Broxtowe Enews 29th June 2014

Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of the Lib-Dems on Broxtowe Borough Council.

1.       The Tram

The only place to begin this week is the official acceptance that the tram construction programme is running late and the tram will not begin operating later this year as intended. They now say that trams will begin running early next year although they haven’t defined quite what that means. My own view is that services will probably begin running this time next year, i.e. about six months late. The consequence of this is that the consortium constructing the tram will face quite significant penalty payments. The big question will be where those payments go. They will be collected by the City Council but I hope that at least some will be used to compensate the residents along the route who have had to put up with so much hassle over the past couple of years.

2.       City Council Boundaries

An article in the Nottingham Post this week by a Labour City Councillor has called for the boundaries of the city to be expanded  to include Beeston. We ran a survey about this on our website at the end of last year. 97% of local residents who responded (and we have had far more responses to this than any other survey that we have ever run) said that they did not want to be part of an expanded city council area, and I am disappointed that Labour are now reopening the debate.

3.       Curate Moving

The assistant curate of St Helens church in Stapleford, rev Peter Gilroy, is leaving the post. Rev Gilroy is moving to become the vicar of St Luke’s Church in Liverpool. I wish him well on his new venture.

4.       Awsworth Fun Day

A family fun day will be held at Awsworth recreation ground on Saturday July 5^th. The event lasts from 11am to 11pm and features stalls, vintage fire engines and a fun fair. Everyone is welcome to attend and admission is £3 for adults and £2 for children. Car Parking is available at a cost of £2.

5.       Nuthall Bus Plug

Notts County Council have revealed that so far 297 fines have been handed out to drivers using the bus plug in Nuthall. Of these 96 were given to Nuthall residents.

6.       Swap A Lock

Notts Police are offering people the opportunity to swap old bikes locks for new ones, free of charge, in an attempt to reduce the number of bike thefts in the county. Having had my bike stolen a couple of years ago I’m all in favour of this. Broxtowe residents will be able to swap locks at Eastwood Market on 7^th July and Beeston Market on 14^th July. They will be replacing old locks with new D-ring locks and offering other crime prevention advice.

7.       New council jobs

After years of everyone hearing about cuts, cuts and more cuts I’m delighted to report that Broxtowe Borough Council are in fact taking on staff. A reorganisation of the planning team means that new staff are being recruited specifically to try and bring forward brownfield sites for redevelopment. There are a number of sites in the borough which are derelict and for one reason or another the owners have allowed them to decay. Last year the council agreed that we would look at using powers of compulsory purchase to enable them to be developed, and we are now recruiting staff to deal with this. Amazingly Unison, whose role is meant to be representing staff, opposed the move. Draw your own conclusions about that.  

8.       Eastwood Cemetery Chapel

The borough council on Tuesday decided to draw up a scheme for the full rebuilding of Eastwood Cemetery Chapel. This was the option supported by the vast majority of residents in a survey by the council last month. Once the scheme has been drawn up then the proposals will need to be voted on but this is hopefully the next step in restoring the building after it was badly damaged by fire earlier this year.

9.       3^rd Bramcote Brownies

I saw a press report yesterday that said the 3^rd Bramcote Brownies were threatened with closure because the building that they sub-let is due to be demolished. I have contacted the council today to ask that we take urgent steps to ensure that the council does everything that we can do to ensure that we help the brownies find an alternative site.

As ever thank you for your support for this newsletter, and any feedback is gratefully received.

Best wishes

David

www.broxtoweliberaldemocrats.org.uk

www.davidwatts.org.uk

Follow me on Twitter at @DavidWatts12. 

Visit our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Broxtowe-Liberal-Democrats/78471665107

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Broxtowe Enews 22nd June 2014

Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of the Lib-Dems on Broxtowe Borough Council. Firstly may I apologise that there was no newsletter last week, unfortunately I was swamped with stuff for my paid employment last weekend and then whisked all over the country at the start of this week so it just wasn’t possible to get one produced.

1.       Summer Fairs

The Early Years playgroup in Stapleford are staging a summer fair at the Old Lace Mill in Frederick Road on Saturday 28^th June.  It will feature a barbeque, tombola and other stalls. Full details can be obtained by ringing 07939 852907. Also on the same day Queenswood Methodist Home for the Aged will be hosting a fair from 2pm to 4pm to raise money for residents funds. It will feature a tombola, book stall and a host of games and activities.

2.       Unemployment in Nottinghamshire

Unemployment in Notts is continuing to fall. In total there were 11,685 people claiming jobseekers allowance in the county in May, down from 12,382 in April. This represents 2.3% of working age people.

