Eligible residents who use heating oil may be able to access support through the Crisis and Resilience Fund this winter.
Essex residents who rely on heating oil to heat their homes are being encouraged to seek support early if they are worried about meeting costs this winter.
With heating oil prices remaining significantly higher than in previous years, many households across rural Essex may face additional financial pressure as temperatures begin to drop.
Latest figures suggest around 94,000 homes across Essex are not connected to the mains gas network. The highest concentrations are in Braintree (29%), North West Essex (26%) and Witham (26%). This means many residents rely on alternative fuels such as heating oil to keep their homes warm.
Residents who use heating oil as their main source of heating and are struggling with rising costs may be eligible for support through Essex’s Crisis and Resilience Fund. The fund is designed to help low-income households experiencing financial hardship or unexpected financial hardship.
Support may be available towards the cost of heating oil following an assessment of a household’s financial circumstances. Residents are encouraged to contact the service well in advance of their usual purchase date to help ensure fuel can be ordered and delivered when needed.
The reminder comes ahead of further energy cost increases, with the energy price cap set to rise from 1 October.
Councillor Chris Hossack, Cabinet Member for Resident and Community Services, said: “We know that many households across our rural communities rely on heating oil and may be concerned about rising costs as we approach the winter months.
“Nobody should have to choose between heating their home and paying for other essential items. We would encourage anyone who is struggling financially to seek support as early as possible.
“The Crisis and Resilience Fund is there to help residents through difficult periods and ensure they can access the support they need.”
The Crisis and Resilience Fund can support residents facing difficulty paying for essential household costs, including food, energy, water, housing costs and heating oil.
A record turnout of 135 people took part in The Robin Cancer Trust’s annual Pants to Cancer walk, raising £4,500 for the charity.
Supporters of all ages took part in the seven mile walk from Clacton pier to Walton pier, with participants encouraged to pull bright pants over their clothes and shout ‘Pants to Cancer.’
The event, held on Sunday 20th September and now in its sixth year, saw its biggest turnout since it was launched, with families, friends, cancer survivors and even dogs joining the challenge. Some participants chose to double the distance, walking the 7 mile route back to Clacton to complete 14 miles in total.
Prizes were awarded for the best decorated underwear, with Gavin Newman of Sterling Washroom Services taking home the prize with his Henry the Hoover inspired pants.
The event was sponsored by East Coast 5, Daniel Connal Partnership, Colne Construction Services and Hayes Garage. Local businesses also provided support, with The Beach Haven Café providing free refreshments, Fairfields Farm donated crisps and volunteers helped to hand out medals at the finish.
Darren Couchman, Community Engagement Manager at The Robin Cancer Trust and a testicular cancer survivor, said: “This year’s walk was such a brilliant day and seeing more than 135 take part to support The Robin Cancer Trust was fantastic. There was such a great atmosphere from start to finish, with people of all ages getting involved, dressing up and of course, proudly wearing their pants! “Pants to Cancer is a fun event, but there’s a really important message behind it. Events like this help us start conversations about testicular and ovarian cancer, reach more people with our awareness messages and raise vital funds to support our work. A huge thank you to everyone who walked, fundraised, volunteered and supported us, we couldn’t do it without you.”
Around 2,400 men are diagnosed with testicular cancer in the UK each year, making it the most common cancer in men aged 15 to 45, but it is 95% curable if detected early. Ovarian cancer affects about 7,500 women annually, with one in 52 women diagnosed in their lifetime, yet it is 90% curable when caught early.
Founded by the Freeman family in memory of Robin Freeman, who died of a rare germ cell tumour aged just 24, the Colchester-based charity provides support to people affected by testicular, ovarian and germ cell cancers and delivers life- saving cancer awareness talks in schools and workplaces across the UK.
Could you volunteer to make a difference of a lifetime? Help Parents 1st support parents through pregnancy, birth & beyond…
To help meet the demand for support for families across Essex, we’re looking for volunteers in Basildon, Thurrock, Southend and the surrounding areas to help support new and expectant parents at our outreach events. We currently run regular outdoor walk and talk sessions, antenatal information sessions, coffee mornings, fitness and first aid courses and need volunteers to assist our friendly team at these events. Volunteers will help our peer supporters run the events – you might be welcoming parents, making tea, chatting and connecting with parents or holding a baby whilst mum has a drink!
