THE latest news in brief from Fenland District Council.

Aid for elderly on TV switchover

EXPERTS will be on hand at next week’s Golden Age Fair to help older people convert their television sets in preparation for the switchover to digital TV next year.

The Switchover Help Scheme’s van is due to attend the fair in Manea next Wednesday (October 27). The scheme, which has been set up by the Government and is run by the BBC, aims to ensure that all older people in the region retain access to television when the traditional TV signal is turned off in 2011. Those who don’t have digital at the time of the switchover will lose their TV service.

People are eligible for assistance from the scheme if they are aged 75 or over, have lived (or are likely to live) in a care home for more than six months, or are entitled to a range of different benefits.

The fair is being held at the Royal British Legion from 4.30-7pm. Fenland District Council’s mobile gym will be there, together with representatives from many other organisations serving older people in Fenland.

Help set agenda for action in March

PEOPLE living in the March area will be able to decide what issues should be put top of the agenda for local action when the latest in Fenland District Council’s series of new-style Neighbourhood Forums is held next week.

The forum will be at the Town Hall next Wednesday from 7pm. Those attending will help to set three priorities for the police and three other “non-police” priorities. They will also decide which two local events should be supported by next year’s Community Fairs.

The March forum is the third in the current series, following those for Whittlesey and the Waterlees and Clarkson areas of Wisbech. Those for Chatteris and Wisbech and their surrounding villages are scheduled for next month.