3.       Flooding

I was deeply distressed to read of families in Kimberley who had their houses flooded for the second time in a year last week. We have just been able to return to our house after six months away and the builders actually finished the final job on Friday. For people to have to face this twice in a year is heartbreaking. I know that money was pumped into Somerset to provide support for residents affected by flooding there, and I have written to Anna Soubry to ask her to call in parliament for financial support for Kimberley residents as well.

4.       Stag Play Area

Better news for Kimberley residents is that the Stag Recreation Ground has a new children’s play area, which has been jointly funded by the Borough Council and the Town Council. The refurbished play area took nearly 2 years to build and cost nearly £180,000 but it provides some of the highest quality play equipment that can be used anywhere.

5.       Colliers Wood

As part of Eastwood Arts Festival next month Robert Louis Stephenson’s novel Treasure Island will be performed at Colliers Wood. The show will take place on Thursday 17^th July starting at 7.30pm and tickets cost £12 (£9 for concessions).

6.       Mayor on Facebook

As part of the extended digital service that the borough council offers videos of visits by the Mayor, councillor Stan Heptinstall, will be available on YouTube.  These can be seen at youtube.com/broxtowebc. The council have also redesigned their website which can be seen at www.broxtowe.gov.uk and I would be very interested in any feedback from users as to how well the site now works.

7.       Potholes

David Cameron visited Kimberley this week and announced that the Government is providing an extra £2.7 million to the County Council to help repair the 52,000 potholes in the county.

8.       Building in Stapleford

I hope I can correct a story that was reported in the media this week. Despite claims to the contrary the council is not considering building on sports pitches at Hickings Lane Rec in Stapleford. These rumours flared up some months ago and I reported the correct situation then, but the rumours seem to have circulated again this week. What the council is considering is building some flats close to the sports itches. This is quite deliberate. At the moment Hickings Lane Rec is targeted with depressing regularity by vandals who have torn up trees and damaged the pavilion. Building homes near the park so that it will be overlooked may well help to prevent this happening. I’m disappointed that some people seem to be ignoring that and spreading rumours that just are not true.

9.       Yes Tree Community Café

A new community café has opened at Yew Tree Court running from now until 30^th July. The café will be open every Wednesday from 10am and noon, offering a range of refreshments. It is run by residents of Yew Tree Court, a retirement complex run by the borough council. As it is not a commercial venture residents are being invited to pay according to how satisfied they are.

10.   Business In The Community

The charity Business in the Community, which aims to support local communities, has announced that Beeston will be receiving significant support. The charity aims to increase the number of shoppers, reduce the number of empty shops and create 3,000 new jobs over the next three years. Beeston is actually still attracting a significant number of shoppers, despite all the tram and building work going on, with a record 105,000 people visiting in one week last month. However the scale of work does present considerable challenges and this extra support is very welcome.

11.   Great Beeston Bake Off

The Great Beeston Bake Off will take place at Round Hill School on Saturday 28^th June. The competition is free to enter but contestants can make a donation to Oxfam. The deadline for entries is 8pm on Friday 27^th June. Further information can be obtained by ringing 07711 615096.

12.   Mayors Garden Party

The Mayor will host a Garden Party on Saturday 19th July from 4.00pm until 9.00pm at his home in Bramcote in aid of the Mayors charities. Tickets cost £12.50 to include a BBQ and live music from the fabulous Don Morrell’s Gin Mill Syncopators. Please bring a picnic chair on the day. Tickets are available from the Civic Office on 0115 917 3701 or email civic@broxtowe.gov.uk.

13.   Archaeological Dig in Toton

There is an archaeological investigation beginning next Monday. It will be in Manor Park Recreation Ground Toton. It follows geophysical and topographical surveys of the area. In the excavation and Test pits the archaeologists and volunteers will be looking for dating material and wall lines of the old Manor House/s and farm buildings. Phase 2 will last for 3 weeks. This will be followed by Phase 3 which is an excavation in search of dating evidence and lines from the watermill which once stood in Manor Park before being demolished at the beginning of the 20th century, no specific date for this has been discovered yet. There were 2 mills recorded in the Domesday Book and there are short references to a watermill up to 1901.

14.   Residents Parking Schemes

Residents Parking Scheme are being introduced by the County Council on Devonshire Avenue, Glebe Street, Cromwell Road, Elm Avenue, Bramcote Road and Ireton Street in Beeston. New parking bays, yellow lines and signs being installed.  The works started this week and are intended to be finished early next week and the new schemes will come into force shortly afterwards.

15.   Queens Honours

Two Broxtowe residents were honoured by the Queen this week. Congratulations to  Professor David Greenaway, Vice Chancellor of Nottingham University who was given a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours and Marion Wallwork of the Beeston and Civic Society who received the British Empire Medal for her services to Heritage. 

