Broxtowe Enews 26th November 2011

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. A special welcome to the new readers that we have this week.

Sorry that there was no enews last week but I was away for the weekend and didn’t want to publicise the fact, especially after we had been the victims of crime so recently in any event.

1. Constituency Boundary Review

The public consultation on new electoral boundaries closes on 5^th December. In Broxtowe the proposal is that we keep the existing boundaries but with the addition of some villages from south of the river, current part of the Rushcliffe constituency. You can make your comments on the Boundary Commission website at http://consultation.boundarycommissionforengland.independent.gov.uk/.

2. Service of Remembrance at Bramcote Crematorium

Bramcote Crematorium will be holding a service of remembrance for friends and relatives to remember loved ones who moved away. They’ve done this for the last few years and this year it will take place on Sunday 11^th December at 2pm. Everyone is welcome to attend. For more information, please contact Bramcote Crematorium on 0115 917 3849, email bramcotecrem@btconnect.com or visit www.bramcotecrematorium.org.uk

3. Council Tax Rises

The County Council have announced that they will be accepting an offer from the government to keep council tax at last years levels. As the substantial majority of council tax collected goes to the county council this will have a significant impact on people. However the position is not as clear for councils as it was last year. The government last year committed to provide funds to the councils to keep council tax down, and that they would commit these funds on an ongoing level. However they haven’t made that offer this year so if council tax stays where it is then next year councils face either a loss of income or a substantial council tax rise.

4. Dr Margaret Colley

Bramcote residents may remember Dr Margaret Colley who was the village GP for 35 years. I’ve had a phone call from her son this week to inform me that she sadly lost her battle against cancer. There will be a private funeral in Suffolk, where she had been living, but a memorial event will be organised early next year in Bramcote which everyone will be welcome to attend. Dr Colley established a web site in her later years to reflect back on her life, and this is available at www.margaretcolley.co.uk

5. Christmas Choir Event

Carlton Male Voice Choir will be performing a concert at Chilwell Road Methodist Church in Beeston on3rd December 2011, starting at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £6 (£5 in advance) and are available on 0115 943 1164.

6. Awsworth Buses

Residents in Awsworth are campaigning to have an improved bus service to the village. Following the withdrawal of the Phoenix Flyer there are now few buses running to the village, leaving many people feeling virtually cut off. Readers may recall that a couple of months ago I asked for suggestions for where the council might spend £500,000 of money we had available to use on public transport schemes. The most common suggestion was to use it to improve bus services, although legally this is the most difficult. The officers at the council are currently exploring whether we can overcome the many hurdles that there are, and if so services to Awsworth are on the list to address.

7. The Big Tree Plant

Beeston & District Civic Society, together with Broxtowe Borough Council, are launching a project to replace as many as possible of the large trees along roads that are missing. They plan to locate areas in streets and on small grassy patches in Beeston and district where extra trees will improve the appearance of the street ~ and they need your help to do this. When the sites have been chosen, the council will check suitability with regard to services below the pavement and liaise with Nottinghamshire County Council who have ultimate responsibility for the roads and footpaths. The council will apply for funding from The Big Tree Plant funding scheme. The Civic Society, with your help, anticipate planting the trees, which will be 8 – 12’ or so high (at planting), in Autumn 2012. At that point they will need TREE GUARDIANS - ideally the householder nearest the tree - to water and generally keep their eye on that tree for 2 to 3 years until it has matured sufficiently to be included in the council tree maintenance programme. If you would like to take part or want more details please email: babsel@ntlworld.com

8. Erewash Valley Landowners and Managers Event

If you own or manage land in the Erewash Valley then there is an event for you on Monday, from 6pm to 8.30pm, at the Town Hall in Beeston. There will be informal presentations on the Erewash Valley and the partnership developing the landscape for people and wildlife; Stewardship and funding opportunities; Business opportunities for landowners to buy into renewable technology concentrating on solar and wind, saving costs and an opportunity to see various displays. In addition free trees will be given out to all attendees.

9. Heat recycling at Bramcote Crematorium

Bramcote Crematorium is seeking the views of the public, Council employees and wider stakeholders on whether it would be appropriate to reuse the waste heat from its processes to heat its building. At present, all the waste heat is simply vented into the atmosphere, increasing global warming and costs. The Crematorium is considering installing a heat exchanger which would harness the surplus heat from its mercury abatement plant and turn it into usable energy for the rest of the Crematorium. This is a practice already used in a number of crematoria across the country. Views can be submitted on the councils website at http://www.broxtowe.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=9876.

10. Beware of Bogus Charity Collectors

A bogus team of charity collectors have been doing the rounds in Bramcote again this week, claiming to collect for the Notts Air Ambulance. They have nothing to do with the air ambulance and so please do not give them anything.

11. Field Farm Stapleford

Westermans Builders have published information about their proposals to build a new estate on Field Farm in Stapleford. These are available at www.fieldfarm.info. They have not yet submitted an application but will probably do so shortly. The information that they are currently putting out is something that the coalition are requiring developers to do in the future, so that local people can be kept fully informed about what is being proposed. Once again I’ve seen an email from the Tory’s accusing the council of treating this as a done deal, exactly the same thing that they were saying about proposals to build in Toton even on the day that we dropped them.

12. Bramcote Hills Golf Course

Thank you to everyone who has so far submitted their views about the idea to allow building on the site of Bramcote Hills golf course. We have had over 130 responses so far, and I’ll publish the full results in a couple of weeks.

