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.

Broxtowe Enews 30th March 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. When I started writing this week’s edition I didn’t think that there was much to report on but as you will see below I was wrong. I’m also very conscious that a number of people are still waiting for replies to emails this week and I will try and deal with these as soon as possible.

1.       Moorgreen Show

The only place that I could start this week is with the news that Moorgreen Show has been scrapped. This has been one of the main social events in the north of the borough for many years, but the organisers say that the number of visitors have been down for the past few years. The borough council have been the principal sponsors of the show for many years and this is extremely disappointing news. My personal view is that some aspects of the organisation and management of the show have left a lot to be desired in recent years.  I read some comments by the organisers this week saying that people were no longer interested in farming or rural life, but I really don’t believe that this is the case.  The council will be exploring every possible avenue to see if the show can be rescued.

2.       Poppy Planting

To commemorate the 100^th anniversary of World War One the borough council will be planting new poppy beds around the Edward Road and Mansfield Road war memorials in Eastwood. The mayor of the borough will also be planting poppies at Mansfield Road Memorial Garden, Eastwood  , Cookies Pond in Stapleford and Hetley Pearson recreation ground in Beeston tomorrow as well. A total area of 290 square metres will be cultivated and planted with wild poppy across the borough.

3.       Warrant Officer Alan Hamilton

I’d like to offer my congratulations to Warrant Officer Hamilton from the Royal Engineers, based at Chilwell Garrison, who has been awarded an MBE. This was to recognise his skills in designing anti-vehicle ditches in Afghanistan to protect against suicide bombers.

4.       County Highways

I’ve been a frequent critic of the highways department at the county council, who have, in my opinion, failed to provide the level of service to local residents that we have a right to expect. This week the County Council, as part of its cuts agenda, have reduced the staff there by 121 posts. Unfortunately this is likely to mean that the service we get from them gets even worse.

5.       Royal Mail Cuts

The Royal Mail announced this week that they are cutting about 1,000 jobs. They have said however that this is unlikely to affect the numbers employed locally at the Padge Road sorting office in Beeston as the cuts are likely to be head office based.

6.       Teachers Strike

One school in Broxtowe, Beeston Fields Primary School in Beeston, was completely shut as a result of last weeks strike by the NUT. Four other schools were partially closed,  Albany infants in Stapleford, Bramcote Hills Primary in Bramcote, Eastwood School and Chilwell School. I’m afraid that I think that the teachers who took this action were completely misguided in doing so, and they have caused significant inconvenience to parents as well as damage to children’s education. I hope that this action will not be repeated.

7.       Joan Moodie

Former Broxtowe Mayor Joan Moodie passed away last week. She was very well known and highly respected in Broxtowe and I’d like to extend my sympathies to her family and friends. Her funeral will take place on Tuesday.

8.       Ian Campbell

Further sad news this week was that former Kimberley Town Councillor Ian Campbell, who worked as a tribute singer under the name of Frankie Martin, passed away at the age of 53. Again I’d like to extend my sympathies to his family and friends.  Mr Campbell raised significant amounts of money for Help For Heroes, the charity that supports ex-servicemen and women.

9.       Jaguar Pub

Work has now started demolishing the old Jaguar Pub in Stapleford. This closed last year and the site is being redeveloped as three shops. The original design submitted for the shops was extremely poor but the council worked with the developers and the scheme that was eventually approved looks far better.

10.   Charity Ball

On Saturday 5^th April Ruby Charity Ball the Mayor of Broxtowe, Councillor Iris White, holds her Charity Ball in aid of Treetops Hospice and the Helpful Bureau at the Belfry Hotel, Nottingham, from 7pm.   Tickets cost £32 and can be obtained from the Civic Office on 0115 917 3210.

11.   Beeston & District Civic Society Open Meeting

On Friday 11^th April at 7.30pm The Beeston and District Civic Society are holding an open meeting at The Community Room, John Clifford School, Nether Street, Beeston, NG9 2AT. Mark Chivers will give a talk on 'Boots Enterprise Zone'.  It is free for members, £2 for guests on the door.  Refreshments  will be available.  

