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Festive fun
Skating, grottos and food fairs. Feel all Christmassy at events in and around the borough this December.
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Festive fun
Skating, grottos and food fairs. Feel all Christmassy at events in and around the borough this December.
1 December - 6 January: Skating in the Park
Why not come and enjoy the skating rink in Priory Park to get that festive feeling. All ages and abilities welcome!
To avoid disappointment, you can book your tickets in advance. Visit the skating in the park wesite for details about how to book.
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Planning your Christmas meal or party?
Stay healthy this festive season by checking not just the menu, but the hygiene rating as well.
Reigate and Banstead is a great borough to enjoy Christmas – there are plenty of restaurants, pubs and bars to enjoy a meal or evening out and get into the festive spirit. At this time of year, you’re probably likely to be enjoying more festive meals out than usual, and, if anything can ruin your Christmas, it’s a nasty bout of food poisoning. So, don’t just check out the menu, check out the food hygiene rating as well. Make sure your turkey and stuffing doesn’t leave you with a bad taste
The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme rates eateries and other places that sell food on their hygiene standards, based on inspections we carry out. So, whether you’re off out to your work Christmas do or treating yourself to a takeaway while you put the tree up, it’s easy to check the food hygiene rating. You can check the rating on the move, by downloading a free phone app from the Food Standards Agency. The scheme rates food outlets on a scale ranging from zero at the bottom to a top rating of five. Or, you can look in the windows of businesses for the green and black sticker which will show its rating. In the borough, 72% of businesses signed up to the scheme have achieved the five star rating, which means there’s a lot of choice for your Christmas dinner this year! And, after the fun…
If you’re planning to have a drink or two, then it’s important you plan how you’re getting home after your Christmas meal or drink. If you’re planning on travelling home or to a train station by taxi, remember to only use ones that we’ve licensed. It’s easy to spot a licensed taxi or private hire vehicle by the licence sticker on the back of the vehicle and on the inside of the front windscreen. Don’t just be tempted to jump into any taxi. It could end in disaster. Visit our website for more information about licensed taxis and make sure you stay travel safe this Christmas.
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Beating the chill
If there is freezing weather this winter, we thought you’d find it useful to know who to ask and how to stay informed in the event travel and service disruption.
Do you know where to report a pothole or where your stop tap is?
Potholes and gritting – ask Surrey County Council Responsibility for gritting in the borough lies with Surrey County Council (SCC) and the Highways Agency. SCC are prepared with 16,000 tonnes of salt ready and a fleet of 39 gritting lorries. You can view grit bin locations and salting routes on the SCC website. Follow the Gritter Twitter @surreytravel to see where they gritting and for travel updates. For gritting enquiries please call (SCC) on 0300 200 1003. To report potholes and for other highways information see Highways information online on the SCC website.
Reigate & Banstead Borough Council do provide assistance to our partners to help meet gritting demand within the borough. Last year we gritted priority areas such as town centre footpaths and council owned car parks. Stay informed about our services To stay informed about council service disruptions such as bin collections and building closures, follow us on Twitter @reigatebanstead or check our website. We do advise putting your bin out as we do try and collect. See the specific websites for these services: Be prepared - do you know where your stop tap is? Get ready for winter (Met office) has lots of advice on keeping warm, supporting your community, travelling and home protection. There are also helpful recommendations on what to do if your pipes burst or freeze from Sutton and East Surrey water.
Help your neighbours Finally, consider checking on people who might need a hand. We are always grateful to residents and businesses who clear snow around their own and neighbours properties.
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Oh yes it is! Panto time at the Harlequin
Come and see the magic of Cinderella at the Harlequin Theatre and Cinema, Friday 14 December to Sunday 6 January 2013.
It is panto time once again this festive season. "Oh no it’s not" I hear you cry – well yes it is and the Harlequin Theatre and Cinema is just the place to book your seats to watch Cinderella. It runs from Friday 14 December to Sunday 6 January 2013. Come and watch this classic fairytale of rags to riches, of a young girl forced to serve her jealous step sisters, as maid and dogsbody. This year’s production of Cinderella is given a modern, updated twist, with the magic of a Fairy Godmother, played by Loose Women’s Andrea McLean, who with a wave her magic wand, will transform a pumpkin into a sparkling coach, mice into white horses and create the most stunning ball gown for Cinderella to wear to the ball. When the clock strikes midnight, the spell will be broken and Cinderella will lose her glass slipper, as she races out of the grand ball, away from the handsome Prince. The show offers a feast of festive fun for all the family and features real Shetland ponies on stage. Cast of stars
Former X Factor contestant Lloyd Daniels will also feature as Cinderella’s handsome Prince, charming audiences with his vocals. Other talented cast members, include Francis and Wheatley, and Abigail Welford. Be prepared to laugh out loud, cheer Cinderella and boo the villainous step sisters, as the cast work there magic entertaining you!
To book
Buy tickets online from the Harlequin box office.
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Dry January
Could you stay off alcohol for 31 days?
Your mission, should you choose to accept: To avoid that cheeky after work pint, that glass of wine on the sofa, or that big boozy night out, for the whole of January. Your reward: No more hangovers, reduce the waistline and save the pennies. The challenge
This January, Alcohol Concern is challenging you to give up alcohol for the whole of the month. You could make a real difference to people whose lives have been affected by alcohol misuse by getting family and friends to sponsor you. Why go dry?
