A Call To Arms

Retain Our Services in Evington (ROSE) was set up to protest the recent closure of the post office, J & A Pharmacy, and the GP branch surgery on the Common, to try to prevent any further negative changes affecting life in Evington and the surrounding localities, and to promote positive developments within the area. We are not a political group.

An update on what ROSE has done to date can be found elsewhere in the Echo. We are however a small ‘band’ of concerned citizens and as such there is a limit to what we can achieve without the support of others in the community. Evington and in particular Evington Village, has a unique identity with a long history dating back to the Norman Conquest, it has retained a village feel and has a vibrant beating heart fed by the number of groups societies and community organisations it has spawned. These are supported by a wide range of shops and businesses, some of which host community groups such as the Knit and Natter Group at Eden Café and the Rummikub group at the Cedars.  The area retains a sense of community as witnessed by the turn out at the VE day celebrations on 8^th May (See this issue of the Echo). This is however under threat by the recent asset stripping of the post office, pharmacy and GP branch surgery which all provided a reason to visit Main Street.

This is a major threat to the social cohesion of the area, again witnessed in the recent traders’ survey which we conducted.

Part of our aim is to keep matters live and to ensure the City Council and the Integrated Care Board (ICB), who are responsible for the provision of pharmacy and GP services, are aware of the effect of changes they make. We want to have questions asked at each and every Full Council meeting, each Public Health and Health Integration Scrutiny Commission meeting and each ICB Board meeting. To do so we have constructed questions to be asked, but we need residents willing to ask the questions to step up and ask them on behalf of the community.

For the City Council we need city residents only as you cannot ask questions unless you have a city address, even if you use city services.

Can you help? The dates are below:

Full City Council

1. Thurs 3 July 2025
2. Thurs 18 September 2025
3. Thurs 20 November 2025
4. Weds 25 February 2026
5. Thurs 26 March 2026
6. Thurs 14 May (Annual Council 2) 2026

Link to participation in Council Meetings Participating in Council meetings

 Health Scrutiny      

For Health Scrutiny you must be a city resident.

1. Mon 16 June 2025
2. Thurs 27 November 2025
3. Mon 23 February 2026

ICB

For the ICB one does not have to be a city resident.

Members of the public who have questions relating to items on the agenda are requested to submit these in writing in advance of the meeting by email: llricb-llr.enquiries@nhs.net . Questions received after 5:00pm on Monday 9 June 2025 may not be considered.

The meeting will be held via MS Teams. If you would like to join the meeting, please email: llricb-llr.enquiries@nhs.net before 12:00pm on Tuesday 10 June 2025 and they will provide you with the link.

Future Board meetings are due to be held on the following dates:

• Thursday 14 August 2025
• Thursday 9 October 2025
• Thursday 11 December 2025

Please let me know if you are willing to attend any of these meetings either by email to jam1974@btinternet.com or text/phone to 07909991974.

John McFadyen

Chair ROSE