16.   Watnall Post Office

Watnall Post Office will be closed for refurbishment from 23^rd July at 5pm until 3^rd August at 1pm. The new look post office is one of a series within the borough that the post office are modernising and they will then be able to provide a wider range of services than they can currently do.

As ever thank you for your support for this newsletter. Any feedback is gratefully received.

Best wishes

David

www.davidwatts.org.uk

www.broxtoweliberaldemocrats.org.uk

Follow me on Twitter @davidwatts12.

Broxtowe Enews 8th June 2014

Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of the Lib-Dems on Broxtowe Borough Council. May I give a special welcome to the new readers that we have this week.

1.       Newark By Election

As regular readers will know I was the Lib-Dem candidate for the Newark by election. The result was very disappointing but we were probably outspent a thousand times over by the Conservatives. My small team did all that we could be a lot of our supporters voted Conservative to stop UKIP winning. I enjoyed the campaign but I’m looking forward to getting back to normality now.

2.       “Racist” Constituents

The press got very excited this week about comments that our MP made saying that some constituents were racist. Unfortunately this puts the wrong slant on what Anna said. The point that she was making was that when you discuss the facts on immigration with most people their concerns are alleviated. Perhaps Anna’s choice of words wasn’t the best but the point she was trying to make was correct.

3.       Stapleford History Society

The next meeting of the Stapleford and District History Society will be on Wednesday 11^th June at the Maycliffe Hall on Toton Lane, starting at 7.30pm. The subject is Mary Ellen Shaw (1859-1926) and admission is £2.50.

4.       Axe Attack on Attenborough Nature Reserve

I was disgusted to hear yesterday that the visitors centre at Attenborough Nature Reserve could not open when it was meant to as vandals had attacked the bridge to the centre with an axe! The centre is the jewel in the crown of an excellent reserve and for people to act like this is absolutely disgraceful. It can’t even have been an opportunistic attack as someone had to take the axe there in the first place! Thankfully the centre was able to open later in the day.

5.       Bramcote Litter Pick

This is advance notice for Bramcote residents that my fellow Bramcote councillors and I will be organising another community litter pick in the village on 30^th August. More details will be provided in due course.

6.       Speed Skaters

At the British Speed Skating Championships held at the National Ice Centre in Nottingham on 25 and 26 May 2014 Andrew Martin from Bramcote won the Bronze Medal for the aged 14 group and Kyle Ross-Waddell, also from Bramcote, won the Silver Medal for the aged 12 group. Congratulations to them both.

7.       Hemlock Happening

Thank you to everyone who attended this year’s Hemlock Happening and especially to those who took part. I’d like to congratulate my colleague Stan Heptinstall who is in charge of organising this each year and who arranged for the rain to stop just as the event started! Both of my children took part and thoroughly enjoyed the day, as always.

8.       Model makers

A new club has been formed in Chilwell for local model makers. Anyone aged over 35 who is interested in learning more about arts and crafts is invited to join the group which will meet at 56 Longleat Crescent every Wednesday from 7pm to 9pm. The sessions have disabled access. For more details phone Pauline Day on 0115 925 9989.

9.       Chilwell Road

At long last Chilwell Road in Beeston is open to traffic. It has been closed for many months for the tram work, and work will continue for the next few months. However traffic can now travel down the road again.

10.   New Curate

Brinsley and Eastwood Church of England churches have a new curate. Anna Alls has been appointed as curate of St Mary’s Eastwood, St James in Brinsley and also a church in Underwood. Congratulations to her on her new role. She lives in Brinsley.

11.   Eastwood Cemetery Chapel

The council have launched a consultation with local residents about the future of the cemetery chapel in Eastwood which was gutted by fire in April. Local residents are being asked to give their views on a range of options from a complete rebuild to demolition. The survey will close at the end of this month and decisions will be made very quickly afterwards.

12.   Power for Kimberley

Work is now starting on a £5 million scheme to improve power supplies in Kimberley. This includes a new sub-station in Watnall and new cabling and the result should be that there are less power cuts for local residents.

13.   Sunnyside Post Office

Sunnyside Post Office in Beeston has now closed for a refurbishment. It will reopen on 13^th June at 1pm and when reopened will then have longer opening hours, from 6am to 9pm. These longer opening hours are certainly to be welcomed.

14.   Grass Verges

A number of people have contacted me about the fact that once again this year the grass verges do not appear to have been cut as they should have been. I have made enquiries about this with the council and will report back next week. I apologise that I haven’t responded to the various comments about this in individual emails but due to the Newark by election I have been pretty busy over the last few days.