We’re running training for new volunteers during October. Please take a look at our website for more information and to register your interest in taking part in the training:
A major milestone has been reached for Essex based charity CanalAbility, as its new accessible electric canal boat, Amply Accessible, has been successfully delivered to a local marina, ahead of her journey to the charity’s base on the River Stort.
Based in Harlow, Essex, CanalAbility provides accessible boating experiences for people with disabilities, mobility challenges and significant health conditions, welcoming clients, families, carers and support groups.
The new 56ft by 11ft boat has been designed specifically for CanalAbility’s disabled clients and will join its two existing specially adapted diesel-powered wide-beam boats, helping the charity provide more opportunities for people to enjoy time on the water.
A Boat Built for the Future
The new boat is fully electric, with eight solar panels on the cabin roof helping to provide power for its onboard electrical requirements.
Moving from diesel to electric is expected to save approximately 5,130kg of CO₂ emissions each year, as well as providing a much quieter experience for clients.
Accessibility features include a wheelchair lift, drop-down access ramps, an accessible toilet, changing table and hoist. The boat also has joystick steering alongside conventional tiller steering, giving clients with different abilities the opportunity to take part in steering.
The project has been made possible thanks to the incredible support of CanalAbility’s volunteers,
fundraisers, donors and supporters, together with National Lottery players whose contributions made a substantial grant from The National Lottery Community Fund possible.
The project has also received sponsorship from Xylem and support from HFW.
CanalAbility Chairman, Marc Balkham, said: “2025 and 2026 have seen CanalAbility focussing on the exciting development and build of our new boat, while also reviewing our strategy and planning for the future stability of the charity, all while maintaining our high quality of service provision to our clients. Seeing Amply Accessible successfully trialled at Colecraft Boats and now preparing to make her journey home is a hugely exciting milestone for everyone involved. This boat represents a significant investment in the future of CanalAbility. It brings together accessibility, sustainability and modern technology, and most importantly has been designed around the needs of the people we support.”
Next Stop – CanalAbility
The boat will soon begin her journey to her new home in Harlow at CanalAbility’s base on the River Stort.
There will still be preparation, testing and commissioning before she begins welcoming disabled clients and community groups for day trips, but seeing Amply Accessible successfully complete her water trials and arrive at the marina marks an exciting step forward for CanalAbility, as she prepares for the next stage of her journey to the charity’s base on the River Stort.
For more information visit www.canalability.org.uk, Email hello@canalability.org.uk or call 01279 424444.
Gold Geese, a small, local charity supporting families facing childhood cancer, is encouraging the community to learn the signs and symptoms of childhood cancer and help spread the word.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and around 1,900 children in the UK are diagnosed with cancer each year. Gold Geese operates across mid and south Essex and this year, they have been raising awareness of childhood cancer from as far as Maldon to Brentwood and Chelmsford to Southend. To raise awareness, local businesses and schools are encouraged to display Gold Geese signs and symptoms posters and, in some cases, go big with their gold decorations (gold is the ribbon colour for childhood cancer awareness).
Gold Geese has organised a bumper number of events this month to help raise awareness and funds for its support:
On Saturday, September 5, a special convoy of more than 100 gold and yellow cars toured the streets of Leigh-on-Sea, Chalkwell and Southend to raise awareness of childhood cancer
The charity has also collaborated with Leigh-on-Sea Brewery to develop a special Gold Geese beer, with 10% of every purchase going directly to the charity. A number of Gold dads took part in making the first brew and attended the launch party this weekend. The beer will be available to buy at several local venues across mid and south Essex.
