The unprecedented Coronavirus/Covid-19 outbreak has meant changes have had to be made to Parish Council and other local activities and we hope that the following information will prove helpful.

Parish Council staff will be working as usual but please note that the office at Cemetery Lodge is closed for face-to-face public enquiries and that our office staff members will be mainly working from home over the next few weeks. To contact the Parish Council for now, call the Clerk, Kath Gruber on 07595 515154 or email clerk@duffieldparishcouncil.gov.uk.

Council Meetings: The Clerk has set up a facility via Cisco Webex where meetings will be held but not as a public gathering. Members of the public can join the meeting too.

The next meeting, the Recreation Committee meeting, is being held tomorrow, 18 March 2020. The meeting commences at 7pm. In order to listen to the meeting call the phone number 020-7660-8147; you will receive a welcome message and be asked to enter the meeting number/access code which is 628 001 056. Please say your name as it connects so we know who has joined. You can also join the meeting via your PC or iPad by clicking on this link to install the Webex app:

https://clerk-78.my.webex.com/clerk-78.my/j.php?MTID=me53d541e62997be8a7c72892a24000b0

The next Full Council meeting, and the Annual Parish Meeting, is scheduled for 7pm on Wednesday 1st April. Information on how it will be held will published, based on the latest government advice, closer to the time.

Duffield Coronavirus Support group (DuCS) has been formed to provide support to those elderly and vulnerable in the community who need it, and there has been a good response to a request for volunteers to help. Those volunteering will be contacted early next week. For more information or to add your name to the list of volunteers contact sarah.sdm@westoncentre.org.uk or follow Duffield Village Network or Duffield Coronavirus Support: DuCS on Facebook, which will be posting regular updates.

The following events and activities have been cancelled:

• Weston Centre coffee/tea mornings and Monday lunch club
• Weston Centre Art Group
• Good Neighbour Week for older residents, due to take place 23rd – 29th March
• Pauline Latham tea morning for older residents 20th March at Ecclesbourne School
• Councillor Chris Short's Councillor Surgeries at the Weston Centre
• Parish Council outdoor theatre at Eyes Meadow 22 July – the theatre company have cancelled their 2020 season.

As the situation both locally and at a national level is changing constantly we will aim to provide regular updates, so if you have anything relevant to add or that we can let people know about, please email assistantclerk@duffieldparishcouncil.gov.uk. Thank you.