13. Paradiso Cinema

The film at the Paradiso Cinema, Chilwell School, Queens Road West, Friday 9th December will be “ The Bishop’s Wife” (1947). This is a change to the original advertisement as they were unfortunately unable to get a licence to show, "It’s a Wonderful Life". Instead they are showing this film, starring Cary Grant, Lorretta Young and David Niven. Tickets on the door £5 (£4 conc). Films start at 7.30pm. Come at 7pm for refreshments.

14. Milan Radulovic

The current leader of the borough council, Milan Radulovic, is unwell at the moment so may I take this opportunity to wish him a full and speedy recovery.

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

David

Broxtowe Enews 12th November 2912

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. A special welcome to the news readers that we have this week. We had pretty much plateaued in terms of readers for a number of weeks but over the past two weeks we’ve had a big increase in readers.

1. Bramcote Hills Golf Course

Readers in Bramcote may be very familiar with the problems at the golf course. It closed a few years ago and since then the owners have been trying to persuade the council to allow them to build houses on it (which we’ve always opposed). The latest idea that they have been talking about (although there is no application yet) is to apply to build a retirement village there, and make the rest of the site public open space. I have a survey running on my web site asking whether people would support this as an idea or not. As there is no application yet we can’t give any specific details about what the details would be, but what we would like is simply whether people would support this as an idea or not. If you’re a Bramcote resident would you take a minute to visit my website at www.davidwatts.org.uk to express your view.

2. Changes to the NHS

If you are interested in the changes that are happening to the NHS then come along to an event that is taking place at Beeston on Thursday 24 November at Chilwell Road Methodist Church, Chilwell Road, Beeston NG9 1EH from 7-9pm, or at St Mary’s hurch, hurch Street, Eastwood on 1^st December. Local GP’S will be responsible for buying health services from April 2013. 12 GP Practices in the Broxtowe area form Nottingham West NHS Clinical Commissioning Group. Representatives will be present for you to ask questions. Please register your place – email: nwc.admin@nottspct.nhs.uk or tel: 0115 883 5224.

3. New County Councillors Newsletter

My colleague Stan Heptinstall, County Councillor for Bramcote and Stapleford, produces a regular monthly newsletter. The November edition is out now and can be accessed from the Broxtowe Lib-Dem website at www.broxtoweliberaldemocrats.org.uk.

4. Beeston Wind Turbine

The County Council have announced that they are opposed to the proposals by Nottingham University to build three large wind turbines along the bank of the River Trent. The County Council say that there may be an ancient stream on the site.

5. HS2

MP’s have suggested to the Government that they should bring forward the date that High Speed rail trains run to the East Midlands. This is potentially very important for us in Broxtowe as Toton has been suggested as the East Midlands station for the new HS2 line. This is, at this stage, simply a report from MP’s and not government policy, but it is encouraging to see how the MP’s are supporting the scheme.

6. Growing Places Fund

The Government have announced that they are making £17.5 million available for schemes in Nottinghamshire to kick start building on infrastructure schemes. This is a very welcome investment but we will need to see what schemes come forward as a result.

7. Events at Rumbletums Café in Kimberley

Friday 18th November (6.00pm – 8.00pm) – Special evening opening for Kimberley Christmas light switch on.

Saturday 19th November (10.30am – 12.30pm) – Table Top Sale offering Christmas gifts, hand-made cards, second-hand goods and jewellery (cafe open as normal).

Saturday 3rd December (7.30pm to 10.30pm) – Open Mic Night for young people with disabilities, their friends and families. Bring your own CD’s, MP3’s and sing, dance, tell jokes or whatever

All the events above take place at Rumbletums Cafe, 2a Victoria Street, Kimberley... and don’t forget, we’re now open on Thursdays from 10.00am to 3.00pm as well as Fridays and Saturdays.

8. Fire Call Outs in Notts

Figures released by the Nottinghamshire Fire Brigade show that the number of call outs each year has dropped from 30,000 in 1995 to 13,000 now. Of those 13,000 call outs, 6,000 were false alarms. I’m not sure if there are any significant reasons for the fall but it is a quite staggering amount.

9. Valuables In Cars

The police have launched a new initiative to encourage people not to leave their valuables on show in parked cars. If the police find a car where valuables are on display then officers will record the number and will then write to the registered owners.

10. Crime Reduction

Congratulations to the staff running the County Council’s crime reduction team, whose targeting youth programme was the runner up in the national Youth Justice Board Innovations Award. This scheme works with a number of schools across the county and seems to have considerable success in reducing offending rates.

11. Kimberley Youth Gym

Kimberley Youth Gym have been awarded nearly £50,000 from the County Council for new equipment specifically for disabled users. This is excellent news and new machinery should start appearing shortly.

12. Children in Need

Three members of staff at the Charlton Arms in Chilwell are fundraising for Children in Need by spending 14 hours sitting in a bath of stout. I can’t begin to imagine how disgusting that this will feel at the end of their session, so hopefully they will raise the £1,500 they are aiming to.

13. Drug Seizures in Notts

The police have published figures showing that the number of drug seizures in Notts has gone up 11% this year, from 2,273 seizures last year to 2,528 this year. The police say that this is the result of better targeting and the better use of intelligence.

14. Eastwood Town

Health and safety officers have reduced the capacity at Eastwood Town’s Coronation park ground by 50%. The capacity is now 400 people, although the club have said that they are intalks with the County Council to address their concerns and to tackle this.

