Cannock Chase Council has become the top performing District Council in Staffordshire and the West Midlands after scooping a fifth Green Flag award.

The latest award was for Stile Cop Cemetery which has recently undergone improvements and extension works.  As well as retaining Green Flags at Cannock Park, Ravenhill Park, Castle Ring (plus Green Heritage Award) and Elmore Park.

Cannock Chase Council has volunteered to participate in the vulnerable persons scheme (VPR) and has offered to accept Syrian refugee families, as part of an overall offer confirmed with the West Midlands Migration Partnership.

The Council believes that support to refugee families, rather than single individuals, will enable the best outcome with key partners working together to support the housing/educational/social/language and all other needs of the vulnerable persons within this relocation scheme.

Six historic town centre buildings in Rugeley have been improved to support ongoing regeneration and attract new investment as part of a joint programme.

High quality external repairs have been carried out as part of the Rugeley Town Centre Partnership Scheme, meaning they can be brought back into full commercial use. The three-year scheme has been jointly funded by Historic England, which led the project, Staffordshire County Council and Cannock Chase Council. Grants were made available to the owners of the buildings with a total allocation of around £320,000 to the project.

People with substance misuse issues in Cannock can now access better support to help them turn their lives around with the opening of a new recovery house and tea rooms.

Secretary of State Iain Duncan Smith joined representatives from Burton Addiction Centre, and partners Cannock Chase District Council and Staffordshire County Council to officially open the centre.

The refurbished house at High Green in Cannock is for people who have already completed rehabilitation and are alcohol and drug free and would like to return to live in their home area.

A consecration ceremony has been held at the recently extended Stile Cop Cemetery where it was consecrated by the Bishop of Wolverhampton.

The consecration service was held on the afternoon of 24^th September led by Rt. Revd. Clive Gregory, Bishop of Wolverhampton. The service was attended by the Council’s Chairman Maureen Freeman, Council Leader George Adamson, elected members and Council officials.

National Hate Crime Awareness week occurs annually and this year is from 10^th to the 17^th of October.  It is supported by some of the largest hate crime and support charities in the Country and this year it has come to Cannock.  CACH (Chase Against Crimes of Hate) is a local organisation that supports people who experience hate crime and discrimination and with the support for CCDC has been able to produce some fantastic publicity material for their service to try and combat hate crime.

Help put an end to the illegal exploitation

Modern slavery victims can be men, women and children but it is most common amongst the vulnerable, and within minority or socially excluded groups. Approximately two-thirds of victims are women, and a third are men. Every fourth victim of modern slavery is a child

There were 1,746 potential victims of trafficking identified in the UK in 2013. This represents a 47% increase on 2012 referrals but these are just the victims we know about. Slavery’s hidden nature means actual numbers are likely to be much higher.

Children from local schools have had a sneak preview at the new play areas at Hednesford Park, which are still under construction.

Children from Hednesford Valley High School, Littleton Green Community School, St Peter’s C of E Primary School, Staffordshire University Academy and Pye Green Academy donned their hard hats and had a guided tour of the construction site of the new play area.

Cannock Chase Council has launched a new look website, redesigned to be easier and quicker for residents to use.

The redesign follows on from a consultation in January this year; which showed that the majority of respondents would like better navigation, to be mobile friendly and have better reporting facilities.

The new site has been built using responsive technology which recognises the type of device a visitor is using and adjusts the display accordingly.  It incorporates easier and quicker navigation and improved access to online services.

Cannock Chase Council is supporting the Stoptober campaign and encouraging local residents to stop smoking.

Stoptober, the 28-day stop smoking challenge from Public Health England is encouraging smokers to swap their fags for gags, to help them quit for good this October.