News in Biddulph

In this week's column for Biddulph Nub News, Moorlands MP Karen Bradley discusses children's return to schools and MPs' return to Parliament during Coronavirus.

A shortage of quality care places for children in need of long-term support has prompted Staffordshire County Council to consider opening its own childen's home.

The authority is looking to run its own small-scale children's home for three young people for 12 months to assess whether it produces better results than the current system.

In the following column for Biddulph Nub News, Biddulph town and district Cllr Connor Brady takes the Government to task for its response to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Improving problem road drains, gullying emptying and additional roadside grass cutting are some of the issues being tackled in a new £2 million county council roads investment.

Staffordshire County Council is proposing spending the additional money on a range of projects following feedback from residents and councillors.

Groups and organisations working with vulnerable communities in Staffordshire can access £200,000 of funding as part of a new grants scheme.

The new #DoingOurBit Community Grants Scheme set up by Staffordshire County Council is available to voluntary and community organisations based in the county.

Family members, friends and work colleagues are being targeted in a new campaign to help reduce the number of suicides in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.

The #TalkSuicide campaign is being run by Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, local hospitals and NHS community services and aims to raise awareness of the issue and make it easier for people to talk about suicide and mental health.

Biddulph Town Council has taken on the management of three buildings in the town, with the hopes of ensuring they are "accessible and well-run" for residents.

The council will now manage Biddulph Town Hall, Biddulph Grange Country Park's visitor centre, and the town centre's Bus Hub.

Social gatherings of more than six people in Biddulph and beyond will be banned from Monday (14th September) - with some exceptions - under a tightening of Government Coronavirus restrictions.

The move comes after a spike in infections has prompted Government concerns over a second wave.

There have been no new Coronavirus deaths recorded in the Moorlands this week, marking the fourth week in a row with no deaths being recorded due to the virus in the district.

This is according to the Office for National Statistics, who release localised Coronavirus statistics in updated data each week.

The final decision on a planning application made by Aldi to build a new supermarket in Biddulph will be made by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council's Planning Committee at a meeting next month.

This is according to the application's page on the district council's planning portal, which now states that the decision will be made by the committee at a meeting on Thursday, 15th October.