April 2021 - Pioneer Magazines

Shop Local Campaign In Walsall And Great Barr

It’s been such a tough time for our local businesses, but many are fighting back stronger than ever!

Pioneer Magazines has championed businesses in Walsall and Great Barr for 16 years and we know that there’s never been a more important time to get behind them.

This is why we’ve launched our Shop Local Campaign, which you can read more about in the latest editions of the Pioneer Magazine and Great Barr Gazette.

This coincides with the launch of our Walsall business listings page. This is a hub for businesses in Walsall that is helpful to both customers looking for companies that are local to them, and for businesses to promote their services and enjoy free advertising.

If you’re a local business, please get in touch to get added to the page for free.

What Is The Shop Local Campaign?

Pioneer Magazines ‘Shop Local’ campaign aims to encourage the local community to get onto the high street and support their local businesses.

Over the coming weeks, look out for our Shop Local stickers which we’ve been hand-delivering to local businesses in the area. You’ll see the stickers on doors and windows of many Walsall and Great Barr shops.

bloxwich high street — **Bloxwich High Street**

Why not pop in and see what they have to offer?

If you’re a local business, drop us an email and we’ll send you a sticker.

Why Should You Shop Local?

Boost your local economy: Research reveals that for every £1 you spend in your local independent shops, 63p stays within the local economy. Shop at one of the larger businesses and it retains only 40p.*
Create and sustain local jobs: You help keep businesses open and keep people within our community working. In one of the toughest years in memory, local businesses have struggled more than ever. If we don’t spend our money with them, they’ll close and local jobs will be affected. We need to help them rebuild and create jobs.
Get a more personal service: See familiar and friendly faces and benefit from a level of social interaction that you don’t get from larger businesses.
Save money: Eliminate parking and travel costs and shop around to grab a bargain.
Enjoy more variety: Our local shops are full of quirky gifts, useful items and locally-sourced, ethically produced products.

Heading the campaign is Gill Thomas, Director of Pioneer Publishing Ltd, who said:

“Small, independent businesses are at the heart of our community and without our support they won’t survive. This is a crucial time for people in the West Midlands to take advantage of their excellent services and give them a helping hand.”

Need Help Promoting Your Local Business?

To find out how we can help your Walsall and Great Barr business, get in touch. In addition to affordable advertising in our community magazines, we can create a dedicated page for you in our business directory.

We will also list your company for free in our business listings.

*Research undertaken by the Centre for Local Economic Strategies.

Bicycles For Hire Now Available In Walsall

A new cycle hire scheme has rolled out across Walsall, encouraging residents to get active.

Run by West Midlands Cycle Hire, the scheme was already live in various parts of the Midlands, including Coventry, Sutton Coldfield and Wolverhampton, and now there are numerous bike hire points located around Walsall town centre.

Manufactured in Stratford-Upon-Avon by Pashley Cycles, the bikes feature adjustable saddles, three gears and night lights, as well as some storage to carry essentials.

How To Hire A Bike In Walsall

Residents can hire a bike by creating an account on the Beryl cycle hire app, which is available on Android from the Google Play Store, or on iOs via the Apple Store.

Simply, go to one of the docking stations in Walsall and launch the app with GPS active. The app generates a six-digit Bike ID, which can be entered at the docking station.

This will unlock the bike allowing you to ride away before parking the bike at any of the designated parking bays to complete your ride.

Walsall Cycle Hire Cost

To unlock a bike, it costs £1 and the 5p per minute, so a 30-minute ride would cost £2.50. Payment can be made via debit or credit card through the app and there are plans to introduce Swift as a payment method later this year. The first ride, up to 30 minutes, is free.

Leader of Walsall Council, Cllr Mike Bird said:

“We’ve been investing in the walking and cycling infrastructure across Walsall, using Active Travel Funding, and this scheme, launching in collaboration with Serco and Transport for the West Midlands, provides opportunities to take advantage of that work. It’s a chance to enjoy healthy exercise and I’m sure it will prove popular with residents.”

Walsall Cycle Hire Locations

There are currently eight bike hire locations in Walsall. They include:

Pleck Road
Lichfield Road
Darwell Street
Park Street
High Street
Springhill Road
Milton Street
Bradford Street

West Midlands Cycle Hire plans to introduce electric bikes later this year.

Bowel Cancer Home Testing Rolling Out In Walsall

The NHS is rolling out a new bowel cancer home testing kit that may be given to patients visiting their GP with stomach and bowel issues.

Starting this month, patients who visit their GP with symptoms, including stomach complaints, pain, discomfort or changes in bowel habits, may be offered the non-invasive test to complete at home.

The home testing kits for bowel cancer will be available in Walsall and across the Black Country and West Midlands.

From the press release:

“The FIT test is similar to the bowel screening programme and involves collecting a small poo sample which the person’s GP will send to the labs for testing by Black Country Pathology Service. Patients will be invited to take the test by their GP, and a kit will be supplied so the test can be done at home. The test can pick up tiny amounts of blood in poo and a positive FIT test will show that bleeding has occurred somewhere in the bowel. This can be an early sign of bowel cancer, as well as other problems such as stomach ulcers and inflammation in the bowel.

