Tala
newsletter March
2016
TALA SQUARE
As previously
advised, having been ready to start work on the actual square, the Government
finally advised that the funding for the full project [ie pedestrianisation
of the square and upgrading of
surrounding roads] would be made available.
A decision was therefore made to delay the start until the District
Office had gone through the tender process for the entire project.
The work has
been out to tender [these had to be submitted by 11 March] and the tenders are
being evaluated. Allowing for an appeal
period, work should begin early May, after the Easter holidays. At the time of issuing this Newsletter, the
name of the successful contractor had not been advised. It is anticipated that
the project will take 12-18 months to complete in its entirety.
There will be
disruption whilst the works are underway and we ask for your patience.
The Government
funding will be for 70% of the project, with a 30% contribution from Tala
Council.
COLLAPSING
BUILDING AT THE ENTRANCE TO KAMARES
Regrettably the
developer has started legal action against the Government, District Office and Tala Council on the grounds that he was given planning
permission by the appropriate authorities and that the area should never have
been designated for residential development.
The only involvement Tala Council has is that the property has been built in Tala – Tala Council has no control
or power over planning permission or designation of areas for development
purposes.
The District
Office is fully aware of everyone’s concern for safety and the deteriorating
state of the property. However, with an
estimated cost of around €200,000 to demolish the structure and clear the site,
the matter has to go through legal channels.
Further
information will be provided when available.
WATER –
Supplies from Monastery and Armonia [ Leptos]
Both
the Monastery and Armonia have promised the District Office and the Water
Department that they will hand over the water supplies to Tala Council at the
end of June. Any question of
compensation will be the subject of discussion between the Monastery and
Armonia and the appropriate Government Department. In the meantime, you should please continue to settle your
accounts direct with the appropriate supplier.
NEW BRIDGE
To
improve the road network, a bridge is to be installed to run across the ravine
from opposite the Co-Op Bank to Ambelias.
Construction should start shortly and be completed during the
summer. The project is being carried
out by Government contractors.
SCHOOL
Following
negotiation with the Education Ministry, I am pleased to advise that funding is
to be made available for construction of a hall [to allow indoor sports,
exercise classes, plays, etc] at the Elementary School in Tala. The hall will be available for use by local
groups in the community once it is completed.
However, if the centralisation of the local authorities proceeds, it is
possible that the village schools will be evaluated with a view to merging a
number together so it may be a few months before we know whether the hall will
go ahead and whether the schools will continue in Tala. Further information will be provided once
available.
COMMUNITY WATCH
The
Police will be carrying out a presentation to the community regarding Community
Watch which is effectively Neighbourhood Watch rebranded and made more
user-friendly.
The
presentation will be on Thursday 14 April at 5pm at Tala Church Hall in English
and the same presentation in Greek will follow at 6pm. The presentation is open to all individuals
who reside in Tala, including the Zelemenos area of Kamares.
Given
the security issues affecting the island in the last few months, all residents
are encouraged to attend the presentation.
The
intention is that members of the community will receive an SMS text message via
Tala Council office in Greek and English notifying matters that the Police feel
the public should be made aware of. You
will also receive an email repeating this information. The Police then ask that the public contact
them direct regarding any suspicious activity, with notification at the same
time to Cathi [toffee@primehome.com], or Val at KVHA [kvhasecretary@gmail.com]
or Jean at Stephanie Association [brianjean@cytanet.com.cy] so that they can
email out to their databases. There is
also a tab ‘Security Alerts’ on www.talanews.blogspot.com so that
information will be readily available to residents. For non-English speakers, there is now a
translate function on the blog.
WWW.TALANEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM
Regular
users of this site will have noticed a number of changes in the last few
weeks.
-
There is now a Translate function to help non-English speakers
-
There is a tab for Security Alerts – see above
-
There is a tab for Newsletters to make it easier for you to access
these
-
The Categories have been moved from the bottom of the page to the
top right hand corner to make it easier to access items.
GOVERNMENT RESTRUCTURING OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES
It
is too early yet to advise how any proposed changes are likely to impact on
Tala residents, council employees or elected members of the council. If the amendments are voted through,
information will be provided as soon as we are able. One proposal on the table which will affect
everyone is the possibility that the elected council members will remain in
place until 2019, ie the anticipated election at the end of this year will not
take place.
CEMETERY
We
are looking at planting to improve the area, and have installed a stone table
under the gazebo so that there is a shady place for quiet reflection.
WHITE LINES
Residents
in Kamares and Melisovonos will have noticed that the white lines at road
junctions have been repainted. The
white lines on all major roads in the village will gradually be repainted.
WALLS
You
will have noticed that two new stretches of stone wall have been erected on
Miltiadi Stylianou, with a third underway at the present time. These have been done to tidy up the approach
road to the village and present a uniform image.
ROAD RESURFACING PLANNED - 2016/17
The following works have been submitted for approval for
2016:
-
Road Kokkinokampou [road by the new cemetery]
-
Ayion Saranta
-
Mosfilion [Andriana Gardens to Skali]
-
Liami
-
Ayiou Stephanou
-
Karava
-
Chazeliou
And for 2017:
-
Chr Papadaniel
-
Ayiou Ermolaou
-
Mouttalion
-
Leoforos Stephanis to Elevtherias
-
Maroullas Varnavidi
-
Apis
-
Skalin
-
Kosti Palama
All works are subject to Government approval and provision
of appropriate funding
NEW BUILDING PLOTS OFF STEPHANIE AVENUE
[formerly Olive Grove]
Following on from the article in
the January newsletter, the Police have inspected the site and agreed that most
of the lights can be switched off.
