived here in Kingsway for over 5 years with my wife and 3 young children. Throughout this time I have been working hard within our community both as the founding Chairman of Kingsway Residents Association and as a Councillor on the Quedgeley Parish Council, I put community at the heart of everything that I do. From instigating the annual Big Lunch celebrations that have gone from strength to strength within Kingsway to holding public meetings for people to find out what is going on in our community and to enable them to put their issues directly to those responsible.

When talking to residents, one of the most common complaints is that politicians are “all the same”. However many people who have met me know that in this instance, this is not the case. You don’t just see me at election time. I believe in Labour values of decency, humanity and helping people where I can hence why I joined the Party, but I am also very clear on why I want to be a County Councillor, and that is to work for our community to make sure we are properly and actively represented.

I am constantly out and about, making myself available to anyone who needs it. I am also very active on social media both Twitter and Facebook and while it is not everyone’s’ cup of tea, I think it is important for anyone to be able to get in touch, by whatever means is most useful for them.

Our community is very important to me and I want to see it continue to grow in the way it has, and that is with the residents at the heart of the development and having our input taken on board. For example, the change from the bowling green to something more useful, the long but finally successful campaign to get the Naas Lane link road opened and the speed awareness campaign that I instigated. I am a great believer in positive action, just highlighting complaints is not enough, I believe in working with people to ensure that residents’ concerns are raised with the right people, and to keep going to ensure complaints are addressed.

So, when it comes to the 2nd May, please do take 10 minutes to pop to the polling station (Which is at the Kingsway Community Centre and NOT at the school as usual) and vote for me, Barry Kirby, to be your County Councillor and together we can ensure that our community grows and develops in a great way.

Cheers,
Barry

WATERWELLS PRIMARY ACADEMY CONSULTS ON ADDITIONAL PROVISION FOR 3-YEAR-OLDS.

Kingsway’s local community are being asked to share their views on Waterwells Primary Academy’s proposals to open a 3-11 primary school this September. The school is consulting again following Ministerial approval of the addition of a 52 place pre-school for three-year-olds in response to the increasing need for pre-school provision in the local area.
This follows the initial consultation which started in December last year when the school’s sponsor – The Robinswood Academy Trust – shared their original plans with local people for a 4-11 primary school.
Martin Latham, Head of Robinswood Primary School and Executive Head of Waterwells Primary Academy, said: “This formal consultation builds on the links that we have established with the local community. I very much hope that everyone will take the time to get involved and share their views with us.”
Cllr Jackie Hall, county councillor for Quedgeley and Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said: “The new primary school will open next September and will be vital to help meet increasing demand for school places in this growing estate. I would encourage local people to feedback their views in the consultation.”
Prospective parents and other stakeholders in the local community can have their say by completing an online questionnaire on the school’s website here emailing the school at info@waterwellsprimaryacademy.org.uk or leaving a message on the message line at 0845 548 0411. The consultation will end on Tuesday 7th May 2013.
Waterwells Primary Academy is a new primary school which will open in Naas Lane on the Kingsway development in Quedgeley in September 2013. The school is being built to serve this growing community, and will open with 15 pupils predicted in each year group from Reception to Year 6. The intake will increase as the admission numbers grow each year, and the school will reach its capacity of 420 pupils, with two classes of 30 pupils per year group, by 2016. In addition, a 52 place pre-school for three-year-olds is planned, along with a nursery providing 16 places for two-year-olds.
The school will offer a broad and balanced curriculum with a specific focus on literacy and numeracy, and will aim for all pupils to achieve confidence through high quality educational experiences rich in core learning including ICT. Every pupil at the school will be encouraged to achieve their maximum potential within a happy, nurturing environment. Community engagement will be at the core of the school’s ethos, which will benefit the pupils of the new school and the residents of the Kingsway area.
The consultation is running alongside other key activities including an open day which will take place between 9.30-11.00am on Friday 19th April at Robinswood Primary School, Underhill Road, Gloucester GL4 6HE. Families of all prospective pupils are welcome to attend the event to find out more about the school and apply for a place before the 26th April closing date. Parents are asked to call 01452 530430 or email info@waterwellsprimaryacademy.org.uk to book their place.

To apply for a pre-school or Reception to Year 6 place at Waterwells Primary Academy, parents can pick up a form at Robinswood Primary School, call 01452 530430 or email info@waterwellsprimaryacademy.org.uk. The deadline for applying for all year groups is Friday 26th April 2013. As the closing date for Reception applications has passed, further applications will be added to the school’s waiting list and any available places will be allocated after 16th April 2013 in accordance with the school’s Admissions Policy, which can be viewed here. In-year admissions (Years 1 to 6) will be allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis.
To be kept up-to-date with all the latest developments, news and events, sign up to receive the school’s e-newsletter at their website (see link above).

The Kingsway Speedwatch group is now up and running, with Sarah Jones and myself trained to use the equipment. We will be running ops over the next couple of weeks, looking at the main routes of Rudloe Drive, Woodvale, Valley Gardens and Thatcham Avenue.

If you want to find out more or get involved as part of the team then please do get in touch. My number is 07951330534 or email me at barry@barrykirby.co.uk, it would be great to have your support. We have also set up a Facebook group here, so do keep an eye on that for updates too.

Cheers,
Barry