Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Selected

Broxtowe Liberal Democrats have selected Cllr David Watts as their parliamentary candidate for the next general election. Cllr Watts, a lecturer in law and management, was the candidate for the Lib-Dems in the 2001 and 2005 general elections, and has been one of the strategists behind the rise of the Lib-Dems locally.

Speaking to party members at the selection meeting Cllr Watts said:
"This is a time of unprecedented opportunity for us. People are disillusioned with politics in general and the Labour Party in particular. Broxtowe residents have shown that they want to vote Lib-Dem locally, and we now have to give them positive reasons to vote Lib-Dem in the general election as well.

Council tax increase just 9p per week

Broxtowe Borough Council has tonight agreed the budget for the next year, the first by the new Lib-Dem led administration. The average council tax rise will be just 9p per week. Councillors in the debate pointed out that even this increase would have been less were it not for the Government taking money from Broxtowe and similar councils to keep council tax rises down in the southern shire councils.

EU Referendum Vote

We were very disappointed to see that our local Labour MP was one of many who voted against allowing the people of Britain to have a vote on whether or not the UK should remain part of the European Union. We believe that being in Europe is the best for Britain, and we would like the opportunity for the people of Britain to affirm this. Sadly Labour have denied them this.

Green Belt Threat - The Facts

Cllr Michael Rich, the leader of Broxtowe Borough Council, has today issued the following statement following media reports of plans to build in the green belt in Broxtowe:

"There has been much coverage in the local press about greenbelt sites and I am grateful for the opportunity to try to explain what is happening.

The RSS Panel report by Professor Crow, first reported in the press well before Christmas, was clear in stating that the greenbelt area to the west of Nottingham serves a useful purpose and should be protected. As Broxtowe Borough Council Leader I have written to the Government Office for the East Midlands to reinforce this and I will continue to lobby for the retention of all greenbelt sites in the borough.

The response to the Panel report, probably in April/May, will be in the form of an allocation of a number of dwellings in Nottinghamshire and a couple of adjoining districts, with the figure possibly broken down by district.

Arrangments are in hand to set up a committee of senior members of the authorities concerned, to take a first look at the figures when they become available, with comments going back to government if it is felt there are errors or misunderstandings in the calculations. When some kind of concensus has been reached, there will be consultation on where this housing could be located and the councils are required to make this as open and transparent as possible. Finally I expect there to be a public enquiry under a government inspector.

In anticipation of this housing allocation, planning officers of the authorities concerned agreed jointly to undertake a new factual survey of all available sites in South Nottinghamshire. A tender document was raised, see www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/cdplanningsuesbrief2.pdf, in order to recruit a firm of consultants to carry out the work, paid for by a government grant. When their report is complete, local councils will have the information to make an assessment of the housing figure demanded of the area by the Government.

Authorites are in any case required by government planning guidelines to have gone through this process, before any proposals can be put forward for public consultation and then consideration by government inspectors.

In the meantime, because of the concern raised by the press reports, many residents have written to local council planning offices, who, at this stage, cannot respond as there are no firm proposals. The MPs for Nottinghamshire have also received numerous letters and emails.
A process is being followed, as required under the planning rules, and until that process is complete, there are no proposals to build houses on any specific greenbelt site, despite the wishes of local land owners. There are still brownfield sites requiring development and as far as I am concerned, these should be our first priority.

Whatever comes out of this process, I and the leading group on Broxtowe are committed to protecting the few remaining greenbelt sites we have on this side of the city."

No to Nursing Home

An application to build a 77 bed nursing home in Beeston was rejected by the Council's Development Control committee last night after Lib-Dem councillors branded the application inappropriate. Local ward councillor Steve Carr and chair of the committee David Watts both spoke about the application, saying that a building of such a size was wholly unsuited to the location, and that the impact on neighbouring proporties on all sides was unacceptable. Following this opposition the plan was rejected unanimously by the committee.

Chewton Street Application Rejected

Plans to build a lage new housing estate next to an old tip in Chewton Street, Eastwood, were rejected last night by Broxtowe's Development Control Committee. Lib-Dem Councillors have been at the forefront of opposition to this scheme, and Cllr Bob Charlesworth chaired a public meeting last week for local residents to express their views. At last nights meeting Cllrs Charlie Robb and David Watts both spoke against the scheme. Cllr Robb referred to the health risks and traffic problems that this new scheme would cause, and Cllr Watts said that if it was allowed this development would become a new slum. "No-one would choose to live there, so these houses would go to those who could not afford to live anywhere else," sd Cllr Watts.

Following the opposition from the Lib-Dems the plans were rejected unanimously by the committee.