Booster vaccinations

Every adult should get boosted as soon as they eligible to give enough protection against catching Omicron. A booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is available for everyone aged 18 and over, and some people aged 16 and over, who have had 2 doses of the vaccine at least 3 months ago.

• young people aged 16 to 17can get a first and second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine
• all 12 to 15 year oldscan get a single dose of the vaccine

To book your vaccine or booster online go to book or manage a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination on the NHS website.

Find your nearest vaccination centre: Herefordshire and Worcestershire CCG – Vaccination sites.

Council House closing over Christmas

Our reception at the Council House will be closed from 1pm on 24 December and will reopen at 9am on 4 January 2022. If you need help with an enquiry, there is plenty of information on our website: www.malvernhills.gov.uk

Christmas and New Year bin collections

Please note, there will be no changes to Christmas collections this year, days of collections will not change as we will be working on Bank Holidays.

We will also accept up to two extra black sacks on general waste weeks between Monday 20 December and Friday 7 January.

How to report a rough sleeper

No-one should have to spend Christmas on the streets. If you see someone sleeping rough, tell us where they are and we will go out as soon as possible to find them and provide support. Visit www.streetlink.org.uk/ or call 0300 500 0914.

Christmas Waste Campaign

We have been encouraging people to re-use, reduce, recycle and repair as much as they can this month with our Christmas Waste Campaign.

Keep checking our Facebook and Twitter pages every day at 12pm throughout the rest of December. We have been posting lots of useful tips and tricks on how to reduce waste this festive period.

MHDC councillors have also been getting involved by appearing in videos and offering eco tips.

The majority of content has been developed by Worcestershire County Council’s Sustainability Team, as well as the MHDC Comms Team and Matt Barker, Carbon Reduction Project Officer. Take a look at the Let’s Waste Less website for more tips.

Dog Control PSPO Consultation

On 2 December we launched the consultation to gather responses on our proposed Dog Control Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) that has now expired. We have had a good response so far with 296 completed surveys.

We continue to receive reports in relation to dog fouling and would like to extend the PSPO that was previously in place to address these issues. If approved the PSPO will allow the council to deal with dog control offences by issuing fixed penalty notices.

The proposed PSPO could make the following an offence:

• Failure to pick up dog faeces when in control of dog
• Failure to carry a poop bag or other means to clean up after a dog
• Failure to keep a dog on a lead in a designated area
• Failure to exclude dogs from fenced off or enclosed children’s playgrounds.

Take part in the consultation before 13 January 2022.

Contact Rob Rich on 01684 862290 or  if you would like more information on the proposed PSPO.

Businesses could win £1,000 by taking part in skills survey

Businesses are being encouraged to take part in a survey to find out what their skills and training needs are.

The survey is being run by Malvern Hills and Wychavon District Councils with telemarketing agency, Team Telemarketing, and will end on 31 January 2022.

They will be contacted via phone call to take part in the survey but it can also be done online. All entrants will be entered into a prize draw to win a £1,000 cash prize.

The results will help guide the councils in providing targeted support to businesses including future subsidised courses to meet their needs, help with recruitment and to fill the skills gap.

The survey is being run as part of the Malvern Hills and Wychavon Upskilling Project which has received funding of £283,050 from the UK Government Renewal Fund.

Read more about the survey and how to take part.

New Tolkien Walking Story features on BBC Countryfile

The Malvern Hills recently featured on BBC Countryfile on Sunday 12 December.

Our Visitor Economy Officer Victoria Carman helped to develop the programme content to ensure it featured our connections to J.R.R Tolkien, C.S Lewis and Sir Edward Elgar.

The programme also featured Andy Stevenson from Point2Guides and a Lecturer at the University of Worcester walking across the Malvern Hills on the new Tolkien Walking Story.

Victoria Carman also commissioned Andy from Point2Guides to develop a brand-new series of Walking Stories called ‘The Chronicles of Malvernia’ which each tells a story linked to the myths, tales and legends from across The Malverns.

Visit www.visitthemalverns.org/lovetolkien for more information.

Healthy Habits

Residents are being encouraged to get active in the New Year with a new fitness and wellbeing programme.

Healthy Habits is a ten week programme which aims to help improve people’s health and wellbeing. It commences on the 12 January at The Octagon Malvern, and costs £20 for 10 weeks or £2 pay as you go.

The programme consists of weekly talks including: sleep, stress, how to relax, hormones, healthy eating, mindset and a range of exercise classes to try such as resistance bands, weights, yoga and Pilates.

Healthy Habits is fully supported by our Physical Activity and Wellbeing Officer, Rachel Nicholls, who will provide support and advice throughout the sessions.

Priory Park FAQs

As you will be aware work has already started to replace the play area in Priory Park. We have compiled a list of FAQ’s regarding the works, visit the Priory Park webpage for more information.

 

 

Town Centre Prospectus Consultation

There is still time to have your say on the future of the town centres in the Malvern Hills District.

Our consultation, which ends on 31 December, gathers views to guide our five town centre transformation plans. These will be for Barnards Green, Great Malvern, Malvern Link, Tenbury Wells and Upton upon Severn. Take part in the survey.

Holiday Food Support

Ready, Steady, Worcestershire have partnered with providers across Worcestershire to offer free access to activities, leisure centres, clubs, events and theatres over the Christmas holiday.

The offer is available for families of children aged 5-15, in receipt of Free School Meals and families that are professionally referred to the programme. All activities will be available through the online booking system.

Need support this winter? We have put together a list of local and national organisations that can offer a range of support and advice, including with food, essentials and debt advice. Visit our website here for more information.

Upcoming Events

18 December – Great Malvern Farmers Market

Please also keep an eye out for events happening in Upton and Malvern Link – lots of exciting things being planned for this year!

To find additional events happening in the district, go to the Visit the Malverns events webpage.