As ever thank you for your support for this newsletter. Any feedback is gratefully received.

Best wishes

David

www.davidwatts.org.uk

www.broxtoweliberaldemocrats.org.uk

Follow me on Twitter @davidwatts12.

Broxtowe Enews 1st June 2014

Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of the Lib-Dems on Broxtowe Borough Council. May I give a special welcome to the new readers that we have this week.

1. Hemlock Happening
Next Saturday, from 1pm to 10.30pm, is the Hemlock Happening. This is now by far the largest free event in the borough and is one of the most widely anticipated events of the year. The event will be opened by my colleague Stan Heptinstall, the Mayor of Broxtowe, and hundreds of local people will be taking part. The full programme of events is available at http://www.hemlockhappening.org/.

2. Car accident
Followers of the ITV News may well have heard that I was involved in a car accident this week. Unfortunately someone ran straight into the back of my car whilst I was sat in a line of traffic. Such a low speed shunt wouldn’t normally make the news but as I am currently a candidate in the Newark by election the TV mentioned it. I did get a rather tongue in cheek email from the Labour Party when they heard suggesting that I take a few days off to recover.

3. Beeston Technology Park
Developers have now submitted a formal application to develop the Technology Drive Business Park and Trent Vale Sports Ground in Beeston.  Full details of the plans are available on Broxtowe Borough Council's website. The development includes 285 houses, new sports facilities, a health centre and a new car park for Beeston Station.  The consultation ends on 6th June. I’m told by the officers that we have had comments so far from people saying that there are too many houses and others saying that there are not enough. The council will decide on this in due course.

4. Bramcote CAT
The next Bramcote Community Action Team meeting, which will be chaired by my colleague Ian Tyler, takes place tomorrow at Bramcote Memorial Hall, starting at 7pm. All Bramcote residents are welcome to attend.

5. Garden Trails
The Beeston and Chilwell Garden Trail is an opportunity for residents to enjoy a range of beautiful gardens in Beeston and Chilwell. Owners will be on hand during the afternoon to share tips and answer questions and there will be a range of activities available. Tickets cost £3.50 and are valid for Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th June from 1 to 5pm. Children can visit for free.  Also on Sunday 8th June from 1 to 5pm is the Cossall Open Gardens afternoon. There are 15 gardens on display. Tickets cost £3.

6. Tram Works
Chilwell Road will hopefully be open again soon but the deadline by which this was meant to have happened has been and gone. Many properties will have to have changes to their rubbish collections as a result of the tram and the council have organised a number of meetings for residents to discuss the options available. On June 3rd at 6.30pm at Humber Lodge there is a meeting for Lower Road residents, on June 5th at 6.30pm in the New Council Chamber at Beeston Town Hall for residents of Styring Street Flats, Chilwell Road and High Road and then on 10th June at 6.30pm at Humber Lodge for Fletcher Road and Middle Street residents. If you are affected you are very welcome to attend.

7. Ambulance Crews
I have reported on a number of occasions that the East Midlands Ambulance Service have struggled to hit their performance targets over the last few years. However a report that I read last week may give some insight as to why. The number of prosecutions for assaults on ambulance staff has doubled over the past three years, which is an appalling figure. Let’s be clear, assaults on ambulance staff are completely unacceptable under any circumstances, and my sympathies go out to all the affected staff.

8. Broxtowe Jobs Fair
A Jobs Fair organised jointly between the Nottingham Post and County Council will be held at the Pearson Centre in Beeston on 1st July from 10am to 3pm. Everyone is welcome to attend and no appointments are needed. The number of jobless people in the county continues to fall as we recover from the recession but there are still more than 12,000 people out of work so this initiative is welcomed.

9. Speeding Drivers
The police in Beeston have launched a campaign to tackle speeding motorists. This is in response to requests from local residents and the success of the scheme will be reviewed at a public meeting on 29th July at Beeston Town Hall, starting at 7pm.

10. Notts TV
Just in case anyone hasn’t seen all the adverts Nottinghamshire now has its own TV channel. Notts TV is available on Channel 8 on Freeview.

11. Child Arrests
It was interesting to see that there has been a 60% drop in the number of young people under the age of 18 being arrested over the past five years in Notts. In 2008 there were 7,008 young people arrested and by 2013 that number had fallen to 2,189. This is one of a number of statistics which have been published which suggest that crime really has fallen over the past few years.

12. Library Events
Beeston Library are running a couple of new events this week. On Tuesday they are inviting book lovers to discuss their favourite books between 7 and 8pm. The cost of this session is £1. Following this on Wednesday there is an introductory session for people interested in astronomy. Details of either event can be obtained by ringing 0115 925 5168.