15. County Council Budget Consultation

I reported last week that the County Council were slashing ever more off their budgets. You can now comment on these online at https://secure.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/your--‐

council/consultations/budget--‐conversation/budget--‐proposals/

16. Bramcote Branch Meeting

If you’re a Lib-Dem supporter in Bramcote why not come along to our branch meeting on Tuesday at 7.30pm, at 8 Cranston Road. Everyone is welcome to attend.

As ever thank you for your support for this newsletter. The next edition will be in two weeks time, but any feedback in the meantime is gratefully received.

David

Broxtowe Enews 5th November 2011

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. A special welcome to the new readers that we have this week, it’s been a very good week for new subscriptions.

1. Toton Garrison

I read an email from Anna Soubry this week which claimed that the council were in talks with the MOD about plans to build 2,500 houses on the garrison. She even produced a plan of the alleged site. All of this is completely incorrect. The council are not in discussions with the MOD and the plan was actually one prepared by council officers for an all-party discussion held last week about places where we might look for new development. The garrison was rejected as a site, apart from anything else because the MOD have no plans to release the land. We have asked them to notify us if they are intending to sell any part of the site, but there has been no discussion other than that. I was disappointed to hear the claims being reported as fact on the BBC, although heartened to see them being dismissed by the Nottingham Post.

2. New website

Following the upgrade to the Broxtowe Lib-Dem website I’ve also updated my personal web site this week. Why not have a look at www.davidwatts.org.uk and tell me what you think. The site has the opportunity to report problems or volunteer to help, and I’m starting to build up a database of community links and groups. If you want to be added to this please let me know, with the relevant details.

3. Work on the A52

The good news is that work on the A52 is nearly completed. The bad news is that for the next week they will need to close the road at night between the Priory Island and the QMC. Road closures will be between the hours of 8pm and 6am from the 7^th to the 12^th November.

4. Winter Gritting

The County Council have produced a new leaflet on winter gritting. I‘ve put a copy on our website at www.broxtoweliberaldemocrats.org.uk where it’s available to download or read online.

5. Tree Planting

Tree planting season is upon us and a perfect time to plant trees to improve local communities and schools by making them more attractive, provide shade and improve biodiversity. The Greenwood Community Tree Planting Grant Scheme provides funding and advice to help schools, community groups and parish councils to carry out small-scale tree planting projects. The scheme has taken place for more than 10 years and in that time over 100 schools and community groups have received grants to plant thousands of trees.

The scheme is designed to be flexible and offers up to £250 to cover the cost of buying trees, shelters, tree stakes and ties. To be eligible, your scheme must:

· Plant native tree or shrub species (advice is available on suitable choices)

· Involve the school and/or local community

· Be situated within one of the following districts: Ashfield, Broxtowe, Gedling, or Mansfield.

· Be located on school grounds or publicly accessible land

Application forms for the 2011/12 planting season (November to March) are available from the Greenwood Community Forest Team. The deadline for applications is 16th December 2011, but funding is limited so apply early. For further details contact the Greenwood Team on 0115 977 2188 or email greenwood@nottscc.gov.uk.

6. Police Phone Number

Don’t forget that from Monday the police have a new non-emergency telephone number – 101. For emergencies dial 999, but everything else will now be on 101.

7. Cars in Bramcote Park

This is an example of how effective newsletters like this can be. A reader contacted me at the start of the week to raise problems with cars using the private road from the school across Bramcote Park during the school holidays. Dog walkers had to jump out of the way on at least one occasion. We’ve been able to raise that with the school and Kevin Dean, the Executive Head at the White Hills Park federation of schools has emailed to say that they will look at closing gates or constructing a barrier to stop cars out of school hours. Ideally we will still want pedestrians and cyclists to be able to use the route.

8. Bramcote Hills Park

Sticking with Bramcote Hills Park for the moment, resurfacing work will be carried out on the car park from mid-November through to late February. The car park will hopefully be open throughout but with a reduced number of spaces.

9. County Council cuts

The County Council have announced that they will be cutting back next year by a further £12 million compared to this years budget. Worryingly this includes cutting £10 million from Connexions, the career advice service for young people. At a time when youth employment is already far too high I think that this is a misplaced cut.

10. Council Housing in Stapleford

The Borough Council disclosed last week that the reason ten new council houses in Stapleford haven’t yet been occupied is because Severn Trent Water have failed to connect the water supply, despite having been paid to do this six months ago. Congratulations to my colleague Cllr David Grindell who highlighted the issue, and we will keep an eye on this to make sure things are now dealt with quickly.

11. Enterprise Zone

It was disappointing, if not altogether surprising, that the Enterprise Zone on the Boots site, part of which is in Broxtowe, was not allocated any money from the regional growth fund in the announcement this week. Added to that was an announcement from Network Rail that they had no plans to electrify the Midland Main Line and it’s been a poor week for infrastructure. We do need an improved transport network to Nottingham, and improving the A453 (which will have a major impact on Broxtowe even though it doesn’t come into the borough) and getting the HS2 Rail Line, would appear to be our best hope for the future.

12. The Politics Show

I’m on the Politics how on Sunday on BBC1 discussing the threat to the green belt. We recorded it on Friday and it seemed to go okay, although we were very pressed for time. The interviewer was Marie Ashby, and some years ago she interviewed me on the first ever edition of the Politics Show to come from the East Midlands. The point I was making this week was that changes being brought about by the Government threaten the green belt and the relevant ministers seem oblivious to the threat.

