Broxtowe Enews 30th September 2013

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. Many apologies that the newsletter is a day late, normal service will hopefully be resumed next week.

1.       Splitting Broxtowe

Nottingham City Council have made it clear in a number of statements recently that they are keen on splitting Broxtowe into two so that the south of the borough (Beeston, Chilwell, Toton, Bramcote and Stapleford)becomes part of an enlarged city council area. My personal view is that this is an appallingly bad idea as I do not believe that the city’s desire is motivated by a desire to look after residents of Broxtowe but instead it is driven by a desire to get their hands on Broxtowe’s spare land. If they succeed we would not be facing the possibility of 6,000 new houses but a much larger number instead. I’ve said what my view is but we as a party would like to know what you think. We have created a very simple one question survey on our website at www.broxtoweliberaldemocrats.org.uk and I’d be grateful if you would take a moment to complete it. We really do want the views of as many residents as possible so please can you mention this to your friends and neighbours as well.

2.       NHS Events

NHS Nottingham West CCG is holding two public events in October and you are warmly invited to attend. Come along to find out more about your local NHS, share your views and help shape priorities for future healthcare. The events are open to all and are being held on Tuesday 15 October, 6-8pm, Highfields Fire Station, Hassocks Lane, Beeston, NG9 2GQ and Thursday 17 October, 1pm-3pm, Durban House, DH Lawrence Centre, Mansfield Road, Eastwood, NG16 3DZ. Dr Guy Mansford, local GP and Chief Officer said: "We know the NHS is facing huge challenges, both locally and nationally. This includes more people living longer with complex conditions, an increased demand on services and greater public expectation. That's why it's important for us to understand the needs of our patient population to ensure high-quality, patient-focused services. These events provide perfect opportunity to participate in our future decision making." Our CCG is led by local GPs and other health professionals who are responsible for the planning and purchasing of almost £100 million worth of health services for patients living in places such as Eastwood, Kimberley, Stapleford, Beeston, Bramcote and Chilwell. Everyone is welcome to attend the events. The organisers would be grateful if you could register your place so that they are aware of numbers. Light refreshments will be available 30 minutes prior to the start time. Please register by emailing nottingham.west@nottinghamwestccg.nhs.uk or telephoning 0115 8835100 (office hours) or online www.nottinghamwestccg.nhs.uk/nhsevent

3.       Polling Stations

The council is currently reviewing the location of polling stations within Broxtowe. If you have any comments on where you go to vote please let me have them and I will pass them on to the team. Any proposed recommendations will be published later on this year.

4.       Credit Union in Kimberley

Volunteers  in Kimberley have decided to set up a credit union information point at Rumbletums (probably commencing late October/early November) with a view to this then being developed as a collection point for Nottingham Credit Union. Through the information point, people will be able to get details on the full range of services offered by Nottingham Credit Union and become members. This service will be staffed by local volunteers. There will be another meeting and initial training session for prospective volunteers at Rumbletums Cafe, 2a Victoria Street, Kimberley at 6.30pm on Tuesday 15th October. Anyone with an interest in supporting this new venture would be very welcome.

5.       Crossing The Floor

No, not me. I’m a Liberal to the very core of my soul. However we were recently joined in the party by former Labour activist Sarah Brown, and she has written an excellent piece on her reasons why for the Beestonia Blog. You can read it here: http://beestonia.wordpress.com/2013/09/25/breaking-the-political-taboo-sarah-brown-on-switching-parties/. You can see Sarah speaking at the Lib-Dem conference earlier this month here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KKTUveKX54 and she has written an article for Lib-Dem voice, one of our in house publications, which you can read here: http://www.libdemvoice.org/a-tale-of-two-conferences-36389.html#utm_source=tweet&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=twitter

6.       Britain’s Greenest Borough

At a meeting of the council’s Climate Change Working Group this morning I unveiled a set of suggestions and proposals that I think could help to propel Broxtowe towards being Britain’s most environmentally friendly borough. This is a target that I would like to see us adopt and I’m pleased to say that the proposals were met with a strong level of enthusiasm. Broxtowe got on board with tackling climate change early on in the process but over the past few years we’ve lost our way a bit. I’m hoping that (in my new role as chair of the Climate Change Working Group) we can not only get the council freshly back on track but also to enable us to make it easy for people to adopt a greener approach to their own lifestyles. I’ll provide more information about how the council is getting on over the next few months.

7.       Housing Land Availability

At the council’s cabinet last Tuesday we endorsed a review of housing land available in the borough. The council faces significant pressure to provide new housing and we cannot accommodate everything on brownfield land, but I am pleased to say that the total number of houses that may need to be built on the green belt seems to be falling. We have been able to accommodate more housing on existing sites and we are committed to ensuring that no land will be taken from the green belt unless absolutely necessary. If anyone wants to see the list of sites that we’ve looked at just let me know and I’ll send you a copy. Linked to that we also agreed to carry out an extensive public consultation from now until next year seeking the views of residents about where future development might take place. I thought that everyone would be in favour of asking local residents their views but surprisingly the Conservatives decided to abstain. I am disappointed by that as I think that it is vital that local residents are given every opportunity to share their views.

8.       Oxylane Development

As regular readers may know Oxylane, the company who own the Decathlon Sports Store in Giltbrook, applied to build a sports village on land next to Junction 26 of the M1. This application was withdrawn at the last minute but Oxylane have now approached the council about the possibility of developing a leisure centre on the site as well. The council have agreed to discuss this with them on the explicit understanding that this will not prejudice the independence of the Development Control Committee to determine the planning application in due course. Potentially this could give the borough a state of the art sports centre along with the Oxylane Site, which could also generate hundreds of jobs. However the Conservatives again refused to back this.

9.       999 Calls

New figures published by the police this week made very disappointing reading. In the last twelve months they dealt with move than half a million emergency calls but only 12% of these related to crimes. If you believe that a crime is being committed or someone is in danger then 999 is absolutely the right number to dial, but for routine calls it most certainly is not. Notts Police operate a 101 number for these.

10.   County Councillors Allowances

The Liberal Democrats on Nottinghamshire County Council proposed to reduce councillors allowances as a money saving exercise. The county council needs to save £154 million next year and reducing councillors allowances was seen as a sensible way of helping. Sadly however the Labour councillors voted against this and as a result the proposal was defeated.

11.   Artists Display

Beeston artist Pam Millar will be opening her studio for people to look at her work on 5^th and 6^th October. This will be at Barrydale Avenue in Beeston and will start at 10am each day. She will be on hand to talk about her work and to provide advice to others, and light refreshments will be available.

