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Introduction by the Leader of the Council, Cllr Kris Wilson

Showing our support for the people of Ukraine

Nuneaton town hall has been lit yellow and blue, the colours of the flag of Ukraine this March, in support of the people of that country and the terrible events the world has been watching in horror.

We stand with the people of Ukraine.

Building a Better Borough

The Borough Council has consulted widely on its new corporate plan, Building a Better Borough.

The document has been considered by the council’s Cabinet this month, and will help shape council decision-making and services in the years to come.

Council leader Cllr Kristofer Wilson said: “The key themes in this document account for how the Borough will be improved by all the work we are doing, as well as enabling us to focus on who will benefit as we deliver each step along the way.”

Budget for a Better Borough

In support of this new Building a Better Borough approach, the Borough Council agreed a Budget for a Better Borough, this year.

This budget will see £61.6 million invested in our area – particularly parks and town centres – in coming months, as well as important changes to the way the council spends its annual service budget of around £13.2 million.

Key points of the budget included:

  • Market rents down, car park charges cut to boost town centre trading
  • A programme of events in support of the Queen’s Jubilee, to boost civic pride
  • Council tax rise restricted to less than 2% to help residents’ cost of living
  • Investment in extra refuse collection rounds to serve new housing
  • Support for a youth employment scheme
  • Investment in the council’s regeneration team, to ensure top value for the investment that is planned

Portfolio holder for finance and corporate services, Cllr Sam Croft, said: “This is a budget designed to achieve our vision for Nuneaton and Bedworth in the 2020s. It puts the council’s finances back in the black for the long term, while investing in our people, reforming our council, and taking bold moves to deliver the regeneration of our parks and town centres.”

£150 Council Tax Rebate - FAQ's

A you may have heard in the news, the Government have announced a package of support called the ‘Energy Bills Rebate’ to help households with their rising energy costs during the 2022/23 period.

The Energy Bills Rebate includes:

  • A £150 rebate for households in England in property Bands A to D
  • A discretionary fund to help those households in property Bands E to H

We have provided some questions and answers to help you understand the ‘Energy Bills Rebate’ schemes and how the council will be dealing with them.

£150 Rebate for Bands A to D

How do I know which ‘Band’ my property is in?

  • To check which band your property is in, you should be able to find this information on your bill, if not you can visit Check your Council Tax band below.

How will I know if I’m entitled to the rebate?

For every household that occupies a property, and which meets all the eligibility criteria below, a payment will automatically be made to any current and any new, direct debit customers as soon as practicable after 1st April 2022. A one-off payment of £150 will be paid to the liable Council Tax payer.

Eligibility Criteria

  • You must be liable to pay Council Tax at the property on or before 1st April 2022
  • Your property is valued in council tax bands A – D. This includes property that is valued in band E but has an alternative valuation band of band D, as a result of the disabled band reduction scheme;
  • It is someone’s sole or main residence;
  • It is a chargeable dwelling, or in the following exemption classes
  1. Class N – a dwelling occupied entirely by students
  2. Class S – a dwelling occupied wholly by persons under the age of 18
  3. Class U – a dwelling occupied wholly by persons who are severely mentally impaired
  4. Class W – an annex flat or similar self-contained property occupied by a dependent relative of a person living in the main part of the building; and
  • The person who is liable to pay council tax (or would be, were the property not exempt) is not a local authority, corporate body or other body such as a housing association, the government or government body.

How will the rebate be paid to me?

The rebate will only be paid by Bank Transfer. The easiest way is to have a Direct Debit set up to pay your Council Tax. We will be able to pay the rebate by bank transfer direct to your bank account. You will not need to do anything.

If you pay your Council Tax by any other method, or don’t have a bank account, you will need to set one up. There is help available to decide which account is best for you. Please visit Martin Lewis’s website for more information Top Basic Bank Accounts: Bad credit option, no fees - MSE.

The information below shows how the rebate will be paid depending on your circumstances.

