Welcome!
Welcome to the Summer Newsletter of the Newtown Area Residents’ Association (NARA) for the area in which you live! You don’t get any more local than this! We meet once a month in the Wesley Road Club, usually the last Thursday of the month. We meet to discuss all aspects of Newtown which are of interest to all as a community living here – problems, ideas for improvement, council plans for the area, networking with other residents’ associations, council members and representatives from other organizations. We provide a forum for the people of Newtown to have a say and together we try to help make things better for this area.
This newsletter is being sent out to let you see what has been discussed in the previous few meetings and to show you what’s coming up soon. We are always very happy to see new faces to swell our numbers – the more people get involved in NARA, the more we can do!

West Wilts Show!
Taking place the 26th- 28th July, the West Wilts Show is hosted by Trowbridge this year, in the Town Park. NARA will have a stand in the main marquee with other residents’ associations and other groups. Celebrating living and working in West Wiltshire it’s the biggest free-entry business and community show involving the 5 towns of West Wiltshire. Come along and take part – it’s great fun and there’s something for everyone!
Further to this, NARA was awarded a Civic Certificate and a small grant for services to the community at the Town Gathering on 19th April 2007.

Recycling
The hottest topic of the hour! Bins and how often they’re emptied! The changes to what we’re allowed to recycle and what we’re allowed to put into our green bins! Recently NARA was happy to receive a visit from Graeme Lawes, Operations Manager, West Wiltshire District Council. In charge of waste collection and recycling, Graeme filled us in on what was happening. In addition to a survey going out to all of Newtown to ask for feedback on rubbish and recycling issues, Graeme has changed a few things for the better - Focsa have taken over from Cleanaway, hopefully meaning that collections will be managed better from now on. They have smaller vehicles and can be tracked – meaning that if they miss your street, you can call Graeme and he can see which vehicle is in your area and send it round. Graeme is trying to get more local ‘Bring’ sites installed, so that we can recycle our plastic, cardboard, cans, etc, closer to home. Only garden waste is allowed in green bins now, as the compost made from it has to meet European standards – therefore, no kitchen waste which could be cross-contaminated with meat products, no cardboard which takes much longer to break down. He is considering allowing cardboard to be collected in some other way, but nothing has yet been decided. Graeme can be contacted on 01225 776655 or glawes@westwiltshire.gov.uk Contact him also if you see anyone flytipping – with evidence they can be prosecuted. For an extra free black box or basket for recycling call Hills Waste on 0845 6032 085. Bargain compost bins can be ordered from http://www.recycle.now/ or call 0845 600 0323.

Front Garden Fiesta!
Last year, in an effort to make Newtown
a beautiful area to walk through, we held a front garden competition, with prizes for the best efforts and improvement. It was really good fun to enter and those who participated enjoyed it immensely, not only for the competition excitement but also for the interest and pleasure they experienced whilst doing up their gardens. It’s open to all of Newtown and judging will be done in early July, to give everyone a chance to get going and for the blooms to be at their best! Entry is automatic, so if your garden looks lush, you might be a winner!

Local Pride
Tied in closely with the Front Garden Fiesta, many residents have voiced their concerns about the high level of litter and untidiness in Newtown. This is a polite request to everyone in Newtown to have pride in their street and community and to please keep their fronts clean and tidy – it takes 5 minutes to pick up rubbish and bin it, to sweep your front path and pull out any weeds. Wheelie bins could be kept in the rear of the property if possible. If we all do our little bit of frontage, Newtown will be a lovelier place to live and the value of your property and of the whole area will be increased.
We’re thinking of having some small events in the area too – a street fair; a car-boot sale in Wesley Road carpark; a litter-picking day – let us have your suggestions!

PCSOs
Together with College, we now have our own community policing team – Jo Bagg, Community Beat Manager and Mike Caine, Police Community Support Officer. Together they make a policing presence felt by doing foot and bike patrols in Newtown and College and by resolving concerns voiced by the residents of these areas, such as anti-social behaviour and untaxed and abandoned vehicles. They are based at Trowbridge Police Station and can be reached on tel: 0845 408 7000 or collegenewtownpt@wiltshire.pnn.police.uk

Participation
For those people who would like to come along to the next meeting, here are the dates:
Thursday 21st June
Thursday 26th July
They are held upstairs from 8pm in the Wesley Road Club in Newtown. We meet in the bar beforehand. Meetings last about an hour, prompt arrival is appreciated. Bring your problems, bring your ideas, but most of all, bring yourselves!!!

Any queries can be directed to Fran on 01225 710457 or by emailing n.a.r.a@hotmail.co.uk

For updates on all topics mentioned in this newsletter, see the NARA website at http://www.newtownarearesidentsassociation.blogspot.com/