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 21st July 2013

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.       Beeston Town Centre

At the Development Control meeting on Wednesday the borough council gave planning permission for a redevelopment of the Beeston Square.  Many of the members of the committee expressed disappointment that the plans were not as inspired as we would have hoped but the prevailing view was that we had to give permission to get something done. I was in a minority of one who voted against the proposals as I felt that they were just not good enough.

2.       Oxylane Sports Village

Also on Wednesday night the committee looked at the proposals to develop a sports village at land next to the M1 junction 26. The application was for a multi-million pound development creating 250 new jobs, but the big disadvantage was that it was on green belt land. This was a much closer vote and the application was refused by 6 votes to 5.

3.       Nottingham Railway Station

Nottingham Railway Station is now closed for 5 weeks. This is also affecting services through Beeston as well. I’m already regretting agreeing to a meeting in London at 9am tomorrow morning. If travelling by train please ensure that you check the details.

4.       Watnall Bunker

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 the  Council have now given planning permission for it to be converted.

5.       Grass Cutting

Last week my colleagues Stan Heptinstall and Jacky Williams presented our grass cutting petition to the County Council. There have also been numerous other complaints to the County over the state of verges in Broxtowe and in recent days they look like they have been putting much more effort into doing things correctly. The areas that I have seen in recent days which have had a second cut look far better than they did after the first. At the same time my colleague Ian Tyler has been in contact with the Highways Agency and as a result of this the grass along the A52  was cut on Friday night.

6.       Parks and Open Spaces

Broxtowe residents are being encouraged to go online and have their say on to help inform a new Broxtowe Parks Standard. An online questionnaire is available at http://broxtowe.firmstep.com/default.aspx/RenderForm/?ID=obe5obHE79m&HideAll  on the Broxtowe Borough Council website and is quick and easy to fill in, using a series of drop down boxes and point and click answers. The views of local residents are really important in formulating the standards of facilities and services in local councils and so I’d encourage everyone to spend a few minutes completing it.

7.       Tram Jobs

I was delighted to read this week that the tram is about to create it’s 1,000^th new job. Broxtowe residents, along with those from Nottingham, get priority on these and so many local residents will have benefited from these.  I was asked this week about a rumour that the construction work was 18 months behind schedule. I must say that I have never heard this and would be very surprised if it was true, given the very strong penalty clauses in the contracts.

8.       HS2

This week Derbyshire County Council formally backed plans to develop the East Midlands station for HS2 at Toton, rather than Derby. This means that only Derby City Council are now arguing that Derby should be the location, and makes it even more likely that the development will be at Toton. Derbyshire County Council will be proposing a further extension to the tram network when HS2 is built, extending it from Toton through to Long Eaton.

The public consultation on HS2 has now opened. This will run until the end of the year and will include a public exhibition in October. The details of the consultation are available at www.hs2.org.uk/phase-two/route-consultation.

9.       Stapleford Local History Society

The next meeting of Stapleford Local History Society will take place on 14^th August at the Maycliffe Hall, starting at 7.30pm. The theme will be “Stapleford Past and Present.” Admission for non-members is £3.50.

10.   Crime Levels Down

Crime in Nottinghamshire has fallen by 12% between April last year and March of this year, continuing a trend that has been developing for the past few years. Despite the recession crime is at a lower level now than for many years. Encouragingly, not only are there less crimes but the number of people committing crime has also fallen.

11.   Kate Beckinsale Visit

Hollywood actress Kate Beckinsale visited Chilwell school on Wednesday to unveil a plaque to her late father  Richard Beckinsale, who was a pupil at the school. A number of other well known celebrities, including David Walliams, came for the event as well. Congratulations to everyone at the school who was involved in organising it.

12.   Stapleford Carnival

The organisers of Stapleford Carnival have announced this week that they have had to reluctantly cancel the parade which normally starts the event. This is because the police will not provide policing at the event. However the rest of the carnival will go ahead on 7^th September at the Ilkeston Road Recreation Ground.

13.   Trowell FC Soccer School

Trowell FC have launched a soccer school for children aged between 5 and 7 years old every Saturday morning at William Lilley School in Stapleford. Sessions cost £2 and more details can be obtained by ringing 07747 190341.

14.   Summer Activities

The borough council have published a booklet listing many summer activities for children and young people. You can obtain a copy by ringing the council on 0115 917 7777 and many details will also be on the council’s website.

15.   August Break

Next weeks edition of the newsletter will be the last one until September. As with previous years I will not be publishing newsletters during August so if you have any activities during August that you would like publicising please make sure that I have the details by next weekend.

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 21st July 2013

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.       Beeston Town Centre

At the Development Control meeting on Wednesday the borough council gave planning permission for a redevelopment of the Beeston Square.  Many of the members of the committee expressed disappointment that the plans were not as inspired as we would have hoped but the prevailing view was that we had to give permission to get something done. I was in a minority of one who voted against the proposals as I felt that they were just not good enough.

2.       Oxylane Sports Village

Also on Wednesday night the committee looked at the proposals to develop a sports village at land next to the M1 junction 26. The application was for a multi-million pound development creating 250 new jobs, but the big disadvantage was that it was on green belt land. This was a much closer vote and the application was refused by 6 votes to 5.

3.       Nottingham Railway Station

Nottingham Railway Station is now closed for 5 weeks. This is also affecting services through Beeston as well. I’m already regretting agreeing to a meeting in London at 9am tomorrow morning. If travelling by train please ensure that you check the details.

4.       Watnall Bunker

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 the  Council have now given planning permission for it to be converted.

5.       Grass Cutting

Last week my colleagues Stan Heptinstall and Jacky Williams presented our grass cutting petition to the County Council. There have also been numerous other complaints to the County over the state of verges in Broxtowe and in recent days they look like they have been putting much more effort into doing things correctly. The areas that I have seen in recent days which have had a second cut look far better than they did after the first. At the same time my colleague Ian Tyler has been in contact with the Highways Agency and as a result of this the grass along the A52  was cut on Friday night.

6.       Parks and Open Spaces

Broxtowe residents are being encouraged to go online and have their say on to help inform a new Broxtowe Parks Standard. An online questionnaire is available at http://broxtowe.firmstep.com/default.aspx/RenderForm/?ID=obe5obHE79m&HideAll  on the Broxtowe Borough Council website and is quick and easy to fill in, using a series of drop down boxes and point and click answers. The views of local residents are really important in formulating the standards of facilities and services in local councils and so I’d encourage everyone to spend a few minutes completing it.

7.       Tram Jobs

I was delighted to read this week that the tram is about to create it’s 1,000^th new job. Broxtowe residents, along with those from Nottingham, get priority on these and so many local residents will have benefited from these.  I was asked this week about a rumour that the construction work was 18 months behind schedule. I must say that I have never heard this and would be very surprised if it was true, given the very strong penalty clauses in the contracts.