12.   Bramcote Old Church Tower Quiz Night

On Saturday 12 April there will be a quiz night in aid of Bramcote Old Church Tower starting at 7.30pm at Bramcote Memorial Hall. The cost is £10 per person, which includes a jacket potato with filling, tea and coffee (bring your own beer or wine).  For tickets please call 0115 922 6782.

13.   DH Lawrence Love of Trains

The speaker at the next D.H. Lawrence Society meeting, to be held in the D.H. Lawrence Heritage Centre, Durban House, on Wednesday, April 9, at 7pm, will be Helen Baron, from Hull, who will be giving a talk entitled “DH Lawrence and His Love of Trains.”. One of Helen’s many distinctions is that she edited Sons and Lovers, and its earlier version, Paul Morel, for the Cambridge University Press.

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 9th March 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. I’ve just got back from a brilliant Liberal Democrat conference where, in a session on engaging with residents, this newsletter was mentioned by the speaker (not me) as being an excellent example of what to do. The success of this newsletter is entirely down to the readers, so thank you all.

1.       Council Tax

Broxtowe Borough Council held their budget meeting this week and I’m delighted to say that for the fourth year in a row council tax is being frozen. There are also no cuts to front line services and no compulsory redundancies. We have achieved this for so long by doing things better. The charge for removing garden waste was approved as part of this. I have made it clear in the past that I didn’t agree with this but on reflection I think I was wrong to oppose it. The alternative was to cut services and this was the lesser of two evils.

Whilst talking about this may I digress briefly to talk about partnership working. The Lib-Dem and Labour Parties have worked together in Broxtowe for twelve years. There is much about the Labour Party and much about their approach that I really don’t like, and I’m sure that they would say the same about the Lib-Dems. However for the sake of local people we put our differences aside and try and get the best deal for Broxtowe that we can. Sometimes we get what we want and sometimes Labour get what they want. People seem quite comfortable with this, but there was still a protestor outside the conference today shouting that we were Tories in disguise because we are in coalition with them nationally. Presumably by his logic I’m also a socialist because I work with Labour locally, The truth of course is that I’m neither. As a Liberal I’m a pragmatist and will work with whoever is necessary to get things done.

2.       Tram Compensation

Nottingham City Council have agreed to increase the amount of funding available for small traders in Beeston suffering from a loss of trade because of the tram works.  This is good news and everyone connected with it deserves to be congratulated. However there is still nothing to compensate residents who are affected by the problems.

3.       New Business

I was delighted to hear this year that printer manufacturers Lexmark are moving to new offices in Chilwell. They are a major blue chip company and it is fantastic that they are coming to Broxtowe. I look forward to working with them in the future.

4.       New Gym

At the other end of the scale for new businesses a new community gym has opened on Seven Oaks Crescent in Bramcote. Changes Gym is now open and is a ladies only gym. New members are welcome. Details are available on 07429 143143.

5.       New Bench

A bench in honour of Alderman Tom Martin was unveiled last weekend in front of Stapleford Library. Tom served for many years on both Broxtowe BC and Stapleford Town Council and was also mayor of both.  He also had a distinguished period of service in the army during the war. Tom passed away a couple of years ago, but the bench will help preserve the memory of his contribution to the town.

6.       Have Your Say on the NHS

Residents are invited to have their say on issues about the NHS in a couple of meetings later this month. The Clinical Commissioning Group (the medical consortium that runs the NHS locally) are holding public meetings at St Helen’s Church Hall, Frederick Road, Stapleford on 18^th March at 6pm and then at Rumbletums on Victoria Road Kimberley on 20^th March at 12.30pm. Any local residents are welcome to attend.

7.       Nottingham Post Local Heroes

Talking of Rumbletums their organiser, Jeff Buck, has been nominated for the Nottingham Post Good Neighbour of the Year award. Jeff had led Rumbletums since it was set up and has been the driving force behind many of the activities that have taken place there. I’ve never met Jeff but have swapped emails with him on numerous occasions and I’m delighted that he’s been nominated.