13. Debt Advice
The charity Christians Against Poverty have expanded their services to include advice for residents in Beeston and Chilwell. The charity aims to provide debt advice to local residents. You can book an appointment with them by ringing 0800 328 0006.

14. Euro Elections
I’ll conclude with a quick comment about the Euro elections. Clearly they were very disappointing for us but we will bounce back. It is worth remembering that 90% of people in this country did not vote for UKIP, and the biggest winners were the “did not vote party.” I am proud that we stuck to our principles about being in favour of Europe, and I look forward to next year’s elections.

As ever thank you for your support for this newsletter. Any feedback is gratefully received.

Best wishes

David
www.davidwatts.org.uk
www.broxtoweliberaldemocrats.org.uk
Follow me on Twitter @davidwatts12.

Broxtowe Enews 18th May 2014

Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of the Lib-Dems on Broxtowe Borough Council. May I give a special welcome to the new readers that we have this week.

1.       Tram Works

It appears that the seemingly never ending tram works in Beeston are getting to an end. The plan now is that Chilwell Road up to the bed shop will open on May 26, from the bed shop to the Hop Pole will open by June 30 and the whole of Chilwell Road should be open by August 4th. The County Council have now also agreed that all businesses who have been affected financially by the scheme in Beeston should be eligible for compensation, following a campaign run by both Liberal Democrat and Conservative Councillors. This is good news, but there is still no compensation for residents who have been affected.

2.       Eastwood Dogs Fun Day

The DH Lawrence Heritage Centre on Mansfield Road will be holding a fun day for dog owners on 29^th June. There will be dog training classes and dog showing. Entry is free but there is a charge of £1.50 for every class attended.

3.       Cabinet Reshuffle

Broxtowe’s cabinet has been reshuffled and new portfolio’s allocated. I have accepted a request to take over responsibility for the council’s finance portfolio, and so for the first time in nearly a dozen years I will not be carrying responsibility for planning in one form or another.

4.       Euro Elections

This Thursday is election day for the European Parliament. The polls are open from 7am to 10pm. One of our candidates, Issan Ghazni, managed to break his leg in two places today whilst out canvassing, so I’d like to wish him a very speedy recovery. Despite the proximity of the date I am still to hear anything from either the Labour or Conservative Parties about how they really stand on Europe. The Liberal Democrats are unashamedly the party of in. If you believe that Britain is better off in Europe then I would ask you to use your vote on Thursday and vote Liberal Democrat. If you believe that we should withdraw from Europe, despite the loss of jobs and opportunity that would follow from such an approach, then please vote UKIP. A vote for us or for UKIP makes it clear where people stand. Anything else is an ambiguous vote.

5.       Unemployment Down

Unemployment in Nottinghamshire is continuing to fall. The latest figures show that 600 fewer people were claiming out of work benefits in April than they were in March. In total 2.5% of those ages between 16 and 65 are out of work compared to 3.3% this time last year. This has been a really difficult recession but all the figures now show that we are through the worst and things will continue to get better. However part of what the Government must do is ensure that this time our economic performance is based on a wider platform of the economy as a whole and not solely on financial services, which is what caused such a deep recession in the first place.

6.       Mondays at Pastures

On Monday 19 May there will be an After School Club for children aged 4-11 years old from 3:30 till 5pm at The Pastures Community Centre, Stapleford, NG9 8GQ.

7.       Attenborough Friendship Group - Coach Trip

Attenborough Friendship Group are planning a coach trip to Finden Garden Centre, from 1pm till 6pm on Wednesday 21 May. The cost is £5.  Please call Shirley Porter on 0115 922 1183 to book a place.

8.       Beauvale Priory - Beer Festival

The 3^rd Annual Beauvale Priory Beer Festival will take place from Friday 23 May - Monday 26 May between 12pm and 1am. At the festival there will be a range of real ales, ciders, larger and wine for sale.  The festival is free to enter (the beer isn’t) and there is free car parking on site, but please do not drink and drive.

9.       Beeston Shopmobility - Open day

Just a quick reminder that the Beeston Shopmobility open day takes place next Saturday, 24^th May, at 10 Devonshire Avenue, Beeston, NG9 1BS. Everyone is welcome to attend.

10.   Greasley Gathering

The Greasley Gathering 2014 takes place on Bank Holiday Monday 26^th May between 10am and 3pm. The centre of activities will be at Greasley Community and Sports Centre with other fun filled activities throughout the parish. The theme of this years event is transport and there will be an opportunity to tour the whole area in a Red London Bus; see birds of prey, music bands, have a bite to eat or even have a  go on a zip wire. 

