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Client referrals to the foodbank are up by 35% this year and we are currently feeding an average of 187 people each month.  From April 2009 until December 2011 we fed 4,390 people with emergency food and we now need 1.7 tonnes of food each month.

All donations can be delivered to LOKnSTORE, Temple Fields, Edinburgh Way, Harlow 7 days a week or ring our office on 01279 724515

An adventurous fundraiser is seeking sponsorship for a 13,000ft skydive – on the day before her 21st birthday - to raise money for St Clare Hospice.

Fiona Lynch is one of a number of people the hospice hope will be taking to the skies in the coming months.

Fiona will be taking part in a skydive in Beccles, Suffolk, on Friday, June 15 – the birthday of her aunt who was cared for at the Hastingwood hospice.

Fiona’s aunt, Stephanie Baldwin, lived in Harlow and battled cervical cancer and ovarian cancer before it spread to her liver. She sadly died at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow, on February 1, 2009.

Fiona, who lives in Braintree and works as a Personal Assistant, aims to raise over £500 for St Clare Hospice.

She said: “My aunt, Stephanie Baldwin, was a patient at St Clare before she lost her five-year battle to cancer in February 2009. I've been thinking what I could do to raise money for St Clare's for quite a while and decided a skydive would be the most adventurous and exciting thing.

"I'm not scared of heights so fingers crossed I should be ok!

"I've chosen June 15 as it's a special date for my family. I was surprised to find that the only training you need to skydive is a short brief prior to the jump. However I'll be taking part in a tandem jump with a fully-qualified instructor so I'm not too worried. I think as I'm going up in the plane, that's when the nerves will kick in!"

As well as taking part in the skydive on the eve of her 21st birthday, Fiona’s jump will be exactly a year to the day before her wedding!

If you feel inspired and challenged by Fiona’s story you can register for a group 10,000ft jump in Peterborough on Saturday, April 14.

The hospice is looking for 15 brave adrenaline junkies to jump for the hospice. You can download an information pack – from the hospice websitewww.stclarehospice.org.uk (http://www.stclarehospice.org.uk/pdf/120109ParachutePack14thApril2012.pdf) - which includes a reservation and sponsor form.

If you raise £395 in sponsorship, you can jump for free!

If the thought of taking to the skies isn’t for you, you can sponsor Fiona by visiting her Just Giving webpage -www.justgiving.com/The-Angel-Charity-SkyDive

For more about the group skydive, call Tracy on 01279 773750 or emailfund@stclarehospice.org.uk.

Anyone who would like to take part in the skydive but is not available on April 14 can arrange an alternative date. Jumps happen six days a week.

Fiona Lynch works at Incus Surgical Ltd which manufactures and distributes
surgical instruments worldwide

Harlow Council buildings will be closed from 4pm Friday 23 December 2011 and reopen at 9am on Tuesday 3 January 2012 in a move which will save taxpayers over £100,000.

The Christmas shut down will save the Council money through a reduction in staff pay* agreed earlier this year and savings on energy and building costs.

During the shutdown Council bills can be paid 24 hours a day, seven days a week with a credit/debit card at www.harlow.gov.uk or by phoning the automated bill payment line on (01279) 446600. Residents can also sign up and pay bills by direct debit.

Contact Harlow, the Council's customer contact centre, is expected to be really busy before Christmas and during the few days after the New Year. Residents are advised that if they phone or visit Contact Harlow, it is possible they will have to wait longer than normal.

Although services will be unavailable during the shut down the Council can still be contacted for genuine emergencies on (01279) 446666.

As usual waste and recycling collections will continue after Christmas on a catch-up schedule. Residents can find information on their revised bin collections by visiting www.harlow.gov.uk/recycling or in Harlow Times delivered recently. The website will also carry updates on services affected by any bad weather during this time.

