Sustainable approach to dog fouling

One of the biggest complaints that we receive continues to be related to dog fouling and littering.

Whilst we have ensured that the council have put several counter-measures in to improve the situation (more bins, more patrols in certain areas and increased cleaning), the situation is one that is ongoing.  Despite the actions above, people continue to let their dogs foul and drop litter.

The ideal actions will lead to people being caught, hence fined but it is not always easy to catch people in the act.  The next step is to put measures in that shame those who foul and litter and make it socially unacceptable, which is a far more discreet but effective way to approach than has been done in some places.

Although the problem is ward wide (indeed district wide and country wide), there is one particular area of concern and this is around the schools on Pennine Way.  Dog fouling in any place is bad but to allow dogs to foul in an environment where there are a large number of young children and babies is unacceptable.

We have communicated issues from the school to the wardens and have tried to engage the public for more information as to when the incidents are happening, though success has been limited.

In order to improve the situation, we have worked with our fellow councillors in the Swadlincote Ward (as the school is on the border of the 2 wards) and engaged with council officers.

On a recent afternoon Councillor Mick Mulgrew, head warden Gareth Evans, Environmental Health Manager Matt Holford and I monitored the area around the school during afternoon school run and discussed the issues with several people around the area including the headmistress of the infant school.

Below is a summary of what was discussed:

• There were a few bins that were overfull and also places where the siting of a new bin would have been ideal.  This was mainly on the footpath from Glebe Street through to the schools.  Action – bin provision to be looked into as well as frequency of collections.
• Several anti fouling and littering signs were worn and some area were short on signs (although contrary to some opinion, it is not a legal requirement to have signs up in order to prosecute for dog fouling or littering).  The use of alternative signs was also discussed, though the use of shocking images signs is not felt appropriate given the surroundings. Action – signs and stencils to be replaced where necessary.
• The infant school had produced some posters to highlight the issue but these have not yet been displayed.  Action – print the posters and display appropriately.
• Add to the intelligence gained to find out if there are any known persistent offenders.  Action – wardens to patrol and engage with dog walkers and hand out poop scoop bags.
• Some of the intelligence given suggested that people may be letting dogs off the lead to foul in an evening.  Action: look to impose a “dogs on lead” control order on the area, therefore action can be immediately taken on any dog not on a lead.  This would need to be approved by the EDS committee and would not be an immediate action.
• We also discussed the work done by other councils to implement a good dog walker scheme and are considering a pilot scheme if the results elsewhere were successful.

Overall, we need to ensure that the actions lead to not only improvement but a sustainable improvement.

Next date for Area 4 Safer Neighbourhoods and Forum

The last Safer Neighbourhoods and Area 4 Forum meeting was held at the Community Centre in Goseley last Tuesday.  The Forum was an event that was dominated in the Forum by many residents from Woodville who came to discuss the proposed housing development at Broomy Farm as included in the local plan.

The Safer Neighbourhood meeting, whilst quieter by comparison, was a fairly busy meeting.  The local police team has seen several changes of late, with a new area Sergeant and a new PCSO for the town centre.

Matters raised in the public forum included concern over metal thefts, speeding issues and parking issues.  These 3 issues which are based around Woodville, Hartshorne and Church Gresley will form the priorities over the next few months.

The next meeting will be at Sharpe's Pottery Museum on Tuesday 23rd September starting at 6.15pm.  Reminders will be sent out nearer the time.

Refurbishment of the Skate Park

Along with a sizeable crowd of enthusiastic youngsters, we had the pleasure of an invitation to the opening of the refurbishment of the Skatepark off Woodhouse Street this afternoon.

The new section was unveiled during a short ceremony this afternoon attended by Regular Users, Council Staff, PCSOs and Councillors.  The Sports team were in attendance to offer several cycle and scooting based activities and the youth services team from County Council were there too.

The refurbishment has been part of an ongoing project that has involved users of the skate park from an early stage.  Much work has been done by SDDC, Derbyshire Police and the Safer South Derbyshire Partnership to secure funding for the project and bring it to fruition.

Part of the work done earlier in the project was to fix the lighting to make the area safer.  Whilst the park location has the advantage of being handily placed for Church Gresley, Woodville, Swadlincote and Albert Village, it is also a little isolated in it's immediate locality.

What was also impressive is how the regular users, whose age varies from late primary school children through to adults, all use the facility together and want to be proud of the facility.  During our visit it was pointed out that there were not enough bins and therefore likelihood of littering and there were a few technical issues pointed out.

The improvements have been well received though and the feedback was very well communicated.  Hopefully, more money will be found in the future to address other issues, including the access to the site, and further work can be done that once again stems from a successful working partnership between the users, the Police and the Council.

South Derbyshire Sports Awards Nominations opened

Residents, clubs and organisations are being asked to nominate outstanding sporting individuals, coaches and teams for this year’s extravaganza.

Last year many of the winners from South Derbyshire fared well at the awards for the whole of Derbyshire.

The annual awards, run by South Derbyshire Sport and South Derbyshire District Council, afford an opportunity for local sports stars to shine and for valued volunteers to be given the recognition they deserve for efforts over the last 12 months.

This year’s categories include:

-          Junior Sportswoman or Junior Sportsman of the Year

-          Junior Disabled Sportsperson of the Year

-          Sportsperson of the Year

-          Disabled Sportsperson of the Year

-          Club of the Year

-          Team of the Year

-          Community Coach of the Year

-          Performance Coach of the Year

-          Young Sports Leader/Young Coach of the Year

-          Service to Sport Award

-          Contribution to School Sport

-          Professional Sportsperson of the Year

Pplease pass this on to anyone you think maybe interested in applying into the South Derbyshire Sports Awards for 2014.

