Welcome to the summer (according to the

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1 West Hallam Parish Council Newsletter to Residents Issue 14 - Summer 2012 Welcome to the summer (according to the calendar!) edition of the Parish Council s quarterly newsletter. It was fantastic to see so many people turn out to our Diamond Jubilee Teddy Bears Picnic and the community owes a big thank you to all the local organisations and groups that helped make it so successful. Thanks also to whoever was responsible for the weather that day. We were very lucky! If you ve not already seen them there s lots of photos and a short video on the Parish Council s web site at In this Issue: More on the Teddy Bears Picnic New Recycling Facility Jubilee Public Seats on the Way Road Re-surfacing Love Food, Hate Waste More Litter and Dog Bins Parking and Road Safety issues - Straws Bridge Proposed Dog Control Order Local Flooding Update HGV s in West Hallam Peter Briggs to Retire Superfast Broadband Tour of Brittain thhrough West Hallam Your Parish Councillors/Contact Us

2 What a fabulous day - and very positive feedback from residents. With over 80 entries for the Best Dressed Bear competition, great music from Acoustic Union and Ilkeston Brass, free childrens activities and lots of local groups involved it was great community event for our village. Here s just a few photos to bring back memories of the day. 2

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4 Erewash Borough Council has recently installed two recycling bins in the car park at The Punchbowl. These bins will take cardboard, paper, plastics, metal cans, glass bottles and Tetra Pak type drinks cartons. More information on recycling and waste collection is available on the Erewash Borough Council web site. The Parish Council has been successful in its bid for two new public seats for the Parish, made available by Erewash Borough Council to commemorate the Queen s Diamond Jubilee. These are to be installed at The Cascades public open space and at the Beech Lane Recreation Ground. Also accepted by the Borough Council was a suggestion from a resident for a seat at the junction of Beech Lane and Station Road, making a total of three new seats coming to West Hallam, the cost of which (including installation) will be met entirely by the Borough Council. The Parish Council has received a number of comments and complaints about the surface dressing (tar spraying) works recently carried out by Derbyshire County Council in West Hallam, so we thought we d share a summary of information received from the County Council about the work:- 4

5 All we can say is that the Parish Council and your local County Councillor have done their best to make the County Council s highways engineers aware of concerns and complaints. 5

6 Food lovers are being urged to visit a website which features tasty tips for using leftover food when having gettogethers over the summer. Derbyshire County Council is urging families to make use of tasty food or leftovers already stocked in cupboards, fridges or freezers over the summer months. Councillor John Allsop, cabinet member for technology and recycling, said: We re urging people to check out our website full of great ideas on how to prepare meals using leftover food. Some of the recipes you ll find include: using leftover cheese and any favourite toppings you might have in the fridge. which turns leftover bread into something more interesting. which use a crispy coating made from leftover cheese and breadcrumbs made from slightly old bread. For full recipes and other great ideas for cutting down on food waste go to the Love Food Hate Waste page of Derbyshire Council Council s website at The recipes are in the related documents section near the bottom of the page under the title recipes for special get-togethers. For lots more recipes for all occasions visit Every month UK households each throw away an average 50 worth of food that could have been eaten. Wasting food also harms the environment and contributes to climate change. 6

7 When the Parish Council consulted on its spending priorities for this year, a good few of you said you d like to see more dog waste bins and litter bins provided in the Parish. The good news is that these are now on their way, hopefully installed by or soon after the time you receive this newsletter, with additional dog waste bins destined for the Newdigate Street/Bagot Street area and on Park Hall Lane and new combined litter/dog waste bins on Station Road Recreation Ground (near the MUGA), the High Lane West/Mapperley Lane crossroads and The Village (between Hallam Way and The Dales). Also, due to the generosity of two local residents, an additional dog waste bin is also to be installed near where Hardwick Avenue joins The Cascades. The residents have kindly offered to fund the purchase and installation of this bin, and the Parish Council will meet the cost of regular emptying. The Parish Council is also extending the hours of one of its two part time litter pickers to enable some additional areas to be covered, again something that was seen as a priority by residents in responses to our budget survey. Parking and Road Safety Issues - Straws Bridge Concerns have been expressed by the Parish Council about dangerous parking on the bend on Derby Road, Ilkeston (near Straws Bridge) close to the footpath leading to Kirk Hallam Community School. Vehicles also park partially on the road and partially on the grass verge near the adjacent pelican crossing whilst waiting to collect children at school finishing times. The matter has been referred to the Police who have promised to monitor the situation when the school restarts in September and it remains to be seen what action they take. In the meantime it would be much safer for all if parents waiting to collect children made use of the car park at the Straws Bridge public open space - as many already do. 7