However for safety reasons they insist that lights at the entrance and
at each corner of the project, plus the cul-de-sac part way into the project remain lit. We are now in the hands of the Electricity
Board to come and switch the rest of the lights off/remove the bulbs.
EASYMEALS - NEW MEALS DELIVERY SERVICE FOR TALA
& SURROUNDING AREAS
Based in Tala, a new meals delivery
service is now available. Easymeals
provide home cooked meals using fresh local ingredients delivered frozen in
individual portions ready to be stored in your freezer and reheated at your
convenience. You can order as many
meals/courses as you wish from the menu. The meals are delivered on Mondays
from orders placed on any day (except Sunday) from the previous week.
All you have to do is call Easymeals
and they will take your details and order from the menu below. Details of the
new website with online ordering will be available in the next issue of the
Tala newsletter.
In the meantime if you would like more
information the girls at Easymeals would be happy to talk to you and explain
the service further. The telephone number is 96632003
For Tala & Kamares orders over €7
include free delivery. Otherwise delivery will be an extra charge of
€1.25. Neighbouring areas: Killi,
Kissonerga, Emba, Tremithousa costs €1.25 extra for delivery.Other areas in
Paphos may be subject to an additional charge depending on order quantity and
travelling distance. This would be agreed when you place your order.
Each month the menu will be extended to
include other items and eventually a luxury range. No ready made bottles of
sauce are used in their menu. Everything is made from scratch from their own
favourite recipes.
Current Menu
V = vegetarian option
Soups €2.50
Red Lentil & Vegetable (comforting
and hearty)
Roast Pepper & Tomato (with a
twist of fennel and garlic) V
Potato & Leek (elegant & silky smooth)
Mains Courses €4.75
Cottage Pie with a side of Carrot &
Swede Mash
Lasagne (traditional Italian recipe)
Macaroni & Cauliflower with Cheese
& Leek Sauce V
Chicken & Vegetable Curry Served
with Rice (authentic recipe using fragrant spices, not too hot)
Sweet & Sour Chicken with Pineapple
& Peppers served with Rice
Sausage & Cheddar Mash
with Onion Gravy & Peas
Puddings €3.25
Apple Crumble & Custard
Chocolate Fudge Brownie & Custard
Kit’s Key Lime Pie
ALPHA MEGA STAMPS
Thanks to the efforts of the
congregation at the Anglican Church and various Tala residents, Alpha Mega
stamps have been donated recently allowing for the acquisition of towels and
bedding for needy families in the area.
There is currently a promotion for
cookware and donations of stamps would again be much appreciated. These can either be left in the Council
Office [there is a container on the counter for these] or at the Welfare Centre
in an envelope for Cathi.
Alternatively, the stamps can be
handed to members of the Anglican Church congregation.
THANK
YOU
I would like to say a very big Thank You to those members of the
community who have been clearing rubbish from the sides of our roads for the
last few months. I am sure you will
have noticed a difference. Their hard
work and effort is very much appreciated.
The ‘clean up’ takes place for around an hour one Saturday morning
a month and the volunteers are clearing around 10-20 large bags of rubbish in
that time.
WHAT’S ON LOCALLY
April
1 Johnny
Dee as Neil Diamond at Vatouthkia –
booking essential
14 Police
presentation to residents regarding Community Watch – Church Hall 5pm, with Greek presentation following at
6pm.
15/16 Pafos
2017 – Community painting of the wall around the Amphitheatre Car Park [1000 to 1600]. All members of the community are invited to
come along and participate regardless of artistic ability.
16 Tala
Clean up – meet at 9am at Cliff Bar.
17 Easter
Bazaar at Welfare Centre – 9.30am to 1pm.
21 90th
birthday of Queen Elizabeth II – indoor street party at Kamares Club – booking essential
22
Hamilton Browne as Lionel Richie at Vatouthkia – booking essential
May
3-7 The
Vicar of Dibley in Love and Marriage – Stage One Theatre, Emba
14 May Masquerade Ball – Kamares Club –
booking essential
14 Cat Park Carnival at Agios Neofytos
Cafe
19 CSO Music of the Enlightenment – Tala
Amphitheatre
20 Phil Collins Tribute from the UK –
Vatouthkia Taverna
28 Kamares Festival – Kamares Club 1000
to 1600
June
4/5 Rod Stewart tribute from the UK – Tala
Amphitheatre
18/19 Il Divo tribute from Spain – Tala
Amphitheatre
Events at
Kamares Club must be booked direct with the Club.
Tickets for
events at Vatouthkia Taverna – at the venue, or at Visteria Kiosk, or online at
kendallandmorrelli.com.
Tickets for
Stage One can be booked direct at Stage One.
For
Amphitheatre events, tickets can be purchased online on www.kendallandmorrelli.com. Tickets will also be available in due course
at Visteria Kiosk and the Amphitheatre Cafe.
Next issue 20
June 2016
Areti Pieridou
