Latest In Council

Last Thursday was Annual Council.  This session reviewed the last cycle of council meetings and also set the committee structure for the coming year.

Once again all of the major committees are covered by Church Gresley Councillors in the coming year.

Thursday 30th is Civic Council during which the new Chairman and Vice-Chair are elected.  The new Chairman will inform us of his/her chosen Charity for the year.  The current Chairman, Michael Bale has been fundraising for the British Heart Foundation and The Land Girls.

The week after finds us back into the cycle of committees with a meeting of Environment and Development Services.

Update on Thorpe Downs / Church Street Development

The story linked below was written in the Burton Mail this week relating to improvements at the Junction of Thorpe Downs Road and Church Street.

http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/News/Junction-set-to-be-improved-20130527082101.htm

Presently there has not been an application submitted to South Derbyshire District Council and this report does not really state anything more than was discussed between the developer and residents at the recent meeting, other than perhaps hinting that a preferred route of access to the proposed development would be via Thorpe Downs Road.

As soon as an application is submitted, we will let residents know.

The Midway Forum and South Derbyshire Labour

Our Blog in Church Gresley is not the only local Labour forum on the Internet.  Our colleagues in Midway started the Midway Forum long before we started the Gresley Blog.

If you would like to look at the Midway Forum or have friends or family within the Midway ward then see link below.  We will also be putting it into our useful information page:

http://www.midwayforum.co.uk/

Earlier in the year a new page was set up on Facebook for South Derbyshire Labour which co-ordinates our efforts across the District.  The link is:

https://www.facebook.com/SouthDerbyshireLabour

South Derbyshire Labour can also be found on Twitter @SDLabour

Surgery Review - 11th May

A busy surgery for us on Saturday with residents coming to see us with concerns and questions.  These included the following:

• Concern over the Memorial Club and Recycling Centre.
• Questions relating to the proposed development behind Church Street / Thorpe Downs relating to access.
• Concern over fly / general rubbish tipping

More feedback will be given on all of the above in due course.  They have all been initially addressed by us.

Anybody who has concerns relating to the development behind Church Street can contact us if necessary - see useful contact information.

Your Police, Your Views 2013 - 17th September at Sharpe's Pottery

The following item has been taken from the Derbyshire Alert Website and refers to an event to be held by the Police.  A similar event was held a couple of years ago and was very useful and gave the public a great chance to ask questions to the senior members of Derbyshire Constabulary.

Invitation on behalf of the Chief Constable and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Derbyshire

You are invited to attend one of the Your Police Your Views Public Engagement events being held across the county between May and September.

The events will be attended by Commissioner Alan Charles and a Chief Officer from the Constabulary to meet and greet residents and deliver formal presentations about the role of the PCC, local policing, performance and current crime trends. The Chair of your local Community Safety Partnership will also be in attendance.

Following the presentations, which will cover the work taking place to make the county safer, members of the public who attend will be invited to ask questions and raise any further policing issues of interest or concern.

As we will be providing tea, coffee and biscuits it would be helpful if you could let us know if you are intending to come along by calling 0300 122 6000 or e-mailing pccoffice@derbyshire.pnn.police.uk stating which venue you plan to attend.

Please extend this invitation to friends or colleagues who would be interested in policing in Derbyshire.

The dates and venues are as follows:

11 June 2013 The Arena, 1 Rutland Street, Ilkeston, DE7 8DG

 4 July 2013 The Darwin Suite, Assembly Rooms, Market Place, Derby, DE1 3AH

17th September Sharpe’s Pottery Museum, West Street, Swadlincote, DE11 9DG

These events will start at 7 p.m. Tea, coffee and biscuits will be available from 6.30 p.m.

There is no need to advise if you are unable to attend. However if you do accept the invitation and then find you are not able to come, please let us know.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Yours faithfully

Mick Creedon,
Chief Constable
Derbyshire Constabulary

Alan Charles,
Police and Crime Commissioner for
Derbyshire Constabulary Derbyshire

Feedback on Consultation Event - Tuesday 7th May

As advertised on this blog, our latest newsletter and also via residents on Facebook, a consultation event took place on Tuesday night at the Church Hall rooms.

The event was hosted by Planning Prospects on behalf of St Modwen in relation to plans for 400 homes around Church Street and Thorpe Downs estate.

The event was typically well attended and brought some excellent feedback from residents.  Several residents were clearly not happy with the development and some passionate statements were made.

Key issues identified were access and traffic issues, effect on school provision and loss of open space.  There were also comments relating to the drainage of the area.

We will keep residents informed of each step in this process.  Public meetings have already been discussed on social media sites and we would be happy to facilitate this if and when an application is received.

The Burton Mail reported as below:

http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/News/Traffic-worries-over-300-homes-near-football-club-20130508154017.htm

Update on Recycling Centre Fly Tipping

In response to feedback on the issues of Fly tipping around the recycling centre, South Derbyshire District Council has put out a press release which has been picked up by the Burton Mail.

We welcome the approach to this issue and hope that the action proves to be a deterrent or that those responsible are caught.

http://www.south-derbys.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/council_news/may/news_items/taking_action_to_clamp_down_on_fly-tipping_at_hotspot.asp

http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/News/Fly-tipping-site-is-the-exception-to-the-rule-20130507114336.htm

Update for Week Commencing 6th May - Important Events

After a mainly sunny Bank Holiday, we enter another important week.

Consultation Event

As recently publicised on this blog, 1000 copies of our latest newsletter, importantly on Facebook (via a resident) and also within the St George's and St Mary Church Noticeboard, on Tuesday 7th May the below event will be held at the Church Hall rooms:


Consultation event at the St George & Mary’s Community Rooms, Church Street to be held on Tuesday May 7th between 4.30 and 7.30pm.  We would recommend that all of those who had comments attend this meeting as it relates to a proposed development.

If you are unable to attend the event, the company handling the event (Planning Prospects) can be contacted on 01905 828303 or email info@planningprospects.co.uk

The Preferred Growth Strategy consultation feedback to which the above relates is now available on the SDDC website on the following link:

www.ldf.consultations.south-derbys.gov.uk.

There were many valuable comments submitted from Church Gresley residents, particularly in relation to the proposed development near Thorpe Downs Estate and Church Street.

Monthly Surgery

Our Monthly Surgery takes place at the Methodist Church on York Road between 10am and 11 am on Saturday 11th May.

PCSO now on Twitter

For those on Twitter, our PCSO Adrian Miller can now be followed on Twitter @GresleySNT.

He is currently looking for speedwatch volunteers.

Review of a Good Week for Labour in Derbyshire

Last week was a great week for the Labour Party in Derbyshire.  In the County Council Election on Thursday May 2nd, Labour resumed power of the County Council with 43 elected Councillors.

This was helped by a great showing locally with 5 of the 8 South Derbyshire Divisions being won.

Church Gresley is within the Swadlincote South Division and this was won by Trevor Southerd.  Trevor brings a lot of experience to the role of County Councillor and is keen to ensure that we are well represented in Matlock.  We are all grateful to those who supported all of our candidates including Trevor, pictured below:

Full results can be found on the below link:

http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/News/Full-county-council-election-results-03052013.htm

Ed Miliband visits Swadlincote

On the eve of the County Council elections we were visited by Labour Leader Ed Miliband.

On Wednesday May 1st on a lovely sunny morning, Ed gave a good speech in the middle of the High Street and answered open questions from the crowd before meeting many onlookers.  We are very grateful to Ed for taking the time out to visit Swadlincote at an important time.

 

A link to local press report can be found below:

http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/News/Labour-leader-in-town-on-eve-of-crucial-election-20130501163852.htm