8.       HS2

This week Derbyshire County Council formally backed plans to develop the East Midlands station for HS2 at Toton, rather than Derby. This means that only Derby City Council are now arguing that Derby should be the location, and makes it even more likely that the development will be at Toton. Derbyshire County Council will be proposing a further extension to the tram network when HS2 is built, extending it from Toton through to Long Eaton.

The public consultation on HS2 has now opened. This will run until the end of the year and will include a public exhibition in October. The details of the consultation are available at www.hs2.org.uk/phase-two/route-consultation.

9.       Stapleford Local History Society

The next meeting of Stapleford Local History Society will take place on 14^th August at the Maycliffe Hall, starting at 7.30pm. The theme will be “Stapleford Past and Present.” Admission for non-members is £3.50.

10.   Crime Levels Down

Crime in Nottinghamshire has fallen by 12% between April last year and March of this year, continuing a trend that has been developing for the past few years. Despite the recession crime is at a lower level now than for many years. Encouragingly, not only are there less crimes but the number of people committing crime has also fallen.

11.   Kate Beckinsale Visit

Hollywood actress Kate Beckinsale visited Chilwell school on Wednesday to unveil a plaque to her late father  Richard Beckinsale, who was a pupil at the school. A number of other well known celebrities, including David Walliams, came for the event as well. Congratulations to everyone at the school who was involved in organising it.

12.   Stapleford Carnival

The organisers of Stapleford Carnival have announced this week that they have had to reluctantly cancel the parade which normally starts the event. This is because the police will not provide policing at the event. However the rest of the carnival will go ahead on 7^th September at the Ilkeston Road Recreation Ground.

13.   Trowell FC Soccer School

Trowell FC have launched a soccer school for children aged between 5 and 7 years old every Saturday morning at William Lilley School in Stapleford. Sessions cost £2 and more details can be obtained by ringing 07747 190341.

14.   Summer Activities

The borough council have published a booklet listing many summer activities for children and young people. You can obtain a copy by ringing the council on 0115 917 7777 and many details will also be on the council’s website.

15.   August Break

Next weeks edition of the newsletter will be the last one until September. As with previous years I will not be publishing newsletters during August so if you have any activities during August that you would like publicising please make sure that I have the details by next weekend.

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 21st July 2013

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.       Beeston Town Centre

At the Development Control meeting on Wednesday the borough council gave planning permission for a redevelopment of the Beeston Square.  Many of the members of the committee expressed disappointment that the plans were not as inspired as we would have hoped but the prevailing view was that we had to give permission to get something done. I was in a minority of one who voted against the proposals as I felt that they were just not good enough.

2.       Oxylane Sports Village

Also on Wednesday night the committee looked at the proposals to develop a sports village at land next to the M1 junction 26. The application was for a multi-million pound development creating 250 new jobs, but the big disadvantage was that it was on green belt land. This was a much closer vote and the application was refused by 6 votes to 5.

3.       Nottingham Railway Station

Nottingham Railway Station is now closed for 5 weeks. This is also affecting services through Beeston as well. I’m already regretting agreeing to a meeting in London at 9am tomorrow morning. If travelling by train please ensure that you check the details.

4.       Watnall Bunker

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 the  Council have now given planning permission for it to be converted.

5.       Grass Cutting

Last week my colleagues Stan Heptinstall and Jacky Williams presented our grass cutting petition to the County Council. There have also been numerous other complaints to the County over the state of verges in Broxtowe and in recent days they look like they have been putting much more effort into doing things correctly. The areas that I have seen in recent days which have had a second cut look far better than they did after the first. At the same time my colleague Ian Tyler has been in contact with the Highways Agency and as a result of this the grass along the A52  was cut on Friday night.

6.       Parks and Open Spaces

Broxtowe residents are being encouraged to go online and have their say on to help inform a new Broxtowe Parks Standard. An online questionnaire is available at http://broxtowe.firmstep.com/default.aspx/RenderForm/?ID=obe5obHE79m&HideAll  on the Broxtowe Borough Council website and is quick and easy to fill in, using a series of drop down boxes and point and click answers. The views of local residents are really important in formulating the standards of facilities and services in local councils and so I’d encourage everyone to spend a few minutes completing it.

7.       Tram Jobs

I was delighted to read this week that the tram is about to create it’s 1,000^th new job. Broxtowe residents, along with those from Nottingham, get priority on these and so many local residents will have benefited from these.  I was asked this week about a rumour that the construction work was 18 months behind schedule. I must say that I have never heard this and would be very surprised if it was true, given the very strong penalty clauses in the contracts.

8.       HS2

This week Derbyshire County Council formally backed plans to develop the East Midlands station for HS2 at Toton, rather than Derby. This means that only Derby City Council are now arguing that Derby should be the location, and makes it even more likely that the development will be at Toton. Derbyshire County Council will be proposing a further extension to the tram network when HS2 is built, extending it from Toton through to Long Eaton.

The public consultation on HS2 has now opened. This will run until the end of the year and will include a public exhibition in October. The details of the consultation are available at www.hs2.org.uk/phase-two/route-consultation.

9.       Stapleford Local History Society

The next meeting of Stapleford Local History Society will take place on 14^th August at the Maycliffe Hall, starting at 7.30pm. The theme will be “Stapleford Past and Present.” Admission for non-members is £3.50.

10.   Crime Levels Down

Crime in Nottinghamshire has fallen by 12% between April last year and March of this year, continuing a trend that has been developing for the past few years. Despite the recession crime is at a lower level now than for many years. Encouragingly, not only are there less crimes but the number of people committing crime has also fallen.

11.   Kate Beckinsale Visit

Hollywood actress Kate Beckinsale visited Chilwell school on Wednesday to unveil a plaque to her late father  Richard Beckinsale, who was a pupil at the school. A number of other well known celebrities, including David Walliams, came for the event as well. Congratulations to everyone at the school who was involved in organising it.

12.   Stapleford Carnival

The organisers of Stapleford Carnival have announced this week that they have had to reluctantly cancel the parade which normally starts the event. This is because the police will not provide policing at the event. However the rest of the carnival will go ahead on 7^th September at the Ilkeston Road Recreation Ground.

13.   Trowell FC Soccer School

Trowell FC have launched a soccer school for children aged between 5 and 7 years old every Saturday morning at William Lilley School in Stapleford. Sessions cost £2 and more details can be obtained by ringing 07747 190341.

14.   Summer Activities

The borough council have published a booklet listing many summer activities for children and young people. You can obtain a copy by ringing the council on 0115 917 7777 and many details will also be on the council’s website.

15.   August Break

Next weeks edition of the newsletter will be the last one until September. As with previous years I will not be publishing newsletters during August so if you have any activities during August that you would like publicising please make sure that I have the details by next weekend.