13. Trowell, Cossall and Greasley Events

The Trowell Christmas Special will take place on Friday 25^th November from 6.30 – 8.30pm at the Parish Hall. The Cossall Village winter market will take place the next day on Saturday 26^th November starting at 12.00 midday. Everyone is welcome to attend. There is also a craft fair at Greasley Parish Hall on 12^th November from 11am onwards. The Victorian Market takes place in Greasley on 26^th November from 10am onwards.

14. Broxtowe Business Women’s Network

The next meeting of the Broxtowe Business Womens network will be on 14^th November at the Belfrey Hotel in Nuthall, starting at 5.30pm. The speaker will be Jeannette Tokeley, MD of Dash Corporations, talking about how to gain, manage and retain clients. Details are available from the council on 0115 917 7777.

15. Christmas Lights Switch On

I mentioned these dates a few week ago but am repeating them because of the number of new subscribers we have had over the past couple of week. Christmas lights will be switched on as follows:

Kimberley 18^th November
Eastwood 22^nd November
Beeston 26^th November
Stapleford 1^st December.

Everyone is of course very welcome to attend.

16. Building on the Green Belt Part Two

After having read and heard so much over the last few weeks about how the Tories tell us they are going to save the green belt I was very surprised to heard last week that the Conservative controlled County Council had approached the borough to enquire about getting planning permission to build houses on green belt land the County own adjacent to Coventry Lane in Bramcote. They were told a very firm No.

17. CAT Meetings

There are a number of Community Action Team meetings coming up this month. Local residents are welcome to attend:

· Nuthall West – 10^th November, Church Hall, Back Lane

· Beeston Rylands – 15^th November at Beeston Rylands Community Centre

· Attenborough – 23^rd November at Lucy and Vincent Brown village hall

· Beeston Central – 23^rd November at Queens Road Methodist Church

· Nuthall East – 23^rd November, venue tba

· Stapleford North, 24^th November, Pastures Road Community Church

· Bramcote – 28^th November at Bramcote Memorial Hall

18. Belize Scam

Last week I reported an apparent scam from Belize. This was a message I had received via neighbourhood watch, which is usually a very reliable way of filtering out hoaxes. However I’ve been informed by the police this week that, whilst the scam was genuine, the phone number was closed down about 5 years ago and so is no longer a problem. Many apologies if this caused anyone any distress or worry.

19. Residents Parking In Stapleford

I am told that the County Council will publish their proposals for a resident’s car parking scheme in Stapleford this week. Hopefully I’ll be able to provide details next week.

20. Feedback

Each week I end this newsletter by saying that feedback is welcome. A reader from one of the web sites who carry this newsletter contacted me to say that there is no easy way to send feedback from them, which I accept. You can post feedback on either the Lib-Dem website or my personal website, both of which have their addresses above, or why not get the newsletter delivered by email and you can just use the reply button to send me a response. You can sign up on either of the web sites I’ve already referred to.

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

David

Broxtowe Enews 29th October 2011

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

1. Future Development Sites

I was delighted on Wednesday night to move an amendment at the full council meeting to delete the Toton site next to the A52 from the list of preferred sites for future development in Broxtowe. I also explained some of the difficulties that the council find themselves in with Government regulations, which are forcing us to look at the possibility of redrawing the green belt boundary. The amendment was passed unanimously, which was great news. The Toton site was the subject of a significant amount of lobbying from local residents, and they deserve tremendous credit for having this site removed. Needless to say loads of people are now trying to claim the credit (I even had an email from someone in Poland claiming the credit) but really it was the efforts of the local residents which have borne fruit. It’s not simply a numbers issue, but the quality of the arguments that they presented which won the day.

2. A Bee Friendly Council

A second success for me on the council this week was the passing of a motion banning the use of neonicotiniod pesticides by the council and also banning their use by council house tenants and allotment holders. I previewed this last week but we were able to widen the terms of the motion to make it more comprehensive than I’d originally anticipated. Existing tenants and allotment holders will not be caught by the ban, although I hope that they will voluntarily follow it, but it will be a condition for any new lettings. Neonicotinoids are a relatively new form of pesticides, and there is fairly strong evidence that they are linked to the massive fall in the size of the bee population. Given that one in three items that we eat comes from crops pollenated by bees this is a significant issue. I’ve already received enquiries from other councils in the East Midlands wanting to follow suit. We will be making information available for those potentially affected to explain any steps that they should take.

3. Small Business Support

It was three out of three for me on the council on Wednesday when I also proposed a motion to help small businesses in the difficult financial situation at the moment, which was also passed unanimously. What the council has now committed to do is to ensure that we make every effort to pay all invoices within 20 days, rather than the usual 30, to help firms with their cash flow.

4. Trading Standards Scam

I’ve been asked by two separate people this week to pass on the following message:

A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a Premium rate number). DO NOT call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize. If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will already have been billed £315 for the phone call. If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal Mail Fraud on 020 7239 6655.

5. Theft

Having mentioned the message above I’ll also mention that my family have been the victim of thieves this week. Someone forced an insecure gate at the side of my house on Thursday and stole two bikes, one adult (my wife’s) and one child’s (my daughters). My seven year old daughter is heart-broken as the bike was her birthday present from my wife and I last year. I’d like to thank Conservative councillor Mick Brown, from Mick Brown’s Cycles in Eastwood, for helping sort out a new bike so quickly.

