Glos Highways will require a road closure today (June 11), on the A417 London Road -Whelford Road from 9.30am - 3.30pm to undertake studs and lining removals. The work is being done ahead of surface dressing works, which will take place in July. As soon as the work is finished, the road will reopen.

There are several other temporary road closures and restrictions of roads in and around Fairford from June 15 till September 30. The affected areas in and around Fairford are Coronation Street; Cirencester Road; and Fairford Road, Quenington. There will be no parking or waiting permitted throughout the duration of the works. Pedestrian access to premises on or next to the road and emergency access will be maintained. The reason for the closures and restrictions are for Micro/Gripfibre carriageway patching. The roads are expected to be closed and restricted on a rolling programme commencing Monday, where the presence of approved signage will indicate whether the closures and restrictions are in force. Further advance warnings of dates/times will be displayed on site prior to the closures and restrictions taking effect. For more information, visit www.gloucestershire.gov.uk.

New managers, Adrian and Jacqui Bartels, took over The Bull Hotel in the centre of Fairford just before lockdown and have, therefore, not been trading. However, they say that they can now see light at the end of the tunnel and, in line with Government guidelines, The Bull Hotel will hopefully be opening its doors in July when Adrian and Jacqui look forward to welcoming back its customers.

The Patients Participation Group (PPG) from Hilary Cottage Surgery, Fairford confirm that a leaflet entitled ‘Covid-19: A guide to what’s available to help you and others’ will be delivered to all homes with the distribution starting this week. The leaflet has been created in partnership with a range of organizations to help those without easy access to the internet and to ensure all Gloucestershire residents are aware of the support available to them.

A great deal has happened since the Community Wellbeing group, led by John Read, first met last October to identify various projects that could lead to improved wellbeing in our community. The planning was well advanced before the Covid-19 crisis happened and there were discussions about having a Talking Café, a telephone Helpline and a database of support services. Once lockdown happened, our communities had to act quickly to set up systems of support for vulnerable people. In Fairford, Kurt Eyre, who has previous experience of restoring war-damaged societies in the Middle East, is now helping to co-ordinate volunteer services locally. Based on his experience, Kurt has suggested carrying out a research project to record the various systems of support in the local communities and to see how the best of them could be used for the future and form the basis of the continuing support, which will need to be maintained to support our vulnerable residents. The Friends of Fairford & Lechlade Communities has now offered to fund this project and two excellent people, Henry Vass and Iwan Ellis, have been recruited to carry out the surveys and analysis needed to draw up a report on recommendations and cost implications going forward. Both Henry and Iwan have excellent academic qualifications but, equally importantly, they have been very active in organisations and charities dedicated to helping others. This project will be completed within the next few weeks and the results will be made public.

A drawing competition for children aged between 7-10 years is being organized by The Patients Participation Group (PPG), Hilary Cottage Surgery, Fairford. The competition, entitled ‘My Caring Hero’, is to celebrate the PPG Awareness Week 2020. The artwork should celebrate our health and care heroes and their different jobs that give us a healthy and happy life. The competition ends on July 10. Rules and terms available via bit.ly/2BCWJDc.