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 7th July 2013

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. Grass Cutting Petition
Thank you to everyone who has signed this petition. My colleagues Stan Heptinstall and Jacky Williams will be presenting the petition to the County Council at their meeting on 11th July 2013. At the Bramcote CAT meeting last week the County Council did attend and accepted that something had gone wrong, but significantly they would not guarantee to employ the same number of people that the borough council did. The borough council employed 8 people to do the job, the County Council were trying to do it with three.

2. Spending Review
Last week the Government announced that money for local government was to be cut by 10%. Over the years that the Liberal Democrats have been involved in running the council in Broxtowe we have gradually made it more and more efficient (for instance we only employ a little over half the staff that we did ten years ago) but we have always maintained the full range of council services that we provided. It’s fair to say now though that there is little excess left to cut. Accordingly the Liberal Democrats would like your views about where the council’s priorities should be.  We have created a survey on our web site at www.broxtoweliberaldemocrats.org.uk and I’d encourage everyone to take a couple of minutes to complete it. If you do make the time – thank you.

3. Tennis Courts
Following the news last week about the refurbished tennis courts at Queen Elizabeth II Park in Stapleford local residents have contacted me to see if anything can be done about the courts on Beeston Fields Park. I’ve spoken to local councillor Steve Carr about this and we will be looking to see if we can put funding together  to do this. I’ve also suggested to the council that to mark Andy Murray’s wonderful victory today (I’m a bit hoarse from shouting at the telly) that we should provide free or reduce rate sessions for local children. I don’t know if this will be possible but it’s worth exploring.

4. Beeston Maltings
Despite efforts to save it Beeston Maltings was demolished (for the most part) last year. Now a display of images of the building, put together by the Beeston Civic Society, is on at the library on Foster Avenue. The exhibition runs through the summer, although I confess that I don’t have the exact dates.

5. Bramcote Lib-Dems Garden Party
Bramcote Liberal Democrats are holding a garden party at 8 Cranston Road, Bramcote, on Friday 19th July from 7.30pm. All friends and supporters of the Liberal Democrats are welcome to attend. The event is free but there will be a plate for donations.

6. Anna Soubry
Despite regular rumours over the last three years that she was going to decamp to Rushcliffe Broxtowe Conservatives have confirmed that Anna Soubry MP will be their candidate at the next general election. The Labour Party are currently selecting their candidate at the Liberal Democrats will do so early next year. I have already told the party, and repeated publicly, that having stood at the last three elections, which has been a real privilege for me, I do not intend to stand next time and so we will have a new candidate for 2015.

7. Toton Lane Closure
Toton Lane in Stapleford is to be closed for resurfacing work between Eatons Road and Brookhill Street (i.e. from the middle of Stapleford to the top of the hill) between 12th and 25th August this year. That coincides with when Nottingham Railway Station is closed and with the tram work as well this may cause some difficulties. I suspect a significant amount of work was deliberately targeted for the summer holidays when there is less traffic on the roads but south Broxtowe seems to be getting a lot of challenges this year.

8. Stapleford Local History Society
The next meeting of Stapleford Local History Society will take place on Wednesday 10th July. The theme is “Feeding the English Country House” and the meeting, at the Maycliffe Hall in Stapleford, will start at 7.30pm.

9. Nuthall Graveyard
Nuthall Parish Council this week laid flat about 50 headstones in the graveyard there. The council explained that this was for health and safety reasons, although it has clearly caused distress to many local residents. The leader of the parish council apparently authorised the work as they viewed the work as being urgent. I’m sure that more information about this will become available in due course and I will report it when I have it.

10. A52 Bus Lane
I read this week that Nottingham City have now collected more than £1 million in fines from people driving in the bus lanes. By contrast there was a very interesting report this week from the police about their operations against people driving on the bus lane along the A52 from the Sherwin Arms to Priory Island. Whereas the early operations were catching about 20 drivers a time they last two operations have stopped 7 and then 3 drivers respectively. It seems that people are learning that driving in the bus lanes is not allowed.

11. Kimberley Town Council Fun Weekend
Kimberley Town Council have organised a fun weekend July 13/14th? It has a seaside theme with lots of attractions.   Kimberley Town Council are also in the process of producing a quarterly newsletter, its aim being to inform residents of future events and projects being undertaken by the Council.

12. Free Trees
The Woodland Trust are offering free trees to not for profit community groups. Broxtowe Borough Council have for a number of years worked to increase the number of trees in the borough and so I’m very happy to support this initiative. Applicants must have space to plant the trees and people to plant them. Applicants must be submitted by 13th September and more details are available by ringing 01476 581135.

13. Survey on Children With Special Needs
Notts County Council is running a survey amongst parents of children with special needs or with disabilities to identify the services that they need and how they can access support. If this includes you please give five minutes to complete the survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/98ZPFKN

14. Totally Local
Efforts are being made in Eastwood to launch a Totally Local campaign. The aim of the campaign is to promote local businesses and it is being organised by Elaine Harrison from the Eats and Treats Café.  More details are available by ringing 07877 263370.

15. Quiz The Police
Notts Police will be holding a an open meeting for the public to quiz them about policing in Beeston. This will take place at the Town Hall, Foster Avenue on Tuesday July 23rd at 7pm. Everyone is welcome to attend.

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 June 2013

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. Motorway Improvements
Strictly speaking this is just outside of Broxtowe but is very relevant to many people who live here. Amongst the new infrastructure announcements by the Government on Thursday was he very welcome news that improvements will be made to junction 25 of the M1. As anyone who has had the delights of queuing on the A52 to try and get on to the motorway knows this is a junction that does require work doing on it. I don’t have the full details yet but will publicise them when I have them.

2. HS2
Also announced on Thursday was the confirmation that the Government is to fund phase 2 of HS2, including the station at Toton. I do welcome this and I think that HS2 will be a huge benefit to the area, but we have got to make sure that the design is right. I do need to apologise to Stapleford residents for missing them off the list of areas that we discussed with the HS2 management last week. They were talked about, it was simply a typo on my part that they weren’t on the list.

3. Outdoor Table Tennis
The council has secured funding to install outdoor table tennis tables at Broadgate Park in Beeston. These will be installed shortly and will be available for everyone to use (not just students as was reported in a local paper this week).

4. Nottingham Canal Improvements
The Borough Council has agreed to spend £125,000 improving the towpath on the Nottingham Canal. Most of this money had previously been earmarked but more work was identified that needed to be done on the disused stretch from Latimer Drive to Trowell Garden Centre. This is now a popular local nature reserve and the paths here get very churned up in winter so I’m delighted that this additional work (costing £15,000) is being done. Work will be done in stages starting from 15th July.