11.   Labour Leaflet

I had to had a bit of a smile about a leaflet Labour have been putting out in Broxtowe over the last few days proclaiming the successes of Labour run Broxtowe Borough Council. The only problem is that Broxtowe Borough Council hasn’t been Labour run for eleven years! Talk about behind the times!

12.   County Council to Privatise Activities?

This isn’t definite yet but in an interview this week the leader of the Labour run County Council, Alan Rhodes, seemed to hint that a number of council services including highways, children and adults social care, could all be privatised. I am not opposed to work being done by private firms if it can be shown that they can provide the same level of service more efficiently, but I strongly feel that recent experiences across the country show who social care should not be left to the private sector and I feel that this would be a very short sighted move if Labour push ahead with it.

13.   New Football Pitch

The derelict skate park at Chilwell Olympia Sports Centre is to be redeveloped as an extra all weather football pitch. The park has not been used for a number of years yet there is a strong demand for football pitches, so hopefully a number of teams will benefit from this.

As ever thank you for your support for this newsletter. Any feedback is gratefully received.

Best wishes

David

www.davidwatts.org.uk

www.broxtoweliberaldemocrats.org.uk

Follow me on Twitter @davidwatts12.

Broxtowe Enews 11th May 2014

Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of the Lib-Dems on Broxtowe Borough Council. May I give a special welcome to the new readers that we have this week. I’m delighted to say that I am writing this sat in my own living room. Regular readers may recall that last November my house flooded but yesterday, just four days less than six months after the flood, we were able to move back home.

1.       Beeston and Chilwell Garden Trail

The Beeston and Chilwell Garden Trail 2014 will be taking place on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th June from 1.00p.m. to 5.00 p.m. on both days. 14 gardens will be open, including some new ones. Tickets cost £3.50 per person which covers both days and children are free. All proceeds go to charity. Tickets can be purchased in any of the gardens. Flyers are available in local venues and full details can be found on the website  www.beestonandchilwellgardentrail.org.uk. 

2.       Hope Into Action

Hope into Action is a national charity for the homeless which is opening a home in Beeston. A three bedroomed house has been purchased to help people get off the streets and back into more normal society. This has been funded by the incredible generosity of twelve local church goers who have each donated £10,000 to fund the purchase. They deserve to be warmly thanked for their actions.

3.       Tram Petition

Our MP, Anna Soubry, organised a petition calling on the County Council to provide aid for shops hit by the tram works. This was supported by Liberal Democrat and Conservative County Councillors. The petition has been signed by over 3,000 local residents and will be presented to the County Council at a meeting on Thursday.

4.       Promotional  Video’s

Broxtowe Borough Council have been working with media students from Nottingham Trent University to produce a series of promotional video’s. Three have been produced, covering glass recycling, the Helpful Bureaux in Stapleford and responsible dog ownership. These can be seen at www.youtube.com/broxtowebc

5.       Nuthall War Memorial

Broxtowe Borough Council have agreed to provide a grant to Nuthall Parish Council to help create Nuthall’s first outdoor war memorial. However the Parish Council are still appealing for more funds to complete the project. If you would like to help please contact the parish clerk, Sue Stack, on 0115 951 5717.

6.       Stapleford Community Safety Event

There will be an event at Hickings Lane Recreation Ground on Wednesday 28^th May from 2pm to 4pm where residents can raise issues with the police, fire brigade and local councillors. Free cycle servicing and bike security measures are also available. For more information ring the borough council on 917 3625.

7.       Speeding Motorists

New figures released this week showed that last year 73.946 people were caught speeding in Nottinghamshire, which works out at more than 150 people a day. This is the figure for people caught by speed camera’s, and so on top of this there will be those who were caught by police officers as well.

8.       Ambulance Service Staff

Over the last few months I have highlighted a number of problems which have been reported about East Midlands Ambulance Service. Now figures have been released which show that the number of EMAS staff off sick with stress has trebled over the past five years, so that last year there were 217 incidents which led to a total of 48,156 working days being lost to stress. Low morale amongst the staff is being blamed for the figures.

9.       Dog micro-chipping

Broxtowe pet owners will be able to get their dogs microchipped free of charge at Coronation Park in Eastwood on Thursday 29^th May from 9.30 until 11.30 a.m. No booking is necessary and owners are able to simply turn up.

10.   Beeston Bus Station

A disagreement has broken out between the borough and county council’s over the future of Beeston bus station. A new transport exchange is being built as part of the tram works, and officers of the borough council want to close the old bus station when the new one opens so that we can get on with developing the area as a new shopping centre, but the County Council want to keep the old bus station open for some time to ensure that there are no teething troubles with the new interchange first. A decision will be taken by the borough council’s cabinet on Tuesday.