8.       Broxtowe CCTV

The police and the borough council are currently running a public consultation about the location and number of CCTV camera’s in Broxtowe. The consultation can be found on the council’s website at www.broxtowe.gov.uk

9.       Grass Cutting

After the appalling mess that the County Council made of cutting the grass verges in Broxtowe last year I’m delighted to say that the work will pass back to the borough council for this year. Thank you to everyone who helped our campaign regarding this, which has achieved exactly what we hoped for.

10.   County Council Satisfaction

Satisfaction levels about the County Council have dropped significantly this year. Less than 60% of residents in the County are now happy about the level of service that the council provides. This is a 5% fall compared to last year, and contrast sharply with the satisfaction ratings of more than 80% obtained by the borough council.

11.   Toton Housing

Notts County Council have now made their comments to the borough council about the plans for home building in Toton. The County Council have said that these plans are “acceptable.” The County put their views forward but any decisions will be taken by the borough council in due course.

12.   Ilkeston Station

Although the station is in Derbyshire the proposed car park for it is in Broxtowe. We have had real trouble with this over the last few days as the Environment Agency were objecting to planning permission being given. There was an impending deadline by which planning permission had to be granted to ensure that the funding was available, and this was getting extremely close. It took an awful lot of diplomacy and negotiation over the past few days to get this sorted, but planning permission is now all sorted.

13.   European Elections

The European Elections will take place on 22^nd May, when residents in the East Midlands get to select the people who will represent them in the European Parliament. There will be two parties in this elections with clear positions. The Lib-Dems are unashamedly the party of IN and UKIP are equally the party of out. I’d urge everyone to vote in this election and to vote for one of these two parties. That way your intentions will be clear. With the Tories hopelessly divided in Europe and Labour refusing to commit one way or another a vote for them doesn’t tell us anything about the way that people want this country to go. For me I believe that the 3 million jobs that would be lost if we left the EU is a great reason to stay in.

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.

Liberal Democrats – A Stronger Economy and a Fairer Society

Broxtowe Enews 23rd February 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. May I also apologise that many people are still waiting for replies to emails. I’m afraid that I have been so busy that quite a backlog has built up. I will try and address all of these over the next few days.

1. Men in Heels
I mentioned in the newsletter a couple of weeks ago of the “men in heels” initiative in Eastwood to raise money for the Broxtowe women’s project. This took place last weekend and approximately 30 men from Eastwood took part in a sponsored walk whilst wearing high heels. Amongst these was my Council colleague Bob Charlesworth. I’d like to congratulate everybody who was involved, and especially event coordinator Lisa Dann.

2. County Council Aspergers Team
We have heard an awful lot about cuts to the county council’s budget over the last few months, and I have been very critical about some of the cuts proposed. I am therefore delighted to welcome a U-turn by the Council in respect of their team helping people with Asperger’s syndrome. Plans to scrap this have been reversed, and therefore the 200 or so adults in the county who suffer from Asperger’s will continue to get help.

3. Trees Available
in the last couple of additions of this newsletter I have mentioned efforts to plant a significant number of new trees in Broxtowe. The Woodland trust are now making more than half 1 million trees available to community groups, including discounts, brownies, sports clubs and parish councils. I hope that groups within the Borough will be keen to take up this offer. The deadline to apply for free trees is 4 September and details can be found on the Woodland trust website at www.Woodlandtrust.or.uk/freetrees.

4. Happy Towns
A survey of business people in Kimberley, Eastwood and Stapleford has shown that satisfaction levels with the town centres has risen in each of the towns. This is good news and credit needs to go to the borough council’s town centre manager. Satisfaction levels in Beeston has stayed the same at 70%, and given the disruption that there has been over the last few months with the tram works this is itself an extremely good performance. However, as ever, we will be looking for improvements next year. The town centre team have a number of initiatives to improve all of our town centres, and if there are any things that you would like to see please do let me know.