How do you pay your Council Tax by Direct Debit

The rebate will be paid by bank transfer into your bank account. You do not need to do anything

How do you pay your Council Tax by Payment by any other method, eg; debit card, cash, BACS transfer or standing order. We cannot pay the rebate by cash or cheque payments.

You will need to open a bank account if you don’t have one already or you will need to provide your bank account details when we open the application process.

NB: The date for application is yet to be confirmed, so please watch our website for more details.

What if I have an overdraft?

If you have an overdraft, the £150 rebate cannot be used by the bank towards clearing your overdraft. This rebate is for you to earmark for essential bills, ie your energy bills, and therefore you have the right to choose how the money into your account can be used. This is called the ‘First Right of Appropriation’. There is more information on the council’s website so please follow the link below.

How long will it take before the rebate is paid?

Priority will be given to people who pay their Council Tax by Direct Debit. We will start to make the rebate payments to these people from April 2022. If you want to set up a Direct Debit payment for your Council Tax, and you have access to the Open Portal, you can now set up a Direct Debit through the ‘change payment method’.

If you do not have access to the Open Portal, but would like to set up a Direct Debit, please contact us immediately on 02476 376 376.

For people that pay their Council Tax by any other method, eg debit card, cash, BACS transfer, or by Standing Order, you will need to provide your bank details once we open up the application process. Please keep watching our website for details of when this process will be open and how you can make an application.

If you do not have a bank account, then you will need to open one before we can make the rebate payment to you. Please visit Top Basic Bank Accounts: Bad credit option, no fees - MSE (moneysavingexpert.com) for more information about which account would be best for you.

Will I have to pay the money back?

No, you will not have to pay the money back. It is not a loan.

The Discretionary fund – Bands E to H

We will provide details of the fund and how it will be distributed in due course. Unfortunately, we do not have all the details to be able to share with you at this time.

Abbey Street transformation is up and running

Work to transform Nuneaton town centre is now well underway at Abbey Street.

Hoarding has gone up in the Abbey Street car park which shows where the town centre’s new hotel will be built. Nearby will be a new multi-storey car park, refurbished shops as well as open space, a cinema and food and drink outlets.

The Borough Council has worked hard to bring investment to the town – including grants from Whitehall - to make all of this possible.

The work at Abbey Street is just the latest phase of work as part of the Transforming Nuneaton programme to bring new investment to the town.

Plans are also being worked up to bring an exciting new look to Bedworth town centre.

Watch this space for more news of developments!

Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery re-imagined

Plans to transform Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery, and breathe new life into the park it sits within, have moved to the next stage.

Museum Café - All Illustration's credit to Purcell.

Exciting plans will see a new ground floor extension on each side of the current building to provide more gallery space, a brand new entrance and improved facilities for all visitors.

Helping new growth in our parks and open spaces

The Borough Council has had lots of feedback over the years about work needed to cut back trees, bushes and undergrowth around our area.

Usually this comes in the summer months when bushes can reduce visibility around open space, and branches and bushes can block paths and make them unsafe.

We decided to do something about it this spring by asking our contractors to ensure that as much growth as possible is cut right back to enable fresh growth, and to reduce areas closer to what was originally intended when they were first planted.

We recognise this work can appear radical, but the work has been carried out for a very good reason.

Each year we receive hundreds of calls from people concerned about security or potential injury to pedestrians, from overhanging or overgrown trees and bushes.

The action we are taking now is intended to help with this not just now, but for a number of seasons to come. Work in future won’t need to be anything like as radical to keep things safe as well as looking neat and tidy, which will enable our contractors to spend more time on other important jobs that help make our borough a lovely place to spend time.

This work started late in 2021, and has carried on right up until March, so we can get as much as possible done this year before the nesting season really gets started.

What we are trying to do is not just make things look neater, but make it safer too for all residents and for wildlife. We encourage people to let us know where they think maintenance is needed, and we listen carefully to the feedback we receive all year round.

Fantastic new mountain bike trail and sports facilities now open!

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council and its partners have been working hard to create the new facilities, which include a brand-new mountain bike trail and newly refurbished tennis courts, intended to support future leisure needs and encourage people to be more active in the Borough.

