News

Dear Customer – Queen’s Funeral Arrangements (RAD)

Following the official notification that Monday 19th September, 2022 has been designated as a Bank Holiday to mark the funeral of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II the Council has taken the decision to suspend all services on that day. As a result, all Council buildings
(including offices and leisure centres) will be closed as a mark of respect.
All waste collections scheduled for that day are also being suspended.
Collections scheduled for the day of the State Funeral are consequently being rescheduled and are being brought forward to Friday 16th September, 2022. Please ensure that your bins are made available for collection from 6.30am on Friday morning. If your bin is not emptied on that day, please leave it at its normal collection point for collection on Saturday.
We thank you for your understanding and cooperation at this sad time.
Further details can be found at www.northwarks.gov.uk or on our social media pages or
by calling our Contact Centre on 01827 715341.

Timings are a little clearer now and are as follows:

Saturday 10 September

His Majesty, The King will be proclaimed at the Accession Council at 10.00 a.m. on 10^th September in the State Apartments of St James’s Palace, London.

At this time, he will read the Principal Proclamation.

Sunday 11 September

The Parish Church will hold a Sunday Service, starting at 10:30 a.m., as normal.

From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., the Parish Church will host an open session for the signing of a condolences book and lighting of candles, in the memory of Queen Elizabeth II.

From 4 p.m., the Mayor of Coleshill, Cllr. Caroline Symonds will be present.  She will lead a group at the Platinum Jubilee bench on the Croft, where floral tributes can be left.  The group will include a small section of the Coleshill Town Band who will be playing God Save the King.  There will be a Coleshill adaptation of the King’s Proclamation, read by the Mayor.

Queen Elizabeth II (1926 – 2022)

Coleshill has delighted in celebrating the Queen’s many achievements over her long reign.  There have been Silver (1977) and GoId (2002) Jubilee events in the town, and also the Queen’s 90^th Birthday event in 2016.  The school children were only too pleased to participate in the birthday joyous occasion, including running a “pin the nose on the Queen” and “pin the tail on the corgi” boards on the Croft! The shared memories are rich among local residents of those good times.

In my own civic year, I was pleased to play a small part in celebrating her long service just a few months ago. It was wonderful that we were able to come together as a country to celebrate such an historic reign with a long Platinum Jubilee, four days of partying in the streets and outdoor events.  Coleshill’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations included many street parties, family and community gatherings. Our community celebrations on the Croft, with the Beacon Lighting and the Town Band Concert and Fireworks, attracting many hundreds of people all joining together in great spirits to show our appreciation of Her Majesty the Queen.

Most of us are too young to know of another monarch, so much so that she is intrinsic to our character as Britons, part of the fabric of our country. The Queen is so much more to us all than the face on stamps and coins, she has provided a constant, reassuring and steadying voice along the way as the country has faced its many challenges and upheavals. Such a constant in our lives that I thought her almost immortal, always to be there. The shock and sadness has been felt so widely across our community and the country, just highlighting the unique impact that she has had.

The Queen has seen so much change and always led us all through these with a calm dignity. Reassuringly she said “We will meet again” during Covid times, her gentle, often understated guidance during the darkest times has brought light and optimism to the country.

Throughout her seven-decade reign, she showed an inspirational sense of duty and provided an unwavering dedication to our nation. Stoic in her determination, brave and compassionate as she demonstrated to the country through wartime. She wasn’t just the head of a family, she was the icon of our nation and central to our sense of belonging to it. The Queen was an extraordinary woman; our admiration and respect will live on forever.

In all her visits around the commonwealth and closer to home (Nuneaton, Coventry and Solihull, for instance), Queen Elizabeth ensured she paused to be seen by more of the waving crowds, giving her famous waves back and exuding her smiles, her warmth and her gentle humour.  A wit and humour that gave us all a feeling of closeness to our monarch, who could ever forget the 2012 appearance with Daniel Craig as James Bond or more recently sharing tea with Paddington.

I send my love and heartfelt sympathies to the Royal Family; Queen Elizabeth II was clearly a much loved, and will be much missed, Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother, Cousin, Aunt and friend.

Thank you just doesn’t seem enough, but my warmest and most sincere thanks to Queen Elizabeth II for her exceptional lifelong service to our nation.

God Save the King

Cllr. Caroline Symonds

Mayor of Coleshill Town Council

Queen Elizabeth II (1926 – 2022)

With the sad passing of Queen Elizabeth II being announced yesterday at 6:20 pm, the Town Council arranged for the Union Flag to be flown at half-mast on the Town Hall and this was in place for 7pm.

From Monday 12 September, there will be a Book of Condolences available in the Community Hub, Monday to Friday, 10am to 1pm, for the period of mourning.  We will ensure there are other times available, e.g. at evenings or the weekend, with members’ help.

The Community Hub and Town Hall will be open as normal until otherwise notified.  However, a period of mourning has been announced.  The main Proclamation is due to be by King Charles III at 11am on Saturday, 10 September.  It is, at the moment, planned to have a local reading of the Proclamation on Sunday afternoon, involving the Church and Mayor, at 2pm on Sunday 11 September (still TBC).

The state funeral day will be announced and this is conventionally 11 days after the death, i.e. on Monday 19 September.

Guidance on communications is still coming through from the Palace, through local channels.  At this stage, some other details:

• A message from the Mayor will appear shortly on the website and on noticeboards.
• Flowers can be left at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee bench on the Croft.  The Mayor will be going there soon to start the laying of floral tributes.
• It is possible to leave e-condolences, via the royal.uk website for those not able to visit the town.
• Church services.  The church is ringing bells today but has a normal Sunday service at 10:30 am on 11 September, at which candle lighting is planned to be possib

Colin Greatorex

Town Clerk

Please see, below, a consultation release:

Share your views on the WFRS draft Prevention, Protection and Response Strategy  

The formal consultation of WFRS’s draft Prevention, Protection and Response Strategy will close in a few weeks on 25 September. So if you haven’t already done so, please take 10 minutes to give them your views on their plans and priorities.  

Every one of us wants to know that WFRS will be there for us in an emergency. But they also have responsibilities to prevent accidents and emergencies from happening in the first place and to protect us by ensuring the buildings in which we live and work are safe. This strategy sets out how they will balance these different priorities and deliver what the Warwickshire communities need to be kept safe, whilst also looking after the people that work for them.   

A consultation like this is a great opportunity for you to contribute to their plans and approach, to share what is important to you and what you think they should be spending their time doing.   

Complete the consultation here.   

Or

Last chance! There’s just a few weeks left to give Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service (WFRS) your feedback on their future plans and priorities.  

Everyone wants to know that WFRS will be there for them in an emergency. But WFRS also has responsibilities to prevent accidents and emergencies from happening in the first place and to protect people by ensuring the buildings in which they live and work are safe. So, their primary focus will always be to keep Warwickshire safe, through prevention, protection and response.   

This consultation is a chance to tell WFRS what matters most to you and what approach they should take. They’re especially keen to hear from Warwickshire businesses, large and small, given their role to protect all types of commercial and other premises.   

To learn more about the strategy and consultation, watch our series of short videos here.   

The consultation can be completed here and will close on 25 September.