11.   Good Neighbour

Congratulations to Kimberley resident Jeff Buck for winning the Nottingham Post good neighbour award for this year. Jeff is the motivational force behind Rumbletums in Kimberley, as well as the local branch of the Nottingham Credit Union and his award is richly deserved.

12.   WEA

Following on from the last item, the Kimberley branch of the WEA is re-launching at an event at Rumbletums on Wednesday 18th June (7.30pm). This will be an illustrated talk on the recent history of Kimberley by Roy Plumb, Kimberley resident and local historian. The event takes place during national Adult Learners' Week and will herald the start of a new push to promote and facilitate adult learning in Kimberley and the surrounding area through WEA courses.

13.   Eastwood Housing Application

A planning application has been submitted to the borough council to demolish part of the Great Northern Road Industrial estate in Eastwood and replace it with housing. This would include a number of low cost and starter homes. The council will decide on this in due course.

14.   Newark

You may be aware that I have been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Newark by election. I’m deeply humbled to have been granted this honour by the party and I’m looking forward to an interesting campaign. For the next four weeks I’ll be combining campaigning in Newark with my role as a local councillor for Bramcote.

As ever thank you for your support for this newsletter. Any feedback is gratefully received.

Best wishes

David

www.davidwatts.org.uk

www.broxtoweliberaldemocrats.org.uk

Follow me on Twitter @davidwatts12.

Broxtowe Enews 4th May 2014

Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of the Lib-Dems on Broxtowe Borough Council. May I give a special welcome to the new readers that we have this week. I hope that everyone had a good Easter. I took a slightly longer break from the newsletter than I had originally intended, simply because I had so much work on last week that I couldn’t get an edition prepared. We’re back to normal now though.

1.       New Cycling Centre

A new cycling centre has opened in Beeston, run by Travel Rght. Based at the Hetley Pearson Recreation Ground the centre will be offering free cycle hire, lessons and group rides. More details can be found at www.travelright.org.uk/broxtowe.

2.       Attenborough Nature Reserve

To bring the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Nottinghamshire wildlife trust to a close there will be a series of activities at Attenborough nature reserve next weekend. The programme includes on Friday 9th May the Big 50 2013 Talk from 6pm - 7pm, an Evening Bird Walk from 7pm - 9pm (cost £2), Moth trapping from 9pm - 11pm (cost £2), a Bat Walk from 8pm - 11pm (cost £5 with limited places remaining). On Saturday 10th May - Free walks and talks including Pond dipping from 10-4, (just come along), a Plant ID walk from 9am - 11am, a Ladybird Walk from 10am - 12noon and 1pm - 3pm, Slugs & Snails from 11am - 1pm, a Family wildlife walk from 12noon - 2pm, a Butterfly Walk from 2pm - 4pm, Hoverflies, Bees and Wasps from 3pm - 5pm and Aquatic Plants from 4pm - 6pm. Please book in advance for these. Finally on Sunday 11th May there is a Family Fun Day. There is no need to book for this, just come along from 10.30am and join in the fun - Plant stall, bird ID, help in the hides and drop in craft activities with a wildlife theme.

3.       Beeston Civic Society Open Meeting

On Friday 9th  May Beeston Civic Society have organised a meeting entitled “A New Deal for Beeston Continuum.” This follows on from a meeting in January to decide on what Beeston's needs are following the arrival of The Tram. Beestonia editor Matt Goold will be chairing the meeting at John Clifford School, Nether Street, Beeston, NG9 2AT at 7.30.p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend.

4.      Freedom of Entry Parade

On Saturday 17 May, members of 170 (Infrastructure Support) Engineer Group will exercise their Freedom of Entry to march through Kimberley. The serving soldiers will be joined by veterans from the Royal Engineers Association and the Nottinghamshire Band of the Royal Engineers (Volunteers).  The Parade will march through Kimberley Town Centre, starting at 11.00 am. Following the Parade, a 30 minute outdoor Drum Head Service will be held in Hall Om Wong Park.

5.       Beeston Shopmobility

 Beeston Shopmobility has been in operation for 14 years, and is now based at Cavendish Lodge, Devonshire Avenue, telephone number 0115 9173077.  They operate with a team of volunteers, Mondays to Saturdays 52 weeks a year, opening times 10.30 am to 3.00 pm.  It is a local charity managed and manned by unpaid volunteers, with a fleet of mobility scooters and wheelchairs for hire to people with mobility problems to use in Beeston town centre, typically for a couple of hours. It also allows its members to hire out for longer periods i.e. for holidays or if a disabled relative is visiting.  On Saturday 24th May Beeston Shopmobility will have an Open Day when its premises will be officially opened by the Mayor of Broxtowe, all are welcome to have a go on a mobility scooter and meet our volunteers

6.       HMS Sherwood

The Royal Naval Reserves have a new one million pound home in Toton. HMS Sherwood’s new building was officially opened by HRH Prince Michael of Kent. Prince Michael also hosted a reception at County Hall to thank local employers who hire and support Reserves and to encourage more employers to recruit Reservists.