6. Bulldog Security

Carrying on the crime theme the following message was sent from Notts police on Tuesday:

Bulldog Security sales people are operating in the area. It has been reported to us that they are making false statements about Nottinghamshire Police. That the police will not attend alarms, that neighbourhood watch is of no use whatsoever and that the police no longer attend due to lack of funding.

Nottinghamshire Police do not in any way endorse this company and have referred such claims to Trading Standards. The company have been contacted and are withdrawing their sales staff from the area and will be conducting an internal review.

Nottinghamshire Police do respond to sequentially confirmed alarm systems.

Neighbourhood Watch schemes in this area have provided early alerts for many suspicious people in the area, the local neighbourhood policing team has responded quickly and the individuals have been located and requested to leave the area. There has been very positive results for the scheme and if your area is not operating a local scheme then please contact PCSO Chris Archer, who can assist with setting one up locally.

Please report any suspicious salespeople in the area on the 0300 300 9999 number, or 999 if an emergency.

7. Green Energy at the Council

Broxtowe Borough Council are looking at a range of schemes to introduce green energy to its buildings. I’m hoping that we will opt for a fairly extensive scheme of PV panels on the roof. I’ll keep you informed of how that goes.

8. Road Safety Campaign

The County Council have launched a campaign to encourage road users to wear bright clothing when out on dark nights. They also want to remind cyclists in particular of the need to use lights when out after dark. This is a campaign I wholeheartedly endorse.

9. Awsworth Primary School

Congratulations to Awsworth Primary and Nursery School who have been given the British Councils International School Award for fostering links with schools in other countries. This is an excellent achievement.

10. Safeguarding Children

Chilwell Olympia is to run a course for football coaches and trainers working with young children on the issue of Safeguarding Children on 5^th November at 10am. The course costs £15 for borough residents (£25 for non-residents) and details are available by ringing 0115 917 3572.

11. Trick and Treat

If anyone wants a "No trick or treat" poster these can be downloaded from the councils website at www.broxtowe.gov.uk

12. Clocks

Don’t forget that the clocks go back one hour tonight.

Thanks for your support for this newsletter. As ever any feedback will be gratefully received.

David

Broxtowe Enews 23rd October 2011

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

A special welcome to the new readers that we have this week, and especially to those who’ve signed up via our new web site which we launched last week.

There’s a lot of material to report this week, as it’s a busy time of year. It is still 63 days until 25^th December but two of the events I’ve been asked to publicise are Christmas ones.

1. Housing Development

It’s been an interesting week, with Broxtowe Borough Council being discussed extensively in a debate in parliament organised by Anna Soubry, and extensive TV coverage here as a result. Some of the statements made however have been very wide of the mark, but the issue of where, if anywhere, housing development will take place in Broxtowe will be debated at the full council meeting on Wednesday. In the meantime if anyone wants to catch up on the debate in parliament it is here: http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=9134. If you’re interested in this (which I hope people are)then you are very welcome to come to the council meeting on Wednesday, which starts at 7pm at the town hall in Beeston.

2. Chilwell Arts Theatre

There are a number of events coming up at Chilwell Arts Theatre, Chilwell School. These are:

Paradiso Cinema

Friday 11th November, “O What a Lovely War (1969)

Friday 9th December, It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946)

Friday 13th January, “The Tree of Life” (2011)

Friday 10th February, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961)

Tickets on the door cost £5 (£4 conc) and films start at 7.30pm. Come at 7pm for refreshments.

Also at Chilwell Arts Theatre, Village Ventures productions present two shows, on Sunday 5th February, New Rope String Band, (see http://www.newropestringband.co.uk/) and on Thursday 29th March, Coope, Boyes and Simpson, (see http://www.coopeboyesandsimpson.co.uk/ ). Tickets in advance or on the door cost £8 (£6 con), £24 family (2+2). These are suitable for all the family. Concerts start at 7.30pm. Ring 0115 925 2698 or 0758 426 3893 for tickets. Both bands are very popular so book early to avoid disappointment.

3. Rumbletums Café, Kimberley

Rumbletums have asked me to mention that they raised £36 for Macmillan Cancer Support from our participation in their World's Biggest Coffee Morning at the end of September, and they have recently started a Parents/Carers and Toddlers group at the cafe, every Tuesday from 1.00pm to 3.00pm and the cafe will be opening on Thursdays (we're currently only open on Fridays and Saturdays) from 3rd November. I’m delighted to do so and delighted that this venture is going so well.

4. Tram Works

NET have told me that they are expecting to let the contracts for Phase two in the next couple of weeks. They will be contacting all the traders on Chilwell Road over the next couple of weeks to talk about the compensation packages that are available. They will also be delivering letters to all the affected properties shortly. Once this is done I will post a copy of the letter on the Lib-Dem website so that anyone interested can see it.

5. Police Station Closures

Further to the item that I mentioned last week a number of people have asked what the political control is on the police authority. It is in fact Labour controlled, and the only Lib-Dem on the committee is my colleague Keith Longdon, the County Councillor for Eastwood. Keith worked very hard to ensure that Eastwood Police Station remained open, and deserves tremendous credit for this.