8 Dog Control Order Proposals Erewash residents are being asked by the Borough Council for their views on the introduction of a Dog Control Order for the Borough which would impose new controls on dogs and responsibilities on their owners. A Dog Control Order would see dogs banned from specific areas, designate other sites where owners must keep their dogs on a lead at all times and increase the fixed penalty for owners who are caught failing to pick up after their pets. Erewash Borough Council is nearing the end of a six-week public consultation to ask local people what they think about the designated sites and they can also suggest further areas where the new powers could be applied. The proposals include banning dogs from fenced and gated children s play areas and multi-use sports areas and making it law that dogs must be on a lead in any public cemeteries in the borough. In our Parish this means that dogs would be banned from the play area at Beech Lane Recreation Ground and would be required to be on a lead in St Wilfrid s Churchyard. Dog fouling provisions are also proposed in the Order. The introduction of a Dog Control Order is really about encouraging people to be responsible about looking after their dog in public and the new powers would be an important move in the continued drive to tackle the problem of dog mess on our streets and in our parks and to crack down on those irresponsible owners who fail to properly control their dogs. Residents can give their views on-line at where they can also view maps and details of the specific areas where it is proposed the measures will be introduced. Alternatively, details of the proposals and a questionnaire can be picked up from Ilkeston or Long Eaton Town Halls. Views must be submitted before the deadline of 5pm on Monday 13 August so you might still just have time to submit views if you so wish. The Parish Council s response to the Borough Council on behalf of West Hallam is to welcome the proposals and to ask that the MUGA at Station Road Recreation Ground be also included in the areas where dogs are banned. 8

9 Local Flooding Update Every picture tells a story and unfortunately the photograph below shows part of the footpath from Hallam Way to Beech Lane Recreation Ground after one of the recent heavy downpours that have affected so many parts of the country this summer. the problem does in fact lie with the Parish Council then they will act on advice received, but in the meantime sandbags have been provided by the Borough Council to help provide a measure of protection for affected residents. Flooding in this location has occurred on more than one occasion over the past couple of months and sadly it has also affected a small number of homes adjacent to the footpath. It seems that the problem may be associated with an inspection chamber adjacent to the footpath through the recreation ground and the Parish Council has asked for this to be investigated as a matter of urgency. Clearly if Other locations in and adjacent to the Parish have of course suffered as a consequence of the recent extreme weather conditions and the appropriate authorities have helped where possible. However the Parish Council is directly involved in this particular instance because of the suggestion that the problem emanates from its land - hence the current investigations. 9

10 When TDG Storage became Norbert Dentressangle earlier this year liaison meetings with West Hallam and other local parish councils ceased for a short while and complaints have continued to be received about what seems to be an increasing number of lorries transgressing the weight limit areas, not only in West Hallam but also surrounding villages. A meeting with the new management has now taken place, concerns raised and the management has agreed to make sure that the drivers of all the lorries under their control are reminded about the routes they should follow. If any residents see lorries ignoring the weight limit signs, the depot gatehouse direct on and if the lorry is going into the depot they will speak to the driver concerned. If you do use this reporting facility then it would be helpful if you could also telephone or our Acting Parish Clerk with the relevant details so that the Parish Council can monitor the situation. Her contact details are on the back page of this newsletter. Mr Peter Briggs As we go to press, the Parish Council has learnt that Peter Briggs has decided to retire as Parish Clerk, a position he has held with distinction for more than thirty years. As many of you will know, Peter suffered a stroke back in October and is currently battling his way to recovery. There will be a full tribute to Peter in the next edition of the newsletter. 10

11 BT Broadband have been doing a lot of work in West Hallam putting in new junction boxes/cabinets and we are given to understand that this is all to do with the new faster broadband to be delivered in this area (we have only recently learned) late September or soon after. The Broadband Champion working voluntarily on behalf of the Parish is Mr Alan Tattershall who has been urging people to register a positive interest (without commitment) in having superfast broadband in West Hallam. Alan has set up a web site ( est allam uper ast road and) to help spread the word and generate local interest and the Parish Council has readily agreed to support Alan s efforts in any way it can. Whilst we are all happy about the prospect of faster broadband, there has been quite a lot off consternation about the siting of some of the new boxes. The Parish Council has checked the planning position and as BT are classed as a utility company they generally do not need planning permission for these boxes. As a Parish Council we have however let BT know that some consultation on box locations would be more conducive to good relations. Tour of Britain Comes to West Hallam The excitement of the Jubilee, then the magnificent spectacle of the London 2012 Olympics and the Torch Relay (although of course unfortunately not coming through West Hallam) - but now a first! The Sky Tour of Britain is bringing more than 100 of the world s best riders to the UK from 9 to 16 September - and it s coming to West Hallam. The tour will visit Ilkeston, then West Hallam, before going on to Little Eaton, Coxbench and Ashbourne. There is the possibility that Bradley Wiggins will be taking part, along with the rest of the fantastic Team Sky. There will be more details as they become available, but wouldn t it be great to see High Lane lined with cheering residents to wave them all through! 11

12 Your West Hallam Parish Councillors Councillor Carol Hart Chairman Councillor Helena Chapman Vice Chairman Councillor Darren Adams-Shaw Councillor Bruce Broughton Councillor Kev Garvey Councillor Gary Hamson Councillor Janet Hayes Councillor Iris Howes Councillor Barbara Harrison Contact the Parish Council You can contact the Parish Council by writing to or phoning our Acting Clerk, Mrs Susan Dunkley, 34 Sparrow Close, Ilkeston, DE7 6HW Telephone or 12