News in Hitchin

Phase is a small Hitchin charity with a big mission – to work alongside young people to promote their wellbeing and resilience.

Across the last year their mission has become even more important as we all face the challenges of lockdown, social distancing and stress caused by Covid.

Good morning. Welcome to the Hitchin Nub News Sunday brunch briefing:

A one-stop-shop for the essentials of our town today.

In celebration of this weekend's RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch and the promised return of snow our brilliant weekend columnist Sparky has penned a piece about both for this week!'

So, read on for this week's essential Sparky's Hitchin View

A potential opportunity to save an estimated £20million from waste collection and disposal costs across Hertfordshire has been highlighted, as part of the budget setting process at the county council.

Currently the county council is responsible for the disposal of waste from across the county and for the network of household waste and recycling centres.

Good morning. Welcome to the Hitchin Nub News daily briefing: A one-stop-shop for the essentials of our town today.

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Fly-tipping across Hertfordshire has gone up by more than 50 per cent since the start of the Covid pandemic, new figures suggest.

In 2019/20 there were 11,208 incidents of fly-tipping reported across the county – with a monthly average of 934.

Essex & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) is taking additional steps to protect patients and crew members from Covid.

The life-saving service which operates across our county including Hitchin and north Herts is decontaminating crews and equipment with specially-prepared water containing salt and electricity which instantly kills 99.99 per cent of bacteria, fungi and viruses.

We are now nearly four weeks into this latest national lockdown and while there are encouraging signs of a fall in cases across Hertfordshire, our numbers in North Hertfordshire are still giving us real cause for concern.

We know that the vast majority of you are following the rules and this was starting to pay off in terms of new cases, however very sadly, there has been almost 600 new cases in the last week, many in the over 60s and more people have died.

The impact of the Covid pandemic has led to 'unprecedented' increases in the amount of rubbish collected from Hertfordshire homes.

The amount of 'residual' household waste – that's waste that can't be recycled or composted – is expected to be at least 16,000 tonnes higher by the end of this year (2020/21), than last.

Stevenage travel to Grimsby on Saturday in a crucial clash at the bottom of League Two.

Boro will be looking to return to winning ways after a solitary point against Colchester at the Lamex in midweek.