Tala newsletter June 2016
TALA SQUARE
The agreement
with the contractor responsible for the works has now been signed and work is
scheduled to start the week commencing 20 June. The first phase [the actual square itself]
will take approximately 8 months to complete.
The second phase will relate to the roads around the core of the village
and the square.
A 3D
presentation will shortly be available to show how the finished square will
look. Further information follows 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.
From
1 July the charges for water will be the same for everyone, ie as outlined
under the Tala column below. You may
notice a slight increase in the cost as the Water Board have now stopped
subsidising the energy cost of piping water and have passed this cost on to the
Communities.
Tala Monastery Armonia
Fixed
charge 7.00 11.96 5.39
1-20
units 0.85 0.85 0.85
21-50
units 1.00 1.00 1.00
51-60
units 1.70 2.00 1.70
61-70
units 1.70 2.50 1.70
71
units and over 2.00 3.00 2.00
Tala
invoice out every 3 months, as opposed to the 2-monthly billing previously
carried out by the Monastery and Armonia.
Those previously on Monastery and
Armonia water should therefore receive their final bill for payment in July and
thereafter invoices will be issued by Tala from the end of September onwards
[to cover the period from 1 July] .
Please do not cancel any direct debits/standing orders until your final
payment has been made to the Monastery/Armonia. Tala Council office will be contacting all
those Monastery/Armonia customers paying their water by direct debit/standing
order where new forms are required.
IMMOVABLE PROPERTY TAX
The
Government are proposing to scrap the local Immovable Property Tax paid to
local councils and municipalities and charge one Immovable Property Tax based
on the 2013 property valuation and at a rate of 0.05 per mille.
It
is likely that a generous discount will be given for early payment of the
tax.
This
is a proposal at this stage and once further information is available details
will be posted on www.talanews.blogspot.com.
NEW BRIDGE
Following
a visit to site, the plans for this area by the Government have changed. The area where there is the bend in the main
road is to be widened, with a wall built, and pavement installed. This was felt to be more beneficial for
residents as it is very dangerous for pedestrians on that stretch of road. Work started on Monday 13 June. The
project is being carried out by Government contractors.
SCHOOL
As
the planned local authorities restructuring has yet again been put on hold,
plans for a new hall will be shelved.
However,
we have a commitment from the Government to:
- paint the Elementary school, inside and out
- paint the Elementary school, inside and out
-
convert two adjoining classrooms into one [there is already a stage in place in
one of these rooms] so that at least there is a large enough space for indoor
games, sports, plays and the like.
STREET LIGHTING
Just
a reminder – if you notice that street lighting is either not functioning at
all, or has an intermittent fault, please phone the Electricity Board direct on
1800.
You
can also phone the Electricity Board if you have concerns regarding tree growth
encroaching on electricity cables.
PEDESTRIAN PATH FROM AY GEORGIOS
The
pedestrian path leading from the end of Ay Georgios up to St John Prodromos has
been cleaned and cleared. Dog walkers
are please reminded to pick up after their dogs when using this path.
MULTI-CULTURAL CENTRE
I
am delighted to say that the building permit for the Multi-cultural centre has
finally been released so we have a ‘mature project’. We will now explore funding options for the
centre which will be built on the area beyond the car park behind the square,
and after the childrens play area.
COMMUNITY WATCH
Following
on from the Police presentation, security information and any security updates
can be found by going to the right hand corner ‘Categories’ and clicking on Security
on www.talanews.blogspot.com.
Everyone
is encouraged to sign up for the Neighbourhood Watch scheme. This does not commit you to forming
committees or patrols, but is an agreement to be the eyes and ears of the
Police and report any suspicious activity or vehicles to them. We have an undertaking from the Police to
carry out regular vehicular patrols of the Tala area. To maintain this service, as a community we
need to show support to the Police and this can be done by signing up to the
Neighbourhood Watch scheme.
To
sign up you can either email your name, address, mobile number and email
address to Cathi on toffee@primehome.com or call into
the council office and provide this information to the staff there.
For
the time being any security alerts will be by email.
On www.talanews.blogspot.com under Security
there is a Get to Know Your Neighbour form.
This is available in English, Greek, Russian and Chinese. If you are unable to print the form[s] from
the blog, please email Cathi and she will send you the documents. It is felt that by getting to know your
neighbour, this will help make more people aware of the neighbourhood watch
scheme, enable people to notice strangers in the area, or suspicious activity
and thus reduce the number of thefts.
There
are also A5 stickers available for those who have signed up to the
Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. These can be
obtained at Tala Council office at a cost of €1 for two stickers. Proceeds will go to charity.
Suspicious
activity should please be reported to the Police on 122. Thereafter, it would be helpful if you could
let Cathi know what has happened by sending
her a short email so she can liaise with the Police and/or alert the community
if needed.