5. Other Public Transport Improvements
The council has a significant programme of public transport improvements that we’ve been putting into effect over the past couple of years. As regular readers will know I’ve been pushing for improved bus services although the previous administration at the County Council were unwilling to take this forward. We’ll try again now that there is a Labour council running things there. Other improvements that will happen over the next few months include alterations to traffic lights in Beeston to create bus priority routes, new shelters at the coach pick-up point on Lace Road in Beeston, more pedestrian signage in Beeston and Stapleford (to be installed next year)and improved cycling infrastructure in a number of places in the borough.

6. Local Nature Reserves
Work is to be carried out shortly at three of the local nature reserves in the borough. Pond restoration and woodland management will take place at the Spinney Woodland in Watnall (with funding for this raised by local residents), preservation work will be carried out on the timbers at Brinsley Headstock and hedgerow restoration will take place at the Alexander Plantation in Bramcote (helped by the Friends of Bramcote Ridge).

7. Cemetery Fees
Not the nicest of topics but an important one. The borough council have agreed a range of revisions to the charges for burials and cremations in Broxtowe, the most important being that there will now be no fee for either service for children under 12 and lower fees for those up to 16. Losing a child must be the worst experience in the world and this is one practical step that the council can take to not make matters any worse. We have also agreed that there will be lower fees for residents of Broxtowe than for non-residents.

8. Swimming Teacher Apprenticeships
One of the key campaigns that the Lib-Dems have fought nationally over recent years has been to ensure that there has been a significant growth in apprenticeships, ensuring that they teach proper careers and are not simply a source of cheap labour for employers. Since we joined the coalition there have been 1 million extra apprenticeships created (along with 1.3 million extra private sector jobs) and the borough council have employed a number of apprentices in that period. We have now agreed to take on two extra as apprentice swimming teachers, one for Kimberley Leisure Centre and one for Bramcote. The Lib-Dems are just launching nationally our million jobs campaign aiming to ensure that we create a further 1 million jobs (at least) between now and the general election in two years time.

9. Council Size
The Boundary Commission is currently considering the arrangements for councillors in Broxtowe. The first question they have asked the council is whether we feel that the current number of councillors (44) is correct. Councillors set up a working party to look at this and produced a report saying that we believe that the numbers are right, and went into detail as to why that was. On Wednesday night the council was asked to endorse this but amazingly most of the Conservatives, despite the fact that their representatives had been part of the working group that produced the report, suddenly decided that they were opposed to the recommendation and wanted a lower number. (They said that they would tell us how many “at the appropriate time” but given that Wednesday night was when the matter was debated it’s hard to think of a more appropriate time than that.) The report was still approved but it is highly disappointing that it no longer had unanimous support, and I think the rest of us were mystified about why they suddenly changed their minds (and well done to the two Tory councillors who refused to toe the party line).

10. Community Celebration
I’ve mentioned this before but it is worth reminding people that the Broxtowe Community Celebration takes place at Round Hill School, Foster Avenue, Beeston on Saturday 6th July from 11am to 4pm. The Community Celebration is A world of music, dance, sport competitions, arts, and food organised by the Broxtowe Community Celebration Group. Everyone is welcome and further details can be obtained from Andrea on 07952 701 399.

11. Coronation Park Family Fun Day
There will be a Family Fun Day at Coronation Park in Eastwood on Saturday 13th July. This will be a great afternoon out for all the family with lots of free activities including make and take art stalls, dance tent and stage acts. The fun day will run between 12:00 and 4:00pm.

12. The Vibe
Also in Eastwood that day, starting at 6pm for three hours, is The Vibe. This is aimed at young people between the ages of 13 and 19 and is a great free evening of live music, creative dance performances/workshops, sports and arts activities and KMX sessions. (I’d never heard of KMX so I Googled it and it looks like it is BMX on Trikes. Oh to be 19 again!)

13. Beeston Carnival
Still on 13th July we have Beeston Carnival. There will be entertainment in the Square from 10am  and the parade starts in Foster Avenue at 1pm, moving to Broadgate Park. The fete in the park opens at 12.00. The event is organised by Pat and Linda Lally who do an excellent job with it.

14. Summer Concert
Beeston Parish Church are having a Summer Concert with Bestwood Male Voice Choir on Saturday 13 July at 7.30 pm in church (the one behind Wilko's near Beeston Square).  Tickets are £6 and can be obtained by phoning the church office 07709 756949 or Barbara Selwood 0115 917 8488. The event is in aid of Church Funds (to help with the outside restoration work).  Refreshments will be available. The concert is sponsored by Crossplay Music, 128-130 Chilwell Road, Beeston.

15. Espresso Coffee Bar, Chilwell
Congratulations to Espresso Coffee bar in Chilwell and owner Natalie Eastwood for winning the Best Independent Café in the UK award at the Café Society awards in London last week. I’ve never been there yet but will make a point of doing so now.

16. Revamped Tennis Courts
My colleague Stan Heptinstall, the deputy mayor of Broxtowe, was able this week to open four refurbished tennis courts at Queen Elizabeth II Park on Toton Lane in Stapleford. These are a significant improvement on what was there before and hopefully we might find the next Andy Murray or Laura Robson on them.

17. Tram Extensions
The new portfolio holder for jobs and growth at the City Council, Nick McDonald, has called for the tram line to Phoenix Park to be extended to serve Kimberley and Eastwood as well. There is already a group in Kimberley campaigning for such an extension and I’m sure they welcome his input. I would fully support this as a scheme provided that a satisfactory route can be identified.

18. Bramcote CAT
The Bramcote Community Action Team meeting takes place tomorrow, 1st July, starting at 7pm (not 7.30 as stated in our recent Focus leaflet). It takes place at the Memorial Hall on Church Street and all Bramcote residents are welcome to attend.

19. Grass Cutting
Thank you to everyone who has signed our petition about the state of the grass verges in Broxtowe. We have already gathered well over 100 signatures with more still coming in. There’s still time to sign if you want to. The petition is at www.broxtoweliberaldemocrats.org.uk – just look for the “Petition” tab at the top and it will take you straight to it. We discovered recently that whilst the borough council used to employ a team of 8 people to cut the grass across the verges the County Council, who have taken over responsibility for this, were trying to do it with a team of three! They are now having to bring in extra staff to try and get things put right.

20. Free Childcare Places
Parents of young children are being asked to contact Nottinghamshire County Council to see if they qualify for free childcare starting in the autumn term. Eligible children will be able to take up their free places at the start of the term following their second birthday. There will be another round of applications for children who are two during the autumn term, with their places starting after Christmas, and a further round during the spring for children to start in the summer term. Places are available for 15 hours per week (term time only). Applications must be submitted by 12th July and can be done on-line at www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/childcare or by telephoning 0300 500 8080.