5. Beeston Business Park
The owners of Beeston Business Park have now unveiled their proposals for the redevelopment of the site. They are planning to spend £30 million creating 26 new industrial units, a food store and a new sports club. There will also be some 281 houses on the site. I didn’t get the chance to go to their presentation this week due to work commitments, but most of what they are suggesting looks quite encouraging. I do however have concerns about the food store in particular, and the amount of traffic that it might generate. Station Road in Beeston is the only way in or out of that area and it is already heavily congested, and so we will need to see what the proposals are to address this.

6. Grass Cutting
last year the county council took over responsibility for cutting the grass verges in Broxtowe. This was at their insistence and not something that the Borough Council was happy about. I think everyone would agree that the county made a really bad job of it, and we had dozens, if not hundreds, of complaints. I am pleased to report that the county council have now rethought the position, and responsibility for carrying out the work will pass back to the Borough Council from this year. It will still be funded by the county, that they will pay the Borough Council to do the work.

7. Attenborough Nature Reserve
A new pond dipping platform has been installed at Attenborough Nature Reserve as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations. This replaces a previous platform which had reached the end of its life. The pond dipping platform is an educational facility used by local schoolchildren to learn about the wildlife that lives in the water. It has been extensively road  tested by both of my children who can vouch for the benefits that it brings.

8. Jobless Figures
The latest figures released show that unemployment in Nottinghamshire was significantly lower in January than it was 12 months ago. 13,060 people were claiming benefit in January across he county, equating to 2.6% of those eligible for work. This means that unemployment in Nottinghamshire is lower than the national average (3%) and also lower than the East Midlands average of 2.8%. Whilst this trend is encouraging industrial mean that we have 13,060 people to get into work.

9. Kimberley Brewery
Some concern has been expressed this week about fans to redevelop Kimberley Brewery. English Heritage have described proposals to construct more than 130 houses on the site as ‘incongruous and out of character.’ They are calling for a number of houses on the site to be reduced. One of the problems with that approach is that if we have less houses there then there is more pressure on other places to build. I will be meeting the developers of Kimberley Brewery this week and will discuss their proposals with them.

10. Chilwell Arts Theatre
There are two events taking place at Chilwell Arts Theatre, Chilwell School, Queens Road West, NG9 5AL in the next few days. On Friday 28th February, Paradiso Cinema presents “Rush,” the story of the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula One motor racing season. Made in 2013, the film stars Daniel Bruhl and Chris Hemsworth. The film starts at 7.30pm. Tickets on the door £5 (£4 conc). Following that on Sunday 9th March, the Midnight Cabaret Band presents “From Berlin to Broadway,” an evening of “sophisticated, sexy and subversive” music. The concert starts at 7.30pm. Tickets £8 (£6 conc) from 0115 9252698 or 07772053412 or on the door.

11. Garden Waste
I have received loads of questions from people following the decision of the Borough Council to start charging for collecting garden waste. I’ve been trying to check out the details with the relevant officers, and the situation is this. Anybody who wants to have their garden waste collected separately, so that it can go to recycling, will face a charge of £30 per year. They will have a free ground being provided. People who already have a brown bin will receive a discount for this year. There are no plans to provide discounts for OAPs or the disabled at this point, although that may be looked at in the future. Residents who do not wish to have their garden waste collected separately can place it in their black bin where it will be collected along with the rest of the non-recyclable rubbish. I hope the letters make things clearer for people, but please don’t hesitate to contact me if you still have any questions.

12. Glyn Yeoman
It is with enormous sadness that I heard on Tuesday of the death of my friend and community activist Glyn Yeoman. Glyn was a long-term resident of Bramcote who contributed enormously to all that goes on here. Perhaps his greatest achievement was as Chairman of Governors at the Bramcote Hills Primary School where he helped guide the school to become one of the best schools in this or any area. Glyn was a good, kind and caring man and his wife Gill, his family and indeed all of us will miss him greatly.




