Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, bought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of the Lib-Dems on Broxtowe Borough Council.
1. Web Site
Broxtowe Lib-Dems have a new web site. The address is the same as previously, www.broxtoweliberaldemocrats.org.uk but every aspect of it has been redesigned. We will be adding more pages in the next few weeks as well, so please drop by and have a look.
2. Cabinet by internet
I’m trailblazing on Tuesday. It’s the cabinet meeting at the council on Tuesday but I have to be in London for a business meeting at 6pm. I’ve therefore arranged for a Skype link to be set up so that I can attend the cabinet meeting virtually. We’ve had a councillor attend via a video link from elsewhere in the council building before, where she has an illness which meant that she couldn’t attend the main meeting, but I will be the first person to attend from elsewhere in the country.
3. Police station closures
The police have announced their final plans for cutbacks, which have been modified following the public consultation. I’m pleased to say that the front counter at Eastwood Police Station will now remain open, but Kimberley and Stapleford Police Stations are to close, with the police working out of other local offices. These changes will save about £720,000 per year, or putting it another way it avoids cutting 50 front line officers. The police also hope to raise in excess of £800,000 from the sale of surplus buildings.
4. Roger Helmer quits
Arch-euro sceptic Conservative MEP Roger Helmer has resigned from his seat, saying that he is disillusioned with the way that the Tory party are going. Under the terms of the election system for MEP’s the Tory party get to appoint a successor to fill in the rest of the term.
5. Extra money for schools
The Pupil Premium, which was a key Lib-Dem policy in the general election last year, has resulted in an extra £684,000 for schools in Broxtowe this year, according to figures released this week. This works out as an extra £488 for every chid receiving free school meals, which is considerably higher than was expected to be announced. This is a very real illustration of the positive impact that the Lib-Dems are having in government. It wasn’t a Tory policy and without us there this money would never have been made available.
6. No Trick No Treat
Broxtowe Borough Council have partnered with Notts Police again this year to run our “No Trick No Treat” campaign again for Halloween. If you don’t want children to call trick or treating then there is a free poster you can download on the borough’s website at http://www.broxtowe.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=9767.
7. Foil Recycling
The council has launched a 6 month trial allowing people to recycle used foil packaging. We have installed four recycling bins for these, at Sainsbury’s in Beeston and Kimberley, Morrison’s in Eastwood and the Co-Op in Stapleford. If these work then the scheme will hopefully be made permanent.
8. A52 Works
The Highways Agency have announced that the improvement work on the A52 is running to schedule and they expect the work to be finished by the end of next month. When finished there will be new traffic lights and pedestrian crossings at Thoresby Road and the Priory and QMC Islands.
9. Beeston Litterpick
Broxtowe Mayor Jacky Williams will be leading a residents litter pick on Monday in Beeston. This is part of the “Love Where You Live” campaign that the council are supporting. Residents are also urged to report any “grotspots” in the borough on www.broxtowe.gov.uk/lovewhereyoulive.
10. Register to Vote
The council have announced this week that there are approximately 11,000 people in the borough are yet to register to vote. If you haven’t done so yet it is important to do so, to ensure that you don’t lose the right to vote. Every household should have received a form to register, but if you’ve lost it contact the Democratic services team on 0117 917 7777.
11. EvoEnergy
Congratulations to Attenborough based business EvoEnergy who were named as the Solar Installer of the year at the 2011 Renewables Award.
12. Festival Of Comedy
Next Saturday, the 22nd of October, Beeston will be host to a massive bunch of musicians, comedians, poets and others, all for a good cause. Oxfam have chosen Beeston as the host of this years Notts Oxjam, part of a national fundraiser that, for one day, collectively becomes the UK's largest festival. All the details can be found at http://www.oxjambeestontakeover.org/p/oxjam-music-festival.html
13. Green Belt debate
Anna Soubry MP has arranged a debate in parliament on the future of the green belt. This will be on Tuesday morning. Anna has also arranged a couple of further public meetings in Broxtowe to discuss potential development sites, but I’m afraid that I have mislaid my notes on this so can’t say where they are. Hopefully Anna’s team will be able to send them through to me.
14. Dave Wood
I mentioned earlier this year that Stapleford Poet Dave Wood was undertaking a walk around the historical boundaries of Sherwood Forest. Dave is now on the last leg of this, delivering poetry readings and events as he goes. Details for the final leg are on line at http://creativesherwoodforestperambulations.blogspot.com/2011/03/home.html
As ever thank you for your support for this newsletter, and any feedback is gratefully received.
David