21. Corrections
When I reported about the Farmers Market in Kimberley last week I said that the new market at the Giltbrook Retail Park was being organised by the Town Council. Unfortunately my information on that was incorrect and I apologise to those concerned. I also hope that everyone spotted the typo relating to Friday’s Armed Forces coffee morning in Stapleford which began at 10.00am and not at 01.00am!

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 10th June 2013

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. Many apologies that the newsletter is a day late, but yesterday was my daughter’s birthday so we spent the day celebrating that. I probably also need to apologise to all my neighbours that one of her presents is a drum kit!

1. Hemlock Happening
Thank you to everyone who made this year’s Hemlock Happening another hugely successful event. Congratulations to my colleague Stan Heptinstall and his team at the Bramcote and Stapleford Golden Jubilee Group for organising the event. The high spot for us must be when my kids had a go at the sumo wrestling. They suited up and bowed to each other, at which point the younger one fell flat on her face!

2. Eastwood Book Town
I got the positions on the Eastwood Book Town Committee wrong last week. Cllr Keith Longdon is the chair of the committee and the patron on Jackie Trent. Many apologies for this. Also apologies that I referred to late night cubs last week, I meant clubs!

3. David Taylor
It was with sadness that I learned today that former Broxtowe mayor and County Councillor David Taylor passed away at the weekend. Funeral details will be notified later.

4. Spoken Word Night
Dave Wood and Richard Young’s Community Spoken Word night at Stapleford makes another appearance on Wednesday 12th June 2013, at 7:30pm. The venue is Two for Tea, 92 Derby Road, Stapleford. It's an evening of stories and poems featuring, this time, guest performer: Jackie Brewster. The rest of the evening comes from you! All are welcome to read, professional or amateur. Come in from 7pm to settle down ready to read, perform or be a member of the audience. The show starts at 7.30pm and usually finishes around 9.15pm. There has always been room for everyone who wishes to read to do so, but you can also ensure a spot by contacting me beforehand.
Open Word night is (as far as we know), Stapleford’s only poetry and storytelling night. Attendees are asked you to buy a drink for admission (plenty of delicious choices and cake too).

5. Moorgreen Show
This year the borough council will be returning as the main sponsor of the Moorgreen Show, which will be on over the August Bank Holiday. The council has been the main sponsor for most of the recent past and I’m delighted that we are being so again.

6. Inham Nook Recreation Ground
The council has committed to spending £260,000 improving the Inham Nook Recreation Pak in Chilwell. The money for this is primarily coming from our agreement with NET and will include improvements to paths, the pavilion, CCTV, skate park and football pitches. We still have an application for some further grant and if this is successful we will be able to put in new drainage for the football and bowling pitches as well.

7. Long Lane and Manor Park Farm Parks
We have also agreed to spend some £24,000 or so on improving the Lone Lane Park in Attenborough and the Manor Park Farm park in Toton, funding works to be done by Groundwork Greater Nottingham.

8. Free Swimming
Throughout the summer holidays under 18’s will be able to swim free at the council’s swimming pools. Anyone taking advantage of this scheme will need to have a Broxtowe Leisure Card, but this is a small one off payment and will give access to a full summer of free swimming. My kids will definitely be taking advantage of this offer.

9. Kimberley Town Council
Five new councillors have been co-opted onto Kimberley Town Council. They are Karen tenant, Kirsty John, Tony Hallard, Andy Cooper and Katharina Boettge.

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 2nd June 2013

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. Hemlock Happening
The 12th Annual Hemlock Happening will take place this Saturday at Bramcote Hills Park. This free event is one of the main highlights of the year and it is beginning to look like the weather might play ball as well. A full programme of entertainment is in place and everyone is invited to come and have a great time. The opening ceremony, attended by our MP, the Mayor of Broxtowe and the Mayor of Stapleford is at 1pm in the Walled Garden.  Staged events continue in the Walled Garden throughout the day ending with a fabulous firework display at 10:30pm. There are many additional field activities in Bramcote Hills Park from 1pm to 5pm. The event is organised in association with the Arts and Events Team at Broxtowe Borough Council.

2. Chilwell and Toton Liberal Democrats
I’m delighted to announce that we are launching a new Lib-Dem branch to cover Chilwell and Toton. The initial meeting will be this Friday at 71 Penrhyn Crescent in Chilwell, starting at 7.30pm. This will be an evening of “Coffee, Cake and Conversation” and if you’re a supporter of the Liberal Democrats we would be delighted to see you there.

3. Independent Person
Broxtowe Borough Council is looking to appoint an Independent Person to assist the Council’s Monitoring Officer to assess allegations of misconduct against either a Member of this Council or of a Parish/Town Council in the area and to decide on a course of action.  The Independent Person may also be consulted by and need to consult with the member about whom an allegation has been made. The successful candidate will be committed to achieving a high standard of behaviour in public affairs, be able to understand complicated facts, be able to express views clearly and ask relevant questions, have no obvious political affiliation and no recent political activity.  Experience of adjudication or investigation of complaints, an appreciation of the pressure on councillors and public services generally or experience of dealing with standards investigations would be an advantage.
The Localism Act 2011 prevents members and officers of the Council, their relatives and close friends from being an Independent Person. However this is circulated as it is recognised that Councillors and Parish Councils are likely to be aware of individuals who would be interested in this role The Independent Person may be required to attend hearing meetings, which are usually held in the early evening.  Full training will be provided for the successful applicant and a small allowance will be paid.
An application pack is available at http://www.broxtowe.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1622 If you are interested in this role and would like an informal conversation then please contact, Phillip Horsfield, Head of Legal Services, Broxtowe Borough Council, Council Offices, Foster Avenue, Beeston, Nottingham NG9 1AB on 0115 9173230. Closing date for applications is 7th June 2013.

4. Primary Schools
News this week affects two primary schools in Broxtowe. Bramcote Hills Primary School has been given funds by the county council to build two new classrooms, and they hope that these will be completed in time for the new school year in September 2014. At Round Hill Primary School in Beeston the county council have approved plans to increase the size of admissions by 25%.

5. Toton HS2 Station
Notts County Council and Nottingham City Council are working together to commission independent research on the economic benefits of having the HS2 station in Toton. This will be part of the process of determining whether the currently proposed plans are eventually confirmed by HS2 as their chosen route. Derby City Council want the station to be built there instead and this new research should help us counter their arguments.

6. Advice for Landlords
The Broxtowe and Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Landlords Forum event will take place at Broxtowe Town Hall, Foster Avenue, Beeston on 11th June between 6.30 and 9.00pm. The forum seeks to offer free help and advice to landlords on a range of issues. Tickets can be booked by emailing Deborah.bloomfield@broxtowe.gov.uk or ringing 0115 917 3554.