13. Commonwealth Day
For the first time ever, local authorities, civic dignitaries, community groups and charities through the British Isles are taking part in local flag raising events and ceremonies of dedication to mark Commonwealth . In Broxtowe there  will be a ceremony in front of the Town Hall, Beeston on Monday 10th March 2014 at 10.00am The Mayor, Councillor Iris White, will raise the Commonwealth flag. Attending this event will be a Polish delegation from MyszkÓw County who are visiting the Borough of Broxtowe to celebrate the signing of a further 5 year Friendship and Co-operation Agreement between the two authorities.

14. Services at Bramcote Park
The salvation army will be holding open air services at Bramcote Park during the summer months this year. Services will start at 3 PM and will take place on 4 May, first of June and third of August. The Salvation Army band will be playing at these events. Everyone is very welcome to attend and participate.

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 16th February 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. Broxtowe Core Strategy
I’m starting again with a regular theme, the council’s core strategy for development over the next 15 years. There was a further hearing about this on Wednesday when residents and other interested parties from Toton were able to have their say. I was extremely surprised to hear Anna Soubry MP attending to say that she supported development at Toton linked to HS2 and that she agreed that this should include some housing, which is a significant change in her position from previously.

2. Road Works
This is an advance notice of road works being carried out at the railway bridge on Stapleford Road in Trowell from 2200 hours on Wednesday 16th April 2014 until 0600 hours on Saturday 19th April 2014 (2200 hours until 0600 hours each night for 3 nights). The road will be completely closed from 10pm to 6am each day.


3. Council Ward Boundaries
As I have mentioned before the Boundary Commission are currently changing the boundaries of wards in Broxtowe to try and make them fairer. The council have now submitted our suggestions, which were to make few changes to the existing layout. However we are suggesting that Eastwood should be split into three wards rather than the current two, and that a small number of houses that have been in Beeston West should now transfer to Beeston Central. The Boundary Commission will make their final decisions by the summer.

4. Eastwood does buttons
Volunteers with local group ‘Communities Against Poverty’ are currently working on a programme of events for 2014.  Two events for February and March have been arranged at the Library Bar – ‘Eastwood does Buttons’.  There will be buttons suitable for knitters, dressmakers and cardmakers, including Christmas and animal themed buttons.  Visitors will be able to buy buttons in jars or on a ‘pick and mix’, ‘fill a bag’ basis.
As well as buttons visitors will be able to:
• see a display of historical buttons by the local branch of the UK Button Society
• take their own buttons along to the event for more information and a valuation by Jenny Swindells of the UK Button Society for a small donation.  Jenny has been collecting and researching buttons for 40 years and is the Button Consultant for Bonhams Auctioneers and several other auction houses
• join a flower making session using fabric, crochet and/or knitting.  Materials are provided and the flowers produced will go on display in Eastwood during the town’s July Arts Festival.
There is no charge for entry to the events which take place at the Library Bar on Scargill Walk (in the Craft Workshops area) from 11 am to 2 pm on Saturday 22 February and at the same time again on Saturday 29 March 2014.   At the March event the group will be selling leather remnants for crafts people. Contact:  Please email Angela on angela.kinton@talktalk.net

5. Talent Development at Work
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce (DNCC) is working with organisations in both counties to develop their staff through a new Talent Development programme. This fully-funded programme is available to organisations that fall into the eligible sector list in the following areas: customer retention and sales growth, information technology, business administration efficiency, business social media and marketing and leadership and management. There are a range of job-specific courses on offer, from Level 2 to Level 4 and there are no fees to pay. If you are interested contact Trudi Davidson at trudi.davidson@dncc.co.uk for further information.

6. Watnall Bunker
As you may have seen on Channel 4 TV this week an old World War Two bunker in Watnall is set to be turned into a bed and breakfast. The bunker on land off Main Road - which used to be an RAF plotting station – was bought two years ago and Broxtowe Borough Council has now given planning permission for it to be converted. It will be interesting to see how the work develops.