6. Support for small businesses

The Lib-Dems have proposed a motion which will be debated at the council meeting on Wednesday to help small businesses through the current difficult economic conditions. We’re asking the council to commit to paying invoices within 20 days, as opposed to 30 which is the current situation. This should help the cash flow of small firms who we deal with.

7. Protecting Bees

Over the past year the bee population of the UK is estimated to have declined by 17%. There are a number of reasons for this but one in particular is the increase in the use of pesticides. I’ve proposed a motion to the council to ban the use of particular pesticides (called neonicotinoids) by the council. This is a strain of pesticides particularly associated with the decline in bees so this seems to be a very practical step that we can take.

8. Events at Durban House

The DH Lawrence Heritage Centre at Durban House has announced the following events which are coming up.

Christmas at D.H. Lawrence Heritage

Event: Fairy Grotto (Part of the Eastwood Christmas Light Switch On Event)
Description: Meet our beautiful fairy and make a special Christmas wish!
Date: Tuesday 22nd November 2011, 6pm – 8pm
Venue: D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum, 8a Victoria Street, Eastwood, Notts, NG16 3AW
Price: £3.00 per child - Every child will receive a special Christmas wish, bauble, and goody bag!

Event: Victorian Christmas Tradition Tours
Description: Discover the many Christmas traditions that began in this period and soak the festive atmosphere of a Victorian Christmas.
Date: Thursday 1st to Friday 23rd December 2011
Time: Daily 11.15am Museum timed tour
Venue: D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum, 8a Victoria Street, Eastwood, Notts, NG16 3AW
Price: £5.00 Adults, £3.50 Concessions (5-15 year olds), Under 5's Free. Discounts for Broxtowe Leisure Card holder. Annual D.H. Lawrence Heritage membership available. Places limited available pre-booking advised

Event: Santa’s Grotto and Creative Christmas Craft
Description: Tell Santa your Christmas wish and receive a special Christmas goodie bag plus have a go at our special Festive Crafts.
Date: Saturday 10th December, 11am -3pm. Santa’s Grotto Open – 11am-12.30pm and 1pm until 2.30pm.
Venue: D.H. Lawrence Heritage, Durban House Heritage Centre, Mansfield Road, Eastwood, Notts, NG16 3DZ
Price: £3.00 per child, (1st Adult free, accompanying adult £1), £2.50 Broxtowe Leisure card holders, £1.00 for Santa for Annual Members

Further information for all these events is available on telephone 01773 717353 or by visiting www.dhlawrenceheritage.org

9. Improved Public Transport

This is a report back on an appeal I made last month. You may recall that the borough council has money available to spend on public transport, and I was asking for suggestions for how this might be spent. I received loads of really positive suggestions and so have now submitted a detailed list to the councils Chief Executive. In brief the suggestions fell into four categories:

a) Improved bus routes

b) Improved facilities for voluntary travel schemes

c) Improved cycle lanes and facilities

d) Mapping of existing services to identify gaps.

I know that officers at the council were reluctant to spend the money on bus routes as these tend to require a more long term funding arrangement, but it seems to me that if we can subsidise new routes for a year or so to see if there is a sufficient demand to make them viable then this would be a good use of money. I’ll keep people informed of progress.

10. Deliverers wanted

Could you help the Liberal Democrats by donating an hour of your time, four times a year? We deliver Focus leaflets to much of the borough and we’d like to increase our pool of deliverers. For those who don’t currently receive them, Focus leaflets are information leaflets telling people what is happening in their areas. They are like a printed version of this newsletter, paid for by the Lib-Dems and delivered by volunteers. We do it because of our inherent belief in community politics, in making sure that people are involved in issues and decisions which affect them. Every hour that someone gives us means more people able to receive leaflets. If you believe that people should be informed about things happening in their area then why not volunteer to deliver. Just contact me and I’ll make the arrangements for you.

11. Burglaries in Toton

I was sent this message this weekend which I thought was well worth passing on:

“As everyone is aware, Toton has suffered a significant number of Burglaries recently.

An unknown ‘gentleman’ was spotted by a resident in the Lichfield Close/Erdington Way area (Upper end of Banks Road) in the early evening acting suspiciously. A white man, approx 6’-2” tall, possibly in his 50s, greying hair, with either stubble or a ‘light’ beard, he was wearing ‘dark’ clothes with an Adidas style jacket and carrying some leaflets.

He twice walked the streets taking note of the houses. A resident was concerned and challenged him. The ‘gentleman’ claimed he was working for a double glazing firm and was looking for potential clients and ‘cold calling’ upon houses. Because the ‘gentleman’ had passed his house twice and NOT called or left a leaflet (his house has single glazing) he became more suspicious. The ‘gentleman’ offered the resident a leaflet. The resident took it saying he had missed him out, and gave the ‘gentleman’ a false address.

The resident returned home and immediately tried to contact the double glazing company. No reply on the telephone number – not even an answer-phone. The resident ‘checked-out’ the business website and the business addresses between the leaflet and the website did NOT match. The resident telephoned the police and reported the situation. The police took details and said they would patrol the area to look for him.

I can confirm that the Police did take action. My son came home from work just a little later and saw a Police van and several policemen on foot patrolling the streets.

The primary purpose of this note is to advise you of this ‘incident’ and ask you to be vigilant. We can help each other here in Toton. If you are unhappy with what you see – phone the Police. The second purpose of this note is to praise, and thank, the Police for acting swiftly. The Police are taking the Toton burglaries VERY seriously. So WE need to help them any way we can – be vigilant – take a note of peoples’ descriptions, vehicle registration numbers, AND contact the Police IMMEDIATELY if you have any concerns.”