With the Christmas indulgences gone, make a healthy start to the New Year by banishing the booze. You’ll enjoy the short term rewards: - More money in your pocket
- No hangovers
- More sleep and more energy
- Better living!
How to get involved
It’s very easy to get involved. - Sign up at Dry January
- Ask your family and friends to sponsor your
- Share your experience however you can – through Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
If you have any questions, email dryjanuary@alcoholconcern.org.uk.
Falling for charity
At 12,000 feet up in the air, strapped firmly to her jump buddy and sitting with the plane door open, Lisa Barwick began to have second thoughts about the wisdom of doing a charity parachute jump.
It was however a little too late to change her mind ... luckily she lived to tell the tale.
At 12,000 feet up in the air, strapped firmly to her jump buddy and sitting with the plane door open, Lisa Barwick began to have second thoughts about the wisdom of doing a charity parachute jump.
It was however a little too late to change her mind ... luckily she lived to tell the tale.
Community centre Lisa works as Centre Assistant at the Banstead Centre, a busy community centre for the active 50+ age group which is run as a partnership between Reigate & Banstead Borough Council and the Banstead Centre Committee. Lisa was recently persuaded by her son Jack to do a sky dive to raise extra funds for the centre. "It seemed like a good idea at the time," she laughs. All go The big day arrived and it all started well with a detailed 45 minute briefing. Then there was a long wait until the weather cleared sufficiently. Last minute nerves "Eventually, I heard my name called and suddenly it was all go," recalls Lisa. "I was introduced to my tandem jump buddy who put me at my ease straight away and we made our way out to the plane - at this point I was quite calm and surprisingly looking forward to the experience." "However, when we got to 12,000 feet and it was almost my turn to jump I really started to panic - all I could say over and over again to my jump buddy was 'oh my god, oh my god - are you absolutely sure I am attached to you?' Freefall "Then we jumped - and I screamed. We were in freefall for about 45 seconds travelling at around 120 miles an hour. It was cold and difficult to breath, but the adrenalin kick was incredible. My jump buddy then pulled the parachute cord and from then onwards it was beautiful and very peaceful, twisting and turning, gracefully falling to the ground. I felt like a bird. "We landed safely and all I can say is it was absolutely amazing!" Grand total As well as surviving - and ultimately enjoying - this exhilarating experience Lisa raised over £1,050 to boost the funds of the Banstead centre.
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Rethink your rubbish for a better Christmas
Rethinking your rubbish, recycling creatively and planning your Christmas meals can all help you save ££s. We’ve teamed up with local mum-of-two Suzanne Gadilhe to share our top tips to help you during the festive season.
Get creative This Christmas, we’re challenging you to get creative with recycling. To help you rethink what you use, reuse what you can and recycle what you can’t, we’ve teamed up with local waste buster and Tadworth mum of two, Suzanne Gadilhe, to provide some festive inspiration and save you pennies in the process! Already, the amount of waste we’re creating as a borough has drastically reduced since the launch of our new recycling and refuse service last year. However, recycling is much more exciting than putting your tins and paper in bins and boxes and making sure you put your food peelings in your food caddy. “There’s not one day that goes by when I don’t recycle in some form or another,” says Suzanne.
“From composting my morning tea bag, turning old cans into pencil pots to planning the family’s weekly meals and turning leftovers into lunches, I’m always thinking about how I can re-use more and waste less.” Talking rubbish
Suzanne has teamed up with Reigate & Banstead Borough Council to provide ideas and inspiration about how to reduce what you use, reuse what you can and recycle what you can’t this Christmas. By recycling more, we can stop waste going to landfill, have more money in our pockets and save taxpayers’ money. There are tips for making money from old goods, how to minimize excess turkey leftovers and recycling last year’s Christmas cards. “Christmas is a brilliant time to get creative by reusing and recycling things. You can use old Christmas cards to make labels for this year’s Christmas presents, decorate old plant pots and transform them into candle holders, sell old CDs online and make some money – always handy this time of year!” For even more creative ideas on rethinking your rubbish and recycling for a better Christmas, visit Suzanne’s ‘Talking Rubbish’ page on social media site Pinterest. It’s packed full of ideas, tips and hints about how you could turn used foil into Christmas decoration or a red jumper that’s become too small into a stocking to hang over the fire. Or, you can visit our website for even more creative ideas to help get you started.
One final request – if you can’t reduce or re-use your rubbish and are recycling things, please make sure you ‘recycle it right’. If you aren’t sure what can go in your mixed recycling bins, visit www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk/recyclemore .
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New Housing Register and Redhill road network
We want your views about new rules for the Housing Register and on proposed changes to Redhill's road network.
Housing Reigster and allocation of homes survey Housing Reigster survey The survey will be open until Friday 11 January. We are seeking your views about new rules for the Housing Register and allocation of homes. The changes may change the way we prioritise housing need, change the register bands and introduce ways we allocate homes.
The Housing Register has over 3,300 applicants each year on only 350 vacant homes to let. We need to ensure that homes are allocated to the households who need them most and who live in our borough and make a contribution to our communities through employment, training or volunteering.
Proposed changes to Redhill's road network
Find out about the proposals and how you can give us your views
Reigate & Banstead Borough Council and Surrey County Council are consulting on proposed changes to the road network in Redhill town centre. The aim is to reduce congestion, provide journey time benefits and make improvements for walking, cycling, public transport and to public space.
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