The results of the FIT test will make sure that people who are at high risk of bowel cancer are seen quickly, and that patients with normal test results avoid unnecessary hospital investigations and appointments.”

Bowel Cancer Signs

Signs to look out for include, but aren’t limited to:

Bleeding from your bottom and/or blood in your poo
A persistent and unexplained change in bowel habit
Unexplained weight loss
Extreme tiredness for no obvious reason
A pain or lump in your tummy

Always contact your GP if you have any concerns

Healthy Curries And Afternoon Teas At Westwood’s Kitchen

Aldridge-based Westwood’s Kitchen has grown from strength to strength since its opening in June 2020, providing a delivery and collection service of homemade food that has been quickly revered by locals and plastered with five star reviews.

During a period of uncertainty for many of our local businesses, Westwood’s Kitchen is a real success story.

Walsall Chef Sets Up Delivery and Collection Service

Previously working at the Butler’s Arms in Sutton Coldfield, Lee Westwood teamed up with his wife Charlotte in 2020 during lockdown and decided to set up Westwood’s Kitchen direct from the family home, using the skills he had learnt to make quality food with locally-sourced ingredients.

Charlotte and Lee from Westwood’s Kitchen

Cooking Quality Homemade Meals

The couple also set off to make themselves stand out from the crowd by focusing on healthy cooking and meals aimed at those who are dieting. This started off with homemade curries containing no oil or fat, but just fresh ingredients, with vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, as well as meat options.

With so many people confined to their homes, Westwood’s Kitchen quickly evolved, spotted a gap in the market and adapted their business to also provide afternoon teas and grazing boxes, ideal for eating indoors or outdoors.

Using locally-sourced Packington Pork from Tamworth and utilising the popular Russell’s Butchers of Shenstone for quality ingredients, the family-run business has quickly enjoyed success with orders coming in from across the West Midlands and Staffordshire, including Walsall, Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield.

With orders from the local community on the rise, Lee and Charlotte have also given back to the community.

In this short space of time, they have shown how community-minded they are, often making food to support local charities, including Help To Make Tummies Full, a fantastic local charity that aims to reduce child poverty and hunger.

Win a Gourmet Graze Box

Note: competition now closed.

To celebrate their success, Pioneer Magazines has teamed up with Westwood’s Kitchen to offer one lucky winner a chance to enjoy one of their mouth-watering Gourmet Graze boxes!

To enter:

LIKE the Pioneer Magazines and Westwood’s Kitchen Facebook page.
LIKE our Westwood’s Kitchen Gourmet Graze Box giveaway post.
Leave a COMMENT on the Westwood’s Kitchen Gourmet Graze Box giveaway post.

The giveaway runs from April 11 until noon on April 18.

If you’re not lucky enough to win, you can check out the full menu at the Westwood’s Kitchen website and place your orders over the phone.

Terms and conditions

The Westwood Kitchens giveaway runs between April 11 and April 18, 2021.
Entries submitted after noon on April 18 will not qualify.
One winner will be drawn at random and announced on the Pioneer Magazines Facebook page on the afternoon on April 18.
The winner will need to contact Westwood’s Kitchen to claim their prize.
The prize is 1 x small Gourmet Graze Box, which can be selected from one of four options: Gourmet Savoury Meat Graze Box, Gourmet Savoury Vegetarian Graze Box, Gourmet Vegan Savoury Graze Box or Gourmet Gluten Free Graze Box.
The prize can be collected or delivered.
Delivery is available for free in the Aldridge and Walsall Wood area. Delivery available up to 15 miles from WS9 8HB, but the winner would be responsible for the delivery charge. Please inquire with Westwood’s Kitchen on the cost.
The prize cannot be swapped or exchanged for cash or an alternative prize.
The prize can only be only be delivered Monday-Thursday. Weekend delivery is not available.
Westwood’s Kitchen need 24 hours notice in order to prepare your graze box.
Pioneer Magazines reserves the right to redraw the prize should the winner not respond within 24 hours of being contacted.
This giveaway is in no way sponsored or endorsed by Facebook or any other parties.

Cannock Designer Shopping Outlet Opens

Update: The McArthurGlen Designer Outlet will officially open on Monday 12 April at 10am to the public.

A new designer shopping outlet based in Cannock is set to generate approximately 1,000 local jobs.

The £160m McArthurGlen Outlet is planned to open this Spring and will feature over 80 stores offering dozens of designer brands, including Lacoste, Adidas and Calvin Klein.

Steve Chambers, Bowmer + Kirkland regional director, said: “Work on the 11-hectare site started in 2018, and despite challenges during Covid-19, the opening of the outlet is on schedule.”

The shopping outlet is located on Eastern Way between Lichfield Road and Hayes Way in Cannock.

6,000 Apply For Jobs At Cannock Designer Shopping Outlet

Numerous vacancies are currently available, though Business Live reports that over 6,000 people have already applied.

Non-essential retailers can open from 12 April, but a firm opening date for the McArthurGlen Cannock store has yet to be confirmed.

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Month: April 2021