6
Mercury Midweek, Wednesday, August 24, 2016
IN BRIEF
HAH-EO1-S2
hertfordshiremercury.co.uk
LOTTERY
Online bookstore joins
forces with museum
HITCHIN: An online bookstore and museum are
teaming up this weekend.
Eric T Moore Books is hosting a book fair at the
British Schools Museum, Hitchin.
There will be books and prints from Eric T
Moore, which is now based online after closing its
Hitchin store.
The event runs from 10am to 1pm on Saturday
and 2pm to 5pm on Sunday.
Entry to the museum shop and cafe is free, while
there is a small charge to access the museum.
Cinema marks 80th
LETCHWORTH GC: It has been 80 years
since Broadway Cinema first opened, and the
venue will be marking the occasion.
On Friday, the Letchworth GC venue will
screen 1936 classic Modern Times, which stars
Charlie Chaplin.
Half of the money raised through ticket
sales will go to charity of the year Macmillan.
There will also be champagne and birthday
cake.
The celebrations at the Eastcheap cinema
start at 7.45pm.
JUMPING FOR JOY: Netball competitors at this years’s event
Sports reunion event
given Lottery payout
WE CAN
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Back to Schoolival plans three more festivals after windfall
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COMMUNITY projects across Hertfordshire are to benefit from a slice of
a multi-million pound hand-out by the
Big Lottery Fund.
Sixty projects in the East of England
have been given a share of the £2.9million pot to help improve communities
and the lives of people most in need.
Cash has been given to five projects
within the Mercury patch under the
Awards for All programme for voluntary and community organisations.
Among those to benefit is Back to
Schoolival CIC, in Hitchin, which was
set up as a modern twist on the school
reunion, getting former classmates to
reunite and take part in fun sport
matches.
The group will spend its £9,907 grant
on putting on three more festivals for
residents to try out a range of sports
and physical activities, as well as taking part in competitions.
Director Chris Pike said: “The idea
is rather than having a school reunion
which can be a bit cringeworthy and
rather than having a sport event, we
combine the two.
“At our first event last year, we had
players aged 18 to 54 – I’ve never seen
as broad a range of abilities in one
sport together!
“It’s great to bring people who
haven’t seen each other since school
together to play sport.”
The money will enable the group to
put on more events with Hitchin
Rugby Club next summer, as well as
launch a six- to eight-week touch
rugby course starting this September,
culminating in a tournament and
potential sign-up to the club.
It is hoped the group will branch out
into various other sports in the
future.
In Knebworth, £9,378 will be spent at
Knebworth Tennis Club to install toilet facilities at the clubhouse.
The improvements will enable the
club to offer community events and
activities, particularly for young
people.
Chairman Alex Rigby said: “When
we had our new clubhouse built in
2013, we couldn’t afford to install toilets so a room was built and left empty.
This money enables us to fit it out and
add toilet facilities to the club.
“I am keen to develop junior tennis
which is something we’ve been unable
to do without toilets. It is tough for
adults, but impossible for junior members.
“This money opens up a whole junior coaching programme we could not
put in place before. It was a genuine
surprise to get the money; we are so
happy.”
Others to benefit in this round of
funding are –
■ Codicote Parish Council has been
given £10,000 to provide new and
updated play equipment for children
in the community of Valley Road and
Newton, Hitchin
■ Middleton School, in Ware, will
spent £10,000 to buy a nine-seater
minibus to enable the school to take
children with special educational
needs and complex learning difficulties to and from activities.
■ Therfield First School, in Royston,
is putting its £9,000 towards installing
a gazebo in the playground to provide
a social area for pupils and the community in the rural village
Visit biglotteryfund.org.uk/funding
UNEMPLOYMENT
Numbers for unemployment fall by 15.6 per cent
UNEMPLOYMENT figures have
tumbled in North Herts, despite highprofile casualties on the high street.
Newly-released figures for July
show 313 people were claiming job
seeker’s allowance in North Herts,
down 15.6 per cent compared to a
year ago.
The latest figures showed a slight
rise from the previous month’s 295,
however, and represents the third
highest number behind Dacorum and
Watford.
Marj Shanahan is customer
services operations manager for the
Department for Work and Pensions,
covering job centres including
Stevenage and Letchworth GC.
She said: “There’s a downward
trend in Hertfordshire.”
Describing the jobs market in the
county as “buoyant”, she added:
“There are hospitality vacancies
across Hertfordshire with lots of
restaurants and cafes.”
The construction industry is
another growth industry in terms of
employment.
Recent challenges have included
the closure of BHS in Stevenage.
“We have been trying to support
those customers before those premises
closed,” Mrs Shanahan added.
One of the latest innovations is
bringing employers into the job
centres, meaning job seekers can
attend an interview on the spot.
“It’s about supporting customers
from day one,” said Mrs Shanahan.
“We are leading the way in our
region in having employers in our
job centres.”
Gas and plumbing trainer BarrettBell Ltd has been providing a shortterm 15-week course to fill 208
vacancies locally.
Countywide, there were 2,612
residents registered as claiming job
seeker’s allowance in July, 0.7 per
cent of the working age population.
The number is down 20.7 per cent on
last year.
Between June and July 2016,
Hertfordshire showed a 1.7 per cent
decrease in the claimant count,
totalling 108 people.