Warwickshire County Council

The announcement that an outdoor residential centre is to close has brought back memories for people.

Knightlow Primary SchoolCopyright: Knightlow Primary School

Marle Hall, a stately home near Snowdonia, Wales, is to shut despite 7,000 people signing a petition opposing the move.

On Facebook, Mike Krochtiak said: "That's so sad. I went there back in the 80's with school on a geography field trip and it was a very memorable time. I really hope this can be saved from the decision made."

Janet Redman added: "Such a shame. Our Year 6’s missed out on their trip here this May due to Covid. We hoped we might fit it in before it closed as we’d already signed the petition."

While Pandamouse Deb Keerpwop posted: "I went around 40 years ago with school and it has stuck in my memory as an awesome experience. I would hate to see it lost."

The government should have a "real think" about extending free school meals for children over half-term, the leader of Warwickshire County Council said.

PA MediaCopyright: PA Media

Pressure has risen on Boris Johnson over his refusal to rethink the issue but he said they were supporting families through extra money for Universal Credit and the £63m given to councils.

In Warwickshire, county council leader Izzy Seccombe said it would support families this half-term.

"We've recently had a further £65,000. That will help us to cover this but it won't cover all of it and we've decided we want to do this ourselves so we're going to have to find the resources ourselves," she said.

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The campaign, led by footballer Marcus Rashford, has led to firms promising to dish out free food to eligible children over half-term, which began on Monday in many areas.

They include coffee shop Picnic Box in Malvern. Owner Carly Weyman said she wanted to give back to the local community who had supported her.

"It just felt like something we could do to support the local community and those children that might go hungry this half-term," she said.

Plans to scrap all the smaller councils in Warwickshire and replace them with a new single local authority have been approved despite opponents claiming they have been rushed through.

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County councillors agreed at an extraordinary cabinet meeting yesterday to submit the case for changing to a single unitary council, replacing the district and borough councils.

But the Labour group leader, Helen Adkins, said she believed a report supporting the plan had been rushed and added "it wasn’t of brilliant quality if we’re honest and I don’t think it was balanced".

The idea will go before the full council on 22 September.

It came as a report for the County Councils Network said abolishing 213 smaller councils in England and replacing them with 25 new local authorities could save almost £3bn over five years

But others argue bigger councils are unwieldy and undemocratic. The government is expected to publish its own proposals on overhauling local government in the autumn.

The UK’s first city bicycle mayor is urging Warwickshire County Council to be more ambitious as it bids for government funding for new cycling and walking schemes.

Adam TranterCopyright: Adam Tranter

Adam Tranter is Coventry’s bicycle mayor and has written to Warwickshire County Council saying he's concerned the local authority won't get as much money from ministers as it could.

The government is offering £180m to councils for long-term schemes to get more people cycling and walking after the coronavirus lockdown.

But Mr Tranter says he feared the county council's "lack of ambition" would see other local authorities get a bigger share of the cash.

Warwickshire County Council has been approached for a response.

The Leader of the Labour opposition group at Warwickshire County Council has died.

Richard Chattaway was one of Bedworth's longest serving councillors and had been a county councillor since 2001.

Council leader Izzi Seccombe paid tribute to her "brave and stoic" friend and colleague.

Volunteers in Warwickshire are to receive "badge of honour" car stickers to display while they're out and about carrying out their duties, the county council has said.

The county has more than 500 volunteers at work during the lockdown and hopes the stickers will show they are "on a mission to help those most in need during the Covid-19 pandemic".

Warwickshire County CouncilCopyright: Warwickshire County Council

Council chief executive, Monica Fogarty, said: "As they go about their work collecting groceries and delivering medication and supplies to our most vulnerable residents, we hope these stickers will identify them as the heroes they are.”

Hundreds of people have joined libraries in Warwickshire to get hold of ebooks and audiobooks, managers say.

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All libraries in the county were closed to visitors on 23 March.

But the council told BBC CWR that with people staying home, interest in books that were accessible online had increased.

The council's principal librarian, Stella Thebridge, said: "People can borrow ebooks and audiobooks from the comfort of their own home.

"We've bought a lot more books in and we've had yet another 500 people [join] in the last couple of weeks which is fantastic."

People in Warwickshire are being warned not to speculate about coronavirus after the county council said a nursery had wrongly stated there had been a confirmed case.

The authority said the nursery had put out an incorrect statement on Facebook about a child's sibling having the Covid-19 strain.

But Warwickshire County Council said, as of lunchtime today, there were no confirmed cases in Coventry or Warwickshire.

Chief executive Monica Fogarty urged people to use reliable sources for their information.

"If there is a confirmed case, it will only be on the Public Health England website so things like local Facebook and Twitter pages will not have an accurate picture and speculation is simply that."

The BBC website has information on what you can do to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Plans to spend more than £19m on Nuneaton town centre have been approved by Warwickshire County Council.

The money, from the Capital Investment Fund, will pay for a new library, cafe and business centre.

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The development will be on Church Street, on the site where the current Wilkos, Powell House and the Royal Mail are based.

A programme for primary pupils in Warwickshire teaching about relationships is to be reviewed, said the county council, following claims some of it is inappropriate for younger pupils.

Speaking in Parliament last week Rugby MP Mark Pawsey said the All About Me programme "goes well beyond statutory guidance" from the Department for Education.

The Conservative MP said he had been contacted by "concerned parents" who believe that some of the material is not appropriate.

"I understand that Warwickshire County Council is urgently reviewing this programme, " he said in a statement.

"I hope that the outcome of that will be to reassure parents that what is being taught to their children is suitable for their age.”

Warwickshire County Council said: "These resources are fully researched, evidence based and in line with the department for education guidelines.

"The council considers all comments carefully and so we will be reviewing this content."

Boris Johnson is being urged by the leaders of dozens of councils to give them a fairer funding deal.

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They include those in charge of five local authorities in the West Midlands: Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

The demand's made in an open letter to the prime minister in the Telegraph and claims counties get £240 per resident compared with £449 in urban areas.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government says councils have been given £46.4bn this year and it'll work to get councils their financial settlement for next year as soon as possible.

There are a number of full and rolling road closures due to the Women's Tour in Warwickshire today.

Motorists are being advised to plan ahead allowing plenty of time either side of the expected closures and to consider possible diversions when making travel arrangements.

Buses are also being diverted, and parking restrictions put in place.