12. Police Contact Number

Following on from that story, the police have announced that they will be adopting a new contact number. For emergencies (as above) the number remains 999, but for non-emergency calls the new police number from 7^th November will be 101.

13. Pampered Women

There will be a pampering and shopping evening for women in Beeston at the Pearson Centre, Nuart Road, on 11^th November from 7.30pm. The money raised will be used to fund activities for children aged from 4 to 18. I do have to declare an interest here as one of my daughters attends the Girls Brigade there, so obviously I hope as many women as possible will turn up. Tickets cost £2 in advance or £2.50 on the night, and are available from 0115 925 4112.

14. Crime Figures

The latest figures released by the Home Office show a reduction in recorded crime of 13.4% for Nottinghamshire. Burglaries fell 38%, which was the highest fall in the country. There is always a difference between the actual levels of crime and those which are reported to the police, but all the evidence shows that crime is falling quite significantly, which is very encouraging news. I haven’t had the detailed breakdown yet showing the situation here in Broxtowe so I will post that when I have it

15. Reporter Nominated

Congratulations to Nottingham Post reporter Alex Britton, who covers Broxtowe, on being nominated for the Exclusive of the year award by the National Council for the Training of Journalists Awards for Excellence 2011. The report which has earned Alex the nomination is his coverage of the mix up in May when the wrong winner was declared in the Eastwood ward for the borough council.

16. Heritage in Danger

A new report on architectural heritage in Nottinghamshire has identified three properties at risk in Broxtowe. These are the Summerhouse at the Yews, Kimberley Road, Nuthall, Bennerley Viaduct, Awsworth and Beauvale Priory.

17. Renewable Energy in Beeston

Greening Beeston, which promotes renewable energy in the town, is looking at sites for a community renewable power project and is wanting local residents to select from a shortlist of three. There will be a public meeting at Beeston Library on Saturday October 29^th between 1.30 and 3pm.

Thank you for your support for this newsletter. As ever any feedback will be gratefully received (although I was somewhat unimpressed when a Labour councillor phoned me up this week to swear at me (strongly) about the newsletter, as apparently I’d reported something that he wanted to take the credit for).

Best wishes

David

Broxtowe Enews 15th October 2011

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

Broxtowe Enews 9th October 2011

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. It’s a quiet week news wise this week, but there are a few things going on.

1. Twitter

I’m now on Twitter and will start tweeting (I think that’s the right phrase) from this week. If anyone wants to follow me I’m DavidWatts12. Updates from the newsletter will be tweeted as often as possible, including any significant decisions straight after council meetings. I hope people will join me there.

2. Paint

Thanks to a reader for alerting me to this. The household waste site at Beeston won’t take tins of paint, and on checking with the County Council they say that these should be taken to Calverton. This would be a 30 mile round trip just to get rid of a tin of paint! The County Council said that they are looking at alternatives and I’ll be pressing them to do this quickly. Unfortunately they tell me that it is unlikely to be before next summer.

3. Sale of Bramwell

I reported previously about how the County Council had sold 6 nursing homes, including Bramwell in Bramcote, massively under value. Lib-Dem County Councillor Stan Heptinstall has now written to the District Auditor asking them to investigate the sale. Councillors have a duty to act in the best interests of the whole county, and selling assets massively under value does not seem to be doing that. We’ll keep you posted.

4. Rumbletums Fundraising

A TRUSTEE of Rumbletums café in Kimberley is having all her hair shaved off to raise money for the charity. Wendy Tompkins, who lives in Bramcote, has raised £700 in sponsorship and is splitting the money between the café in Newdigate Street, which offers training opportunities to students with learning difficulties, and MacMillan Cancer. Well done to her.

5. Grants to Artists

Artists and community groups across Nottinghamshire are being urged to apply for funding from a pot of more than £30,000 from Nottinghamshire County Council. Grants of between £500 and £2,500 areavailable for a range of one-off arts projects from the Nottinghamshire Arts Fund. For more details and to apply for funding, visit Nottinghamshire County Council’s website at www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/artsgrants.

6. School Rebuilding

PRIMARY schools in Eastwood and Brinsley could be re-built as part of plans to give 55 of the county’s schools a makeover. Nottinghamshire County Council has applied to the Government for a slice of the £2bn it is making available to rebuild schools. The council will ask for funding to rebuild 11 secondary schools, two academies, one special school and 41 primary schools – including Lynncroft Primary School in Eastwood and Brinsley Primary School.

7. Council Customer Service Award

The Borough Councils customer service team have been awarded the Institute of Customer Service ServiceMark award for the second year running, showing the emphasis that the council places on dealing with members of the public to the highest standard. The council were also shortlisted for five awards at the Association of Public Service Excellence awards.

8. Money for Community Groups

British Land, who own the Giltbrook Retail Park, are making money available for community groups. They are looking to fund community projects between £1,000 and £50,000 as part of their community responsibility fund. My colleague Ken Rigby is the County Councillor for the area and will happily receive any ideas, which he will pass on to British Land.

9. Good news from the Post Office

One piece of good news this week is that the Padge Road delivery centre in Beeston has been guaranteed to be protected from closure. The Post Office have confirmed that they are closing other offices but they are moving the facilities to Beeston.

