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.