Latest news with #CaeGlasPark
BBC News
4 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Oswestry Balloon Carnival support Nightingale House Hospice
Hot air balloons will fill the skies of Shropshire on Saturday as the ninth year of Oswestry Balloon Carnival opens. The event, held at Cae Glas Park across the weekend, is in aid of Nightingale House Hospice, which provides specialist palliative care services for those with life-limiting illnesses. Someone who knows only too well the impact of the hospice is Lorna Hankey, who was part of the team to suggest the balloon festival back in 2016. The 31-year-old, who works as the safety officer for the event, said she could not fault the hospice after it cared for both her aunt and grandmother who passed in quick succession in 2008. She said: "The services they provide are supportive for both the patients and the families. "Whenever someone has to go into a hospice it's never nice, but the team and the actual hospice is so lovely that you don't go in thinking you're going into a hospice, you go in thinking it's someone's house. "They really take care of family and patients so well." Ms Hankey said she was "very close" to her aunt, who died with bone cancer, and her grandmother, who had bowel cancer. "We lost them within a very short period of time. I think my aunt passed away in [the] August and my nan was the December following," she said. "I was very young at the time and the nurses at the hospice and Macmillan were great, they were so supportive. "They would bend over backwards to support families."Ms Hankey added: "Obviously, you don't want people to pass, but being in the situation we were in, I wouldn't have changed them for the world."I couldn't fault them." Entry to the event is free, although visitors are encouraged to make a voluntary donation of £2 upon entry to support Nightingale House Hospice. In 2024, the event raised £37,000, which Ms Hankey said was the target for 2025 as well. Elise Jackson, Events and Campaigns Manager at Nightingale House Hospice, said the event brought people together and raised "crucial funds". Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
07-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Emergency plan 'untested' at Oswestry's delayed fireworks event
Crisis plan 'untested' at delayed fireworks event 12 minutes ago Share Save Paul Rogers Local Democracy Reporting Service Share Save Getty Images The report found the council had little control over the number of people turning up for the display (generic image) A review carried out after a fireworks display was delayed has said the event's emergency plan had been untested, leading to confusion. Oswestry Town Council apologised after its event in Cae Glas Park had to be delayed for an hour on 2 November last year, following "safety issues". Some spectators said people chose to leave before the display eventually got underway and others said they were told to move because fencing was too close to the fireworks. The council, which organised the event with Borderland Rotary Club, commissioned a review which also found the emergency plan lacked a sufficient level of detail and the management structure was unclear. The review was carried out by MBO Safety Services Limited, "The last-minute changes by the fireworks team and the large crowd only added to the confusion and distress," it said and recommended a comprehensive event management plan is drawn up for future events, with clear structures, roles and responsibilities. It also stressed the need for better communication and said the location chosen for the firework display was not big enough for the number of people who turned up and because it was free, the council had little control of capacity on the night. The report said people should have been told of the limited capacity and warned they would not be able to get in once that had been reached. Arren Roberts, the clerk at Oswestry Town Council, thanked the company which produced the report and said the council was "considering all the recommendations made". He also said: "The last thing any of us want is for families to leave our events feeling let down and our priority must always be safety first." This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. More on this story Council apologises after fireworks delay