The projects are the first key step in already exciting plans for the park, which will also introduce a brand-new multi-million pound Bedworth Physical Activity Hub to replace the current leisure centre.

‘Miners’ Mountain Bike Trails’ is a completely free, British Cycling-approved family-friendly facility, which includes three different trails* of varying difficulty levels plus a skills area, pump trail and walking paths. In keeping with the area’s proud mining heritage, the trails have been named: Charity, Newdigate, Hawkesbury and Woodlands, after local Bedworth coal pits.

The MTB bike trail has had a staggering 9,000 rides from 1st January 2022 to 9th March 2022, that is around 190 rides per hour.

Queen's Jubilee celebrations - national and local events

2022 heralds what will be the 70th year of Her Majesty The Queen’s reign. This historic event will reflect on her reign, and her impact on the UK and the world since 1952.

In celebration, the Government announced that the May Bank Holiday weekend will be moved to Thursday, 2 June and an additional Bank Holiday on Friday, 3 June will see a four-day weekend to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee - the first time any British monarch has reached this historic milestone. These will take place across the borough.

Thursday 2nd June sees the start of the celebrations, where we plan on giving the Freedom of the Borough to the 30th Signal Regiment and the Queen’s Gurkha Signals. This will consist of them marching through Nuneaton’s town centre. We are keen for you to line the streets and show how proud we all are of them.

Later that day, the borough’s town crier Paul Gough, will announce the Bank Holiday Proclamation with the lighting of the beacons later that evening. He will make his decree across the borough in Nuneaton, Bedworth and Bulkington.

Friday 3rd June sees the celebrations start in Bedworth. Miner’s Welfare Park is where the party is with live music, song and dance on stage. Funtopia will be there with inflatables and children’s fairground rides throughout the day. Bulkington too has party plans for a picnic in the park. Both events will end their celebrations with a short firework finale.

Saturday 4th June is Nuneaton’s turn – with the party coming to Riversley Park. Similar plans as for the Bedworth party celebrations.

Sunday 5th June is when we will hold our communities day when we will have different cultural dances & entertainment, with food and refreshments. There will be the Nuneaton Carnival joining in, which this year is a foot parade reaching it’s conclusion in Riversley Park. Funtopia’s inflatables will be part of the event for all the family to enjoy too.

People in Nuneaton and bedworth are invited to join in the celebration, find our more in are webpages below.

Street Parties – how can you get involved

The UK has a long history of organised street parties to celebrate national events. Why not organise one for your neighbours for the Platinum Jubilee?

Bulkington is having a street party with the road closed from 11am-1pm in the village centre. There are already other street parties planned across the Borough too.

Built to Burn. Designed to Heal

From 21 to 28 May, a temporary commemorative public artwork will come to Nuneaton & Bedworth.

Artichoke is delighted to invite you to Sanctuary, a unique commemorative public memorial by US artist David Best, coming to Nuneaton & Bedworth.

Opening on Saturday 21 May, the artwork will offer a place of sanctuary to remember the devastating personal losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In a powerful symbol of catharsis and rebirth for the whole community, it will be set alight on the evening of Saturday 28 May.

To plan your visit, please visit our new website:

Opening Times

Sanctuary is to open visitors from Saturday 21 to Friday 27 May, 12pm to 8pm and Saturday 28 May, 10am to 1:30pm

Sanctuary will be set alight at sunset, approximately 9pm, on the evening of Saturday 28 May.

Please note, the site will not be open from 2pm on Saturday 28 May. It will re-open at 6pm for the burn.

Produced by Artichoke, in association with Imagineer

Supported by Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council, Warwickshire County Council and DCMS Culture Recovery Fund.

How can we make recycling better

Please continue sort the correct recycling material into your brown lid bins

Think about using Judkins and LHF when services are affected by non collections.

Please use of green bins for food waste.

If you bin collection is missed, please use strong black bags for (general waste) black bin, where required. Split waste so bags are not to heavy. Glass, tins, sharp objects etc to be kept in the main body of the bin for health and safety reasons.