Applications close on August 22nd 2014.

http://www.south-derbys.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/council_news/june/news_items/chance_to_nominate_your_favourite_sportsperson.asp

Introducing the South Derbyshire Citizens Advice Bureau

Based in Church Gresley, the South Derbyshire Citizens Advice Bureau are keen to engage with people and let them know that they are ready to help.

With an expected 50% increase in enquiries between this September and next October due to the introduction of Universal Credit, the CAB has been busy securing funding, recruiting staff and volunteers and working to ensure that there are different places to hold drop in sessions and increase their availability not only locally but throughout the whole district.

Recently, I was shown around the offices in Church Street and saw the operation in action and was lucky to talk to some of the dedicated staff and volunteers and learn about how the Bureau works.

The CAB is available to offer Free, Independent, Confidential & Impartial advice to all in such areas as the following:

• Debt
• Benefits
• Housing
• Family & Personal
• Consumer
• Immigration 
• Employment
• Money Advice

The website link is below and provides excellent information about the many services offered and projects undertaken:

http://www.southderbyshirecab.org.uk/

The current availability includes drop-in assessment at the Church Street offices, telephone assessment via 01283 210109 and also via the weekly advice sessions held at a number of GP Surgeries throughout the district.

Due to the amount of work covered by the CAB, the current financial climate and many interesting points of discussion arising from the visit, there will be more posts relating to the CAB in due course.

Festival of Leisure this weekend

This Saturday and Sunday are the weekend of the Festival of Leisure.  With many displays,stalls and activities there is something for everyone of all ages.  Taking place from 1pm to 5pm on both days at Maurice Lea Park it promises to be a great weekend.  The weather may be a little changeable but there should be some sun and no heavy rain forecast.

Among the stalls there will be plenty of people raising money for good causes and promoting community groups.  There will be a food collection for the CVS by Unite the Union.  Donations of canned and ambient food are welcome.

More information is available via the SDDC website on the following link:

http://www.south-derbys.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/council_news/june/news_items/fun_filled_line_up_for_festival_of_leisure.asp

All in this together?

As Councillors we tend to receive a lot of information, mainly via email.  The information takes a lot of reading through but there are a lot of interesting facts that come through to us.  One of the main sources of information is via the Local Government Association.

Here is a snapshot of some of the information recently receive and it shows how the government cuts are not only affecting the general public but also authorities up and down the country:

In relation to those councils who felt it necessary to turn off lights to save money.........

According to research carried out by the Times, road casualties in areas where street lights have been turned off have risen by 20% in four years. It found that 324 more people were killed or seriously injured in crashes at night on roads where street lights were unlit in 2011-12 than in 2009-10. Deaths rose by 39% to 25 and serious injuries rose by 27% to 225, analysis of 800,000 pieces of data collected by police showed. The Local Government Association said: "If councils were presented with evidence it 'turning off street lights' was causing a public safety risk they would act. However, this data fails to provide that evidence and it is completely misleading to suggest it tells us anything about the cause of accidents."

Increase in pauper funerals

Figures obtained through freedom of information requests to local councils across England, show that the number of people given "pauper's funerals" has risen by more than a third in the past five years. About 4,100 people were cremated anonymously or buried in mass graves with no headstone in 2013, against about 3,000 in 2009. The southwest saw a 102% increase between 2009 and 2013. In Cornwall the rise was 433%, and in Camden, north London, it was 183%

Bus subsidies cut back

A freedom of information request made by the Labour Party has shown that bus subsidies in England have been severely cut back by councils. The figures revealed that shire counties have cut their subsidies by 23% from an average of £5.62m in 2010-11 to £4.34m in 2013-14. While unitary authorities have made cuts of 24% from an average of £1.20m in 2010-11 to £910,000 in 2013-14. Labour said that the biggest real terms cuts to council support for bus services between 2010-11 and 2013-14 took place at Conservative-run authorities. Northamptonshire County Council cut its subsidy by 55%, Suffolk County Council by 50% and Hertfordshire County Council by 40%. Hilary Benn MP, the shadow communities and local government secretary, said: "It couldn't be clearer to residents that vital front-line services are disappearing dramatically as cuts to councils intensify. David Cameron needs to get a grip and ensure that elderly and disabled residents are not left stranded at home."

Fewer parents get first choice school

Several papers report that fewer parents are getting their children places at their first choice primary school. Many local authorities were set to inform parents yesterday of their offers for places. In Reading, only 75.7% of parents received their first choice, down from 77.4% last year. Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt criticised the government, commenting: "Before the 2010 general election, David Cameron promised us small schools and smaller class sizes. The reality is there are more than double the number of infants in class sizes of more than 30 and three times as many 'titan' primary schools with more than 800 children than in 2010”. However, in Suffolk, it is reported, 92% of applicants received their first preference primary on national offer day. Jane Merrick in the Independent argues that the country desperately needs more primary schools. The Times remarks that National Offer Day should be renamed National Destiny Day. The Independent describes the situation as a farce.

Office of National Statistics reveal wealth disparity in England

New figures from the ONS show household wealth has risen five times faster in London than the English average between 2006 and 2012. The median wealth across the country rose an average of 6% in those six years, while in London it shot up 31% - and fell 10% in the northeast. The ONS Wealth and Assets Survey also found that the richest 10% of households own 44% of the total wealth, while the bottom half owns 9%.

Update on our recent survey

Thanks to those who completed our survey relating to issues on Church Street.  We're still awaiting further feedback but so far all responses have indicated that they would support a 20mph zone and there are issues with over-weight vehicles using Church Street regularly.  This will be communicated further.

We will update further soon.