Councillor Simon Carter, Portfolio Holder for Resources, said:  "This shut down is part of a drive by the Council's own staff to save money and protect jobs through a pay cut. Combined with reduced energy and building costs during the shut down this measure will save us over £100,000, money that is being diverted to front line services.

"While buildings may be closed, the Council has put arrangements in place so people can contact us in the event of an emergency. In addition, information on recycling and waste collections can be found on our website and Council bills can be paid online or over the phone at anytime during this period."

IT'S BACK! Car parking is free every Thursday night until December 22 as Harlow Council joins forces with traders to promote the town. 

Car parks in The Water Gardens, Harvey Shopping Centre and Post Office Road will be free of charge to customers between 5pm – 9pm every Thursday evening.

Cllr Russell Perrin, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Enterprise, said: "Harlow is a great place to shop or go out between now and Christmas. You can now enjoy the stores and restaurants but without the extra bill of parking on top".

Harlow Council has also done its bit to ensure the town looks at its brightest by investing in new lights for the Stone Cross and West Gate areas. As part of the Town Centre Partnership, Harlow Council and its partners* have together spent £16,991.38 on lights and a tree for the town centre. The production company currently in Harlow shooting the Hollywood thriller Uwantme2killhim? also contributed £1,200 to the town's Christmas lights.

Cllr Perrin added: "Councils across the country are having to find savings but we feel that ensuring our town looks bright and inviting at this time of year has a value beyond the cosmetic. We are competing with out of town shopping centres and London, so we need to ensure Harlow is an attractive place to buy your Christmas presents and go for a night out. Parking is one bill we can cut."

The market is putting on its own Christmas promotion in the form of a £200 cash raffle prize. Any shopper who spends at least £3 on any market stall between December 19th and the close of business on December 23rd gets a raffle ticket for a cash prize to be drawn at midday on Christmas Eve. The lucky winner will receive £200.

A local housing developer, Linden Homes, has opened up three of its stock
houses as Pop Up Art Galleries for the next three weeks at its unusual be
development in Northfields, Harlow.  

Three local groups have been invited to put their pieces on display and
provide resident artists to demonstrate and talk visitors through their
work. The groups taking part are:

The Serendipity Art Group; displaying a variety of painting methods
depicting the local area.
Art-A-Peel; showing watercolour paintings and perspective drawings.
Harlow Photographic Society; Displaying Slide and print work, black and
white and colour images of a wide spectrum of subjects.  

The galleries are open from 10am-2pm, Thursday-Sunday, until the 20th
November. All entrance is free and visitors will be entered into a draw to
win one of three pieces of work on display.

Address:   Newhall, London Road, Harlow, Essex, CM17 9JJ.

The Torch relay will go through Harlow on Saturday July 7^th, 2012 as part of its Essex journey, and Harlow Council will lead a day of celebration.

Councillor Tony Hall, Harlow Council's Portfolio Holder for the Environment and the Council's Olympic Champion, said: "This is fantastic news and will be an unforgettable occasion for Harlow residents to witness.

"It is a huge boost to Harlow in 2012, the year in which we celebrate our 65th birthday as a new town. Visitors and the media will get a chance to see a town which is undergoing major renewal, and it will be a tremendous opportunity to show off features like Leisurezone, our new outstanding community sports centre, together with our outdoor sculpture collection.

"We need as many people as possible to line the streets and cheer the torch bearers on. The Council will be leading a day of celebration in Harlow so it will be a truly historic moment for everyone to come together."

Harlow Council is already working on plans to ensure that the town looks its best and that local people will have plenty of vantage points to view the historic convoy. The town's day of Olympic celebration will include street entertainment, sports and arts displays and themed markets – with something for all the family.

Harlow is one of over 1,000 villages, towns and cities announced by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) through which the Olympic Flame will be carried by Torchbearers during the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay,which is presented by Coca-Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung. 

LOCOG has worked closely with Harlow Council to devise the route, details of which will be revealed closer to the event. The identities of local people chosen to help carry the torch will also be announced over the next few months.

Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG said: 'We are thrilled to confirm that Harlow will act as a host location for the Olympic Flame, and we are extending an invitation to people in Harlow to welcome the Olympic Torch Relay during its journey around the UK.

"This is the UK's moment to shine and I want to encourage people across Harlow to start planning how they can be part of this once in a lifetime opportunity and show their support for the inspirational Torchbearers chosen to carry the Olympic Flame as we count down to the start of the Olympic Games."

The 70 day Olympic Torch Relay, will start at Land's End, Cornwall on the morning of 19 May 2012. On leaving Land's End, the Olympic Flame will travel an estimated 8,000 miles around the UK giving thousands of communities and individuals their moment to shine as the Olympic Flame comes to a place near them.

In announcing the villages, towns and cities LOCOG has realised the aspiration of taking the Olympic Flame to within an hour's journey time of 95% of the population. In fact, over 95% of the population will be within just 10 miles of the Olympic Flame next summer. The street by street detail of the route will be confirmed next year.

People are invited to view the interactive map at www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelaymap to find their nearest community through which the Olympic Flame will be carried.

On the final day of the Olympic Torch Relay, it is LOCOG's intention that the Olympic Flame will travel down the River Thames as it makes its way to the Olympic Stadium on 27 July 2012 for the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony, signifying the official start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The Olympic Flame will be carried across the UK by 8,000 inspirational Torchbearers each of whom will have a story of personal achievement and/or contribution to the local community. In December this year, successful nominees will be contacted with a conditional offer and final Torchbearer places will start to be confirmed from February 2012 onwards.

Today LOCOG launches two new public participation programmes. The 'Local Leaders' initiative is an invitation to people to take the 2012 Games into their community and create their own celebrations next year, for the Olympic Torch Relay and other key moments during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. People are encouraged to sign up to the Local Leader programme at www.london2012.com/localleaders to receive further information on a range of themed celebration ideas focusing on the Opening Ceremony evening, gardening, quizzes and barbecues and be in the front row to receive free London 2012 event materials to support events.

Also launched today is the 'Get Set for the Olympic Torch Relay' education resource, available to all schools registered with Get Set, London 2012's official education programme. The aim of the resource is to provide schools with cross-curricular resources aimed at teachers working with 3 to 16 year olds to aid learning around history of Olympic Torch Relays, the design of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay and the Torch itself. A further education resource will launch next year to encourage schools to plan a welcome for the Olympic Flame and show support for the Torchbearers.   Lloyds TSB, official Education Partner of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay, have launched their Flame Followers schools programme which compliments the Get Set resources, and gives schools once-in-a-lifetime opportunities be right at the heart of the excitement and celebrations of the Relay.

Harlow's bus network is about to come under the spotlight as the Council prepares to host a major public meeting on the town's services.

The Council has stepped in amid concerns that some services are being discontinued with no alternatives being provided. It is holding the special meeting at the Civic Centre on 2 November 2011 to give passengers and the public the platform to raise their concerns.

Members of Essex County Council – which funds some services in the town – will also be present.

Harlow's four main bus operators – Arriva, SM Coaches, Road Runner and Centrebus - together run 22 services from Harlow Bus Terminus. That amounts to around 700,000 bus departures a year from the town centre.

Services are either contracted – for example subsidised by the County Council to operate on set routes – or they are commercial, and are viable only because of passenger numbers.

The main operators will not be at the 2 November 2011 meeting. However, Harlow Council will afterwards work with Essex County Council to set up a series of meetings with the bus companies to highlight passengers' concerns.

Cllr Russell Perrin, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Enterprise, said: "It's well known there are issues with the service in some parts of Harlow, so the Council has decided to tackle that by setting up this public meeting.

"Whilst Essex County Council is responsible for the funding of bus routes Harlow Council, as the community leader, wants to do all that it can to represent the voice and needs of people in Harlow to ensure that as many routes keep running as possible where there is a demand."