7. Truancy
I reported last week that Eastwood School was in the bottom five schools for attendance in Nottinghamshire. I’m very grateful to the chair of the Governors who informs me that the figures released by the County Council were based on figures a year old and that the school have taken significant steps to address the issue, so that attendance this year is up to 94%, a far better figure.

8. Number 14 bus
Nottingham City Transport have announced that they are withdrawing the number 14 bus which serves Beeston and Chilwell and runs into the city centre. The last service will run at the end of March. The route is being withdrawn because NCT say that it losing a significant amount of money.

9. Bramcote Ridge
The Friends of Bramcote Ridge planted 120 new trees on the ridge last week as part of their efforts to restore the area. The new trees were Hawthornes and have been planted near Sandy Lane. Well done to everyone involved.

10. Cator Lane
The County Council have announced that they are bringing forward plans to resurface Cator Lane in Chilwell a year ahead of schedule to try and take advantage of the fact that the road is currently closed because of tram works. The resurfacing will take place between Bramcote Avenue and Greenwood Court. Whilst it seems sensible to try and tie in with the tram work I’ve already been contacted by residents expressing great concern about these proposals and the practical details about how they will work.

11. Water Bills
Severn Trent have announced that average bills for customers will go up by £3 this year. May I make it clear that this is not simply so that they can pay for the damage they caused to my house when they flooded us last year. It does mean that the average bll for combined water and sewarge treatment will be £333 next year.

12. Railway Station Bike Racks
Planning permission has been given to Network Rail to install more bike lockers in the car park of the station. This will mean that there will be storage space for 44 bikes at the station, but it will mean the loss of 2 parking spaces.

13. Potholes
The County Council has launched an appeal for people to report pot holes to them after revealing that one in six of pot holes that they repaired last year was as a direct result of a report from a member of the public. They have a site on their web site at www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk where people can report pot holes. Last year the county repaired 34,400 pot holed of which about 5,500 were reported online by the public.

14. Paul Smith Photographs
An exhibition of photographs taken by fashion designer Sir Paul Smith are on display at the DH Lawrence Heritage Centre in Eastwood from now until the end of March. Photographs from a number of local photographs are also on display. Sir Paul’s father was a long time member of Beeston Photographic Society. Admission is £2.90 per person.

15. Amnesty International
The Beeston branch of Amnesty International are holding a letter writing session on Monday evening. The idea is to write letters to put pressure on governments to prevent human rights abuses. The session takes place at the Commercial Inn from 7.30pm to 9.00pm.

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 9th February 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. A Greener Broxtowe
The borough council have looked at our progress on creating a greener borough at a meeting this week. The headline figures are that we are we are well on our way to our target of planting 100,000 extra trees in the borough, and this should be achieved by the end of 2016. By that point we also hope to have seen a 50% increase in composting levels and a decrease in residual waste, and most importantly a 25% fall in the council’s carbon footprint. By 2020 we hope to be using far more renewable energy than we are at the current time.

2. Feed In Tariffs
Whilst talking about renewable energy may I mention to anyone thinking of installing solar power that the feed in tariffs go down at the end of March, and so it is worth getting panels installed before then if possible. The cut will make a very small difference in the day to day income but over the lifetime of a set of panels this could run into hundreds of pounds.

3. Lane Closure on A610
Notts County Council have announced at a lane will be shut on the A610 Kimberley and Eastwood by pass from 7am on Monday through to 5pm on Friday. This will allow drains and vegetation to be cleared.

4. HS2 Submissions
The Campaign to Protect Rural England has submitted comments to the consultation on HS2 calling for the route to be changed to protect canals from being affected by it. They are concerned that the look of the canals will be affected by flyovers carrying the trains. Strangely enough I suspect that 300 years ago something similar was said about plans to build the canals.

5. Parents and Carers Support Group
A new parents’ and carers’ support group is being set up at Rumbletums in Kimberley. It will be a fairly informal group, the purpose of which will be to offer mutual support to parents and carers of children and young people with learning disabilities and to share information on services, events and activities. The first meeting of the group will take place at Rumbletums on Wednesday 26th February from 9.45am. The plan at the moment is then to meet once a month but how the group develops and how often and when it meets, will be up to those present to decide. Contact details can be found on their web site at http://rumbletumscafe.tel/.