7. Eastwood Book Town
Eastwood Book Club are trying to get Eastwood designated as a Book Town. This would mean that new books in Nottinghamshire could be launched in Eastwood, drawing on the towns heritage as the home of DH Lawrence. My colleague Keith Longdon is the patron of the Eastwood Book Town campaign and I wish them every success.

8. No to Late Night Levy
Proposals were discussed by the borough council’s Alcohol and Entertainment committee this week about charging a late night levy on local pubs and cubs to contribute towards the costs of policing and CCTV. Having explored the issues at length the committee voted not to proceed with the proposals.

9. Stapleford Local History Society
The next meeting of Stapleford and District Local History Society will take place at Maycliffe Hall, Stapleford, on 12th June at 7.30pm, and will be a talk on the history of Toton Marshalling Yard. Admission costs £2.50.

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 19th May 2013

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. Bramcote Hills Care Home
An application to extend Bramcote Hills Care Home by extending it to include the two houses next to it was defeated at the Development Control Committee at Broxtowe Borough Council on Wednesday. Both myself and my colleague Stan Heptinstall spoke against the application, drawing attention to the parking problems that already exist and would be made worse by the extension and also he dominating impact on the street scene that the building would have. I’m pleased to report that the vote to reject the scheme was unanimous.

2. New Homes in Kimberley
Also on Wednesday the Development Control Committee approved an application to build 22 new homes next to Kimberley Brewery.  This one had the unanimous support of the councillors, as did an outline application for building in Newthorpe, where 20 homes are to be built.

3. Kimberley Brewery
An exhibition of the final plans for the Kimberley Brewery site will be on display the end of the month. The developers say the ‘master plan’ has been worked on since a public consultation, and they now wants to present people with the finished planning application. The exhibition will be held at Holy Trinity Church Hall in Kimberley on May 24 between 2pm and 7.30pm.

4. Core Strategy
The borough council will meet tomorrow to discuss the Core Strategy for the next 15 years. This is a hugely important document which has attracted a lot of publicity in the past over the limits for house building that we will be imposing over the plan period, but it covers much more than that. It covers the way that the council will try and tackle global warming, traffic management and employment and regeneration. I’ve attached a fact sheet to this email giving more details about it, and I will be discussing it on Radio Nottingham tomorrow morning at 7.10am with Andy Whittaker.

5. New Mayors
This week both Eastwood and Stapleford have elected new town mayors, and both are Liberal Democrats. Hazel Charlesworth is the new mayor of Eastwood and David Grindell is the new mayor of Stapleford. Congratulations to both of them on their new roles. Jim MacDonald was elected in Kimberley to continue as the Chairman of the town council there.

6. Kimberley Pram Race
I reported last week that it looked like Kimberley Pram Race would be scrapped following anti-social behaviour in previous events. However I’m delighted to say that following further discussions an alternative route has been prepared for the race and it looks set to continue. It will now start at Swingate or the Stag Recreation Ground and finish at Hall Om Wong Park.

7. Beeston BID
The Beeston Business Improvement District is the not-for-profit body which promotes Beeston Town Centre. It’s success has been shown by the very few vacant shop units along the High Road. The latest scheme they are launching is to target families by putting on a number of family friendly events over the next few months. With the disruption in the town at the moment with the tram works this is a very welcome initiative.

8. British Geological Survey Open Day
 Whilst Keyworth is not in Broxtowe a significant number of BGS staff live there. A significant amount of public money is spent every year by BGS doing science that is by intended to be of direct benefit or importance to the UK public. As BGS have not had an open day at the Keyworth site for well over a decade (in which time the site has been completely rebuilt) many people will have no idea that one of the world’s foremost scientific institutions in its field is just down the road. Details are available at www.bgs.ac.uk/news/events/openday/.

9. Beeston Market
Starting tomorrow Beeston Market is back. The market closed last year because of the poor state of the old site but from tomorrow it will be a weekly market in the town square, offering a mix of craft stalls, food and retail.



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 14th May 2013

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 start by apologising that the Enews is a bit late this week, I was struck down by a heavy cold and not in the best of states to write for the past couple of days.

1.       Broxtowe Core Strategy

Broxtowe Borough Council will be meeting next Monday evening to debate the new core strategy for the borough. This is the central plank of the council’s development plan for the next 15 years. The publicity so far, understandably, has been around housing proposals but the strategies to be debated cover much more, including the environment, the town centres, transport and others. Everyone is welcome to attend. The meeting starts at 7.00pm at the Town Hall, Foster Avenue, Beeston. I will be sending a fact sheet about the core strategy next week, but if you want it in advance it should be on our website at www.broxtoweliberaldemocrats.org.uk during the week.

2.       New Mayor and Deputy Mayor

At the borough council meeting last week Iris White was elected as the new mayor of Broxtowe after having been the deputy mayor last year. The new deputy mayor will be Bramcote Lib-Dem councillor Stan Heptinstall.  As a result Stan will be standing down from the cabinet on the council and his place is being taken by fellow Bramcote Lib-Dem councillor Ian Tyler. (Unfortunately I completely missed tonight’s cabinet meeting as I was stuck in a traffic jam in Leicester for an hour!)

3.       Bramcote Bonanza

The Bramcote School will be holding their Bramcote Bonanza on Friday 12^th July from 5.00pm to 8.00pm. This will include stalls, sideshows, live music and face painting. Everyone will be welcome to attend.

4.       School Governors Wanted

White Hills Park Federation of Schools are currently advertising for new school governors. If you would like to take on this important role which supports the school then please contact Karen Sims, Clerk to the Governors on 0115 9078111 for further details.

5.       Same Sex Marriage meeting

Anna Soubry MP is holding a public meeting to discuss the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill on Thursday 16th May, 7:30pm-8:30pm, at Clarkes Lane Methodist Church, Chilwell.   Everyone is welcome to attend.

6.       Beeston Police Station

Work is now well underway to move Beeston Police Station. From early June the police station will be located in the Civic Centre on Foster Avenue, along with the borough council and Citizens Advice Bureaux. A Police front counter service will be open from Monday to Thursday, 8.30am until 5.00pm, and Fridays 8.30am until 4.30pm.

7.       Stag Recreation Ground, Kimberley

The Stag Recreation Ground in Kimberley is getting a £200,000 makeover and school children are being asked to choose the equipment. £35,000 of the funding has come from Broxtowe Borough Council, £50,000 came from Nottinghamshire County Council’s Local Improvement Scheme and a contribution of £18,600 was made by Kimberley Town Council. The town council, which is running the project, is now applying for £100,000 Landfill Funding to make up the total. The views of residents and local children about what equipment should be installed on the park can on the Kimberley Town Council website at www.kimberleytowncouncil.org.uk.  