The meeting starts in the Council Chamber at 6.30pm.

Harlow Council is encouraging local residents to sign up and become Essex Ambassador volunteers for London 2012.

Essex County Council is looking for volunteers to be the face of Essex and give a warm welcome to everyone visiting the county up to and during next year's Olympic Games.

There will be two key roles for volunteers:

• to provide information and guidance on the Games events, transport queries and general tourist information at the main transport hubs across Essex, for example, Stansted and Southend airports, Harwich Port, Colchester, Chelmsford and Shenfield stations;

• to act as stewards at the events leading up to the Games such as the Essex 'Sparks Will Fly' cultural festival, the Olympic Torch Relay and at the Hadleigh Farm Olympic Mountain Bike competitions.

Councillor Tony Hall, Portfolio Holder for Environment and the Council's Olympic Champion, said: "Essex will receive visitors from all over the UK and the world during the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. With the Games taking place just down the road we want Harlow and local people to benefit. By volunteering and representing Essex this is chance for residents to learn new skills, meet lots of new people, add experience to their CV and be part of the London 2012 experience."

Essex Ambassadors will also have the opportunity to volunteer in community events in the build up to London 2012 and even once the Games have ended.  One of these community events in Harlow will be Sparks Will Fly.  This cultural event takes place in Harlow Town Centre on Sunday 27 May 2011 and will link to the main Sparks Will Fly event that is part of the London 2012 Festival.  Other opportunities to volunteer in Harlow will be announced at a later date.

Essex Ambassadors will need to live or work in Essex, be 16 or over on 1 January 2012 and be able to commit to volunteering and attend three compulsory training sessions.  

Residents can find out more and to apply to become an Essex Ambassador visit www.essexlegacy.org, or visit your local Volunteer Centre. You can also email your questions to essex.ambassadors@essex.gov.uk Application forms are also available from local libraries and Harlow Civic Centre. Applications will close on 31 October 2011.

Harlow Council is inviting residents to have their say on plans for a major £2.5m makeover of Harlow Town Park.

Following its success in Stage 1 of the Heritage Lottery Fund 'Parks for People' programme, the Council is developing proposals as part of the second stage of bidding for lottery funding. The final bid will be submitted in February 2012*.

The Council is holding a number of consultation events to give residents the opportunity to find out more and give their views on proposals. The first event takes place this Friday (21 October) in the Harvey Centre from 11am to 4pm with further sessions planned for half-term week.*

The consultation will showcase the Council's proposals but also find out what other improvements residents would like to see. The planned improvements to the 164-acre park so far include:

• New paths to improve connections, including educational trails.

• Improving signage and information points.

• Expanding facilities at Pets' Corner*.

• Revamping the Bandstand to help bring back major events.

• Revitalising the Water Gardens in the park.

• Providing a new café in Spurriers House.

• Improving landscaping across the park and introducing new garden areas and planting trees.

Councillor Andrew Johnson. Leader of the Council, said: "The town park is the one attraction in Harlow that really does cater for all ages and interests. It is a much loved public space but parts of it are showing its age and require investment to restore key features and revitalising - that's what our plans are about.

"Getting through the first round of the Heritage Lottery Fund competition was a real achievement for Harlow. Now it's important that as we develop the plans these are shaped around what our residents want. If the lottery bid is approved this will be the first major makeover of the town park since it officially opened in 1957."

Residents should phone (01279) 446655 for more information on the consultation events.

* In July 2010 it was announced that the Council had reached round 2 of the bidding process. At that time the Council received £104,000 to help develop its plans. The Council will be applying for £1.5m in lottery funding with other contributions coming from the Council, businesses and in-kind financial support. The Council is expected to hear in Summer 2012 whether it has been successful.

* Discussions have taken place with organisations interested in running Pets' Corner about how their proposals can complement the expansion plans for the facility. The plans are designed to both improve facilities at Pets' Corner and bring more visitors to the park.