Community Alcohol Partnership competition winners announced

The Minsterley & Pontesbury Community Alcohol Partnership (M&P-CAP) would like to congratulate participants in this year’s Creative Arts Competition.

The competition was designed to engage local young people to think about their perception of alcohol, and to creatively design a piece of work that highlighted their perceptions on this subject.

The competition was a great success with many young people getting involved.  Entries included songs, artwork, short stories and even an alcohol rap.

Duncan Fletcher from Pontesbury Parish Council and David Fairclough, community enablement officer, recently went to Mary Webb School to present the prizes to the winners on behalf of Professor Rod Thomson, Shropshire Council’s director of public health.

Karen Calder, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for health, said:

“There was a great variety to the entrants and some real quality to them too.  The issues around attitudes to alcohol in our society were all dealt with in a mature and engaging manner, and all the entrants should be proud of themselves.”

Professor Rod Thomson added:

“I am delighted so many young people engaged with the creative competition as part of the CAP.  It is important that young people are aware of the issues surrounding alcohol consumption, and their work for this competition highlights their excellent knowledge and understanding on this topic.”

Congratulations to the winners:

Claudia Roberts, Cian Iddison, Ryan Palmer, Matt Swain, Nathan Morgan, Alisha Barnes, Meg Tomlins, Charlotte Kinsey, Kelly Price, Renars Spons.

The M&P-CAP is one of several Community Alcohol Partnerships (CAP) groups set up as part of Shropshire’s Community Alcohol Partnership (Shrop-CAP) initiative, a countywide scheme to tackle underage drinking in Shropshire.  The CAP brings together organisations including Shropshire Council, Severnside Housing, Minsterley and Pontesbury parish councils and West Mercia Police to reduce crime, anti-social behaviour and harm caused by underage drinking through providing activities for young people, raising awareness and working towards sustaining activities for them for the future.  The partnership is working on many initiatives, including tackling proxy purchasing, where over 18s purchase alcohol and supply it to young people who are under 18; providing alcohol awareness and information to communities; and working with young people on developing positive activities.

For more information about the Community Alcohol Partnership, you can visit http://shropcap.wordpress.com/ or contact the local community enablement officer, David Fairclough on 01743 252483 or email david.fairclough@shropshire.gov.uk.