8.       Housing Application for Nuthall

Developers have submitted plans to build a 550 house development in Nuthall alongside the A6002. This is on a site where the HS2 is proposed to pass through, although it’s fair to say that the HS2 staff didn’t know anything about the proposals until I told them about it at a recent meeting. The application will need to be considered by the Development Control Committee in the future.

9.       New Trees

Beeston and District Civic Society engaged at the end of last month in a programme of planting new trees across the town, following suggestions from local residents as to the possible locations. This is an excellent project and they have also asked local residents to take on the role of tree guardians to water and look after the new plantings. Trees were planted in five locations across Beeston.

10.   Kimberley Pram Race

It was disappointing to read this week that Kimberley Town Council are considering stopping the towns annual pram race. Unfortunately in recent years drunken behaviour associated with the event have led to complaints and difficulties ensuring that the event can be properly policed. It is a shame that the actions of a drunken minority may have spoiled it for the majority who usually enjoy the event.

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 27th April 2013

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. Beeston Traffic
I’ve received a number of complaints this week from people about the problems with traffic in Beeston. I’ve made some enquiries and apparently a sewer collapsed under Queens Road, which necessitated emergency repairs. This couldn’t have happened at a worse time, but it has now been fixed and hopefully things will be better next week.

2. HS2
A meeting took place on Friday between representatives from HS2 and Broxtowe councillors. I was very impressed with their apparent willingness to engage with us about concerns over the route. If you’re on my HS2 list then you will have received a report about this meeting earlier today, but f not you can read it on our web site at www.broxtoweliberaldemocrats.org.uk. If anyone wants adding to the HS2 list just let me know.

3. Anti-Social Behaviour
I reported last week about the threats that have been made to me over Twitter. Unfortunately matters have taken a turn for the worse this week after a group of teenagers targeted my house on Friday night, banging on the doors and windows and engaging in some very threatening behaviour. Given that I live in the middle of a cul-de-sac estate it’s not very likely that this was a random attack and more likely that we were being targeted. We had to report this to the police who are now investigating. This was all the more disturbing given that my two children were asleep inside at the time.
I have to say that of all the things that have happened in the 14 years I’ve been a councillor this is by far the most disturbing and is the first time that I’ve ever contemplated packing it all in. I’m not prepared to subject my children to risk and they have to come first. However the sun came out the next morning and I woke up feeling far better, so in the words of Elton John “I’m still standing.”

4. Trains in the Summer
I’m aware that an email was circulated last week to a number of residents in Broxtowe saying that when Nottingham station closes for rebuilding in the summer all the services would run to and from Beeston instead. This is quite simply incorrect. Network Rail have decided to use East Midlands Parkway as the alternative terminus.

5. Beeston Express/Anna Soubry
When the Beeston Express carried out a readers survey recently one of the main bits of feedback was that they wanted more varied political comment. As a result the editor approached a number of people, including me, to see if we would contribute articles from time to time. I’ve agreed to do so. Unfortunately Anna Soubry, who has been writing a regular column, has reacted in an extremely childish way to this. In her latest newsletter she wrote :
“For many years the previous MP had a monthly column in the small community paper The Beeston Express - right up to the General Election in 2010. Since my election I have had the same opportunity to communicate with constituents about my work on a non partisan basis. Unfortunately, the Editor has exercised her right and has decided to cancel my monthly column.

For some time people have been complaining to me that the Beeston Express is no longer the great impartial community newspaper it once was. I am disappointed that the Editor chose to ignore two statements from me about Field Farm and has now refused me the same opportunity as my predecessor. I will continue to express my views and provide updates on my work via this newsletter.”
I’ve quoted her directly here so that I can’t be accused of misrepresenting her. I understand from Sheila Eden, the Editor of Beeston Express,  that she was still happy for Anna to write a regular column but that it is Anna who has decided not to continue with it. I did have to have Anna’s email forwarded to me because she has deleted a number of people who disagree with her, including me, from her mailing list.

6. County Council Elections
It is election day on Thursday 2nd May. The Lib Dem candidates are Steve Carr – Beeston North, Stan Heptinstall and Jacky Wlliams – Bramcote and Stapleford, Keith Longdon – Eastwood, Ken Rigby – Kimberley and Trowell, Brian Taylor – Beeston South and Attenborough, Josie Forrest – Greasley, and Barbara Carr and myself for Chilwell and Toton. If you like what the Lib-Dems are doing locally (including this newsletter which is now read by many hundreds of people each week) then please give us your vote on Thursday.
Unfortunately a dog was so eager to demonstrate support for my colleague Steve Carr the other day that it bit him on the finger and he’s now strapped up. I read a leaflet this week from a candidate who said that if elected he would ensure that his councillors fund was spent in his division. That is actually what every councillor does and that’s what their divisional fund is for. A couple of weeks ago I said that the independent candidate in Stapleford had his leaflets printed in Aberdeen. He’s pointed out to me that this is an error and they were in fact printed in Dundee. I’m happy to put the record straight.

7. Free Paint
The Community repaint Nottinghamshire Scheme (which I confess I had never heard of before) has arranged to distribute free paint from Beeston recycling centre. This will be on 19th June from 5.00pm to 7.30pm and pre-booking is essential. There is no limit to the amount of paint that people can take. To reserve a time slot call the County Council on 0300 500 8080.

8. A Peaceful Place
A survey by the UK peace index says that Nottinghamshire is the third most peaceful place in the country where there is a major city on it’s doorsteps. They define peaceful as being an absence of violence. This fits in with newly published figures I mentioned a few weeks ago which shows that crime rates in the city are falling substantially.

9. Police Neighbourhood Survey
Notts Police are currently running a survey about peoples concerns for their areas. You can complete the survey online at http://www.neighbourhoodprioritysurvey.co.uk/.

10. Bramcote Netball Club
Bramcote Netball Club have launched a new juniors club for girls from year 5 or above. It meets every Friday during term times between 4.45 – 6.00pm at Bilborough College Sports Centre. The first session is free and others are only £3 a time. Details are available from http://bramcotenetballclub.yolasite.com

11. White Lion Beer Festival
There is a Camra Local Beer Festival at the White Lion on Town Street, Bramcote, between 23rd  and 27th  May, which will feature 10 beers brewed within  a 10 mile radius of Bramcote.

12. Toton Planning Applications
Peverills, who have applied for planning permission to build a large new housing estate on green belt land in Toton, have amended their application. Details can be seen at www.broxtowe.gov.uk, by entering the reference 12/00585/OUT in the search box on the planning tab.

As ever thank you for your support for this newsletter. Any feedback is gratefully received. I will send a short email with the election results on Friday, but there will be no main newsletter this week due to the bank holiday.

Best wishes

David
www.davidwatts.org.uk
www.broxtoweliberaldemocrats.org.uk
Follow me on Twitter @davidwatts12.