7.       Bramcote Old Church Tower AGM

On Thursday 8 May Bramcote Old Church Tower AGM  will take place at St Michael's Church, Bramcote, starting at 7.30pm. All are welcome to attend. Following this on Saturday Bramcote Old Church Tower  Dance Night  takes place at the Memorial Hall, Bramcote, starting at 7:30pm. Tickets are £10 and all proceeds raised will go to the restoration of the Tower.

8.       Sunnyside Road Post Office, Beeston

The Royal Mail are considering upgrading the Sunnyside Road Post Office to one of their new “local” branches. They are asking for customers opinions first. To have a say go to www.postofficeviews.co.uk and enter the branch code 33022799.

9.       New Mayor

This coming Wednesday the annual council meeting will be held at the Town Hall in Beestoin where my colleague Stan Heptinstall will be installed as the new mayor of the borough. I am delighted that Stan is being given this honour, which recognises his long term work for and commitment to the residents of Broxtowe. I doubt that there has ever been a more popular mayor.

10.   Boundary Review

The Boundary Commission has now published its recommendations for new ward boundaries in Broxtowe. There are some minor changes to boundaries in Beeston between Beeston West, Beeston Rylands and Beeston Central, but the biggest proposed changes are that Trowell, Cossall and Awsworth are to be merged to create one new ward with two councillors and Attenborough is to be merged with Chilwell East to create a new three councillor ward. Full details of the proposals and how to make comments are at http://www.lgbce.org.uk/current-reviews/east-midlands/nottinghamshire/broxtowe-fer.

11.   Nottingham Credit Union, Kimberley

Nottingham Credit Union Access and Information point in Kimberley is now open every Wednesday morning from 10.00am to 12.00 (it was previously open on a Tuesday).  People can come along to Rumbletums Cafe on Victoria Street to find out about all the products and services available through the credit union (including current accounts, savings accounts and loans) and can join the credit union there too. No appointment is necessary; just come along. If people want to join the credit union though, they need to bring two proofs of identity, one of which confirms their address and £4 in the form of cash or a cheque (a £3 membership fee and minimum £1 deposit to open an account). More details are available at http://www.nottinghamcu.co.uk/

12.   Bramcote Blues Football Club

Bramcote Blues have sent the following message:  “We are currently moving forward with the under 11 team in to next seasons nine a side league, but at present we only have 7 players and need to get another four players to make a good team.  If anyone in the community would like their son to play football and join the team, they would be very welcome.  The age restriction is they need need to be 11 during the term starting September 2014 (or starting Year 6 in school). We train on a Wednesday at the moment on the Bramcote Playing Fields (next to the Leisure Centre) between 5.30 – 6.45 and then play in the Young Elizabethan League on a Saturday from Sept to May.  We are a friendly club and would like to maintain a local club in the Bramcote, Stapleford, Beeston area and within the Nottingham League that plays against teams of the same age around Nottingham.  If we are unable to find any additional players, then we will probably have to close, which means that our currently committed team of 7 players will be without a team.  So we are keen to maintain the team in Bramcote. Contact: Alastair Luff on 0115 9258029 or email. Alastair.luff@ntlworld.com.”

13.   Disruption in Beeston

Residents shopping in Beeston on Friday lunchtimemay have encountered significant disruption. Unfortunately a suspected unexploded bomb was uncovered by the tram works in Middle Street. Nottinghamshire police said that the device was thought to be from pre-the Second World War and was not live, although obviously this wasn’t known at the time.

14.   Record Breakers

290 pupils from Chetwynd primary school in Toton are now world record holders. They took part in the world’s largest ever three legged race, running 200 metres at a track at the Chetwynd garrison. The event was organised to raise money for the soldiers charity ‘Walking with the Wounded.’

15.   New Industrial Buildings

Plans have been submitted to the Borough Council for a new industrial site in Stapleford. The application is to build two large buildings and a storage building on Bessell Lane. This will be determined by the Borough Council in due course.

As ever thank you for your support for this newsletter. Any feedback is gratefully received.

Best wishes

David

www.davidwatts.org.uk

www.broxtoweliberaldemocrats.org.uk

Follow me on Twitter @davidwatts12.