A message from Cllr Kevin Guy, Leader of Bath & North East Somerset CouncilIt‘s been five years since the Community Wellbeing Hub in Bath and North East Somerset was established and during that time it has received a staggering 32,000 referrals from residents and provided invaluable health and wellbeing support. Since its inception as a local response to the Covid pandemic, the Hub has become a central place for residents to access help on a wide range of issues including money, housing advice, food access, mental health, caring for others and support with hospital discharge. Having been set up by the council, HCRG Care Group (formerly Virgin Care) and 3SG in March 2020 the Hub has grown to include 37 partner organisations including Bath Mind, Avon Fire & Rescue and Bath’s RUH. I firmly believe its success is built on great partnership working and it is a fantastic example of what can be achieved by communities and organisations coming together. Well done to everyone involved over the past five years. And don’t forget if you need health and wellbeing support you can contact the Hub on 0300 247 0050 Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm. Thursday 8 May marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day, which commemorates the end of the Second World War in Europe and is an opportunity for communities to come together to honour and pay tribute to the Second World War generation. The council has waived the usual road closure fee of around £190 for any groups wishing to hold a street party to commemorate the day and you have until Friday April 11 get your applications in. Please contact the council’s Event Office or visit their website for more information on holding a party. There is also lots of information on the official event website https://ve-vjday80.gov.uk/. Throughout the year the city will be celebrating the 250th birthday of Bath’s most famous former resident - Jane Austen. I joined others including the Chair, Councillor Karen Walker and the Deputy Mayor of Bath Councillor Ruth Malloy (pictured courtesy of Visit West) at an event hosted by Visit West on Tuesday, in the Guildhall, to highlight the many events lined up to mark the anniversary. In fact anyone visiting our Parade Gardens won’t fail to notice our parks teams already hard at work on a huge floral Jane Austen book display ready for the summer. This fantastic spell of warm spring weather is the perfect opportunity to get out and about and enjoy our many wonderful parks and green spaces which are starting to blossom. We have invested in replacing play equipment across ten parks and work is under way on the improvements. Anyone visiting Royal Victoria Park with young ones will already notice a great new multi-use play area – just in time for the Easter holidays. Have a good weekend. | 