Leigh Marina will turn gold during Leigh Regatta on September 12 and 13, with a family fun day raising funds for Gold Geese
On Wednesday, September 16, CEO Katie will embark on a solo eight-day fundraising trek across the width of Essex, in remembrance of the Gold children who have passed away. Donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/page/katie-walks-essex
Katie is hosting a ‘signs and symptoms Zoom training’ event for parents, teachers, nursery managers and medical professionals
On September 26, Legra Tap are hosting a closing party, with music from singer Eleanor Hudson and Tony Jefford from the band Jackie Wilson Says. Tickets are available at Legra Tap X Gold Geese Party tickets
Katie Southgate, CEO and founder of Gold Geese, said: “We’d love to see as many people as possible join our events this month. If you’d like to support our campaign at school or work, you could wear yellow or gold for the day, hold a bake sale or put up one of our posters.
“Just like geese stick together on their epic journeys, we’re showing our Gold families that the whole community supports them and we fly together.”
Free symptom awareness posters are available to collect from Metro Bank in Southend and Chelmsford, or email fundraising@goldgeese.org to arrange collection.
The Crisis and Resilience Fund helps households who are likely to suffer financial crisis to improve their financial wellbeing, build resilience and address the causes of financial hardship. As part of this, we have released a Prior Information Notice (PIN) outlining plans to invest in financial information, advice and guidance provision for residents.
We are seeking feedback to help shape the procurement process and encourage community groups to work together under a lead provider organisation.
Please share this opportunity with teams and community groups. Further details are on the Government website.
Support is also available for residents facing immediate financial pressures. If the residents you work with live in the Essex County Council area, they may be able to claim support for heating oil payments if they are unable to meet current prices. The crisis payment service will review their finances and, where needed, provide support towards the additional cost. We would recommend that residents contact us well in advance of usual purchase time to ensure oil can be purchased and delivered as expected.
In September the Greater Essex Research Community of Practice is hosting Emma Funnell, the Chief Officer for Citizens Advice Tendring, who will deliver a session about service evaluation together with colleagues from University College London and Essex County Council.
Emma will explain how she has worked in collaboration with Essex County Council and University College London to create an evaluation that has helped deliver real insight on a mental health recovery programme.
The session will cover:
How developing a theory of change helped add value to communicating the value of the programme and the monitoring work.
How this led to Emma working with Dr Rachel Benchekroun from University College London to do a piece of realist evaluation, which has revealed further insights from conversations with programme staff and programme participants.
And how colleagues are looking to communicate the findings to appeal to a range of audiences – by linking
The evaluation findings into wider theories about social networks, social infrastructure and recovery journeys.
And inviting members of the voluntary and community sector into a follow-up informal workshop to discuss insights and lessons learned on supporting people back into work.
This webinar will be relevant to anyone in the VCSE sector with an interest in evaluation, mental health recovery and supporting people back into work.
Please email mike.williams@essex.gov.uk for an invite.
The Essex Alliance is sharing this training opportunity on behalf of Mind in West Essex.
The Essentials workshop is the foundation for workplace wellbeing, and it’s at the core of everything we do at The Mental Health Toolkit.
This half-day session takes you through the Mental Health Continuum – the spectrum of mental health that we are all on – and introduces you to the Emotional Needs & Resources approach.
Unmet emotional needs trigger symptoms of mental ill health. Understanding how to meet them helps you understand what you need to be well, and enables you to take care of yourself and those around you.
The dates below have been fully funded by Essex County Council, and are offered free of charge for staff and volunteers of any VCSE organisations working in Essex.
Bellringers across Essex will open the doors to historic local bell towers as part of the Heritage Open Days 2026. Visitors will have the opportunity to inside a ringing room, meet the bellringers and discover how change ringing works.
Check out the participating towers by contacting news@eacr.org.uk
Stagetext, a deaf-led charity based in Colchester, has some free deaf awareness training for people working or volunteering in Essex in arts, culture, museums or heritage venues.
When: Tuesday 22nd September Where: Chelmsford City Museum, Wells Suite in Essex Time: There are two available sessions, in the morning or afternoon: 10.00am to 12:30pm or 1:30pm to 4.00pm. How to book: Click on the link below to find out more.
Wednesdays 7th, 14th, 21st & 28th October 2026
10:00am–1:00pm
In person, Corringham Fire Station, 
