Remember all members are invited to the event on the King George playing field, on Wednesday 11th July 9.30am-16.30pm which is being held to celebrate the Queens Diamond Jubilee. This event is for all community groups and the public, you are part of this community group, so you are as members are all invited on the day. Check out our notice-board for all the details nearer the date.

Keep calling the Police ref any anti-social behaviour; thanks to all of you who have done this in the past. The new play area at “the Wellies” site, Hampton Dene, has seen an increase in A-S-B of late, with one Friday night seeing over 70 teenagers causing a nuisance. Call 101 if you see any large numbers of teenagers on their way to our park; remember we won’t get another one. Teenagers damaged the sign to Heywood Avenue so any information on this then please inform the Police, likewise any young children causing a nuisance please also call them. There are several youngsters causing problems; they are well- known to the Police already and several of the names keep coming up. As we have said before, you are the best eyes and ears for your area, so we your neighbours rely on you to help us stamp out as much A-S-B as we can. It has been said that this is a deprived area, but we do not have to let these teenagers and youngsters make it become one.

Letters have been sent reference the complaint about the van in Cilcennin Close; please keep us informed. Thank you for all the photographs of the cars parked on the grass verges around the estate - these have once again been passed on to the authorities.

Many of you have asked for an update, but we are limited as to what we can tell you. Members of the N-TAG Committee are on the new Whitehouse Board and also some other members of N-TAG. The new Chairman of the board is Mr Dave Simms. Firstly, we must thank the Rev. John Watson, the PCC, several councillors, plus the new Whitehouse Board for working so hard over the past year to get where we are today. Yes, there have been several delays, yes, we have thought that it may never happen and we know you have been thinking the same! The report from the new Chairman shows there is light at the end of the tunnel. There were questions over the lease and the solicitors have been working hard to get the wording right on the new lease. Regretfully, we cannot give you a date as to when the good news will eventually come, all we can say is it is happening. People are working very hard to make the dream become a reality; a new community building for us all to enjoy.

The Board have been meeting monthly to discuss the project; they have filled in forms, applied for grants, looked at all options to make this a real vibrant place in the centre of our community. This means a lot of paperwork!!! So all of us, N-TAG, the new Board, Rev. Watson, the PCC, HVA etc. are doing everything possible to make this happen. We are planning the open day/consultation day, when you will be invited along to look at the inside of the building to see what we are up against. There will be a need for volunteers: demolition man-power, painters, builders, electricians etc. N-TAG has asked for local tradesmen to be given the chance to submit tenders for the work, thus keeping the project in local hands.

This day we all hope will be a fun day. We will ask for input, such as what you would like to see happen there, what name should we have for the building. So far we have offers of Zumba classes, a professional teacher for Teens Tots and the elderly, Drama classes, Dance Troop, Children’s nursery, Youth Club, Bingo, Quiz nights etc. The list is endless, with the drop-in Coffee shop, plus much more. Name for the building: there are several suggestions, but further input is required. So far suggestions given to N-TAG are; The Whittern Centre, The Whitehouse Community Centre & Tupsley Centre to name but a few. This will all be down to the community to decide. Names for the new centre will be taken at the open day, so start thinking. You can drop us a note via Sammy at The Corner Stores with your suggested name for the building. Well now you can see we are not far away, this has only been possible with your constant support of N-TAG over the past five years, so congratulations to all of you for making this part of Tupsley a better place for us all.

Those of you who read the notice-board would have seen our latest round of letters to all the schools and colleges regarding litter. With more bins than ever, and two installed recently, we are trying to do our best and clean up the estate. We will let you know about the litter pick Broadlands would like to do with some of our members, and if you would like to be involved with the school please give them a call and show your interest.

Afternoon Teas have been booked at the Rose & Crown on Tuesday 15th May and Tuesday 19th June, both from 2-4pm.

We will try to keep this going as it is a big hit with all those who come along. Remember, anyone who is a member is welcome, tea/coffee/cake sandwiches & chips are normally on offer and it gives us, your committee a chance to talk to you all and make sure you are all O.K. We also have a raffle with the money raised going towards the Afternoon Teas. This year we are asking those who attend for a donation of £1 towards this event, this money will then go towards our summer trip. We will need your input on this and suggestions as to where you would all like to go this year.

We hope as many of you will be able to come along and support this. Names will be taken from those attending and they will be invited on the trips first, however we appreciate some residents may be at work and their apologies will be taken into consideration.

Thank all of you who have re-joined N-TAG this year. There are a few people still to renew their membership, but we are pleased to announce we have several new members this year, so a few more houses to deliver to. Thank you to those of you who have offered to help us with this - without you it would be very hard for the committee to cover the estate. We could do with a few more helpers even if you are only willing to deliver to the street where you live, remember you can always give us a call or leave us a note with Sammy in the Corner Stores. Funding is very tight this year.

As you will see from the photo, Amey had trouble cutting our grass area this week due to inconsiderate parking by a minority of drivers.

Due to bad weather the cars have made the area look a real mess and roads have been covered in mud. This could be very dangerous, especially when the cars come off the grass onto the road near a bend.

Photographs of the badly parked cars have been sent on to the relevant authorities.

The Tupsley Whitehouse Project are now on Facebook. If you use Facebook, please join us. Our ambition is to convert the old Whitehouse pub on Whittern Way into a thriving community centre at the heart of Tupsley.

This will be a fantastic venue for community events, classes, entertainment, and more. If you're interested in hiring, running an event or volunteering please tell us.

Our Mission Statement read: "To establish a community resource centre for the use of the inhabitants of Tupsley and the wider community without distinction of political, religious or other opinions including use for meetings, lectures and classes and for other forms of recreation and leisure-time occupation, in conjunction with the local authorities, voluntary and other organisations with the object of improving the quality of life for its users."

Visit the Whitehouse on Facebook here.

Membership Fees are always due in February/March; although we have received some very late payments in the past. Please try to pay in these two months to keep records easier. We are solely dependent on membership fees at the beginning of each year, so we need as many members as we can get if we all want changes. We are fully aware of the hard times we face for the next year or two. We are sorry that the fee has gone up from £5 per house to £5 per person but it is for the reasons stated in our Christmas Newsletter, which so many of you said you enjoyed; remember No membership money is given to any committee member by way of expenses, we are all unpaid volunteers. We need the money for running costs, stationery etc. also so that we can match funds from grants for our trips, Afternoon Teas and events, which we always start to apply for in March, that is why if you can pay then it would help no end.

Thank you to all our members who came to our AGM and paid their membership. It was so nice to see you all take the time to support us and we really appreciate it. It was a very good meeting.

Some residents complain but they do not support us. We always try to help everyone, but a little support from the complainers would go a long way. It is only the Committee who do the general work but it is the residents’ role to support us as and when. We also need volunteers to deliver newsletters 3 times a year.

THE CORNER STORES have once again given permission for us to use the old Post Office shop to collect membership money.