Madeley Matters May 2008 page 8

Young footballers are invited to form their own teams and sign up for a soccer project in south Telford. The Woodside Super South Soccer project – S3 for short – is funded by an £8,470 grant from the Football Foundation and additional funding from Telford & Wrekin Council and West Mercia Police.

The coaching sessions will be held at the Madeley Court Sports Centre on Fridays from 7pm to 9pm. They are open to anyone aged 13 to 18 from the Woodside, Sutton Hill and Madeley areas.

S3 began three years ago when two Police Community Support Officers became trained football coaches and took sessions with young people on Friday nights. The popular sessions involved football coaching and matches and some of the young people who took part also took coaching qualifications so they could help out.

Woodside Neighbourhood Manager Phil Heywood said: “This is a good opportunity for young people to come along with their friends, get some free coaching and learn some skills, and then have a fun competition. Hopefully they will enjoy it so much, they will come to the regular weekly sessions.” Anyone wanting to take part in S3 sessions can turn up on the night but to register a team contact Madeley Court Sports Centre on 382770.

If you are interested in joining a local football team, you can contact Woodside Wanderers on
07779 600002 or Madeley Sports on 526741.

The Woodside Story

A book chronicling the history of Woodside has been officially launched. The Woodside Story, put together by a group of residents and the Madeley Living History Project, provides a history of the local area and profiles the changing face of Woodside to the present day. It costs just £1 and can be purchased from the Park Lane Centre and Jubilee House.
Residents also handed over the archive of material collected about Woodside to the Park Lane Centre which will use it for displays and have it available for people to use for research. As well as photographs donated by local residents, there are maps, memories and recordings, including the BBC’s award winning Voices series which looked at life on the estate from the resident’s view.
Jean Edwards, who has lived on Woodside for more than 35 years, was involved in compiling the book. She said: “It has been a really worthwhile project and showed what a good place Woodside has been to live in over the years. The history of the area was fascinating and speaking to residents showed how the area grew and changed and then how the current regeneration is making a positive difference. Speaking to residents, you realise lots of them have pride in the area.”
Shelagh Lewis, manager of Madeley Parish Council’s Living History Project, said lots had been discovered about the area during the course of researching the book. “We found out about the mining history of the area and old tithe maps dating back to 1840. It has been great to put the Woodside Story together and the archive means lots of valuable information about the area will be available to the local community well into the future.”

Green spaces consultation starts

Neighbourhood Initiatives Foundation (NIF) from Lightmoor has been consulting with residents about the green spaces in and around Woodside. NIF has been visiting schools and has held two events at the Park Lane Centre.

Partners and Communities Together (PACT)

Your Local Policing Team wants to gather information about the concerns of people in Woodside and to work with residents and other partners to take action to tackle these issues. This is an initiative called Partners and Communities Together (PACT). If you have issues that would like to pass on, there is a PACT post box at the Park Lane Centre where would can leave cards setting out those concerns. All responses are anonymous and confidential.