10. Wind Turbine in Beeston

Nottingham University have flown a blimp at the site they wish to erect three wind turbines on showing how high they will be, although protestors are complaining that the blimp was actually flown at the wrong height. I’m afraid that I didn’t see it to be able to comment.

11. New Kits For Priory Celtic

Priory Celtic Football Club in Kimberley have been awarded £5,000 from the Football Foundation to pay for new kits.

12. Brinsley Carnival

I’m afraid that it’s now been confirmed that Brinsley Carnival is over. The committee running it has been unable to attract new volunteers and so the carnival has been wound up.

13. Kimberley Leisure Centre

A new range of activities launch at Kimberley Leisure Centre tomorrow (10^th October) including street dance for adults and children, as well as Zumba. Details are available from the Leisure Centre.

14. Beeston North CAT

The Community Action Team meeting for Beeston North takes place at Boundary Road church on 11^th October from 7.00pm. Any local residents are welcome to attend.

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

David

Broxtowe Enews 1st October 2011

Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of the Liberal Democrats on Broxtowe Borough Council. Can I give a special welcome to the new subscribers that we have this week. I had a lot of feedback from last weeks newsletter and I’m very conscious that haven’t been able to reply to everyone yet. Please bear with me and I’ll get to you.

1. New car park in Beeston

It is likely that the multi-story car park will be demolished early next year as part of the process to build the new tram system, and so the council are making arrangements to find alternative provision. We looked at this at the council’s cabinet this week and have made arrangements for a couple of sites to be looked at further, so that shoppers visiting Beeston will not be unduly inconvenienced.

In addition to these the council will be consulting on changes to other car parks. We’re looking at the possibility of introducing a three hour limit at Bramcote leisure centre (but with no charge) to stop commuters leaving their cars there all day. This should mean that there are more spaces available for people who actually use the centre, which should be a good thing. Also in Bramcote we’re looking at whether the King George’s park car park should be limited to a maximum to three hours. This should again stop people leaving their cars there all day, so that users of the park have more chance of getting parked.

These are consultations at the moment and so I’d be really interested to hear peoples views.

2. Housing proposals

The council are still consulting on proposals for new building in the borough. These are still simply ideas and no decisions have been taken, despite what has been suggested by other people. I’ve also seen suggestions on the Tory party web site that the council is wanting to build all over the green belt, which is not true. The map shown on that site is not a plan showing where the council wants to build, but simply a record of where people have made enquiries about building in the past. The last government required that councils kept this sort of information. The consultation period is due to end on Monday but any submissions made after that will still be taken into account.

I’ve met Anna Soubry this week to talk about the housing plans. I think that Anna’s basic position is similar to mine, that the green belt should be protected wherever possible, but I have told Anna that I am unhappy about the way that she has gone about things.

3. City Council Housing Plans

The city council is also looking at where they will allow new house building within their boundaries. One area that they have identified is around the Nottingham Business Park next to the A6002. Their proposals would mean that new houses could be built stretching right down to the edge of Strelley Village, which is a conservation area. There is a little bulge where the border of the city crosses the A6002, and the city have decided to try and fill this full of houses. Their plans have no real impact on the city but will cause untold damage to the borough. I will be pressing for the borough to oppose these plans.

4. Sporting heroes

The Broxtowe Borough Sports Review will take place on 4^th December, and the organisers are looking for nominations for the boroughs sporting heroes. These will be people who devote time in the borough to coaching, volunteering or participating in sport. Nominations can be made by ringing 0115 917 3572.

5. Ebooks from the Library

Users of the libraries in Nottingham will now be able to download ebooks from the library web site at www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/libraries. This will make books available to those who are unable to visit the library in person, but each download does cost £1. I hope that this new service will be successful.

6. Black Bin Collections

The announcement from Eric Pickles that the government wanted councils to return to weekly black bin collections came completely from the Tory side and was nothing to do with the Lib-Dems, who have already announced their opposition to it. It also flies in the face of the Governments much cherished localism agenda, where they say that they will give local councils the freedom to do what they want to with their money. The announcement that Mr Pickles made was that the Government will give councils an extra £250 million, but only where they agree to return to a weekly black bin collection.

If the Government have £250 million to give away then councils will very happily find a use for it, but we should have the freedom to use it in the way which most benefits local residents. All the research says that where weekly bins are reintroduced recycling rates drop, which is something that we should avoid where possible.

7. Fire at Albany Court

As people may have seen on the TV this week, there was a fire at Albany Court in Stapleford where the fire service needed to rescue people from one of the flats. Once again I find myself in awe of the bravery of these people, and it’s thanks to them that no-one was hurt.

8. Bramcote Lib-Dems

If you’re a Bramcote resident and a supporter of the Liberal Democrats why not join us for a meeting this Monday, 3^rd October. It starts at 7.30pm and is at 8 Cranston Road, the home of Cllr Stan Heptinstall. All supporters are welcome to attend.

9. Stapleford Walk In Centre

Sadly the walk in centre is now shut, meaning that one of the best medical facilities anywhere in the region is no longer around. The Lib-Dems have led the campaign against the closure and we are really disappointed that it hasn’t succeeded. All the Lib-Dem councillors in Stapleford worked really hard on this, and we’d like to thanks everyone for the tremendous support that they gave us.

10. Goose fair

Just a reminder that the Goose Fair is on this week, running from Wednesday until Sunday. There will be extra bus and tram services put on, and parking around the site itself is very limited. If you’re going have a great time.

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

David