6. Toton Boy Racers
Just a quick follow up on the story last week that I’d contacted the police over the problem of oy racers on Stapleford Lane. I’m informed by the police that they believe the culprits are congregating in one particular location and so they will be targeting that over coming weeks. Hopefully this will bring some respite to residents.

7. Dinner at Chatsworth House with the Deputy Prime Minister
The East Midlands Liberal Democrats are holding a fund raising dinner at Chatsworth House in the near future. The tickets will include a tour of the North Wing of the House and the guest of honour will be the Deputy Prime Minister. Tickets cost £100 each and if you would like to attend please let me know. I think I can take up to four guests. The date will be confirmed to those hoping to attend.

8. Truancy
It was disappointing to read this week that a local school has, according to official figures, one of the worst problems with truancy in the county. The Eastwood School has a 13% truancy rate, making it the third worst performing school. The average rate across the county is 7.1%, which I think is still worryingly high.

9. M1 Speed Cameras
The Highways Agency will be installing speed cameras on the M1 as it goes through Broxtowe, between junctions 25 and 26. These will be pole mounted at the side of the road and similar to those installed at roadworks on the motorway at the moment. They will be used by the police to catch motorists travelling at more than 70mph.

10. CD’s in Libraries
Nottinghamshire County Council have announced that they are to phase the lending of CD’s out of their libraries and sell off their existing stock. Apparently with the growth in digital downloads the demand for CD’s in the libraries has dropped by 97 per cent since 2003. I confess that I much prefer a physical object to a digital download, and so I may well try and find when they are being sold off to see if I can pick up any bargains.

11. Broxtowe Mayor’s Ball
In 2014 Broxtowe Council will mark its 40th Anniversary To celebrate this important occasion, please join us for the Ruby Themed, Mayor's Charity Ball and Civic Night on Saturday 5th April 2014 at the award winning Nottingham Belfry Hotel from 7.00pm.  Tickets are available until FRIDAY 21ST MARCH, priced at just £32.00.  The Mayor of the Borough of Broxtowe, Councillor Iris White will host the Ball to raise money for Treetops Hospice and The Helpful Bureau, Stapleford. As well as a delicious three course meal and coffee, there will be music from Phil Rostance and the Marshall Band and a charity raffle. For more information and to secure your place, contact Broxtowe Borough Council on 0115 917 3210 or visit the website at www.broxtowe.gov.uk/charityball. Every year the Mayor chooses two charities to support. Next year the Mayor will be my colleague Stan Heptinstall and he has asked the staff at the council to vote for the charities that they would like him to feature as his chosen ones during his year in office. I think that this is an excellent idea.

12. Here Come The Navy
I know that the flooding has reached record levels but I was surprised to read this week that the navy are to establish a new base in Broxtowe! Actually it’s not as dramatic as it sounds but the base for the Royal Navy Reserve, currently at HMS Sherwood, will be moving to the garrison on Swiney Way in Toton. The move should be completed by the end of March.

13. Council Tax Rise
Although Broxtowe Borough Council will be keeping our council tax at the same level as in previous years Labour controlled Notts County Council have confirmed that they will be increasing council tax by 1.99% this year. As the majority of the council tax goes to the County Council this will have a significant impact on the amounts that people will have to pay from April.

14. Fair Trade Fortnight Entertainment
St Michaels Church in Bramcote will be holding an entertainment evening on Friday 28th February to mark Fair Trade Fortnight. The event begins at 7.15pm and details are available from 0115 925 4933.

15. Council Ward Boundaries
On Tuesday evening the council will be meeting to discuss changes to the ward boundaries for the borough. Although a huge number of different sets of proposals have been circulated my personal preference is that we should seek the minimum level of alteration from the current arrangements whilst ensuring that every community has a real say in electing their representatives. I will report back next week on what we voted for, although the final decision will be made by the Boundary Commission after they have considered our recommendations.
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.