GOVERNMENT RESTRUCTURING OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES – VOTING IN LOCAL
ELECTIONS
Regrettably,
the planned restructuring of local authorities has been put on hold. This means that local elections will take
place in December 2016.
If
you already have a voting book no action is required. If you do not yet have a vote and would like
one, please contact Cathi on toffee@primehome.com for the
appropriate form. The cut off date for
applying for a vote will probably be 31 October so if you are going to be away
over the summer months, it is advisable to submit your application before you
go!
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.
DISPOSAL OF GARDEN WASTE
There has been a great improvement
regarding the responsible disposal of garden waste . As a reminder, however, the following
options are available for the disposal of garden waste:
The Government
operated site for garden waste recycling
[Green Point] is now open at Akoursos, in an old quarry on the left hand
side of the road to Akoursos village. No charge is made for using the site.
However, it is only open on the following days:
Monday 0800-1800
Wednesday 0800-1800
Friday 0800-1800
Saturday 0900-1500
Tuesday,
Thursday and Sunday CLOSED
Options for
garden waste:
1
Branches, palm leaves and tree cuttings - Taken by the householder
to the free site above
2
Collection of up to 2 bags of garden waste [excluding branches,
palm leaves and tree cuttings] by the refuse collectors. Note, however, that priority will be given
to household rubbish and garden waste may not always be taken if refuse levels
are higher than usual.
3
Purchase orange Tala Council bags at the Council office if heavy
duty bags are needed. They should then
be left out for the refuse collectors who will remove up to 2 bags at a time,
or taken to one of the private sites, or collection arranged by Andreas. Any blue Tala Council bags which you already
have should be disposed of in the same way.
4
Take any bags to the private garden waste centre in Tala [Andreas]
– a charge will be made of €1 for the
first bag, and €0.50 for each additional bag.
The site is open Tuesday 0900-1200, and Saturday 0900-1200 and
1400-1600]. However, if you phone
Andreas beforehand, arrangements can be made to open up outside of these times,
if required.
5
Arrange for collection by the above private garden waste collector
– the charge will depend on the volume/vehicle required.
Please also
bear in mind that the private garden waste collector will pick up domestic
appliances free of charge. There is a
drop off fee for wooden furniture items, and home pick-up is offered for a
supplementary charge.
6 A new garden waste site has opened on the
site of the former Tala Council site on the Kissonerga road, operated by NIPA
Enterprises Ltd. This is a processing and collection site for garden waste only and no home collection service is
available. This site will be open:
Monday
– Friday 0800
to 1600
Saturday 0800
to 1200 and 1400 to 1600
Charges:
Large trucks
over 7.5 gross tons €25
Vans and trucks
up to 7.5 gross tons and skips €15
Small trucks or
single cabin pick up trucks up to 3.5 gross tons €10
Double cabin
pick up trucks €5
Saloon cars €3
Private garden waste collector offering home collection – Andreas
99 327262
New garden waste site – NIPA Enterprises – Panayiotis 99 647883
FIRE WARNINGS
Following the
very dry winter, please be on the look out for fires in the area. Small fires should please be reported to
Daniel on 99 699125, or Nikos on 99
630613 in the first instance.
Larger fires
should be reported to the Emergency Services on 122 or 199.
WHAT’S ON LOCALLY
June
18/19 Il Divo tribute from Spain – Tala
Amphitheatre
July
3 Shirley Bassey tribute from the UK
– Tala Amphitheatre
16/17 Jersey Boys from the UK – Tala Amphitheatre
22 Twistin Round the Pool – Kamares Club
September
9 Polis Charalambous – Evagora of
Cyprus[the history of Cyprus from 410BC to 1960 - in Greek with English translation] – Tala Amphitheatre
9 Starlight Soiree for the Cyprus Kidney Association – Kamares Club*
10/11 Abba Revival from the UK – Tala Amphitheatre
17/18 John Coghlan’s Quo from the UK – Tala
Amphitheatre
24/25 Re-Take That from the UK – Tala
Amphitheatre
30 Papageorgio String Quartet – Dance 2 Tango & Latin Music -Tala
Amphitheatre
October
1 Droushia Dixie 7 Jazz Band – Kamares Club – details
available in due course
Events at
Kamares Club must be booked direct with the Club.
* Tickets
available from Computer SOS, Hearns in
Peyia and Kamares Club
For
Amphitheatre events, tickets can be purchased online on www.kendallandmorrelli.com. Tickets are also available locally at
Visteria Kiosk and the Amphitheatre Cafe.
Tickets can also be reserved for payment and collection on the night via
Cathi at toffee@primehome.com.
Next issue 20
September 2016
Areti Pieridou
