Local coronavirus infections are rising quickly, primarily amongst our younger residents, being spread in our homes rather than in public places. In the coming weeks the virus is anticipated to move to our older age groups, which will place significant pressure on our health services. This week we’re at the Medium Level on the new Government Covid Alert tier system.

We can stop the Coronavirus in its tracks by:

• Not making unnecessary visits to other households.
• Regularly washing our hands, wearing face coverings and maintaining social distancing.
• Downloading the NHS Covid-19 App and using it to get alerts of any increased risk of exposure.

By taking these critical steps, if any one of us becomes infected, we can self-isolate and get the help we need, rather than running the risk of giving those we most care about an unhappy, Covid Christmas.

To help make this process work more effectively, this weekend on our Court Street carpark in South Leamington a new Test and Trace Centre will be built and opened early next week. So, if we experience any Covid symptoms or have been exposed to someone who has the virus, we can be quickly and easily tested. By getting on top of Covid early, together we can limit the spread, deal with the second wave and protect our cherished personal liberties.

This week too we’ve made positive progress with our work towards recovery; improving our services and community facilities.

Construction of the Whitnash Civic Centre and Library begins next week. This welcome new community building is a major collaborative effort, due for completion next summer. Funded through a £1million grant plus £900k in further contributions from Warwick District Council, amenities include a multi-use sports hall, library and community café, as well as facilities for the Town Council. 

The Royal Spa Centre and Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum were successful with a £170k application to Arts Council England’s Culture Recovery Fund to enable these much-loved community facilities to reopen by 31 March 2021. This critical funding also provides for relaunching next year our popular cultural events and activities programme.

For the third year in a row we’re celebrating Green Flag awards for Jephson Garden, Oakley Wood and Crackley Woods. Indeed, this is an impressive fourteenth successive award for Jephson Gardens! Our green spaces teams and contractors work tirelessly to maintain and improve the parks and open spaces across the district, nurturing the wildlife and supporting biodiversity. Their great work enables us all to enjoy getting outdoors, which has been so precious for many who have benefitted from these beautiful spaces during the long days of lockdown.

Construction has restarted on Europa Way and many may not realise that the new community at Myton Green is fast taking shape. A new spine road and cycleways, along with major public open spaces give this development some of the best connections in the area, as seen in this interesting aerial film.

Looking ahead to the traditional events that usually fill our Autumnal calendar, most sadly will not take place in their usual format this year. Rest assured though that by working creatively we’re finding different ways to celebrate. We plan to still mark these special occasions, so please follow our media bulletins and website for future updates.

Finally, there’s an opportunity to properly recognise the outstanding role our brilliant local businesses have played during the pandemic at this year’s Leamington Business Resilience Awards. Celebrating the selfless work that has been done by our local business community, these awards give us an opportunity to nominate those who are due special recognition across various categories.

Keep smiling and stay safe.

Cllr Andrew Day
Leader, Warwick District Council

Chris Elliott
Chief Executive, Warwick District Council